Oscar Pistorius can leave South Africa.

A judge has ruled that Pistorius, the Olympic athlete charged with murdering his girlfriend on Valentine's Day, may leave South Africa for international competitions. However, there are significant conditions to Pistorius' travel rights; he must file travel plans with authorities at least a week before departing, and he must surrender his passport within 24 hours of returning to South Africa.

According to his attorneys, Pistorius has no immediate plans to compete in any international competition, but he may need to run in the future in order to raise money for his legal fees. Pistorius' attorneys have long maintained that he is not a flight risk, and that he needs the ability to compete in races in order to remain financially solvent.

Pistorius is facing severe financial difficulties because of his attorneys' fees. Local South African media reports have indicated that he has explored selling his racehorses and other assets in order to pay his legal bills.

Police have indicated that they have no interest in striking any sort of plea deal with Pistorius, meaning they will pursue charges of premeditated murder. He maintains that he shot her by accident, believing that she was an intruder.

Pistorius has been free on a bond of 1 million rand (about $113,000) for the last month. The case has been continued until June 4, and Pistorius is under court order to avoid his home and all witnesses involved in the case. He must also report to a police station twice a week and abstain from alcohol.

-Follow Jay Busbee on Facebook and Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

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"I'm so desperate. Desperate," Jones tells HBO's Real Sports this week, as reported by USA Today. "It absolutely doesn't matter (whether it's a Winter or Summer Games medal). And you know the hard question will be is if I get a medal for bobsled, and I get a medal finally for track, which would I love more?"

Jones entered the last two Olympic Games, in Beijing and London, with strong chances to win a medal at both. In Beijing, she tripped; in London, she finished fourth. And despite the name of this particular blog, fourth place does not get you a medal. It was that fourth-place finish that stung, and motivated Jones to seek a different venue to medaldom:

"If I won a freakin' medal — if I won any medal — I would not be a bobsledder," she said. "Absolutely not. Are you kidding me? No. No!"

Jones is in competitions to make the Olympic bobsledding team; the final team will be announced in January. Let's just say this latest revelation may not give her high marks in the "team player" category. But hey, if it ends in a medal, all's good, right?

-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

But it will be tough for her to do without her ice skates.

Wagner's skates were lost by the airline on the way to London, Ontario for the world championships on Tuesday morning. They were in her checked luggage, and with all of the traveling she's done as an elite skater for five years, her bags have never been lost. She now has to wait for the airlines to find her bag, and is trying to remain calm.

"OK, I don't have my skates. I have to relax a little bit. It makes me take a step back and realize it's just skating. It's an event, it's a huge event, but I'll do better that way," Wagner said to USA Today.

She tweeted that fellow skaters have given her workout clothes to wear.

I've rounded up tights and a top, thx to @weaverpoje and makeup from my lovely roommate..now searching 4 shoes and oh yeah, skates!#practice

— Ashley Wagner (@AshWagner2010) March 12, 2013

Figure skates are specially fitted to their wearer. Borrowing a pair or running to a sporting goods stores to pick up some new skates could lead to blistering or injuries, which is not what Wagner needs heading into worlds.

While the Transportation Security Administration does allow skates on carry-on luggage, Wagner's never had trouble checking her baggage before. It can make you forget that bags do get mishandled by airlines everyday.

Though she has a practice scheduled for Tuesday night, she doesn't compete until Thursday. Hopefully, Wagner will get her skates by then.

UPDATE: Huzzah! The skates have been found. Nancy Armour of the Associated Press reports:

A @usfigureskating official picked up @ashwagner2010 skates, took thru customs, drove thru Toronto rush hour. Arrived just as warmup began

— Nancy Armour (@nrarmour) March 12, 2013

Oscar Pistorius is "on the verge of suicide," a close friend says, even as his attorneys are seeking lighter bail terms that would allow Pistorius to travel. [UPDATE: The Pistorius family has taken issue with that characterization. See below.]

Pistorius, free on bail but charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, is the subject of a new BBC3 documentary, "Oscar Pistorius: What Really Happened." Pistorius maintains that he shot Steenkamp by accident, but South African police believe he intentionally killed her in the course of a heated argument.

[Related: Oscar Pistorius' lawyers appeal bail conditions]

In the course of the BBC3 documentary, Pistorius family friend Mike Azzie has some dire words about the Olympic and Paralympic star: "I would say that, just speaking to him, that he is a broken man and that I would go as far to say that he would be on the verge of suicide. It really worries me."

Azzie also notes that Pistorius continues to speak of Steenkamp, asking friends to pray for her and her family. But there's no force behind his words: "He has no confidence in his tone of voice," Azzie says. "He is just a man that is almost like someone that is walking around in circles and doesn't know where he is going."

Meanwhile, Pistorius' lawyers have filed a request with the court to ease the bail restrictions on Pistorius, allowing him to travel outside the country with appropriate permission. They maintain that he is not a flight risk and should be allowed to travel.

Pistorius' legal bills are mounting; local reports indicate that he has had to sell racehorses to pay legal bills. Police are reportedly not interested in striking a plea bargain deal with Pistorius' lawyers for any lesser charges.

UPDATE: In response to Azzie's words, Pistorius' family has released a statement denying that he is suicidal. Pistorius "is in deep mourning but despite the tragic circumstances he is certainly not suicidal," said his uncle Arnold Pistorius.

"From the moment we were first informed about the dreadful event of the early morning of 14 February 2013, we have worked hard to come to terms with the sad news of Reeva Steenkamp's death and Oscar's role in it," the statement read. "Oscar, broken as he currently is, believes he has a purpose in life and is working towards that."

-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

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When American Evan Lysacek won gold in figure skating at the Vancouver Olympics, Yahoo! Sports' Elvis Stojko had a huge problem with the result. Though he had no problem with Lysacek's performance, he did have a problem with the way the skate was scored.

At the time, skaters were not given more consideration for trying difficult jumps, like the quadruple jump. When competing for Canada in the 90s, Stojko became the first man to cleanly land a quad jump at the World Championships. With Lysacek not trying to repeat his difficult feat, Stojko said the 2010 result had set back the sport 20 years. In the video above, he stands by his words.

But as they traditionally do after the Olympics, figure skating officials reviewed how to score different skating elements. Quads were encouraged in the new scoring system. Canadian Patrick Chan, the reigning world champ, is expected to throw a quad at the world championships in London, Canada, next week. Top Japanese skaters Daisuke Takahashi and Yuzuru Hanyu have also landed quads in competition. Max Aaron won the U.S. title with two enormous quads, and his U.S. teammate Ross Miner also landed a quad at the American championships.

As the world championships approach, a quad will likely be a part of the winning man's routine.

Pistorius has been released from prison on 1 million rand ($113,000) bail, and has said he wants a private memorial service to be held at the home of one of his family members.

"Oscar has asked for a private service with people who share his loss, including family members who knew and loved Reeva as one of their own," Vuma Reputation Management, which Pistorius has contracted, said in a statement, adding, "he remains in deep mourning for the loss of his partner Reeva."

Steenkamp's family has already held a memorial service for her in the South African city of Port Elizabeth. Her body was cremated after a private service. Pistorius is not permitted to leave his district of Pretoria without official permission, and was in his bail hearings at the time of her family's memorial.

In other Pistorius news, Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair, the judge in the case, announced that his family suffered a tragedy over the weekend. His first cousin is suspected of killing her two children and then committing suicide in Johannesburg. Investigators suspect that the woman killed the children, and later herself, by administering a poisonous substance.

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But an anchor at a New Orleans television station must not have remembered the moment. After Farah won the New Orleans Half Marathon with a time of 61 minutes, she asked him if he had ever run before.

It also appears that she doesn't know the difference between a half-marathon (13.1 miles) and a marathon (26.2 miles.)

Regardless of her gaffe, Farah completed an amazing run. After spending most of his career on distances of 5,000m - 10,000m, he transitioned to a half-marathon by running it in an hour and 59 seconds and setting a course records.

Thanks, Deadspin.

One of the more explosive "revelations" to come from the Oscar Pistorius bail hearings has been discounted by the prosecution.

Medupe Simasiku, the case's prosecutor and a member of South Africa's National Prosecution Agency, indicated that an investigating officer erred when he identified a substance found in Pistorius' home as testosterone.

Detective Warrant Officer Hilton Botha, the investigating officer at the scene, had earlier indicated that he had discovered boxes of needles and testosterone. However, while the needles were indeed discovered, the exact makeup of the substance discovered remains under investigation.

[Related: Oscar Pistorius' lawyers counter claims of alleged murder ]

The alteration is significant from a public-relations standpoint, as attorneys for Pistorius claimed that it gave a negative connotation to Pistorius' actions and behaviors. The International Paralympic Committee said shortly after Botha's statement that Pistorius passed two dug tests last year. The International Olympic Committee did not test Pistorius during the London Games.

Pistorius' attorneys said that the substance was neither a steroid nor testosterone, but a legal herbal remedy.

Botha, who has 16 years' experience as a detective and 24 as a deputy, initially characterized the substance he discovered in Pistorius' bedroom as a "steroid," but the prosecution immediately corrected him. Simasiku, the prosecutor, later said that Botha simply read the first few letters of the substance and believed it was testosterone.

Defense attorneys pulled apart many of Botha's claims about the case on cross-examination, strengthening Pistorius' bid to make bail. A trial is not expected for many months. (See a full breakdown of the defense's cross-examination of Botha here.)

Pistorius has been accused of killing his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, by firing four shots through their bathroom door. Pistorius' attorneys contend he believed he was firing at an intruder.

Related coverage from Yahoo! Sports:

Early Thursday morning, South African police arrested Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius on suspicion of murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend. Initial reports indicated that the death was an accident, but police have refrained from a definitive statement on the crime.

[Related: Olympic 'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius charged with murder]

Regardless, this Nike ad takes on new and chilling meaning. And, as SB Nation notes, it's not the first time Nike has used athleticism-as-weaponry as a casual analogy:

Pistorius' website pulled the ad because of its obvious bad taste given the situation. Question: is it in bad taste regardless of the new revelations? Is weaponry and violence too serious of a metaphor to employ so casually in marketing?

Pistorius remains in police custody. He was a competitor at the London Olympics and a two-time gold medalist at the 2012 Paralympics.

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South African runner Oscar Pistorius was charged with murder on Thursday after his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was shot at his home in Pretoria. Pistorius, who had collected considerable fame and wealth after becoming the first double amputee to run in the Olympics, reportedly kept several weapons at his home in South Africa and some early reports say Pistorius mistook his girlfriend for an intruder.

