Sports Rubbish » Olympics

Canadians refused to board Air Canada flight during Olympic gold medal game

Jonathan Sacks — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:29:56 +0000

We’ve all been there. You’re traveling somewhere & end up watching a game in an airport bar, only to find that it’s time to board and the game isn’t over yet.

Some Canadian travelers on an Air Canada flight from Vancouver unwisely booked their flights for during the gold medal match with the United States. I guess they didn’t think Canada would make it to the final.

As airline staff tried to get them on the plane, the fans refused to budge, staying to watch the game on TV instead.

“We incurred a flight delay for a reason Air Canada had not yet encountered in over 72 years of existence,” said chief executive Calin Rovinescu.

The airline indeed delayed the flight until Canada had won. This never would have happened in the United States, since the flight never would have been on time in the first place.

Air Canada learns that hockey trumps flying [Reuters]

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SNL ESPN Classic Women’s Curling – Sponsored by Gyne-Lotrimin (video)

Jonathan Sacks — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:28:25 +0000

Last night, Saturday Night Live showed their love (?) of curling, which really was just an excuse to make bad Gyne-Lotrimin jokes while showing an ESPN Classic curling match from 1987.

While the “classic” match featured Finland and Paraguay, the only part of the SNL skit that was at all entertaining was Will Forte’s portrayal of Greg Stink, while Jason Sudeikis played the slightly-less dim Pete Twinkle. The constant Gyne-Lotrimin jokes definitely got old, especially since they weren’t funny in the first place.

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London 2012 Olympics venues to be built using recycled guns and knives

Jonathan Sacks — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 04:28:40 +0000

Each year, England’s police forces manage to gather an impressive pile of metal in the form of guns, knives, and old keys. Most of the weapons are confiscated off of criminals, while other metal comes from spent ammunition at police firing ranges.

Scotland Yard’s 2009 pile contained 52 tons of metal, much of which is being used as part of recycling projects. One of the major projects for the metal is in the construction of the 2012 Olympic site in Stratford, east London. The weapons will be melted down and reused in girders and other steel that is needed for the construction efforts.

Met Police spokeswoman Sarah Foster said: “We’re constantly looking for new ways to recycle and new markets for our recyclable materials, to conserve resources, save energy and money. As well as working together to make London safer, our staff and officers are playing their part in making London’s environment greener.”

Olympic venues made out of guns? Looks like Gilbert Arenas is going to be making a strong bid to be included on the 2012 Dream Team roster.

2012 Olympic buildings to be made from recycled guns, bullets and knives [Metro]
Met recycling guns for 2012 site [BBC]

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Bears: The #1 threat to the Olympic torch relay

Jonathan Sacks — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:33:46 +0000

The torch for the 2010 Winter Olympics is on its long journey to Vancouver, provided the torch-bearers don’t get eaten by a polar bear along the way.

On Sunday, the torch passed through Churchill, Manitoba, home of 923 people and tons of polar bears. So many polar bears, in fact, that the town bills itself as the “Polar Bear Capital of the World.” With this many polar bears, it’s not surprising that one would make its presence known during the relay. The procession had to be stopped momentarily as a bear was blocking the road on the shore of Hudson Bay.

Once the bear passed, the run continued even further north into the Canadian tundra, where runners braved temperatures of -40 degrees Celsius, which translates to Fahrenheit as “really fucking cold.”

Olympic torch crosses Arctic in historic first [Yahoo! Canada]

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Want to buy 5,000 leftover 2008 Beijing Olympics condoms? Look no further!

Jonathan Sacks — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:48:42 +0000

The words “leftover” and “condoms” are not typically combined to start a sales stampede, but one Chinese collector of Olympic memorabilia is hoping he will be able to unload his 5,000 condoms from the 2008 Olympics at an auction.

100,000 condoms were distributed during the games, with this guy somehow ending up with 5% of them. His wildly optimistic plans for getting laid fell short, and now you can have these condoms for a mere 5,000 yuan ($730) minimum bid.

The auction, very tastefully named the “Exceptional Auction of China Sport Collection,” will take place November 29th. With each condom possibly going for just 14 cents, that’s a great value.

Auctioneer Guo Lei said, “Although anyone married should be interested for their practical use, some people will be too shy to bid for the condoms.”

The condoms are inscribed with the Olympic motto – “faster, higher, stronger”. I can’t imagine why condoms labeled “faster” never got used. Though Michael Phelps was intrigued by the claim they would get him higher.

If you’re interested in bidding, the auction is unfortunately for all 5,000 condoms, thus narrowing down the list of potential bidders to Wilt Chamberlain’s ghost and as a gag purchase by whoever drew Shawn Kemp as their Secret Santa recipient this year.

