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Entries Tagged as 'Rio Olympics'

Bolt Fatigue

August 14th, 2016 · No Comments · Beijing Olympics, Olympics, Rio Olympics

I was in the stadium when Usain Bolt of Jamaica won his first Olympic gold medal — at the Bird’s Nest in Beijing 2008. He is up to seven Olympic golds now, including three successive 100-meter triumphs, and I’m getting tired of him and the formulaic post-race routine he has been inflicting on us for […]

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The Mixed Blessing of BBC Olympics Coverage

August 12th, 2016 · 1 Comment · Olympics, Rio Olympics

Here in France, we have been watching the Rio 2016 Olympics on the British Broadcasting Company. The BBC, that is. Or the Beeb, as some call it. We were pleased that the television system at the three-unit building we live in, here in semi-rural France, has a smattering of British TV — led by the […]

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The Olympics, Gabby Douglas and National Anthem Protocol

August 11th, 2016 · 2 Comments · Olympics, Rio Olympics

Gabby Douglas of the U.S. Olympic women’s gymnastics team found herself in a spot of bother when some viewers did not like her attitude (as in, posture) on the victory stand during the playing of the national anthem at Rio 2016. This was after the Americans won the women’s team gold medal on Tuesday night. […]

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Phelps, Biles and What Body Types Mean in Sports

August 9th, 2016 · No Comments · Beijing Olympics, Rio Olympics

Nature or nurture? How important is the body you were born with, when it comes to sports excellence? Is it crucial? Or is it just one factor in a big bag of factors? The successes at the Rio 2016 Olympics tonight of American gymnast Simone Biles and American swimmer Michael Phelps, each of whom reinforced […]

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Calling Out Drug Cheats at the Pool in Rio

August 7th, 2016 · No Comments · Rio Olympics

I love this story. Or collection of stories. It is about swimmers who have served bans for illicit performance-enhancing substances … being called out by their peers at Rio 2016. While the world watches. An Australian has generated the most heat by calling Chinese swim hero Sun Yang a drug cheat — to his face […]

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Pele’s No-Show for Olympic Cauldron Duty

August 5th, 2016 · No Comments · Rio Olympics, soccer

I suppose everyone in the States who cares about such things saw the Rio 2016 Opening Ceremonies via tape delay tonight. It appears to have been the usual four hours of mind-numbing singing and dancing and people whirling in bright colors, including two hours of the Parade of Nations (anyone else old enough to remember […]

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Rio 2016: Least Anticipated Modern Summer Olympics?

August 4th, 2016 · No Comments · Olympics, Rio Olympics

Maybe things are different, back in the States, where NBC must be promoting the Rio Olympics like crazy and Comcast is offering a plan to make another 11 channels of Summer Games available. Maybe you are sick to death of all the promos, you’ve seen so many. Maybe you have heard all you need to […]

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Eight Summer Olympics Is Enough

August 3rd, 2016 · No Comments · Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Baseball, Basketball, Beijing Olympics, Dodgers, Football, Journalism, Lakers, London 2012, NBA, Newspapers, Olympics, Rio Olympics, soccer, Sports Journalism, The National, UAE, World Cup

Rio 2016 is the first Summer Olympics I will not attend since Moscow 1980. Yes, it was a good run. I made it to eight consecutive Summer Games. Beginning with Los Angeles 1984 and continuing with Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012. The first four with […]

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Cheating Russia Should be Banned from Rio

July 18th, 2016 · No Comments · Olympics, Rio Olympics, Sports Journalism

The most frustrating aspect of the nearly 40 years I spent in sports journalism was how the blight of doping always lurked in the rear-view mirror. We sped up, slowed down, turned left, turned right, and we could never shake the druggies. Eventually, we suspected nearly everyone — which was unfortunate because I’m pretty sure […]

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Russia and a Fitting Penalty for State-Sponsored Sports Cheating

May 13th, 2016 · No Comments · Olympics, Rio Olympics

The Russia of Vladimir Putin is not a nice place. It may rival Soviet Russia as a bellicose polity that wants to make the world darker and dirtier … one that will stop at nothing to promoting itself and its agenda. In sports, that means drugs. Lots and lots of performing-enhancing drugs (PEDs) for their […]

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