So This is What a Bronze Medal is Good For

Source: TMZ

Apparently athletes aren't allowed to have fun after they win medals.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — American halfpipe bronze medalist Scotty Lago volunteered to leave the Olympics on Friday after risque pictures of him showed up on the Internet.

Lago, who was awarded his bronze medal Thursday night, was at a party, wearing a Team USA T-shirt when somebody snapped a photo of a woman kneeling below Lago's waist to kiss his medal. That picture, and another showing him sticking the medal in the woman's mouth while teammate Greg Bretz looks on, appeared Friday on the TMZ Web site.

Lago apologized to officials at the U.S. Olympic Committee and the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association and decided to go home.

In the aftermath of several out-of-competition incidents in Turin, one of which resulted in the dismissal of freestyle skier Jeret Peterson, the USOC has made extra efforts to emphasize athletes be on their best behavior when they're at the Olympics.

Before the Beijing Games, the USOC began its "Ambassador Program" that athletes are made to complete before they travel to the games.

Lago was a member of a group of snowboarders called the "Frends," that included Kevin Pearce and Danny Davis, both of whom were badly injured before the Olympics and couldn't make the trip.

"I put all that aside and rode," Lago said.

He said he put together one of the best runs of his life to win the surprise bronze on a night overshadowed by Shaun White and his gold-medal performance.

OMG, I am citing TMZ on Sportz related issues! And why is it that even before I saw the pictures, I knew the girl would be Asian. Just a hunch, but we're becoming stereotypical sex tramps. Way to go girl!

And btw, the Finnish guy won silver in this event that Lago got Bronze. It's the only medal Finland has won so far! He should be getting every girl in Finland!

Iraqi female wrestlers

Every Olympic cycle you hear "Why is this athlete allowed to compete if they finish so far back dead last" or "Why go if you can't win a medal, it's pointless".

So here is a story well in advance. If you ever see an Iraqi female wrestler in the Summer Olympics of 2012, 2016 or later, even if she finishes dead last, you will understand this wonderful achievement and the barriers she had to breakdown to get there.

Pimpin' For The Olympics

Source: The Times

Some athletes borrow to fund their training, others depend on supportive family.

Logan Campbell, a New Zealand tae kwon do champion has chosen a more unorthodox way of funding his bid for the 2012 London Olympics. He has opened a brothel in Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand.

The 23-year-old, who finished in the top 16 in the tae kwon do featherweight division at the Beijing Olympics, turned pimp after funding dried up and he feared he was in danger of missing the games in 2012, he told the New Zealand newspaper the Sunday Star Times.

The Beijing campaign cost about $NZ150,000, most of which came from his parents. His father, Max, an auctioneer, worked two jobs to get him to Beijing and Mr Campbell said that he was tired of being a burden on his parents.

His hopes that his new venture will earn him the $NZ300,000 he needs to be a serious medal contender in London after being beaten in Beijing by the eventual bronze medallist Sung Yu-Chi of Taiwanto.

Mr Campbell, who has taken time off from training to run his high-class gentleman's club, insists that he is not really a pimp.

"When people think of a pimp they think of a guy standing around on a street corner with gold chains. Pimps are more tough-type guys. I'm an owner of an escort agency," he told the newspaper.

He added that he and his business partner Hugo Phillips, 20, employed only "smart, attractive" girls. "We don't treat them like pieces of meat," he said.

That's actually pretty cool. I don't have any problem with the sex/brothel part of this story since prostitution is legal in New Zealand and opening a brothel would be no different then opening a restaurant.

My problem with this story is the Olympics. $150,000NZ for a trip to the Olympics? That's insane. Whatever happened to the Olympic ideal and athletes from everywhere coming together for the Games. For athletes from countries poorer than NZ, their government must be paying for them.

The Olympics just aren't good anymore. Too commercialized and too expensive. These poor athletes have to spend their whole life saving just so the host city can build a kickass stadium that only gets used for 2 weeks?

It's quite a sacrifice to spend $150000 for a single taekwondo tournament. How long is a taekwondo match? 3 minutes? Can you imagine being a poor 100m runner. One heat, 10 seconds and you're done. If I went to the Olympics I'd play in a team sport. Like field hockey so I can play alot of games and make my trip worthwhile :)

Michelle Kwan Plots Return to the Ice

I want to be important again!

Source: People

Last weekend, champion skater Michelle Kwan worked along side NBC broadcaster Bob Costas covering the figure skating world championships in Los Angeles – but at next year's Vancouver Olympics, she could back on the ice competing again.

"There are all these rumors about me coming back, but yes, it's a possibility," she tells PEOPLE. "After college and the traveling I did for the state department, I came home to Los Angeles and I'm training again. I got back my triple jumps. I'm going to get in good shape and make my decision from there."

Kwan, 28, is a five-time world champion and two-time Olympic medalist. (She won a silver in '98 and a bronze in '02). The skater, who was forced to withdraw from the 2006 Olympics due to a hip injury, would have to qualify by competing in January's U.S. national championships, where she'd need to finish in the top two to solidify a place on the team. If she doesn't compete, expect to see Kwan in Vancouver as a skating analyst for NBC and performing in ice shows. "Touring, competing – the possibilities are everything.”

She's had terrible luck in the Olympics and is past her prime. Some people just are not destined to win Olympic Gold (like Kurt Browning). If she's coming back to enjoy the competition again and hear the crowd's standing ovation one last time then fine. But if she's coming back for a shot at gold, she's got no chance. Girls today are doing two triple axels in the long program. Unheard of in Kwan's era. There's no way she could compete with that. It's over Michelle. She should take the Kristi Yamaguchi route, get married, have a nice family, continue skating in exhibitions and for the circus, win Dancing With the Stars etc etc.. That's a much more fulfilling life than praticing 30 hours a day for one last shot at Olympic glory that frankly nobody cares about...

Quick (without googling) who won the Ladies Figure Skating Olympic Gold in Torino 2006? Nobody knows.

Best Halloween Costume 2008

What a wonderful costume that I found while reading Metrodad

The only time we worried about possibly offending someone was when we ran into a group of Chinese tourists. As the fifteen of them passed the Peanut, BossLady and I tepidly held our breaths. At first, they seemed very serious and looked at the Peanut very closely. When she turned around and they saw her fake birth certificate for the first time, we were absolutely sure they were going to be offended. So imagine our surprise when they suddenly started laughing hysterically and asked, through their interpreter, whether they could take photos of her. Naturally, we let out a sigh of relief and obliged.

I'm very glad there was no trouble and that the tourist found humour and played along. I wonder how people in China reacted to the original stories. I'm sure they are proud of their athletes but are embarrassed about the whole under aged issue.

No Smoking

Smoking ban for Chinese capital

BWHAHAHA good luck with this. If anything can bring down communism it may be a group of pissed off smokers!

Keep sweeping your problems under the rug China. No one will notice anything in August.