Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Missy Franklin made a name for herself this past summer when she destroyed those who stood in her Olympic path. Franklin was unstoppable in the water, and she was built up as a titan of an Olympian — and she was just 17 years old. Franklin spoke as though she was just a hometown girl from Aura, Colorado but while she might not ever forget her roots, being an Olympian has it’s perks.

Like being serenaded by Prince Harry on your 18th birthday.

Franklin is just getting started in her career as an athlete, and it’s always great to see candid moments like the one she got this week from the Prince.  Harry has long been the ‘everyman’ Prince as while his brother is busy being the face of British royalty, Harry is busy living life the way he wants to from serving in the Royal British Army to partying naked in Las Vegas.

This little moment fell in between those two extremes and we even got to see Harry’s cheeky side.

“So you went straight from bronze to gold,” Harry asked when playfully making fun of Franklin’s epic rise int he Olympics. “What about silver? You skipped that one!”

Franklin is expected to compete in the 2016 Rio Games and defend her gold medals she won this past summer in London. In the mean time, she’ll be busy getting tattoos, meeting Justin Beiber and of course being serenaded by British royalty.

Feb 24, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves small forward Andrei Kirilenko (47) dunks against Golden State Warriors power forward David Lee (10) in the fourth quarter at Target Center. The Warriors won 100-99. Mandatory Credit: Greg Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Former Utah Jazz, now Minnesota Timberwolves’ forward, Andrei Kirilenko, has announced that he will not participate in the upcoming Eurobasket qualifying tournament for the FIBA basketball world cup and will he will not play for the next four years citing family reasons.

According to FIBA, the Russian Basketball Federation president, Alexander Krasenkov and Kirilenko sat down after the NBA all-star weekend break, and discussed the future of the team and whether or not Kirilenko will commit, with the end result being he won’t.

Kirilenko said it was an honour playing for the national team for 12 years. Via FIBA.

“I have made the decision, though to be honest it wasn’t easy,” Kirilenko said in the RBF statement.

“Playing for honor and a responsibility all these years, I was proud to be part of the team.”

As well, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, Kirlilenko said he was retiring because he wanted to spend more quality time with his family and be a better father figure to his children as they grow up.

And on stepping away from the Russian national team after leading it to an Olympic bronze medal last summer in London…

“It’s not connected to playing time, I’m not tired, I’m not tired of playing for the national team,” he said. “I want to be a better dad. I want to be with my family a little more. I think I already give a lot, play 12 years on the national team. There is time.”

He said he has thought about this decision for the last two, three years but got serious about making it after the Olympics.

“I was thinking in summertime I don’t have enough time with my kids,” he said. “My wife and kids, I want to be around them. I don’t want to be dad who’s spending two hours and then you don’t see your kids. It’s a hard decision.

“It’s kind of a dilemma: Going around the globe, playing basketball, have fun or spend your time with your kids and have fun and see how they’re growing. You want to be around them at this kind of age when they’re growing, they start playing hockey, start playing basketball. You want to see the improvement, not only in sports but the person.

During last summer’s London 2012 Olympics, Kirilenko alongside Timberwolves’ teammate, Alexey Shved, took home the bronze medal in a match against Team Argentina consisting of Manu Ginobli, Luis Scola and Carlos Delfino, Andres Nocioni and Pablo Prigioni with a final score 81-77.

Kirilenko concluded by saying he received an open invitation to return by the Russian basketball federation president if he does decide to change his mind.

United States Swimmer Missy Franklin won five medal at the 2012 London Olympics and she commemorated the occasion by getting a tattoo.

Teenage girls apparently love tattoos. We all went to High School, we remember just about every girl from the rocker chicks with sleeves to the cheerleaders with little flowers on their foot, girls like ink.

United States swimmer Missy Franklin is no exception to this rule. But unlike other teenaged girls, she gets to be creative with her tattoo — no matter how…let’s say questionable the location may be.

Franklin took the 2012 London Olympics by storm and showed off her skill that had many calling her one of the next great American swimmers. Franklin took home four gold medals and a bronze from the London games and has now fused herself with that memory forever.

That’s right, Missy Franklin is all tatted up with Olympic thigh pride. Franklin tweeted a photo of the tattoo, introducing the world to her Olympic ink.

“All inked up! AHHH! Can’t Believe it! My one and only!” She tweeted with this attached photo:

17-year old American swimmer Missy Franklin got all inked up to commemorate her five Olympic medals.

Franklin’s tattoo wasn’t the only bizarre tattoo a medalist got. Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice immortalized her two Olympics trips with a tattoo in an…interesting place.

Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice also got tatted up to honor her medals she won in 2008 and 2012.

So is there a contract that says winning a gold medal means you have to get an oddly placed tattoo to commemorate the occasion? Rice’s isn’t that strange but Franklin’s is probably going to upset her more conservative followers given its provocative location. But hey, Franklin can do as she pleases. After all she did win four gold medals for the land of the free to get inked up wherever you want.

I just can’t wait for the 2016 Games and the Olympian who finally steps up and raises the bar with the Olympic rings tattooed to their forehead. Now that’s national pride.

Michael Phelps is in hot water over a recent photo shoot with Louis Vitton that was leaked.

You don’t mess with the IOC and their tedious rules, even if you are the most decorated Olympian in the history of the games. That’s the lesson Michael Phelps is learning as he is in a vat of boiling problems concerning a photo shoot he did for French luxury line Louis Vuitton.

