Days 1-2 Olympic update

Lochte golden, Phelps falls flat

- Michael Phelps finished fourth in the 400m individual medley on Saturday, while U.S. teammate Ryan Lochte finished first by a long ways. Lochte, who many think is the best swimmer in the world right now, (He does too, and is quoted as saying "This is my time") had a massive coming out party winning the race by three and a half seconds.
- The next day Phelps and Lochte, along with Nathan Adrian and Cullen Jones took silver in the 4x100 freestyle relay. Phelps swam the fastest leg of the relay for the Americans and the second fastest throughout the race.
- That race was the rematch to the dramatic 4x100 freestyle in Beijing in 2008 between the US and France, when Jason Lezak overcame a large deficit to win the race for the Americans by this much. This time Lochte lost a full second to the anchor swimmer for France, Yannick Agnel, and ended up losing by almost half a second.


American wins medal for 5th straight Olympics



- While the Olympic sport of shooting doesn't quite rival swimming, track or gymnastics in popularity or prestige, it nonetheless can boast the single greatest Olympic champion in U.S. history.  Kimberly Rhode became the first American ever to win individual medals in five straight Olympics, after a dazzling performance Sunday.
- Rhode won the women's skeet shooting Sunday, setting the Olympic record with 99 points, meaning that she missed once in 100 shots.  (Afterwards, she deadpanned, "I don't know what happened on that one.  It gives me something to shoot for next time.")  She was eight targets better than silver medalist Wei Ning of China and nine better than Slovakia's Danka Bartekova, who won a shootout for the bronze.
- Rhode won gold as a teenager in 1996, took bronze (while still a teen) in 2000 at Sydney, re-claimed the gold at Athens in 2004, and won a silver at Beijing in 2008.  Since the physical limitations of shooting are less than other sports, she could conceivably compete for another 5-6 Olympics, and it certainly didn't hurt that she was only 13 in 1996 when she won gold, the youngest U.S. Olympic athlete that year.  She doesn't have time to think about future Olympics yet though, as more shooting events remain for her in the coming days.


Overall Olympic update

- The Spanish men's soccer team was shockingly eliminated after failing to score a single goal in a pair of 1-0 defeats.  The team doesn't have many players from its string of 3 straight major championships, but nonetheless was expected to compete with Brazil for the gold medal.  They have a chance to score a goal at least in their last game against Morocco but will not advance regardless of the result.
- U.S. gymnast Jordan Wieber failed to qualify for the all-around event final.  She was the gold medal favorite and didn't perform poorly, finishing 4th overall in qualifying.  But because two of her American teammates finished in the top 3, and only two athletes per country are allowed in the finals, she was left on the outside looking in.
- The Chinese team leads the overall medal count after the first weekend with 12, including 6 golds. The US contingent is second with 11, including 3 golds and Italy is third with 7 medals.
 - There will be 17 more medal events on Monday, and 15 awarded on Tuesday, with the most medals being given out in Judo.

Trade Deadline Moves and Part 2 of the Olympics Preview

Big moves as baseball deadline nears

• Major League Baseball's trade deadline is the end of the month. Teams that are not projecting to make the playoffs are selling players and preparing for next year. Ichiro Suzuki, the long time Seattle Mariner’s right fielder, was traded to the New York Yankees on Monday for a package of minor league pitchers. Ichiro is the most well known Japanese import, joining the Mariners in 2000. He is known as a contact hitter (who regularly got 220-240 hits a season) with blazing speed.
• This season has been his worst season statistically and the move is a late-career effort to win a World Series. The Mariners, a team in rebuild mode, were not in contention for the World Series, while the Yankees are leading their division and are amongst the best teams in baseball. Ichiro will be taking a reduced roll on this team but hopes to win a championship before he retires.
• The other big name on the move was Miami Marlin’s third baseman Hanley Ramirez. The 28 year old former shortstop was traded to the LA Dodgers. Ramirez’s move to third base at the beginning of this season was a resounding flop. Moving to the Dodgers will allow Ramirez to play the position he is more comfortable with, and he will bring with him his significant hitting abilities to the Dodgers who are in need of offensive help.

