May-Treanor, Walsh Get Their Record Streak Broken

By BJ

In the present decade, a firm argument can be built over either Roger Federer or Tiger Woods as the most dominant athlete, but can I toss the beach volleyball duo, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh in the discussion? In a year-long streak that ended today, May-Treanor and Walsh won 112 consecutive matches and 19 consecutive tournaments, including throughout the Olympics, the longest streaks in beach volleyball history. In comparison, Rafael Nadal won 81 consecutive matches on clay in a streak that ended last year, still a far reach from the 112 won by the 2-time gold medalists.

The No. 3 seed Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh won an exciting back-and-forth game over May and Walsh in Saturday’s Crocs AVP final 21-19, 10-21, 25-23 with the match being decided on the 11th championship point. Arguably the greatest beach volleyball duo of all-time can start a new streakat the Santa Barbara Open next weekend.

Atlanta Dream Challenging for WNBA’s Worst Regular Season Record

With the WNBA season winding down, the Atlanta Dream have had a nightmare of a season, sporting a record of 3-29 – a .103 winning percentage. Not much good can be said about the expansion team that began the season 0-17 (a WNBA record for consecutive losses and most losses to open a season), then won three of their next five before dropping their last seven.

To compare the almost unfathomable winning percentage, the Miami Heat finished the 2008 season 15-67, a .183 winning percentage, while the Miami Dolphins’ 1-15 record last year tops the cake with a .063 percentage. Man, while Boston/New England is enjoying an awesome year in sports, Miami is really sucking hard.

The 1998 Washington Mystics hold the infamous record for worst WNBA season at 3-27 (.100), meaning the Dream has to drop their last five games to dip below this mark.

Rodman Greatest Athlete Jackson Ever Coached

Michael Jordan. Kobe Bryant. Shaquille O’Neal. Scottie Pippen. None of them were uttered by legendary coach Phil Jackson during a speech when talking about the greatest athlete he ever coached. That honor went to bad boy Dennis Rodman, whose endurance really impressed Jackson. And with that, a tribute to the rebounding machine. (Kobe can’t be happy about this.)

DLH and Pacquiao Set for Dec. 6

By BJ

PacMan and DLH Set to Square Off Dec. 6

The revenue split details, the only obstruction from the two superstars meeting in the ring, were not released (although it appears Manny Pacquiao gave in on this issue), but Oscar De La Hoya announced Thurs. that the two will fight at 147 pounds, an uncomfortable weight for both boxers. De La Hoya hasn’t fought at 147 since 2001 while Pacquiao will move up two weight classes from his most recent fight in June, from where he already moved up to lightweight. Mark your calendars, the biggest fight of 2008 will be on Dec. 6, which now might not be Oscar’s final fight according to some recent remarks.

“My focus is my training and my next fight,” he said. “I’m not going to talk about retirement. I’m not going to think about retirement. I want to be focused on my job in the ring and we’ll see after the fight how I feel. Let’s just say my foot got caught in the door.”

Klitschko Sets Title Date with Peter

Vitali Klitschko, the WBC heavyweight champion emeritus, is ready to return amidst heavy scrutiny ahead of the Oct. 11 fight. Klitschko (35-2, 34 KOs), whose last fight was four years ago, has a history of pulling out of fights due to injuries, something current champion Samuel Peter (30-1, 23 KOs) is concerned about. But Peter, whose one loss can be credited to Vitali himself, better listen carefully to his good friend Lennox Lewis, who handed Klitschko one of his two losses and has given Peter tips on how to beat him.

Chad Ocho Cinco

The Bengals’ attention-whore of a receiver Chad Johnson is no more. He legally changed his name to Chad Javon Ocho Cinco, and I assume he would now get to sport the Ocho Cinco on the back of his jersey all the time. Good for you, Chad.

Brett Rogers Shreds Slice and Shamrock

With Kevin “Kimbo” Slice scheduled to fight Ken Shamrock on Oct. 4, up-and-comer Brett Rogers had some choice words about the two. Rogers is 8-0 with 8 KOs, but his opponents’ combined record is 34-43 and like Slice, Rogers has yet to prove he has a ground game. His blog post below:

“As for Oct 4th; that was our spot. Shamrock with his name and giant ego butted in line to get a slice of Kevin. At 103 years of age Ken usurped our rightful place against the YouTube champ. Our sincerest hope is that Ken whips Kimbo and then we can finally euthanize the “World’s Most Dangerous Man” and relegate him to some MMA dinosaur exhibit. Maybe taxidermy him and (Dan) Severn and place them on a rotating pedestal where they can endless circle each other.