Phelps was hired for a promotional photo shoot for an upcoming campaign for Louis Vuitton, one that was set to begin on August 16th. But photos of Phelps shoot were leaked and surfaced on the internet late last week, which unfortunately for Phelps, directly violates the IOC’s ‘Rule 40‘ which states no Olympic athlete may promote a non-Olympic sponsored product between the dates of July 18 and August 15.

The rules explicitly states: “a competitor or a team may lose the benefit of any ranking obtained in relation to other events at the Olympic Games at which he or it was disqualified or excluded; in such case the medals and diplomas won by him or it shall be returned to the IOC.”

Don’t get too nervous though. Phelps is highly unlikely to lose any medals or victories over this debacle — because at the moment that’s all it is: an unfortunate and uncontrollable mistake.

In order for Phelps to lose his medals, the IOC will have to prove that there was a conspiracy by either Phelps, Louis Vuitton or both parties to release the photos before they were allowed to. Both Phelps and the fashion design company deny they were the ones who leaked the photos that surfaced last week. And rightfully so for Phelps, who has a lot at stake over something as simple as being photographed in a bathtub or in a flashy suit with a bag.

You can understand why Louis Vuitton would leak the photos. Everyone from fashion pundits to sports sites like us are circulating their name, giving their upcoming line free promotion. But look at this from their point of view: if it gets out that they leaked these photos, high profile celebrities will think more than twice about helping them out.

But conspiracy theorists have what seems like good ground to stand on. One of the photos leaked is of Phelps posing alongside former Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina. Phelps broke Latynina’s Olympic medal record during the London Games, but everyone and their grandma knew he was in a position to do this. Louis Vuitton would have been stupid to not take the photos beforehand, even if Phelps didn’t break the record.

This isn’t the first time Phelps is on the short end of the stick when it comes to photos getting leaked. But if he didn’t lose any medals over this leaked photo that he clearly didn’t put out himself, then the IOC will be hard pressed to take medals away from their brightest star for posing with a purse.

The debate is finally going to get some answers as NBA2K13 will allow you to matchup up the 1992 Dream Team against the 2012 London team.

It’s the hot debate at the moment and it’s not likely to ever go away, but you may be able to get a little look at how it may have gone down. Thanks to the good folks at NBA2K13, the Dream Team debate is about to get a whole lot more interesting, as the game will feature both rosters as a playable options in this year’s edition. So now the debate can finally be settled.

Well, sort of.

Whether this was a legitimate snag or a way to be the debate alive, Scottie Pippen will not be featured on the 1992 roster as apparently he couldn’t agree to terms with the game developer.

How convenient however, that Pippen’s absence means an incomplete roster for the ’92 Dream Team. Without Pippen, the die-hards won’t be able to have their definitive answer to the ultimate question of who’s better.

But nevertheless, the game is going to give you the ability to battle out this dream basketball scenario as man times as you want, in as many ways as you want and anywhere you want.

Michael Jordan helped make the announcement and he took the occasion to again say that the 2012 Dream Team wouldn’t stand a chance against that of the original. And in all honesty, a basketball video game isn’t going to help settle this debate, but rather it will guide it in a direction that takes it to another level.

But even if it doesn’t settle the debate at all, we all know one of the first things we do when we crack open the game is we’re going to that “Play Now” menu and lining up the ’92 Dream Team versus the ’12 Dream Team.

Even though that millions of people playing out this dream scenario of a game isn’t going to answer the question — it’s still going to be a helluva lot of fun.

PAU! What in the name of Kareem Abdul are you doing playing for Spain, asks American's on Twitter.

The rest of the world regularly takes chip shots at Americans for their occasional lapse of intelligence (see: brain fart). And during the London Olympics, American’s didn’t do themselves any favors when they were watching the gold medal basketball game between Team USA and Spain and taking to Twitter to ask a question that seemingly had no good explanation.

Why in the world was Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol playing for Spain?

I mean, he’s got a house in America, plays in America, works in America and earns a good ol’ fashioned American pay check. So why is he committing the highest of high treason by betraying America to play for Spain?

The Twitter-verse was begging the same question. Just take a look at some of these gems:

umm question why is Gasol playing for Spain ?!

— Milah(@JustMilah_) August 12, 2012

Because he’s Spanish.

I’m confused as 2 y Pau & Marc Gasol R playing 4 Spain? I know they’re from Spain but they’re American so R they also playing 4 team #USA?

— Kelly (@itsladolcevita) August 6, 2012

If I multiply the two, and cary the one….THIS IS SO CONFUSING!!!

Hey, what the hell, isn’t Gasol American ???? #Olympics2012#MensBasketball

— Sarah Huizar (@saritacheeks) August 8, 2012

Yes, in fact Gasol is an ancient and historic American name.

This the first basketball game I’ve caught of the Olympics can someone explain to me why Gasol playing for Spain??

— ℋᵅᵏᵘᵑᵅ ☯ ℳᵅᵗᵅᵗᵅ(@KieraTruee) August 12, 2012

Because he’s from Spain.

I need another answer besides Gasol from Spain, I know that but he play for the US sooo, again did he have a choice to play for Spain?

— ℋᵅᵏᵘᵑᵅ ☯ ℳᵅᵗᵅᵗᵅ(@KieraTruee) August 12, 2012

Yes. Because he’s from Spain.

