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And they say weed never hurt anybody. Sure you can still operate heavy machinery and might not reenact a scene from "Too Fast Too Furious" on the city streets potentially killing someone but your alcohol vs marijuana stats might be lost on Michael Phelps. Now that the "mistake" has been leaked by a British tabloid showing the 8 time Olympian gold medal winner bonged out at a house party this past November, Kellogg's has dropped him quicker than quality minority TV shows on major TV networks and U.S Swimming has suspended him from competition until May without pay.

USA Swimming only provides a $1,750 monthly stipend to national team members to help with travel and training expenses, plus performance bonuses. Granted it's a small percentage of the millions Phelps makes through endorsements however I doubt Phelps would trade competitive swimming for wading in a kiddie pool for 3 months straight.

"This is not a situation where any anti-doping rule was violated, but we decided to send a strong message to Michael because he disappointed so many people, particularly the hundreds of thousands of USA Swimming member kids who look up to him as a role model and a hero," the Colorado Springs-based federation said in a statement.

Yes, the millions of kids that look up to Phelps were surely disappointed by the monstrosity of Phelps being captured getting so up, close and personal with the "sticky icky." Why where will America's children get their inspiration from to break world records and obtain other nearly impossible hopes and dreams? Hmm, luckily for Phelps, thousands of supporters have rallied around him offering up their support for his plight including fellow dopeheads, fans, teammates and other Olympians such as Olympic gold medalist, swimmer Amanda Beard who made a splash in a sea of media and public scrutiny for her naked pictorial in Playboy.

"Enough is enough," said Evan Morgenstein, a rival agent who represents a large number of Olympic swimmers. "The penalty is far greater than the crime. He has said he is sorry. Let's move on to the real problems in this country."

Even Katt Williams took some time to offer up some words of encouragement.

Despite, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott telling the Los Angeles Times that he would charge Phelps if he could prove the U.S. Olympian smoked marijuana in his county, Phelps chances for competing in the 2012 Olympics in London haven't gone up in smoke. In fact, his stock has gone up on Google with related searches Michael Phelps Smoking Weed and Michael Phelps Marijuana headlining 8,990,000 searches for the Olympian, Phelps might have other endorsement deals on the horizon such as spokesperson for High Times Magazine, his own line of 24kt gold bongs, you name it! Sky's the limit!

It's easy to recognize and commend the good but what about the bad and just plain ugly. From brawls to scantily clad nannies and sex scandals to tearful confessions and cons, there were some oh so forgettable 2008 sports moments that made your skin crawl and scream out random things that border idiotic, like Sarah Palin

WORST 8 SPORTS MOMENTS OF 2008

8.) WNBA Shock Sparks Brawl

Not to be outdone by their male counterparts,the Detroit Shock and Los Angeles Spark ensued the first ever cat fight in WNBA during a game at the Palace on July 23rd that left WNBA fans enraged, male viewers cheering and two players suspended. Already a heated rivalry between the two squads, the ongoing tension that night from an earlier play involving LA Sparks franchise player and media darling, Candice Parker and veteran forward, Cheryl Ford, fueled the fight between Parker and Detroit Shock forward, Pienette Pierson who got tangled up tussling for the ball after a missed shot by Pierson. Of course, with teammates coming to each others aid, things got even more ugly after an "accidental" push of Lisa Leslie by Detroit assistant coach, Rick Mahorn resulted in a retaliation from Sparks forward, Delisha Milton-Jones. Detroit's Pierson and Mahorn were suspended for four and two games respectively while Kara Braxton, Tasha Humphrey, Elaine Powell and Sheri Sam (also from Detroit), along with Los Angeles' Leslie, Candace Parker and DeLisha Milton-Jones all got a one game suspension. Although this incident is prime example unsportman-like conduct and is very unladylike, I must admit this "catfight" certainly breathed life into a genre that has very selective few fans.