What exactly happened is still unclear — police say they had been called to Pistorious' home for "incidents" before — but a tweet he sent in November reveals that he was a bit jumpy when it came to personal safety:

As Yahoo! Sports reported, Pistorius kept several weapons in his home, and lived in an area of Pretoria with armed security.

"There was the pistol by the bed, the machine gun up against the wall, the baseball bat under the window, a cricket bat too. He was concerned by safety and security to a high level, there was no doubt about that."

Nike featured Pistorius in several ads. This image was running on Pistorius' website late last night.

Pistorius is expected to appear in court on Friday, where hopefully we'll learn more about what transpired at his home.

Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn was airlifted off a mountain in Schladming, Austria on Tuesday after crashing during the world championships. Vonn's crash came during the Super G, when she slipped and then went head over heels, with her legs getting tangled up as she hit the ground. A skiing official reported that her injury was "a cruciate and lateral ligament” injury — not a tibia, as rumored before.

[Related: Lindsey Vonn's Olympic bid in doubt after crash, injury]

Here is video of the crash:

Tuesday's race had been delayed for two hours by fog. In an earlier article that Vonn wrote for the Denver Post, she notes that weather would be a big factor for this event.

I've been trying to be patient and stay calm, but it's pretty tough with the way the weather has been. It snowed a lot Sunday night, there was no training possible Monday on the race hill, then it rained most of Monday afternoon and evening. I know they're going to try really hard to get the race off Tuesday. I have to try to stay positive and prepare for a race that I hope will happen.

Three of the next four competitors to follow Vonn also did not finish their runs, including German Maria Hoefl-Riesch, who won two golds at the Vancouver Olympics. The race was eventually stopped because of weather.

[Photos of Lindsey Vonn's super-G crash]

Vonn has been in the news often in the past few months. She suffered from an intestinal illness in November that kept her off the slopes. She told People magazine that she has battled with depression. With rumors of a relationship with Tiger Woods emerging and more scrutiny on her personal life, Vonn has bodyguards with her in Austria.

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At 5 a.m. on Sunday, eight skaters reportedly got into a fight. One person's cheek was cut, but police said he didn't need medical attention. The skaters, who were not named by the Globe and Mail, didn't respond to hotel staff on a noise complaint. Police were then brought in, and sent the partying figure skaters back to their rooms. No criminal complaints were made, because party fouls are not against the law.

Skate Canada officials will investigate the incident. The Canadian Figure Skating Championships concluded this weekend. Defending two-time world champion Patrick Chan easily won the men's title, and defending Olympic champion ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won the ice dance title.

Thanks, Deadspin.

Wrong. She is still a teenager, and found herself quite nervous before a dual meet. Competing for Regis Jesuit High School, Franklin said she was surprised but happy that she was so nervous.

"All my teammates were like, 'What is wrong with you?'" Franklin said. "I was so nervous and I love that. It shows me that the excitement of the sport is still there, no matter where you go. It can be here or the Olympics, but I still get so excited to get in the pool every single time.

To the shock of no one, Franklin easily qualified for the Colorado state meet with her four swims. There was controversy behind Franklin's decision to swim, as some critics said it wasn't fair for such a decorated swimmer to compete against other high schoolers. But Erica Perhada, her competitor's coach, said Franklin actually helped her team by raising the level of competition.

"They were working as hard as they could," Peharda said. "Missy's such a great role model. She's very positive. The girls were excited. I don't think they felt like she's taking anything away from them. It's really cool that she's swimming for high school."

Franklin posed for pictures with her competitors after the meet was over. Anyone who was worried about her motives for swimming in high school meets should be calmed down by the fact that Franklin was so excited to swim with her high school teammates. Though she's an extraordinary athlete, she wanted the chance to be an ordinary high schooler. What's more ordinary than being nervous before a swim meet?

Maya Moore helped the U.S. women's basketball team win gold in London, but she never got the ring she earned for her accomplishment. Olympians receive rings for making the games, and a package that was supposed to contain Moore's ring went missing. Luckily, she will get it back after a criminal was dumb enough to sell it for cheap, and a jeweler was smart enough to call the police.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jamaal Dontray Taylor allegedly tried to sell the ring to a mall jeweler in suburban Atlanta. Taylor reportedly showed his identification to the jeweler and sold it for $144. Taylor claimed he was an Olympic gold medalist, likely assuming that there is no way to verify such a thing. (There is.)

The jeweler called the police, and Taylor was arrested. Moore is expected to get her ring back. Let this be a lesson to thieves everywhere: Crime doesn't a pay, particularly when you're too dumb to look up the name of an actual Olympic gold medalist.

Suzy Favor Hamilton, a three-time U.S. Olympian, has revealed that she has spent much of the past year working as a $600-an-hour escort. It's a stunning admission, and a decision that Hamilton now calls a "huge mistake," according to The Smoking Gun.

[Photo gallery: Suzy Favor Hamilton through the years]

Since last December, Hamilton has, according to TSG, worked with Haley Heston's Private Collection in Las Vegas, and has gone on engagements in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston. The 44-year-old married mother of one worked under the name "Kelly Lundy," but apparently revealed her true identity to several male clients.

Hamilton responded to Thursday's story with a lengthy response and apology on Twitter:

I realize I have made highly irrational choices and I take full responsibility for them. I am not a victim here and knew what I was doing. I was drawn to escorting in large part because it provided many coping mechanisms for me when I was going through a very challenging time with my marriage and my life. It provided an escape from a life that I was struggling in. It was a double life.

I do not expect people to understand, but the reasons for doing this made sense to me at the time and were very much related to depression. As crazy as I know it seems, I never thought I would be exposed, therefore never hurting anybody. I have been seeking the help of a psychologist for the past few weeks and will continue to do so after I have put things together. I cannot emphasize enough how sorry I am to anyone I have hurt as a result of my actions and greatly appreciate the support from family and those closest to me. I fully intend to make amends and get back to being a good mother, wife, daughter, and friend.

The news is an astonishing revelation for a woman who, as TSG notes, runs a real estate brokerage in Madison, Wis.; delivers motivational speeches; and promotes various civic and community organizations. Hamilton said her husband knew of her escort work, but did not support it and asked her to stop. TSG reports that the family is apparently not in financial distress.

Hamilton, who ran at the University of Wisconsin, remains the most highly honored female athlete in NCAA track and field history, so much so that the Big Ten's highest track honor is named after her. She competed in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, but did not medal. Her most notable Olympic moment came in 2000, when she was leading the 1,500-meter final in Sydney. Her brother Dan had committed suicide the year before, and she sought to medal in his honor. But when she began slipping back in the pack, she fell to the ground.

She has since appeared in advertisements connected with everything from Nike to Oakley. Earlier this year, she spoke honestly about her battles with depression, anxiety, an eating disorder and other health issues.

The Smoking Gun report is a fascinating look not just at the culture in which Hamilton operated, but her own mindset of "invincibility," the idea that she simply didn't believe she would get caught. She referenced Tiger Woods, ensnared in the same trap of sex and secrecy. But she indicated to TSG that she had intended to quit the business even before being discovered.

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Oscar Pistorius is one of the fastest men on the planet, an Olympian whose achievement is all the more impressive because of the prosthetic blades on which he runs.

In Qatar this week, Pistorius ran a 100m race against a horse, and as you can see by the video above, the Blade Runner absolutely dominates the Arabian steed. It was part of a "Definitely Able" campaign designed to demonstrate that disabled athletes deserve the same respect and opportunities as able-bodied ones.

"It wasn't about who won today, it was just about coming out here and really just showing people that those with disabilities are not to be stereotyped against," Pistorius said afterward. "Having the Arab horse out here, which is a symbolization of strength and power in this region ... to be able to do a showcase event like this is a lot of fun."

But, as you can see in the video above, the horse doesn't exactly get the best start. And as a result, people are complaining that the race was either rigged, cruel or both. The South African SPCA claims that the horse was "unnecessarily and cruelly whipped from start to finish."

"I participated in the race in good faith as it was to promote abilities across sport and I was totally unaware of any alleged excessive force being used on the horse," Pistorius responded. "I don't condone any ill-treatment of animals. Those who know me are aware of my well-publicized love of animals."

Pistorius was one of the most inspirational figures in the London Olympics, but controversy seems to have a way of following him around.

This past summer in London, Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian of all time, finishing with 22 career medals and universal acclaim for his achievements. So when he said he'd retired from Olympic competition after London, he didn't waver. Like Alexander the Great, he had no more worlds left to conquer.

Or so we assumed. Ryan Lochte, Phelps' heir apparent, believes Phelps might not be done after all. "The sport will miss him," Lochte said in advance of the World Short Course championships in Istanbul. "He is one of my favorite rivals, and I will miss him. But I think he will come back. When you do something for so long every day ... he's still young. I think he will be back for Rio. We'll see. He'll miss the sport.''

[Related: Michael Phelps says U.S. swim team bonded over pop song]

Perhaps yes, perhaps no. Phelps has insisted he wants to live a "normal" life, or what passes for one after spending four Olympics as one of the most recognizable athletes on the planet. But as Michael Jordan, Brett Favre and pretty much every boxer who ever fought can tell you, walking away from the cheers is no easy task.

Thing is, the pool waits for no one, not even Phelps. While he was impressive in London, he wasn't as dominant as he'd been in past years. And both motivation and ability for the relentless training necessary to beat the best wanes over time. Phelps has always insisted he was done, but as USA Today notes, he's six months younger than LeBron James. Granted, swimming and basketball require two different types of physical and mental dedication, but it's not out of the question for Phelps to take a shot at qualifying for Rio.

We shall wait and see. Anyone want to bet on his return?

[Tip of the swim cap to Larry Brown Sports]

-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

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The USA swim team's version of "Call Me, Maybe" was a hit during the Olympics and has been viewed more than 10 million times on You Tube. It was even aired during NBC's broadcast of the Olympics. But it turns out it was more than just a way for bored swimmers to pass time during practices, traveling, and autograph signings. Michael Phelps said on "Costas Tonight" that it was a way to bring the team together.

"It's funny to say it now, but that 'Call Me Maybe' video we did really brought us together. There are some of us who didn't really want to do it, felt kind of weird doing it, but I think it really just shows how we are as a team. And we're growing even more as team."

On the way to becoming the most decorated Olympian in history, Phelps was on three Olympic swim teams. He said this was the closest team yet.

Swimmers are often teammates with their biggest competitors, which can hamper team bonding. Now coaches know -- the best way to foster teamwork is add a little Carly Rae Jepsen.

