Video is courtesy of the Associated Press:
ESPN Radio's "Mike & Mike in the Morning" with Mike Caliendo:
Friday, February 13, 2009
Sports Entertainment: Christian leaves TNA for WWE's ECW
Christian returned to the WWE on Tuesday and challenges the ECW Champion.
Footage is owned by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment.
Footage is owned by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Castro Defends Cuban Athlete for Kicking Judge
Link to Article
Castro defends athlete who kicked judge in face
HAVANA (AP) - Fidel Castro on Monday defended the Cuban taekwondo athlete who kicked a referee in the face at the Beijing Olympics, saying Angel Matos was rightfully indignant over his disqualification from the bronze-medal match.
Taekwondo officials want Matos and his coach banned for life from the sport. But Castro expressed "our total solidarity" for both Matos and his coach Leudis Gonzalez.
Matos was winning 3-2 in the second round when he fell to the mat after being hit by his opponent, Kazakhstan's Arman Chilmanov, and was disqualified for taking more than his one minute of injury time.
Matos angrily questioned the call, pushed a judge and then pushed and kicked referee Chakir Chelbat of Sweden, who needed stiches to repair his lip. Matos then spat on the floor and was escorted out.
Taekwondo officials called Matos' behavior an insult to the Olympic vision. Matos' coach countered that the match was fixed and accused the Kazakhs of offering him money.
Castro said the alleged bribery attempt gave Matos good reason to expect the judges to treat him unfairly.
"They had tried to buy his own coach," Castro wrote in his essay published in state media. "He could not contain himself."
Cuba is accustomed to winning golds in boxing, but settled this year for four silver and four bronze medals. Overall, Cuba took home only two golds, down from nine in Athens four years ago.
"I saw when the judges blatantly stole fights from two Cuban boxers in the semifinals," Castro wrote. "Our fighters ... had hopes of winning, despite the judges, but it was useless. They were condemned beforehand."
The ailing, 82-year-old ex-president also noted that defections have taken their toll, blaming "the repugnant mercenary actions" of promoters who lure Cuban boxers off the island with lucrative contracts.
And Castro hinted that big changes could be in order for Cuban sports, pledging a serious review of "every discipline, every human and material resource that we dedicate to sport."
"Cuba has never bought an athlete or judge," Castro wrote, adding that Cubans need to begin preparing now for London in 2012. "There will be European chauvinism, judge corruption, buying of brawn and brains ... and a strong dose of racism," he predicted.
Castro defends athlete who kicked judge in face
HAVANA (AP) - Fidel Castro on Monday defended the Cuban taekwondo athlete who kicked a referee in the face at the Beijing Olympics, saying Angel Matos was rightfully indignant over his disqualification from the bronze-medal match.
Taekwondo officials want Matos and his coach banned for life from the sport. But Castro expressed "our total solidarity" for both Matos and his coach Leudis Gonzalez.
Matos was winning 3-2 in the second round when he fell to the mat after being hit by his opponent, Kazakhstan's Arman Chilmanov, and was disqualified for taking more than his one minute of injury time.
Matos angrily questioned the call, pushed a judge and then pushed and kicked referee Chakir Chelbat of Sweden, who needed stiches to repair his lip. Matos then spat on the floor and was escorted out.
Taekwondo officials called Matos' behavior an insult to the Olympic vision. Matos' coach countered that the match was fixed and accused the Kazakhs of offering him money.
Castro said the alleged bribery attempt gave Matos good reason to expect the judges to treat him unfairly.
"They had tried to buy his own coach," Castro wrote in his essay published in state media. "He could not contain himself."
Cuba is accustomed to winning golds in boxing, but settled this year for four silver and four bronze medals. Overall, Cuba took home only two golds, down from nine in Athens four years ago.
"I saw when the judges blatantly stole fights from two Cuban boxers in the semifinals," Castro wrote. "Our fighters ... had hopes of winning, despite the judges, but it was useless. They were condemned beforehand."