7.)U.S. Relay Teams Drop The Baton

The Olympics held so many shining moments for the stars and stripes but the embarrassing mishaps of the gold contending (perhaps second to the Jamaican relay team) U.S. men's relay team certainly wasn't one of them. Failing to qualify for the FINALS for the first time since 1988 after a misconnect between Darvis Patton and Tyson Gay on a final pass, left the Americans watching from the sidelines as the Jamaican relay team smoked its competition by a world record setting time of 37.10 seconds. To make matters even worse, the U.S. Women's relay team suffered the same fate and failed to qualify for the finals as for the first time since 1948!

6.)Kimbo Slice Exposed As Farce

Like Mulder from the X-Files we want to believe in the greatest American hero, that wayward underdog, that rises against all odds to realize the American dream. This is especially true in sports, so when word spread like wildfire about back alley brawler putting men down with one punch on Youtube, MMA fans had someone to believe in and the networks had a new poster child to exploit. Kimbo Slice's journey as a street fighter to ESPN cover story was truly nothing but a testament to how the wheels of the capitalist cash machine turn. After losing washed up fighter Ken Shamrock to an eye injury and CBS color commentator, Frank Shamrock (Ken's brother) to disqualification due to a broken arm, the Elite XC finally found a "suitable" replacement in Fort Myers native, Petruzelli, an average mixed martial artist all of 205 lbs and a 2-2 win-loss record since 2004 Kimbo was "sure" to beat. Only the surefire win backfired in a 14 second KO Ryu style! Haduken!
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5.)From America's Sweetheart to Jailbird

Only a short four years ago, track star Marion Jones was America's sweetheart and three time Olympic gold medalist. She was the epitome of the female athlete: charming, strong yet humble gracing the covers of Vogue and Sports Illustrated within in the course of a year. What a difference a year can make, now the biggest athlete to fall victim to Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative scandal, Jones is flat broke and faces jail time after admitting to steroid use before her 2000 Sydney Olympic run up until after the 2004 Athens Olympics. Jones vehemently denied use of any performance drugs for years after she initially fell under suspicion but finally came clean in a well put together confession of lying and cheating that later broke down into a tearful apology worthy of an Oscar.

Now that we've said goodbye to the end of an era of mediocrity known as the Bush era and ushered in the new, you can't help but look back at the some of the greatest sports moments of 2008. Here's some that made you laugh, cry or just stare dumbfounded in disbelief. Yea Litall touched on this but as usual, but after much debating, here are MY top picks for best sports stories. Let the arguments begin............

TOP 8 SPORTS MOMENTS OF 2008

8.) Nadal Ends Federer's Reign At Wimbledon

Ok so I'll bite. Now that I've seen video clips, I've decided to kick off my second annual Top Sports Moments list with the history in the making match up between men's tennis
greats Rafeal Nadal and Roger Federer. The grueling five match showdown complete with rain delays was a testament to Nadal's toughness and tenacity and marked the end of Federer's five year reign, as Nadal was crowned Wimbledon champion.

7.)Rays Almost Sting Phillies In World Series

To the victor goes the spoils they say and while the Phillies have been named as the 2008 World Series Champions, the Rays fairytale journey into the World Series contention should definitely NOT go without notice. Just thinking about a team with a 200-1 shot at appearing in the World Series go from worst to first, beating out heavyweights New York and Boston is enough to place this moment in the Top 8 Sports Moments of 2008.

6.) Old Time Rivalry Renewed:Celtics vs Lakers

There's something about reliving the glory days when the NBA Finals was a clash of the Titans between two juggernauts, one from the East and one from the West. Ask anyone about the Celtics vs Lakers rivalry and the names Magic vs Bird, Russell vs come to mind. During the 2008 Finals, David Stern, the media and old school fans got their wish as Kobe led Lakers faced off against the Big 3 of the Celtics composed of K.G., Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Despite the victory being favored to go to the Lakers, the defensive prowess of the Celtics proved to be too much for the Lakers and the Celtics went on to win the series in 6 games.

So the USA women's gymnastics team lost to a bunch of 14 year old Chinese gymnasts. Get over it. You lost, woman up and move on. It isn't like the US hasn't bent a rule or a 100 with our athletes over the years. I am tired of all this whining and complaining after you lose. So the Chinese chicks were 14 or 15 as oppose to 16 so what? Stop falling off the balance beams and you would have won no questions asked.