If Ken proves to be more sham [than] rock and Fergi beats him, then the Slice hype grows even greater. Dude is already more myth [than] Sasquatch, Chupacabra and a [expletive] unicorn combined. Kevin is the black Yeti.

Kimbo made it a point to go frontin’ to our boys at Big Black. But that street thug B.S. might work well with the fan bois and the Internet dorks who think your street cred means something; but Son … Brett comes from Cabrini Green; the worst 12 blocks of America. Compared to that your street is Sesame Street.”

Things That Will Happen in the 2008 College Football Season

By Chris Le

FINALLY. It’s that time of the year again. The purest, most concentrated form of sport is set to begin. The college football season is here.

Thanks to the BCS, it promises to be a wildly unpredictable year, with pre-season predictions proving to be as valid as the Y2K scare…But that won’t stop me from giving some of my own prognostications. They’re just so fun.

USC will beat Ohio State

This is an upset. It may sound shocking since USC is the media’s darling and universally revered for their unsurpassed collection of talent, but Ohio State has the Trojans beat…at least on paper. The Buckeyes have a suffocating defense, the best running back in the nation in Chris Wells and return 18 starters compared to USC’s 11. Jim Tressel’s squad, ostensibly, looks to be the clear cut number one team in the country. But we all know games are won on the field and not on the roster sheet.

It’s true that no one possesses at their disposal more blue chip recruits than Southern Cal—though Florida and Ohio State are close—but the productivity hasn’t quite matched the hype. And they’re unproven offensively. That’s why they should be considered the underdogs in this matchup. A green offensive line will try to block for Mark Sanchez, starting in his first full year under center, and a running-back-by-committee spearheaded by Joe McKnight and Stafon Johnson that wasn’t as explosive as advertised a year ago.

Though the USC offense is questionable, there’s nothing wrong with their defense, which will be the best in the college football–and the reason why they’ll beat Ohio State. Expect their September 13 meeting with the Buckeyes to be ugly, brutal (just envision Rey Maualuga colliding with Wells!), fought in the trenches and perhaps with the defenses scoring more than the offenses. Pete Carroll and his team will carry this momentum and earn their way into the National Championship Game.

USC 24, Ohio State 14

Tim Tebow will run for no more than 10 touchdowns

It won’t be a case of defenses figuring him out or a matter of him regressing in some way. This is merely an indication of Florida being too talented. With Percy Harvin and two new running backs—redshirt freshman Chris Rainey, who has impressed in the spring, and sophomore transfer Emmanuel Moody—Urban Meyer won’t need Tebow to rush for 23 touchdowns anymore in order to win games. His rushing attempts should drop significantly this year to around 140 from 210 in 2007. The Gators offense will be much better-rounded and more prolific than last year’s team that scored 42.5 points per game. Yikes. Opposing defenses should be afraid—and not just of Tebow.

You will remember these names: DaQuan Bowers, DE, Clemson and Julio Jones, WR, Alabama

Well, it’s not like they’ve toiled in obscurity; they were in fact, the top rated prep players at their respective positions. Bowers, in the spring, turned quarterbacks into his own crash test dummies, and if he hasn’t already taken over the starting spot from Kevin Alexander, he should by midseason. At 6’5 and a lean 265 pounds, he is quick, explosive, and has an everlasting motor—all the ingredients of a dominant defensive end.

Julio Jones is Calvin Johnson 2.0. Jones already possesses an NFL body at 6’4, 215 pounds, and easily passes the eye test. His combination of size, speed and agility has NFL scouts drooling, and his hops along with uncanny body control and ability to adjust at top speed will make him particularly dangerous down field and in the red zone. Alabama’s receiving corps was particularly unproductive last year; Julio Jones should change that, immediately becoming Nick Saban’s go-to player on offense.

