GatewayRedbirds.com

They're almost here, you know.

And how better to start talking about them than to note that people in London--London, England, that paragon of physical fitness and health--are making fun of fat Americans?

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics- ... 25z;_ylv=3

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"This is a heavyweight bout indeed."--John Rooney, Oct. 27, 2011

MLB for its part does not give a flying crap about getting baseball back on the Olympic docket--can't say I blame them.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-l ... --mlb.html

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"This is a heavyweight bout indeed."--John Rooney, Oct. 27, 2011

Olympic preview in freestyle wrestling at 96 kg/211.5 lbs

EXPECTED OLYMPIC ENTRIES
96 kg/211.5 lbs.

1st at 2011 World Championships – Reza Yazdani (Iran)
2nd at 2011 World Championships – Serhat Balci (Turkey)
3rd at 2011 World Championships – Rouslan Sheikov (Belarus)
3rd at 2011 World Championships – Jake Varner (United States)
5th at 2011 World Championships – Sinivie Boltic (Nigeria)
5th at 2011 World Championships – Taimuraz Tigieve (Kazakhstan)
2012 European Olympic qualifier champion – Abdusalam Gadisov (Russia)
2012 European Olympic qualifier runner-up – Georgi Gogshelidze (Georgia)
2012 Asian Olympic qualifier champion – Kurban Kurbanov (Uzbekistan)
2012 Asian Olympic qualifier runner-up – Rustam Iskandari (Tajikistan)
2012 Pan American Olympic qualifier champion – Javier Cortina Lacerra (Cuba)
2012 Pan American Olympic qualifier runner-up – Khetag Pliev (Canada)
2012 Africa/Oceania Olympic qualifier champion – Farahat Mostafa (Egypt)
2012 Africa/Oceania Olympic qualifier runner-up – Carl Floor (American Samoa)
Olympic Qualifier #1 champion – Khetag Gazumov (Azerbaijan)
Olympic Qualifier #1 runner-up – Magomed Musaev (Kyrgyzstan)
Olympic Qualifier #1 bronze medalist – Valeri Andriitsev (Ukraine)
Olympic Qualifier #2 champion – Nicolai Ceban (Moldova)
Olympic Qualifier #2 runner-up – Takao Isokawa (Japan)

If Jake Varner could get a bronze, it would be a huge accomplishment.

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I HEARD THEY ORDERED LIKE 5 MILLION CONDOMS FOR THE OLYMPIC VILLAGE BECAUSE IT'S A NONSTOP ORGY

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Yea, [expletive] the Olympics. Let's watch dudes run in circles, but not actually include a summer sport that's the center of attention in pretty much every continent except Europe, Africa and Antarctica.

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I'm pretty pumped for team handball. Badminton is good, too.

I hear the Swedish women's team has excellent ball handling skills.

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My general feeling as to having baseball in the Olympics is that it would be bad to have Opening Day on the Ides of March or Game 7 of the World Series on Veteran's Day; MLB should not be interrupting their season. Olympic soccer has a limit that players have to be less than 23 years old (with three exceptions) and apparently everybody is cool with that because they don't want to take the spotlight away from the World Cup. So the IOC can go F itself.

Secondly, the notion that baseball is not continued as a sport while the Olympics sees fit to include synchronized swimming, "BMX biking", dressage (the "how well did you train your horse?" sport), two different kinds of race walking, and goddamn TRAMPOLINE--seriously, IOC, go to hell, go directly to hell, do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

No, I'm not bitter.

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"This is a heavyweight bout indeed."--John Rooney, Oct. 27, 2011

Olympic preview in freestyle wrestling at 120 kg/264.5 lbs.

EXPECTED OLYMPIC ENTRIES
120 kg/264.5 lbs.

1st at 2011 World Championships – Alexei Shemarov (Belarus)
2nd at 2011 World Championships – Beylal Makhov (Russia)
3rd at 2011 World Championships – Jamaladdin Magomedov (Azerbaijan)
3rd at 2011 World Championships – David Madzmanashvili (Georgia)
5th at 2011 World Championships – Chuluunbat Jargalsaikhan (Mongolia)
5th at 2011 World Championships – Tervel Dlagnev (United States)
2012 European Olympic qualifier champion – Daniel Ligeti (Hungary)
2012 European Olympic qualifier runner-up – Taha Akguel (Turkey)
2012 Asian Olympic qualifier champion – Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan)
2012 Asian Olympic qualifier runner-up – Marid Mutalimov (Kazakhstan)
2012 Pan American Olympic qualifier champion – Arjan Bhullar (Canada)
2012 Pan American Olympic qualifier runner-up – Jesse Ruiz Flores (Mexico)
2012 Africa/Oceania Olympic qualifier champion – Ismael El Desouky Abdelraouf (Egypt)
2012 Africa/Oceania Olympic qualifier runner-up – Malik NDiaye (Senegal)
Olympic Qualifier #1 champion – Parviz Hadi or Komeil Ghasemi (Iran)
Olympic Qualifier #1 runner-up – Nick Matuhin (Germany)
Olympic Qualifier #1 bronze medalist – Lei Liang (China)
Olympic Qualifier #2 champion – Aleksander Khotsianivski (Ukraine)
Olympic Qualifier #2 runner-up – Rares Daniel Chintoan (Romania)

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Olympic preview in freestyle wrestling at 84 kg/185 lbs.

EXPECTED OLYMPIC ENTRIES
84 kg/185 lbs.

1st at 2011 World Championships – Sharif Sharifov (Azerbaijan)
2nd at 2011 World Championships – Ibragim Aldatov (Ukraine)
3rd at 2011 World Championships – Dato Marsagishvili (Georgia)
3rd at 2011 World Championships – Albert Saritov (Russia)
5th at 2011 World Championships – Armands Zvirbulis (Latvia)
5th at 2011 World Championships – Jake Herbert (United States)
2012 European Olympic qualifier champion – Gadshimurad Nurmagomedov (Armenia)
2012 European Olympic qualifier runner-up – Ibrahim Bolukasi (Turkey)
2012 Asian Olympic qualifier champion – Ehsan Lashgari (Iran)
2012 Asian Olympic qualifier runner-up – Zaurbek Sokhiev (Uzbekistan)
2012 Pan American Olympic qualifier champion – Humberto Arencibia Martinez (Cuba)
2012 Pan American Olympic qualifier runner-up – Jaime Espinal (Puerto Rico)
2012 Africa/Oceania Olympic qualifier champion – Mohammed Ahmed Ismaiel (Egypt)
2012 Africa/Oceania Olympic qualifier runner-up – Andrew Adibo Dick (Nigeria)
Olympic Qualifier #1 champion – Jose Daniel Diaz Robertti (Venezuela)
Olympic Qualifier #1 runner-up – Soslan Gattsiev (Belarus)
Olympic Qualifier #1 bronze medalist – Ermek Baiduashev (Kazakhstan)
Olympic Qualifier #2 champion – Yusup Abdusalamov (Tajikistan)
Olympic Qualifier #2 runner-up – Uitumen Orgodol (Mongolia)

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