RANT: Even More Shocking EUROVISION News for 2013.

No Cypriot representation in Stockholm!?

Am I not surprised at this? Cyprus had a weak representation at this year's ESC. And hopefully they'll take a year to recover and remind themselves to never send Ivi Adamou to the ESC ever again, unless she and her team comes up with something way better than this year!

"La La Love" to me was one of the worst songs at this year's ESC, and hopefully they'll regret when they look back at this year and saying: "What the fuck did we just send to Baku? Sure it's a winner, but it's only marketed to the lowest common denominator. If we need a winner, we need to hopefully send a band that has the formula of extreme excitement and passion of let's say-Loreen-or even LORDI!"

So that's my mini-rant. Cyprus ESC committee, get it together.

ESC Radio 2012 Awards: The Winners Are...

Loreen Talhaoui won EUROVISION LVII over a month ago, but thanks to you the fans, she also won another award-song of the year in a fan voting contest from ESCRadio!

Talhaoui's "Euphoria" got 17% of the votes for song of the year, and over 17% for woman of the ESC.

The duo of Greta Salome Stefansdottir and Jonsi won best duo/group (good song though), while Ott Lepland got the best man of ESC ("Kuula" was a top 15 ESC LVII song for me).

RESULTS:

Song of the ESC LVII (top ten):
1. Loreen Talhaoui "Euphoria" (SWE) 17%
2. Ivi Adamou "La La Love" (CYP) 8.5%
3. Ott Lepland "Kuula" (EST) 6.7%
4. Nina Zilli "L'Amore E Femmina" (ITA) 6.4%
5. Pastora Soler "Quedate Conmigo" (ESP) 5.5%
6. Greta Salome Stefansdottir & Jonsi "Never Forget" (ISL) 5.3%
7. Mandinga "Zaleilah" (ROU) 5.1%
8. Zeljko Joksimovic "Nije Ljubav Stvar" (SRB) 4.5%
9. Max Jason Mai "Don't Close Your Eyes" (SVK) 4.2%
10. Sofiya Marinova Kamenova "Lubov Bez Granitzi" (BUL) 3.8%

Anri Jokhadze "I'm a Joker" (GEO) had no votes. Gee, I wonder why...

Woman of the ESC LVII (top ten):
1. Loreen Talhaoui (SWE) 17.3%
2. Nina Zilli (ITA) 13.4%
3. Ivi Adamou (CYP) 12.1%
4. Pastora Soler (ESP) 10.4%
5. Rona Nishliu (ALB) 7.6%
6. Kaliopi Bukle (MKD) 5.9%
7. Sofiya Marinova Kamenova (BUL) 4.9%
8. Eleftheria 'Elle' Eleftheriou (GRE) 3.9%
9. Sabina Babayeva (AZE) 3.6%
10. Soluna Samay (DEN) 3.4%

Man of ESC LVII (top five):
1. Ott Lepland (EST) 19.4%
2. Roman Lob (GER) 16.7%
3. Zeljko Joksimovic (SRB) 15.7%
4. Touraj 'Tooji' Keshtkar (NOR) 9.6%
5. Pasha Parfeny (LTU) 8.2%

Group/duo of ESC LVII (top five):
1. Greta Salome Stefansdottir & Jonsi (ISL) 24.4%
2. Mandinga (ROU) 23.8%
3. sinplus (SUI) 13.7%
4. Buranovskiye Babushki (RUS) 11.4%
5. Compact Disco (HUN) 8.9%

Yes, Europeans and everybody abroad voted, including me. The full results here!

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Fencing Preview

24 days to go until the first day of the London Olympics. This is a preview of the fencing at the London games.

The venue of the fencing at the London Olympics is the ExCeL Convention Centre (pictured), also the venue for wrestling, boxing, taekwondo, judo and weightlifting.

212 fencers representing 44 countries will participate in the fencing matches this year.

Benjamin Kleibrink is hoping to tie Nedo Nadi and Christian D'Oriola for most wins in the men's individual foil with two each, while Matteo Tagliariol is trying to do the same thing in the men's individual epee. Only Ramon Fonst has the most wins in that event with two. In the team epee, historically speaking, Italy and France has eight wins in the Olympics. France is the defending team epee champions and is hoping to repeat and break the stranglehold. Zhong Man is hoping to join an elite group in most wins in the individual sabre with two. Only four others-Jeno Fuchs, Rudolf Karpati, Viktor Krovopuskou and Jean-Francois Lamour-have won the individual sabre twice, the most wins in the event.

Hungary overall has dominated team sabre with ten wins. Ukraine are the defending champions in that event from Beijing 2008.

On the women's side, Valentina Vezzali is looking for her fourth straight in the women's individual foil. She has the most wins in that event in the Olympics. Britta Heidemann is looking to tie Timea Nagy in most wins in the individual epee with two each.

For the first time since Athens 2004, women's team epee will return to the schedule. France is the most dominant, with two wins.

Up next, a look at the BMX.

Friday Jukebox 6.29.12

This week's FJ is somewhat related to EURO 2012, because it's the theme song of this year's EURO-"Endless Summer" by German-American Oceana. Great song, even though I think that it shouldn't be the theme since UEFA probably didn't find anybody descent from Poland or Ukraine (except for Gaitana, maybe) to sing the theme. Anyway, enjoy.

Sunday, it's the EURO 2012 final between Italia and Espana. LIVE on ESPN (mothership ESPN) Sunday Afternoon for us in the States.

 FORZA ITALIA!

Also, for those in Canada, have a safe Canada Day weekend.

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Road Cycling & Cycling Time Trials Preview

25 days to go until the first day of the London Olympics. This is a preview of the road cycling and time trials at the London games.

The road cycling at the London games this year starts and ends around the London Mall (pictured), while the time trials will be held at Hampton Court Palace.

Fabian Cancellara and Kristin Armstrong are the defending time trial champions from Beijing 2008. Only Leontien van Moorsel is the only cyclist to win more than one time in an Olympic road cycling event. van Moorsel won twice in the women's individual time trial.

Samuel Sanchez and Nicole Cooke are the defending road race champions from Beijing 2008. There has never been a repeat winner in the road racing events in the Olympics.

277 men and women representing 70 countries will compete in the road racing and time trials at London.

Up next: a look at fencing.

CFL 2012 Season Begins This Weekend!

Outdoor football is back! The CFL's traditional Canada Day weekend kickoff is highlighted by the defending Grey Cup champions BC Lions hosting the Bombers in a Grey Cup XCIX rematch from November.

Ti-Cats/Riders kick off the season Friday night with an early kickoff at Ivor-Wynne.