Oklahoma will face USC in the National Championship Game

Let me just say that Ohio State, Georgia, and Florida are better than Oklahoma. But Ohio State has USC in its path, and the SEC gauntlet may prove to be an Achilles heel to both Georgia and Florida. Fortunately for Oklahoma they have no such roadblocks in their path to the title game. In college football, the schedule has as much to do with a team’s title chances as talent and coaching. Compared to the Bulldogs and Gators, the Sooners have a walk in the park, with their toughest games (Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas Tech) all occurring at home. And they don’t even have to face Missouri, unless they both make the Big 12 championship. In summation, they have the easiest schedule of any BCS conference team.

Outside the schedule, Oklahoma, per usual, stocks All-American talent at numerous positions. Sam Bradford, the highest-rated quarterback of 2007, will be in the Heisman conversation and DeMarco Murray will be dangerous in the backfield, and both can thank OG Duke Robinson who leads possibly the best offensive line in the nation.

Sam Bradford will win the Heisman Trophy

This one’s a bit of a reach but goes along the lines of the usual Heisman criteria of being the most outstanding player on one of the winningest teams. And I have Oklahoma playing in the National Championship so that makes Bradford the favorite in my book. USC is too loaded all over the field for any one player to take home the hardware, and their defense will be the team’s heart and soul. And as good as Rey Maualuga and Taylor Mays are, a defensive player will never win the Heisman without playing two-ways. Tim Tebow will have no chance of matching his ’07 numbers; too much talent around him not to spread the wealth. Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford will probably split votes, and a few losses on their record courtesy of the unforgiving SEC will derail their campaigns. Chris Wells will be an absolute beast, but an early Ohio State loss to USC, adding to the belief that the Big Ten is an inferior conference, will hurt his odds.

Aside from Wells, Chase Daniel will probably have the best shot of beating out Bradford. I predict it’ll come down to the Big 12 Championship, which will probably pit Missouri against Oklahoma. The winner will most likely play for the National Title and have the inside track for the Heisman.

LPGA to Require Players to Learn English

By BJ

Last Wednesday, the LPGA decided to suspend players if they couldn’t pass an oral English test beginning at the end of 2009. Their reasoning is that they want to help the players’ “professional development” and to be able to reach out to the media and sponsors. The new rule, inconspicuously targeted at the growing number of Koreans dominating each event, is being viewed as fair by the Koreans, who feel that most of the 45 players on the Tour would be able to pass a simple test if given one today. If they do fail, the LPGA claims they would get tutors to work with the players on their English. I’m sorry, are we back in school here? Does that just sound ridiculous to everyone else?

But really, can this ruling be any more discriminatory? There are a handful of baseball and basketball players that only speak their native language (e.g. Spanish, Japanese) and need translators and that has not hurt the nature of the game one bit. The same goes for golf and the fact that the U.S. is trying to cut the level of competition by hoping to knock off some of the Koreans is downright shameful and a disgrace to the entire country. Point, Koreans.

Kimbo Slice is set to fight Ken Shamrock on October 4. Can Shamrock, who is 44 and on a five-fight skid, still have enough left to make the 34-year-old Slice (3-0) tap out? Or did Slice choose another over-the-hill opponent like he did in Tank Abbott?

The U.S. “Redeem Team” won the gold after eight long years, fending off Spain in a 118-107 final. Talks of who would win a Redeem Team match up against the 1992 Dream Team? Forget about it. The Dream Team owns this year’s squad in every category and beat 3rd place Lithuania by 51 points and 2nd place Croatia by 32. The way softball was decided to quit play for the next eight years after the U.S.’s domination four years ago, I’m surprised the IOC allowed basketball to resume play after 1992.

	1992	2008
W-L	8-0	8-0
PPG	117.3	106.3
Opp PPG	73.5	78.4
Margin of win	+43.8	+27.9
FG pct	57.8	55.0
Opp FG pct	36.5	40.3
APG	29.9	18.8

The Dodgers may be 11-13 after acquiring Manny Ramirez, in the midst of a 4-game losing streak and currently 3 games behind Arizona for the NL West lead, but don’t blame Manny for any of those slumps. The star left fielder sure is pulling his own weight, hitting six home runs and driving in 21 RBI with a whopping .361 average. Jeff Kent, who has the luxury of hitting before Ramirez in the 3-spot, doesn’t believe Manny is the reason why he’s batting .398 in August, the only month where he’s batting over .300. I say get over yourself, Kent. You’re 40, and you were batting a measly .255 before this month.

