Olympics FanHouse

Irish Sports Minister: 'Unless You're Black and African You're Not Going to Do Well in Sprint'

Michael David Smith — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:21:00 EST

Filed under: Europe

The man at the right is Martin Cullen, Ireland's Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism. In discussing his views on how Irish Olympians can win more gold medals, Cullen expressed some interesting viewpoints about which sports Irish people can excel at and which sports they can't.

From the Irish Independent:

"Obviously, unless you're black and African you're not going to do well in sprint or middle distance," he says. "We'll get the odd one coming through, like a Sonia [O'Sullivan] or an Eamonn Coghlan, but we'll deal with them as they come. But the likes of the javelin, the discus, the pole vaulting, these are the ones being won by white Europeans. Physically and mentally we're suited to them, and it's easy to see how we could do well here."

Almost as surprising as those quotes is the way they're presented in the Irish Independent, which is Ireland's top-selling daily newspaper. In the United States, a government official who made such comments would probably lose his job, but the Irish Independent praises him for speaking a "vaguely politically incorrect truth."

Via Deadspin.

Irish Sports Minister: 'Unless You're Black and African You're Not Going to Do Well in Sprint' originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:21:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Insurance Problems May Keep Luol Deng Out of 2012 Olympics

Matt Watson — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:55:00 EST

Filed under: Europe

Update: My timing is ridiculously bad. Basketball 24/7, which has been on this story for weeks, just broke the news that Great Britain Basketball ponied up for insurance -- Deng will play!

Luol Deng has planned to represent his homeland by anchoring Great Britain's 2012 Olympic basketball team for quite some time. Unfortunately, those plans hit a snag, thanks largely to his brand spanking new $71 million extension. From Brian Hanley of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Blog a Bull):

MetLife, the NBA's insurer which covers the top 150 salaries in the league under a group policy, has the right to exclude 14 high-risk players every year.

Decisions are based on the player's injury history and the amount of money remaining on his contract. Deng came under MetLife scrutiny when he signed a $71 million, six-year contract at the start of this month. It is the fourth-highest contract in the NBA in terms of outstanding money.

MetLife subsequently used an MRI scan taken last November when Deng, 23, injured his back and missed three games to exclude him from the coverage.

Because MetLife has excluded Deng, he can't play in a qualifying tournament for the Olympics next summer without additional insurance, and as you'd expect, a policy to insure a $71 million contract isn't exactly cheap. How expensive? Try $500,000 a summer for each of the next three years. All told, that's about half of the national team's entire budget.

Even if the team had more resources, would it really be worth it? The British team didn't qualify for the Olympcis this year and certainly won't be expected to medal in 2012. It'd be nice to have Deng around to help make things slightly more competitive, but that's a hefty investment for what will amount to a handful of meaningless exhibitions.

(Some Bulls fans may be thinking, wait, isn't the bigger story that Deng's back is apparently some kind of ticking time bomb? Yeah, I guess that's possible, but I'm guessing MetLife is simply splitting hairs trying to weasel out of insuring one of the league's biggest contracts. Deng only played in 63 games this past season, but most of the time he missed was due to an unrelated Achilles injury.)

Insurance Problems May Keep Luol Deng Out of 2012 Olympics originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spanish Player on Losing to Redeem Team: 'We Deserved to Win'

Matt Watson — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:20:00 EST

Filed under: Europe, USA

All in all, Spain should be proud for taking a team of NBA All-Stars to the limit. There's no shame in losing to perhaps the most talented team to ever step foot on a basketball court ... right? That's not how Spain's starting center Felipe Reyes (pictured, getting demolished by Kobe Bryant) team sees it. From SportsYa.com (via HoopsHype)

"I think we deserved to win the gold medal because we did an incredible job. If it hadn't been for the officials, we'd have the gold instead of the silver," center Felipe Reyes said.

"If they had blown the whistle for the steps they take, the defense with the hands they use and had blown the whistle on everything, it's clear that we would have won. We got to within three points in spite of the referees, and if they'd been good, we would have won, pretty clearly," Reyes said.

"If the referees had followed FIBA rules, we would have won, but we are very satisfied with the silver," Reyes, who scored 10 points, said.