Lochte has joined in the Hurricane Sandy Relief auction, organized by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and Vogue Magazine. The winning bidder and a guest will receive an hour-long swim lesson with Lochte, and then lunch with him afterwards. The starting bid is $4,000. Though no bids have been made, the auction still has 12 days left.

After winning five medals in London, Lochte attended Fashion Week and visited with several fashion designers. He told Fourth-Place Medal that fashion design is his passion, so it's not surprising to see him help out this group as they raise money for Hurricane Sandy relief.

We traveled together in a small bus for the first Right To Play field visit in the capitol city of Kigali. We left the main streets of Rwanda and began winding our way through a densely packed neighborhood, perched on the hillside of the valley we were descending in to. As we bumped along the unpaved road, windows open to let in a warm breeze, my eyes scanned our surroundings taking in as much as I could of the lifestyle of the community as I tried to figure out where we were headed.

Our destination was close and I HEARD it before I saw the play space. Laughter. Clapping. A melodic and rhythmic call of joy, where the only word I understood, sung over and over again, was "welcome".

As we turned the corner we were greeted by the "welcoming committee." A group of children, singing and dancing in unison, lining the road above a large, open grass field where over one hundred children were already breaking into groups to begin the day's play activities. Already my heart felt tight and tears welled in my eyes. It was such a beautifully simple gesture of friendship translating clearly the joy and hope they had at the prospect of today's opportunity to play with us.

A boy no older than 10 broke from the line and greeted me at the door of the bus. He grabbed my hand and said to me: "Will you come play with us?" OF COURSE! My ear to ear smile had not been answer enough!

The boy led me down to a play circle that consisted of children between the ages of 5-to-10 being led by one of the local coaches. Right To Play seeks to create a sustainable community impact with its programs, by partnering with other local organizations. This play space utilizes the CARELIFE Association which works with street children and orphans, giving them a safe place to play and engaging local staff and volunteers as coaches and leaders.

Our leader led us in a series of fun warm up routines that seemed to me to be an extension of this country's love for singing, dancing and feeling the natural beat of life. All of those fun activities were just preparing our bodies and acquainting us a bit better before the main learning game, which for my group of little ones, was based on the idea of teamwork.

For the main event we broke into three groups, forming straight lines, side by side. We were going to pass a soccer ball, first person through their legs, the next taking the ball up and over their head to pass to the next who would go down through their legs. The over/under pattern continued until the ball reached the end of the line, where the final person ran to the front of the line and the process started all over again. Only after every person had brought the ball back to the front of the line was a winning team declared.

Upon completing the first round the coach asked us all for feedback on what went well and what was possibly distracting, leading to the success or failure of the separate teams. This type of discussion afterwards is indicative and signature to Right To Play's methodology of "Reflect - Connect - Apply."  I loved seeing so many hands pop up to share their opinion. It was incredible to see the children so engaged and eager to participate. Then we got an opportunity to try again, to apply what we had learned from the feedback. This time, the groups moved much faster at the task and the competition between groups was much closer. Again, we got a chance to discuss the results and learn from what we had done.

From a simple ball passing game the children learned the concepts of being in the moment, focusing on the task at hand, communicating positive and encouraging instructions and listening. As well as the analytical skills of connecting the physical actions they were doing to their reflections of the game and applying them to their lives and future activities.

Same principles at play
It made me smile to think that just a year ago as our water polo team prepared for the Olympics in London, our sports psychologist would run us through VERY similar activities. We were reminding ourselves to be cognizant of the very same principles these children were learning through the Right To Play programs thousands of miles away from where my teammates learned the exact same lessons. Proving that these skills can be helpful at any level in sports and applied to any aspect of life to be successful.

In just an hour of play I was blown away by how powerful the Right To Play session was for me to see. I felt refreshed, invigorated, and happy to have experienced what I had only heard or read about. And as our little group broke up, and we walked across the field to join the group at large, my first thought was, "Was it having this sort of impact on the children?"

That was when a small hand gingerly grasped my right hand. I looked down and one of the boys from my play group was walking beside me. He smiled up at me. I squeezed his hand in return. We were almost to the big group when his other hand traced the tattoo on the inside of my right forearm, near my elbow. "Why do you have a roman numeral here?" he asked. (I was impressed that he even saw it, let alone his word choice!) I explained the number 13 represented my team, the girls I played water polo with. He responded with, "Yes, I understand. You can not do it without them." That is exactly right.

And I knew that the messages we learned together that day were sinking in. And soon, as the trip progressed I would have many more examples of how the power of play reaches these children in need.

To learn more about Right To Play, visit their web site at www.righttoplayusa.org

Fans of the Fierce Five might be a little dismayed to know how close Gabby Douglas was to being the best gymnast working behind the counter at a Virginia Beach Chick-fil-A.

This time last year, Douglas, one of the darlings of the London Olympics, confessed to friends and coaches that she was prepared to quit gymnastics, and possibly even start working at a Chick-fil-A.

Obviously, she didn't. "What was I thinking?" she wrote in one of the revelations in her forthcoming autobiography Grace, Gold & Glory: My Leap of Faith. The book will be published Dec. 4.

Douglas, of course, would stick with gymnastics and go on to win two gold medals in London, becoming part of the most famous women's team in American sports in decades, if not ever. She's gone on to worldwide acclaim, from the White House to Hollywood.

This isn't the first time Gabby has admitted her affinity for fast food. Shortly after the Olympics, she noted on "The Tonight Show" that she'd celebrated her gold medals with a couple of Egg McMuffins, which earned her a mini-lecture from the first lady of the United States:

So there you go. Sure, she's got gold medals and international fame and such, but if she'd made a slightly different decision, she could have all the fast food she wanted without getting lectured by the first lady of the United States. Hmm. Tough choice.

Oh yeah, and kids, use this story as a lesson to follow your dreams. Unless your dream is to work at a Chick-fil-A. Then use this as a cautionary tale.

-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

Road to Saturday from Yahoo! Sports:

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You can own a piece of the London Olympics Opening Ceremony. No, the Queen's handbag is not for sale, but you can buy the boat David Beckham rode up the Thames with the Olympic flame used to light the torch.

According to the Huffington Post, the Bladerunner that Beckham used is highly customized. If you're in the market for a power boat with four dummy rockets with smoke canisters, a high-pressure waterjet bar and dozens of LED lights, you're in luck. The boat will be for sale in the next Bonhams Auction in England.

Olympic fans will remember the boat being a part of the ceremony where Beckham raced down the river with pyrotechnics blowing up as he passed by.

"After a fantastic summer of British sporting success, Bonhams is proud to offer for sale the ultimate souvenir from the Olympic opening ceremony — what has been dubbed 'the greatest show on earth'," said Tim Schofield, Director of Bonhams UK Motor Car department.

Note: it is not clear who dubbed the London Olympics Opening Ceremony "the greatest show on Earth," or if it's possible those people were momentarily blind during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. Still, it was a cool scene and an even cooler boat. As Ferris Bueller would say, if you have the means, I highly recommend it.

Imagine LeBron James driving the lane against 17-year-olds. Ray Lewis busting through the line on a Friday night football game. Usain Bolt stepping into the blocks at an after-school track meet. Justin Verlander firing fastballs at kids who are preparing for proms. Terrifying, right? Now you've got an idea of what opponents of four-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Missy Franklin will be facing this winter.

Franklin will be rejoining her Regis Jesuit High School team this season for an abbreviated schedule. Yes, an Olympian going back to swim at high school. Going to be interesting, yes?

However, Regis Jesuit athletic director John Koslosky told the Denver Post that this won't be a situation where Olympics fans can just show up at a meet and see Franklin. "Last year, there were all sorts of cameras everywhere," he said. "Missy was concerned about it, and I think that's what made her struggle in making this decision. But she said she wanted to pass on turning pro and attend college, and she signed to do that, and she said she wants to swim with her teammates and her school."

The school is also going to be working with the Colorado High School Activities Association to be sure that Franklin's meets don't turn into absolute circuses.

Franklin, who won four golds and a bronze this summer, announced in October that she will be swimming for California next season under Teri McKeever, who was also the head coach of the U.S. Olympic women's team. That decision cost her millions in immediate endorsement money, as she had to preserve her amateur status in the wake of the London Games in order to swim for California. Franklin's current plans are to swim for Cal for two years before turning pro.

Now, it's important to note that what Franklin is doing is not only perfectly within the rules of her sport, it's rather morally impressive as well, turning down money and fame in return for education and bonding with her friends and teammates. And her opponents will surely relish the chance to swim against an Olympic legend. Beat her? Well, that'd be a whole different story.

-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

Some good news out of Colorado, as skiing champion Lindsey Vonn has said she is on the road back from a "painful intestinal illness" that hospitalized her a few weeks back.

Writing for The Denver Post, Vonn called her illness "very scary," and conceded that, initially, she wasn't as concerned about the illness as her doctors. "At first I thought it was just a really bad flu," she wrote. "I made three visits to the hospital before finally being admitted. They did a bunch of tests, and they were worried that it was Crohn's disease."

If the doctors' diagnosis of Crohn's disease, which affects the intestinal tract, had been correct, she would have been facing a disease that could have negatively impacted the rest of her career. And, as Vonn noted, other potential chronic problems were on the table as possibilities as well.

Fortunately, Vonn's symptoms subsided by a proper combination of antibiotics. But weariness persisted: "After I got out of the hospital, I was getting tired walking down the hall of my condo, let alone walking up a couple stairs," she wrote. "I had to stop every five steps. I felt like I was 100 years old, and I couldn't even think about skiing."

After a period of buildup, she's now working back up to competitive strength. She continues to hope for a race against men, and while her bid to race against men this past weekend at Lake Louise was rejected, there's still the possibility of an exhibition meet.

In her return to racing this past weekend in Aspen, Vonn finished 21st in the World Cup giant slalom race.  Vonn was 10th after her first run, but did not have the strength to climb any higher. Indeed, Saturday marked the first time she was even able to complete a giant slalom run without having to stop for a break. (Slovenia's Tina Maze won the race.)

"I honestly don't know how strong I will be," she said, speaking of upcoming competitions. "I think I will be competitive, but I need time to regain my strength, and I don't know when I'm going to be 100 percent."

Johnson and partner Derek Hough made it to the finals of the popular show's All-Star season. She previously won DWTS with Hough after the Beijing Olympics. In the pair's freestyle routine, the Fierce Five danced and tumbled with Johnson and Hough. McKayla Maroney sat out as Gabrielle Douglas, Jordyn Wieber, Aly Raisman and Kyla Ross performed some of the more difficult tricks because she is still healing from a knee injury.