MLB – Five weeks remaining:

Standings (if the playoffs were to end today) as of Monday:
AL East
(1) Tampa Bay (79-50)
AL Central
(4) Chicago White Sox (75-56)
AL West
(2) Los Angeles Angels (79-51)
AL Wild Card
(3) Boston Red Sox (75-55)
Closest team to playoffs:
Minnesota Twins (74-57)

NL East
(3) New York Mets (73-59)
NL Central
(1) Chicago Cubs (81-50)
NL West
(4) Arizona Diamondbacks (68-63)
NL Wild Card
(2) Milwaukee Brewers (76-55)
Closest team to playoffs:
Philadelphia Phillies (72-59)

Analysis: The Yankees host Boston for the last time at Yankee Stadium for a 3-game series and five games back on the Sox. Crucial series for New York in their quest to make the playoffs. Keep an eye on Colorado. Winners of nine of their last 11, the Rockies are just 7 games back from the division lead, and you all remember what happened last year in September.

Stat projections:
The Chicago White Sox’s Carlos Quentin leads the majors with 36 home runs and is projected to hit 45 for the year, the lowest home run leader since Matt Williams of the San Francisco Giants hit 43 in 1994.
The Los Angeles Angels’ Francisco Rodriguez, who is projected to finish with a ridiculous 62 saves, is 7 saves away from tying Bobby Thigpen’s 1990 record of 57 saves in a season. K-Rod currently has more saves than San Diego (49), Seattle (49) and Washington (46) have wins and reached 50 quicker than anyone, his 129 games far quicker than Eric Gagne (143 games) and Thigpen (145).

Dodgers Acquire Maddux

By BJ

The Los Angeles Dodgers have reportedly gotten Greg Maddux in a trade with San Diego on Monday, and it is not immediately known who the Padres will get in return. It is the second time the Dodgers have traded for Maddux midseason, as they swapped him from the Chicago Cubs in 2006. The 42-year-old pitcher is 6-9 with a 3.99 ERA this season, and the Dodgers are currently tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the NL West lead.

Maddux clearly still has some left in the tank and should help out a rotation that just lost Brad Penny likely for the year. Note: in 2006, Maddux went 9-11 with a 4.69 ERA with the Cubs but 6-3 with a 3.30 ERA with the Dodgers.

The U.S. (5-0) basketball team took care of Germany (1-4) 106-57 on Monday, limiting Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman to a combined 20 points in a game that was over soon after it began. The U.S. now have a quarterfinals date with Australia Wednesday at 7:15a PT, where they are 3 games from the gold but are now in single-elimination play.

It should be an interesting game, as the two faced off in exhibition play two weeks ago and the U.S. had a tough 11-point victory without Australia’s best player, Andrew Bogut.

Oscar De La Hoya is looking elsewhere for his December 6 bout that would mark the end of his career after talks with Manny Pacquiao have broken down. De La Hoya had given in to Manny’s wants on two of the three issues (147-pound weight limit and 8 ounce gloves) but wouldn’t budge from the 70-30 revenue split. Manny demanded 40 percent so now De La Hoya (39-5, 30 KO) is looking at “The Contender” first season winner and current WBC junior middleweight champion Sergio Mora (21-0-1, 5 KO). The two sides are closing in on a deal, but the fight is contingent on Mora defeating Vernon Forrest in their September 13 rematch.

Tough break for both Oscar’s and Manny’s camps, as the issue was whether Manny deserves more than 30 percent, which is what Floyd Mayweather got in his fight with De La Hoya. Should Manny just box and still rake in about $15-20 million, having never earned more than $5 million in a previous bout? He already had Oscar give into the more important issues.

MLB – Six weeks remaining: 

Standings (if the playoffs were to end today) as of Monday:
AL East
(2) Tampa Bay (76-48)
AL Central
(4) Chicago White Sox (71-53)
AL West
(1) Los Angeles Angels (76-47)
AL Wild Card
(3) Boston Red Sox (72-53)
Closest team to playoffs:
Minnesota Twins (70-54)

NL East
(3) NY Mets (68-57)
NL Central
(1) Chicago Cubs (76-48)
NL West
(4) Arizona Diamondbacks (64-60)
NL Wild Card
(2) Milwaukee Brewers (72-54)
Closest team to playoffs:
Los Angeles Dodgers (64-60)

Analysis: The Rays aren’t competing for division lead right now, they’re suddenly contending for best team in baseball. More and more, the Yankees (and their $207 million payroll) aren’t going to make the playoffs this year, currently 5.5 games back from the Red Sox. At least, their $40 million waste of a pitcher Carl Pavano might make it to the mound on Saturday, but no, that’s no consolation. In the NL, the East and West both look they’ll be going down to the wire again, with a different race in the West this year.

