The 1908 Olympic Games were officially opened by King Edward VII at White City Stadium.  It was originally supposed to take place in Rome, but the eruption of Mount Vesuvius caused Italian authorities and the IOC to seek a change in location.  As the new host location, Great Britain would go on to dominate the medal count, winning 56 golds and 146 total medals.  Their next closest competitor was the United States, who had 23 golds and 47 total medals.

London will once again be hosting the Olympic Games in 2012, and while it should turn out to be quite the spectacle, don’t expect the home-field advantage to result in similar success for Great Britain this time around.

Here is a look at the best pictures from the 1908 Olympics.

Notable Birthdays

Tomáš Plekanec, NHL – Born on October 31, 1982 (age 29) in Kladno, Czechoslovakia

Glenn “Doc” Rivers, NBA – Born on October 31, 1961 (age 50) in Chicago, Illinois

Nick Saban, NCAA Football – Born on October 31, 1951 (age 60) in Fairmont, West Virginia

An ugly incident unfolded last night in London, Ontario as an entertaining game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Detroit Red Wings ended on a sour note when a fan inside the John Labatt Center threw a banana onto the ice during Wayne Simmons’ shootout attempt.

The Flyers’ forward, who is one of the few black players playing in the NHL, had already scored the game-tying goal late in the third period, and he would not allow the banana to distract him, as he made good on his shootout attempt as well.  After the game, he had the following to say about the incident.

“I’ve never had a banana thrown at me before.  That’s a first for me…I guess it’s something I obviously have to deal with being a black player playing in predominantly white sport.  I’ve grown a lot playing in this league and throughout my whole life.  I’m not going to dwell on that.”

The contest was considered a home game for the Red Wings, as the city of London is only two hours from Detroit.  It was a welcome change for the fans in London, as they usually host a Toronto Maple Leafs home game during the exhibition season, but classless acts like the one that took place last night could eventually result in neither team making a visit to the city in the future.

Unfortunately, there is no video of the incident.  If we find it, we’ll be sure to get it to you.

Hat Tip – [TSN.ca]

After dropping the opening set 7-5 to her opponent, Flavia Pennetta, the 26-year-old Frenchwoman gestured to her parents to leave the viewing area in Court 14.  Her mother and father – who is also her coach – would respect the request of their daughter and it appeared to work in her favor, as she came back to win the following two sets, 6-4 and 9-7.

Following the victory, Bartoli explained her actions, saying she was exhausted and “needed to get that frustration out.”  She also told reporters that she met with her parents following her match and they understood her decision.

Bartoli has continued her strong run at Wimbledon, winning her fourth round match against Serena Williams earlier today.  She will now take on Sabine Lisicki in the quarter-finals tomorrow.  Whether or not her parents will be allowed to attend the match remains to be seen.

Here is a look at Bartoli banishing her parents from the stands.

Hat Tip – [NBC Sports]

Talk about creepy, Wenlock and Mendeville are just that.  The two mascots of the 2012 Olympic Games in London were unveiled on Wednesday and it appears as though organizers had to reach beyond our galaxy to find these monstrosities.

Looking like something out of a Simpsons Halloween special, these one-eyed lobster-clawed figures were apparently created with the help of focus groups consisting of children.  As for the one eye and funny looking yellow light on their head?  Well the former is supposed to be a lens through which the world will be watching (I wonder if it captures images in 3D), and the latter is a tribute to the London taxi cabs.

If you ask me, I think they were smoking a little something out of the torch from the 2010 Vancouver Games before creating these strange creatures.

Hat Tip – [Fourth-Place Medal]

Unfortunately, the 19-year-old Colombian may have heard “land on your head” rather than “stand on your head.”  She would end up doing the first, and that would prove costly not only to her gold medal chances, but to the stability of her neck as well.

Moments into her floor routine, Jessica attempted to cap off a tumbling sequence with a challenging double front somersault, but that double quickly turned into a single-and-a-half, causing her to land on her head and out of the competition.  Laying curled up at the corner of the mat, her coaches and the paramedics rushed to check up on Jessica.  She would leave the O2 arena strapped on to a stretcher wearing a neck brace, but reports from the hospital indicated that the injury suffered was not too serious.

We have seen similar landings occur in football following a hit, but the sexy uniforms worn by gymnasts just don’t seem to provide the same type of protection as a helmet tends to offer.

Injury to Jessica Gil Ortiz dampens celebrations over Beth Tweddle’s gold – [Guardian]

Total Pro Sports – Early Monday morning in London, while most were likely fast asleep in their beds, Robbie Maddison found himself at the Tower Bridge.  It’s not your regular 3 o’clock hour routine, but he was preparing to do what he does best.  Jump!

