Hope & Despair

Has American's women atheltics seen day like this before???

photo: AP

Hope Solo leads the US Women's National Team to a gold medal, by beating Brazil. Capping off her incredible storyline. While the US Softball team losses a heart-breaker to Japan, in softball's final Olympic game.

photo: reuters

Hope Solo Finally Gets Her Chance Against Brazil

Hope Solo is all smiles, as she'll get her chance to beat Brazil.



In what is one of the best story lines of the Olympics, US Women's Goaltender Hope Solo, will have the opportunity to play against Brazil in the Gold Medal Game on Thursday.



Only a year ago in China during Women's World Cup, Hope Solo was benched in the semifinal game against Brazil, and we all know the story, the US lost 4-0. Hope basically was kicked off the team for complaining about it. Now back on the team, she has chance to go full circle and cap it off with a Gold Medal.

Phelps Takes Center Stage in Quest for 8 Gold Medals

It just might be a formality at this point, as Michael Phelps looks poised to capture a record-breaking 8 gold medals.

His remaining schedule

200 IM - 9:48 p.m. Thursday
100 butterfly - 9:10 p.m. Friday
4x100 medley relay - 9:58 p.m. Saturday

America's Guide to Beijing 2008

Here are the USA's top 10 story-lines of the 2008 Olympic Games.

Of course there will be big American stories not listed below, but that is what the Olympics are all about, they're a place where stars are born and stories written in time.

10. Misty & Keri



America's only known favorite beach volleyball team of Misty May-Treanor and Keri Wlash, will try to repeat, but this time, there will actually be up against solid competition.

9. Americans Aboard

This isn't your father Russian basketball team, most of the players have played either pro or college ball in the US, including J.R. Holden who was born and raised in Pittsburgh PA. The Russian women also have an American citizen playing on their team in Becky Hammon. Though this is not the first time US citizens have participated for different countries, it could become quite the storyline should medals be at stake.

8. The Medal Count

In Athens the USA won a total of 102 Medals (36 Gold, 39 Silver, 27 Bronze), the most of any nation. The US has led the medal count at the last 3 summer games. China finished second in gold medals in 2004 with 32, so it's going to be very interesting to see the final count after Beijing.

7. Dara Torres

The 41 year old will be the first American swimmer to participate in 5 Olympics. She already has 9 medals, and is one of the freestyle favorites.

6. USA Women's Gymnastics

Gymnastics is still one of the marquee events of the Summer Games. Shawn Johnson is the current all-around world champion. Johnson along with Chellsie Memmel will try to led the talented US team to victory.

5. Team USA Basketball



With the roster they have, and after falling short in Athens, for Team Nike USA and it's line-up of star attractions, (Lebron, Kobe, etc) anything but gold would be a catastrophe.

4. Tyson Gay



Gay set an American record in the 100 meters at the Olympic Trials. He also injured his leg at the event, so concerns loom over his olympic chances. With so many men capable of winning the 100 meters, it is one of the most anticipated events in Beijing.

3. Team USA Softball



With many calling the removal of baseball and softball after this Olympics a purely political move. Team USA has something to prove. Jennie Finch is being marketed as one of the female faces of the Games (smart marketing), but the USA also has roster full of some of the greatest softball players ever. Team USA is on a MISSON to bring back gold and make a statement in the process.

2. Hope Solo



Solo returns to the place where it all went down. The now famous incident where her coached benched her in the World cup, and her following criticisms put her on different plane home. Can you imagine what Terrell Owens, Manny or just about every other male athlete would have said if they were benched in a playoff game. Apparently things work a little different in women's soccer. Now Hope is back in China, with a new coach hoping to led the US women to victory, in a story line only the Olympics can provide.

1. Michael Phelps



The story of the games will be Phelps' pursuit of Mark Spitz's record of 7 gold medals. In the prime of his career at 23, Phelps will have a chance to own more gold medals than any athlete in Olympic history.

