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Olympics

The mystery of beach volleyball

Those hand signals the women flash behind their butts: They must be explained. Again.

By King Kaufman August 20, 2008

Paulie Walnuts has been located!

The scary "Sopranos" mobster showed up in Beijing, cunningly disguised as an American pole-vault coach.

By Gary Kamiya August 19, 2008

Fool's gold

The real question to ask after Liukin and He's routines: Why can't there be a tie?

By Jennifer Sey August 19, 2008

Mom favored for Sap-o-Meter gold

Slate has a scientific method for measuring the mawkishness of NBC's coverage.

By King Kaufman August 19, 2008

Memo to NBC gymnastics commentators: Shut up!

Their overheated, U.S.-obsessed reaction to Monday night's uneven-bars final made America look like a banana republic.

By Gary Kamiya August 19, 2008

Why do runners "shut it down"?

Saving energy for the final is one thing, but slowing down before the tape in heats looks like a recipe for disaster.

By King Kaufman August 19, 2008

Gymnastics tiebreakers are nuts!

Crazy rules cost American Liukin a gold. Then again, all gymnastics rules are crazy, and sane ones wouldn't have helped her.

By King Kaufman August 19, 2008

Dare to struggle, dare to win!

Nike darling Liu Xiang let down his nation. Shouldn't the poster boy for the new China have crawled across the finish line -- no matter what?

By John Krich August 19, 2008

Baseball gets chippy

Six hit batsmen, two collisions, an injured catcher and a woozy top prospect. No wonder big-league teams want no part of the Olympics.

By King Kaufman August 18, 2008

The naked city

Beijing's artists deserve a gold for the sheer wealth of their audacity and talent.

By John Krich August 18, 2008

Where have you gone, Allen Iverson?

The U.S. men's return to basketball dominance is a lot less interesting than those fascinating days of dysfunction in Athens.

By King Kaufman August 18, 2008

33 and fabulous

The most astonishing event of the women's individual gymnastics event finals was turned in by a 33-year-old mom.

By Jennifer Sey August 18, 2008

Short people got no reason to live

It isn't enough that tall men get all the girls and win all the elections. After Usain Bolt's ridiculous world-record sprint, now we can't even run away from them anymore.

By Gary Kamiya August 18, 2008

The bluest day

Sun shines bright on Beijing at last -- a perfect day for pure sport, beckoning all to party (and spend) within the Forbidden City.

By John Krich August 17, 2008

A tale of two Beijings

It wasn't the Red Army that killed feudalism -- it was the Olympics.

By John Krich August 16, 2008

Why we identify with Olympic athletes

Yes, their feats are unimaginable -- but they pull us up with them.

By Gary Kamiya August 15, 2008

Get the names right

NBC's lazy approach to pronunciation isn't limited to non-American athletes. The Peacock even butchers "Beijing."

By King Kaufman August 15, 2008

Grace under pressure, and over power

It would have been great to see Shawn Johnson's explosive athleticism win the women's gymnastics gold.

By King Kaufman August 15, 2008

Watching Nastia's gold and Shawn's silver

As a former elite gymnast myself, it's hard to watch Olympic competition. But then Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson blew me away.

By Jennifer Sey August 15, 2008

Clear the beach!

Volleyball in sand. Skimpy outfits. Americans good. We get it. Can we have a little basketball on TV please?

By King Kaufman August 14, 2008