The ailing, 82-year-old ex-president also noted that defections have taken their toll, blaming "the repugnant mercenary actions" of promoters who lure Cuban boxers off the island with lucrative contracts.
And Castro hinted that big changes could be in order for Cuban sports, pledging a serious review of "every discipline, every human and material resource that we dedicate to sport."
"Cuba has never bought an athlete or judge," Castro wrote, adding that Cubans need to begin preparing now for London in 2012. "There will be European chauvinism, judge corruption, buying of brawn and brains ... and a strong dose of racism," he predicted.
Usain Bolt Breaks Record, Earns Parody of Sprint
Jeremy Schaap of ESPN discusses Bolt's run.
Bolt's actual run. (Pardon the foreign language.)
Thursday, August 14, 2008
IOC will do nothing about China's fake passports
It is sad that at some point these great Chinese olympians will get their gold medals taken away. And for what? The communist Chinese government is greedy and will do anything to win. These girls' legacy will be tarnished in the future. It will take time for this to all come full circle but at some point, most likely after the games are over and the IOC is back in Europe, China will lose many of its medals. The IOC won't do it now because they are afraid of what the government may do.
State-media story fuels questions on gymnast’s age
By JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press Writer
8 hours, 16 minutes ago
BEIJING (AP)—Just nine months before the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government’s news agency, Xinhua, reported that gymnast He Kexin was 13, which would have made her ineligible to be on the team that won a gold medal this week.
In its report Nov. 3, Xinhua identified He as one of “10 big new stars” who made a splash at China’s Cities Games. It gave her age as 13 and reported that she beat Yang Yilin on the uneven bars at those games. In the final, “this little girl” pulled off a difficult release move on the bars known as the Li Na, named for another Chinese gymnast, Xinhua said in the report, which appeared on one of its Web sites, www.hb.xinhuanet.com
The Associated Press found the Xinhua report on the site Thursday morning and saved a copy of the page. Later that afternoon, the Web site was still working but the page was no longer accessible. Sports editors at the state-run news agency would not comment for publication.
If the age reported by Xinhua was correct, that would have meant He was too young to be on the Chinese team that beat the United States on Wednesday and clinched China’s first women’s team Olympic gold in gymnastics. He is also a favorite for gold in Monday’s uneven bars final.
Yang was also on Wednesday’s winning team. Questions have also been raised about her age and that of a third team member, Jiang Yuyuan.
Gymnasts have to be 16 during the Olympic year to be eligible for the games. He’s birthday is listed as Jan. 1, 1992.
Chinese authorities insist that all three are old enough to compete. He herself told reporters after Wednesday’s final that “my real age is 16. I don’t pay any attention to what everyone says.”
Zhang Hongliang, an official with China’s gymnastics delegation at the games, said Thursday the differing ages which have appeared in Chinese media reports had not been checked in advance with the gymnastics federation.
“It’s definitely a mistake,” Zhang said of the Xinhua report, speaking in a telephone interview. “Never has any media outlet called me to check the athletes’ ages.”
Asked whether the federation had changed their ages to make them eligible, Zhang said: “We are a sports department. How would we have the ability to do that?”
“We already explained this very clearly. There’s no need to discuss this thing again.”
The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) has said repeatedly that a passport is the “accepted proof of a gymnast’s eligibility,” and that He and China’s other gymnasts have presented ones that show they are age eligible. The IOC also checked the girls’ passports and deemed them valid.
A May 23 story in the China Daily newspaper, the official English-language paper of the Chinese government, said He was 14. The story was later corrected to list her as 16.
“This is not a USAG issue,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “The FIG and the IOC are the proper bodies to handle this.”
(From Yahoo! Sports)
(Pictures are courtesy of Getty Images via Yahoo! Sports)
State-media story fuels questions on gymnast’s age
By JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press Writer
8 hours, 16 minutes ago
BEIJING (AP)—Just nine months before the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government’s news agency, Xinhua, reported that gymnast He Kexin was 13, which would have made her ineligible to be on the team that won a gold medal this week.
