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The international stage has not been kind to the United States in men's basketball. Once known as the country that could not beat, the past two Olympic competitions have left Team USA stunned as they came up short in being the best. Many critics from around the world wondered how something like this could happen.
Eight years later, this team of NBA stars were determined to rise above their selfish play. It all came together for two weeks as the Redeem Team took the gold medal in Beijing by defeating the defending world champions from Spain 118-107.
With just a two point lead in the second half with eight minutes to play, Kobe Bryant went on a 15 point scoring streak keeping Spain from closing the gap any further. The United States has earned back respect as the Kings of Global Hoop Supremacy. Once considered the best national basketball team in the world, Team USA is once again the most prestigious and successful team in international competition. Unbeaten and barely challenged, Team USA ended its gold-medal drought in style. Team USA roster after the jump.

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These are the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics Venue Pins manufactured by a BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games) licensee made in Beijing. All the stadium pins are double layered pins with a special hologram on the back. Each pin is offered US $14.00 and tells you the name of the venue and on what date the sport race or match were held.

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In an industry littered with competition and product variation, promotional suppliers, event marketers, agencies, and other promotional vendors need to re-evaluate the ways in which they collect data and communicate with potential customers. No longer are recipients tolerating irrelevant marketing materials, via email or any other medium. Sending relevant, targeted offers that they WANT to receive is essential in order to acquire new customers and grow your business.

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Serbian tennis stars Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic are the leaders in the Race to the Sony Ericsson Championships and have secured their participation in that prestigious event.
They currently occupay the first and second place in the Race to the Sony Ericsson Championships, with world No.2 Jankovic having earned 2,770 points and world No.1 Ivanovic 2,761 points.
The season-ending tournament will take place at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar, from November 4-9, 2008. Six more singles players will qualify, as well as top four doubles teams of the season.

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WTA Bank of the West Classic
Saturday, July 19 - 3:00 - 5:00 PM Live                                                                                     Saturday, July 19 - 12:30 - 2:30 AM
ATP Indianapolis Tennis Championships – Final
Sunday, July 20 - 1:00 - 3:00 PM Live
WTA Bank of the West Classic – Final
Sunday, July 20 - 5:00 - 7:00 PM Live
ATP Rogers Masters
Friday, July 25 - 1:00- 3:00 PM Live
Friday, July 25 - 7:00- 9:00 PM Live
WTA East West Bank Classic
Friday, July 25 - 11:00 PM- 1:00 AM Live
ATP Rogers Masters
Saturday, July 26 - 8:00- 10:00 PM
WTA East West Bank Classic
Saturday, July 26 - 10:00 PM - 12:00 AM Live
ATP Rogers Masters
Saturday, July 26 - 12:00 AM - 2:00 AM
ATP Rogers Masters – Final Live                                                                                 Sunday, July 27 - 3:00 - 5:00 PM
WTA East West Bank Classic – Final Live                                                                 Sunday, July 27 - 5:00 - 7:00 PM
ATP W S F.G. Masters
Thursday, July 31 - 1:00 - 5:00 PM Live
ATP W S F.G. Masters
Friday, August 1 - 12:00 - 2:00 PM Live
ATP W S F.G. Masters
Friday, August 1 - 7:00 - 9:00 PM Live
WTA Rogers Cup
Friday, August 1 - 11:00 PM - 1:00 AM
ATP W S F.G. Masters
Saturday, August 2 - 9:00 - 11:00 PM Live
WTA Rogers Cup
Saturday, August 2 - 11:00 PM - 1:00 AM
ATP W S F.G.

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The title of Jay Rayner's search for the perfect dinner, The Man Who Ate The World (Headline, 2008), sounds like a cross between Jeffrey Steingarten's The Man Who Ate Everything and David Bowie's The Man Who Stole The World. Alas Rayner's world is far smaller than Steingarten's and less musical than Bowie's.
For Rayner, "a big-bellied peasant of Jewish stock with a taste for chicken fat, salt beef and green pickles" out of sixties agony aunt Claire, the world starts at Las Vegas and ends in Paris by way of Moscow, Dubai, Tokyo, New York and London which immediately confirms that this is no slow food sojourn but more pushing the buttons of the "restaurants of ambition". He slags off "Céline Bloody Dion" while sitting at her table enjoying a $350 per person (before drinks) freebie at Joël Robouchon's restaurant in the MGM Grand while Chris de Burgh's Lady in Red, background music at Sirena in Moscow, is mercilessly mocked.

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Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius improved his time in the 400 metres by more than a second in a race on Friday, but he still fell short of the time needed to qualify for the Beijing Games.