Since winning the team gold in London, the self-dubbed Fierce Five has been popping up in everything from television shows like "Hart of Dixie" to the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade to the Oval Office. They recently concluded their Kellogg's Tour of Champions.

Johnson won gold in Beijing on the balance beam, and also won silver in the team, all-around and floor exercise events. She attempted a comeback for the 2012 Olympics, but a knee injury sustained while skiing prevented Johnson from returning to elite gymnastics. She retired before the Visa Championships in June.

Including the next generation of Olympic medal-winning gymnasts on DWTS clearly meant a great deal to Johnson. She tweeted a picture of the group and said, "You have no idea how much it means to me to be able to share this moment with them."

Now, Johnson has to wait to see if her moves were good enough to win another mirrored-ball trophy.

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The day after winning the Golden Goggles Award for Male Athlete of the Year, Michael Phelps experienced a much less exciting activity -- jury duty. He reported to Baltimore for his civic duty on Thursday.

The 22-time Olympic medalist reportedly did not go unnoticed. Fellow prospective jurors and courtroom staff were impressed by the long time Maryland native. They asked him to pose for pictures. Even police were pulling out their cell phones to catch a moment with him, though phones are supposed to be off in courtrooms. He was taken to a more private room, much as he did on the pool deck before races, Phelps listened to headphones while waiting around. He never did get called.

A court spokeswoman pointed out that celebrities are not exempt from jury duty. While it's a nice idea that everyone should serve the judicial system, it's also not the best idea to keep the wheels of justice turning. If Phelps had been put on a jury, could you imagine the fuss? It's not like he could hide his 6-foot-4 frame in the back of courtroom. If the attorneys and judge and defendants spend more time paying attention to Phelps than the case, somebody's rights will end up trampled. Or swam over.

Thanks, USA Today.

Fantasy advice from the Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Minute:

Now, they're using their fame to help BBC's Children in Need, a fund that aims to give every child in the United Kingdom a life that is safe, secure and allows children to reach their potential. How did the Olympians help? By dancing, of course.

There is so much to enjoy here. Gymnast Louis Smith's dancing. The rowing team basically dance-rowing. The Kid 'n' Play dance followed by "Shoulda Put a Ring On it." Diver Tom Daley showing off some Chippendale-inspired moves.

But nothing is better than Zara Phillips and other equestrian team members doing the Gangnam Style dance. That's the granddaughter of the Queen of England dancing in front of a person dressed as a horse to raise money for charity. What a wonderful world we live in.

If that inspired you to give -- and it should have -- check out the BBC Children's Fund here.

The answer is yes. Yes, she sure did.

Nicely done, Mr. President.

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Maroney first showed her not impressed face after winning the silver medal at the London Olympics. During the vault final, she fell and didn't win the gold she was expected to. While on the medal stand, her face showed her emotion -- not impressed. The face became a viral joke on the internet, and Maroney showed a good sense of humor about it. It culminated with her doing the not impressed face with the most powerful man in the world.

Nicely done, McKayla.

Fantasy advice from the Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Minute:

Vonn has not trained since Oct. 27 in Soelden, Austria. Her ski technician, Heinz Haemmerle, told the Associated Press that Vonn has been experiencing aches and has visited the hospital on several instances, but this marks the first time she has stayed overnight. Multiple sources told the AP that Vonn had not suffered any broken bones or skiing injuries.

[Related: Lindsey Vonn photo gallery]

''There's been no news, so we're kind of worried,'' Rainer Salzgeber, racing director for Head, Vonn's sponsor, told the AP. ''It's not good.''

This marks the latest in a number of injuries that have checkered Vonn's career. She suffered a mild concussion at the 2011 world championships, a bruised shin at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, a cut thumb (sliced on a champagne bottle) at the 2009 world championship, an injured knee at the 2007 worlds and a vicious crash at the 2006 Olympics in Turin. Even so, she has two Olympic medals and four World Cup championships.

Vonn made news recently when she sought to compete in a men's downhill race at Lake Louise, Alberta, but the International Ski Federation denied that appeal.

-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

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Heather Petri, a member of the 2012 gold-medal winning U.S. women's water polo team and and a four-time Olympic medalist, has joined a group of Olympians visiting Rwanda and Uganda with Right to Play. While visiting Right to Play's programs in Africa, Petri hopes to inspire the troubled country's children and teach them the virtues of play. She will blog about her experiences for Fourth-Place Medal. Read on for her first entry on how she prepared for the trip and what she expects to experience.

I have been packing for my trip to Rwanda and Uganda for a few weeks now. Trying to navigate the complexities of traveling to a country I have never been to before. Realizing more and more each day, that I will be stepping into a world very different than what I am used to. Priority number one used to be having my swimsuit, cap and goggles in my bag; the rest if forgotten, I surely could borrow from my teammates.

Now, three months exactly since the gold medal game in London, I will board a plane and join a new team -- staff and fellow Athlete Ambassadors of the global organization Right To Play, in Africa to use PLAY to educate and empower children facing adversity. My swim suit will stay at home and instead I will make sure I have packed my tennis shoes so that I can join some of the nearly 835,000 children that participate in the weekly activities Right To Play programs offer, taught by local volunteer coaches. I have wanted to participate in one of these "field activities" after I heard Johann Olav Koss, president and CEO of Right To Play, talk about one of his early experiences in Africa.

I originally learned about RTP in the Beijing Olympic Village, where they had an informational booth on their global programs. Upon return to the US I signed up to go to an event where I met Johann. He told us of a trip to Africa where he observed the most popular boy in the village was the one who had a long sleeve T-shirt on. They soon learned this was because he could take this shirt off, use the long sleeves to tie the shirt into a ball which the children would then use to play soccer in the streets. All these children wanted was to PLAY.

After hearing this story I often thought about what my life was like growing up. Nearly every memory involved me splashing around in a pool. I started out as a swimmer and eventually was introduced to the sport I love, the sport that has changed my life -- water polo.

What if I never had the chance to play in the pool?
What if I never had the chance to play in the pool? I undoubtedly would not be the person I am today. I was very shy as a child. Being on the swim team and then joining the water polo team helped me come out of my shell. Taught me how to set goals, communicate with others to achieve those goals and then believe in myself by achieving the small successes that lead to my end goal. I had no idea that all of this was even happening because all I was doing was having fun.

I think that is why what I really want to experience over in Rwanda and Uganda is the simple joy shared between people when playing. I know that my life and the lives of these children are as different in scope as can be. But despite those vast differences the activities we will participate in together will equalize that for a moment.

Right to Play has developed a unique set of games that help teach life skills through sport and play. One program is focused on health promotion and disease prevention. Two weeks ago during a group of Athlete Ambassadors got together to learn one of the games in this program. They called it "Malaria Tag" where the one who is "it" is a mosquito and goes around tagging people thus making them sick. Once bitten we had to act out the symptoms of malaria. Through further versions of the game, doctors and the action of "using a net" transforms a simple game of tag into a lesson on how to prevent those that are "it" from making you sick!

If we play this with children in the field, I fear I may be at a slight disadvantage to my fellow Athlete Ambassadors, Heather O'Riley and Alison Felix, as their mastery of craft- soccer and track & field, are land based. Those two may run circles around me!! Luckily, I have fellow aquatic comfortable Ambassadors with me, in Summer Sanders and Natalie Coughlin, and I'm sure we can figure out a way to make up for it!

Just under 24 hours now and I am SO excited to spend time learning all about the ways Right To Play impacts the lives of the communities we will visit, PLAY with incredible Athlete Ambassadors and children and experience a new culture and country!

The last time you saw Gary Connery was most likely as he descended into the London night wearing a pink dress and a parachute in the most spectacular moment of the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony. An estimated 1.4 billion people worldwide watched that moment, the culmination of a skit involving Queen Elizabeth and Daniel Craig, the current James Bond. The live stunt worked to perfection … which came as no surprise to its jumper.

"It was not that difficult from a technical perspective," Connery told Yahoo! Sports, "but with the whole world watching, if you get it wrong, you get it very wrong."

Connery, a 42-year-old stuntman with decades of high-profile stunt work, had worked with Opening Ceremony creator Danny Boyle before, giving everyone involved a sense of confidence in the entire process. The sequence involved a segment filmed at Buckingham Palace earlier in the year in which Craig, as Bond, escorts the Queen and two of her beloved Corgi dogs onto a waiting helicopter. The copter then takes off in the direction of Olympic Stadium. (Somehow it was broad daylight at Buckingham Palace and nighttime at the stadium, but we can let that slide.) The "queen" and "Bond" then parachute out of the helicopter and land just behind the stadium, only to enter live and in person to observe the remainder of the Ceremony. And it worked to absolute perfection.

Naturally, this isn't something you throw together at the last minute and hope for the best. The Queen's scenes were filmed months before. And in the weeks prior to the Ceremony, Connery and the rest of the team made about 10 off-site jumps, and then another six on-site late at night.

"The test jumps weren't in costume," he noted. "People knew something was going on, but they didn't know what."

Connery would consider the jump a reasonably routine one, but decide for yourself: "We were jumping from 750 feet. The stadium height was 210 feet with the lights, so that gives you 540 feet to play with. You get out, deploy the chute, make a couple of turns to give the people a show, and get outside the stadium. You have to get it right, but if you know what you're doing, it's not that difficult."

It's been quite the year for Connery (an appropriate name for a star in a Bond stunt, yes?). In May, he set a world record by becoming the first skydiver to complete a jump without a parachute. Using a wing suit that made him look somewhat like a flying squirrel, he leaped 2,400 feet from a helicopter into a pile of more than 18,000 boxes.

So it's been quite the 2012 for Connery. What's next? Plans to recreate the wing suit jump in Vegas, for one, as well as an idea to set even more world records. Plus, there's always film; he's worked in everything from "Batman Begins" to "Game of Thrones," from Indiana Jones to Harry Potter.

The Opening Ceremony will always hold a special spot on his resume, even if he didn't get to meet the Queen. Then again, anything's possible: "I'm expecting she'll have me over for tea and cakes soon."

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This year, he dressed as the famous lamp from the movie "A Christmas Story."

Yes, it was the leg lamp that Ralphie's dad received as "A Major Award," in the box marked fra-gee-lay. (If you're not familiar with the film, wait a few weeks. When it is ominpresent during the holidays, a lightbulb will go off.)

Check out a few of his other greatest hits.

Thanks, With Leather.

Franklin shared the news via her Twitter account.

