http://www.yardbarker.com/content/sport/49 Recent Yardbarker articles: Olympics en-us I live in California and I have felt earthquakes. Small ones. Very small. I shudder to think what a 7.8 or 7.9 on the Richter scale feels like. Let's hope that the Olympic games can bring something positive to the people of China's Sichuan province. Still, I can't see how any of them would give two grains of rice about the games, or the fact that the preparation of nor the Games themselves, will not be interrupted by the quake. Thu, 15 May 2008 20:26:17 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/267482 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/267482 Is this another example of the politics we have seen from USA Triathlon in the past or a sound decision with the interest of the sport and its athletes in mind? USA Triathlon has eliminated Cliff English and his position as National Teams Coach. English, during his two year tenure continued to coach private athletes as well as attend to duties as national teams coach. There is some speculation that English's attention was frequently diverted to coaching Samantha McGone, the 2007 Hawaii Ironman runner-up and 2006 Ironman 70.3 world champion. Add in to the mix, the rumor that English and McGlone are recently engaged. Regardless, English is a highly regarded coach held in high esteem and USA Triathlon parted with English on a positive note. Certainly, the fact that the members of the Beijing bound triathlon team including, Matt Reed, Julie Ertel and Laura Bennett all rallied for the retention of English, shows how much the US's top triathletes value his coaching. Thu, 15 May 2008 19:52:17 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/267476 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/267476 Once again, Portugals' Vanessa Fernandes spanked the field at the European Triathlon Championships. She has been a roll for quite some time and certainly that has to boost her confidence as the Olympic months roll around. It does seem reasonable that other gold medal hopefuls in Beijing should be thinking about how to 'flatten' her legs with team tactics on the bike. Still, I don't know that we will see enough country loyality to see athletes sacrific themselves on the bike for the chance to try and neutralize Fernandes. Sun, 11 May 2008 14:08:33 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265748 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265748 She has beauty, brawn, but despite going to Brown, maybe no brains. Thu, 08 May 2008 18:02:29 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/264980 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/264980 See the top US male draft-legal professionals take it to each other in the 1.5k swim / 40km bike / 10k run at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I'll be watching the Tuscaloosa broadcast to see where Andy Potts and Hunter Kemper's race strategy faltered and how Matt Reed earned the win. The final team trials race will happen at Hy-Vee triathlon on June 22, 2008. No doubt it will be exciting. Who will it be snagging that final slot on the men's team Andy Potts, Hunter Kemper or does the field implode and see Doug Friman sneak in? Thu, 08 May 2008 13:28:11 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/264869 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/264869 Video and Story on the Olympic torch being lit on Mt Everest Ed note: I ran this story by the Chinese communist party before I posted it, ensuring the complete accuracy of the facts surrounding the Olympic torch relay and it's flight up Mt Everest. The corrections are reflected in bold.... Thu, 08 May 2008 11:09:20 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/264771 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/264771 With all the protests going on surrounding the Olympics, including issues of civil rights, labor and the environment, we thought it was time for us all to take a collective chill. And what better way to do that than with what always strangely seems to appeal to the typical reader of this and other sports blogs - hot chicks. As we "prepare" for the August Olympic games, we thought it our patriotic duty to remind our readers of the very best athletes we have heading to Beijing to compete... Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:35:43 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/261454 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/261454 Posing for Annie Leibovitz as part of the "Disney Dream Portrait Series, " drinking and driving enthusiast and Olympic hero, Michael Phelps, must be punch drunk mad in posing as a beautiful mermaid and becoming a "modern dancer." Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:00:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/261258 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/261258 The Beijing Olympics will introduce a new event to the competition schedule in the 10k open water swim. The first round of qualifiers will be determined this weekend on May 3rd and May 4th at the Seville World Championships. With incredibly talented swimmers converging on Seville for their shot to swim in Beijing, surely the elements and the 6.2 mile distance will separate the fish from fish food. The uncontrollable, unpredictable nature of swimming in open water makes speculation a lot of fun, nearly impossible to pick a sure-thing winner. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:35:42 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/256804 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/256804 Intense weather may have dulled the impact of would-be protesters during the Olympic Torch Relay in Malaysia. Isolated incidents punctuated the relay with a few protesters detained and released. Only one significant incident of note occurred involving a Japanese family getting beat down by Chinese nationals at Independence Square. Rather than use the inflated plastic batons to bang together for celebratory noise, some individuals smacked the Japanese family who unfurled a Tibetan flag and a banner reading "Free Tibet." Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:04:19 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/255787 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/255787 This map on Google allows you to track the Olympic torch relay. If you are looking for political and social upheaval, just see what city the torch is in today. Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:54:46 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/255778 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/255778 A former Olympian in water polo, Julie Swail Ertel schooled the younger girls on the importance of fast transitions during the US Olympic Triathlon Team Trials in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Ertel took the lead with a super-quick transition off the bike and extended her lead on the run, winning in 2:02:21 over Sarah Haskins Kortuem (2:02.50) and Sarah Groff (2:02.59). Ertel joins Laura Bennett as the second member of the women's US Olympic triathlon team. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:28:00 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/254231 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/254231 Instinct and smart racing helped Matt Reed come away with a win at the US Oympic Triathlon Trials in Tuscaloosa, Alabama over the weekend. A move on the final lap of the bike course, put Reed in position that ultimately led to him breaking the tape in the 1.5k swim / 40km bike / 10k run event. Reed bested former Olympians Hunter Kemper and Andy Potts to join Jarrod Shoemaker on the US Triathlon Olympic Team. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:18:50 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/254189 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/254189 The cost of security for the Olympic torch relay through London added up to about £25,000 for every mile of the 31-mile event. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 05:39:15 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/253291 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/253291 Magdalena Lewy Boulet crossed the line in second behind winner, Deena Kastor and ahead of fellow qualifier Blake Russell to earn a spot on the US Women's Oympic marathon team. Lewy Boulet came to the United States from Poland and became an American citizen on September 11, 2001. Boulet is the assistant track coach at Cal-Berkeley. Mon, 21 Apr 2008 09:54:39 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/252075 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/252075 This weekend brings the women's US Olympic marathon trials to Boston. 181 women have earned the right to toe the line in a quest for a berth to Beijing for the 26.2 mile footrace. Among the interesting stats is the oldest qualifier at age 50 is Joan Benoit Samuelson. Joanie last competed in the Olympics in 1984. Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:06:33 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/238066 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/238066 Australian Olympic team members were attending a function in Brisbane when they were shocked to find that they were being fed spiked chocolate muffins! Two people at the function bit into the terrorist muffins and found paperclips inside of them. The whole batch of muffins was then confiscated by authorities and it was found that 13 other muffins also had the deadly paperclips inside Tue, 15 Apr 2008 03:13:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/237578 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/237578 America's top draft-legal pro triathletes will duke it out in Tuscaloosa, Alabama Saturday, April 19th for the honor to represent the United States in Beijing this summer. The top female and top male in their respective races will qualify for the Olympic team. Qualifiers will join Laura Bennett and Jarrod Shoemaker, who qualified at the Beijing World Cup last September by finishing first Americans in 3rd and 11th place respectively. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:53:42 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/237138 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/237138 Chinese officials said today that they have uncovered and foiled a terrorist plot to kidnap athletes, foreign journalists and tourists at the Olympic games in Beijing. 35 people from a "vast terrorist gang" have been arrested in the past few weeks and officials are keeping on top of things to prevent anymore syndicates from popping up and succeeding. Damn. Thu, 10 Apr 2008 04:33:06 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/234116 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/234116 Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco (where the Olympic Torch Ceremony was being held) is just a few blocks away from where I work, so I went down during my lunch break to see what all the fuss was about. I also took some pictures and wrote a first hand account of my experience down there. Hope you like it! Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:30:57 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/234006 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/234006 i may just be some stupid teenager, but a stupid teenager with an opinion. boycotting the summer olympics this year is useless, and a waste of time and energy. the olympics is about the accomplishments/achievements and to recognize the best of the best athletes and to compete against other athletes from around the globe. this is a international sporting event, NOT a political event. i agree china is treating tibet unfairly and it's terribly wrong, but the rest of the world including america is treating china unfairly. we held the olympics and then we bombed iraq over an irrelevent reason to make iraq "better" but all we have done is raised gas prices and caused hell for thousands of innocent civilians and pretty much killed off our own army. china is finally being recognized as an important international country and we should support them. in addition, beijing reportedly has terrible air conditions that are too smoggy, but visit (west?) hollywood & look up towards the hollywood sign. the air quality there is so bad you can barely see it, even though itz white on a green hill. now that's bad air quality. why doesn't the world stop picking on china about little and big things and take a good look at themselves. america is treating, killing, and destroying the lives of iraqis and afghans. but itz ok since we're not hosting the olympics? NO! china just seems more vulnerable to attacks because they're hosting the games. all in all, the olympics is an event that many will always remember for SPORTS and not POLITICS. no offense, but have u watched the news lately about the torch? no offense to you guys, but most of the people attacking the torch bearer are white - not of color. i'm sorry if i have insulted any of you, but i am only stating my opinion and the olympics is an important event to me that i only get to watch every four years. Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:56:01 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/233987 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/233987 Gavin Newsom has huuuuge balls. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:52:25 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/233872 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/233872 What was supposed to be a spirited protest in the most liberal city in the U.S. turned out to be an uneventful torch run due to massive misdirection. The Olympic torch run was held miles away from the spot where activists gathered in downtown S.F. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:23:15 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/233715 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/233715 Before I speak my mind on the 2008 Beijing Olympics, let's go back 40 years, to 1968. The Vietnam War was still going on and anti-war protests were running rampant all around the world. The Civil Rights Movement also reached a violent apex: Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in April and Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in June. In October, Mexico City hosted the 1968 Summer Olympics. It was there that two San Jose St. athletes shocked the world... Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:54:39 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/233484 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/233484 On an interview on First Take this morning Dana Jacobsen asked Walker if approached by a protester trying to put out the torch "What do you tihnk you would do today?" Walker responded, "I got very good security with me so I'll let them handle it...but yo I've been training my mixed marital arts...right now I'm trying to put together a show...so I don't think anybody wants to be tryig to douse the torch cause I need practice. So if anybody wanna come out there and try to do it...I need practice so take their best shot!" Now that is the Olympic spirit if I have ever heard it Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:12:24 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/233354 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/233354 After a rough tour through Paris, the Olympic Torch is slated to come to Willie Mays Plaza tomorrow. (Dangerously close to my office) The never to be outdone San Francisco human rights activists got the protests off to a dramatic start by scaling the Golden Gate Bridge and hanging signs up from the suspension cables. Tomorrow should be just a crazy. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:45:16 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/232378 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/232378 There have been protests about the upcoming Olympics...why? And what will it do to the athletes? Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:13:10 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/232127 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/232127 Hillary and the bad news boycott Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:39:38 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/232108 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/232108 Telling the AP that he was '"deeply saddened" by violent protests in London and Paris and concerned about the upcoming torch relay in San Francisco, where activists expressed fears Monday that the torch's planned route through Tibet would lead to arrests and violent measures by Chinese officials trying to stifle dissent,' IOC president Jacques Rogge is considering ending the international leg of the torch relay because of anti-China protests. Not to be outdone by Euro concerns, protesters and activists took to loitering on the Golden Gate Bridge. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:56:38 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/232080 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/232080 Surprise! People are still annoyed that the upcoming Summer Olympics are being held in Beijing! Protesters in London and Paris have turned the Olympic Torch Relay into an absolute circus — on Sunday, not even a huge force of police officers could prevent a protester from lunging at British television host Konnie Huq, and trying to grab the torch away from her. Mon, 07 Apr 2008 23:30:17 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/231743 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/231743