Fidel Castro says promoters tricking athletes into defection and "European Chauvinism" may keep Cuba from winning more medals in 2012. (Getty Images)Castro Defends Athlete, Condemns Judges
Cuban ex-President Fidel Castro told state media Angel Matos, a taekwondo athlete who kicked a referee in the face, was justified. Castro accused the opponents of bribery and the judge of corruption.
Castro also lashed out at boxing officials. Cuba, which had high expectations in boxing, won no gold medals.
"I saw when the judges blatantly stole fights from two Cuban boxers in the semifinals. Our fighters had hopes of winning, despite the judges, but it was useless. They were condemned beforehand," Castro wrote in a commentary for newspaper Granma.
Besides corruption, Castro blamed promoters for luring boxers into defection. He said Cuban fans should prepare for a difficult Olympics in 2012.
"There will be European chauvinism, judge corruption, buying of brawn and brains and a strong dose of racism," he wrote.
Olympic Basketball Coaches
Spanish basketball coach Aito Garcia Reneses opted out of his contract after leading Spain to the silver medal in Beijing. "I don't want to coach only for two months a year. At present, I prefer to be active throughout the season," said Reneses.
The U.S., which beat Spain for gold, will retain coach Mike Krzyzewski in some capacity. "It's a critical time to use the momentum we've gained over the past three years to make us even stronger in basketball. How do we make this a much better program and make it fashionable [to play for the USA]. We want people to have an intense desire to play for their country out of high school, college and the NBA," he said.
Krzyzewski hasn’t committed to coaching the team in London, but guaranteed he will remain in at least a consultative fashion for USA Basketball.
IOC Sues Greek Coach
The IOC filed a lawsuit against the coach of a drug cheat. George Panagiotopoulos was the coach of the surprise winner of the women’s 400m in Athens, Fani Halkia. Halkia tested positive for banned substances during the Beijing Olympics. Lawyer Petros Mahas told Reuters the IOC filed the suit, claiming Pangiotopoulos broke Greek anti-doping laws.
"We submitted the lawsuit against Mr Panagiotopoulos and any other responsible parties," Mahas said. "The IOC's target is not the athletes, but the coaches who supply them with drugs."
"The IOC wants to actively participate in the fight against doping in Greece," Mahas added.
Olympic Memorabilia Auction
OlympicThe Beijing torch is the least expensive of any Games for the Ingrid O’Neil auction. (Getty Images)collector Ingrid O’Neil’s latest auction closes Sept. 6.
Items include a bronze medal from the first Winter Games in Chamonix, France in`1924, listed at $15,000.
Torches run from a little less than $1,000 to $9,500. The asking price of the Beijing torch is $975, reflecting perhaps the large number produced, more than 22,000.
Briefs...
Insurance companies will lose nearly $2 billion to South Korea’s record gold medal haul. Companies such as Lotte Department Store, Hana Tour and Ministop promised lavish prizes including cars and cash if South Korea won more than 12 golds. A Hyundai Marine and Fire official, whose company is on the hook for $22 million, told U.K. media they will “use this opportunity to promote the effectiveness of insurance.”
Jamaican sprint sensation Usain BoltMisty May-Treanor will compete on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. (Getty Images)will be back on the track this weekend in Zurich for the AF Golden League. The 100m will feature seven of the eight Olympic finalists, with only Asafa Powell unavailable. Though not predicting as dominating performance as in the Olympics, Bolt’s coach Glen Mills said the Jamaican could have run a 9.52 if he hadn’t slowed to celebrate.
Olympians Misty May-Treanor and Maurice Greene will compete in ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. The show will start on Sept. 22 at 8 p.m.
U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps will host the Sept. 13 opening episode of NBC’s Saturday Night Live. Rapper Lil Wayne will join Phelps. It will be a debut appearance on SNL for both.
Media Watch...
ESPN’s Pat Forde hands out some post-Games medals.
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3551235
Art critic for the Guardian Kriston Capps reflects on the legacy of Olympic stadia architecture.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/24/architecture.olympics2008?gusrc=rss&feed=sport
Both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal agree that the Beijing Games were successful. The papers now wonder what this will do for China in the business world.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/25/sports/olympics/25china.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121958712606066933.html?mod=hps_us_whats_news
Online magazine Slate wrapped up its Olympic coverage asking what would "become the Sappiest Word of the 2008 Olympic Games".
http://www.slate.com/id/2196754/
Written by Eric Connelly and Ed Hula III.
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