Olympics starting Friday: Preview Part 2 – WADA and Doping

• WADA, or the World Anti-Doping Agency, announced on Tuesday that 107 Olympic athletes will be held out of this year’s Olympics due to doping (or using steroids to aid their performance).
• Drugs have long been part of the international sports, especially in the Olympics. Each year a number of athletes get caught during competition. WADA is planning on running 5,000 tests throughout the Olympics.
• Ben Johnson is one of the most famous cases of this. In the 1988, the Canadian sprinter, had been battling with American Carl Lewis for the title of fastest man alive. Blowing away the competition in Seoul  with a, then world record, 9.79 second 100-meter dash, Johnson was then found out to have been doping. Stripped of the medal he had won, Johnson was suspended for 3 years. He attempted a comeback in 1992, but failed to make the 100-meter finals.

Scott Collapse and the Stars of Beijing who are back

Els comes from behind to stun in Britain

• Ernie Els was the beneficiary of a late collapse by Adam Scott to come from behind to win the 2012 British Open. Adam Scott, who had had the lead for much of the tournament, had a four stroke lead with four holes left in the tournament. Scott, who has never won a Major Tournament before, is still in search of his elusive first.
• All Scott had to do was shoot three over par over the last four holes of the tournament. He had a 7-foot putt on 18 to force a playoff with Els. However, he pulled the putt to the left and knew he had lost the tournament.
• Els, who has won three major tournaments in the past, is one of the most liked players on the PGA tour. He has worked hard to spread Golf to his home continent of Africa, and to raise awareness for Autism (after his son was diagnosed). He had been having a tough year after two near misses in tournaments, but a collapse by Scott was just what Els needed to get off the hump in 2012.

Olympics starting Friday: Preview Part 1 – Past Champions

• Two weeks ago we discussed the US Men’s Dream team, the returning gold medal squad from the 2008 Summer Olympics. Today we will discuss two of the other big stars from the 2008 Olympics and how they are factoring into the 2012 summer Olympics.
• Beijing was undoubtedly won by Michael Phelps whose 8 gold medals was a record for any single Olympics. After the Olympics ended, Phelps faced a bit of an existential crisis. After getting in a little trouble with the law, Phelps decided to compete in London and his outlook changed. Phelps is back and competing in 7 races in London, needing only three medals to break the Olympic record for career medals. Phelps countryman, Ryan Lochte is expected to be his biggest competition this time through.
• The second biggest name to come out of Beijing was that of Usain Bolt. The Jamaican born sprinter blew away his competition to win the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash and the 4x100 meter dash to win three gold medals. He has competed regularly since then and is one of the favorites to win in England. Bolts countryman Yohan Blake is expected to be his biggest competition this time through.

British Open and Tennis at the Olympics Loses Big Star

British Open Tees Off

• One of the PGA's four major tournaments and the only one to be held outside of the United States, the British Open, teed off on Thursday.
• Englishman Adam Scott leads after one round after shooting a 6 under par. Tiger Woods is tied for 6^th at 3 under par.
• The venue, Royal Lytham & St Anne Golf club, has hosted the British Open 10 times in the past, with the last two winners of the tournament being American born.
• Last year’s winner, Darren Clarke is currently tied for 143 at 6 over par, and looks like he is a long shot to make the cut (the hurdle after Friday when half the field is cut).

Rafa Nadal pulls out of Olympics

• Rafael Nadal, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, pulled out of the London Olympics, which kick off a week from today due to an undisclosed injury.
• The Olympics will be held at the Wimbledon tennis courts. Nadal’s biggest rival throughout his career, Roger Federer, has won 7 Wimbledon tournaments and will likely have a bit of swagger having just won his most recent tournament a few weeks ago.
• The Olympics opening ceremonies, which are set to cost about ₤27 million (pounds), are set for the evening of July 27^th.

Mid July Football Update

RG3 Signs, Luck and others still unsigned

• Robert Griffin III signed his contract with the Washington Redskins. His 4-year $21.1 million deal is the max allowed for the second overall pick due to the new collective bargaining agreement.
• The Redskins, who traded 4 draft picks to the St Louis Rams for the rights to draft Griffin, locked down the contract halfway through their rookie mini-camp. RG3 had been sitting out the camp until his contract situation had been figured out. He can now go in and learn from offensive guru Mike Shannahan.
• Top pick Andrew Luck, as well as 12 of the other 32 first round picks, have yet to sign their contracts.

