Aaaaaaaand that's a wrap! Whew. After 16 action-packed days, the 2008 Summer Olympics have come to a close and America brought home the most medals (110) in spite of a fantastic effort by the host nation, China (100), who brought home more golds (51) than anyone else. And Chicagonia fared well themselves. We have no problem calling this one of the more exciting Olympics we've seen. Drama, intrigue, age controversies, this Games had it all (except a juicy ice skating scandal involving the Russian mafia). The last day recapped after the jump. more ›

We're inside the final 24 hours of the current Olympiad and there seems to be no need for Jack Bauer. Lots of Gold Medal team finals to go and many with Chicago connections, including both men's and women's indoor volleyball and men's and women's basketball. If Chicago were a nation (say, Chicagonia), it would wind up with a pretty dang decent medal count, eh? I, for one, am in favor of this new nation. I welcome our new Chicagonia overlords. And to them I say, "Full results after the jump." more ›

As we're entering the final days of this Olympiad, and focus turns to team finals rather than individual finals (though holy crap this Bolt kid is ridonkulously fast!), we're happy to see many of our area athletes still in the thick of the competition, especially with Gold Medal finals happening. Friday's action was light, but a pair of U.S. squads featuring Chicago-area members were in action, battling on towards more Gold. Full results after the jump. more ›

Unlucky 13. Foreboding as we come down the home-stretch and find ourselves knee-deep in the team medal rounds. While some teams, like the beach volleyball team of May-Treanor/Walsh won gold for the US, some teams, including one with a few Chicagoans, weren't so lucky, including one absolute shocker. Hey, they can't all be Gold and nothing's wrong with Silver. At least in the opinions of those of us who have never made the Olympics. All the day's Chicago-related results after the jump. more ›

Words cannot even express how much I am going to miss having Bela Karolyi in my life from now on. The man could make watching someone paint sound exciting. Where's the drama in my life now? How can I get excited about anything else after having Bela's exuberance in my life for the last nine days? Fortunately, there's still plenty of Olympics to go as we close in on team finals as well as some individual finals. Today's Chicago-area results after the jump. more ›

While gymnastics has taken over for Michael Phelps in providing all the fireworks and dramatics this week, several Chicago-area athletes are providing drama of their own as part of several U.S. teams entering the medal round. It's "win or go home" time and while we'll be happy to welcome back our athletes with open arms, we hope they get to extend their stay in Beijing just a little longer to bring home some medals. Basketball, volleyball, softball, etc. It's time to bring home some more gold! more ›

Michael Phelps is a badass. To do what he did is unfathomable and he did it with grace, dignity, and respect to himself, his fellow swimmers, and Mark Spitz. But thank God swimming is over because if NBC showed Phelps' mother in the stands reacting to a race one more time, I was going to tear my hair out. This is the network's fault in doing what they do best : taking a very sweet thing...and running into the ground until we want to stab out our eyes with sporks. ANYWAY. We had several Chicago-area Olympians of our own competing, including in the pool, so let's get to it! (And GO TOYIN!) more ›

After watching another thrilling night of gymnastics, we've determined that if there's one thing our life needs, it's running commentary from Bela Karolyi. The man could make watching paint drying sound excruciatingly exciting. Aside from Bela's enthusiasm, Day 7 saw many of our Chicago-area athletes, including diver Christina Loukas, in action as well as the debut of Track & Field on the schedule. Check out Friday's Chicago-related results after the jump. more ›

Day 6 of the Summer Olympics in Beijing saw another Chinese gymnastics gold medal and more success for American swimming superstar Michael Phelps. And while Thursday was a light day for our Chicago-area athletes, with Track & Field and Diving still to come, there's still plenty of action left for them in the next 10 days. Apropos of nothing, anyone know what Christian Slater is up to these days? It'd be nice if he could find some work... more ›

Last night's women's gymnastic team competition was the only time we're able to watch underage girls in leotards jump around and not feel creepy. But just how old were some of those Chinese girls? 10-years old? We thought the only birth certificate shenanigans in international sports competitions involved Little Leaguers. While we were busy watching team handball games online, a few of our Chicago-area athletes continued in their quest for medals. Wednesday's results after the jump. more ›

The time difference between Chicago and Beijing shouldn't confuse us so much, but we still feel a little bit like Marty McFly sometimes. On Monday we watched events taped on Monday in Beijing that we originally saw Sunday night and then saw live events from Tuesday morning. Or was it taped events from Sunday and live events from Monday? We really have no idea. All we know is that it was another good day for our area athletes as they earned a few more medals. Holla! more ›

Was anyone else pumped when, during the Men's Basketball game against China yesterday (Dwyane Wade = 19 pts, 2 stl, 2 ast), NBC decided to forgo their usual Olympic-themed background music and instead brought back their old John Tesh-penned "NBA on NBC" theme music? It was worth getting up early for that alone. That wasn't the only excitement from our day of Olympic-watching: later Sunday night (Monday morning, Beijing time) we saw one of our Chicago-related athletes take home a medal. more ›

The Olympics are fully underway now after a stunning, if not surreal, Opening Ceremonies. The 13-hour time difference between Chicago and Beijing means Day 1 is now in the books and by the time NBC's primetime coverage rolls around this evening, Day 2 will be underway. A few Chicago-area Olympians were in action and you can check out their results after the jump. more ›