If you’re a Pandora aficionado, create a Lil’ Wayne playlist – you won’t be disappointed. The story about him in Blender more or less predicts his imminent spontaneous combustion.

Congratulations to Jamie Mottram on the birth of his first kid (Mister Irrelevent)
Wake up with Misty May (Barstool Sports)
Lebron James, 2008 Olympic Diving Alternate, Video (NESW Sports)
The Ultimate NES Collection for sale (Average Dudes)
China’s badminton bad boy has girls swooning (via Deadspin)

…I would have bet the house that there was at least a double ff, cc, or nn in aficionado.

If you weren’t aware that the Olympics is a concentrated meat market, then you haven’t tuned into beach volleyball yet, or synchronized swimming, or synchronized diving (or badminton, for that matter!)

Anyways, the IOC took notice…

“The UNAIDS, the Beijing organising committee BOCOG and International Olympics Committee are providing 100,000 condoms as part of a campaign on HIV prevention and anti-discrimination. At the Sydney Games in 2000 athletes quickly exhausted a supply of 70,000 and another 20,000 had to be brought in.”

The initial plan to distribute 250,000 was met with religious protest, and the numbers were scaled back.

Chinese condom maker, Elasun, is cashing in big time on the Chinese internet with the Olympic sport-themed ad campaign that features cycling, basketball, archery, and swimming.

archery

swimming

cycling

…The stick-man swimming upstream kind of messes with your head, no? And, the archery, well, that’s just brutal.

LINKS:

Condoms to satisfy needs of “young, strong, single” Olympic athletes (The Star Phoenix)
Olympic condom ads (The Sydney Morning Herald)

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh handled Cuba to improve to 2-0. What is that thing on her arm? Is it a tattoo? Is it fur?

Hot Clicks: Is Leryn Franco the Hottest Olympian? (SI Extra Mustard)
THE BOSS BOWL (via Pop Candy)
Jenn Sterger Set for “Sassy” Jet Roll (Randy’s Radar)
Five Esquire Covers that did not make the cut (Cuzoogle)
Menugate (Naomi Can Blog)

…they actually explained Walsh’s shoulder during the broadcast, but I was distracted by the athletic grace and superior team chemistry. (and the booty-action)

John McCain with his High School Wrestling Team (photo credit)

In a recent interview, John McCain told the LA Times he was looking forward to kicking back and watching the Olympics this week:

“We’re all caught up in the excitement of it, especially us mediocre high school junior varsity athletes.”

Define mediocre, John. According to this, you were known on the Episcopal High School wrestling team as both McNasty, and simply: punk.

Of course, this appears in stark contrast to his opponent’s on-court prowess.

Could have been worse however…at least McCain wasn’t a band weenie.

Link:

Mediocre J.V. athlete John McCain eager to watch Olympics (LATimes.com – Top of the Ticket)

During a recent fishing expedition in the Florida Keys, young angler Mikey Cappazoli – a second grader! – hooked a 46 lb. dolphin – which matches his weight exactly.

Cappazoli battled the fish for over an hour! And it was the biggest catch of the day. (Sig Hansen can eat this kid’s lunch)

Cappazoli then went on to defeat his entire crew in the Bering Sea Challenge – also known as “cigarette chicken.”

LINK:

46-pound 8-year-old catches 46-pound dolphin (ESPN Outdoors)

R.I.P. Isaac Hayes, 1942 – 2008

United Football League to Launch in 2009, Commissioner Plans to Sign Michael Vick (Fanhouse)
Tiger’s New Rival is Finally Emerging (The Sports Lounge)
NOW, That’s What I Call Batting Music! (Joe Sports Fan)
Oh, Sergio… (Deadspin)
Isaac Hayes passes away (Balls Don’t Lie)

Enough of the pageantry and hullaballoo, time to start banging out medals...literally.

The first gold medal will be give out on Saturday…in an event with guns! (umm, awesome?) The home country could jump out to the early lead in the medal count, as China’s Du Li is expected to take gold in this event – the Women’s 10-Meter Gat-off. (fine, it’s actually called the 10 m. Air Rifle)

Expectations for this snipette couldn’t be higher, as China dominated the 2004 shooting events – winning four golds, nine medals in total. The pressure is so intense that her coach hired Du – who took gold at Athens – a psychologist leading up to the competition.

The Loot officially starts being handed out Saturday Morning when IOC President Jacque Rogge will present the medals himself to the winners of Women’s Air Rifle.

Links:

Shooting Set To Kick Off Olympic Programme (The Telegraph)

Here’s Radiohead at Lollapalooza last week (Seeing them tomorrow at All Points West! Huzzah!)

Gina Carano, Cris Cyborg to Fight (Not Each Other) at Next CBS EliteXC Show (Fanhouse)
In Case You Forgot, There Are Sports at the Olympics (FanIQ Blog)
A Blogger’s Schedule (The Sports Dollar)
Winnie Cooper wrote a book! (Cuzoogle)
“Pineapple” Breaks Wednesday Record (The Zaz Report)

Chinese Artist, Ai Wei Wei, a design consultant for the Bird’s Nest Stadium, says he plans to stay away from the Olympic Opening Ceremony.

“The “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium, which I helped to conceive, is designed to embody the Olympic spirit of “fair competition”. It tells people that freedom is possible but needs fairness, courage and strength. Following the same principles, I will stay away from the opening ceremony, because I believe the freedom of choice is the basis of fair competition. It is the right I cherish most.”

Ai Wei Wei

In a by-line article for The Guardian, Wei Wei says he wanted the stadium to represent freedom, not autocracy, and that China must change.

“We live in a world where everything is politicised, but some people insist the Olympics should be different. They imply that this fortnight of sport is somehow disconnected from history and psychology, unrelated to theory and morality and on a more elevated plane than base human nature. They argue that anyone who links the games with politics has sinister ulterior motives, that they are anti-Chinese. But the real reason they don’t like politics is because any discussion of the subject reminds people who was responsible for making China so detached from the rest of the world.”

The Olympics are planning to throw quite the bruhaha to celebrate the unveiling of this stadium. They’re going to blow up 35,000 fireworks in 1,800 locations around the city. People are so pumped, they’re not even complaining that Jackie Chan is performing. (musically!)

And as the designer at the center of this spectacle, Wei Wei stands to take a healthy share of the credit (Who designed the Athens Olympic Stadium? Zeus?) Wei is an important player and this is his big moment. The fact that he’s willing to forego his ultimate celebration because he thinks it’s all a guise and a sham is admirable.

Good for you, Asian Zeus. I respect your conviction.

LINKS:

Beijing Olympics: The Bird’s Nest stadium (The Telegraph)
Why I’ll stay away from the opening ceremony of the Olympics (The Guardian)

BLUEPRINT 3 from kwest on Vimeo.

NYHOOSIER let’s us know that Blueprint 3 in on the way!

SI Pop Culture Grid (Extra Mustard)
It’s a Really Big Shoe (And One)
Programmer or Writer? (The Sports Dollar)
Natalie Gulbis Shows Leg In Cold British Temps (Busted Coverage)
The Michael Vick Saga Comes to Animal Planet (Over the Top)