Lolo Jones finished fourth in her race on Tuesday. Though the U.S. won silver and bronze in the 100m hurdles, the "Today" show chose to bring Jones on the set Wednesday morning.

After saying she was "crushed" by the result of the final, she broke down in tears during the interview when asked about "all she's been dealing with," including an unflattering write-up about Jones in the New York Times.

[ Related: Why Lolo's finish was no surprise ]

"I think it was crazy just because it was two days before I competed, and then the fact that it was from a U.S. media,'' Jones told Savannah Guthrie before fighting back tears. "They should be supporting our U.S. Olympic athletes and instead they just ripped me to shreds. I just thought that that was crazy because I worked six days a week, every day, for four years for a 12-second race and the fact that they just tore me apart, which is heartbreaking.

"They didn't even do their research, calling me the Anna Kournikova of track. I have the American record. I am the American record holder indoors, I have two world indoor titles. Just because I don't boast about these things, I don't think I should be ripped apart by media. I laid it out there, fought hard for my country and it's just a shame that I have to deal with so much backlash when I'm already so brokenhearted as it is."

Jones is right that the New York Times went too far in the article. She is a more accomplished athlete than it gave her credit for. However, it is not the job of the media to support athletes. It is the job of the media to cover the sport, both good and bad. She had no problem posing for magazine covers and doing interviews to promote herself before the Olympics. She can't be angry now when she has less than golden results.

The premier match of Wednesday's four-game quarterfinal slate in the Olympic men's basketball tournament — which we previewed for you on Tuesday — will see Team USA, led by NBA stars LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony, square off against and a tough, physical Australia team that gets its offensive punch from lightning-quick point guard Patty Mills. The U.S. enters the 5:15 p.m. ET contest as a big-time favorite, but coach Brett Brown's Boomers play the kind of hard-nosed defense that could give America's scorers problems.

[ Related: Hoops quarterfinal preview ]

Join us at 5 p.m. ET for a live chat of the action as Team USA and Australia battle for the right to advance in the single-elimination tournament and get one step closer to Olympic gold. (Please note that while we'll try our best, we might not be be able to get to all questions and comments — we appreciate your understanding.)

Let's chat it up:

LONDON — What's the ultimate tribute for a British athlete who wins gold at the London Games? Tea with a royal? Getting name-dropped on "EastEnders"? Having a meat pie named in their honor?

How about this: Seeing one of those iconic red postboxes in their hometown painted gold by the Royal Mail, to signify this is the home of a champion.

Getty ImagesThe London Olympics mark the first time in 140 years that the postboxes are a color other than red.

According to the Daily Mail, teams of painters are on standby, ready to drive all over England to paint the mailboxes within days of a Team Great Britain athlete winning gold.

[ Related: Is it called the UK, England or Great Britain? ]

The postboxes have become photo-op attractions … and in one unfortunate case, for vandalism. Jessica Ennis, whose gold in the heptathlon was a momentous occasion for British fans, had her mailbox sprayed with graffiti at Barkers Pool in Sheffield City Centre. It was quickly repainted with a second golden coat.

Overall, the golden postbox project has been a great success — when the Royal Mail actually gets the hometown of the athlete correct, that is.

Getty ImagesLONDON — Watching Great Britain star Jessica Ennis win gold in the heptathlon at the London Olympics would be an unforgettable moment for any U.K. fan.

But Henry and Emily Lee had another unforgettable moment to attend to that night, rather than using their tickets to see Ennis at Olympic Stadium — the birth of their daughter.

[ Photos: British heptathlete Jessica Ennis ]

To commemorate both moments, and because the Olympic Spirit has made local fans this nutty, the Lees named their baby after Ennis: Beatrice Jessica Lee.

From the Evening Standard:

Mrs Lee's sister Claire Croxall, who told Ennis about the name tribute on Twitter, said of her niece: "Her mum and dad were supposed to be at the athletics for Super Saturday and were gutted when Emily's waters broke early on Saturday morning as they knew they weren't going to be going after weeks of excitement leading up to it, but of course they were thrilled that their baby was arriving.

"Just 20 minutes after Beatrice Jessica was born at Bath Hospital, baby and daddy snuggled up just in time to see her namesake achieve her Olympic Gold. They may not have made it to the Olympics, but they have a little part of the Olympics to treasure forever."

We know what you're asking: What happened to those Olympics tickets? According to the paper, they gave them to friends — who brought the stubs and a program back to the Lees so they can be framed for their daughter.

Alysia Montano won her 800 meters heat Wednesday in the fastest time of the day (AP)

Even though she grew up playing football, shooting hoops and running races against all the boys in her neighborhood, U.S. 800-meter champion Alysia Montano never wanted to be thought of as one of them.

As a result, she started wearing a flower behind her right ear to remind the boys they were getting beat by a girl.

