Nightly News reports that a last minute decision by the IOC will allow five Iraqi Olympic team members to attend the Beijing Olympics. However, the decision came very late and as Nightly News reports some of the small Iraqi Olympic team have missed the registration date. The AFP has more details about the IOC's delayed decision.
This satellite image captured by DigitalGlobe shows the National Stadium and Aquatics Center in Beijing. The Beijing Olympics being on August 8th, 2008. The official site for the game is en.beijing2008.cn.
Did Japanese Cycling Event Buy Its Way Into Olympic Games?
A BBC article suggests that a fast-paced Japanese cycling sports called the keirin may have bought its way into the Olympic Games.
The payments were allegedly made in the 1990s. The sport, called the keirin, was supported for inclusion into the Games by the UCI, and admitted in 1996.
The UCI and its president at the time, Hein Verbruggen, deny any wrongdoing.
The keirin is a rapid and exciting track cycling event an event where riders are initially paced around a track by a motorcycle before sprinting for the line.
It is big business in its country of origin, Japan, commanding tens of millions of dollars in gambling revenue every year.
But despite its financial clout, the one thing keirin has always lacked is an international profile.
Wikipedia's entry says Keirin began in Japan in 1948. You can read a couple articles describing the sport here and here. Despite the controversy it does look like an exciting support. You can see a video of a race in this YouTube video.
The above photograph of Yankee Stadium from July 4th is midly interesting but wait until you zoom in on it and can see every fan and all of the players. You can see the panaromic view here on the Sport's Illustrated's website. This panoramic view of Yankee Stadium was taken by a robotic camera using GigaPan technology. The photo was shot over the course of 10 minutes and consists of 124 frames stitched together. SI says Carnegie Mellon developed the GigaPan technology last year in collaboration with NASA.
The Associated Press Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner explains the dispute between Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers. Wilner thinks the standoff won't have a pleasant ending unless one side backs down. Unfortunately, it isn't clear that either side is going to backs down.
The Associated Press has an interview with U.S. olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin. We recently learned about the swimsuit she will be wearing. Coughlin says she feels really good so far and she is starting to get into the routine of camp. She also says it is overwhelming because of all the attention it gets.
38-year-old Brett Favre retired from the Green Bay Packers earlier this year but it seems Favre is having second thoughts. Unfortunately for Packer fans those thoughts appear to have him possibly returning for a didfferent team. The Huffington Postreports that Favre has asked the Packers to release him so he can return to playing football for a different NFL team.
Favre asked the Packers to release him so he can return to the NFL with another team after apparently being told his latest retirement reversal wasn't welcome news in Green Bay. The team said it would do "what's right" in response to Favre's request, which was first reported by ESPN on Friday.
"Brett earned and exercised the right to retire on his terms," the team's statement said.
"We wanted him to return and welcomed him back on more than one occasion. Brett's press conference and subsequent conversations in the following weeks illustrated his commitment to retirement. The finality of his decision to retire was accepted by the organization. At that point, the Green Bay Packers made the commitment to move forward with our football team."
This is likely to disappoint many Green Bay Packer fans who see Favre as their quarterback. The latest news is that the Packers won't agree to release Favre.
Chicago Tribune columnist and Sox fan John Kass talks to fans about who has the bigger fans - literally. If it is Cubs fans it is because they are more stressed or do they eat more hot dogs?
The AP's Ben Walker reports in the video below on the surging Tampa Bay Rays, who lead the A.L East. The Rays should easily eclipse the 70 win mark this year for the first time in the organization's history. Ben Walker also discusses how it has taken some time for the Rays' attendance to catch up with its winning record. You can see the current MLB standings here.
38-year-old 