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2008

News
  1. -08-07-08 High Hopes for Yao Ming (MSNBC News)
      "In the National Basketball Association, Yao Ming is a strong player in a star-studded league. Averaging 19 points per game during his six-year career with Houston, the Chinese center is often overshadowed by LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and others, who are flashier on and off the court.'

      "But as the summer Olympics open in Beijing, among thousands of athletes from around the world, Yao is the biggest star on his home stage of China." 08-08

  2. -08-10-08 China Starts Its Gold Rush (Time.com)
      "As a symbol of its powerful reemergence, China's first Olympic gold medal couldn't have been any more fitting. On Saturday, just 12 hours after the blaze of fireworks that opened the Beijing Games, Chen Xiexia, a Chinese female weightlifter in the 48 kg class, captured the host nation's first gold by heaving a combined total of 212 kg, an Olympic record. A 25-year-old who has dedicated 13 years of her life to this grueling sport, Chen thoroughly dominated the event, lifting 13 kg more than Turkish silver medalist Sibel Ozkan. A capacity crowd watched the Chinese champion's Herculean display — weightlifting may be a sporting sideshow in other countries, but in China it is prime-time viewing." 08-08

  3. -08-10-08 Phelps By a Finger (Time.com)
      "Michael Phelps' quest for eight gold medals remains alive and well after the U.S. men out-touched the French in a down-to-the-wire relay on August 11. It was the U.S.' shakiest event, given that the French squad boasts world record holder Alain Bernard, but Athens 2004 veteran Jason Lezak managed to beat Bernard to the wall in the last 100m by .08 of a second. The time set a new world record, dropping the previous one, set just the night before in the preliminary heat by the U.S., by nearly four seconds." 08-08

  4. -08-15-08 China Spends $17 Billion to Reduce Olympic Smog (Time.com)
      "To pre-empt complaints about Beijing's typically horrendous air pollution — the Chinese capital ranks among the world's most polluted urban areas — city officials embarked on a massive cleanup operation in the months and weeks leading up to the Games." 08-08

  5. -08-15-08 Phelps March to Greatness Unlikely to Be Topped (USA Today)
      "Whether or not Phelps wins eight gold medals in Beijing to surpass Mark Spitz's record seven golds from the 1972 Games, his audacious march toward Olympic history and his astounding performances are unlikely to be matched for years — if ever." 08-08

  6. -08-16-08 Olympic Medals by Country (Sports Illustrated)
      Tracks medals by nation. 08-08

  7. -08-16-08 Phelps Wins 7th Gold By One-Hundredth of a Second (Sports Illustrated)
      "For starters, Phelps was seventh at the 50-meter turn, somewhere in his own zip code, maybe in Lane 4 of the track stadium next door. Even Phelps' power-sleeping dog, Herman, had him by at least a paw and a half. Forget a gold medal; Phelps was in danger of not getting one of those blue ribbons they give to people just for showing up. With Cavic in front at 23.42, Phelps' teammate Ian Crocker, the world-record holder, was already pretty far back at 23.70. Phelps was at 24.04. In a 100-meter race, you don't overcome a six-tenth deficit at the 50-mark unless that shark takes his lunch in the other lanes." 08-08

  8. -10-01-08 Ages of Chinese Gymnasts Confirmed (USA Today)
      "China's Olympic gold-medal winning women's gymnasts met the minimum age requirement of 16, according to the findings of an investigation by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) announced Wednesday." 10-08

  9. 07-31-08 The LZR Suit and the Gold (Newsweek.com)
      "Speedo's LZR Racer swimsuit is causing the biggest splash in and out of the pool. The rubbery full-body corset would look more at home in a Batman movie than on the pool deck. But since it was introduced in February, swimmers wearing it have set a stunning 38 world records. Rivals' suits have set just three world records during that time, which has them crying foul (while scrambling to come up with their own sci-fi suits). The coach of the Italian team calls the LZR Racer 'technological doping.' The second largest U.S. swimwear maker, TYR, filed a federal lawsuit in California, alleging anticompetitive practices, against Speedo's parent company, the coach of the U.S. swim team and even a TYR endorser, Olympic medalist Erik Vendt, who switched to the Speedo. A Japanese swimmer under contract to Mizuno just set a world record in a LZR (pronounced laser), which he'll wear in Beijing." 07-08

  10. 100 Olympic Athletes to Watch (Time.com)
      Provides a picture and article on 100 top athletes competing in the 2008 Olympics. 08-08

  11. Equestrian Tragedy (Time.com)
      "She was supposed to ride into the Beijing Games on a pony. And not just any pony, but Teddy, a pint-sized fighter who was rocking the equestrian world. Karen O'Connor's story had all the elements: a 50-year-old baby boomer shooting for gold, an undersized competitor taking on the big horses, and a touching relationship between, not just a rider and her horse, but a rider and her pony!" 08-07

  12. MSNBC Olympics Coverage 2008 (MSNBC News)
      Provides coverage of the Olympics. 08-08

  13. NBC Olympics Coverage 2008 (NBC Olympics)
      Provides coverage of the Olympics. 08-08

  14. NY Times Olympics Coverage 2008 (NY Times)
      Provides coverage of the Olympics. 08-08

  15. Olympics 2008 Countdown in China (MSNBC News)
      "As fireworks exploded over Tiananmen Square on Wednesday night, a troupe of 200 youthful singers on a glittering stage below belted out the theme song to mark the one-year countdown for the Beijing Olympics: 'We Are Ready.' " 08-07

  16. Olympics Tennis 2008 (NY Times)
      "Nadal earned the ranking [of number 1] by becoming the first man in 28 years to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season, ending Federer’s five-year run of victories at the All England Club in a five-set classic that is already being referred to in hushed tones." 08-08

Papers
  1. Johnson, Shaun (ESPN)
      "After becoming America's fourth ever women's gymnastics world all-around champion in 2007, the then 15-year-old Shawn Johnson warned there would be more to come and switched her gaze firmly on the Beijing Olympics." 08-08

  2. Phelps Ties Spitz's Gold Record (USA Today)
      "Phelps won his seventh gold medal in Beijing, tying Mark Spitz's record from the 1972 Games. Eight golds would give Phelps the greatest single Olympic performance." 08-08

       


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