I find it weird how Gasol is playing for Spain and he’s on an American team. That’s so stupid

— August 12th ♥ ♌ (@shana_monique) August 12, 2012

Clearly it’s a conspiracy concocted by David Stern and the folks that staged the moon landing and framed Lee Harvey Oswalt.

If you live in America, Work in America, speak english, and pay Taxes here – are you not American?? Gausol’s and Ibaka!! – American’s!!

— Ross E. Reitsma (@RossReitsma) August 12, 2012

 

Yeah! A’MURICA!!!

Gasol quit complaining you live in America you make American money and you have a huge house in America! What has Spain done for you?….

— Andrew Cobb (@Andres_Cobo18) August 12, 2012

 

…..yeah.

So clearly the concept of the Olympics and the notion of national pride and the fact that not everyone comes from and is owned by America isn’t fully understood.

Hooray! America!!

NBA legends Doc Rivers and Gregg Popovich are heading a list of potential candidates to replace former Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski. (Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE)

Sunday’s gold medal final was legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final game as head coach of Team USA. He’s leaving behind a career in the Olympics that won’t likely be matched.

But nevertheless, a successor is needed now that Krzyzewski is stepping down, and it’s looking like they guy for the job is in the NBA as we speak.

Celtics head coach Doc Rivers and Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich have reportedly shot to the top of the list of potential successors to Krzyzewski. The Duke legend is expected to stay tied to the Olympic program as an aide to Jerry Colangelo. That’s of course contingent on Krzyzewski standing firm in his decision to not continue his coaching tenure with Team USA.

Colangelo didn’t sound very optimistic that a return by Coach K was a possibility, despite Kevin Durant claiming that they can convince him to come back for one more run.

“We’ll have to have that conversation on an official basis.” Colangelo said.  ”He’s said this is it and I’ll respect his choice. But knowing me as I know me, I’ll have that conversation and we’ll see.”

Rivers and Popovich head a list of coaches that includes Louisville coach Rick Pitino, but the feeling within the USAB is that the next head coach of Team USA will come from the NBA.

Rivers nearly retired from basketball a few years ago to spend more time with his family, but now that son Austin Rivers is in the NBA, chances are Rivers retirement is still a good five years away. And what a way to end a coaching career like his then to end it with a gold medal in 2016.

Gregg Popovich is very much in the same boat. The reigning Coach of the Year in the NBA is in the twilight of his coaching career, and to add a gold medal to his already impressive legacy would merely be icing on the top of a sure-fire Hall of Fame career.

In a dream scenario, they both come on — one as the head coach and the other as an assistant. Or, if we’re rolling with this fantasy that will never happen, they both come on as co-head coaches.

Only one will take over for Krzyzewski, but the debate can begin as to who should take over. Both coaches are legends in their own right, and both have handled teams of superstars. Both are very well respected within the NBA and both are looking to cap off coaching careers with the ultimate prize: Olympic gold.

A new head coach will be one of many changes for Team USA in 2016. Kobe Bryant and Tyson Chandler will not be on the team due to age, and even LeBron James has flirted with the idea of calling it an Olympic career. New faces Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin will all be on the roster, giving the American’s a new look and new pulse.

Old faces like Kevin Durant, Kevin Love and Chris Paul are all likely to be back but the Team USA that competes in 2016 will be very different, from head to toe, than the one that won gold in 2008 and 2012 behind Krzyzewski.

LeBron James was a big part of Team USA basketball’s success during their dominant gold medal run at the 2012 London Olympics. It was the second gold medal that James has won and it came in the same year that he won the NBA MVP award and his first NBA championship but it may be the last gold that LeBron ever makes a run at.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant and Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski have both already announced their Olympic careers are over. James could be joining that group.

Per  Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, James is uncertain whether or not he will commit to another gold medal run at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.

“It’s been a great run honestly. I don’t know if I’m going to be part of the 2016 team,” James said.

Of course, a lot can change in four years. If James still feels healthy and motivated to add to his growing legacy, he could very well suit up for the red, white and blue again. James will be 31 when the Rio games roll around so he will still have some fuel left in the tank.

At the 2012 Olympic games, James showed that he was the best player in the world. It would be a shame for the world’s brightest basketball star to sit out of the Olympics if he is still able to play.

July 27, 2012; London, United Kingdom; General view of fireworks over the stadium during the closing ceremony for the 2012 London Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Leo Mason-USA TODAY Sports

The 2012 London Olympics are now officially in the books. The world’s greatest athletes came together and performed on the largest stage to decide who was the best in their respective discipline or sport in the world. Now that the competition is over, it is time to end the games in style.

As London did with the opening ceremony “Isles of Wonder” — produced by Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle – they looked to get the world talking as they close out the games with a ceremony produced by Stephen Daldry and along with creative director and choreographer Kim Gavin, designer Es Devlin, music director David Arnold and lighting director Patrick Woodroffe.

Daldry says the closing ceremony was ”one of the most exciting events I have ever seen.”

Performers for the closing ceremony include the performers of the Olympics official song “Survival” Muse, as well as acts like Take That, The Who, George Michael, Spice Girls, Ed Sheeran, Annie Lennox, Kate Bush, Pet Shop Boys, Madness, Kaiser Chiefs, Brian May and One Direction.

