As an Olmypic athlete, you have to be ready to handle the pressure, the competition and, yes, even those random spur of the moment drug tests. Those drug tests can literally happen anywhere at any time, and if you’re Lindsey Vonn, that includes at the Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards.

Vonn, who is training for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, got a call from the International Olympic Committee while at the event with designer Cynthia Rowley on Monday night. Several drug testers met Vonn at the hall’s bathroom, where inside she had to do tinkle in a cup while wearing an expensive, custom-made white gown designed by Rowley. The urine was then tested on the spot.

Fortunately for Vonn, she passed with flying (yellow) colors and was allowed to enjoy the rest of her night in peace.

Article found on: Next Impulse Sports

The apex of his career.

Last week the Olympics announced that they will drop wrestling from the games starting in 2020.  Now I’m about as far from a wrestling fan as you can get (although I did write about it a long time ago when the guy with one leg won the NCAA championship), but I still think this is a very bad idea for one basic reason: If you are a wrestler, the greatest possible achievement there is in your sport is to win the Olympic gold medal.  That is what the Olympics are made for; showcasing athletes and sports that aren’t widely seen otherwise.

Andy Murray won the tennis gold medal this past summer, but at the time he had yet to win one of the four major Grand Slam tournaments.  His U.S. Open victory later in the year is considered to be the bigger accomplishment.  The same argument can be made for golf (also 4 majors), soccer (the World Cup), and probably basketball.  My guess is most pros would prefer winning an NBA title to an Olympic gold, especially Americans.

Which leads to the second part of this argument, that there’s not really any money to be made wrestling.  Isn’t that also what the Olympics are supposed to be about?  If you can earn tons of fame and fortune playing your sport on some other grand stage, you don’t need the Olympics.  Wrestlers need the Olympics (just like group rhythmic gymnasts do).

Check out “37 seconds of sports and other stuff i care about” at lucidsportsfan.com, and follow Mark on twitter @LucidSportsFan

Article found on: Next Impulse Sports

In one of the most heart-wrenching stories I have ever heard Oscar Pistorius has allegedly shot and killed his girlfriend. According to SKY News: Paralympic and Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius has been charged with murder after allegedly shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at his home in South Africa. Initial reports were that Oscar had accidentally shot his girlfriend and killed her as she was trying to deliver a surprise Valentine’s Day gift. However, over the last couple hours police said the shooting was being treated as a murder investigation and that they were “very surprised” by the reports which they said did not come from them.

We can’t speculate as the details have not been released but whatever way you look at this, it is tragic. Our heart goes out to Reeva Steenkamp and her family.

The athlete was due at Pretoria Magistrate’s Court this afternoon on a murder charge, but prosecutors said his appearance had been delayed until Friday morning to give forensic officers time to carry out their work.

The 26-year-old is alleged to have shot his 30-year-old model girlfriend in the head and upper body.

South Africa boasts one of the world’s highest violent crime rates, and many residents own weapons for self defense against intruders.

Pistorious became famous in the 2012 London Olympics as the first double-amputee to compete in both the Olympics and Paralympics, running the 400m and 4x400m relay. Known as the Blade Runner, Pistorious was born without a fibula in both legs, and had both legs amputated at 11 months old.

Article found on: Next Impulse Sports

Just eight months before a final vote is to be made, three candidate cities are leading and have submitted their bid plans to the IOC in an effort to be the host of the 2020 Olympics. The three cities which are leading the pack are Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo. I would like it to be known that I am fine attending the Olympics (Ahem, advertisers) on someone else’s dime in any of these three beautiful places.

Leaders from Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo were handing over their documents at the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee, setting the stage for the final months of a global campaign featuring three cities bidding again after previous defeats.

Madrid is bidding for a third consecutive time, Tokyo a second time in a row and Istanbul a fifth time overall.

The so-called “bid books” run to several hundred pages and represent the cities’ master plan of venues, budgets, financial guarantees, security, accommodations, transportation and other key aspects of the multibillion-dollar projects.

The files are to be released publicly by the bid cities on Tuesday.

The IOC’s evaluation commission, headed by Craig Reedie of Britain, will visit the cities in March and prepare a report for IOC members before a meeting with the bidders in Lausanne in July. The full IOC will select the host city in a secret ballot in Buenos Aires on Sept. 7.

It is always a mystery to me about how this extremely political process works, and why there aren’t more candidates at this time.

The 2020 field initially included six candidates, but Rome dropped out when the Italian government refused to offer financial support and the IOC cut Doha, Qatar, and Baku, Azerbaijan, from the list last year.

I am also wondering if it is possible to hop down to Vegas and toss a quick bet on one of these cities?

Istanbul is bidding again after failed attempts for the Olympics of 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012. Madrid is back after finishing third for the 2012 Games and second for 2016. Tokyo, which hosted the 1964 Olympics, finished third in the voting for 2016.

Tokyo received the highest praise in an IOC technical report last year that said the Japanese bid presents “a very strong application.” Madrid has a “strong application,” while Istanbul’s project “offers good potential,” the report said.

While bookmakers list Tokyo as the favorite, Istanbul holds the advantage of representing a new destination for the Olympics, a key factor in recent host city votes.

Article found on: Next Impulse Sports

Suzy Favor Hamilton was once a long-distance runner that represented the United States in the 1992,1996 and 2000 summer Olympics. In a recent tell-all story from the Smoking Gun, Favor Hamilton revealed her double life as a $600-an-hour call girl for a high-end escort service in Las Vegas.