The Canada Day matchup for this opening day of the season will highlight the Stamps hosting the Als.

Of course, every game is live throughout Canada and exclusively on cable to TSN. ESPN3 should have live streaming of every game from this weekend until the Grey Cup Centenary on US Thanksgiving Day weekend.

It's gridiron football nonetheless.

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Equestrian Preview

26 days until the first day of the London Olympics. This is a preview of the equestrian at the London games.

The venue for equestrian at the London Olympics is Greenwich Park (pictured), also used for the majority of the events in the modern pentathlon.

200 men and women from 40 countries are participating this year in London.

Anky von Grunsven is the defending Olympic champion from Beijing 2008 and has won the previous two Olympics in the individual dressage on different horses. Germany has won the last two summer Olympics in the team dressage and holds the most wins in the team dressage with seven.

Hinrich Romeike is the defending Olympic champion from Beijing 2008 in the individual eventing. He is trying to tie Charles Pahud de Montanges and Mark Todd for most wins in that event in the Olympics. Although Germany is the defending Olympic champion in team eventing, Australia and the United States are tied for most wins in the event with four.

Eric Lamaze, the defending Olympic champion from Beijing 2008, is trying to tie Pierre Jonques d'Oriola for most wins with two each in the individual show jumping, while the United States is the defending Olympic champions from Beijing in the team show jumping, an event that Germany has a stranglehold of in the Olympics with six wins.

Up next: a look at the road cycling.

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Modern Pentathlon Preview

27 days to go until the first day of the London Olympics. This is a preview of the modern pentathlon at the London Olympics.

The modern pentathlon is comprised of five events, where this year at London, it will be contested at three venues. Before I get to the venues, what exactly is the modern pentathlon for newbies?

The modern pentathlon is comprised of five events:

• pistol shooting
• epee fencing
• 200m freestyle swimming
• show jumping
• 3km cross country run

The Copper Box (pictured above top) is the venue for the fencing. The freestyle swimming will take place in the Aquatic Centre, and everything else in the modern pentathlon will take place at Greenwich Park (pictured above bottom).

At Beijing 2008, Andrey Moiseyev's win in this event tied Lars Hall with the most wins in this event in the Olympics with two each.  Moiseyev is probably looking for his third straight win, becoming the first in this event to win three.

On the women's side, despite no repeat winner in the history of this event, Lena Schoneborn is the defending champion.

72 participants-36 men and 36 women-will compete in this event this year in London.

Up next: a look at equestrian.

Why am I Not Surprised?

Link.

So let's see...overall cost of trip for the twins and about 19 others, approximately US$312,760

Hotel room costs in Baku for the Ireland representation: total of around US$93,828

Flights from Dublin to Baku: around US$24,703

A set of twin men who let Ireland down again, and are the butt of all jokes in Ireland, Europe and the world, as well as virtually bankrupting RTE: PRICELESS.

There are some things money can't buy, for everything else there's Mastercard.

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Handball Preview!

28 days to go until the first day of the London Olympics. This is a preview of the handball at the London games.

The Copper Top (pictured), named because of it's colorful resemblance to copper, is the venue for every handball match from preliminaries to the quarterfinals. From there, the semifinals and medal matches are over at Basketball Arena.

24 men and women teams have qualified for the handball portion of the Olympics. Historically, it has been the Soviets/Unified Team that have been dominant on the mens side, with three wins. The Soviet men first won at Montreal 1976, defeating Romania in the final. The Soviets did it again at Seoul 1988, knocking off South Korea on their home soil in the final. The Soviets would do it for the final time as the Unified Team defeated Sweden in the final at Barcelona 1992. France is the defending men's Olympic champion, where they defeated Iceland in the final at Beijing 2008.

On the women's side, Denmark is the most dominant program, gold medal wise. The Danish women won three straight, starting with Atlanta 1996, where they defeated South Korea in the final. At Sydney 2000, they made it back to back with a win over Hungary in the final. And at Athens 2004, they once again defeated South Korea in the final. South Korea has had the most appearances in the gold medal match with five, since women's play first started at Montreal 1976. Norway is the defending Olympic champion, where they defeated Russia in the final at Beijing 2008.

As for the 24 teams that have qualified...

MEN
Group A
France (FRA)
Sweden (SWE)
Iceland (ISL)
Great Britain (GBR)
Argentina (ARG)
Tunisia (TUN)

Group B
Spain (ESP)
Croatia (CRO)
Hungary (HUN)
Serbia (SRB)
Denmark (DEN)
South Korea (KOR)

WOMEN
Group A
Montenegro (MNE)
Russia (RUS)
Croatia (CRO)
Great Britain (GBR)
Brazil (BRA)
Angola (ANG)

Group B
Norway (NOR)
Spain (ESP)
Denmark (DEN)
France (FRA)
Sweden (SWE)
South Korea (KOR)

Up next: a look at modern pentathlon.

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Triathlon Preview.

29 days left until the first day of the London Olympics. This is a preview of the triathlon at the London games.

The venue for the triathlon is Hyde Park (pictured). With a picturesque view, there's a lake in the middle, suitable enough for the triathlon, along with trails used for biking and running. After all, it's the triathlon.

110 competitors (55 male and 55 female) from 39 countries will participate in this triathlon.

Jan Frocho is the defending Olympic champion in the men, from Beijing 2008, while the defending women's Olympic champion from Beijing is Emma Snowsill.

This has been on the menu in the summer Olympics since Sydney 2000. Three different winners in both the men and women. There are no repeat winners, who knows?

Up next: a look at handball.

The Championships at Wimbledon 2012, a Preview!

It's late June and it's time for The Championships at Wimbledon 2012! Nothing beats tennis on grass. The way it should be!

Among some of the big stories of this year's Championships is the possible final match of Kim Clijsters, a Grand Slam champion, who is slated to retire after USTA Open in New York in September. She will try to get into the London games as well pending the rankings and qualification procedure standards of the ITF.

Also since the Games of the XXX Olympiad is in London, All-England will be the venue for the tennis competitions beginning the first week in late July.

Anyway, here are some notable first round singles matches, beginning Monday!