The ceremony also featured the handing over of the Olympic flag from London mayor Boris Johnson to Eduardo Paes, the mayor of Rio de Janiero which will host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

For those who missed the closing ceremony or for those who simply would like to relive the scenes from the end of the 2012 London Olympics, we have gathered some of the images from the closing ceremony. Check out the photo gallery below and prepare to get ready for the 2014 Winter Games.

Team USA took home the gold today in a 107-100 win over Spain

For the second time in these Olympic games, Team USA’s defense wasn’t much of a factor for much of the match against Spain. It was because of this that the American’s couldn’t fully pull away from Spain the way they have with all their other opponents in the Olympics. It brought back flashbacks to the Lithuania scare in pool play. If you were banking on a rematch of the 2008 gold medal game, you got more then you bargained for Sunday when Team USA went head-to-head with Spain, who stuck with the Americans blow-for-blow the entire match.

Serge Ibaka was hustling hard in the second half for Spain and with the Spaniards in foul trouble, he was a major factor down the stretch. But even his performance in combination with that of Pau Gasol’s wasn’t enough to topple an impressive offensive attack by Team USA.

It was true four years ago in Beijing when these two teams met for the gold and it’s true four years later in London: Team USA is an unstoppable offensive force with unmatchable firepower. They played an absolutely atrocious game defensively but they were able to cancel that out with performances for the ages, like Kevin Durant’s 30 points.

Durant carried the American’s down the stretch of the game, and even though Spain was able to take Olympic MVP LeBron James out of the game in terms of being a game changing factor, Durant more then made up for it and showed that just because he’s a runner up MVP in the NBA doesn’t mean he can’t bring it in the Olympics when it matters most.

Carmelo Anthony continued his quest to be the Olympic Sixth Man with am 8 point, 5 rebound game with 3 assists to boot. Melo had been consistent off the bench for most off the Olympics and he didn’t fizzle when the weight was at it’s greatest.

The gold medal is the 13th overall for the United States and their fourth in the last five years. It’s also a fitting way for head coach Mike Krzyzewski to go out in his final game as the head coach of one of the greatest Olympic basketball teams in Olympic history.

Comparisons to the 1992 Barcelona Dream Team are not warranted. The 2012 Dream Team blew through their competition with only one minor hiccup against Lithuania. But they have won Olympic gold and have not only proven that they are the best basketball team in the world, they might just be the greatest basketball team in the history of the world.

They have Olympic gold, and thus the debate begins.

Mike Krzyzewski will be court side for his last game as USA basketball head coach Sunday afternoon when Team USA faces Spain in the gold medal match at the 2012 London Olympics. Coach K told the Associated Press that he will step down as USA coach following the gold medal game.

Krzyzewski has been head coach of the USA basketball team for seven years and has done a masterful job at handling all of the NBA stars egos.

Coach K took over the USA basketball program following the 2004 Athens games where Team USA finished with the bronze medal. Since then, he has helped restore the program to glory. Krzyzewski led the “Redeem Team” back to the gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and then to a world championship victory in 2010.

Team USA’s world championship came with a win over Spain — the team they will face in the gold medal game on Sunday.

“If we can win it, then it would be three major championships in a row, which I don’t know when that’s been done because we haven’t usually won the world championships,” Krzyzewski said. “It would be a huge thing for our program.”

Krzyzewski won’t publicly take any credit for the United States regained dominance in the international basketball scene but USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo won’t shy away from giving the Duke head coach all of the recognition he deserves.

“It goes beyond what has happened on the floor,” Colangelo said. “He’s been so important to me in everything we’ve done in building the infrastructure and philosophy and standards — all of it. His legacy goes beyond the record on the court. We’re 52-1, I guess since this all began, and hopefully we’ll be 53-1 after tomorrow. That’s a legacy in itself.”

If Team USA comes away with the gold medal in London, Coach K will join Henry Iba as the only two coaches to lead the Americans to back-to-back Olympic golds.

Candace Parker led the charge for Team USA, as she was hungry for the gold right out of the gate. She finished with 21 points in the match and added 10 rebounds to boot. Her performance was complimented by those of Diana Taurusi and Sue Bird, who finished with 9 and 11 points respectively.

The gold medal is the fifth in a row and seventh overall for the women of Team USA, a mark that is unprecedented and unheard of before this. The last time Team USA didn’t win the gold medal in the Olympics, Candace Parker was 6 years old and WNBA Rookie of the Year Maya Moore was 3. Both are now gold medalists in the London 2012 Games.

The game was tight to start, but after the half, Team USA started to not just pull away but run away with the finale. France trailed by just 12 points at the halfway point but the American women came flying out of the gate in the third quarter, scoring 26 points and allowing just 12 to strengthen their lead to 63-37, a 26 point deficit.

The French had five players finish with zero points, which was a major factor to the blowout nature of the score.

It also didn’t help that the French shot just 10 percent from beyond the arc. In fact all across the board the shooting was awful for France, hitting just under 80 percent from the stripe and only 26 percent from the field. The Americans on the other hand weren’t too much better but in this case a mediocre performance shooting was more than what it took to get the gold.

One down, one to go is the mantra of Team USA basketball. The women have theirs and now it’s time for the men to get theirs (which they’ll attempt to do tomorrow morning at 9am). Five straight gold medals isn’t something to take lightly, it’s never been done in the history of women’s basketball at the Olympics and the American women are showing no signs of slowing down and it’s only a matter of time before we’re counting down the minutes to a sixth consecutive gold.

