How Many Olympic Medals Will Your Country Win?
Today in Sports: London braces for an onslaught, economics meets medal counts, and the German blood doctor that athletes swear by.
The National League champion will now have home-field advantage in this year's World Series after their All-Star team drubbed the American League stars, 8-0, last night. So now you know who to blame, Yankee fans. [ESPN]
Sports analysts/gamblers love to to predict the future, but who better to attempt to forecast the medal tallies from the upcoming Olympics than investment banking powerhouse Goldman Sachs? The bank has put out a 48-page report on the economics of the London Games that included a scientific forecast of how many gold medals and total medals they expect each country to win. The U.S. holds a narrow edge over China on both counts, but we think they seriously overestimate Great Britain's homefield advantage (and China's from 2008.) [Business Insider]
London ran a test of its public transportation system to see how it will respond to the onslaught of Olympic tourists this month and... it did not go well. Londoners are already upset about the crowds, delays, and lines and the Games don't start for another two weeks. [Wall Street Journal]
Maher Abu Rmeileh is the first Palestinian athlete to qualify for an Olympic Games. (Others have been given special invitations in the past). He'll be competing in judo in the 161-pound weight class. [Sports Illustrated]
Media reporter Howard Kurtz looks at the NBC's patented formula of Olympics coverage: Sob stories and underdogs. Lead sports anchor Bob Costas says the network has"overplayed" some its more emotional athlete stories in the past and that "there ought to be an element of journalism and an element of commentary." Of course, that's not how you get millions of non-sports fans to watch your network every night for two weeks straight, so don't expect that pattern to change much this year. [The Daily Beast]
The cutting edge of sports medicine now involves top-flight athletes traveling to Germany to receive a mysterious blood-spinning treatment that isn't approved by the FDA, isn't covered by insurance, and costs thousands of dollars to have done. Yet, many top American stars (including Alex Rodriguez, Kobe Bryant, and Vijay Singh) have tried the procedure that they believe cures the toughest orthopedic problems and prolongs careers. [The New York Times]
