A reporter asked Stephen Nedoroscik about the most famous person he's interacted with on social media in the past few days.
He said John Green, the author who wrote "The Fault in Our Stars," tweeted about him.
"That was insane," he said.
Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala didn't have a visa for worlds until yesterday. Flew from Nairobi to Doha to the U.S. Landed in Eugene about 3 hours ago. And still manages to advance to the semis tomorrow night.
When asked what the past few days have been like for him, Stephen Nedoroscik said he's gotten so much support on social media that he had to turn off notifications.
"I've just consistently been on top of the world for like a week now," he said.
Paul Juda, when asked how to rate his Olympic experience: "12 out of 10."
"Experience of a lifetime," he said. "You know, I'm in the all-around final. And I'm not last! That was my only other goal."
Thomas Bach says he saw Kamila Valieva greeted by her entourage (i.e. coaches) with "tremendous coldness."
"It was chilling to see this, rather than giving her comfort, rather than to try to help her," he says. "You could feel this chilling atmosphere."
With that gold in the 4x400 relay, Allyson Felix is now the most decorated Olympic track athlete — man or woman — in U.S. history.
In five Olympic appearances, she won 11 medals: Seven golds, three silvers and one bronze.
Memphis' Anthony Miller is the only FBS receiver who ranks in the Top 5 in catches per game, yards per game and receiving TDs. He is not a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award. And that, in my opinion, is crazy.
Fox News ran a segment about NFL players protesting during the national anthem. The accompanying images showed them praying.
The network has not yet responded to a request for comment.
USA TODAY Sports found that at least 298,000 Americans voted at a pro sports arena or stadium in the 2020 election.
"When (those venues) made themselves available, that solved major problems for election officials."
News: The Court of Arbitration for Sport announces it has rejected the appeal from U.S. figure skaters. They will not get their silver medals in Beijing.
Two members of the U.S. 4x100 team spoke with the media in the mixed zone. Asked how much practice they had for this event, as a group, coming into today.
Fred Kerley: "Don't know."
Ronnie Baker: "Not much."
Hur Woong falls off the horse, and that will do it.
Stephen Nedoroscik hangs on for bronze, becoming just the second American man in 40 years to win an Olympic medal on pommel horse.
The legend of Pommel Horse Guy grows.
Clemson has made the difficult decision to discontinue the Men's Track and Field and Cross Country program at the conclusion of the 2020-21 athletic year.
Read More:
Gold-medal favorite Nathan Chen wore a mask for the entirety of his time on the training ice this morning. Was double-masked in the mixed zone.
"Just better safe than sorry, I suppose," Chen said. "It’s comfortable enough, so why not?"
Amid reports of a positive doping test involving one of the biggest figure skating stars at the Olympics, the IOC is starting its daily press briefing by talking about what types of cameras it has in China to film the Games.
During yesterday's IOC daily briefing it took about 15 minutes until journalists were able to ask questions.
It's been seven minutes since the briefing started.
I believe Matt McGloin just became the first XFL QB to be benched. He was 8 of 19 for 44 yards today for the New York Guardians, with two picks. Marquise Williams now in at QB.
Fun fact: That Toyota spot (starring Paralympian Jessica Long) was actually shot pre-COVID, which is why it might be the only ad you see tonight that features a legit crowd shot.
I've long felt like the only thing in sports that's more difficult than being great is being great at a specific moment, when literally everyone expects it of you.
And that's what Nathan Chen just did. Remarkable.
Coach addressing his team in the locker room after a game? Pretty standard. Coach walking over to the other team's locker room and giving a speech there? Pretty cool.
Kyron McMaster, who finished fourth in that epic 400 hurdles final, was asked if there was a point in the race when he knew it was going to be fast.
“After the second hurdle, I was like ‘shit,’“ he said.
Something fishy is going on with the NFL team formerly known as the Washington Redskins.
There's speculation that a bombshell is about to drop today.
MORE:
Josh Norman, when asked if Redskins coaching candidate Ron Rivera would change the culture in Washington: "Everything that you see today would be different."
An LA County Fire Department spokesperson tells USA TODAY Sports that he would classify Tiger Woods' injuries on scene as "severe but not life-threatening."
Woods' agent has said in a statement only that Woods suffered "multiple leg injuries."
When asked, Paul Juda said he doesn't feel the need to rush a decision on 2028. Frederick Richard, meanwhile, said he's already looking forward to those LA Games.
"I’m going to go back to the gym extremely hungry," he said. "I’m not satisfied with whatever place I got here."
You know who's quietly had a remarkable college career? Memphis OL Gabe Kuhn. Started 49/50 games over the past 4 seasons, with at least one start at 4 different OL spots. Amazing combination of durability and versatility.
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams indicates that Kamila Valieva will not be required to speak to reporters at a news conference, even if she wins a (provisional) medal. "Very unlikely" she'll talk.
It will be a while until we hear her side of this story.
Nathan Chen also said he's not planning to walk in the opening ceremony tonight.
"I already did it once," he said. "And (it'll be) close proximity with a lot of people. I'm sure it will be safe, but I compete in a couple more days, so at this point, (I'll just) focus on that."
Spoke with XFL co-owners Dany Garcia and Dwayne Johnson about the first half of the season, TV ratings/attendance and the league's plans for the future.
"Absolutely, there will be a 2024 XFL football season."
Now official: Nathan Chen is the seventh U.S. man to win Olympic gold, and the first since 2010.
The long program score: 218.63. The total: 332.60.