Bryant allegedly assaults mother

• Yet another chapter has been added to the soap opera that is Dallas Cowboys WR Dez Bryant's NFL career. This week, his mother Angela claimed that he slapped her during an altercation at her house. Bryant's publicist claims that he actually "hit her across the face with his ball cap."
• Bryant is a very talented WR (he was the top wide receiver on the Cowboys in Yards and Catches) but his on-field production is mirrored by off field issues. He was thrown out of a mall in Dallas after an altercation with the local security, he failed to pay a debt accrued for jewelry from a local business and he had a run-in with former Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland who seemingly insulted (this is where it gets ironic) his mother, Angela.

Lin rich, Brees richer

Linsanity on the move

- Jeremy Lin was all over the airwaves last season; a out-of-nowhere star who helped turn the Knicks from a laughingstock to a playoff contender (before he was injured).  Because of his play, he's being rewarded with a new contract, but not from his old team, the New York Knicks.
- Lin signed an offer from the Houston Rockets, and since he's a restricted free agent, the Knicks have the option to match it but sources say that they will not.
- Lin was free to sign an offer from any team in the league, but if New York matched the offer, Lin would have to come back. The Rockets offered Lin so much money however (about $25 million over 3 years) that the Knicks decided not to match.
- The Knicks moved quickly to sign Raymond Felton who played for the Knicks prior to being traded to Denver. Lin moves to Houston where the Rockets hope he will take Yao Ming’s place as the primary Asian face not only for a franchise that has had a very strong presence across the Pacific for years, but for the entire NBA.


Brees signs record deal

- Quick quiz: What is a Super Bowl championship (and the potential for more), an NFL record for passing yards and the on-field orchestrator of one of the best offenses in the game worth?  Well for Drew Brees, the answer was a cool $100 million over 5 years, including $60 million in guaranteed money (if he were to be cut or released for some very unlikely unreason) which doesn't even include his new ride.
- Brees was a free agent and had been tagged as the franchise player, a one year deal that NFL teams have the option of giving to one free agent per year.  However, Brees played under the franchise tag in San Diego and badly injured his shoulder, nearly ending his career, and has vehemently stated that he'd never play under it again.  
- The deal is the richest in NFL history on a per-year basis and keeps together the face of the offense for a team that very much needs him to stay intact.  The Saints have lost their coach for the season, their assistant coach for half the season and multiple defensive players for differing lengths of time due to their recently discovered "bounty program" that rewarded injuries of opposing players.
- Having Brees back won't help the defense, but it's a sorely needed on-field and off-field boost to a team who hasn't worried much about stopping opposing offenses much in the past few years anyway.  If you like football scores that look like basketball scores, watch the Saints in 2012.

MLB back, Dwight still in limbo

Where is Dwight Headed?

- Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard has been the center of the NBA rumor mill for much of the past year and a half. The #1 overall pick in the 2004 draft, Howard has been the best center in the league since the last half of the 2000's decade.
- Howard has repeatedly complained about the lack of a supporting case the Magic have put around him. He promised, in the middle of last season, that he would stay with the Magic through at least the next season. However after that, all indications are that he will be leaving the Magic. Orlando, in an effort to maximize his value to the team, is shopping him around the league for a trade.
- Every team in the league would like to have Howard, but the trade rumors have circled primarily 3 teams. The New Jersey Nets, the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers can provide the most value by sending Andrew Bynum (arguably the second best center in the league) back to Orlando as part of the trade. Where Howard ends up remains to be seen, but there's a good chance he follows the path of another former #1 overall pick at center by the Magic who went to the Lakers, Shaquille O'Neal.


Second half of MLB season begins

- Now that the All-Star game and accompanying break is done, it's time for the MLB season to re-convene.  There were a lot of storylines from the first half, including whether the young Pirates and Nationals (the best teams in the NL) can maintain their divisional leads and make the playoffs. 
- The two teams have traditionally been the worst not only in baseball, but in American professional sports, typically putting up terrible records and neither having made the playoffs in years (Pittsburgh last made it in 1992, Washington in 1981 when the franchise was still in Montreal).  The fact that an extra team from each league will make the playoffs this season (There are two wildcards who will play each other in a one game playoff) certainly can't hurt.
- In the A.L. there are no big surprises, with annual powers Texas and the New York Yankees leading the league with 52 wins apiece but there's still some intrigue. 
- Can Angels outfielder Mike Trout maintain his torrid pace and win the A.L. Batting crown (for highest batting average) and/or stolen base title despite being only 20 years old?  Trout's success is overshadowing his new teammate Albert Pujols who is making $240 million over the next 10 years but is only hitting a pedestrian .268 with 14 home runs this year.