It is blatantly obvious the Chinese kids were underage, but if was a big deal all the other countries should have pushed harder for an investigation before the games started instead of crying after they got their asses beat.

There was no way the IOC was going to overturn those results. Have you checked out the Chinese Army lately? That was never going to happen so be happy with your silver medal and Lebron's "Pimp Focus" on your asses (those over 18 of course).

The Summer Olympics are on the way and since I know all the readers of BlackSportsOnline have "Bona Fide" sports knowledge on the Olympics, we are going to give you a chance to use that knowledge to get hooked up.

We have partnered with "Hey! Nielsen" to present the "Olympic-Trivia-Thon". Test your Olympic knowledge against other sports experts all over the world and possibly win this crazy prize package:

One (1) grand prize winner will receive the following: one (1) video game console and accessories (estimated value: $400.00); a game package of popular sports and entertainment titles (estimated value: $450.00); and one (1) gift card (estimated value: $150.00).

You can either click the pic above or go to http://www.heynielsen.com/trivia for your chance to win.

Our good friend (i am being sarcastic by the way) Tiki "I don't like being black" Barber gets a little heated when CNBC host Jenna Wolfe points out she is wearing "one of Tiki's Super Bowl rings". As we all know and especially Tiki they only way he is getting a Super Bowl ring is using the "non african american dialect" of his and swindle someone on the Giants practice squad for it.

So how does Mr. Articulate get back at Ms. Wolfe? You would think with his vast knowledge of the English language that he could have came up with something better than trying to slide in calling her a "c*nt" on live tv. I guess he thought since we were all out picking cotton that we wouldn't be smart enough to notice. Better yet since he is a D- star on the NBC roster he realized that only 5 people were probably watching at the time. Either way Tiki it was low class and I still hate your guts.

No matter how many times this video gets taken down I have the source copy so there will always be a live version up on this site. Tiki Barber is a fraud and he deserves to be exposed.

UPDATE!!! UPDATE!!! UPDATE!!!

Someone asked why do I hate Tiki so much. Read this retro BSO Article to find out why.

Lets get this off the top. Usain Bolt broke one of the most coveted track and field records ever in impressive fashion. He should be praised and congradulated like every other world-class athlete on the big stage putting on a show. Understand, Bob Costas (go figure) and the rest of the media has this one dead wrong. Damn the fact that this kid is running as if he has a nitro button in his pocket. I mean the first thing I think about when I see Bolt run is "Beep Beep.." and all I can do is laugh in disbelief that a man can move this fast on two legs.

The thing that bothers me about Costas and anyone who says he's showboating is that why isn't breaking the record good enough? These self-proclaimed "judges" or "perfectionist" have somehow forgot that these people are human. So your essentially telling a kid, 21 years of age, who's existence up to this point is to be an Olympian and try to win a gold metal for his country that he can't get happy or be excited about his accomplishment? What?! 'Please oh please' Associated Press at least explain to people why you are so mad?

I'm sure Bob Costas never experienced the excitement you get when you've achieved something in sports but somehow he has the rule book on how athletes should act. We all know that old Bob couldn't say with a straight face that all his heros in his favorite past-time never showboat when they hit home-runs. But then again, I bet that's alright because that's the sport he loves. This reminds me of the obligatory criticism of Team USA basketball every 4 years getting called arrogant because they can jump higher, dunk harder and play with flair. You know, it's almost like Wade is not suppose to do reverse dunks if the european players can't, or Kobe shouldn't make his man look bad with a crossover because that's somehow showing off. Basically getting penalized for athletic superiority. I hate to bring the "R" word into this but underneath all the layers of bs I think it definitely plays a part in all these ridiculous notions. I wish I was wrong.

First off Bob Costas needs to shut the hell up. ESPN needs to shut the hell up. Every person in the bias sports media who has criticize Usain Bolt during these Olympics for "showboating" needs to shut the hell up.