To be fair, Reyes does have a point: the referees were bad. That said, the only thing consistent about the refs was that they made questionable calls on both sides of the ball. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James were in foul trouble for much of the game, but the difference is that when Team USA had to sit someone, they had someone like Dwyane Wade or Deron Williams to take their spot. It was the Redeem Team's depth (and the short international three-point line) that won this game, not the refs.

Spanish Player on Losing to Redeem Team: 'We Deserved to Win' originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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London Mayor Boris Johnson Talks Trash to China on Olympic Ping Pong

Michael David Smith — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:53:00 EST

Filed under: China, Europe

As the Summer Olympics were passed off from 2008 host Beijing to 2012 host London, Mayor Boris Johnson gave a bizarre, rambling speech in which he said table tennis, the national sport of China, is really a British game:

"I say this respectfully to our Chinese hosts who have excelled magnificently at ping pong," Johnson began. "Ping pong was invented on the dining tables of England in the 19th Century. It was, and it was called whiff whaff."

Johnson wasn't done there.

"There you have, I think, the essential difference between us and the rest of the world," Johnson said. "Other nations such as the French looked at the dining table and saw the opportunity to have dinner. We looked at the dining table and saw the opportunity to play whiff whaff. That is why London is the sporting capital of the world. I say to the Chinese and I say to the world - ping pong is coming home."

Tough talk. But considering that the Chinese won all four table tennis gold medals as well as two silvers and two bronzes last week, while Great Britain didn't win any table tennis medals, I think the British Olympic team is going to have a tough time backing that talk up.

London Mayor Boris Johnson Talks Trash to China on Olympic Ping Pong originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:53:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Olympic Moment: George Gogshelidze's Face

Michael David Smith — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:29:00 EST

Filed under: Europe

Olympic wrestler George Gogshelidze of Georgia won a bronze medal in the 96-kilogram freestyle competition, suffering a gruesome eye injury in the process.

Gogshelidze suffered the injury early in the wrestling tournament but continued to wrestle with it. At one point in his match with Kazakhstan's Taimuraz Tigiyev, he even got poked in the other eye, but he still continued to fight on.

Georgia won three medals in the 2008 Olympics: Golds in Greco-Roman wrestling, freestyle wrestling and judo, and one bronze in shooting and two bronzes in freestyle wrestling.

Olympic Moment: George Gogshelidze's Face originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:29:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At Closing Ceremony, Torch Is Passed to London and David Beckham

Michael David Smith — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 10:44:00 EST

Filed under: China, Europe

The 2008 Summer Olympics are in the books, with the closing ceremony taking place in Beijing today.

As part of the closing ceremony, Beijing passed the torch on to the 2012 Olympics host, London, which was represented by England's most famous international athlete, David Beckham.

Beckham arrived aboard a trademark London double-decker bus in front of 91,000 spectators at the Bird's Nest stadium, kicking a soccer ball off the top of the bus and toward the crowd. An eight-minute presentation told the world what to expect from the London 2012 Games.

Although Beckham said he thought Beijing did a good job as Olympics host, he added, "I'm sure we will be better than them, without a doubt."

At Closing Ceremony, Torch Is Passed to London and David Beckham originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Sun, 24 Aug 2008 10:44:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tia Hellebaut Tops Blanka Vlasic in Women's High Jump Upset

Michael David Smith — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 07:52:00 EST

Filed under: Europe

One of the biggest upsets of the Olympics came in the women's high jump, when Croatia's Blanka Vlasic, one of the most dominant track and field athletes in the world in any event, finished second to Belgium's Tia Hellebaut.

Hellebaut and Vlasic both cleared 2.05 meters, but Hellebaut won because she didn't miss any jumps at that height, while Vlasic failed to clear the bar once before she made it on her second attempt. Russia's Anna Chicherova was third at 2.03 meters.

The 24-year-old Vlasic had won 34 consecutive high jump competitions heading into these Olympics and was considered a huge favorite to bring home the gold. For the 30-year-old Hellebaut, who finished 12th in the 2004 Olympics, to beat her head-to-head represents one of the great achievements of these Games.

Tia Hellebaut Tops Blanka Vlasic in Women's High Jump Upset originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Sun, 24 Aug 2008 07:52:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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USA Hoops Wins Gold in Thriller

Tom Ziller — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 04:46:00 EST

Filed under: Europe, USA

Team USA had to work for it -- for three years, and for 40 minutes this morning -- but they earned what they sought: the gold medal. In a ridiculously entertaining match against Spain (a team the United States beat by 37 last week), Team USA pulled out the 11-point victory to grab the tournament victory.

