the Page 831 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Report: Some Penn State Trustees Are Appealing The NCAA's Sanctions, And A Federal Lawsuit Is Planned
The Paterno family announced its intention to appeal the NCAA's sanctions on Friday, and the NCAA responded almost immediately to more or less say, "So?" Now here comes a newly elected member of Penn State's board of trustees, who filed an appeal of his own this afternoon, according to ESPN's Don Va...

Yes, The Athlete Who Tripped Over A Hurdle And Didn't Finish The Race Is Named "Stambolova"
Vania Stambolova worked for four years to reach this moment: representing her home Bulgaria in the Summer Games. Alas, she couldn't escape her name, as her performance in the 400m hurdles came to an end with a DNF in her heat after she stumbled over a hurdle. It's the second time she's been stopped...

U.S. Swimming Star Allison Schmitt Brings Out The Worst In Stupid People
The Internet is full of idiots. You don't really need to be told this. But last night after the 4x100 medley relay, won Allison Schmitt helped deliver a new world record for with a 53.25 freestyle split, it seems the idiots decided to provide their input on the interview Schmitt provided alongside ...

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....

Hoosiers Coach Tom Crean Is Sweet-Talking Someone—A Recruit, He Says—And It's Creepy
This strange series of events unfolded on Indiana basketball coach Tom Crean's timeline this afternoon. If our tips line is any indication, that clarification in the second tweet ("That was to a new recruit") was a wise move. The first, weirdest tweet has been deleted. We thought we'd leave it here ...

And Now The Paterno Family Is Appealing The NCAA Sanctions Themselves
Onward State has the complete letter the family sent this afternoon to the NCAA, but here's the gist:...

Nothing We Haven't Seen Before: <em>Total Recall</em>, Reviewed.
1. As a skeptic of the original Total Recall, I was ready to give its remake more than a fair shake. My primary issue with the original is how little it does with the film's initial, fantastical Philip K. Dick premise, that the difference between reality and fantasy is not only slim but perhaps irre...

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...

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...

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...

A Very Obsessive Guide To <em>Sight & Sound</em>'s Greatest Films Poll
Yesterday was heaven for film lovers and list fanatics as Sight & Sound unveiled its once-a-decade poll of the greatest films of all time. There are actually two separate lists—one for critics, one for directors—and the big news was that, after topping the poll since 1962, Citizen Kane had been repl...

Remembering The Joyous, Tie-Dyed All-Stars Of The 1992 Lithuanian Basketball Team
In the summer of 1992, a pair of teams from freedom-loving nations took the Olympics by storm. At the end of the Games, both stood proudly on the medal stand as their flags rose to the rafters. 20 years later, two documentaries were made about their exploits....

NBC Has Awarded Justin Bieber U.S. Citizenship
NBC's been on the social networking kick these Olympics, and the Peacock Network has taken great pride in illustrating tweets of the rich, famous, and otherwise. They stumbled a bit yesterday, though, as the very Canadian black metal rocker Justin Bieber found himself identified as an American in N...

Joe West Gets Clobbered Upside The Head, Starts Bleeding, Does Not Break Into Song
It was a tough night behind the dish for Joe West, who got knocked hard in the ol' noodle by the follow-through of Carlos Lee's swing. The game was delayed for a few minutes while West was attended to by the Braves' medical staff. Sadly, as far as we know, he did not pass the time by humming a few...

NCAA Names Former Sen. George Mitchell As Penn State's "Athletics Integrity Monitor"
The appointment of an Athletics Integrity Monitor (note the capital letters) is part of the oh-so-serious sanctions the NCAA dropped when it smacked Penn State with its shithammer. This is straight from the statement the NCAA issued today:...

Gore Vidal's <em>Myra Breckinridge</em> Became One Of The Weirdest Movies Ever Made
Gore Vidal died yesterday, and though he appeared as an actor in a few movies—he played a professor in With Honors, an evil futuristic fellow in Gattaca and, most memorably, as Tim Robbins' lefty opponent in Bob Roberts—he'll be remembered, in a movie sense, as the guy responsible for Myra Breckinri...

Going Under: What Happened To U.S. Synchronized Swimming?
There is a YouTube video of synchronized swimmer Mary Killman performing what is called a Rocket maneuver to the song “Johnny B. Goode” as part of her final solo at the 2011 synchronized swimming world championships in Shanghai. Killman, who will compete in this summer’s Olympics, says it is one of ...

What The Jingoists Are Saying Today: "Suck it Russia! 'If You Don't Like America, You Can Get Out!'"
I honestly don't even know what that means. Is it directed at...Russia? Is Russia currently in the United States? If so, has it expressed displeasure with being in the United States? Why is it in quotes? Is it an oft-quoted saying? Now directed at Russia? So many questions. But let's move on to wha...

Don't Blame Badminton Players For Throwing Matches. Blame The Sport's Crappy System.
Four teams of women—two from South Korea, one from China, one from Indonesia—were kicked out of the Olympics after they all attempted to lose their matches in the group stage. It was a farce, bringing boos from the crowd and condemnation from the Olympic and badminton communities. Yet the fault lies...