sports Page 761 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Columbus Crew Midfielder Kirk Urso Is Dead At 22
Columbus Crew midfielder Kirk Urso is dead, according to a press release from the MLS team. There's no cause announced, and we'll be sure to update as soon as we hear anything else....

BBC Announcers Went Absolutely Bonkers As Britain's Mo Farah Claimed 10K Gold
It was a banner day for the Brits at Olympic Stadium Saturday, as Great Britain athletes claimed gold in heptathlon, men's long jump, and the men's 10,000 meters. It's that 10K gold that has Team GBR so fired up, as the Beeb's announcers are so happy to show you in this clip. ...

Michael Phelps Earned His 18th Gold Medal By Bringing The 4x100 Medley Relay Team From Behind
When Michael Phelps entered the pool for his final career Olympic swim, the Japanese 4x100 medley relay team held a slight lead. When the race ended, the U.S. led by nearly two seconds....

Bob And Mike Bryan Complete The Golden Slam Thanks To Bob's Ridiculous Match Point Over-The-Shoulder Lob
Already considered among the greatest doubles teams in tennis history, Bob and Mike Bryan completed the Golden Slam—winning all four Grand Slam tourneys, plus the Olympics—with a 6–4, 7–6 straight sets win over France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Michael Llodra in the gold medal match at Wimbledon....

Everything You Never Needed To Know About Racewalking
Remember watching When Harry Met Sally, and thinking to yourself "What the hell are they doing?" as you watched Billy Crystal in spandex walking fast and funny through Central Park with Bruno Kirby? That was racewalking, son....

Bob Costas Is Even Pissing Off His Local Affiliate Sports Guys
This has made its way around the Internet a bit, but we've got better video of the incident so here you go. This is our beloved (in Jacksonville) First Coast News sports director Dan Hicken voicing some frustration that Tuesday night's Olympic broadcast ran on so long—and he blames, somewhat right...

Former 100m World Champion Kicked Out Of Olympics For Meeting His Wife In A Hotel
A former 100m world champion will not compete in the event at the London Olympics after being caught visiting his wife in a hotel outside the Olympic Village. ...

"Men Throwing Rocks With The Other Hand" Is Just Super
This video: sort of old. But we saw it on Kottke, and couldn't resist sharing it. What happens when you get a bunch of guys to chuck rocks with their weak arms? Hypnotic. Cathartic. Non-dominant....

Barack Obama Warns That The Tebow-Sanchez Situation Won't End Well
Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: The president thinks quarterback controversies are nothing but trouble....

How Do Michael Phelps's Current Times Compare To Ones He Swam When He Was Nine Years Old?
Michael Phelps has already become history's most decorated Olympian, and swimming scholars will inevitably analyze his times and technique for years to come. But exactly how far has Phelps come from his humble roots? We got our hands on some meet results from 1995, when he was nine years old. How m...

Ethiopian Steeplechaser Slams Into Race's Final Hurdle, Leaves Track In A Wheelchair
Here's pretty much the definition of "agony of defeat": Ethiopian steeplechase competitor Birhan Getahun, already far at the back of his qualifying heat at the end of the race, fails to navigate the final hurdle and slams down to the track. (Steeplechase hurdles, unlike those used in the hurdle ev...

Alex Morgan's Knee Obliterated A Kiwi Goalie's Face
It was a horrifying moment in the second half of today's women's soccer match between the U.S. and New Zealand, as American star Alex Morgan drove a knee directly into New Zealand keeper Jenny Bindon's face. It was the second blow to the head for Bindon in the match, and yet she somehow managed to...

Everything You Never Needed To Know About Trampoline
Trampolining is not just for cute foxes in viral videos—it's a crazypants real sport that made its Olympic debut in 2000. As Canadian Karen Cockburn, the bronze medalist at those games, said after winning her medal, "A lot of people don't really know what trampoline is, they think it's a toy you jum...

German Rower Quits Games Over Nazi Boyfriend Allegations
German rower Nadja Drygalla has left the Olympic Village following a media firestorm in her home country about her boyfriend's ties to an extremist right-wing political party. (Drygalla is the third rower from the left seen above.)...

Before Steroids And Supplements, Olympics Dopers Used Brandy And Strychnine
These days, Olympians have to pass random drug tests and steer clear of shady supplements to avoid the wrath of the IOC and World Anti-Doping Agency. But back in 1904, during the Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Thomas Hicks of the United States (pictured above, middle) secured gold in the marathon rac...

Errol Morris's Short Film On Sports-Themed Funerals Is Morbidly Cool
One of the best things ESPN has ever commissioned is the fantastic 30 For 30 series, which is now available on Netflix Instant. There are more on the way this fall, but here's a short film done in that vein—directed by Oscar-winner Errol Morris (Mr. Death, The Fog of War, Standard Operating Proced...

This Is The Coolest Volleyball Play We've Ever Seen
We heard about this when it happened two days ago, but it took awhile to track down the video. When we finally saw it, it was a shock. Who knew you were allowed to kick the ball in volleyball?...

Remembering When Bill Russell Played A Corrupt Judge On <em>Miami Vice</em>
I'd love to know the backstory behind this inspired bit of casting. Who is it that looks at a script calling for a corrupt Miami judge and says, "Get me Bill Russell on the phone now!" Indeed, in a second-season episode of Miami Vice, Russell makes a star turn as a crooked judge who pays off gambl...

Yesterday's Flood Of Berserk Baseball Team Facebook Posts Were Made By A Rogue MLB Employee
We thought yesterday's series of wacky Facebook posts appearing on MLB team pages was the work of a very skilled—and very quick—hacker. As it turns out, we were wrong. Not long after we put up our post a Facebook spokesperson issued us the following statement:...

The Hussars Are Coming
Here's a Polish volleyball fan in a rather interesting outfit. I didn't actually know what this was, so I consulted Twitter who informed me of the legendary Polish Winged Hussars. I'm impressed with the build quality but mostly with the fact I'm quite sure there's a cache of beer stored in the cent...