Committed to swim at Cal Berkeley! I am officially a baby Golden Bear! I am so honored to be apart of such a special team! #GoBears

She chose Cal over Georgia and Texas. She will be joining a school that won the last two national championships.

After becoming one of Team USA's most successful and well-liked athletes, she could have earned endorsement money. Instead, Franklin turned down endorsements to keep her NCAA eligibility intact. Swimming World reports Franklin will swim collegiately for two years before turning pro in 2015 to prepare for the 2016 Olympics.

She will have plenty to talk about during her school's orientation. In addition to winning five medals total in London, Franklin visited "The Tonight Show," flipped a coin for the Denver Broncos and threw out a first pitch at a Colorado Rockies game.

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But in the case of British Gas' sponsorship of bronze medal-winning UK diver Tom Daley, the company could have benefited from checking out their company's placement on his swimsuit.

Yep, that's a pretty awkward placement. On the other hand, I doubt I'll forget about how British Gas supports Olympic divers anytime soon.

Since the London Games, Daley, who is just 18 years old, has become a superstar in Britain and is looking to cash in on his celebrity status.

When he isn't winning gold at the Junior World Diving Championships, he is teaching children in China how to dive. I am sure he'd rather be remembered for doing that than for the unfortunate product placement above.

Thanks, Buzzfeed.

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This isn't as simple as Vonn just wanting to race against different competition and break a few barriers. If she is allowed to ski with the men at Lake Louise in Alberta, she will have an advantage when she races against women on that same course.

"It's complicated because no racer is supposed to ski on a race course a week prior to his or her own competition. If Lindsey Vonn could train and compete with the men in November, she would have a huge advantage on her rivals the following week during the women's races on the same course," Atle Skaardal, the director of the women's World Cup said.

The decision will be made during the FIS meetings in November. If she is allowed, her race will bring attention to the sport in a non-Winter Olympics year, but it also could give her an advantage when competing for the World Cup that she has won four times.

Fourth-Place Medal: When you look back at London, do you consider it a success?
Ryan Lochte: I'd have to go 50/50 on that. Whenever I step up on the blocks, I go out to win. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. I'm so humbled that I was able to get five Olympic medals and bring it back to my country.

FPM: Did you see "Saturday Night Live's" bit by Seth MacFarlane about you?
RL: I did see it. I know that they kind of bashed on me, but at the same time it was kind of flattering. Anyone who gets made fun of on SNL, it goes to show, you made it. You're the talk. I guess that's a plus. But after watching that, anytime Seth wants to get in the pool and race me, I'll be more than happy to. We might have to set that up.

FPM: What have you been up to since getting back from London?
RL: I just started getting back into training for Rio, but in the past two months, I've been able to do some things I wasn't able to do, like cameos for "90210" and "30 Rock." I was doing a bunch of stuff for E!, being a correspondent for Fashion Week. Pretty much going all over the place.

FPM: What were the acting gigs like?
RL: It was a lot of fun! My first cameo with "90210" was really nerve-wracking. It was the first actin gig I've ever done. "30 Rock" was really fun. Alec Baldwin, a tremendous, great actor, a great human being. He really helped me a lot on set. He made being on-set a lot easier. It wasn't nerve-wracking. We were just having a good time.

FPM: What was Fashion Week like?
RL: After swimming is done, I want to design my own fashion line. That's my passion. I definitely went to different fashion shows and talked to designers to see if they could help me out. They gave me some insight on how to start my own fashion line.

FPM: What were the designers like? Were they helpful?
RL: They were all really helpful. They all said you have to listen to yourself. You can't listen to what everyone else wants you to do. You have to believe in yourself and keep going from there. They said it is very time-consuming.

FPM: What will your fashion line focus on?
RL: Definitely thinking of men's apparel and accessories. That's something I've kind dabbled in a little in the past four years. It's something I really want to get into when swimming is done.

FPM: Does that mean we will soon see Ryan Lochte-licensed grills?
RL: I don't know yet. It would be part of accessories. Maybe I'll have a little kids grill when they go their little swim meets across the country.

FPM: What was the most challenging part of the last two months?
RL: I don't know if anything was really the most challenging, because everything was helpful to me, to my life, to my business life. It was fun. It was taking me out of my normal atmosphere of being in the pool every day. It was cool. I guess the hardest thing was time management. I still wanted to train. I haven't been able to train as much as I had in the past, but being able to travel all day on a plane, getting off, doing an appearance, then getting back on a plane and traveling back home? That was hard. I don't think I've recovered from the jet lag of London still because of the non-stop. It's a whirlwind.

FPM: But now you're back in the pool.
RL: I started back into training last week. This is the longest break I've taken since I was 8 years old. Getting back into shape is not fun. I wasn't myself in the pool. We train every day. When we don't train for two days, you don't feel good in the water for about a week long. Imagine taking two months off. When you get back in the water, you're feeling really, really bad. It takes a while to get into shape.

FPM: Do you see Rio being your final Olympics?
RL: I always told everyone the reason I swim is because it's fun. Once that stops, I will quit swimming. Honestly, I don't see that stopping anytime soon. So, after Rio, I set my goal for Rio and if I still feel good, I'll go another four years.

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"Hot.Cool.Yours."

For real. What is it supposed to mean? Tell us, press release.

The slogan consists of two parts — dynamic (changeable) and constant. It is intended to reflect the national character of Russia and the values of the Sochi 2014 brand, as well as the progressive and innovative approach to the organization and staging of the Games.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, head of the Sochi Organizing Committee, is on board:

"The slogan of the Winter Games in Sochi, in my opinion, very successfully captures the diversity of Russia's national character, and the very personal nature of this Games. The Sochi 2014 slogan demonstrates that it is impossible not to participate, watch, experience and be proud because this is Your Games."

OK. However, the lack of spaces between periods is really, really annoying. Every English teacher in the country shook their head at such poor punctuation and syntax. Also, doesn't it remind you of something?

Hot stays hot! Cool stays cool! And yes, that's "Seinfeld" star Jason Alexander singing about a McDonald's hamburger. McDonald's is a high-profile Olympic sponsor, so perhaps they wanted to recycle an old slogan.

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What's more impressive than winning a third-straight Olympic gold medal? Winning it while five weeks pregnant. That's what American beach volleyball champ Kerri Walsh Jennings did during the London Olympics.

She revealed on the "Today" show that she and her husband Casey Jennings are expecting their third child. With a due date of April 9, Walsh Jennings was five weeks pregnant when winning another gold medal with longtime partner Misty May-Treanor.

Walsh Jennings said she was "moody and touchy" during the Olympics, which is odd for the normally happy-go-lucky athlete, and her period was late. Those symptoms could be attributed to the stress every athlete encounters when at the Olympics. However, May-Treanor figured it out before Walsh Jennings did, telling her partner, "You're probably pregnant."

"I thought it could have been the stress of the games and travel kind of throws your schedule off, but I knew," Walsh Jennings told host Matt Lauer. "At some point, you're late and then you start feeling something. And I definitely started feeling something in London."

Beach volleyball requires  athletes to throw themselves all over the court, but Walsh Jennings said the pregnancy didn't make her hold anything back on the court. She told the "Today" show, "I gave everything I had."

This race to a gold medal was definitely the most difficult for the pair as they were up against tougher competition than in previous Olympics. They faced Americans Jen Kessy and April Ross in the finals to win their third straight Olympic gold medal.

Walsh Jennings said her husband joked that she gets a baby for every gold medal. Though May-Treanor retired after London, Walsh Jennings said she wants to play in Rio in four years. Perhaps she just wants to make sure every baby gets a medal to play with in case she and her husband go for four.

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Two-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White was charged over the weekend with public intoxication and vandalism. According to TMZ, he trashed a Nashville hotel room, pulled a fire alarm, then ran and fell, splitting his head.

Associated Press obtained the police report from White's arrest and it claimed he broke a phone at the Vanderbilt Hotel. The report says White tried to attack a hotel guest. Police said he was given the chance to sign a misdemeanor citation but refused. White was taken to an area hospital for treatment.

White has gained fame as both a snowboarder and skateboarder. He has two Olympic gold medals in snowboarding and a host of medals from the Winter X Games. His popularity has led to advertising deals with Target, Red Bull, Burton and more.

Reasons behind this failure are starting to leak out with allegations of partying, bullying and discord within Australia's swimming program. The bullying was reportedly at its worst when two older men on the team tormented a younger swimmer, slapping him and calling him "fatty" and "chubby."

Three-time gold medalist Leisel Jones reportedly pulled the bullying swimmers aside to tell them to be leaders, not nuisances. The bullying even led to an altercation where one swimmer ended up with a torn shirt. It became a source of division within the team.

Tommaso D'Orsogna, a 4x100 freestyle relay member, spoke about the bad behavior from the team, and how it was different from previous Olympics. They made prank calls and knocked on doors.

"I suppose the thing is, people are kind of saying 'it's just boys being being boys' but unfortunately I come back and I look back on that kind of thing and maybe that would be acceptable in schoolboys rugby ... but this is the Australian Olympic team," 21-year-old D'Orsogna said.

"That kind of behaviour shouldn't be tolerated nor should it be allowed.

"I can definitely confirm that there's no way that any other Australian team that went away to the Olympics would have been mucking around and doing that stuff."

Kevin Neil, the CEO of Swimming Australia, said in a recent interview that his job may be in jeopardy because of London. An inquiry launched by Swimming Australia has been taken over by the Australian Sports Commission. Neil took full responsibility for the poor performance, but that's not going to help Australia's medal count now. Responsible behavior during the Olympics may have helped.

Thanks, USA Today.

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Maroney landed badly on a dismount and was carried off by medical personnel. Raisman then mounted the same set of bars, and fell when moving from the low bar to the high bar. She banged her legs on the cement.

Raisman is bruised and scraped, but won't have to undergo any other testing. Maroney, who battled a toe injury throughout the Olympics, will undergo further testing to diagnose her left knee.

Both gymnasts tweeted their thanks to fans who flooded their Twitter timelines with good wishes.

THANK YOU so much for all the kind words & support. I'm so thankful that I am OK, just some bruising on my knees and the rest of my legs!

— Alexandra Raisman (@Aly_Raisman) September 10, 2012

On Monday, Maroney shared a picture of her breakfast with the caption, "Not too bad for hospital food," followed by:

Thanks everyone for the love & support with all the get well wishes & prayers, it means so much to me & is making my rough day much better<3 — McKayla Maroney (@McKaylaMaroney) September 10, 2012

Maroney and Raisman both walked away from London with team and individual medals. Raisman won gold on the floor exercise and bronze on the balance beam. Maroney had the best vault of the entire Olympics during the team final, but fell during the vault final and won silver. Her unimpressed face during the vault medal ceremony became well-known throughout the Olympics.

