1. “And on it went for eight days as scores of Olympians, male and female, trickled into the shooter’s house — and that’s what everyone called it, Shooters’ House — at all hours, stopping by an Oakley duffel bag overflowing with condoms procured from the village’s helpful medical clinic. After a while, it dawned on Lakatos: ‘I’m running a friggin’ brothel in the Olympic Village! I’ve never witnessed so much debauchery in my entire life.’”
ESPN’s Body Magazine brought the goodies this year with a behind-the-scenes look at what Olympic athletes get up to once they are finished competing. Sam Alipour’s Sex (and the Olympic Village) is well worth a read.
2.“Other flag-waving types say that a Brad Wiggins/British victory is vital for providing a boost to cycling in the United Kingdom, that a Tour de France victory means that there will be more SkyRides, which are important and necessary for achieving a victory for the British cycling grassroots movement, and then the United Kingdom will be the greatest cycling nation on the planet and now we’ll feel better about ourselves and about our sport and about our national identity. Bollocks. If there was ever a “wrong reason” for a Tour de France victory, this is it.”
The final week of the Tour de France was not without its talking points, even when it became apparent that Bradley Wiggins’ ceremonial march to a first yellow jersey would not be challenged (no, not even by you, Chris Froome). Writing for the brilliant Cyclismas, UCI_Overload explains why he/she is so troubled by the Britishness of Team Sky’s victory.
3.“A bang echoes through London’s cavernous Olympic basketball arena as one wheelchair rams into another. Britain’s Aaron Phipps has been hit by a Canadian defender, and for a split-second his left wheel hangs precariously in the air. Phipps spins into a 180. Escaping with the ball, he carves around another Canadian opponent who’s been expertly blocked by teammate Ross Morrison. Arms pounding like blades on a steam locomotive, he carries the ball across the court and over the goal line to score.”
4.“He went back to his seat to watch the last two fights. Afterward, he hobbled to a drug store and bought a knee brace, an ice pack, a large quantity of bandages, and a lighter to replace the Zippo he lost in the fall. Two days later George would go to a hospital to set his broken leg. But that night, he went home. His wife Marge cleaned the scrapes on George’s arms, and he took a big hit of OxyContin. Then he filed his story on the fight.”
It doesn’t seem like 12 months since one of boxing’s all-time great writers passed away but 6 June marked the one-year anniversary of the legendary George Kimball. What better reason to revisitAlex Belth’s stunning tribute on Deadspin, penned at the end of last year.
5. “Fitness was fleeting, but class was permanent. Even in recent seasons, Spurs were a different team when King started matches, those around him gaining assurance from his mere presence on the turf. It was only in the second part of last season that his performances really tailed off and the strain clearly showed, a collision with a youth-team goalkeeper on one of the rare occasions he could train, over Christmas, having set him back.”
Yes — Team USA Hockey of the 1994 Junior Goodwill Games.
6.“While cross-sport (and cross-age and cross-reality) comparisons are never perfect, 2012 Team USA is eerily similar to the squad that saved us from Icelandic colonization in D2: The Mighty Ducks. So similar that there’s a lot they could learn from the Ducks turned Team USA. If each Olympian acknowledges his hockey-playing doppelgänger, there’s no doubt this team could be just as triumphant as coach Gordon Bombay’s kids. I’ve never been more serious about anything.”
The Sunday Papers: some of the week's best sportswriting
1. “And on it went for eight days as scores of Olympians, male and female, trickled into the shooter’s house — and that’s what everyone called it, Shooters’ House — at all hours, stopping by an Oakley duffel bag overflowing with condoms procured from the village’s helpful medical clinic. After a while, it dawned on Lakatos: ‘I’m running a friggin’ brothel in the Olympic Village! I’ve never witnessed so much debauchery in my entire life.’”
ESPN’s Body Magazine brought the goodies this year with a behind-the-scenes look at what Olympic athletes get up to once they are finished competing. Sam Alipour’s Sex (and the Olympic Village) is well worth a read.
3. “A bang echoes through London’s cavernous Olympic basketball arena as one wheelchair rams into another. Britain’s Aaron Phipps has been hit by a Canadian defender, and for a split-second his left wheel hangs precariously in the air. Phipps spins into a 180. Escaping with the ball, he carves around another Canadian opponent who’s been expertly blocked by teammate Ross Morrison. Arms pounding like blades on a steam locomotive, he carries the ball across the court and over the goal line to score.”
You’ve (hopefully) seen the brilliant Murderball; now meet the men who will be the stars of the show at the London 2012 Paralympics. Huck Magazine’s D’Arcy Doran looks at the battle for wheelchair rugby glory.
5. “Fitness was fleeting, but class was permanent. Even in recent seasons, Spurs were a different team when King started matches, those around him gaining assurance from his mere presence on the turf. It was only in the second part of last season that his performances really tailed off and the strain clearly showed, a collision with a youth-team goalkeeper on one of the rare occasions he could train, over Christmas, having set him back.”
In the Guardian, Dominic Fifield pays tribute to Tottenham Hotspur’s Ledley King who retired on Thursday after a career wracked by injury.
Yes — Team USA Hockey of the 1994 Junior Goodwill Games.
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Bradley Wiggins Ledley King Murderball Olympic Village Sports writing Sunday Papers Well read