NL cruises in an all-time great's last all-star game

NL shellacks Verlander, AL

• The Detroit Tigers have been a disappointment so far this season and arguably their best player didn't do them or the rest of the American League any favors in the all star game, giving up 5 first inning runs as the National League routed the American League 8-0 for their third straight win.
• Unlike the other sports' all star games, the MLB midseason classic has some actual meaning, as the team who wins the All-Star game automatically gets home field advantage in the World Series (every other sport does it by Winning %).
• The N.L. scored all of their runs off of Verlander and Texas Ranger Matt Harrison.  They also got 2 hits off of the White Sox starter Chris Sale but didn't record a single hit off of 6 of the 9 other pitchers for the A.L.  They hit an unusually high number of triples (3) but only one home run, by game MVP Melky Cabrera of the San Francisco Giants.  Matt Cain, also of the Giants, was the official winning pitcher.
• On Monday night, Prince Fielder won the home run derby, defeating Jose Bautista in the finale.


Wednesday Spotlight: Chipper Jones

• In last night’s All-Star game, Larry "Chipper" Jones got a hit in the 6th inning making him the first player 40 years or older to get a hit in the All-Star game since Cal Ripken Jr. did it in 2001. This All-Star game will be the last in a 19 year career that Jones has said will end after this season.
• Jones, who has played for the Atlanta Braves his entire career, has been an eight time All-Star, a key contributor for 12 straight division titles from 1993-2005 (there was no official season in 1994 due to a strike), 3 National League championship teams, was the National League MVP in 1999 and a member of the 1995 World Series Championship team.
• Chipper was the first overall pick in the 1990 draft and went on to win Rookie of the Year in 1995. Drafted as a shortstop, Jones played a majority of his career at third base.
• Jones, who will finish his career as third all time in Home Runs by a switch hitter (a player who can bat both left handed and right handed), is considered one of the best hitters in the history of the game and definitely of his era. He was the NL batting champ in 2008, and is a 2-time Silver Slugger award winner (for the best offensive player at his position).
• Jones is currently 33rd all-time with 460 home runs, and only needs 5 more to reach 31st or 15 more to reach 28th.  Also, he is currently 67th on the all-time hits list with 2,670 hits.

Usual suspects win Wimbledon, U.S. ready to ball

Federer, Serena win Wimbledon again 


- Roger Federer and Serena Williams won Wimbledon over the weekend and if this sounds familiar, it's because it's happened quite a few times before.  Federer defeated Andy Murray in 4 sets to move from #3 to #1 in the World Rankings.  Murray had never won a major before and had a chance to become the first British man to win Wimbledon (which is played in Great Britain) since Fred Perry in 1936. 
- Murray is a good player but has had the unfortunate luck to be good while possibly the greatest trifecta of players ever (Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic) is dominating the sport.
- On the women's side, Serena won in 3 sets against #3 seeded Agnieszka Radwańska, who became the first Polish born player to reach a Grand Slam singles final.  To say Williams has had some success at Wimbledon would be an understatement; it was her 5th Wimbledon singles title (she also won the doubles title with her sister, Venus, their 13th Grand Slam doubles title).  
- Federer's title was his 7th at Wimbledon, tying Pete Sampras and his 17th Grand Slam.  Additionally, next Monday will be Federer's 287th week ranked at #1, which will move him past Sampras's record of 286 weeks atop the rankings.


U.S. Olympic Basketball Roster Finalized

- After a two day camp in Las Vegas, the U.S. Olympic Basketball Association named their final roster of 12 players who will represent America in this year's Olympics, which starts in London in a few weeks.
- A majority of the team was already decided, but 3 spots on the roster were up for grabs at this camp. Blake Griffin, James Harden and Andre Iguodala grabbed the last three spots on the team. Those three bring an infusion of youth to the team that has a lot of mainstays from the 2008 squad.
- Joining those three will be many of the usual suspects. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, and Deron Williams will be on the team. 3 time NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant and his teammates Russell Westbrook and Harden are all first timers on the Olympic squad.
- The Center position, always a huge strength for the U.S. in the past, is a bit of a mystery this year as both centers from the last Olympics (Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh) are hurt and there's no Shaq or Tim Duncan in sight either.  Tyson Chandler and Kevin Love will attempt to hold down the spot against the best the rest of the world has to offer.