But for now, five will do these Olympic women just fine.

The Jamaican sprinters continued their dominance on the 2012 London Olympics track today during the men’s 4 x 100-meter relay. The Jamaicans took the gold medal in a blazing time of 36.85 seconds. Jamaica’s time was the first ever under thirty seven seconds and it is your new world record.

The Jamaican teams star studded line-up featured Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake and living legend Usain Bolt.

Team USA — which included Trell Kimmons, Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay and Ryan Bailey – finished in second place and set a new national record with a time of 37.04 seconds which happens to be the old world record mark.

Canada finished in third-place but was disqualified. With the Canadians being disqualified, Trinidad and Tobago took the bronze.

The gold medal for Jamaica is the third gold for Bolt in the 2012 Olympic games. It is the first gold in London for Blake, who took silver behind Bolt in the 100-meter and 200-meter.

http://buzzfeed-video1.s3.amazonaws.com/video/2012/08/11/4×100-624×346.mp4

Mexico defeated heavily favored Brazil to win the gold medal in men's Olympic soccer competition, the first in the country's history.

It took Mexico just 29 seconds to score their first goal on their way to a 2-1 victory over Brazil, giving Orbie Peralta and his teammates the first gold medal for Mexico in Olympic soccer history.

Peralta scored the aforementioned goal, which was the fastest Olympic goal since the 1976 Montreal Olympics, when FIFA began keeping records of the competition. He took advantage of a mistake by a Brazilian defender and set the tone for the match on Saturday. Peralta had a goal disallowed in the 69th minute after an offsides call and teammate Marco Fabian missed an open net corner on a header in the 72nd minute.

FIFA said the fastest goal in all competitions came from Brazil’s Fabinho, who scored in nine seconds in the 2007 Under-17 World Cup in South Korea.

The match did have some drama near the end. Perlata scored a second goal in the 75th minute, a header off a free kick. But Hulk was able to score for Brazil in injury time, cutting the lead for Mexico to just one. A crucial header was missed by in the final seconds which all but sealed the gold medal victory for Mexico.

This is a gigantic failure for the Brazilian’s who had sky high expectations entering the Olympics. Much of this 2012 London team is going to be preserved for the 2014 World Cup, and this silver medal finish isn’t acceptable to anyone connected to the team. Like Mexico, Brazil hasn’t won gold at the Olympics in soccer — which is a big deal.

The last chance the Brazilians had at a gold medal was in 1988 when they again finished with the silver, losing to the Soviet Union 2-1. Again the Brazilian’s head home defeated with the silver medal, the third time in three trips to the finals too (in the 1984 Los Angeles Games Brazil lost 2-0 to France).

As for the Mexicans, they return home hero’s, defying the odds against the favored Brazilians and taking home the gold medal. As the final seconds ticked off the clock in injury time, the Mexican team swarmed the field, jumping up and down at mid-field, filled with national pride and the fulfillment of victory. Unlike the Brazilian’s, Mexico brought their all today at Wembley Stadium and had their valiant and classic performance rewarded with the top prize in the world.

Right now, Mexico is the best team in the world.

James posted 18 points, as did Anthony in the 109-83 win over Argentina, who will now face Russia in the bronze medal game.

Things weren’t smooth sailing the whole game however. Argentina was able to stay pretty close to the American’s throughout the whole first half, trailing by only seven points at the half.  But Team USA kept Manu Ginobili and company at bay, outscoring them by as much as ten points in each of the second half quarters.

Kobe Bryant scored 13 and Kevin Love grabbed 9 boards as it was an all-around effort by Team USA.

Argentina went for it hard early, and they tried to stay close in the second half with Ginobili hitting threes in big spots, but they couldn’t hang on to the minor deficet and allowed it to balloon into another cartoonish American win. Ginobili finished the game with 18 points and he was joined by teammates Carlos Delfino and Luis Scola in the double digit point total club. Delfino finished with 15, as did Scola.

Now the American’s are a mere victory away from winning gold an capping off an amazing Olympic run. The theme all through these Olympics for Team USA has been comparisons to the 1992 Dream Team that featured Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and Scottie Pippen among other Hall of Famers. So far things have been on par for the 2012 Dream Team that features future Hall of Famers LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant.

But they must win gold to keep the debate relevant, and they moved a step closer by tossing aside an opponent many chose as an upset pick. Spain barely ended up beating Russia earlier today and showed glaring weaknesses including a lack of flash out of the gate. Spain trailed most of the game and only managed to come back due in large part to a poor half by the Russian’s.

Spain will need more than that if they hope to beat the American’s as we;re set up for a gold medal final that should be tightly contested the whole way through. Argentina will get the Russian’s in the bronze medal game, which will be held right before the gold medal match between Team USA and Spain.

The U.S. women's team ran the 4x100 in record time, smashing a record previously held since 1985.

If you had been watching women’s track and field at the London Games, then watching the 4×100 race was like watching a dream team of sprinters. Led by Carmelita Jeter, the American women crushed a world record on their way to another gold medal.

The previous world record was held by East Germany (psh, socialists) which they set in 1985. That record time was 41.37, and today the U.S. women posted a time of 40.82. Now when people get excited and say they smashed a world record, and you see the difference in time it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal on the surface.