Thanks, Gymnastike.

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Armstrong was planning to run to raise money for the Livestrong Foundation.

"It seems a little over the top to pursue him beyond the cycling arena to me," John Conley, whose company owns and operates the Livestrong Austin Marathon and Half Marathon, told Runner's World.

Though Armstrong's camp sees this as a personal plot against the cyclist, it's the opposite. U.S. Track and Field has to enforce rulings by USADA, and the organizers of the Chicago Marathon know it's in their best interest to stay on USADA's good side.

This marathon isn't some fun run. Some of the world's elite regularly run and win the event. Chicago, along with Boston, New York, London and Berlin, is one of the world's major marathons. Ignoring USADA's ruling for anyone, even a celebrity, would put Chicago's standing as a major in jeopardy.

Sorry, Lance, but the 45,000 people who run the streets of Chicago after training for months shouldn't have their marathon's standing put in question simply because you want to run. There's nothing keeping you from raising money for Livestrong in other ways.

From eBay seller rklassman:

Buy at own risk.This is only water that I hope to have been scooped out of Mo Farah's ice bath and placed into this water bottle after his 2012 olympic win. Impossible to authenticate buy at own risk. Their was ice in the bottle but it has melted. My apologizes :(

For some reason, no one has bit on the starting bid of $1,000.

I can't be the only one who finds this a little bit ... creepy? Yes, the man is a gold-medal winner, but taking water from his ice bath borders on some bizarre behavior.

After winning five medals in London, Ryan Lochte is looking to some new challenges before preparing for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016. In addition to angling for roles on "Dancing with the Stars" or "The Bachelor," he told Celebuzz that he is working with E! on a reality television show that will follow his life.

"It's real. It's not fake or anything like that. It's gonna be me, me being myself," he continues. "And I'm pretty much going to show the world that and my new fashion line."

Wait. Hold up. Fashion line? Americans will get to spend their hard-earned cash and then look like Lochte? Though a reality show following his jeah-filled life of swimming and running a fashion line may be a little boring, seeing what he adds to the fashion world will be fascinating.

Will we be able to buy Lochte-licensed grills? Lochte American flag sunglasses? Perhaps knockoffs of the gold and diamond encrusted razor? Maybe a T-shirt with a picture of him wearing a T-shirt with a picture of him on it?

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The team rented out the MS Deutschland for their post-Olympic soiree. Pictures surfaced of the team smoking cigars and drinking champagne on the boat. After the party, Deutschland staff found burn marks, stains from spilled drinks and broken glass.

Though the team apologized and gave the Deutschland's operators a signed stick, that isn't enough to make up for the damage or the time lost to repairing the boat.

"The carpets and upholstery cannot be replaced while the ship is in use," Deilmann shipping company spokeswoman Kornelia Kneissl told Bild newspaper. Every day on land costs the shipping company €75,000, she said.

With the missed time on water and repairs, the bill will come out to about $625,000. With $625K, the German team could have bought a one-bedroom apartment in New York, a bungalow in a hot area of Atlanta, or five police officers for a town in suburban Maryland.

Instead, the boat's owners will look to each team member to pay for the damages. Instead of going after the group, they want whoever was responsible for the damage to pay. The company imagines this will end up in court. Yep, that's a good assumption to make.

Thanks, USA Today.

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A few weeks removed from the pomp and spectacle that was the 2012 London Olympics, members of the 1972 Team USA men's basketball team met in Lexington, Ky., last weekend to reflect on the 40th anniversary of the team's disappointing silver-medal run. That "silver medal" performance has long been criticized as a hollow number two in the annals of sport, as a combination of terrible referee work, blatantly incorrect scorekeeping, and out and out corruption just about handed the gold medal to a (very good, it should be remembered) Russian team that was full of older pros. Team USA, four decades on, still hasn't accepted their silver medals, and for good reason. Russia was a gold-medal deserving squad on paper, but Team USA earned the gold that year.

And center Tom Burleson, in reflecting on the lowest point of his sporting career, used the get-together to remind us all of what is easily the lowest point in Olympic history. The tragic and stunning kidnapping and murder of 11 Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists just four days before Team USA's gold-medal contest versus Russia. A typically must-read report from NBA.com's Steve Aschburner details the big center's emotional response to recalling the horror from close proximity, some 40 years removed from Munich.

Burleson had been out acting the part of a tourist with his fiancée on Sept. 5, 1972, unaware that the Israeli athletes had been taken hostage. After spying a longer than usual line to get back into the athletes' quarters after his afternoon out, he snuck in a previously used and purportedly innocuous garage entrance with two Italian athletes, only to be met by German police officers (due to complicated Soviet-era international policy, German military authorities could not aid in attempting to bring an end to the kidnapping plot) with rifles drawn. As Burleson was pinned against a wall with a rifle in his back, he could hear the Israeli athletes being led from the Athletes' Village and to an airport where they later met their demise in a hail of terrorist gunfire and incompetence from the German authorities.

The 7-2 NBA veteran broke down as he discussed the events of the afternoon. From NBA.com:

Then Burleson heard the shuffling of the hostages feet as they were brought out. "And I could hear them crying. I could ... hear ... them ... crying!"

At this point, four decades later, a 20-year-old kid turned 60-year-old man began to sob. He leaned back and tried to breathe. He bent forward, burying his face in his hands, his back and shoulders heaving. Jim Brewer, to Burleson's left, placed a hand on the big man's back, then his knee.

"They didn't want to die," Burleson said in gulps. "They didn't want ... to DIE!"

The hotel meeting room otherwise was silent. Reed thanked Burleson and tried to move on. But Burleson gathered himself long enough to continue: "As they walked by, they loaded them into the helicopters, they released me. ' Go into the Olympic Village and see the helicopters fly off. ...'"

The emotions seized up on Burleson again. The tears doubled and he wailed: "I hear them ... in my sleep!"

The 20-year-old was not asked to play in the gold-medal game four days later.

One could wonder how he could ever suit up again for a basketball game following the association between an event like the Olympic tourney and his brush with that sort of traumatic event, but Burleson went on to lead his North Carolina State Wolfpack to the 1974 NCAA championship (playing on a formidable team featuring the explosive David Thompson along with the precise-passing Monte Towe; a duo that helped make the alley-oop a go-to move even in an NCAA era that did not allow dunking) and eight NBA seasons before retiring in 1981.

For the rest of the backstory, please read Aschburner's feature. The team decided to mark the 40th anniversary with the meeting at team captain Kenny Davis' alma mater in Georgetown, Ky.; and the group appears to be as steadfast in its resolve as it always has been to decline to accept the silver medals. Though, to hear Aschburner tell it, this was far from a pity party for players that had been wronged in their moment of amateur glory.

Burleson, who according to Aschburner runs a ministry program in his home in North Carolina, later returned to the banquet in order to give the invocation before the meal that followed the news conference.

Gajillion-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps stopped by Baltimore Ravens practice on Monday to motivate the players as the regular season nears.

"'Go get 'em!' that was basically his message," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "He just talked about the last four years and what it takes to persevere like that, and he said, 'Go get 'em.' .. He had a great message for us, and we appreciate that."

Phelps retired from swimming competition after breaking the all-time Olympic medal record in London. He's 27, is 6-foot-4 and has the reach of a 6-foot-8 man, and is known for his speed. Perhaps this "visit" was just a ruse to start working Phelps out at wide receiver?

He was part of the crew as a guest racer. Watch as he crossed the rigging along the stern of the catamaran, lost his footing and fell into the San Francisco Bay.

As the Oracle was still in the running to win the race, it couldn't go back for Johnson.

"He yelled out," Russell Coutts, the head of Team Oracle, said. "I think he was expecting me to come back, but there was no way I was coming back."

A committee boat picked up Johnson. Team Oracle took second in the final race due in part to Johnson's fall, but the good news is it had enough points to win the overall fleet races competition.

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A 74-year-old javelin official was killed in Germany when a javelin hit him. Dieter Strack was officiating a youth meet in Dusseldorf when he was struck in the throat. He was rushed to the hospital but died from the injury.

Strack was described as a popular and experienced official by the groups that sponsored the meet.

The 15-year-old who threw the javelin is receiving psychological counseling. Though police were called to investigate, it will most likely be ruled an accident.

"The popular and experienced sports judge was the victim of a tragic accident while carrying out his duties on Aug. 26," the association said on its website. "All of us who were there are horrified and in shock."

Though officials and participants follow safety rules, accidents do happen. French javelin thrower Salim Sadri was competing in the long jump at an IAAF Golden League in Rome in 2007 and was hit with a javelin that caused injures to his internal organs. A high schooler in California was injured after running into a javelin stuck in the ground in 2010.

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"They're so heavy and I don't want to lose them and I've already dropped one of them so there's a little dent in them. It gives it a little bit of character," she said.

Raisman already admitted she doesn't know which medal is the gold she won for the team competition and which one is from the gold on floor exercise. The dent will at least keep them from being interchangeable.

She shouldn't feel bad as she's far from the only one to tarnish her medal. Brazilian judoka Felipe Kitada broke his just hours after competing by dropping it in the shower, and the International Olympic Committee replaced it. German luger David Moeller broke his tooth after biting his newly on medal in 2010.

Don't worry, Aly. It's better to have a dented medal than no medal at all.

Thanks, USA Today.

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Usain Bolt has completed everything he could hope to as a sprinter. He has world records in the 100m and the 200m, six Olympic golds, and a set-in-stone legacy as one of the greatest sprinters of all time. Why not seek another challenge?

Though there were rumors of his retirement, Bolt dismissed the idea his track and field career was over. Instead, he mentioned a prospect that would mean the world's fastest man wouldn't even be in the sprints. Bolt is considering trying other events, namely the 400m and long jump.

"It's just about making different goals, there's a lot of things I can do in the sport," Bolt told Britain's Sky News television channel.

"My coach wants me to do 400 metres, I want to try long jump," said Bolt.

Seeing Bolt long jump would certainly be a sight to behold. One of the reasons why he is so dominant in the sprints is that he uses his height as an advantage. He uses every inch of his 6-foot-5 body to get to the finish line in a fast, efficient manner. Can you imagine what he will do to get that frame to jump farther?

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The gold medal-winning Olympic gymnast has been relaxing and enjoying time with friends in her hometown of DeWitt, Mich., since returning from London last week.

