Dominica's Scam In Sochi

((HT: IOC/Deadspin/AP))

This looks like a really cool story- even if it's financially augmented...

A married couple living in the US represented the tiny island nation of Dominica in Sochi as skiers...


But Dave McKenna wrote a brilliant piece for Deadspin detailing how, apparently, most of the credentials of Gary di Silvestri and Angelica Morrone are either false or hiding some kind of corruption...

Neither di Silvestri nor Morrone went far in their ski competitions- citing injury- Morrone didn't even start...

Dominica lets you be a citizen by dropping $175,000 in one of their banks and paying a $3,530 tariff. The New Yorker and the Italian did that, from their house in Montana, and walked in Sochi.

As a matter of fact, a guy from di Silvestri's old high school even edited this as a source of pride for the school itself.


But di Silvestri's creds don't hold up...

McKenna went into the wrestling background and found out it didn't match, and also found that Morrone was at the heart of a scandal in the late 1990's involving car manufacturer Fiat and the buying of votes for international competitions.

So, this shows that if you've got the dollars, you can do pretty much whatever you want, even if it isn't true...

Garth Snow Hot Over Tavares Injury...And He Has A Good Reason...

((HT: NHL))

And the HQ is in his corner on this one...

The Islanders GM, Garth Snow, is livid over the season-ending injury to star forward John Tavares at the hands of Latvian defenseman Arturs Kulda- even wondering if the IIHF and IOC wold pay his season ticket holders back since Tavares is done for the year...

“It’s a joke. They want all the benefits from NHL players in Olympics and don’t want to pay when our best player gets hurt,” Snow told Arthur Staple of Newsday. “It wouldn’t matter if we were 10 points up on a playoff spot or 10 points out. We lost our best player and he wasn’t playing for us.”

Snow now joins a small chorus of folks who aren't fans of the renewal of the agreement between the NHL and IIHF for the 2018 games in Korea. But that answer will come in the next six months or so...

Here's reaction from morning skate for the Islanders...


It's a meniscus tear and an MCL tear for Tavares' left knee and, separately, the chorus for the return of the World Cup of Hockey is returning...

IOC Votes Wrestling Out Of 2020 Core

((HT: IOC/USOC/ABC))

So, instead of something like modern pentathlon, tae-kwon-do and field hockey being taken out of the 25 core sports considered by the five-ringed circus, the International Olympic Committee decided to jettison wrestling (both the freestyle and greco-roman varieties) out of the 2020 games.

The sport could be voted back in, but it's not likely...

"This is a process of renewing and renovating the program for the Olympics," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. "In the view of the executive board, this was the best program for the Olympic Games in 2020. It's not a case of what's wrong with wrestling, it is what's right with the 25 core sports."

The group looked at factors such as TV ratings, ticket sales, doping issues, participation, and popularity- most of those factors are subjective and allow for emotional and political response... something the international committees are "never" known for...

Right...???

There's one opening for a sport in 2020. The winner comes from a group including baseball and softball, karate, squash, roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding and something called "wushu."

So, we now get to miss moments like this one...


And this one...


The Soviet Union and United States are one and two in the all-time medal list with 132 and 125, respectively...

Names like Blatnick, Sanderson, Gable, and Gardner now go to history books instead of continuing to add to it...

Branding Police: Don't post from the 2012 Olympics or else

The place where the gathering will be/Please don't arrest me

((ht: deadspin.com))

Yikes! It's a good thing we have no interest what so ever in reporting anything Olympic (god I hope the secret police don't get me for typing that word), because according to the folks at the Guardian in Britain, you could get arrested for it.

Yes, that's right. If you go to the 2012 O-L-Y-M-P-I-C-S (crap, I just said it again) and tweet about it, or post a Facebook photo to show you were there, you are violating British law.

We were shocked to hear this too. We are pretty sure the Chinese, a group all about controlling the message weren't this over-the-top.

Apparently, in order to host the "Games that can't be mentioned unless you pay money to sponsor them", you have to agree to the IOC's demand that nobody outside of "PAYING" sponsors can use any derivative of the "Year, Word, Host City etc" in ANY combination.

No, really, we aren't delusional and we aren't making this up.

Oh...wait, it gets better (or worse). Apparently, you can't even use words that "MIGHT" be associated with the event either.

--Sigh--

Uh...there's more.

The punishment/flogging/death threats include the athletes. Particularly those represented or speaking of "NON PAYING BRANDS". If your favorite athlete is a Nike guy and has a Nike logo during the games....uh...you may never see him alive again. The "Gathering" is apparently sponsored by Addidas.

Really.

We are serious here.

Read the story from the GuardianUK RIGHT HERE

((**Editor Note**--Apparently pubs and other places can't even say "Come to our place to watch the _____ " either. Same rules apparently apply.))

This is the part where we go off on an uncontrolled rant about the sheer lunacy, madness and violation of not only free speech, but speech in any form.

Call us flabbergasted.

Yes, if you read the story, the "Business folks" and IOC representatives don't seem to think this is a problem. And you know what? Inside the venues and the Olympic (oh damn...I said it again) venue, they have a legitimate argument.

But not in the rest of the known universe.

We are pretty sure that in some way, shape or form this violates pretty much every free speech right in existence.

But...in today's universe, really it no longer does.

And you ask...Why?

It's because "Paid Sponsors" and "Big Corporations" can push through pretty much any legislation that they want.

Oh crap...I'm getting political again.

If they spend enough money or put the right pressure on the right politician...(finger snap!), you've got new legislation.

Don't believe me? Then spend your money, buy your ticket and go to unnamed city for the current years athletic gathering (insert sarcasm), take pictures and post them on Twitter or Facebook and use the city or events name.

Don't be surprised if you get hauled away to the Thought Police jail sometime in the middle of one of the next few nights.

**NOTE**--If you don't see a story from me in the next few days here on OSG Sports, send a search party. Or at least call ABC and have them send Ashley Judd because I'm Missing.  Also, please notify The Lovely Bride and give Happy Rosie the pup and Oliver the Cat my best.

Brings back memories of this...doesn't it?