Becky Hammon is an American who plays for the WNBA’s San Antonio Silver Stars. She’s also going to play in the Olympics in Beijing — but not for Team USA. Instead, Hammon will play for Russia’s Olympic basketball team. Hammon has no Russian ancestry, but she has played professionally in Russia, and she became a Russian citizen to aid her basketball career. In the eyes of the International Olympic Committee, that’s good enough for her to play for Russia.

That doesn’t sit well with some in this country. During a CNN interview, Team USA women’s basketball coach Anne Donovan referred to Hammon as a “traitor.” Similar sentiments were expressed today on ESPN’s Outside the Lines.

But that’s silly. This isn’t war, it’s basketball. Hammon wanted to be an Olympian, she wasn’t chosen for the American team, and so she looked elsewhere. People who don’t like the rules that allow that can blame the IOC, but blaming Hammon for wanting to play on her sport’s biggest stage is wrong. [source HuffingtonPost]

Posted on June 28th, 2008 by Christopher M
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June 27 (Bloomberg) — Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia took delight in dumping former champion Maria Sharapova and her outfit out of Wimbledon yesterday.

“It’s very pleasant to beat Maria,” said Kudryavtseva. “Why? Well, I don’t like her outfit.”

Kudryavtseva, the daughter of a Greco-Roman wrestling world champion, won in straight sets to hand the 2004 winner and Russian countrywoman her earliest exit at Wimbledon. The victory over the No. 3 seed meant Kudryavtseva, who’s ranked 154th, matched her previous best performance at a Grand Slam by reaching the third round. She’ll next play Shuai Peng of China.

Sharapova’s outfit, a white tuxedo-styled jacket and shorts by her sponsor Nike Inc., attracted as many questions at her first-round post-match press conference as her on-court performance. Kudryavtseva, who wore a white skirt and tank top, said her Federation Cup teammate’s attire “was one of the motivations to beat her.”

Posted on June 27th, 2008 by Christopher M
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from timesonline, london, june 22, 2008:

“Attractive female, tall, athletic, clever, GSOH. On paper, perhaps in the personal columns, Michelle Obama certainly fits the bill. Even for America’s potential first lady. The first black first lady.

Small wonder that her husband Barack’s right-wing opponents are busting a gut trying to make her appear his weakest link. Last week, Michelle was effectively forced to “reposition” herself with an appearance on The View, a daytime chat show presented by a panel of women.

At almost six feet tall in heels, Mrs. Obama, 44, cuts an athletic and authoritative figure in her tailored pantsuits and skirts. A Harvard-educated lawyer who had been earning $212,000 a year as a hospital executive before she took leave on Jan. 1, she delivers rousing 40-minute speeches — surveying topics as far-ranging as the specific failings of the federal No Child Left Behind education act and problems with the military strategy in Iraq — without the aid of even a notecard. (source nytimes.com)

Posted on June 27th, 2008 by Christopher M
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There are strong women and then there are strong women.

Logan’s daily reports have been an integral part of CBS News’ coverage of the war in Iraq, both before and after U.S. troops moved into the country. She was the only journalist from an American network in Baghdad when the U.S. military invaded the city, reporting live from Firdos Square as the statue of Saddam fell. Since then, she has spent the majority of her time in Iraq and Afghanistan. Logan broke the story of the abuse of special needs Iraqi orphans on the CBS Evening News in June 2007, a report that made headlines around the world. Also that year, she reported from Pakistan on the death of Benazir Bhutto and its aftermath. (source: cbsnews)

The story below is amusing, although I am suprised Lara did not step in and kick both their asses.

Lara Logan’s foreign affairs revealed
Lara Logan, CBS network’s Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent, appears to be taking her job title somewhat literally. The New York Post claims that while on assignment in Baghdad, she became embroiled in a “love triangle”, conducting simultaneous sexual relationships with CNN war reporter Michael Ware and a US contractor called Joe Burkett. The course of (true) love did not run smoothly – the two men allegedly ended up fighting over Logan, 37, a former swimwear model, in a Baghdad bar.

Posted on June 27th, 2008 by Christopher M
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French Sports Minister Bernard Laporte expressed outrage over the posting of nude photos on the Internet of Olympic gold medalist Laure Manaudou, saying he hopes those responsible will be punished.

[source: http://www.sportnet7.com/2007/12/20/manadous-nude-photos-spark-uproar]
“I find this destabilization campaign shameful,” Laporte told Europe-1 radio. “I hope we find those who acted in this hateful way and that they will be punished because they deserve to be punished.”

Manaudou, who won the 400-meter freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics, made headlines after a public quarrel with her former boyfriend, Italian swimmer Luca Marin, at the European Short Course Swimming Championships in Hungary.

Posted on June 25th, 2008 by Christopher M
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Beyond swinging a Chanel handbag, did you do anything in particular to get into shape for this role? (source: cnn.com)

I started working out about three months before the film began. I wanted to be curvy and muscle-y. I took my body inspiration from Jessica Biel. I didn’t quite get those results, but she’s great.

David Kirsch, my trainer, has made sure that I am no longer self-conscious about my thighs. Eventually my knees are going to be all wrinkly and I’m not going to be able to wear things like short skirts, so I take pleasure in wearing them now.

and more: (source: DailyRecord.uk)
After playing a prim Jane Austen opposite James McAvoy in her last film, Becoming Jane, she is now more butch than British thanks to six months of training for the film adaptation of TV comedy series Get Smart, opposite 40 Year Old Virgin star Steve Carell.

“I have to be very, very strong, so I’m working out like a madwoman.

“Basically, anything Jen Garner did in Alias, expect in this film,” said Anne and demonstrates an impressive karate chop she has learned since becoming Agent 99.

“I kick a little ass,” she grinned. “My favourite bit is when I get to run up a wall and turn around and punch him.

“And then I bake some cupcakes.”

Posted on June 25th, 2008 by Christopher M
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From her blog at Bodybuilding.com, CLICK HERE to see this 33 year old amateur Canadian Deadlift 240 pounds.

Posted on June 25th, 2008 by Christopher M
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SSCusp is a photographer with a professional Flickr account. He has many fine photostreams, including recent coverage of the Emerald Cup

Posted on June 25th, 2008 by Christopher M
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So this is what we all have to look forward to for our Florida retirement. I have many questions, the first one is, who shot this video? Grandson, voyeuristic neighbors?

CLICK HERE FOR YOUTUBE VIDEO

Nope. HERE is the answer

[title is from youtube post!]

Posted on June 24th, 2008 by Christopher M
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