The margin snuck within two points in the final quarter, as Spain relied on a heavy diet of absurd Juan Carlos Navarro floaters and Rudy Fernandez threes to stay within spitting range of the Americans. But Kobe Bryant was just as good, nailing some massive threes and doling out sweet assists. One of the Kobe threes -- shot from the fourth row -- also happened to goad Rudy into his fifth and final foul, adding a bonus to a vital four-point play. Kobe most definitely played up to his billing as the biggest American star in China.

Dwyane Wade was nuts in the first half, dropping 21 points in 14 minutes. (!) He cooled off, which was easily predictable given that he made his bed with threes in the first half and he's not a good deep shooter. LeBron James was ineffective in the second half, picking up his fourth foul early on in the final frame. Carmelo Anthony's shooting was off and on; Chris Paul was good but couldn't stick his threes. Deron Williams didn't get much of a chance on offense. The bigs were active but not overpowering ... in fact, the Brothers Gasol had plenty of space to operate in the paint.

Navarro's stream of floaters won't soon be forgotten, nor will Rudy's insane dunk over Dwight Howard. But Team USA's the story here -- four years after being humbled on the world's stage, American basketball is back on top.

USA Hoops Wins Gold in Thriller originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Sun, 24 Aug 2008 04:46:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Liveblog: USA vs Spain, Gold Medal Game

Tom Ziller — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 02:20:00 EST

Filed under: Europe, USA

Three years in the making, with plenty of highs and lows in between: Team USA is ready to take its chance at an Olympic gold medal. In the final game, the Americans -- led by LeBron James and Kobe Bryant -- will take on reigning world champion Spain, featuring Pau Gasol and Rudy Fernandez. Check out our preview and read up on all the analysis from throughout the tournament.

If you're basketball nuts like us, join us at 2:30 a.m. EST/11:30 p.m. PST for a liveblog of the game. BYOB.

Liveblog: USA vs Spain, Gold Medal Game originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Sun, 24 Aug 2008 02:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Olympic 5 Things: United States vs Spain ... for Gold

Tom Ziller — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 20:50:00 EST

Filed under: Europe, USA

The Olympic men's basketball tournament ends tonight, with the gold medal game between the United States and Spain. FanHouse will live blog the show, beginning at 2:30 a.m. EST. Until then, five things to watch for tonight.

Can the Spanish smalls handle it? The Americans have dominated at every position. As Spain enters without its best guard and second-best player overall -- Jose Calderon is out with an injury -- how much more emboldened will Team USA's backcourt be? Chris Paul can cut up the NBA's best, and should have no problem destroying Raul Lopez and Ricky Rubio. Even Jason Kidd, not as a good a player today as Calderon, should be able to roam with freedom. On the other end, relaxing off of Rubio should be the defense of choice -- Ricky is shooting less than 30% for the tournament and has yet to prove he can nail open jumpers.

Will Pau bounce back? Pau Gasol's had a great tournament overall, but didn't do a whole lot of anything against the United States last week. Spain's chances are nil if Pau doesn't go off in a huge way. He -- along with brother Marc and homies Jorge Garbajosa and Jose Reyes -- need to control the boards (plausible) and keep Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh in check (somewhat less plausible) while scoring efficiently and keeping turnovers at a minimum. Tall, tall task.

Rudy. With Calderon out, Lopez aging and Rubio green, Rudy Fernandez takes on increased importance. Obviously, Spain wouldn't be in the gold medal game with Rudy's great production to date. He needs to be even better. He can compete with Kobe, LeBron and Wade, but he's clearly a few tiers below most nights. He needs a flukey good night to propel his team.

Turnovers. This fits into the first two points, but it bears emphasis: Spain cannot turn the ball over an average amount or worse and have a hope of survival. Team USA is just too good in transition. If Rubio gets the call, he needs to show patience and care over his more typical hot-dog flair. Lopez's priority should be getting the ball into his scorers' hands safely -- Pau in the post, Rudy on the wing. Likewise, those scorers need to be extra careful not to expose themselves in traffic (scandalous!) or bat the ball off their limbs. Every possession is vital for Spain.