In its report Nov. 3, Xinhua identified He as one of “10 big new stars” who made a splash at China’s Cities Games. It gave her age as 13 and reported that she beat Yang Yilin on the uneven bars at those games. In the final, “this little girl” pulled off a difficult release move on the bars known as the Li Na, named for another Chinese gymnast, Xinhua said in the report, which appeared on one of its Web sites, www.hb.xinhuanet.com
The Associated Press found the Xinhua report on the site Thursday morning and saved a copy of the page. Later that afternoon, the Web site was still working but the page was no longer accessible. Sports editors at the state-run news agency would not comment for publication.
If the age reported by Xinhua was correct, that would have meant He was too young to be on the Chinese team that beat the United States on Wednesday and clinched China’s first women’s team Olympic gold in gymnastics. He is also a favorite for gold in Monday’s uneven bars final.
Yang was also on Wednesday’s winning team. Questions have also been raised about her age and that of a third team member, Jiang Yuyuan.
Gymnasts have to be 16 during the Olympic year to be eligible for the games. He’s birthday is listed as Jan. 1, 1992.
Chinese authorities insist that all three are old enough to compete. He herself told reporters after Wednesday’s final that “my real age is 16. I don’t pay any attention to what everyone says.”
Zhang Hongliang, an official with China’s gymnastics delegation at the games, said Thursday the differing ages which have appeared in Chinese media reports had not been checked in advance with the gymnastics federation.
“It’s definitely a mistake,” Zhang said of the Xinhua report, speaking in a telephone interview. “Never has any media outlet called me to check the athletes’ ages.”
Asked whether the federation had changed their ages to make them eligible, Zhang said: “We are a sports department. How would we have the ability to do that?”
“We already explained this very clearly. There’s no need to discuss this thing again.”
The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) has said repeatedly that a passport is the “accepted proof of a gymnast’s eligibility,” and that He and China’s other gymnasts have presented ones that show they are age eligible. The IOC also checked the girls’ passports and deemed them valid.
A May 23 story in the China Daily newspaper, the official English-language paper of the Chinese government, said He was 14. The story was later corrected to list her as 16.
“This is not a USAG issue,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “The FIG and the IOC are the proper bodies to handle this.”
(From Yahoo! Sports)
(Pictures are courtesy of Getty Images via Yahoo! Sports)
Are the Chinese cheating in Beijing? Nahhhhh.
The Chinese are winning in style. It's not cheating. Just because they falsified passports and the International Olympic Committee is afraid of angering the communist government they did nothing wrong. What people don't know can't hurt them, right?
By just looking at the picture of the People's Republic of China's women's gymnastics team, a human being will realize that at least four of the team members don't appear to be 16 years of age.
The United States gymnastics team has also criticized the ages of the Chinese team.
Here are some things that are funny: China won gold in men's and women's team gymnastics and China is doing well in the pool. In both of these sports China has never done well historically. China also won gold in rifle, go figure.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Bela is upset at China's cheating ways
(story from Yahoo! Sports)
Bela Karolyi incensed about underage rules
By BARRY WILNER, AP Sports Writer
BEIJING (AP)—Bela Karolyi seethed as he watched the Chinese women compete Sunday.
Not because of how good they were in qualifications, finishing 1.475 points ahead of the American team that often trains at his Texas ranch. What bothered the most famous man in gymnastics was “China’s arrogance” for using girls he wasn’t even sure were teenagers yet.
“They are using half-people,” Karolyi said. “One of the biggest frustrations is, what arrogance. These people think we are stupid.
“We are in the business of gymnastics and we know what a kid of 14 or 15 or 16 looks like. You don’t have to be a gymnastics coach to know what they look like at 16.”
Karolyi, working the games for NBC, believes the international federation’s rules that gymnasts must turn at least 16 during the Olympic year are flawed. Karolyi’s complaints are nothing new. But when they come moments after the Chinese have competed at the Olympics, well, they come across more loudly than ever.
