Category: The Olympics (Page 16 of 26)

Michael Phelps wins gold medal in tonsil hockey

The New York Post is reporting that Michael Phelps celebrated his historic performance at the Bejing Olympics by sucking face with Australian swimmer (and hottie) Stephanie Rice.

Phelps, fresh from shattering Mark Spitz’s 36-year-old record, was spotted Monday night in a hot make-out session with Down Under swimmer Stephanie Rice, a source tells The Post’s Clemente Lisi and Luke Dennehy. The pumped-up pair clinched and swapped spit at a celebratory bash outside the Olympic Village.

The Baltimore Bullet swooped in for the lip-lock with the 20-year-old brunette just weeks after she split from Aussie swimmer Eamon Sullivan. “All the swimmers are talking about it, and [Sullivan] is cut up about what happened,” the source said.

The day after the face-sucking frolics, Phelps and Rice cheekily posed together for Speedo – laughing and playfully groping each other as a photographer snapped them in their swimsuits. “I definitely admire him for his athletic ability and everything he’s achieved,” gushed Rice, who won three gold medals of her own. “I’m just really glad to be in the mix with that.”

In the mix, indeed.

Some are saying that Usain Bolt is having a better performance than Phelps at these Olympics, but I think this puts Phelps over the top.

Who knew batons were this tough to handle?

A day after both the U.S. men’s and women’s 4x100m relay teams mishandled a baton exchange in their respective qualifying heats, the heavily favored Jamaican women’s 4x100m team fumbled its second hand off and failed to finish the race. Their miscue unfortunately affected the Great Britain team, which also failed to finish.

I don’t remember seeing this many baton drops in one Olympics. The theory is that a lack of practice and familiarity amongst the team members is the root cause. Given the difficulty of handing something off while running at a full sprint, practice would probably help.

Russia went on to win the gold medal.

Clay molds a decathlon victory

After twelve long years, an American has finally won the Olympic decathlon. Bryan Clay won the ten-event competition in Beijing going away, outdistancing his closest opponent (Andrei Krauchanka of Belarus) by 240 points. He finished with 8,791 points and secured the victory by finishing the 1500-meters race.

Dan O’ Brien was the last U.S. athlete to win the Olympic decathlon, in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

Clay led the competition wire to wire, as he placed first or second in five of the ten events and third in two others.

Redeem Team one step away from gold

Argentina figured to be one of the toughest tests for Team USA at these games, but the U.S. raced out to a 21-point lead in the early second quarter of the single-elimination semifinal. The first half was a tale of two quarters. The lead, coupled with an injury that knocked Manu Ginobili out of the game, made it easy for the U.S. to get complacent. Even without their star, Argentina is a good team and while the Americans were sleepwalking, the lead was cut to six just before the half.

The U.S. got its act together after a halftime tongue-lashing from Coach K, and won the game going away, 101-81. Carmelo Anthony led Team USA with 21 points, but it was a very balanced attack as seven Americans scored in double figures.

The U.S. moves on to face Spain in the gold medal game. Jose Calderon is iffy to play with a strained groin, and given the Americans’ dominance in the two teams’ first meeting, the Spaniards are really going to have to raise their game if they’re going to keep it close. The game is scheduled for 2:30 AM ET on Sunday morning, so check your local listings.

Couch Potato Alert: 8/22

– With all due respect to NBA officials, amateur boxing is the undisputed winner as being the world’s most corrupt sport. But it is still great to see an unknown boxer like Oscar De La Hoya or Floyd Mayweather Jr. receiving international exposure for the first time. The boxing finals will be televised on Saturday evening, 8/23, on NBC. Tune in to find out who will be the next great fighter.

– Will this year be a triumphant return to glory for USA Basketball? In 2004, the men’s team convinced many of us to root against them in Athens. This Olympics, we have brought our A-Team to Beijing, as Kobe, LeBron, and D. Wade command the court. Tune into NBC on Saturday, 8/23, to watch the gold medal finals.

– As summer winds down, the baseball pennant races are heating up. And another possible playoff preview will take place this weekend, as the Tampa Bay Rays visit Chicago to face the A.L. Central’s leading White Sox. Sunday’s contest will be televised nationally on TBS Sunday, 8/24, at 2 p.m. EST.

– The Little League World Series takes place in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. ABC will televise the championship game on Sunday afternoon, 8/24, beginning at 3:30 p.m. EST.

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