Just show up? Does Team USA just need to show up to win? No ... the U.S. needs to be adequate. Any team can get hot -- Spain certainly has the weapons to open up a battle, just as Argentina without Manu Ginobili did on Friday. I have little doubt Team USA will be impeccably focused, as it has been all tournament. If so, I see little chance for Spain to overcome the talent disparity.

Once again, we'll be liveblogging tonight. Check us out.

Olympic 5 Things: United States vs Spain ... for Gold originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Sat, 23 Aug 2008 20:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jose Calderon Won't Play in Gold Medal Game

Tom Ziller — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:15:00 EST

Filed under: Europe, USA

Team USA needs no confidence boost heading into tomorrow morning's gold medal game against Spain: the Americans have whooped all comers, including the Spaniards. By 37. But the United States gets another chip on its stack nonetheless, as Spain's starting point guard Jose Calderon will apparently not play due to injury. ESPN's Chris Sheridan confirmed the news with Raptors boss Bryan Colangelo ... who has a bit of a history with the Spanish basketball federation. Something tells me Calderon (who just signed a weighty contract with Toronto) won't be pressing the Raps on this.

For Spain, this might put wunderkind jumblebum RIcky Rubio into the starting five. Raul Lopez got the nod to open the semifinal game against Lithuania, but was ineffective. Rubio started the second half. He was also ineffective, though he did a spritely job of frustrating craggly Sarunas Jasikevicius.

Lopez and Rubio are both, at this point, significantly inferior to Calderon and vastly inferior to the American opponents ... even Jason Kidd. (!) Spain needed close to a perfect storm to beat the United States to begin with. Without their top PG, Spain needs a miracle.

Jose Calderon Won't Play in Gold Medal Game originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Olympic Controversy: South Korea Protests Norway's Last-Second Handball Goal

Michael David Smith — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:45:00 EST

Filed under: Asia, Europe

Even if you're like me and practically all Americans and you know nothing about handball, you have to admit that this is a thrilling way to end a game:

With one second left and the game tied 28-28, Norway's Gro Hammerseng threw the ball past South Korea's goalie, Lee Min-hee, from about 25 feet away, giving Norway a 29-28 victory.

Or did she? South Korea insists that the goal actually crossed the line after time had expired, and that the game should have gone into overtime. I've looked at the video a few times and think the South Koreans are right, at least if the clock in the upper left corner of the screen is the correct time.

But the International Handball Federation and the International Olympic Committee say the goal will be upheld, and South Korea's protests will be denied. So Norway will play Russia for the gold medal and South Korea will play Hungary for the bronze.

Olympic Controversy: South Korea Protests Norway's Last-Second Handball Goal originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Russia Wins Women's 4x100-Meter Relay, Dropped Baton Prevents Jamaican Sweep

Michael David Smith — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:57:00 EST

Filed under: Europe

In an Olympic upset, Russia won the gold medal in the women's 4x100-meter relay, a big win for a country that is usually strong in sports but not in sprints. Belgium took the silver for its first medal of these Olympics, and Nigeria took bronze.

The big news of the race was that the Jamaican team had a botched exchange and a dropped baton and failed to finish. It was the only sprint the Jamaicans didn't win in the Olympics, having won the golds in the men's and women's 100 meters, men's and women's 200 meters and men's 4x100-meter relay.

The United States, which entered the Olympics as the co-favorite along with Jamaica, didn't make the final after a dropped baton in the qualifying heats.

The Russians' winning time of 42.31 seconds gave them a winning margin of 0.23 seconds. No country currently has a chance of seriously challenging the world record in the women's 4x100-meter relay. That record time, 41.37 seconds, was set in 1985 by a steroid-fueled East German team.

Russia Wins Women's 4x100-Meter Relay, Dropped Baton Prevents Jamaican Sweep originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:57:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spain Will Play For the Gold

Tom Ziller — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 10:02:00 EST

Filed under: Europe

This is why everyone's afraid of Spain. The team didn't play particularly symbiotic in its semifinal win over Lithuania, but the sheer amount of talent wearing Spanish white made that irrelevant. Pau Gasol, the second leading scorer of the tournament, scored 19. Rudy Fernandez, who got clocked in the third and looked somewhere between dizzy and asleep on the bench as a masseuse worked on his neck, dominated the fourth quarter. On the night, he had 18 points in 27 minutes.

