olympic sports

BEIJING -- He is an American kid from Baltimore, with a bulldog and an iPod and eight gold medals draped around his neck.He is Michael Phelps, 23-year Olympic champion.He is the eighth wonder of the world.You've got your Great Pyramid of Giza and your Hanging Gardens of Babylon and your Statue of Zeus.

BEIJING -- Capping an unlikely journey from suburban Baltimore to worldwide Olympic stardom, Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal at the Beijing Olympics Sunday.Phelps broke the mark of seven golds in a single Olympics set by American swimmer Mark Spitz at the 1972 Munich Games.

BEIJING -- David Oliver has a decent shot at a medal. But the American hurdler is still acting like a fan at the Olympics.Oliver went this week to a U.S. women's basketball game, and seated in the stands were members of the U.S. men's team. USA. Oliver got out his camera and snapped away.How do we know this?

BEIJING -- Bob and Mike Bryan earned their Olympic medal the hard way.After losing the first set, the Bryans turned back five break-point opportunities in the second set and rallied to beat Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra of France, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the men's doubles bronze-medal match Saturday night on Show Court 1 at the Olympic Green Tennis Center.

BEIJING -- Cyclist Taylor Phinney finished seventh in the individual pursuit Saturday, capping a momentous year for him and his Boulder family.With his Mom, Dad, and sister Kelsey leading about 20 friends and family cheering from the front row at the Laoshan Velodrome, Phinney matched up against Hayden Roulston of New Zealand for the 4,000-meter race.

BEIJING -- If there was any doubt that its defensive play could make the U.S. men a contender in the Olympic water polo tournament, consider it erased.

BEIJING -- The world record holder, American Ian Crocker, lurked on one side. The Olympic record holder, Serbian Milorad Cavic, loomed on the other.Michael Phelps' stood between them on the starting blocks Saturday, his dreams for a record eight gold medals in jeopardy.

BEIJING -- James Blake was on the verge of the breakthrough he has been chasing for so long, and in the Olympics, no less. Then he wasn't.It was not simply a painful loss. It was a disillusioning one.

BEIJING -- Bob and Mike Bryan can still win an Olympic medal, but it's not the one they were aiming for.The Bryans will play for the bronze medal in men's doubles Saturday after losing 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 to Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland in a Friday semifinal at the Olympic Green Tennis Center.

BEIJING -- What does a gold medal winner think about on the medal stand?The flag goes up. The national anthem plays. For one minute, maybe. How does a gold medal winner spend that moment in time?Nastia Liukin thought about her father. She cried, and she thought about her father, and the miracle of their day.Who gets to do what they had done? How to describe their trip?