Stat projections:
The Chicago White Sox’s Carlos Quentin leads the majors with 34 home runs and is projected to hit 45 for the year, the lowest home run leader since Matt Williams of the San Francisco Giants hit 43 in 1994.
The Arizona Diamondbacks’ Brandon Webb leads the league with 18 wins and is projected to win 24 games this year, tying Randy Johnson in 2002 and John Smoltz in 1996 for most wins in a season since Bob Welch of the Oakland Athletics won 27 in 1990.
The Los Angeles Angels’ Francisco Rodriguez, who is projected to finish with a ridiculous 62 saves, is 10 saves away from tying Bobby Thigpen’s 1990 record of 57 saves in a season. K-Rod currently has more saves than Seattle (46) and Washington (44) have wins.

Olympics Update (for Saturday)

By BJ

After avenging their semifinal loss in the 2006 FIBA World Championship to Greece (2-2), the U.S. (4-0) took care of Spain (3-1) as well, steamrolling past them 119-82 on Saturday. The win in the match up of undefeated squads clinched the first seed for the U.S. in Pool B, who will finish opening-round play against Germany (1-3) on Monday before advancing to the quarterfinals.

Anyone who didn’t know if Kobe Bryant or LeBron James was the leader of the team, here’s what James had to say after the game. “I’m the leader of the team, and I’ll make sure there’s no slippage.”

The dream race in the 100-meter Olympics never formulated, rather it was a one-man show by Jamaica’s Usain Bolt. American Tyson Gay finished fifth in the semifinal to be eliminated from the final, and Asafa Powell finished in a disappointing fifth in the final. The 21-year-old Bolt captured his first gold medal in stunning fashion Saturday, breaking his own world record of 9.72 seconds with a 9.69 finish, despite looking around and posing for cameras before crossing the finish line.

Now that’s impressive. As for those who might see it as mockery to his fellow competitors, the 6′5″ sprinter responded, “I wasn’t bragging. When I saw I wasn’t covered, I was just happy.” Heck, he can do cartwheels across the finish line if no one can catch him. Bolt is the heavy favorite to win the 200 meters next week, and Michael Johnson said that he is prepared to see his 12-year-old world record of 19.32 seconds be broken. And just think, Bolt hasn’t reached his prime yet.

Roger Federer won his first medal in three Olympics, gold in doubles play of all things. He and Swiss partner Stanislas Wawrinka defeated Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson of Sweden 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3 in the final Saturday. Federer truly is the paradigm of sportsmanship. His Wimbledon loss was nothing short of respectful (unlike James Blake’s recent loss) and his uncanny doubles win resembled that of a child winning something great. But I definitely tip my hat to Federer, one of the greatest tennis players ever.

Remember the Greco-Roman wrestler who dumped his bronze medal in the middle of the mat during the medal ceremony? He’s not getting it back. The IOC ruled on Saturday that Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian would be the fourth athlete kicked out of the Games and have his medal be the third removed, but the first not associated with doping.

Brett Favre makes his debut tonight as a New York Jet in preseason action against the Washington Redskins at 4p PT. I just now really took the time to think about how Favre’s Jets are in the same division as New England, and the AFC South and AFC North are stacked so they have 0% chance of making the playoffs. I can’t see what he’s playing for at his age other than for the love of the game because it’s going to be a long, playoff-less season for the future Hall-of-Famer.

With the AP preseason poll released Saturday, Georgia held top rank as well as in the coaches’ poll. Ohio State switched spots with USC with Oklahoma and Florida rounding out the top five. Check out the rest of the poll on ESPN. Season kicks off on August 28.