Ricky Rubio -- who played big minutes in the absence of injured Jose Calderon, even starting the second half -- was unspectacular in total. His fundamentals leave much to be desired at this point, as would be expected for a 17-year-old apprentice. He did, however, frustrate the spit out of Sarunas Jasikevicius on at least a few occasions. In one case the elfish Rubio drew a foul on Saras near the end of the first half by kicking out his leg on a jumper. Jasikevicius looked like he could stab fair Ricky. (Of course, Jasikevicius often looks like he could stab somebody.)

One thing which will be sure to cause non-Ricky partisans annoyance in the NBA: he draws really odd fouls. As a devoted Kevin Martin fan, I know how rooting for a slight guy who draws fouls with crafty behavior can put you at odds with other fans. Ricky takes this to the extreme. He molested Rimantas Kaukenas in the third, near midcourt. Kaukenas got called for the foul. He looked as if he'd punt Rubio into the third row.

Linas Kleiza was not a factor, except when he was missing shots and getting called for a (dubious) "unsportsmanlike foul" on Pau with less than five minutes left in the game. In Kleiza's stead, Simas Jasaitis of Tau Ceramica stepped up, hitting 5-of-7 on threes through the third quarter for a team high 19 points (matched by Jasikevicius). Jasaitis's biggest shot, however, failed in the late fourth, and basically became the knock-out punch for Lithuania.

Tattoo of the games: Robertas Javtokas's shark. It's too bad the Spurs have abandoned him as a prospect following his motorcycle accident a few years ago. That tat would fit right in with Manu's bald spot, T-Pizzle's rap career and Duncan's weekly D&D game. (Also, in a bit of actual analysis: Javtokas was a beast on both ends. He and Saras have a strong connection, and Rob's red elbowbands definitely help matters.)

Spain Will Play For the Gold originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Fri, 22 Aug 2008 10:02:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Former Yugoslavia Republics Playing Water Polo Games Outside the Pool

Sportz Assassin — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:36:00 EST

Filed under: Beijing, Europe, USA

The United States will play Serbia in the semifinals of men's water polo. While the American men have had a nice ride to this point, the Serbs have had quite a journey as well.

See, Serbia was part of one of the world's best water polo teams in Athens. Serbia and Montenegro were one nation then ... and they finished with the silver medal. In 2006, Montenegro declared their independence and split up the talent among two countries.

Three countries who were part of the former Yugoslavia are in the water polo field. Montenegro was in Group A ... while both Serbia and Croatia (the top ranked team in the world) were in Group B. Croatia and Serbia have had a bit of gamesmanship during preliminary play that has effected Montenegro.

In group A, Montenegro struggled to a surprising third place finish. Hungary, the defending gold medalists, finished atop the group standings.

Over in Group B, Croatia beat Serbia 11-8 ... giving them the tiebreaker. However, a surprising loss to the United States (whose only loss was to -- you guessed it -- Serbia) meant Croatia couldn't win the group title. That would mean that Croatia could finish second and have to face Montenegro in the first round of the medal tournament ... with Hungary awaiting the winner.

Seeing this, Serbia surprisingly were upset by a suspect Italy team 13-12. That meant Serbia avoided that draw ... and would face Spain with the United States facing the winner.

Croatia lost to Montenegro in the opening round of medal play, 7-6, and have now cried foul. They think that Serbia (who trounced Spain, 9-5) threw the match against Italy in order to get a better playoff draw. Serbian players say otherwise:

"No, no, no. We didn't do that," said Serbian center forward Dusko Pijetlovic, who led his team with four goals. "We went into the match against Italy relaxed about winning or losing. That's why we lose."

This isn't something new in the Olympics. Many people felt that Spain didn't bring their best effort against the Redeem Team in men's basketball because they wanted to avoid Argentina in the second round of the medal tournament. There is nothing wrong with trying to get the best draw you can because, ultimately, winning a gold medal is more important than winning all your group games.