Nash dealt, Wimbledon ending

Nash dealt to Lakers

• Steve Nash, one of the three greatest point guards ever, arguably the greatest pure shooter of all time and a back to back NBA MVP is on the move.  Nash was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers Wednesday night for a bevy of draft picks in a deal that instantly supercharges L.A.'s stagnant offense and gives them life against the Western Conference's elite teams. 
• Nash, also an 8 time all-star will presumably team with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum to form a fearsome starting lineup.  If you include Metta World Peace, you have 5 starters who have all been all-stars at some point (although World Peace is far removed from that level of play). 
• Nash is one of the best Free Throw shooters in the league and is a phenomenal jump shooter as well, but his true talent lies in creating shots for his teammates.  He is #5 all time in assists, but will move to #3 next season as long as he plays at least half the season or so, passing Magic Johnson and Mark Jackson. 
• Nash's one weakness is his defense, and specifically his ability to stay in front of more agile point guards like Russell Westbrook and Tony Parker.  But the Lakers have a huge frontline of Bynum and Gasol who will help protect the rim from players who get past Nash.
• The Suns are now fully in rebuilding mode, with only one legitimate frontline starter (Marcin Gortat) who is still a bit of an unknown to the casual fan.  They've signed star SG Eric Gordon from the Hornets but since Gordon is a restricted free agent, the Hornets can match an offer from any team, which they are expected to do.


Wimbledon Finals this Weekend

• The Women’s finals of the 2012 Wimbledon tournament is set, with Serena Williams taking on Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.  While Radwanska is the #3 player in the world, she has never even been to the finals of a Grand Slam event before and has only 3 singles title in any events.  Williams, on the other hand, has 13 Grand Slam victories and 41 titles overall, and is currently ranked 6th in the world.
• On the Men’s side a couple pretty good players who picked the wrong era to be good at tennis are looking to break through to win their first Grand Slam Championship. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Murray have been running up against the three-headed monster of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic their whole careers, but the winner of their match will make it to the finals.  Nadal was stunned early in the tournament, which makes this possible.
• On the other side of the bracket, Federer and Djokovic will play in the semi-finals. These two have combined for 21 Slam Championships and whoever wins will be the heavy favorite against either Tsonga or Murray.  Djokovic has had recent success against the man who will probably go down as the greatest tennis player of all time, winning 6 of his last 7 matches against Federer.
• Murray, an English citizen, is trying to win his first Grand Slam event in his homeland (and probably in front of William & Kate, who have watched most of the tournament).

Happy 4th of July!!!

Sportico is taking the day off to eat BBQ, sit out by the pool and be generally patriotic.  But since you're here anyway, we'll at least give you a good link to watch some fireworks.

Texas Rangers Lead All-Star Team

• On Sunday, Major League Baseball announced the All-Star teams for its July 10th mid-season interleague exhibition game. The starting rosters are picked by a fan vote, and the rest of the rosters are filled out by a combination of the team’s coach (the two managers from last year’s World Series manage the following year’s All-Star teams) and the league office.
• The Texas Rangers lead all teams with 7 submissions, including a team high 3 starters. Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton led all vote getters with more than 11 million. The New York Yankees were the second most represented team in the American League with 3 players (including a 4th, pitcher CC Sabathia, who will not play due to injury.
• San Francisco has three starters for the National League, followed by St Louis with two. Kansas City, the host of this year’s All-Star game, will be represented by Designated Hitter Billy Butler. It is a rule that each team in the Majors must be represented by at least one player. The winning league of the All-Star game will have home field advantage in this year’s World Series.


Spain Wins Euro Cup

• The Spanish National team is quickly proving themselves to be one of the greatest teams of all time, proving their dominance by crushing Italy to win the 2012 Euro Cup. Using a game dictated on a series of short passes, Spain was able to defeat Italy by a score of 4-0, the most lopsided score ever for a Euro Cup finale.
• The game was not quite as lopsided as the score may indicate. For the first 65 minutes of the game it was a relatively close 2-0 score, until the Italians lost one of their players due to injuries. Already having used up their allotted three substitutions, Italy was forced to play a man down and quickly gave up two more goals.
• Spain continues its tear through the soccer world. After breaking a 44-year drought in major competition in the 2008 Euro Cup. Spain then went on to win the 2010 World Cup.
• Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas, the captain of the team, recorded his 100th international victory. While teammate Fernando Torres became the first player to ever score in two Euro League finals matches.  No team has ever won 3 combined Euro Cups/World Cups in a row and if Spain wins the World Cup again in 2014 in Brazil, they will unquestionably be the greatest team all time in the world's most hotly contested sport.