He wins by more than 22 points.
So, because Kamila Valieva tested positive for a banned substance but is being allowed to compete, the nine skaters on Team USA who won team silvers will not get a medal ceremony during the Games.
Nor will the members of the Japanese team, who won bronze.
What a mess.
He retired from the NFL, gave away most of his stuff and moved into a van.
Now, Joe Hawley is traveling around the country with a dog named Freedom, and trying to fill the void that football left behind.
Man, shoutout to Bermuda. Small island nation has been sending athletes to the Olympics since 1936. Population of 63,903. Just won its first EVER gold medal, thanks to triathlete Flora Duffy.
Great moment here. Barshim and Tamberi were tied for first in high jump, leaving them with a choice: Jump-off for gold, or share it.
They decided to share it.
That’s a wrap for Olympic men’s street. Japan’s Yuto Horigome takes the gold, followed by Kelvin Hoefler (Brazil) and Jagger Eaton (USA).
No medal for Nyjah Huston. An absolute shocker. Wiped out on 4 of his 5 trick attempts.
When Sam Kendricks tested positive for COVID-19, alternate Matt Ludwig got called to Tokyo.
He had 8 hours to pack his poles and catch a flight. Landed at 4 p.m. JT yesterday. Got to his hotel at 10 p.m.
"I didn't have a uniform until an hour before the bus left this morning."
Can confirm that ex-Dolphins RB Mark Walton was arrested this morning on a charge of aggravated battery of a pregnant person.
"I can tell you he cooperated with the police department and surrendered this morning," Michael Gottlieb, an attorney for Walton, told
@usatodaysports
.
Seahawks WR DK Metcalf is set to run the 100-meter dash at a professional track meet Sunday. And U.S. track athletes can't wait.
"It's going to be a really telling spectacle this weekend, as to what it's really like to compare track speed to the NFL."
Quite a moment for a Memphis program that, as recently as 2011, was among the worst in the FBS.
Congrats, y'all. Someone make sure Lee Corso gets some Gibson's while he's in town.
Context for those who don't follow shot put: Ryan Crouser just broke a world record that had stood for 31 years.
And, in a sport that often comes down to fractions of an inch, he broke it by EIGHT inches.
Aleia Hobbs had the the seventh-fastest 100m time in the world this year.
Tonight, she flinched at the start of her semifinal heat. False start. DQ'd. Walked to the corner of the track and crumpled to the ground.
Absolutely devastating.
2020: Deshaun Watson signs 4-year, $156 million extension with Houston
2021: Watson is sued by 22 women accusing him of sexual misconduct and does not play
2022: Watson gets fully guaranteed 5-year, $230 million deal from Cleveland, per ESPN
You'll be hard-pressed to find a better local sports columnist anywhere in the country, at any size paper, than
@geoff_calkins
. Memphis is lucky to have him, and I'm lucky I got to work with him
APSEContest: Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News and Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal tied for first place in column writing in the 30,000-75,000 circulation category.
President Trump took a shot at ESPN last night, but it's not the only network that is planning not to show the national anthem live during NFL broadcasts this season:
Coverage note: After two-ish years on our breaking/trending news desk, I'm shifting to cover the NFL for USA TODAY Sports. (With some college football stuff on the side.)
Still based in D.C., and still welcoming all feedback/tips/story ideas at tschad
@usatoday
.com
Congrats to Anthony Miller. Watched him practice on a near-daily basis for 2+ years. The dude has a work ethic like you wouldn't believe. If he doesn't become a legit NFL receiver, I'll be shocked.
Memphis' defense looks really good, its passing game looks really mediocre and as someone who covered this team a few years ago, this is all very strange.
Daniel Snyder created the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation in 2014 to distribute resources to Native American communities.
But
@usatodaysports
found that the foundation's financial giving has declined over time.
In FY19, it was $0.
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams offers no update on reports about Kamila Valieva.
"I'm not going to comment on all sorts of speculation," he says. "... I'm not from the podium of a press conference going to comment on a legal case, because it wouldn't be appropriate."
As others have noted, the charges filed against Derrius Guice stem not from one alleged incident, but three: On Feb. 14, March 13 and April 17.
Guice was cut by Washington earlier this evening.
Mary Tucker, pride of the Kentucky Wildcats, cruises into the 10m air rifle final. Ended her 60-shot round with a bullseye and a fist bump from national rifle coach Dan Durben.
Tucker is expected to become the first U.S. medalist at the Tokyo Olympics in a few hours.
A total of 24 figure skaters from Russia, the U.S. and Japan won medals in the team event.
Because one tested positive for a banned substance, the other 23 will not get a medal ceremony moment in Beijing.
News: The IOC announces it will not hold a medal ceremony for the team figure skating event.
Also, if Valieva finishes in the top 3 in the women's event, "no flower ceremony and no medal ceremony will take place" during these Winter Games.
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams says, basically, that anyone making grand proclamations on the heels of the Kamila Valieva situation is getting out over their skis.
"We all need to follow due process," he says. "This person has not even had their B sample opened."
Nathan Chen's regret from the 2018 Olympics: "I didn’t have fun with it."
With an electric guitar and a fresh perspective in tow, he's aiming to make sure that doesn't happen again.
Good morning from Beijing, where airport staff are in hazmat suits and the first PCR swab reached depths of my nasal cavity that I didn’t know existed.
The reporter next to me in the media workroom just closed his eyes, lowered his head and fell dead asleep, still sitting up, with a half-written story on his screen.
The Olympics, man. It's a grind.