Pistorius, 21, ran the 400-metre B race in a time of 46.62 seconds at the Golden Gala meet in Rome to finish seventh. He needs a time of 45.55 to qualify for the Olympics.

Last week in Milan, the South African participated in his first race among able-bodied competitors in over a year and finished in a time of 47.78.

"I felt this race was awesome, but I can still improve," said Pistorius, whose personal best in the event is 46.36. "After last week's race in Milan I was really worried and I was very nervous going in tonight."

On May 16, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) gave Pistorius the green light to compete in able-bodied races, overturning a previous ruling by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

The IAAF had initially ruled in January that Pistorius should be banned from the Olympics or any other able-bodied race because the carbon-fibre prosthetics he uses give him an unfair advantage.

While the ruling from the CAS vindicated Pistorius, it may have come too late. By focusing his efforts on fighting the ban, the runner was forced to spend most of 2008 away from training and he has struggled to regain his top form.

More from CBC Sports.

SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:

You have to give Pistorius for effort, dont you? Theres absolutely no quit in the guy.

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The U.S. Open Series starts today!! This series of hard-court tennis tournaments across North America leads up to the U.S. Open itself and starts off with the Indianapolis Tennis Championships and the Bank of the West Classic this week.

My beloved Robby Ginepri will be back in action and takes on Paul Capdeville today in Indy. Go, Robby!

I'm definitely planning to check out the tournaments in the series that are here in Southern California, starting with the East West Bank Classic and then the Countrywide Classic (at my alma mater, UCLA); I can't wait!

Make sure to get your TENNIS TICKETS too!.

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ESPN reports that Brett Favre has asked the Green Bay Packers for his release, three days after a conference call with team officials in which the future Hall of Fame quarterback emphatically expressed his desire to play this season.

According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, Favre formally asked for his contractual release from the Packers in a letter was sent by Favre's agent, James "Bus" Cook.

Favre, who will be 39 in October, retired March 6 after a 17-year career.

The Packers issued a release Friday in response to the report.

"Brett earned and exercised the right to retire on his terms. We wanted him to return and welcomed him back on more than one occasion," said the release.

"Brett's press conference and subsequent conversations in the following weeks illustrated his commitment to retirement. The finality of his decision to retire was accepted by the organization. At that point, the Green Bay Packers made the commitment to move forward with our football team."

A three-time MVP, he leads the league with 442 touchdown passes, 61,655 yards passing and 160 career victories. He started 253 consecutive regular season games, more than any other quarterback in history. Including the playoffs, his streak stands at 275.

Favre has two years left on his contract with the Packers averaging about $12.5 million per season.

Brett Favre asks Packers to release him.

SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:

Its really hard to figure out what the heck is up with Mr. Favre. I can't imagine Favre with any other team. If that's the case, retire Brett . . . please.

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I cannot for the life of me understand why Wimbledon has gone ahead and slowed the courts and changed the balls at SW19. They have changed the balls to make play slower to ensure longer rallies and slow serves. This is what made Wimbledon a classic battlefield throughout the decades because players had to change tactics and mind sets in order to compete directly after the French.