After Upsetting Federer, Blake Turns to Pouting

By BJ

Jayson Stark from ESPN wrote an article Thursday on how signing Manny Ramirez to a 4-year, $100 million contract this offseason would be dangerous for the sport of baseball. His problem? That “it would, in effect, be an open invitation to every selfish superstar in baseball to pull a Manny. Act up. Stop hustling. Stop trying. Refuse to play. Make up an injury. Whatever you have to do to get back out there on the free-agent market.”

That, my friend, already happens and won’t affect those who don’t have that type of attitude. If you want to pay a 36-year-old outfielder $25 million a year until he’s the age of 40, that’s your choice to be that stupid. Stark said it himself, there are only two players in history to have three 30-homer seasons after turning 37 – Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron.

But seriously, the first name that comes to my mind that has experienced a similar situation is Brett Favre when he was in Atlanta back in 1991. He wasn’t getting playing time; the starter on that team was Chris Miller, who was a Pro Bowler that year, so Favre acted up and got dealt like he wished. It’s not going to change a damn thing in the sport. There are always people who will act up for money or whatever, and Ramirez’s antics won’t negatively affect baseball one bit.

After pitching a scoreless ninth to record his second career save on Tuesday, Brad Ziegler of the Oakland Athletics gave up his first career run in two innings of work Thursday. Tampa Bay’s B.J. Upton did Ziegler in with an RBI double, but not after Ziegler posted the modern record for longest scoreless streak with 39 innings.

Ziegler’s current stat line:
40.0 IP, 1-0, 2 SV, 9 HLD, 18 K, 0.23 ERA

In Friday’s men’s tennis singles semifinal, James Blake of the U.S. lost to Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez 4-6, 7-5, 11-9. Notwithstanding three match points he failed to convert, Blake decided to blame the loss on Gonzalez for not admitting a disputed point two games before the finish. As the only American to have a shot at a medal in the men’s or women’s singles, Blake needs to shut up about the issue. He didn’t lose from that one point and even if Gonzalez got a lucky break, Blake is being hypocritical about sportsmanship in the Olympics. Regardless, this is what Blake had to say about his competitor. “Whatever he wants to say is fine. Whatever is going to get him to have some sleep tonight, then that’s fine.”

In all fairness, it’s not up to the player to make the calls – that’s what the judge is for. And I’m sure he wouldn’t be so enthusiastic to rectify the point with a chance at a gold medal on the line. I don’t buy that. Gonzalez will face Rafael Nadal in Sunday’s final, as Nadal beat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.

Update on Michael Phelps:

7-for-7 in Gold medals

Friday – Gold in 200 IM
Saturday – Gold in 100 butterfly
Sunday – 400 medley relay

U.S. Olympic basketball (3-0):

Thursday – def. Greece 92-69
Saturday – vs. Spain @ 7:15a PT

Phelps: Greatest Athlete Ever?

By Chris Le

Michael Phelps, the face of these Beijing Olympics, has been the hottest topic of the past week. His quest to eclipse Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals has been the most captivating show in sports today, reaching the “must-watch” territory previously occupied by only Tiger Woods and LeBron James.

And Phelps hasn’t disappointed. Five events. Five gold medals. Five world-records.

To call this accomplishment amazing might be shortchanging him.   Since Phelps is so prolific and dominant, I think people lose perspective of how difficult it is to win one medal, let alone seven gold. But that’s the thing with all the greats: they alter perception. For an NBA analogy, guys like Bill Russell, Michael Jordan and Tim Duncan—players who seemingly collect championship rings—make winning seem easy, almost common. But for every Duncan, Jordan and Russell there are hundreds like Tracy McGrady, Dominique Wilkins and Elgin Baylor, incredible talents who never had the fortune of capturing a title.  Phelps is like Jordan in that he is making things look easy.

In other words, Phelps might be the most dominant athlete today alongside Tiger Woods. So, needless to say, I think Phelps has already exceeded the hype.

And yet I can’t help but cringe when sports writers and the general public proclaim Phelps to be the greatest athlete of all-time. Have these people forgotten about Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Babe Ruth and about fifteen other athletes of the past that I can name (but won’t)?

If there’s an epidemic in sports, it’s definitely our infatuation with the present. It never ceases to amaze me how easily we become prisoners of the moment, proceeding to fling around ridiculously audacious claims. It happens, unfortunately, all the time. We see Tiger Woods dominate and say he’s the best ever, even though he’s still four majors behind Jack Nicklaus. We see Kobe Bryant score 81 points and, assuredly, in our minds, he’s better than Jordan, right?