Carmelita Jeter points at the clock, which reads a time of 40.82, a new world record.

But all variety of long and short distance races are usually determined by tenths of seconds and world records are broken by as much as well. To have a world record beat by just over half a second is like watching a Super Bowl with a lopsided score. It’s a big deal. Each and every baton exchange has to be perfect — and a bobbled exchange is the reason the U.S. wasn’t in the final four years ago in Beijing. Plus the record has stood for almost 25 years which goes to show it’s not an easy thing to achieve.

The U.S. women did it though behind the valiant efforts of Jeter and teammates Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight and Tianna Madison.

Knight, Felix and Madison got the women off to a great start, and Jeter took the baton down the anchor leg. As she ran the final ten meters of the race, Jeter was staring at the clock and as she finished, she pointed at the clock in acknowledgment of the new world record they had collectively set.

Even the replay was exciting, as Bianca Knight punched the air when Jeter crossed the finish line — in the replay.

Jamaica took the silver with a time of 41.41 and Ukraine took the bronze, posting a time of 42.02.

Jordan Burroughs went into the 2012 London Olympics with the as much confidence as you can ask for. Coming off of a world championship  and a gold in the Pan Am Games in the 74kg weight class, Burroughs went to London to add another accomplishment to his resume. His Twitter handle is @AlliSeeIsGold, so that tells you all you need to know. There was no question as to what Burroughs was setting out to do.

Burroughs fulfilled his promise and will leave London as an Olympic gold medalist. He took down Iranian rival Sadegh Gourdazi in the gold medal match to reach his ultimate goal.

It wasn’t an easy task for Burroughs to win the gold medal. In the semi-finals he faced off against Russian Denis Tsargush — his toughest competition of the tournament. Despite falling behind early, Burroughs used his unbelievable athleticism to come from behind and take down the former two-time world champion.

Burroughs will leave London with the gold and an additional $250,000 thanks to the Living the Dream Medal Fund from USA Wrestling.

This is only the beginning for the 24-year-old. He is a fast riser in wrestling and he can only continue to grow in the sport. He has said himself that he would like to complete one more Olympic cycle before transitioning to mixed martial arts. MMA is the biggest opportunity for wrestling stars and Burroughs has the skillset to make a major impact.

When Burroughs chooses the MMA route, he goes in with the best base you can have in the growing sport. Burroughs is poised to become MMA’s next big star.

Spain survived an early scare by the Russian's and held on to advance to the gold medal final.

Spain didn’t decide to show up until the second half of their game, but they took advantage of a fizzled Russian squad to advance to the gold medal final and a potential showdown with Team USA.

Critics said during the game, and particularly during Spain’s atrocious first half, that it would take more than a poor second half by the Russian’s for Spain to pull this one out. Well it actually only took a poor second half by the Russian’s for Spain to advance and bounce Russia to a bronze medal meeting with either Argentina or Team USA.

Spain couldn’t have had a worse first half, mustering up just 20 points and trailing Russia by eleven points at the half. But the tables flipped (perhaps in the Spanish locker room) and Spain came out guns blazing in the second half, topping their first half point total in each of the remaining quarters.

Pau Gasol took control, scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 boards in the win while fellow Spain starters Rudy Fernandez, Jose Calderon and brother Marc Gasol all went into double digit point totals.

The Spaniards didn’t take their first lead of the game until Jose Calderon hit a three pointer with 7:22 left to go in the game.

The Russian’s again had mild offensive production at best and couldn’t hold off a second half surge by Spain. It was looking like early the Russian’s would be able to hold Spain at bay. Andrei Kirilenko led the way for Russia with his 10 points and 8 rebounds while Sahsa Kaun added 14 points. If there’s one thing the Russian’s did better than the Spaniards it was centered on their bench play.

The Russian’s outscored the Spanish bench 21-11 in the semifinal match but that didn’t make up for the lack of defense when it came to guarding Spain’s starters. Russia was also blasted in points in the paint, getting outscored 24-18, getting liquified in the second half there.

Spain struggled but they pulled through in the clutch to advance to a potential meeting with Team USA. Even if Team USA isn’t there, Spain will be in the gold medal final. They didn’t show blazing skills however, not the ones analysts wanted to see at least, to prove Spain could overpower Team USA. Instead, Spain might be taking a strategy Russia tried against them were they go all Muhammed Ali and try to simply out last the American’s.

If there are two teams that have the skill to take down Team USA it’s the Argentinian’s (whom the American’s get later today here in London), and Spain. Both will get a a shot at taking them out and dashing their gold medal hopes.

July 24, 2012; Dallas, Tx, USA; **PHOTO ILLUSTRATION** Special photo manipulation was used to create this image. Women

It was a great outing at the 2012 London Olympics for the United States gymnastics team. It started off with the “Fab Five” winning the team all-around gold medal and then continued the momentum when Gabby Douglas took the gold in the women’s individual all-around competition.

After the hot start, things cooled off.

Individual events were not kind to the Americans but McKayla Maroney was one of the bright spots with her silver medal in the vault.

Now that the games are over for the USA gymnasts, they can finally kick back and relax while they enjoy the rest of the Olympic experience. As things appear, they are doing just that.