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In one corner stands the cable and satellite providers. Criticized for rate hikes, standing tall against adding niche sports programming to its basic package forcing further price increases by customers who have no interest in the programming. Across the ring, sports programmers, notably NFL Network and the Big Ten Network along with all other league or sport-specific channels. Seeking wide distribution to maintain sustainable, at high per subscriber rates - some of the most expensive in the cable industry. Stuck in the middle: the consumer. Looking for the best of both worlds, access to the programming and lower cable rates, feeling neglected and disenchanted by both sides. Somewhere a compromise exists.
So far the providers have the upper hand. No league network has basic cable access yet. The Major League Baseball channel will when it launches next year, but gave up an equity stake in the network to each major provider and charged lower subscriber fees to earn that right. A model the other networks should investigate and learn from.
Cable providers have a gripe with programmers, some of the rates they seek are irrational for networks that are not yet proven entities, and have a niche following. Under more pressure than ever, with telecom companies joining satellite providers as consumer programming options, cable operators must keep costs down to remain competitive, an impossibility at the rates sports networks are seeking. That same competition also brings pressure to reach an agreement with sports programmers. Customer attrition is not extreme yet, but as these new players increase their reach, consumers may opt to switch providers to get the programming they desire, rather than succumb to a sports tier.
Programmers need to get on basic digital cable tiers to have any chance to become viable. Only the die hard fans will opt to splurge for sports tiers. Carriage numbers and costs vary per cable provider, but one consistency is a significantly lower reach than basic cable. Less distribution leads to less advertising revenue and lower revenue from subscriber fees, which leads to less money for quality programming and eventually less viewers. A vicious cycle that adds up to an unsustainable business model.
League-owned networks relegated to sports tiers also risk cannibalizing themselves with their own pa-per-view packages. Fans of a particular sport may be more inclined to plop down the one-time fee for the NBA Season Pass or NHL Center Ice package to get access to all the games for one particular sport then pay for a sports tier that includes a handful of networks they have no interest in. Most season packages include broadband access, and various digital benefits that make it attractive. The more in-depth one-sport package holds more perceived value to a fan. This factor could reduce sports tier adoption.
A recent Sports Business Journal in-depth study on cable TV and sports outlined another quandary programmers face. Stuck on sports tiers, they could assist cable operators by marketing sports tiers to increase adoption, thus increasing their own revenue because they would collect that per subscriber fee from more subscribers. However, if the sports tier gains traction, cable operators have more reason not to put league networks on basic packages. A catch-22 for programmers.
A la carte programming across the board might be the best solution - or the worst, depending on how the pricing structure. The concept received further discussion earlier this year when the FCC Chairman said he sees a la carte in the near future. Just as cable programmers can argue that adding sports programming to basic cable will increase costs for many subscribers that will not watch, consumers can argue they already pay for numerous basic cable channels they dont watch. My digital package has hundreds of channels available, I watch maybe 8-10 on any regular basis. A la carte programming levels the playing field - pay for what you want. Again, depending on the price structure that could be good or bad for consumers.
Proposed Solutions: Providers and programmers need each other. All league networks cannot be treated equal, especially when it comes to fees. The NFL is more popular than the NBA, and markedly more than the NHL (note: NHL Net is content with sports tiers for now), thus can charge higher subscriber fees. Late last year, during the NBAs negotiations with TNT, the two sides discussed a proposal to expand NBA TV coverage to the digital basic tier on Time Warner cable systems in exchange for lower per subscriber rates. In this case, both sides win. The leagues stand to increase revenue, both in the near term and future. Though the per subscriber rate would decrease, they would collect the fee from significantly more subscribers. The unit value decreases, but the total increases. Using the wider distribution, networks can increase ad rates. By working with programmers in the short term, the league networks get their foot in the door. If ratings prove themselves out, the networks have leverage to increase fees during the renewal process. First, its important to get on that basic tier. Programmers settle for the lower fees, and make customers happy with new programming.
Another tea leaf the NFL can offer is access to its out-of-market package, currently licensed to DirecTV exclusively. The other major leagues already offer their packages to all providers. They could, however, provide more favorable pricing on those packages, likely much less lucrative than a mainstream network (note: without access to the books), to help sweeten the pot for programmers.
Providers are not as threatened by secondary competitors yet, however the threat lingers. Cable outlets can likely hold out longer than networks if it comes to a stare down, since they have more to offer and the network suffers more from lack of distribution. But do providers want to risk customer attrition, long, bloody, court battles, and negative public perception. Verizon and ATT are ready to swoop right in. In the long run, providers stand to benefit from striking a deal, as long as its a sensible business deal.
Both sides need to give in a bit, no different than any other negotiations. One lesson from the MLB Network deal that bodes following is how they worked with a large group of cable providers at the same time, rather than striking individual deals. If all the major players come to the same table, a deal is more likely since the providers dont have to worry about competitors one-upping them, and everything can remain equitable the first time around. Fees may vary based on a providers distribution, still having everyone at the table is beneficial.

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Marat Safin has been as focused at this Slam as I've ever seen him. When he upset Novak Djokovic in the second round, he hardly emoted. He followed up that victory with another over grass court lover Andreas Seppi in the best match of the event so far.

He hardly emoted.

He fought through a rough patch in his next match against a talented opponent in Stanislas Wawrinka to advance to his first Wimbledon quarterfinal in seven years.

He hardly emoted.

Then he played a man he lost to four times out of five, including the last time he played him at Wimbledon. After being down a set and a break, fighting through his first outburst of the event, and taking advantage of a rain delay, he beat Feliciano Lopez and advanced to his first Wimbledon semifinal.

He hardly emoted.

After every match, in every interview, Marat was focused, internal, subdued.

He's playing this event to win it.

And if you think I'm reaching, you ain't been watching. His serve has been supreme. I haven't gathered the stats on aces or break points saved, etc. What I've witnessed, however, is a weapon that hits its targets whenever he needs it to hit its targets most. Every corner of the box and into the body, too. His return has returned to devastating. His backhand down the line is unreachable. His transition game, volleys and improvisational skills, exquisite.