The flower remains Montano's trademark even though her opponents are now world-class female middle-distance runners. The Southern California native donned a red flower to match her red Team USA jersey Wednesday in London when she breezed to a victory in her heat during the first round of qualifying in the women's 800 meters.

"The flower to me means strength with femininity," Montano said in June after winning the 800 at the U.S. Olympic trials. "I think that a lot of people say things like you run like a girl. That doesn't mean you have to run soft or you have to run dainty. It means that you're strong."

[ Video: Fastest field ever ready for women's 200m final ]

The greatest test of Montano's strength came four years ago when an ill-timed foot injury at the U.S. Olympic trials cost her an opportunity to go to Beijing. She entered the trials as the favorite in the 800 meters but faded to ninth in her quarterfinal and left the track at Hayward Field in a wheelchair as a result of the injury.

Montano has blossomed since that setback, capturing three straight U.S. championships in the 800 meters in 2010, 2011 and 2012, and finishing fourth at the world championships last year. Those results make her perhaps the U.S.'s most realistic medal contender in the 800 since Kim Gallagher won silver and bronze in 1984 and '88.

Let me tell you something, brother: Germany's Robert Harting won the gold medal in men's discus on Tuesday. And then, he came down with a fit of Hulkamania.

Unfamiliar with that condition? Ever watch (ahem) professional wrestling? Hulkamania is the diagnosis when an individual has been pushed to the point of temporarily amicable madness. Classic symptoms include wide eyes, shirt ripping, fierce national pride, and the occasional atomic leg drop. Or just watch "Patient Zero" for yourself.

[ Photos: Discus winner's wild celebration ]

Harting displayed several of the symptoms following his gold-medal-winning mark of 68.27 meters, which beat silver medalist Ehsan Hadadi of Iran by 0.09 meters.

Apparently, he's been displaying the symptoms for awhile. Let's take a look at Tuesday's bout with Hulkamania (all photos via The Associated Press):

Harting recovered just fine after his celebratory fit. We are eternally grateful.

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There will be a new Olympic champion 50-kilometer race walker. That much is certain a full four days before the event takes place, even though the defending champ, Italian race walking superstar Alex Schwazer, qualified to defend his title.

Defending gold medal race walker Alex Schwazer, who was banned for EPO use — Getty Images

Instead of lining up along the starting line for the 50K race on Saturday, Schwazer will be back in Italy after he failed a doping test for using the blood-boosting agent erythropoietin, more commonly called EPO. According to Reuters and the Associated Press, Schwazer's positive test was confirmed by CONI, the Italian National Olympic Committee.

Italian Olympic race waker Alex Schwazer — Getty Images

"[Schwazer] wanted the gold again at all costs," he told Italian TV, according to the AP.

EPO scandals have hit other endurance events hard, most notably racking the Tour de France in recent years. Still, the concept of a race walker doping strikes many as patently ridiculous. After all, this is race walking, not running.

As it turns out, blood doping scandals are nothing new in the wild world of race walking. Most notably, in September of 2008, not long after the conclusion of the Beijing Games, five leading Russian race walkers all tested positive for EPO, with the then-world-record holder for the 20k race walk, Vladimir Kanaikin, among the guilty racers.

Those past scandals have left Schwazer in the unenviable position of having to ensure fans across the world that his 2008 gold medal was rightfully earned in clean competition. The Italian also set a world record in that same race, leaving both his gold medal and still-standing record in peril.

Russell Westbrook and Team USA will look to keep flying when they face Australia on Wednesday. (Getty Images)

With the group stage in the rear-view mirror, the men's basketball tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics moves to the knockout stage on Wednesday, with eight teams vying for a slot in the tournament semifinals and a shot at leaving London with a medal. Let's take a look at the players and matchups that could determine four intriguing games on what ought to be a tremendous slate of quarterfinal games.

And hey — whether you're watching the main-event game between Team USA and Australia at home or can't catch the action live, follow along with us here at Fourth-Place Medal! We'll be live-chatting throughout the game, taking your questions and comments, starting at 5 p.m. ET.

Russia vs. Lithuania, 9 a.m. ET

Much will be made of the historical underpinnings of Wednesday's first matchup, and for good reason. After five decades of occupation by Soviet and Nazi forces, Lithuania declared independence from the U.S.S.R. in 1990; the Soviet Union fell in December 1991, giving way to a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) formed by former Soviet republics, including the Russian Federation. At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, a Lithuanian national team led by legends Arvydas Sabonis and Sarunas Marciulionis squared off with a CIS team featuring FIBA great Alexander Volkov, with the winner of the politically fraught matchup taking home both bronze medals and a measure of athletic bragging rights for its newly formed nation.

On that day, Lithuania prevailed; on Wednesday, 20 years later, they'll be underdogs.