Archive: Olympics
Natasha Kai Should Join the Wizards
This is going to be my standard when deciding which athletes to follow during the Olympics this summer in Beijing: would they be able to fit in with the Wizards? Like, I went to the U.S. Women's National Team practice on Wednesday, since the team is in D.C. preparing...
By Dan Steinberg | May 8, 2008; 05:55 PM ET | Comments (16)
Bizarre Olympic Dreams
If you hang around a large number of hopeful Olympians--say, at a U.S.Olympic media summit in Chicago--you're likely to hear about how long and hard many of them have dreamed Olympic dreams. Which is fine and all, but it turns out that their actual dreams often trend toward some...
By Dan Steinberg | April 16, 2008; 06:27 PM ET | Comments (256)
Lisa Leslie Goes Obama
Don't accuse the U.S. women's basketball team of shying away from politics in the run-up to the Olympics. Lisa Leslie came to her media session yesterday wearing a jacket with an Obama for President button. She said she bought it for her mom, "because we're in Chicago, and they're on...
By Dan Steinberg | April 16, 2008; 02:44 PM ET | Comments (2)
I Got Biffed
I've spent most of my time at this U.S. Olympic media summit wandering around, hoping to find Olympic athletes away from their official round tables, in order to get them to say mildly funny things on video. Like, yesterday I found Misty May-Treanor, the undisputed world champion of professional women's...
By Dan Steinberg | April 16, 2008; 12:59 PM ET | Comments (9)
Olympic Wrestlers Like Challenges
Rulon Gardner: Holds arms above head for four hours. I spent some time this week chatting with Brad Vering, a former and possible future Olympic wrestler who coaches at American University. He was talking about the culture of wrestlers, saying "We try to challenge each other in all kinds...
By Dan Steinberg | April 16, 2008; 12:01 PM ET | Comments (2)
Davey Johnson vs. Coach K
(John McDonnell - TWP) U.S. baseball skipper Davey Johnson and U.S. basketball coach Coach K both had Olympic press conferences today. A sampling of their answers, unfairly chosen to make one guy look way more entertaining than the other. Coach K, on improving: "Over the last two years we've...
By Dan Steinberg | April 16, 2008; 09:01 AM ET | Comments (9)
An Olympic Faux-Hawk
Diver David Boudia and his faux-hawk. Is it killing me not to be at Caps-Flyers? Yeah. Am I compensating by hoping against hope that someone with a real, genuine mohawk will walk through that door? Yeah, I guess I am. This is diver David Boudia. He doesn't have a...
By Dan Steinberg | April 15, 2008; 04:29 PM ET | Comments (2)
The Gilbert Arenas of Paddling
The first time I saw Benn Fraker at the U.S. Olympic Media Summit, I was wandering through some hallway and he was encouraging an NBC makeup person to outfit him with black eyeliner. The second time I saw him, he was telling me that he listens to Elliott Smith...
By Dan Steinberg | April 15, 2008; 03:33 PM ET | Comments (8)
Olympic Style Watch
Demetrius Andrade. If you've never sat in a room with, I don't know, 400 sports writers and journalists all hoping that Michael Phelps will take a political stand on something or other (he didn't) or tell a hilarious story of his life-building journey with coach Bob Bowman (Bowman once...
By Dan Steinberg | April 14, 2008; 04:23 PM ET | Comments (2)
Women's Soccer Team Likes Dylan
How did new U.S. women's coach Pia Sundhage greet her new charges after she became the sixth coach in U.S. Women's National Team history this winter? She sang Dylan. "The Times They Are a-Changin'." Not just the chorus, either. "We're anxiously awaiting the first words to come out of her...
By Dan Steinberg | April 14, 2008; 12:11 PM ET | Comments (7)
Soccer Players on Olympics and Politics
First press conference of the pre-Olympics summit involved the women's soccer team. First few questions were about, you know, Coach Pia Sundhage's experience with the Chinese national team, the changing of the guard, the new coaching philosophy, and so on. Then came the political questions. That's going to be a...
By Dan Steinberg | April 14, 2008; 11:08 AM ET | Comments (3)
I'm in Chicago
Programming note: I'm in Chicago for this U.S. Olympics media summit thing. I understand there's some sort of mild excitement concerning D.C.-based pro sports teams this week, but these Olympic plans were hatched many months ago. Anyhow, it'll probably be pretty quiet around here this week, but next week I'll...
By Dan Steinberg | April 14, 2008; 10:20 AM ET | Comments (6)
Badminton Star Comes to D.C.
"Let's get a quick raise of hands from those who've played competitive badminton indoors," Howard Bach said at the Bank of America health and insurance sales rally meeting this morning. A group of financial industry professionals, who a few minutes earlier had been dancing to the Black Eyed Peas,...
By Dan Steinberg | February 27, 2008; 05:24 PM ET | Comments (3)