Favor Hamilton, who once had a commercial with Nike, a swimsuit calendar and has done several promotions for Disney, revealed that she had been living a double life as a high-end escort for the Haley Heston escort service since last December. From The Smoking Gun:

Beginning last December, Suzy Favor Hamilton, 44, has worked with one of Las Vegas’s premier escort services, booking scores of “dates” in Sin City and other U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston.

Favor Hamilton, 44, is married to a lawyer and has a seven-year-old daughter.  She seemed to have a perfectly normal and happy life and from the description in the report, she didn’t seem to be in any need of the money, as she had plenty of (not so scandalous) income sources.

In a July 2012 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel profile, Favor Hamilton spoke of giving about 60 motivational speeches annually, raising her daughter, running her realty firm, and doing appearances for Disney and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon series. “I just know I’m happier than I’ve ever been. My life just keeps getting better,” she said.

Apparently that life wasn’t enough, however. As a call girl for the Haley Heston escort service, she operated under the alias “Kelly.” From her profile page, “Kelly” says that working for Haley was a “fantasy” and she was “hooked” after her first ‘date.’ She also mentions that she is bisexual and was willing to work with couples as well.

Since the report, Favor Hamilton has admitted that the whole thing was a “huge mistake” and that her husband even knew about it and pleaded with her to quit, stating that “he wasn’t supportive of it at all.” (Uhhhhh, no shit?)

“I take full responsibility for my mistakes. I’m not the victim and I’m not going that route,” Favor Hamilton said. “I’m owning up to what I did. I would not blame anybody except myself.” She added, “Everybody in this world makes mistakes. I made a huge mistake. Huge.”

For the rest of the report, head over to The Smoking Gun.

Article found on: Next Impulse Sports

President Obama and Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney caught up recently and snapped a picture for the ages. Fresh off of the Olympics, McKayla Maroney’s “sideways” mouth meme has overtaken the internet, and even the President of The United States is not immune. The 16-year-old Olympian met with President Obama and the below picture was the outcome. Internet gold.

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

Article found on: Next Impulse Sports

U.S. soccer stars Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux who landed gold medals at this year’s Summer Games got in the Halloween spirit and decided to show some other Olympic stars some love. Alex Morgan Tweeted out some Instagram pics of her dressed as McKayla Maroney and of Leroux dressed as Gabby Douglas. Both shots looked like they came from their phone and both ladies are only wearing leotards, so you can imagine the positive reaction the Internet had.

Article found on: Next Impulse Sports

As child and as a sports fan, the greatest moments in sports are the one you can get wrapped up in. We love the moments that seem bigger than the sport itself, moments when the impossible is accomplished, moments that define a sport for a generation. My generation of sports fans have been betrayed by those moments, because according to the record books none of them have happened.

The fall of Lance Armstrong has made waves in the sports world this week. I refrain from saying it ‘shocked’ the sports world because that would be false. During his now vacated 7 Tour De France wins, it seemed like every month here was another story about anti-doping agencies claiming to have evidence again Lance. Until now, every one of those claims has fallen short of tearing down Armstrong’s legacy, but the constant suspicion left knowledgeable fans with a looming fear that eventually someone would prove the truth.Now, after years have passed the truth comes out, and it does not surprise many observers.

When we talk about the steroid era, we often limit our scope to baseball. Baseball was the worst culprit but in the wake of the Lance Armstrong losing his Tour titles, it is clear that the steroid era effected all sports, as well as fans. As a fan who grew up in the steroid era, I admit it is one of several aspects that has made me as surly.

I remember checking the paper every day in the summer of 1998 to see if Sammy Sosa or Mark McGwire had hit a home run. There was a tracker with their picture on the front of the sports page every day. When September drew closer and closer, that home run tracker got moved to the front page of every news paper in the country. The baseball world was alive with the excitement of a race that would define an era. I was a child, I thought I was watching two of the best players to ever hit a ball. As an adult, I now know the race was between two of the best cheaters of all time. Forgive me if I do not cry when they get left out of Cooperstown.

In 2000,  was I was twelve and finally old enough to really follow the Olympic Games. Marion Jones emerged as the face of Team U.S.A. and took home five gold medals. Then the hero of the first Olympics I was old enough to truly comprehend, gave all of those medals back. Forgive me if I did not cry when Jones perjured herself.

I have never watched more than a minute of the Tour de France, but when Armstrong was racing I would check the times of every stage. Between the cancer story, his personality, and his humanly impossible display of endurance, he made one of the best sports stories I have witness.  But now we get that all too familiar sight of watching a hero stripped of his glory and honor. Forgive me if I side with Cheryl Crow on this one.

Experts may say that the door is closing on the steroid era, tests are more sophisticated and the policing is better all around. To me, the steroid era will live on for a long time in the blackened hearts of a generation of sports fans. We are not only a generations of Randy Quaid yelling at the home team from the outfield bleachers, but a generation who must assume that winners cheat. Almost every transcendent sports story that should have fostered a life long love and awe for sport has ended with a positive test of a lie in front of congress. Rafeal Palmero is probably the last person to receive the benefit of the doubt from me.

Cheaters cheated us out of a loving trust for sport, and then lied about it until we now, when we are old enough to get mad about it. So I am sorry if I have no spot of forgiveness in my heart for amazing accomplishments achieved through illegal means. I am sorry I hold grudges. I am sorry may always be a surly sports fan. To my generation of sports lovers who feel scorned, you were cheated out of a healthy love for sport, and for that I am truly sorry.

Article found on: Next Impulse Sports