MEN
singles first round
(1) Novak Djokovic v Juan Carlos Ferrero
(2) Rafa Nadal v Thomaz Bellucci
(3) Roger Federer v Albert Ramos
(4) Andy Murray v Nikolay Davydenko
(5) Jo Wilfried Tsonga v Lleyton Hewitt
(6) Tomas Berdych v Ernests Gulbis
(7) David Ferrer v Dustin Brown
(8) Janko Tipsarevic v David Nalbandian
(9) Juan Martin del Potro v Robin Haase
(10) Mardy Fish v Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo
(11) John Isner v Alejandro Falla
(13) Gilles Simon v Paul Henri Mathieu
(16) Marin Cilic v Cedrik-Marcel Stebe
(17) Fernando Verdasco v Jimmy Wang
(18) Richard Gasquet v Tobias Kamke
(20) Bernard Tomic v David Goffin
(21) Milos Raonic v Santiago Giraldo
(22) Alex Dolgopolov v Alex Bogomolov Jr.
(25) Stan Wawrinka v Jurgen Meltzer
(26) Mikhail Youzhny v Donald Young
(27) Philipp Kohlschreiber v Tommy Haas
(28) Radek Stepanek v Sergiy Stakhovsky
(30) Andy Roddick v Jamie Baker
Ryan Harrison v Yen-Hsun Lu
Paolo Lorenzi v Nicolas Mahut
Benjamin Becker v James Blake
Vasek Pospisil v Sam Querrey
Albert Montanes v Marcos Baghdatis
Xavier Malisse v Marinko Matosevic
Ivo Karlovic v Dudi Sela
Andrey Kuznetsov v Florent Serra

WOMEN
singles first round
(1) Maria Sharapova v Anastasia Rodionova
(2) Victoria Azarenka v Irina Falconi
(3) Aga Radwanska v Magdalena Rybarikova
(4) Petra Kvitova v Akgul Amanmuradova
(5) Sam Stosur v Carla Suarez Navarro
(6) Serena Williams v Barbora Zahlavova Strycova
(7) Caroline Wozniacki v Tamira Paszek
(8) Angelique Kerber v Lucie Hradecka
(9) Marion Bartoli v Casey Dellacqua
(10) Sara Errani v Coco Vandeweghe
(11) Na Li v Ksenia Pervak
(12) Vera Zvonareva v Mona Barthel
(13) Dominika Cibulkova v Klara Zakopalova
(14) Ana Ivanovic v Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez
(15) Sabine Lisicki v Petra Martic
(16) Flavia Pennetta v Camila Giorgi
(17) Maria Kirilenko v Alexandra Cadantu
(18) Jelena Jankovic v Kim Clijsters
(20) Nadia Petrova v Maria Elena Camerin
(21) Roberta Vinci v Ashleigh Barty
(22) Julia Goerges v Shahar Peer
(23) Petra Cetkovska v Vania King
(24) Francesca Schiavone v Laura Robson
(27) Daniela Hantuchova v Jamie Lee Hampton
(28) Christina McHale v Johanna Konta
(30) Shuai Peng v Sandra Zaniewska
(31) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Sofia Arvidsson
(32) Svetlana Kuznetsova v Yanina Wickmayer
Venus Williams v Elena Vesnina
Kimiko Date Krumm v Kateryna Bondarenko
Timea Babos v Melanie Oudin
Iveta Benesova v Heather Watson
Sloane Stephens v Karolina Pliskova
Ursula Radwanska v Marina Erakovic
Laura Pous Tio v Anne Keothavong
Sorana Cirstea v Pauline Parmentier
Mirjana Lucic v Alexandra Panova
Anabel Medina Garrigues v Simona Halep
Vesna Dolonc v Tsvetana Pironkova
Irina Camelia Begu v Romina Oprandi

For the first time in 43 years, NBC will not have any coverage of the Championships for us in the states. ESPN will have coverage all through to the finals as ESPN outbid NBC last year. Cable only for us here in the states. But you can go here for live scores and of course the best commentary around with Radio Wimbledon!

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Weightlifting Preview!

It's only 30 days left until the first day of the London Olympics! This is a preview of the weightlifting at the London games.

The weightlifting venue, like the boxing, wrestling, judo and taekwondo venue at the London games will be the ExCeL Convention Centre (pictured).

244 men and women representing 69 countries will participate in this year's event.

In the men's 56kg and under class, defending Olympic champion Long Qingquan is going for his second in that class-tying Charles Vinci and Haili Mutlu for most wins in that class with two each. Liao Hui is looking to do the same thin gin the 63-69kg class; with his win will tie Waldemar Baszanowski for most wins in that class. Ilya Ilin is looking to tie Arkady Vorobyov for most wins in the 86-94kg class, while Andrei Aramnau and Matthias Steiner are looking to do the same thing in their respective classes. Only Pyrros Dimas and Naim Suleymanoglu are the only Olympic weightlifters to win three in a certain weight class.

On the women's side, Chen Yonqing and Lui Chunhong are trying to join Suleymanoglu and Dimas by winning three in their respective classes. Chen won the 58kg class at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, and the same for Liu, who has won the last two Olympic golds in the 69kg.

Up next: a look at triathlon.

ESC Radio's EUROVISION LVII Awards 2012! Vote Now!

Saw any or few of this year's EUROVISION LVII at Baku? Listened to all the 42 participants like I did? Then get your ass over to this site and vote for four different categories. The four categories you are voting for:

• Song of the ESC LVII
• Female of ESC LVII
• Male of ESC LVII
• Group of ESC LVII

Even though I've voted twice so far, here are my picks and top five:

SONG of ESC LVII:

1. sinplus "Unbreakable"!

Rest of my top five:
2. LITESOUND "We are the Heroes"
3. Sofi Marinova "Love Unlimited"
4. Buranovskiye Babushki "Party for Everybody"
5. Loreen Talhaoui "Euphoria"

FEMALE of the ESC LVII:

1. Sofi Marinova.

Rest of my top five:
2. Loreen Talhaoui
3. Kaliopi Bukle
4. Nina Zilli
5. (tie) Pernilla Karlsson and Sabina Babayeva

MALE of the ESC LVII:

1. Kurt Calleja.

Rest of my top five:
2. Max Jason Mai
3. Engelbert Humperdinck
4. Ott Lepland
5. Roman Lob

GROUP of the ESC 2012:

1. sinplus.

Rest of my top five:
2. LITESOUND
3. Buranovskiye Babushki
4. Compact Disco
5. Izabo

Some might agree and disagree, but once again, click on that link above and vote! Vote as many times as you like and unlike the ESC itself, it's worldwide voting! No matter where you are, go vote! You got now until Friday to vote!

40 Years Ago Today: The Creation of Title IX.

Before 1972, women athletes in the United States could still qualify for the Olympics, despite the fact that there were no colleges and universities in the United States that had athletics programs for women, until the Title IX law that was created during the Nixon administration and signed by President Nixon himself, that would allow colleges and universities to create athletics programs for women.