That jumping is done with his dirt bike, and for this routine he was about to perform a backflip across the bridge.  It was another Red Bull extreme stunt, which has previously seen Reggie Bush fly in a Red Bull Air Racing plane, and Brian Vickers make a pit stop in the middle of New York’s Time Square.

Needless to say, the jump was a success.  Maddison’s take off and landing were as smooth as can be.  No broken arms.  No last second saves needed.

Photographs taken outside the club show Danielle in pain on the floor, both herself and those helping her covered in blood.  Danielle was taken to the hospital by ambulance where she received stitches for the cut on her back, and cosmetic surgery for the damage to her leg.

The problem reportedly started when two girls began dancing on a couch in the section belonging to Danielle and Jamie’s party.  A witnessed described the scene inside the club as the fight broke out:

“I think one kicked Danielle — it may have been an accident. She got up to remonstrate.  I saw (Danielle) in a tangle with at least one other woman. Punches and slaps were being thrown.  Danielle came falling backward off the sofa and landed on a table. She cut her leg pretty badly. Jamie and some guy who may have been the other girl’s boyfriend were being held apart by bouncers who threw Jamie out.” [The Sun]

Danielle was released from hospital, but judging by the blood stain on her pant leg, it will be some time before the scars are gone.  Some footballers may have been afraid of this notorious soccer sex-mate, but these two women (who were both arrested) clearly were not.

Hat Tip Find Via – [SportsByBrooks]

Soccer WAG Danielle Lloyd Bloody

Danielle Lloyd Injured

Danielle Lloyd Injured Leaves Hospital

At an event in London on Tuesday, David Beckham met soldiers from the armed forces when one of the Royal Marines decided to play a prank on Beckham.

Commando Ben McBean, who lost a leg and an arm in an explosion in Afghanistan, was listening to Becks tell him how he could not imagine life with one leg. The Marine told Beckham that you get used to it and held his hand out for a friendly handshake, only for Becks to be left holding the arm when the handshake was over as Ben screamed: “My arm! My arm!”

Ben said: “As he shook my hand I let it slip from the socket. He looked like he would faint.” [OffThePost]

As Ashton Kutcher from the hit TV show “Punk’d” would say “You’ve been punk’d”!!!!!  I wonder if anyone else fell for the fake arm trick?????

For anyone who watched the UFC last night you must have noticed two things, my picks sucked and Matt Hughes got destroyed.  Prior the fight it was announced that Alves had not made the required weight of 170 pounds.  This gave Matt Hughes the option of not taking the fight, However, Hughes being a warrior decided that the fight should go on.  This was a very bad move on the part of the former champ, because as soon as the bell rang it seemed he was getting dominated.

Hughes was bloodied within seconds of the opening bell and never really recovered.  He tried to take Alves down on numerous occasions but the young fighter’s strength proved to be too much for the veteran.  Hughes barely made it out of the first round.  When the second round started he tried again to take down Alves and was met with a devastating knee to the face which split him open even further.  After he ate the knee Hughes fell on his back and was on the receiving end of a few more punches from Alves.  When the post fight replays were shown it was evident that Hughes had sustained some sort of major knee injury after he was kneed in the face.  I would not be surprised if he tore a ligament in his knee, because it looked really bad.  This fight could mark the end of one of the best fighters in UFC history; at least I hope it will be his last fight because he got destroyed.

On a lighter note, the only fight I was right about last night was between Michael Bisping and Jason Day.  Like I predicted, Bisping ended the fight in the first round. All Jason Day could do was turtle and wait for the ref to save him from brain damage.  Bisping has no doubt moved up in the light heavyweight rankings and will be inline for a title shot in the near future.

UFC 85 will be remembered as an entertaining card, but more importantly I think, it will be remembered as the last fight for Matt Hughes in the octagon.  

The latest UFC card is set for tonight in London, England.  Many people are disappointed by this card because the scheduled main event of Liddell vs. Evans had to be postponed due to an injury to Liddell.  However, the card should have some excitement with the likes of Matt Hughes and Michael Bisping.  Here is what I think might happen in the octagon tonight.

Main Event:

Matt Hughes (43-26) vs. Thiago Alves (20-4)

I think the former the champ Hughes will win this fight by a submission in the second round.  Matt Hughes needs this fight to regain his spot as a top title contender in the UFC.

Main Card:

Michael Bisping (16-1) vs. Jason Day (17-15)

I like Bisping to win this fight by feeding off the energy provided by the hometown crowd.  Look for Bisping to end this fight early, most likely in the first round.

Mike Swick (11-2) Marcus Davis (14-3)

This fight will be a close one and should make it to a decision with Davis scoring a victory on points.

Thales Leites (12-1) vs. Nate Marquardt (29-7-1)

This fight should end by a submission with the more experienced Marquardt emerging victorious.

Brandon Vera (8-1) vs. Fabricio Werdum (10-3-1)

I think this fight also has the potential to go the distance with Vera winning the judges decision.