The very same thing is happening with Phelps.

Now, I don’t want to come off as a hater. It’s quite the opposite, in fact. I’m rooting for Phelps. I hope he sweeps every event and shatters all records. But I’m hesitant to even call Phelps the greatest American Olympian, let alone the greatest athlete in history. I just don’t buy the argument that having the most gold medals ever equates to being the greatest ever.

Don’t get me wrong, Phelps is definitely in the conversation, but here are a few Olympians that can also lay claim to that title.

Mark Spitz – The man Phelps is still trying to reach. He was Michael Phelps before Michael Phelps. In the 1972 Olympics, Spitz won seven gold medals and set seven world records. In a four-year span from 1968 to 1972, Spitz set 33 (!) world records. And do you hear his name being thrown around with the likes of Jordan, the Babe, etc., in many “greatest athletes ever” conversations? Yeah, I didn’t think so. If Spitz doesn’t belong, neither does Phelps.

Carl Lewis – It’s unfortunate that my most indelible image of Lewis is his absolute butchery of the national anthem (see here). It’s a shame because he might’ve been the greatest U.S. track and field athlete ever. Lewis owns nine gold medals in the 100m, 200m, 4×100m and long jump over a span of four (yes, four!) different Olympic Games. It may come as a shock to many American sports fans, who absolutely love instant gratification, but there is something to be admired about longevity. In some ways, consistent excellence over an extended period of time may be more impressive than utter dominance in a short span.

Jim Thorpe – Phelps does one thing and does it better than anyone in the world: swim. But how do you compare Phelps to Jim Thorpe who, during the 1912 Stockholm games, won gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon? Both events include the 100m sprint, 100m hurdles, 1500m, shot put, high jump, long jump, javelin, discus and shot put among others. No wonder decathletes are considered the best overall athletes in the world. In total, Thorpe won eight of the two competition’s 15 individual events. Oh yeah, Thorpe also played baseball in those 1912 games. And I’m not even mentioning his time in the NFL and professional baseball and basketball leagues.

Jesse Owens – Owens’ four gold medals (100m, 200m, long jump and 4×100m) in the 1936 Berlin Olympics may seem paltry compared to Phelps’ five (possibly eight) in this year’s games, but you have to consider the circumstances. The Berlin Olympics were essentially an arena where Adolf Hitler and his crew could show to the world true Aryan supremacy. Well, Owens, an African-American, had other ideas and proceeded to shit on all of Hitler’s plans. Owens was more than an athlete; he was an icon and a national hero in a dark time of segregation. Phelps just can’t touch that.

Spain’s Slanted Sense of Humor

By BJ

U.S. Olympic basketball:
Sun. – def. China 101-70
Tues. – def. Angola 97-76
Thurs. – vs. Greece (1-1) @ 5a PT

While China has played well in their two losses, including an overtime defeat to Spain with a disqualified Yao Ming on the bench, their recent opponent thought it would be somehow humorous to have the national basketball team slant their eyes, like the Chinese, for the camera. It’s unbelievable how insensitive and unfunny it is for an entire team of men to pull off a childhood racial joke. And to think that it wouldn’t offend anyone. They should have their four-year sponsorship to giant Li-Ning Footwear revoked for their stupidity.

If you haven’t been keeping up with the man of the Olympics, Michael Phelps, with five gold medals thus far in this Beijing Olympics, is already the winningest Olympian in history. At 23-years-old, Phelps has 11 career golds with three events left to attempt to become the first to win eight golds in one Games. The remaining races:

Thurs. night in the U.S. – 200 individual medley
Friday night in the U.S. – 100 butterfly
Sat. night in the U.S. – 4×100 medley relay

The Philadelphia 76ers have signed restricted free agent Andre Iguodala to a six-year, $80 million contract and yes, I’m here to criticize yet another undeserving signing. See, I’m all about an athlete making more than another if he’s better than his counterpart, and with over $13 million a year awarded to AI2, that salary will be more than LeBron James made this year (with one less year of experience), which is as crazy as Donovan McNabb saying that his Philadelphia Eagles are the best team in the NFC. Well, with all of the hype as top contenders in the East, let’s see Philly improve from that 7th seed where they finished two games below .500. I can’t see them cracking the top half over Boston, Detroit, Orlando or Cleveland.