Former Yugoslavia Republics Playing Water Polo Games Outside the Pool originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:36:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Argentina Finishes Greece in Insane Fashion

Tom Ziller — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:10:00 EST

Filed under: Americas, Europe

There have been three real tight games in the Olympic men's basketball tournament, but the Argentina-Greece has been without doubt the most entertaining. There were something like 179 lead changes. Greece and Argentina traded spurts through the first three quarters. On the backs of Carlos Delfino and Manu Ginobili, Argentina took slight control in the fourth. But Greece stuck close, nailing improbable three after improbable three.

The most improbable came with 30 seconds left, the shot clock winding down and Argentina up by five. Panagiotis Vasilopoulos (!) banks in an off-balance trey. Argentina by two. A difference of six seconds between the shot clock and game clock. After a timeout, Manu handles the ball up high. He begins his move with about 12 seconds left, steps back and shoots a three. Clank. Greece captures the rebound and -- down two -- races up the court. With three ticks left, Vassilo Spanoulis takes a contested three from the top of the key. Clank. Luis Scola bats the ball around and ... game.

Manu almost saw his team get eliminated by a point after that miss. Given Greece's earlier luck from behind the arc, Spanoulis's shot looked good when it left his hands. The utter ecstacy after the buzzer shown by Argentina looked more like excitement than relief. It tells me this team won't be afraid of the Americans on Friday (in fairness, the Australians weren't afraid either). Argentina might have gotten away by the skin of their scalps, but it was because Greece played phenomenal more than Argentina being a step behind its 2004 version.

If either of Friday's games are anything like Argentina-Greece, we're in for some treats.

Argentina Finishes Greece in Insane Fashion originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gold Medal Winning Englishman Honors His Country, Acts Like a Druken Englishman

Shane Bacon — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:57:00 EST

Filed under: Europe

For most people, winning an Olympic medal would give you cause for celebration. For the British, having two eyes and the ability to intake oxygen is cause for celebration. Bradley Wiggins, an Englishman with two gold medals, landed the perfect storm.

Being extremely frisky and adventurous, Wiggins was in an area of Beijing labeled London House, set up as a promotional area for the 2012 games, and decided that truly celebrating meant rolling over the bonnet of a taxi cab.

A British Olympic Association spokeswoman said: "He was at London House yesterday celebrating his achievements and rolled over the bonnet of a parked taxi that was waiting outside.

"The driver was not very happy and got out and there were some police officers already there who spoke to the driver. It ended up very good-natured with photos being taken of him, the driver and his medals."

Wiggins is lucky the games were in Beijing and not Singapore. Sure, rolling over a cab will get you dropped on the spot, but just being out on the town with your medals will get you 20 lashes.

Gold Medal Winning Englishman Honors His Country, Acts Like a Druken Englishman originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:57:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Heptathlon Silver Medalist Lyudmila Blonska Tests Positive Again

Michael David Smith — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:09:00 EST

Filed under: Europe

In 2004, Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine received a two-year suspension from international track and field after she tested positive for steroids.

She was reinstated in 2006, kept competing, made the Ukrainian Olympic team, and she won the silver medal in the heptathlon. And now she's tested positive again. If her "B" sample also turns up positive, she'll be stripped of her silver and permanently banned. But some competitors are wondering why she was allowed to compete at all.

The New York Times reports:

Kelly Sotherton of Britain was an outspoken critic of Blonska being allowed to serve only a two-year ban.
"I'm not happy that she competed again," Sotherton said last summer after Blonska finished second and Sotherton third. "We have rules in our country that we abide by, we don't bring anybody who cheated previously so why should any other country? That needs to change."

I'm not sure I would support a lifetime ban for a first positive test, as Sotherton seems to be saying Blonska should have received. But if Blonska didn't learn her lesson from the two-year suspension, it does raise the question of whether that suspension was enough.

Heptathlon Silver Medalist Lyudmila Blonska Tests Positive Again originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:09:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watching Team USA Win by 49 Points Is Fun but Also Kind of Boring

Enrico Campitelli — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:51:00 EST

Filed under: Americas, China, Europe, USA

FanHouse blogger Enrico Campitelli Jr. is on the scene in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics.

Before coming to Beijing for the games, all of the buzz in my group of travelers was about trying to score the hot events. Right near the top of the list was a ticket to see Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and the rest of the 2008 USA basketball team play. The opponent didn't really matter.

I was lucky enough to score a seat in the second row of the upper bowl of Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium to watch as Team USA made Dirk Niwitzki and the German team look like a third world country. The US squad won by forty-nine.

