Media Watch -- Sochi Explored; Olympians in "Body" Issue

As the 2014 Winter Olympics loom,The Economistbreaks down the most expensive Olympic Games in history.

Sochi currently "resembles nothing so much as a Communist-era construction project,"the magazine writes.From the public purse to private sources, Russia prepares for an event with a cost that "makes Soviet projects pale in comparison."

Olympians are featured heavily in this year's ESPN The Magazine's "Body Issue." Three-time Olympic beach volleyballchampion Kerri Walsh Jennings is "happy and relieved" following the magazine's publication.She was photographed naked while pregnant with her third child, and then nine weeks after her child’s birth.

Not all reactions were so positive.

Polish OlympianAgnieszka Radwanska was dropped from a Catholic youth organization in Poland after she posed nude.

"It's a shame that someone who has declared their love for Jesus is now promoting the mentality of men looking at a woman as a thing rather than a child of God worthy of respect and love," Father Marek Dziewiecki of the Krucjata Mlodych organization said explaining the group's decision.

Unofficial doping "watchdogs" are monitoring the Tour de France, hoping to determine if Tour cyclists are doping. Their techniques include timing sprints and climbs while watching broadcasts of the race.

NBC 9NEWSin Colorado airs a report on Sochi the "Winter Olympics spot, beach getaway."

The Huffington Post explores "haunting" scenes throughout former Olympic venues such as the Nazi Olympic village, Athens, and even Beijing.While some former Olympic host cities make use of the Olympic facilities after the games are over, others leave the sites "entirely unused, shamefully rotting away after billions of dollars had gone into their creation."

Twitter's United Kingdom blogsaysAndy Murray’s Wimbledon win was bigger than the Olympics, judging from the social media platform's metrics.

CNN's "MainSail" programremembers Olympian Andrew "Bart" Simpson who

died in May and examines the impact his death has on competitive sailing. Simpson was training for Team Artemis when his catamaran capsized in San Francisco Bay. At the time, the team was in training for the America's Cup.

Written by Nicole Bennett.

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