The bill originated in the US Senate in June 1972 by Senator Birch Bayh (D-IN), who's son was former US Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana. It was despite pressure from certain groups such as NOW (which doesn't really represent women, like other groups 'claim' to represent a certain population of society), and as a result more women's athletic programs at the collegiate level were created. Also professional level sports for women would also be created as well-including the WTA tour, LPGA, WNBA, and now-defunct leagues like the WUSA football and ABL basketball, which started around the time the WNBA was in its infancy. Even the Lingerie Football League.

But keep in mind, before Title IX, you had such dominating women figures in sport, including Olympian Babe Zaharias Dickson, just to name a few.

As Title IX law in effect, some schools have faced a lot of decisions regarding the slashing of programs. For example, throughout most of the southeast, not one NCAA Division I, II or III school has wrestling, but wait. If schools in the southeast and south central US such as Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State and Duke have wrestling programs, why not the rest of the southeast? The real reason is that most are too risky about it, and wants to abide to the standards as prescribed to Title IX, even though there are female collegiate wrestlers too.

So that's just a short little tidbit to share with you about this day, the 40th anniversary of Title IX. So what does Title IX mean to you? Give me some feedback and share your thoughts by posting a comment!

London 2012: the Countdown Series: Hockey Preview!

31 days to go until the first day of the London Olympics. This is a preview of the hockey at the London Olympics. Hockey as in field hockey. The original hockey.

The site of the hockey at the London Olympics is Riverbank Arena (pictured). Usually hockey pitches are green, but for this year, it's blue. I'm guessing they're taking a stab at the blue turf used for American football at Boise State University. BSU's blue turf and the red turf for American football at Eastern Washington University are among a few examples of colored turfs in the world. Riverbank Arena is joining the crowd. As you can see, the boundaries are colored pink. Pink and blue are among the official colors of this year's Games of the XXX Olympiad.

As for the competition, like the United States is to basketball and Hungary is to water polo, India has dominated nine times in men's hockey, including six straight Olympic wins from Amsterdam 1928 to Melbourne 1956. Their run for seven straight was derailed when they lost to their archrivals-the Pakistanis at Rome 1960. The Indians rebounded and defeated the Pakistanis at Tokyo 1964. India's last gold in men's hockey was at Moscow 1980, when they defeated Spain in the final. Germany are the defending champions from Beijing 2008, defeating Spain in the final.

On the women's side, Australia has the most wins, with three, beginning with their win in the final over South Korea at Seoul 1988, and back to back, beginning with Atlanta 1996 with their win in the final over South Korea (again) and in their own backyard, defeating Argentina in the final at Sydney 2000. The Netherlands are the defending champions from Beijing 2008, defeating China in the final.

24 teams-twelve men and twelve women-have qualified for the London games this year. Here are their groupings:

MEN
Pool A
Australia (AUS)
Great Britain (GBR)
Spain (ESP)
Pakistan (PAK)
Argentina (ARG)
South Africa (RSA)

Pool B
Germany (GER)
Netherlands (NED)
South Korea (KOR)
New Zealand (NZL)
India (IND)
Belgium (BEL)

WOMEN
Pool A
Netherlands (NED)
Great Britain (GBR)
China (CHN)
South Korea (KOR)
Japan (JPN)
Belgium (BEL)

Pool B
Argentina (ARG)
Germany (GER)
New Zealand (NZL)
Australia (AUS)
United States (USA)
South Africa (RSA)

Up next: a look at weightlifting.

What We Learnt from the 2012 NBA Finals.

Even though it was such a boring series, here are the three reasons this series ended up as is with the Heat winning its second NBA title in six years:

1. Juwan Howard finally has a ring! Suck on it Chris Webber and the rest of the Michigan 'Fab Five'!

2. Pat Riley has another ring!

3. And best of all...Seattle drafted Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka and Collison. A victory on Seattle's behalf. Want proof? Watch Sonicsgate.

(Jason Reid, director of 'The Kicker' and 'Sonicsgate' with the beard to the right)

THE END.

On to the Olympics!

Friday Jukebox 6.22.12

Not to be confused with disco outfit Destination, this is a rare find! Late '80s Italo-disco at it's finest with "You and I"!

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Track Cycling Preview!

32 days to go until the first day of the London Olympics. This is a preview of the track cycling at the London games.

The London Velopark (pictured) is the venue of the track cycling. If Beijing was an indication, this could be the house that Sir Chris Hoy built!

Hoy won three of his four gold medals at Beijing 2008, two individually in the men's Keirin and individual sprint. He was also part of the team sprint for Great Britain that won gold. Hoy is trying to tie Bradley Higgins for most wins in individual pursuit with a win at London. He is also trying to tie three others-Daniel Morelon, Lutz Heblich and Jens Fiedler-for most wins in individual pursuit. Lots of history there to be made for Sir Hoy.

Italy holds the record of most wins in the men's team pursuit in the Olympics with seven.

In addition to Hoy, Rebecca Romero and Victoria Pendleton are carrying momentum from Beijing to London. Romero is trying for her second straight in individual pursuit, while Pendleton, is trying to tie Erika Salumae and Felicia Ballanger for most wins in the individual sprint with two each.

Five new events will debut at London in the track cycling: men's and women's Omnium, women's Keirin, team pursuit and sprint.

228 men and women representing 33 countries will participate in the track cycling at London.

Up next: A look at (field) hockey.

BELLATOR is Back this Weekend: Light Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinals!

After a month in hiatus, BELLATOR is back! BELLATOR 71 is the first event of their 'Summer Series' with the quarterfinal matches of the light heavyweight tournament to determine who will be the #1 contender for the title currently held by Christian 'Ton Ton' M'Pumbu.

CARD
Light heavyweight tournament

quarterfinals

(205 lb/92.25kg)

Emanuel Newton v Roy Boughton

Richard Hale v Beau Tribolet

Travis Wiuff v Chris Davis

Attila Vegh v Zelg Galesic

LIVE on MTV2 and epix HD this Friday night, 8pm NAEDT.



London 2012: The Countdown Series: Boxing Preview!

33 days to go until the first day of the London Olympics. This is a preview of the boxing at the London games.

Like wrestling, judo and taekwondo, boxing's venue for the London Games is the ExCeL convention center (pictured).

267 fighters of both sexes, represnting both sexes will participate. This year will mark the first Olympics for women's boxing, which for the past fifteen years-at the professional level-was dominated by the likes of Christy Martin and of course Laila Ali, just to name a few.

Historically, there has been two three time winners in a weight class in the Olympics. Cubans Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon remain to this day the most dominant boxers in the Olympics, winning three straight in the 82-91kg class.