The Oakland Athletics’ Brad Ziegler pitched three more scoreless innings last Thursday and Friday, recording his first career save in a 2-inning effort on Friday. After, manager Bob Geren said Ziegler has “definitely earned” the closer’s role in light of Huston Street’s recent struggles, who has converted only five of his last nine save opportunities and lost four games in the process.

Biggest (U.S.) Stories of the Olympics

By Chris Le

Did you guys know the Olympics start tomorrow? If it weren’t for the whole Pro-Tibet protesting and controversy, I probably wouldn’t have known the Olympics were this year. I can’t remember the last time the Olympics really meant something greater than the individual events and athletes.

Berlin in 1936? Mexico City in 1968? Lake Placid in 1980?

Sure, there have been several inspirational, even immortal moments the past few decades, and Sydney and Atlanta were definitely two of the more entertaining and extravagant Games, but there wasn’t really much drama heading into those Olympics.

There’s a bit more spice this year. If a four-year pause for dramatic effect isn’t enough to get you hyped, here are five potential sports stories that could shape these Olympics. Let’s hope they—along with the political/social matters such as U.S. relations with the rising power that is China and the whole Free Tibet movement—can make Beijing a memorable one.

(In no particular order)

USA Basketball’s Quest for Gold

There really is no excuse for them to fail this time. There wasn’t even justification for bronze at the 2006 FIBA World Championships and 2004 Athens Olympics. I don’t care about team chemistry or the rest of the world catching up to America; they’re still in the process of catching up. Basketball is still our sport and no other nation comes close. USA has far beyond the most talent and overall, five of the top seven or so best players on the planet. In my eyes, for team USA Basketball, there’s gold, and then there’s failure.

Dara Torres Breaking the Age Barrier

Being a 41-year-old mom usually means a life full of dirty diapers, peewee soccer games and minivans. This still may be true for Dara Torres, but aside from her motherly duties, she’s also in an atypical circumstance: her fifth Olympics against kids half her age. Also sporting killer six-pack abs, she’s not only competing; she’s thriving, evidenced by her American-record of 24.25 in the 50 freestyle at the trials. And she’s doing all this amidst speculations of performance-enhancing drugs, which she ardently denies. This could turn into a story of inspiration or shame.

Michael Phelps Going After Spitz

Michael Phelps is, without a doubt, the athlete to watch in these games. Hell, at 23 and with six world records, he might already have a legitimate claim as the greatest U.S. swimmer in history. Two weeks from now, though, he might be the only name in that conversation. That’s what eight gold medals will do. Phelps will go after Mark Spitz’s record of seven in what can only be described as an epic test of endurance. If Phelps is to accomplish this, he’ll have to swim a combined 30 miles in 17 races in nine days. Just insane.

Swimwear as Technology

This story has kind of died as the Games approach, but since the introduction of Speedo’s LZR swimsuit in February, 38 world records haven’t just been eclipsed but shattered. The suit is designed to stabilize the swimmer in ideal form and the ultra-lightweight, powerful and water-repellent pulse fabric allows a 5-percent increase in stroke efficiency and oxygen intake. Some claim this is just a natural technological progression like improved golf clubs. But a full body suit isn’t inherent to the sport itself like clubs are to golf. Former swimmers would just don a swim cap and speedo. Nothing else was needed. I’m not saying it’s an unfair advantage since anyone could use the LZR, but I’d rather see world records reflect the swimmer more than the suit.

100M race

For me, the 100M has always been the marquee event of the summer Olympics—and the most exciting 10 seconds in sports. American hopeful and world 100M champion Tyson Gay looks to bounce back strong after pulling up lame in the 200M Olympic trials last month. He says his hamstring is fully healed and will be ready to go once he’s in Beijing. Gay will have to beat out a formidable Jamaican duo of Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt, both of whom held the world record at one point in time.

Overrated story of the games: Pollution.

Forget about the idiotic American cyclists who wore what might as well have been gas masks in the airport no less. They are just ignorant and borderline disrespectful. A similar concern with smog arose in the weeks leading up to the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, only it was a complete non-issue once the Games commenced. Expect the same to happen in Beijing.