Sure the high flying dunks and attempted alley-oops off the backboard were entertaining but after the US had a twenty-five plus point lead things got a bit boring. Should a fan in attendance simply marvel at the display or hope for a more competitive game? I say both.

The second game of the double header was Argentina vs. Russia which proved to be a much more hard fought game that went down to the final minutes, something hard to find in Olympic Basketball.

Argentina's Andres Nocioni led the way and helped them put away the Russians who put up a tough fight to the end.

The biggest commotion of the two game set was clearly when the crowd realized there was a soccer legend in the arena. Argentina's great Diego Maradona was there to cheer on his boys against the Russians. Once the Chinese realized who he was, or simply that he was someone famous, they mobbed his section in an attempt to take photos of the once great soccer star. Security was forced to move Diego to the media section for some peace.

The crowd for the USA vs. Germany game was silent. By my estimates, 75-80% of the crowd was Chinese and they didn't seem too interested in cheering for either team. The loudest cheers I heard were when walking out of the venue, the entire crowd started doing the one "Jai-Yo!" cheer led by a volunteer with a megaphone. I thought I was leaving a Phish concert or something in Camden.

Watching Team USA Win by 49 Points Is Fun but Also Kind of Boring originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:51:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Olympic 5 Things: Lithuania vs China

Tom Ziller — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:45:00 EST

Filed under: Asia, Europe

During the remainder of the Olympic men's basketball tournament, FanHouse will give you 5 Things to watch for in each game.

Will Yao play mad? On Monday, Chinese coach Jonas Kazlauskas held Yao Ming to seven minutes in the second half. Yao was furious. We assume he's gotten over things. If he hasn't? Yao rarely plays angry; he's an extremely mature fellow, typically calm and reserved, unless he's getting mauled on the court. But he's had a bit of an edge to him this week. He's barked at Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue more than he ever has in Chuck Hayes' presence. He looked like he wanted to punch Kazlauskas when he was removed. He didn't talk to reporters. I've only seen Yao under the spell of bloodlust once, in Sacramento last season as some combination of Mikki Moore and (surprise!) Ron Artest aggravated the snot out of the big guy. He was ineffective and eventually got ejected. I imagine things are fine on Team China now. If there are, however, raw nerves, Yao might either play with a fire we haven't seen ... or he might be distracted into malperformance.

Trade secrets. One more Kaslauskas note: this Coach K is Lithuanian, and coached the Lithuanian national team until 2001, and knows the games of many of Lithuania's top players well. That sort of trade secret thing won't work without talent ... with China has with Yao and sometimes Yi. As a longtime Oakland Raider fan (pity me), remember the Jon Gruden Super Bowl.

Did Lithuania bluff against Australia? The Lithuanians got absolutely murdered by Australia. The consensus is that the team didn't quite tank the game (nothing was at stake), but Lithuania didn't go full-brew either. If you're of the mind the team tried close to its best and still came up with the pitiful result, you'd be wary of Lithuania, who boasts only the sixth best efficiency differential of The Games, behind even Greece (who has not been impressive). If the Australia loss was a fluke owed to boredom and lookingforwardedness (aw yeah! Oxford word of the year), Lithuania's record looks much better, and China would look to be a smashed gourd coming right up.

Linas Watch. My friend Matt Moore has helped preach the Gospel of Linas Kleiza; the young Nug has been a bucket-getting ox, I tell you. That is, of course, what he does in the NBA as well. The only difference in international competition is that he actually gets plenty of minutes. Kleiza is Shane Battier's long-lost shadow, twins in threeball range and bench-pressing prowess. But Battier opts to defend nastier than any Blue Devil in history while Linas shows the dark side of gunnerdom. If this were 2000 and Vince Carter were defending him, Kleiza could win the tournament by himself.

Rest for the weary. The Olympic schedule isn't terribly repressive: there are no back-to-backs, and everyone has one rest day between games, no excuses. But some cats are playing a ton of minutes. With deep Spain possibly looming on Friday, Lithuania would do well to put China away early, if possible. The next two tests are hard enough without spilling blood in the quarterfinals against a team Lithuania should be able to handle handily.

Olympic 5 Things: Lithuania vs China originally appeared on Olympics FanHouse on Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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