A lot of boxers have gone on to successful pro careers after winning gold in the Olympics. Floyd Patterson at Helsinki, Cassius Clay at Rome 1960, 'Smokin' Joe Frazier at Tokyo 1964, George Foreman at Mexico City 1968, Leon Spinks and Sugar Ray Leonard at Montreal 1976, Pernell 'Sweet Pea' Whitaker at Los Angeles 1984, Lennox Lewis at Seoul 1988, Oscar de la Hoya at Barcelona 1992, and Wladymyr Klychko at Atlanta 1996 are just some of the reasons why Olympic boxing is a great avenue for future pro boxers.

Up next: A look at track cycling.

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Taekwondo Preview!

34 days to go until the first day of the London Olympics. This is a preview of the taekwondo at the London games.

Just like the wrestling and judo, the taekwondo venue for the London Olympics is also the ExCeL (pictured).

128 taekwondo participants of both sexes from 63 countries will participate in various matches of this event. This will mark the fourth summer Olympics that this sport is part of the Olympics, dating back to Sydney 2000.

There is really nothing regarding repeat winners on the men's side, but we all remember the bronze medal match at Beijing 2008 where Angel Matos kicked the ref during an injury timeout, and eventually the WTF gave him a lifetime suspension.

On the women's side, Chen Zhang is the only multiple winner in this Olympic event, winning back to back at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 in the women's 68kg+ category.

Looks as just about everyone from Beijing will return to compete in this event at London.

Who knows what's gonna happen at London.

Up next: a look at the boxing.

"Enjoy the Jail Cell Pal!"

Check out US Open champ Webb Simpson's reaction to the intruder!

Go Shooter McGavin!

Guess Who's Coming Back to Late Night TV!

You guessed it...for the 2013-14 season.

The good news, about 52% of markets have already bought rights including stations owned by Local TV (former Fox O&O's), CBS O&Os and Tribune (which includes KDAF, WPIX, KTLA, WGNO and of course-their flagship-WGN). Also he has reunited with his syndicator (formerly Paramount Distribution, now CBS Studios, currently the largest television syndicator in the United States and the people who distribute The Doctors, Judge Judy, Wheel of Fortune and JEOPARDY!).

And as a bonus here are some of the greatest moments of his late night career:

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Judo Preview!

35 days to go until the first day of the London Olympics. This is a preview of the judo at the London games.

The venue for Judo at the London Olympics is ExCeL London (pictured), which is also the venue for wrestling.

383 judokas of both sexes, representing 133 countries will take part in matches spanning 14 weight classes.

On the men's side, Masato Uchishiba is going for three straight wins in the Olympics. Only Tadairo Nomura is the only three-time winner in a weight class in the Olympics, when he won three time sin the 60kg class. Satoshi Ishii is going for that same feat as well in the super-heavyweight class.

On the women's side, Xian Dongmei is going for her third as well, she has won the last two 52kg finals in the Olympics, at both Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. Ayumi Tanimoto is attempting the same feat in the 63kg, as well as Masae Ueno in the 70kg.

Up next: a look a taekwondo.

'The Real LT' to Retire...

As a Charger!

Rodney King Dead.

Link. He had pot in his system.

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Water Polo Preview!

36 days to go until the first day of the London Olympics. This is a preview of the water polo at the London games.

The water polo venue is-you guessed it-the Water Polo Arena (pictured). This venue will see matches involving twenty teams-twelve men and eight women.

These are the 20 teams that will play in that building during the span of two weeks:

MEN
Group A
Greece (GRE)
Italy (ITA)
Kazakhstan (KAZ)
Spain (ESP)
Australia (AUS)
Croatia (CRO)

Group B
Hungary (HUN)
Montenegro (MNE)
Romania (ROU)
United States (USA)
Great Britain (GBR)
Serbia (SRB)

WOMEN
Group A
Hungary (HUN)
Spain (ESP)
China (CHN)
United States (USA)

Group B
Italy (ITA)
Great Britain (GBR)
Russia (RUS)
Australia (AUS)

With the Fina World Championships at Shanghai passing by, lots of momentum from such programs on the men's side as Serbia, Italy, Spain and a few others are carried over to the London Games.

Historically, the men's side has been dominated by Hungary. The Hungarian men won nine times in the Olympics, including the last three at Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. One of their more memorable games is the semifinal at Melbourne 1956, where they got through a tough Soviet squad and later defeated Yugoslavia to win gold (there is a documentary on that Hungary-Soviet game). Only Great Britain has won three straight in the Olympics, with wins at London 1908, Stockholm 1912 and Antwerp 1920. This could be historical for Hungary to win their fourth straight.

On the women's side, the Dutch is the defending Olympic champion at Beijing 2008, defeating the United States for gold. The USA, along with Italy, Spain and the Dutch are the favorites ever since the end of the water polo at the Fina World Championships in July.

Up next: a look at judo.

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Wrestling Preview!

37 days remaining until the first day of the London Olympics. This is a preview of the wrestling at London!

ExCeL London (pictured) is the venue for the wrestling at this year's London Olympics. These matches will take place during the second and final full week of activities.

A total of 342 men and women wrestlers from 69 countries will compete in various classes of Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling at London this year.

A lot of interesting stuff regarding the wrestling at London. For example, the 74kg freestyle could boast some history. Already there's some. Buvaisar Saitiev has won three of the last four times in the 74kg freestyle category in the Olympics, including at Beijing 2008. Saitiev could be the first and only four-time Olympic wrestling champion with a victory at London. Artur Taymazov could go for a record-breaking three in a row in the super-heavyweight freestyle with a win at London. Also in freestyle, defending 55kg champ Saori Yoshida and 63kg champ Kaori Icho could go for three in the row in their classes at London. Women's wrestling has been instituted in the Olympics since Athens 2004.

On the Greco-Roman front, Aslanbek Khushtov could tie Istvan Kozma and Andrzej Wronski for most wins in the 96kg category with a win.

Back to Saitiev. His three wins in a weight class ties the legendary Alexsandr Karelin for most wins in a class. Karelin won three consecutive in the Greco-Roman super heavyweight class, when his bid for four straight got derailed by Rulon Gardner in the final at Sydney 2000.

Up next: A look at water polo!

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Volleyball Preview

38 days to go until the first day of the London Olympics. Time for an Olympic volleyball preview.

The volleyball (real volleyball) venue for the London Olympics is Earl's Court (pictured). Coming into this year's games, 24 teams have qualified, twelve men and twelve women's teams will begin play in that building late next month.