Why is when Americans celebrate aka "showboating" after victories (see the Michael Phelps after the relay race) they are just showing "emotion" but when Bolt who has crushed his opponents has done it, it is "disrespectful" to the games?

Nothing Bolt has done has been disrespectful or any different than the many American athletes have done during these games. You want to shut Bolt up then beat him and that isn't happening.

I never thought Michael Johnson's 200 meter record would be broken in my lifetime but Bolt did it going away. He is the first sprinter since Carl Lewis to pull off double gold in the 200 and 100. He is the first sprinter ever in the history of the Olympics games to break the world record in the 200 and 100. Let that sink in for a minute.

He should be as celebrate as much as Michael Phelps but because of the super American bias and the perception that he is nothing more than a glorified Chad Johnson it will be put on the back burner. Even after these tremendous feats look at the last line of the story on ESPN.com

"The performance marked Bolt as one of the breakthrough stars of these Summer Games, coming on the heels of his victory in the 100 Saturday night. He bettered his own world record in that race by winning in 9.69 seconds -- despite slowing down over the final 20 meters to showboat."

Give me a break. Get off your high horse and realize you are watching greatness and just because it isn't draped in red white and blue and for that matter isn't blond with blue eyes doesn't make it any less of an accomplishment. Stop being hypocrites, stop being bias and stop being haters.

You know greatness when you see it. When you were watching MJ you saw it. When you were watching Montana you saw it. When you were watching Ali you saw it. Greatness doesn't have a question mark behind it. It is known to everyone not just sports fan, but everyone. Your grandmother knows it, Your wife who hasn't watched a sporting event all year knows it; you kid who normally watches Noggin 24/7 knows it because greatness transcends; it permeates. It is its own zone. It's own atmosphere. It's own feel.

As you watched Michael Phelps in the 2008 Olympics, you knew you were watching greatness. You knew you were watching something special. Sometimes we get caught up in thinking that the only great athletes are the ones who can catch, shoot, run or hit a ball, which couldn't be farther from the truth. Because one of the greatest athletes of our time or any time never stepped on a "field".

Try to do anything 17 times in 9 days and see how you feel? Now try to do that against the best competition in the world, many of whom haven't did anything before competing against you and themselves are considered at the top of their sport. Then on top of that, try to accomplish something that has never been done in the history with a bullet on your chest. What do you think the chances are that you would succeed?

One of my favorite quotes of all time is from the great Ric Flair (queue my Ric Flair gif please).

"To Be The Man You Have To Beat The Man"

Everyone wanted to beat Michael Phelps. But no one could. Even when they thought they won, they came up a little bit short.

Sometimes you can tell more about how great an athlete is by the reactions of their opponent. To a man, they all have the same face after the lost to Phelps. Some disgust, some admiration, but above, all just look in awe and disbelief. They all come in with the belief that they can win and they all walk away with nothing but silver or bronze.

I can't tell you how happy I am to have the old Ocho Cinco back. The one from this summer was a little disturbing to me. I much prefer the fun loving, grill wearing, trash-talking and horse-racing Chad.

Earlier this week, Viva Shetty told you how Chad is thinking about legally changing his name to Ocho Cinco which, of course, I think is the coolest thing ever. I would be first in line to buy one with the Corporate Low Limit Not Quite Ballin Paypal BSO MasterCard. As my boy F350 says:

"The marketing aspects would be sick."

But even better than that is Ocho's latest boast that he would like to take on Aquaman aka Michael Phelps in a swimming contest. Here is the quote from Chad:

"Where I'm from -- Liberty City -- I know a couple of people who can beat Michael Phelps right now. Seriously. I'm telling you. And I'm one of 'em."

Chad also claims that he was the three-time Charles Hadley Pool champion in Liberty City, Miami. Of course no records of this exist, but fact-finding takes the fun out of the story. I am begging for someone to put this event together and put it on PPV. You have my $49.95.

*UPDATE*

The good people at WHEREISTAND.COM has provided us with a video of Chad making his boasts.