He's playing this event to win it.

He knows how to beat Roger Federer. No, not yet on grass. But Marat hasn't played his best tennis against on grass.

Until this fortnight.

And Raja hasn't yet shown his best tennis. I'm certain he will against Marat, he will have to, because he knows that Marat can beat him. That Marat is playing this event to win it.

If Marat attacks Federer's second serve without relent and uses that deadly backhand down the line to keep Raja running to his right all day long, do not be shocked when Marat moves into his first Wimbledon final.

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This is the time of year when fashion becomes joyous and over the top; the Haute Couture season has begun, and with it come the most frivolous and gorgeous clothes from the designers imagination.
Instead a dark cloud has been cast over the season with the apparent suicide over the weekend of model, Ruslana Korshunova, in New York City.
The Kazakhstani beauty reportedly fell to her death from her ninth floor apartment, she was was only twenty years old. She had been been working steadily for five years, even appearing in campaigns for Marc Jacobs, Moschino, and Vera Wang among others and landing covers for European editions of Elle and Vogue.
While she did not enjoy recognition on the level of Daria Werbowy or Lily Donaldson, her career was more than most immigrant models could hope for. The strangest and perhaps saddest thing, about this is that there seem to be no real indicators as to what would lead her to such an end, no family member or friend can provide any helpful insight; she seemed perfectly fine.
Many theories are swirling in the media as to what happened, was there a struggle? Was the Russian Mafia involved somehow? Did it mean something that she was watching the film Ghost the night before.

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June 30, 2008 - Second-seeded Jelena Jankovic and No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova were both ousted in the fourth round Monday, leaving Wimbledon without any of the top four women in the quarterfinals for the first time.
With top-seeded Ana Ivanovic and No. 3 Maria Sharapova eliminated last week, none of the top four women reached the quarterfinals - the first time thats happened at Wimbledon and also the first time at any Grand Slam tournament in the 40-year history of the Open era.
Meanwhile, the Williams sisters moved closer to another Wimbledon final. Venus and Serena found themselves playing back to back Monday on  Court 2, known as the “Graveyard of Champions based on the record number of upsets played on there.
While Roger Federer glided to victory on Centre Court, and Rafael Nadal played on Court 1, the Williams sisters were relegated to a less than stellar venue. Was the slight on purpose? Officials say no - schedules were based on other factors.
However, there are no replay reviews on Court 2, where the scoreboard is manually operated. Spectators can hear players muttering to themselves, and the soundtrack for matches also includes cheering from other courts and noise from the nearby dining area for players.
The Williams sisters might be glad to know the days are numbered for the Graveyard of Champions. As part of a project to renovate the outer courts, a new Court 2 opens next year, while the Graveyard will become Court 3 in 2009— meaning fewer marquee matches—and will eventually be torn down.
Even after Venus and Serena spent the day at the Graveyard, their title hopes remained very much alive. They’re defying the trend in a women’s tournament that, by one measure, ranks as the most upset-filled on record.  If the Graveyard can’t stop them, what will?  Which one will prevail?
In the meantime, Venus has been assigned to the Court 1 stadium Tuesday. Serena is to play on Centre Court, where fans may find them both Saturday.

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Maria Sharapova, the defending champion, was dumped out in the third round by Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwaska. After losing the first set, Sharapova responded by winning the second, 6-1. However, Radwaska was undetered and broke Sharapova thrice in the final set, 6-2. This was the first time the #2 women's seed has lost before Round 4 since Andrea Jaeger in 1981.

Media.

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Just out this month, GU's Roctane ultra endurance energy gel, is being billed as the most advanced energy gel ever made. This particular formulation provides high concentrations of branched chain amino acids and other performance critical ingredients. Roctane is designed especially for serious endurance athletes like ironmen and triathletes. It might be a just a tad more than the recreational player needs but then again, you be the judge. It's available in Blueberry Pomegranate and Vanilla Orange and retails for $2.50 per packet.
We HAVE seen quite a few on-tour pros sneaking extra energy between games from little packets like these however. Djokovic recently grabbed one AFTER a win, presumably for recovery. We suspect the players are using one of Gu's other products, Gu energy gel which supplies sustained energy through its maltodextrin based carbohydrate formula. We've tried it ourselves and love the quick lift and clarity it gives when that slow, heavy feeling begins to dog you. We like chocolate outrage and vanilla bean best; they taste like frosting -- seriously. There are six other flavors to choose from, $1.25 each. This stuff really works.
Go to GU to learn more, see ingredients and find out where to buy.

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