Here are those who qualified:

MEN
Group A
Great Britain (GBR)
Italy (ITA)
Poland (POL)
Argentina (ARG)
Bulgaria (BUL)
Australia (AUS)

Group B
Brazil (BRA)
Russia (RUS)
United States (USA)
Serbia (SRB)
Germany (GER)
Tunisia (TUN)

WOMEN
Group A
Great Britain (GBR)
Japan (JPN)
Italy (ITA)
Russia (RUS)
Dominican Republic (DOM)
Algeria (ALG)

Group B
United States (USA)
Brazil (BRA)
China (CHN)
Serbia (SRB)
Turkey (TUR)
South Korea (KOR)

On the men's side, the United States is the defending champion, defeating Brazil in the final at Beijing 2008. It was the third time the United States has won gold in men's volleyball, since their win over Brazil in the final at Los Angeles 1984. The USA men also won at Seoul 1988, defeating the Soviet Union in the final. Their third win ties the Soviet Union for most wins in the Olympics in men's volleyball.

On the women's side, Brazil is the defending champion, defeating the United States in the final at Beijing 2008. It was Brazil's first Olympic women's volleyball win. Overall, the Soviet Union has the most wins, with four. The Soviet women defeated Japan in the final at both Mexico City 1968 and Munich 1972. They would later win gold at Moscow 1980, defeating East Germany in the final, and at Seoul 1988, defeating Peru in the final for their last win ever.

Up next, a look at wrestling!

Friday Jukebox 6.15.12

To commemorate her 25th anniversary since breaking through with her epic cover of Little Eva's "Locomotion," Kylie's "Time Bomb," which will be included on her greatest hits compilation (I think) in the future, is indicative of her continuation of perfection.

And as an added bonus...here's a trailer of the upcoming film "Holy Motors," in which Kylie and Eva Mendes are the only recognizible names in this French film:

The movie appeared at Cannes last month, but is slated for a July 4 (Independence Day here in the states) release in France. No word on international releases yet.

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Tennis Preview!

39 days to go until the first day of the London Olympics.

It's time for the tennis preview! In addition to Wembley Stadium being put to use for the summer Olympics for football, another world famous institution in London will also be put to use for the Olympics-the All England Lawn, Tennis and Croquet Club (pictured), in the London suburb of Wimbledon.

It is in a couple weeks, where the Championships will be played. A precursor for some of those qualified for the summer games to get a leg up on the best surface among the grand slam events.

We just got through Roland-Garros where Rafa Nadal won his seventh straight singles title on that clay surface. Nadal is the defending Olympic men's singles champion, trying to go for two straight after gold at Beijing 2008. Nadal enters fourth in the ITF rankings, and should be qualified for London. French Open men's singles runner-up Novak Djokovic remains number one. Roger Federer is second in the ITF rankings, and along with Stan Wawrinka, are the defending men's doubles champions of the Olympics, winning gold at Beijing.

On the women's side, there will be no repeat winner in the singles as Elena Dementieva has retired from the sport, a couple years after her gold win at Beijing 2008. French Open champion Maria Sharapova is now the world's number one.

ITF world number #1's (after Roland-Garros; slated to play in the London Olympics)
Men singles: Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Men doubles: Max Mirnyi (BLR) & Daniel Nestor (CAN)
Women singles: Maria Sharapova (RUS)
Women doubles: Liezel Huber & Lisa Raymond (USA)

Even some Americans should be in as well-including John Isner, Donald Young, even Ryan Harrison. Who knows?

Up next: A look at volleyball (indoor).

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Athletics Preview

40 days until the first day of the London Olympics.

This is what Olympic Stadium (pictured) will look like in the second week of the games, when athletics becomes center stage.

At Beijing 2008, the sprint events were headlined by Jamaicans, including a lot of record runs in the 4x100m and 100m events, whereas Usain Bolt was part of. Kenyan and Ethiophian runners dominated the long range events. Kenenisa Bekele won his second 10,000m event, tying fellow Ethopian Haile Gebrselassie, along with Paavo Nurmi, Lasse Viren and Emil Zatopek for most wins in the 10,000m in the Olympics.

Also at Beijing, Angelo Taylor's second win in the 400m hurdles tied for most wins in that event, along with Glenn Davis and Edwin Moses.

While in the infield, despite having the same mark, it two flawless attempts on the final run by Tia Hellebaut that was the decider in the women's high jump. Hellebaut and Blanka Vlasic had the same mark, but because of those last efforts, Hellebaut won gold, and Vlasic earned silver.

Also in infield, Yelena Isinbayeva, current world record holder in the pole vault is looking for third win in pole vault at London.

The United States has had the best records-men and women-in the relay events. The USA men won the 4x100m 15 times, and the 4x400m teams won 16 times, including at Beijing. The USA women won the 4x100m nine times and won the 4x400m five times, including at Beijing.

Up next: A look at tennis

EURO 2012 Fan Violence!

Already a week into the EURO, and all this shit is going on. Check these out.

As a result, UEFA fined Russia football program 96,000(Euro). Very sad.

US Open Golf Time!

Rory McIlroy became the youngest to win this major last year, and this weekend, he must survive a very tough Olympia Country Club in the Bay Area. Will he do it again?

Go Rory!

112th USGA US Open
Tee times
(Thursday/Friday, all times NAPDT)
Thomas Bjorn (7:22am/1:07pm)
Phil Mickelson (7:33am/1:18pm)
Bubba Watson (7:33am/1:18pm)
Tiger Woods (7:33am/1:18pm)
David Toms (7:55am/1:40pm)
Davis Love III (7:55am/1:40pm)
Padraig Harrington (7:55am/1:40pm)
Charl Schwartzel (8:06am/1:51pm)
Retief Goosen (8:10am/1:25pm)
Vijay Singh (8:10am/1:25pm)
Zach Johnson (8:10am/1:25pm)
KJ Choi (8:28am/2:13pm)
YE Yang (8:28am/2:13pm)
Adam Scott (8:32am/1:47pm)
Keegan Bradley (8:32am/1:47pm)
Fredrik Jacobson (8:39am/2:24pm)
Francesco Molinari (8:54am/2:09pm)
Bo van Pelt (8:54am/2:09pm)
Peter Lawrie (12:25pm/7:37am)
John Peterson (12:30pm/7:15am)
Casey Martin (12:45pm/7am)
Martin Kaymer (1:25pm/8:10am)
Hunter Mahan (1:25pm/8:10am)
Rory McIlroy (1:29pm/7:44am)
Lee Westwood (1:29pm/7:44am)
Luke Donald (1:29pm/7:44am)
Ian Poulter (1:36pm/8:21am)
Matt Kuchar (1:36pm /8:21am)
Jim Furyk (1:40pm/7:55am)
Graeme McDowell (1:40pm/7:55am)
Sergio Garcia (1:40pm/7:55am)
Louis Oosthuizen (1:47pm/8:32am)
Jason Dufner (1:47pm/8:32am)
Trevor Immelman (1:51pm/8:06am)
Stewart Cink (1:51pm/8:06am)
Lucas Glover (1:51pm/8:06am)
Rickie Fowler (1:58pm/8:43am)
Dustin Johnson (1:58pm/8:43am)
Ernie Els (2:02pm/8:17am)
Geoff Ogilvy (2:02pm/8:17am)
Angel Cabrera (2:02pm/8:17am)
Ben Crane (2:13pm/8:28am)
Alex Cejka (2:20pm/9:05am)
Aaron Baddeley (2:24pm/8:39am)
Miguel Angel Jimenez (2:24pm/8:39am)

Live all weekend long. First and second round on ESPN, third and final rounds on NBC. If you want live scoring, click here.