Beijing Games condoms to hit China auction block [AFP]

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New Zealand Olympic Committee Threatens To Sue Brothel-Owning Taekwondo Star

Jonathan Sacks — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:03:54 +0000

A couple of months ago, we brought you the story of Logan Campbell, the New Zealand taekwondo star who opened up a brothel to raise funds for his 2012 Olympic bid.

Now that the story had completely died down and Campbell was out of the spotlight, the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) has finally weighed in on the issue.

Not surprisingly, the NZOC isn’t happy and sent Campbell a letter threatening to sue him if he does not stop using the Olympic name to make money from his brothel.

From the NZOC:

“Based on the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect, we would place your actions as totally inconsistent with these values,” TV3 network quoted an excerpt of the letter, signed by NZOC secretary-general Barry Maister, as saying.

“Your open solicitation of ‘clients’ for your ‘business’ while using the Olympic or Olympian connection must cease immediately, or the NZOC will be forced to consider taking legal action against you.”

If friendship is an Olympic value, then a brothel actually seems pretty consistent with that ideal. There’s nothing more friendly than that.

Threat to sue athlete for fund-raising brothel [Reuters]

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George Wendt Joins Stephen Colbert In Failed Attempt To Get Chicago The 2016 Olympics: Video

Jonathan Sacks — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:01:45 +0000

The Colbert Report

Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

2016 Olympics in Chicago – George Wendt

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Michael Moore

Does the IOC watch The Colbert Report?

Last night, George Wendt joined Stephen Colbert to attempt to make Chicago’s case to host the 2016 Olympics by trashing all of the other potential hosts (Madrid, Tokyo, and Rio de Janeiro).

Did it work? No way. Chicago was eliminated first, then Tokyo, then finally, Rio de Janeiro was announced as the host of the 2016 Summer Olympics. It doesn’t look like Jacques Rogge is much of a fan of Colbert or Wendt.

Rio does have its appeal. It will be the first Olympics in South America and first Olympics to be delayed by street urchins carrying off the torch. Time to go watch City of God!

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Pele Confuses Michael Jordan And Michael Jackson: Video

Jonathan Sacks — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:53:28 +0000

While Barack Obama will be pushing Chicago’s case to be the host of the 2016 Olympics, Brazil and Rio de Janeiro are getting some help from soccer legend Pele. And by help, I of course mean they’re wishing he would keep his mouth shut.

Pele tried to convince reporters that Rio is a better candidate because Chicago didn’t have Michael Jordan on board. Except instead of saying “Michael Jordan”, he said “Michael Jackson”. As reporters laughed, Pele joked that there were two important Michaels.

Two Michaels, but only one Pele. We’ll find out tomorrow who will host the 2016 Olympics. No matter who gets it, Pele should be a public address announcer.

Pele Causes Controversy By Referring To Basketball Legend Michael Jordan As Michael Jackson [Yahoo!]

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Harry Potter Look-A-Likes In The Sports World

Jonathan Sacks — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 06:48:46 +0000

With the latest installment of the Harry Potter movie series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, opening in theaters today, it’s a perfect time to take a look at some character look-a-likes from the world of sports. Some characters were hard to find decent matches for, while other doppelgangers were immediately apparent.

The Main Characters

Ricky Rubio and Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe)

Shaun White and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint)

Sasha Cohen and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson)

Everyone Else

Steve Nash and Professor Severus Snape (Alan Rickman)

Khalil Greene and Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton)

Phil Jackson and Professor Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon)

Andy Reid, Mike Holmgren and Uncle Vernon Dursley (Richard Griffiths)

Logan Mankins and Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane)

Jake Plummer and Sirius Black (Gary Oldman)

Wayne Rooney and Vincent Crabbe (Jamie Waylett)

Sam Cassell and Dobby The House Elf

Clay Zavada and Nearly Headless Nick (John Cleese)

Got any other good Harry Potter look-a-likes? Post them in the comments below.

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New Zealand Taekwondo Star Opens Brothel To Fund 2012 Olympics Effort

Jonathan Sacks — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:14:59 +0000

A lot of athletes try to get money for their Olympic training by saying “Just Do It.”

But instead of getting sponsored by Nike, New Zealand’s Logan Campbell is raising money for his bid to make the taekwondo competition in the 2012 Olympics by opening up a brothel in Auckland.

Campbell hopes that his brothel will earn him about $300,000 before the games. His parents spent $150,000 to help him participate in tournaments and qualify for the 2008 Olympics, where he placed in the top 16.

You might think that his parents aren’t too keen on this idea, but considering their son is well on his way to becoming self-sufficient, they are fine with it. Campbell even brought a couple of escorts home to his mom, who “realized they were just normal people supporting kids and stuff.”

Escorts: The sort of girl you can bring home to mom, at least in New Zealand.

Kiwi opens brothel to fund campaign [The New Zealand Herald]

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