The USA gymnastics team broke out an impromptu dance lesson on the top of a double-decker bus in London while being filmed by cameras from the Today show. The team delivered a dance lesson the morning show correspondent Jenna Bush Hager, who is the daughter of former President Bush.

What song did the ladies break out in dance to? None other than Cali Swag District’s “Teach Me How To Dougie.” The dance was led by McKayla Maroney and it was definitely impressive. The same can’t be said for Bush Hager’s attempt, but hey, at least she was willing to try while the cameras were rolling.

Gabby Douglas tried to show off her version of the “dougie” during US Olympic trials but it falls short of Maroney’s rendition.

It’s good to see the gymnasts being able to have fun and soak everything in now that the stress of competition is over. Here is video of McKayla Maroney teaching us all how to dougie:

Usain Bolt had a rough run leading up to the 2012 London Olympics but he has put any doubts to rest. He is, without question, the fastest man on the planet. Thursday afternoon, Bolt competed in the 200-meter and won gold. Pair that with his gold in the 100-meter gold and he becomes the first man to win both events in two consecutive Olympic games.

There is almost no question now. Bolt is the greatest sprinter to grace the world.

Bolt won the race with a time of 19.32 seconds. Ever the showman, Bolt let up on the final few strides so he didn’t challenge his world record time of 19.19 seconds.

“Lightning” Bolt was followed across the finish line by his fellow countryman 22-year-old Johan Blake. Yet another Jamaican, Warren Weir, won the bronze. It was the seventh time a country has taken all three medals in the 200-meter but it is the first time that a country other than the United States has swept the event.

USA champion Wallace Spearmon finished in a distant fourth-place. Spearmon was disappointed with his finish but had very high praise for the Jamaicans following the event.

“They work hard,” he said. “They got a sweep. Thank you for always supporting me, I appreciate it. I’m going to go ahead and work harder. I’m sorry I let you down.”

Bolt’s performance on the track and his charisma both on and off make him an unbelievable star that can be marketed all across the world. He is a legend and just may be “Faster Than Lightning.”

Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee finished with gold and silver respectively in Thursday's decathlon. (Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports)

American Ashton Eaton won gold in the Olympic Decathlon Thursday night in London, scoring 8,869 points to take home yet another gold medal for the U.S. He won the decathlon by 198 points.

Eaton bested two time champion, fellow American Trey Hardee, whom he managed to out last in the 1,500 meter finale. There was some drama at the start when a rare false start was called. But Eaton not only held off Hardee and Cuba’s Leonel Suarez, he built on his 151-point lead heading into the finale and mounted an insurmountable 198 point lead.

The finale was a chance for Eaton to set a new world record and all Eaton needed to do was shave a mere six second off his previous time to do so. But Eaton chose to play it conservative and coast to ensure he take home the gold medal.

During qualifying in June, Eaton set a new world record, the mark he was set to break had be powered through the 1,500 meter finale.

His final time of 4 minutes, 33.59 seconds wasn’t good enough for a new world record but it was good enough to get Eaton the gold. Trey Hardee took the silver with 8,671 points and Suarez won the bronze with a point total of 8,523.

United States track athlete Manteo Mitchell is one of the best runners in the world. You don’t represent your country in the Olympics without being one of the top athletes in the world. While Mitchell may not be the fastest or most decorated runner in the London Games, he can take the claim that no one else can — the toughest.

Mitchell injured his leg three days ago after taking a fall while climbing some steps but he felt that he would still be able to run in the 4×400 relay. Once Mitchell started to run the race, everything changed. A press release from USA Track and Field detailed the injury and Mitchell revealed that he ran with a broken leg… and finished:

I got out pretty slow, but I picked it up and when I got to the 100-meter mark it felt weird. I was thinking I just didn’t feel right. As soon as I took the first step past the 200-meter mark, I felt it break. I heard it. I even put out a little war cry, but the crowd was so loud you couldn’t hear it. I wanted to just lie down. It felt like somebody literally just snapped my leg in half.

I knew if I finished strong we could still get it (the baton) around. I saw Josh Mance motioning me in for me to hand it off to him, which lifted me. I didn’t want to let those three guys down, or the team down, so I just ran on it. It hurt so bad. I’m pretty amazed that I still split 45 seconds on a broken leg.

Absolutely amazing. Most humans would have crumbled to the pain in agony with the amount of pain that Mitchell had to be feeling but he continued to run so he wouldn’t let his country or teammates down.

Mitchell ran a 46.1 second split. It was the fifth fastest time in the field during his leg and it helped the Americans advance to the finals and gave them a shot at the gold medal. Team USA qualified for the finals with a time that was tied for best in the semi-finals. Unfortunately for Mitchell, he will have to watch the USA go for the gold on the sidelines but he is a big part of any chance they have and should be appreciated for his toughness and guts to run with a broken leg.

Team USA took home the gold medal against Japan, avenging a World Cup loss.

In the World Cup, the women of Team USA suffered a crushing defeat they thought they’d never get over. Well they got over it and then some on Thursday when they defeated Japan to take home the gold and exorcise their World Cup demons.

Carli Lloyd scored the only two goals Team USA scored, and Japan could only muster up one late goal, propelling the United States to gold medal redemption. Even with Abby Wambach getting a late match yellow card, the Japanese couldn’t muster up anything against the American’s this time around.

Hope Solo was a savior for the American’s making three incredible saves including one late in the match to which the crowd in attendance at Wembley Stadium erupted in cheer for.