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Swimming Preview

41 days to go until the first day of the London Olympics.

The swimming is the headliner of the first week of these summer games. As usual, the action in the pool has always been full of drama and excitement!

The Aquatics Centre (pictured) will be the venue for swimming at the London Olympics. If anything from Beijing 2008 and previous could be an indication of what to expect in some of the events.

On the men's side, Michael Phelps is chasing history. Two medals away from breaking the record of 18 Olympic medals set by gymnast Larysa Latynina. Phelps won fourteen gold medals, including eight at London. Phelps has had the most wins inthe 100m and 200m butterfly, as well as tying Tamas Darnyi with two wins in the 200m individual medley. He has also tied Darnyi and Tom Dolan for most wins in the 400m IM with two each.

Also on the men's side, keep an eye out for Kosuke Kitajima. Kitajima has tied fellow Japanese breaststroker Yoshiyuki Tsuruta for most wins in the 200m breaststroke.

The USA is the defending winner of the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle. The USA has had the most wins in both events.

On the women's side, a little bit of history in the 200m backstroke, where Kirsty Coventry is trying to win her third straight gold medal. Only Kristina Egerszegi has won the 200m backstroke three times, all three straight-at Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996. Coventry is the defending winner and also won the 200m backstroke at Athens 2004.

The USA has led the win count in the 4x100m freestyle, despite the Dutch women's win at Beijing 2008.

All of this, along with possible comebacks and everything else carried on from Beijing, Athens and the worlds will probably be answered during the first week of the Olympics!

Next up: A look at the athletics events

44 Years is Worth the Wait...

Congrats Kings!

Unfortunately, no rioting reported. 

For Those Who Care...

There will be an NBA Finals.

Either way LeBron will finally get his ring or the Zombie Sonics will bring their first trophy home (since OKC technically has NO titles)?

For those who care...

NBA Finals 2012
(Best of seven)
(2W) Thunder v (2E) Heat
Game 1 Tonight 6.12
Game 2 6.14
Game 3 6.17
Game 4 6.19
Game 5 6.21*
Game 6 6.24*
Game 7 6.26*
*-If necessary.

Every game on ABC.

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Football (Soccer) Preview

42 days to go until the first day of the London Olympics.

Of course the first event to take place at this year's Games of the XXX Olympiad is the football (soccer).

Six venues will host the football at the London Olympics, headlined by Wembley Stadium (pictured).

The men will have sixteen teams this year. All are based on regional qualifiers (similar to the World Cups) hence some notable programs aren't there. Take a look at these groupings for yourself.

Men

GROUP A

• Great Britain (GBR)
• Senegal (SEN)
• United Arab Emirates (UAE)
• Uruguay (URU)

GROUP B

• Mexico (MEX)
• South Korea (KOR)
• Gabon (GAB)
• Switzerland (SUI)

GROUP C

• Brazil (BRA)
• Egypt (EGY)
• Belgium (BEL)
• New Zealand (NZL)

GROUP D

• Spain (ESP)
• Japan (JPN)
• Honduras (HON)
• Morocco (MAR)

Now, who is missing from here? Let's see. For starters, Argentina failed to qualified. They won the last two gold matches in the Olympics. The United States also failed to qualify, so has Netherlands, Italy and Germany among others.

Historically, Great Britain won the most times in this event, three times. The Brits defeated France in the final at Paris 1900, and would later defeat Denmark back to back at both London 1908 and Stockholm 1912.

On to the women's side, and a lot of World Cup momentum from last year has carried over. Japan, the World Cup champions are among the twelve that qualified for this year's Olympics.

Women

GROUP E

• Great Britain (GBR)
• New Zealand (NZL)
• Cameroon (CMR)
• Brazil (BRA)

GROUP F

• Japan (JPN)
• Canada (CAN)
• Sweden (SWE)
• South Africa (RSA)

GROUP G

• United States (USA)
• France (FRA)
• Colombia (COL)
• DPRK/North Korea (PRK)

This portion of the football first was introduced at Atlanta 1996. This will be the fifth time there will be women's football in the Olympics. The United States won three of those four, with wins except at Sydney 2000, where they lost to Norway in the final.

Next up: a look at swimming.

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Basketball Preview

43 days to go until the start of the London Olympics. And now it's time for the events previews. So here we go.

The first event I'm previewing is basketball. The matches will be played at two buildings-the Basketball Arena (pictured) and the O2 Arena. Twelve teams from both the men and women will have their games in those buildings.

As for the FIBA groupings, it's not yet complete. As of now, nine men's teams qualified, and seven women's teams have qualified.

On the men's side these are the nine that have qualified:

GROUP A

• Argentina (ARG)
• France (FRA)
• Tunisia (TUN)
• United States (USA)

GROUP B

• Australia (AUS)
• Brazil (BRA)
• China (CHN)
• Great Britain (GBR)
• Spain (ESP)

Plus three spots from the upcoming qualifiers. The rosters are interesting as usual, because the United States has every player in the roster currently playing in the NBA. Spain has six, France has five, Argentina and Brazil with four, China with one and so has Great Britain, with the Bulls' center Luol Deng. Australia and Tunisia have none. Australia has a player who played in the NBL championship this past season with Perth.

Since 1936, the United States have been dominant in the men's level winning seven straight prior to their screwjob against the Soviets in the final at Munich 1972. USA Basketball has struggled, won gold at Los Angeles 1984, and has since been on fire ever since the first Dream Team of Barcelona 1992.

The women's side is a lot different. These are the seven who qualified:

GROUP A

• Angola (ANG)
• China (CHN)
• United States (USA)

GROUP B

• Australia (AUS)
• Brazil (BRA)
• Great Britain (GBR)
• Russia (RUS)

Plus five spots based on the qualifiers. The United States has just about every player with WNBA experience at the current time. Australia has five, Brazil, China and Russia has one (Becky Hammon will return to Russia). Angola has none, and Great Britain is unknown.