“What kind of slap in the face is this?” he asked. “They are 12, 14 years old, max. And they line them up for the world … and having the government back them.
“Since they forced an age limit, it has gotten worse and worse. The FIG is running away from the age problem. They set an age limit and now they can’t control it.”
International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) officials have accepted the passports of the Chinese women, which indicate all are old enough to compete. Karolyi is originally from Romania, and he says falsifying documents is a common practice in countries such as Romania, Russia and other former Soviet bloc nations.
The solution, he said, is to not have any age limit. He believes if a gymnast is good enough to earn a spot at the Olympics or world championships, that athlete deserves to go. He said some juniors today are just as proficient as the age-eligble competitors. Nastia Liukin, for example, would certainly have made the squad for the Athens Games four years ago had she not been 14.
Karolyi’s wife, Martha, the national coordinator for the U.S. women’s team, agrees that if there are any questions about age, just eliminate the restrictions being broken.
“If it’s true,” she said of any nation using underage gymnasts, “the only situation is to lift up the age limit. It would be an even playing field for everyone.”
Bela Karolyi praised the Chinese for their skills on the various apparatus, and for their competitiveness. His issue is not with the athletes, of course, but with those who would use them as pawns in the chase for medals.
Very young pawns.
“They do good gymnastics and are a good service for the sport,” he said of the Chinese. “They have the ultimate effective training program. That’s why I am more upset that they are cheating. They don’t need cheating. They would be just as good a lineup of eligible athletes.”
Bela Karolyi incensed about underage rules
By BARRY WILNER, AP Sports Writer
BEIJING (AP)—Bela Karolyi seethed as he watched the Chinese women compete Sunday.
Not because of how good they were in qualifications, finishing 1.475 points ahead of the American team that often trains at his Texas ranch. What bothered the most famous man in gymnastics was “China’s arrogance” for using girls he wasn’t even sure were teenagers yet.
“They are using half-people,” Karolyi said. “One of the biggest frustrations is, what arrogance. These people think we are stupid.
“We are in the business of gymnastics and we know what a kid of 14 or 15 or 16 looks like. You don’t have to be a gymnastics coach to know what they look like at 16.”
Karolyi, working the games for NBC, believes the international federation’s rules that gymnasts must turn at least 16 during the Olympic year are flawed. Karolyi’s complaints are nothing new. But when they come moments after the Chinese have competed at the Olympics, well, they come across more loudly than ever.
“What kind of slap in the face is this?” he asked. “They are 12, 14 years old, max. And they line them up for the world … and having the government back them.
“Since they forced an age limit, it has gotten worse and worse. The FIG is running away from the age problem. They set an age limit and now they can’t control it.”
International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) officials have accepted the passports of the Chinese women, which indicate all are old enough to compete. Karolyi is originally from Romania, and he says falsifying documents is a common practice in countries such as Romania, Russia and other former Soviet bloc nations.
The solution, he said, is to not have any age limit. He believes if a gymnast is good enough to earn a spot at the Olympics or world championships, that athlete deserves to go. He said some juniors today are just as proficient as the age-eligble competitors. Nastia Liukin, for example, would certainly have made the squad for the Athens Games four years ago had she not been 14.
Karolyi’s wife, Martha, the national coordinator for the U.S. women’s team, agrees that if there are any questions about age, just eliminate the restrictions being broken.
“If it’s true,” she said of any nation using underage gymnasts, “the only situation is to lift up the age limit. It would be an even playing field for everyone.”
Bela Karolyi praised the Chinese for their skills on the various apparatus, and for their competitiveness. His issue is not with the athletes, of course, but with those who would use them as pawns in the chase for medals.
Very young pawns.
“They do good gymnastics and are a good service for the sport,” he said of the Chinese. “They have the ultimate effective training program. That’s why I am more upset that they are cheating. They don’t need cheating. They would be just as good a lineup of eligible athletes.”
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