There was drama late in the match when Japan pulled to a 2-1 deficit. Japan got a few free kicks in the United States box with one getting headed by Wambach. It was at this time the Hope Solo made the save of the Olympics, stretching for a world class style save to preserve the 2-1 score. That was the swing of momentum and the shot of swagger that the U.S. women needed to hold on to the lead and hold on to the gold.

Carli Lloyd was the hero though, as she channeled her 2008 Beijing performance which resulted ina gold for the U.S. women as well. The U.S. did get another break form the officials that will go heavily criticized especially in the wake of the game against Canada. In the first half, American Tobin Heath wasn’t called for an obvious handball violation, a call that could have shifted the game in Japan’s favor if called correctly.

But love it or hate it, the U.S. women’s soccer team has the gold medal and they continue their dominance at the highest level of the sport. They couldn’t muster up a World Cup win but they more than redeemed themselves on Thursday.

July 29, 2012; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson (28) during training camp warm up at the Titans training facility at Baptist Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-US PRESSWIRE

Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson is one of the fastest men in the NFL. He proved that when he ran a 4.24 in the forty-yard dash at the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine. However, that isn’t enough to satisfy the Titans rusher. He doesn’t just believe that he is the fastest man in the NFL. He believes he is the fastest man on the planet.

That’s right. Johnson believes that he could beat Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt in a foot race.

“I feel like if I would have kept training for track I’d have a chance, but I play football and he runs track, so it’s totally different. I think I could still probably beat him in the 40. If I actually trained for the distance he trained for, I think I’d have a chance,” Johnson said, per The Tennessean’s Jim Wyatt.

Even though you look at Bolt’s 9.63 time in the 100-meter sprint and say ‘WOW!” it wouldn’t be hard to believe that Johnson would have a legitimate shot in a much shorter race. Bolt is 6-foot-5 and takes some time to get into full gear, while Johnson has the acceleration to be competitive in a short race.

Although some believe that Bolt would run a smoking time in the 40-yard dash. Former Baltimore Ravens coach Bill Billick even believes that Bolt could run a sub four second 40 — a 3.97 is his exact guess. That would be absurd and would have people all over claiming for a NFL team to take a chance on the world’s fastest man.

A conversion from sprinting to football is very unlikely for Bolt, however. If he is going to take his speed to any professional sport it will be soccer, where he hopes to get a shot to try out for Manchester United.

Whatever Bolt could run in a 40-yard dash, it would be fun to see him step on the field for a race for charity with Chris Johnson.

Misty May-Treanor (left) has announced that she will be retiring from the sport of beach volleyball after winning her third straight gold medal with teammate Kerri Walsh Jennings.

She’s the most successful women’s beach volleyball player ever and Misty May-Treanor wants to exit the game on top. She did exactly that as not too long after winning her third career gold medal, May-Treanor announced she is leaving the sport of beach volleyball and is, as of today, officially retired.

“This is my last match,” she said. “Beach volleyball’s not going to be my career anymore. … It’s time for me to be a wife. I want to be a mom and share time with my family. All of us as athletes sacrifice more on the family end than people realize. And it’s getting back to that. My mind says it’s time. My body says it’s time. And it’s the right time.”

She leaves behind the what is recognized as the most successful career a woman has ever had in her sport as she boasts an amazing 112 win in both international and domestic competitions. But she feels that going out with not only a gold medal but her third straight gold medal, is the storybook ending to her career that she wants.

“Winning the first gold medal, we were young, sweet, we did it. Winning back-to-back medals is very difficult. To go for a three-peat – I don’t know if you could write the script the way it turned out. But we believed,” May-Treanor said Wednesday.

May-Treanor wants the world to know that even though it will never again see the talent of herself and longtime partner Kerri Walsh Jennings together, their partnership is far from over. Walsh Jennings reflected on her 11 year partnership with someone she calls her best friend.

“I’m just proud to finish the journey with Misty how we finished it. It’s been 11 years of really fun and crazy times. She’s the best there ever has been,” Walsh Jennings said. “We’re so close and connected. Our competitive journey is done, that’s a big deal. That crushes me a little bit. But the next stage is going to be fun. We’re going to get to be girlfriends. … It makes it really bittersweet.”

But the story will remain May-Treanor leaving her illustrious career behind her in Micheal Jordan-like fashion. In addition to her three Olympic golds, May-Treanor has four additional medals from the World Championships including three more golds and a silver. Her accolades don’t end with medals either. For seven consecutive years, May-Treanor was named the AVP Best Defensive Player form 2002-2008 and was the AVP Best Offensive Player for an entire decade beginning in 1998.

To put May-Treanor’s career in as simple a nutshell as possible just look at this stat: ending in 2008, every year since her freshman year of college at Long Beach State in 1995 Misty May-Treanor has won some sort of award.

The only years she wasn’t winning awards, she was recovering from surgery and therefore not playing.

With May-Treanor calling it career, just calling it a career doesn’t seem to do her justice. It’s a pioneering legacy that she’s leaving behind, one that will go down with other great legacies of sporting heroes across sports and across genders. The world of sports is losing one of it’s brightest stars with the retirement of Misty May-Treanor, but she’s leaving on her terms with her youth and her health and she’s leaving the game while she’s literally on top of the world.

And there’s no better way to end a career then capping it all off with a third consecutive gold medal.