Women's basketball at the Olympics began at Montreal 1976 with the Soviets defeating the USA in the final. With the exception of the victory of the former Soviet Union 'Unified Team' in the final at Barcelona 1992, the USA women have won gold six of the last seven summer Olympics.

Next up: a preview of football (soccer)

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Meet the Flag Bearers

44 days to go until the first day of the London Olympics.

Dirk Nowitzki (pictured) was Germany's flag bearer at the opening ceremonies at Beijing 2008; keep in mind that Germany's men's basketball team qualified for those summer games. Yao Ming was China's flag bearer at that same opening ceremony. Same with Roger Federer, who held the Swiss flag as well.

Those were some of the notable flag bearers for the opening ceremonies at Beijing 2008. On to London, where already seven countries have confirmed flag bearers for the opening ceremonies, and more will be announced within the days to come.

These are the seven that have confirmed flag bearers:

• Brunei (BRN): Azita al-Qasmi, shooting
• Cameroon (CMR): Annabelle Laure Ali, wrestling
• France (FRA): Laura Flessel, fencing
• Italy (ITA): Valentina Vezzali, fencing
• Mexico (MEX): Maria Espinosa, taekwondo
• Serbia (SRB): Novak Djokovic, tennis
• Spain (ESP): Rafa Nadal, tennis

Great Britain and the United States should announce theirs soon.

Next on the countdown: events previews, starting with basketball!

Nolan Miller, 79, Costume Designer

link.

Ever watch the end credits of any Aaron Spelling show where these credits appear: "Costumes by Nolan Miller"? That is the guy responsible for the costumes on such Spelling shows as VEGA$, Dynasty, The Love Boat, Hart to Hart and Matt Houston.  He lost his battle with cancer on Thursday at the age of 79.

London 2012: The Countdown Series: The Rest of the Nations

45 days to go until the first day of the London Olympics.

As I'm done with the parade of nations, now here are the countries I didn't focus on that will attend this year's London Olympics as of now:

American Samoa (ASA) one in wrestling
Bangladesh (BAN) three in archery, shooting and gymnastics
Belize (BIZ) one in 400m men's hurdles
Benin (BEN) one in boxing
Bhutan (BHU) two in archery and shooting
Burkina Faso (BUR) two in boxing and judo
Cambodia (CAM) four in athletics, swimming and taekwondo
Cape Verde (CPV) one in judo
Chad (CHA) one in judo
Cook Islands (COK) one in canoeing
Gambia (GAM) one in men's 100m athletics race
Guam (GUM) three in cycling, judo and wrestling
Guinea (GUI) one in judo
Guinea Bissau (GBS) two in wrestling
Honduras (HON) 20 in wrestling and shooting; men's football (soccer) also qualified
Independent Olympic Participants (IOP): two in judo and wrestling (includes former Netherlands Antilles athletes)
Iraq (IRQ) three in archery, shooting and wrestling
Lesotho (LES) one in men's marathon
Liechtenstein (LIE) three in swimming and tennis
Maldives (MDV) one in badminton
Mali (MLI) three in boxing, judo and taekwondo
Mauritius (MRI) six in boxing, cycling and beach volleyball
Monaco (MON) two in rowing and triathlon
Myanmar (MYA) three in archery, rowing and shooting
Nauru (NRU) two in judo and weightlifting
Nepal (NEP) one in 50m freestyle swimming
Nicaragua (NCA) one in boxing
Niger (NIG) two in judo and rowing
Palau (PLW) one in judo
Palestine (PLE) one in judo
Seychelles (SEY) two in boxing and judo
Solomon Islands (SOL) one in judo

To be determined
Aruba (ARU)
Brunei (BRU)
Comoros (COM)
Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)
Kiribati (KIR)
Laos (LAO)
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MKD)
Malawi (MLW)
Marshall Islands (MHL)
Mauritania (MTN)
St. Vincent and the Grenadines (VIN)
Sao Tome and Principe (STP)
Somalia (SOM)
Swaziland (SWZ)
Timor-Leste (TLS)
Tonga (TGA)
Tuvalu (TUV)

Next up on the countdown: meet the flag bearers that have been confirmed to fly their nation's colors at the opening ceremonies.

Friday Jukebox 6.8.12

EL-P is back with a new album, Cancer for Cure, which should be out now (it's past May 22 already). His first album since 2006 (also on Def Jux). As a fan of his, he has now since making waves to the mainstream. I've been playing "The Full Retard" on my MP3 since mid to late April. Phenomenal song.

I'll Have Another Scratched From the Belmont Stakes!

The Triple Crown Curse continues due to the horse's injury.

Ray Bradbury, 91, The Martian Chronicles and Fahrenheit 451 Author

He died on Wednesday at the age of 91.

Author of The Martian Chronicles and Fahrenheit 451, those titles I've heard of but never read. Also, his anthology TV show (Ray Bradbury Theatre on USA) had episodes that were based on his short works.

London 2012: The Countdown Series: Great Britain, Part 3

46 days to go until the first day of the London Olympics. Wrapping up the three-parter on Great Britain (GBR).

At the team level, Great Britain has various successes in some sports, but as some of those team sports left the Olympic scene, the level of team sports in the Olympics for Great Britain seemed to dwindle.

Case in point, at Paris 1900, won gold over the 'Mixed' team in the final of the cricket. The Great Britain side and the 'Mixed' team were the only sides that competed in the cricket at those Paris games.

In addition, Great Britain had a podium sweep of the polo at London 1908 and a podium sweep of tug-of-war, also at London 1908. Polo and tug-of-war, along with cricket are long gone from the Olympic lineup.

Then there's the early successes of the football (soccer) program, where they won gold at Paris 1900 (defeated France in the final) and at London 1908 (defeated Denmark in the final). British football at the summer Games haven't been the same since then.

Water polo won gold at London 1908, defeating Belgium in the final. Only water polo gold to date, in a sport dominated in the Olympics within the last 60 years by Hungary.

And then there's (field) hockey. The Brits first won gold at London 1908, in a podium sweep. At Seoul 1988, their eighty year drought came to an end after their win over West Germany in the final.

To this day, this was the last team medal for Great Britain in the summer Olympics.

As of now, since this year's summer games is in their own backyard, every sport must have at least one competitor representing Great Britain (IOC and the respective sports' sanctioning bodies standard procedure for the host country). Therefore, 506 Brits will compete at this year's games.

London is the only city in the UK to host the summer Olympics. This year will be the third time they will do so. London previously hosted the summer games in 1908 and again in 1948.

Thus ends the parade of nations. The next focus on the countdown series will be on the other countries that will also send (or slating) to send athletes to London.