Phelps will take place in 8 events in Beijing
200-meter freestyle
100-meter butterfly
200-meter butterfly
200 & 400-meter individual medleys
400 & 800-meter freestyle relays
400-meter medley relay

Honorable Mentions
Ryan Lochte - USA's other top swimmer, he could stop Phelps quest for Gold.
Natalie Coughlin - America's top female swimmer.
Brian Urlacher & David Ortiz's Badminton Team - Will miss the games due to prior obligations.
Heather O'Reilly - The next Mia Hamm.

Remember the Games will be on early in the morning...and Go USA!

Olympic Medal Tracker

Jessica Hardy Interview

Jessica Hardy - Going for Gold - 2008 Olympic Summer Games

Swimming is one of the most watched and exciting competitions at the Summer Olympics. US swimmers always seem to turn in epic performances. This year California's Jessica Hardy has a chance to be a shining star for the US Swim Team.



1. Jessica, first off how did you get involved and when did start swimming?

My mom would take my younger sister and I to my gated community’s swimming pool when I was around 7 years old, when I noticed a team would come in the afternoons and I immediately asked my mom if I “could go beat them.” I guess my competitive nature started young.

2. Do you have a meet-day or pre-race routine?

I usually like to grab a cup of coffee on the way to a meet, so that I can drink it while I stretch and listen to music. I generally do the same warm up before every meet, and do a lot of socializing before my race… so I guess that is as close to a routine as you can get.

3. What events will you swim, or hope to swim at the Olympics?

Hope to swim the 100 breaststroke and the 50 and 100 freestyle.

4. What event is your favorite to swim?

The 50 breaststroke! Too bad it’s not an Olympic event :(

5. During the final 25 meters can you hear the crowd or sense your position?

I can hear the crowd and sense my position pretty much during the entire race. I feed off of energy so I really like loud crowds; however, I have to remind myself to not pay attention to where others are and focus on myself.

6. You’re an attractive blonde from SoCal, competing in one of the Olympics’ marquee events. You could be the center of attention in August. – Are you ready that?

I’d love it! I am obviously focusing more on my performances at this point, but any attention would be an honor!



7. With that said, do you feel the extra pressure or think about the opportunities that could come along with winning Olympic medals?

No. I have a performance-based contract with some of my sponsors, where the better I do, or the more medals I win, the more I get paid….which could lead to anxiety. The way I handle it is to honestly block all of that out while I am training and competing. I think about what’s to come after I finish my races and only asset what it means then.

8. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not swimming?

I am very easy going. I really like am happy doing almost anything as long as it’s in the sun. I love the beach and spending time doing water activities. Also enjoy shopping and fine dining, what girl doesn’t! I’d be happy doing anything as long as I’m with my family or friends.

9. Ok, final question – If, hopefully when, you win a Gold Medal how will you celebrate?

I’ll worry about that after it hopefully happens! I don’t think I’ll have a problem celebrating, though!

Thanks again, Best of Luck in Beijing!!!

Thank you, too!

Follow-Up: Jessica also swims for the University of California Berkeley, where she is a stand-out athlete. Every Olympics the USA seems to have a break out star in the pool, if Jessica can bring home gold, she surely will be one of the most popular athletes in any event. Most of the swimming events take place during the first week of the Games, so be sure to look for Jessica. Images were used with permission from: Speedo/ Warnaco Swimwear

To link to achieve posting: http://www.rizzosports.com/jessica-hardy-inter.html

Hello Jessica Hardy - New World Recorder Holder

American Swimmer Jessica Hardy set a new world record in breaststroke at today's world short-course championships in Manchester. Hardy finished the 50m breaststroke in 29.58 seconds.



The 21 year old blonde from Long Beach California will be a gold medal contender for the US in Summer Olympics. Jessica is already a collegiate National Champion for the University of California.

Since we like to stay fresh on the cutting edge of pop culture. We're going to champion Jessica to be one of the stars of the Summers Games. The Jessica Hardy bandwagon is about to get rolling...