"Now that the pressure is off, we just hang out," Wieber said Wednesday during an event at the AT&T store in Novi, Mich., which is about an hour away from her home.

The sprite and smiling 17-year-old said she now sleeps in a bit longer, spends much needed time with family, but still has commitments for interviews and events.

(Jordyn Wieber slideshow)

On this particular day for example, she'll spend the morning signing autographs and meeting the hundreds of fans that lined up around the phone center store. Then she and her mother, sister and best friend will go shopping at a nearby mall for a dress for Wieber to wear at the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards, where she and her U.S. teammates will present an award.

Then she and her group will head to the Detroit Tigers game, where Wieber will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

"Yeah, I'm really excited about that," she said.

Overall, Wieber described her Olympic experience as "awesome," but couldn't understand the fuss that buzzed about teammate Gabby Douglas' hair.

"We didn't pay much attention to it," she said. "We sort of channeled it out. I mean we were sitting here getting gold medals and folks were worried about Gabby's hair?"

Eleven-year-old Maddy Martin of Novi, Mich., waited nearly three hours to see her idol Wieber.

Maddy obviously knew that Wieber had won the team gold with the "Fierce Five," but it was the way her idol handled the adversity of not making the all-around finals that impressed her the most.

"At the Olympics when she didn't get to go to the all-around, you could tell in her face she wasn't going to give up," Maddy said. "So it kind of tells me to never give up on your dreams."

Maddy's dream — she's been doing gymnastics for eight years — is to follow Wieber and to become a champion. A gold medal would be nice, too, she said.

Wieber said she's flattered by all the attention, especially from young gymnasts.

"I love it and love being a role model for them," she said.

Next up for Wieber and the other gymnasts is a three-month, 40-city nationwide tour. Rehearsals begin Tuesday she said.

Sadly, she was pulled from the water a day before she was scheduled to arrive in Florida on her 63rd birthday. Yet hours later, the wear that the journey had on the swimmer became apparent as photos of her condition were circulated by her support team, which cited jellyfish stings, hypothermia, storms and, perhaps most gratuitously, swollen lips as reasons why the swimmer couldn't continue.

The photos you see above and at right document the ravages of all those maladies, with the 62-year-old's face far more weathered and beaten than it appeared just days earlier on the Cuban coast.

You can see the dramatic difference between Nyad's face above and the way it appeared before she began, in the photo below.

At the time of her removal, Nyad had traveled 55 miles, more than half of the distance between the two countries. Still, the distance she had to continue and the severe threats she faced, sharks among them, were far too great to allow her to continue.

Incredibly, Nyad didn't agree after first being pulled from the water due to passing storms. Instead, it was only after a few hours of reflection that she, too, became convinced that trying to finish the swim would be too dangerous.

"When can I get back in?" Candace Hogan, a crew member on the boat following Nyad, quoted the swimmer as saying, according to the Associated Press. "I want full transparency that I was out. But I have plenty left in me and I want to go on.

"[But] she realized that the obstacles against this swim were too great and agreed at dawn to return to Key West by boat."

Now Nyad is safely back on land in Florida, though it's hard to know when her body will return to the form it showed before her journey began.

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The five-time London medalist will play himself in an upcoming episode of "90210." We'd go into plot details, but you don't care. You either want to see him shirtless or to see how well-versed he is in acting's Donaghy Method.

Verdict: Lochte is to Donaghy like Brando is to Stanislavski.

It's been a week full of firsts for Lochte. On Thursday, he appeared on "The Tonight Show." Lochte is so laid back he makes Phelps seem like Missy Franklin.

While on the show, actress Kristen Bell stole Lochte's medals.

Lochte seems confounded by the words Bell spoke. Can't say I blame him; I'd also turn into a puddle of nerves if Veronica Mars ever chatted me up.

Also, if Lochte isn't the next "Bachelor," then we've failed, America. We've failed.

Michael Phelps could be in hot water -- not the cold bathtub he appears to be in -- for his recent photo shoot with the French luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton.

Photos of Phelps taken by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz were leaked on the Internet late last week, violating the International Olympic Committee's controversial Rule 40, which states athletes can't promote any non-Olympic sponsors from July 18 to Aug. 15.

Punishments for the rule range from fines to a stripping of medals.

The campaign was set to begin on Aug. 16 in order to comply with the IOC's campaign against ambush marketing. Someone jumped the gun and the photos appeared on a wide variety of websites starting on the second Tuesday of the Olympics.

Louis Vuitton denies releasing the photographs, as does Phelps' camp.

Rule 40 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." In other words, Phelps could theoretically be stripped of his medals from London.

The odds of the that happening are about the same as the swimmer winning six gold medals in women's gymnastics at the Rio 2016 Games. Unless there's a vast conspiracy involving the maker of high-end trunks and the world's greatest swimmer, it seems safe to assume that these photos were leaked by a rogue individual. Pictures that aren't meant for public consumption get leaked all the time. Michael Phelps can attest to that fact.

Then again, one of the leaked ad photos was with former Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina, the woman whose record for most Olympic medals Phelps broke in London. If we were still in Cold War mode, it'd be a legitimate possibility that she leaked them as part of a wide-ranging conspiracy to get back her record.

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Then again, Franklin, a four-time gold medalist in London and the breakout star of the Olympics, didn't have a typical summer either. Odds are her  "what did you do over the break?" essay is going to be slightly more interesting than her classmates.

Franklin discussed her hectic post-Olympic schedule, whether she'll watch her races on DVR and whether she's actually going to swim in college instead of turning professional. Also, Leno bucked the odds by not mentioning that "Call Me Maybe" video. That's a bigger upset than Michael Phelps finishing fourth in the 400 IM.

Franklin was Leno's second guest of the night, following Sylvester Stallone. He didn't stay out on set to greet her like most of Leno's guests, presumably because a 17-year-old girl towering over the star of an upcoming action movie wouldn't make for a good publicity shot. It's probably better off for Franklin. Just standing near Stallone brings the risk of testing positive for HGH by osmosis.

The men's basketball tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics is now behind us, with the U.S. winning its second straight gold, Spain taking its second straight silver and a new rising international basketball power in Russia earning a bronze for its first medal since the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. Dozens of players competed hard and well over the course of the two-week tournament, but which performers stood above the rest? Hit the jump for Fourth-Place Medal's All-Olympic Men's Basketball Team, plus a few near misses and some dudes I just dug watching.

• Kevin Durant, United States: You've got to include London's leading scorer and the new holder of the record for most points scored by an American during a simple Olympic tournament, right? Durant fell for the FIBA 3-point line (which, at 22 feet, 1.7 inches, is more than a foot closer to the basket than the 23-foot-9-inch NBA line) en route to roasting the competition at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey, and continued his love affair from long range in London.

Sixty-five of his 101 field-goal attempts in Team USA's eight games came from beyond the arc ... which might make him seem like a selfish and unrepentant gunner if, y'know, he didn't hit 34 of them, a 52.3 percent mark from 3-pointers, which is a pretty efficient way to score, if you ask me. (That's also twice as many as any American has ever hit in an Olympic tournament, according to the @NBAHistory Twitter account.) He went through multiple stretches (most notably during the third quarter of Team USA's pool-play finale against Argentina) where the long-distance attempts just seemed like obvious, too-easy gimme putts. My Ball Don't Lie and Fourth-Place Medal colleague Eric Freeman was right to say that we didn't necessarily learn anything new about Durant by watching his eight-game scoring spree, but he exits London having proven that he is, without question, the best scorer in the world. (The 46 rebounds, second on the team only to Kevin Love, were a nice added touch, too.)

• Andrei Kirilenko, Russia: For NBA fans who hadn't seen Kirilenko since leaving the Utah Jazz following the 2010-11 season to return to Russia and play for Euroleague power CSKA Moscow, the Olympics offered a fantastic refresher course in his jack-of-all-trades game. Kirilenko was a near-constant in London, playing a tournament-high 273 minutes and trailing only Great Britain's Luol Deng in minutes averaged per game as he paced Russia to bronze, its first medal-stand finish since the fall of the Soviet Union.

During Russia's 6-2 trip, Kirilenko showcased his defensive acumen, netting 15 steals (second-most in the tournament, behind only U.S. point guard Chris Paul) and 14 blocks (second only to Tunisia center Salah Mejri) in eight games; his instincts on the glass, where he averaged 7.5 rebounds per game (eighth-best in the tourney), and especially on the offensive boards (only Team USA's Kevin Love and Brazil's Anderson Varejao grabbed more teammates' misses); and his ability to score, averaging a team-high 17.5 points per game (sixth-highest in the competition) primarily by working tirelessly off the ball to find daylight along the baseline and seams through which to make smart cuts in coach David Blatt's Princeton-inspired offense.

The 31-year-old forward is never going to be a dominant scorer — he did much of his scoring early in games or just after halftime in spurts of activity sparked by Russia's frequently stifling defense, and less so late, due to his dodgy deep jumper and inability to consistently beat defenders one-on-one — but he remains a gifted, multifaceted talent capable of impacting all phases of a game and doing quite a bit of damage against lesser defenses that allow him to beat them with his frenetic pace (looking at you, Great Britain). Plus, even after a long summer of service for his national side, he says feels "like a young deer." That has to be good, right?

• Manu Ginobili, Argentina: Others may have done nearly as much, but no Olympic performer can claim to have done more for his national team than Ginobili. He was Argentina's high scorer in five of eight games, leading the team with an average of 19.4 points per game — third-most in the tournament, just one point behind Kevin Durant for the overall Olympic scoring title — and serving as the team leader in rebounds (5.4) and steals (1.6) per game. He also finished second in minutes played (242, behind only Carlos Delfino's 253), assists (33, trailing starting point guard Pablo Prigioni by just six) and 3-point shooting (44.2 percent, just behind Leo Gutierrez's 44.8 percent among Argentines who took more than two shots from deep).

Whenever Argentina needed ... well, anything, it turned to Manu. More often than not, as always, he provided. Thanks, Manu. Thanks, Argentina.

• Pau Gasol, Spain: Similarly to Ginobili, Pau was Spain's home base, the place it would look whenever it needed an answer. And throughout the tournament, he had it, leading a Spanish team without point guard Ricky Rubio to its second consecutive silver medal.

Gasol led Spain in minutes played, field goals made and attempted, free throws made and attempted, and rebounds, and tied for the team lead in assist. His 19.4 points per game were good for fourth in the tournament; his 7.6 rebounds per game tied for sixth. As I wrote earlier Monday, his 24-point, eight-rebound, seven-assist gold-medal game against the U.S> — and especially his dominant 15-point third quarter — cemented his status as the best post-up big man in the world and reminded NBA viewers used to watching him play second (or third, or fourth) fiddle that, when used as the focal point of an offense, he's as destructive an option as there is in the post.

• LeBron James, United States: Duh.

We've already spoken at length here, here and here (and briefly here) about the all-court brilliance of James' performance during Team USA's run through London, and Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski has already correctly christened the past year the Season of LeBron, so we'll stand on those bits of analysis and just remind you of the numbers — 13.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.4 steals in just 25 minutes per game (that'd be just over 19/8/8/2 per-36), a 45-8 assist-to-turnover ratio in eight games, a 60.3 percent mark from the field — and note that they don't tell the whole tale. Not by a long shot.

THE NEXT FIVE

• Alexey Shved, Russia: It was an up-and-down tournament for the 23-year-old Russian guard. At times, Shved looked brilliant — 16 points, 13 assists, six rebounds, three steals against Great Britain; 14 points, six assists, two steals against China; that sensational 25-7-5 line in the bronze-medal game against Argentina. At times, he looked disastrous — the 2-for-12 shooting against Lithuania, his pair of poor performances against Spain (seven scoreless minutes in pool play, two points on six shots in 26 quiet minutes in the semifinals). Against Brazil, he was a little of both, notching 17 points with six assists and three rebounds, but coughing the ball up six times in 30 minutes, too. But no player in the tournament outside the U.S. roster was as daring, as exciting or as exhilarating as often as Shved was; watching him in the NBA this season is going to be a real treat.

• Patty Mills, Australia: A tournament-leading 21.2 points per game (albeit on just 42.2 percent shooting) as the catalyst of Australia's quick-trigger transition offense, a tournament-high-scoring 39-point explosion to beat host nation Great Britain, a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to pace a signature win over eventual bronze medalist Russia, and a 26-point, six-rebound perfomance against the eventual gold medalists in the tournament quarterfinals? Not a bad trip for Mills, who'd done his country proud before ever setting foot on the floor.

• Marcelinho Huertas, Brazil: Maybe I'm just biased toward point guards. But watching the 29-year-old Huertas, frequently feted as the best point guard not playing in the NBA, turn Tiago Splitter into a legitimate scoring threat near the basket during Brazil's run to the quarterfinals was sensational. Huertas' pace in the halfcourt, control in the pick-and-roll game, court vision in transition and ability to complete passes others might not attempt made him a gripping watch throughout the tournament, and while Brazil came up just shy of the medal round, Huertas showed in the five-point loss to Argentina that he's willing and able to call his own number when needed, scoring 22 points on 8-for-17 shooting. (Just lay off the one-foot 3-pointers late in the fourth, OK, Marcelinho? There's such a thing as too much swag.)

• Luis Scola, Argentina: Scola's been arguably the most consistent low-post scorer in international competition over the last 10 years, and while he wasn't quite as dominant a force in London as he's been in years and tournaments past, he still gave opposing front lines all they could handle, averaging 18 points per game to team with Ginobili in giving Argentina the most potent one-two scoring punch in the tournament (non-U.S. division).

• Luol Deng, Great Britain: Led Great Britain in minutes, points, field-goal attempts, free throws attempted and made, defensive rebounds, steals and assists, (predictably) led the tournament in minutes per game and led the host nation to its first win at an Olympic Games since 1948. Now please: Go rest, Lu.

GUYS WHO WERE FUN

• Wang Shipeng, China: Twenty-one of the 29-year-old shooting guard's 32 field-goal attempts came from beyond the 3-point arc, and he hit 13 of them, a tournament-high 61.9 percent mark from downtown. For one thing, his hot shooting kept winless China (for a little while, at least) in a couple of games in which it had no business competing. For another, completely conscience-less gunners are awesome.

• Sasha Kaun and Timofey Mozgov, Russia: Individually, neither the former Kansas star nor the Denver Nuggets pivot are all that highly regarded in NBA circles, but together, they gave Russia a formidable tandem in the middle, combining for 17.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 38 minutes per game on 58.3 percent shooting. Watching Kaun bully opposing pivots to get deep post position and Mozgov hit baseline jumpers over defenders was surprising; seeing Kaun looking like the lead singer of Arcade Fire was downright shocking. (Then again, Win Butler's been known to ball.)

• Salah Mejri, Tunisia: The 7-foot-1 big man was one of only two players (along with China's Yi Jianlian) to average a double-double in Olympic play, kicking in 10.4 points and 10 rebounds per game for a Tunisia team that earned a measure of respect in London by coming out of the gate strong against Team USA, holding a 14-point lead over Argentina after 10 minutes and hanging tough until the very late stages of losses to Nigeria, France and Lithuania. He led the tournament with 17 blocks in just five games and showed the kind of explosiveness and athleticism that help you understand why the Utah Jazz extended Mejri a Summer League invitation earlier this year. Mejri's awful raw for a 26-year-old, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him again — whether with a larger European club or perhaps in the NBA D-League — sometime soon.

• Matthew Dellavedova and Aron Baynes, Australia: Watching Dellavedova (a 21-year-old, 6-foot-4 guard who's still enrolled at St. Mary's College of California) and Baynes (a 25-year-old, 6-foot-10 center who plays in Greece) hook up on pick-and-roll alley-oop dunks was one of the neatest little thrills of the tournament. I'm not sure if Boomers coach Brett Brown always called it, but it seemed like every time Baynes came off the bench and checked in, within two possessions and without fail, the two would hook up on a little foul-line extended screen that would result in Baynes rolling hard to the rim and corralling a lob. It got to the point where, after having drilled it into my head that I was going to wake up at 3:45 a.m. Eastern to watch every game, no matter what, and catching a couple of early-morning Aussie contests, I was waiting for it as soon as I saw Baynes get up, and I was never disappointed.

Like Mills before him, Dellavedova might get an NBA look coming out of St. Mary's as a tough point guard with pace who can shoot it a little bit; at 25 without much of a developed offensive game and a Euro career underway, it seems unlikely that Baynes will wind up stateside. Whether or not I see them again, though, they provided at least one viewer with a reliable bit of entertainment throughout their stay in London. Good on ya, mates.

Want to weigh in? You can reach Dan at devine (at) yahoo-inc.com or let him know on Twitter.

Fans looking forward to hearing the Who, Muse, and Ray Davies of the Kinks instead got a commercial-free airing of the new NBC comedy "Animal Practice."

Cue the outrage. At the handle #NBCfail, complaints rolled in. Wrote @ninatypewriter, "I think NBC has managed to become even less popular than Congress."

Or as @BookSavvy put it, "'Gee, I can't wait for the #ClosingCeremonies to be over so I can watch Animal Practice' - No One Ever."

The network did air the Who after "Animal Practice" and the local news, around midnight. But that didn't seem to satisfy some fans who couldn't believe the snubbing of Muse, whose contribution was particularly important to the 2012 Summer Olympics.

As @alexheberling posted, "Did they not know that Muse did the OFFICIAL SONG OF THE LONDON 2012 GAMES? UGH.

[ Related: Spice Girls stand out at Closing Ceremonies ]

Others were annoyed that the Who's performance aired so late on a Sunday night as a tape delay, when the network failed to air the event live on a Sunday afternoon. Mia Farrow (yes, that Mia Farrow) tweeted, "Hey @nbc it's SUNDAY! Many of us would LOVE to be watching Olympic closing ceremonies right now."

NBC's Twitter feed appeared to warn viewers that the ceremony was about to come to an end before the actual end.

@Nbcolympics tweeted, "And that's a wrap! Thanks for enjoying the 2012 #Olympics with us! RT if you CAN'T WAIT for #Sochi2014!"  Another post added, "And stay tuned for #TheWho after @AnimalPractice :)"

The network sparked venomous Twitter feedback over the two weeks of the Olympics for its tape-delay coverage of the sporting events and its allowing only NBC cable subscribers to view the Games' live-stream on the Web.

Despite the complaints about the defects of the Closing Ceremony, the ratings were through the roof. NBC reported that 21.8 million viewers tuned in. The London Games also had a record number of viewers, on average 31.1 million in prime time, making it the most watched non-U.S. Summer Olympics since Montreal in 1976, according to Forbes.

A request to NBC for a comment on the coverage has not yet been returned.

Related Olympics coverage on Yahoo! Sports:

More London Olympics coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
• Usain Bolt taking on long jump in Rio?
• Jamaican men's 4x100 relay team puts exclamation point on Games
• Allyson Felix's three-gold performance puts her in elite company

Michael Phelps is back in the water, sort of. The Speedo-clad superhero of the U.S. Olympic swim team is taking the world's fanciest bath in a new Louis Vuitton ad.

Phelps may have retired from competitive swimming, but that isn't going to stop him from making a living in the water. The new ad has the all-time winningest Olympian sitting in a bathtub wearing nothing but Speedos and goggles. Goggles? You may be able to make the case for wearing something resembling clothing in the tub, but who wears goggles for a few inches of water?

[ Related: Michael Phelps says he and Michael Jordan are the greatest ]

We may have just discovered the secret to Michael's success. Perhaps it wasn't his superhuman physique or his incomparable work ethic. Maybe it was just a pair of lucky goggles. And they seem to be working in and out the pool. If you've had a chance to see who Michael is dating these days, you wouldn't go anywhere without them either.

Phelps apparently, at least in the ad, carries his goggles, Speedos and 22 Olympic medals everywhere he goes in a leather Louis Vuitton duffle bag. He even fearlessly carries it right to the bathtub. Unlike us mere mortals, Phelps' dominance of H2O ameliorates the contentious relationship between leather and water.

The ad was reportedly shot by renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz, which makes sense given her knack for the art of composing shots of famous people having a wash. Leibovitz loves a good bathtub shot -- be it her shot of Angelina Jolie nude in the tub, or her photo of Whoopie Goldberg in a bathtub full of milk.

[ Related: Michael Phelps tells why he's not eating 12,000 calories anymore ]

This probably won't be the last time we see Michael Phelps in the water. He remains a marketable name and his association with the pool is the stuff of legends. And 2012 may not be the last time he's in the winner's circle. Word is he's taking golfing lessons from Tiger Woods' old swinging coach. Let's hope those aren't the only lessons he learns from Tiger's life.

Related Olympics coverage on Yahoo! Sports:

More London Olympics coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
• Usain Bolt to take on the long jump in Rio?
• Jamaican men's 4x100 relay team puts exclamation point on Games
• Allyson Felix's three-gold performance puts her in elite company