Free Republic

Two American economists, Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson, who study the way decisions are made outside the markets on which many other economists focus, were awarded the Nobel Prize in economics Monday. The judges cited "her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons," the way in which natural resources are managed as shared resources. It is an area of research that she said was relevant to questions surrounding global warming, and suggests that decisions by individuals can help solve the problem even as governments work to reach an international agreement. Ms. Ostrom "challenged the conventional wisdom that common property is...

n a departure from prevailing economic theory, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science was awarded Monday to two social scientists for their work in demonstrating that business people, including competitors, often develop implicit relationships that supplement and resolve problems that arise from free-market competition. The prize committee cited Elinor Ostrom of Indiana University “for her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons,” and Oliver E. Williamson of the University of California, Berkeley, “for his analysis of economic governance, especially the boundaries of the firm.” Ms. Ostrom becomes the first woman to win the prize for economics. Her background is...

USA USA USA!!!!

After cleaning up in the Nobel science prizes, the United States scored another coup: the peace prize for a president less than nine months in office. At a time when some had begun to question how long America's pre-eminence in science and diplomacy could last, nine of the 11 nominees who won or shared this year's five prizes handed out so far are American. On Monday, the economics prize will be announced, and Americans are the favorites. The scientists were recognized for work that led to breakthroughs in cancer therapies and antibiotics, and brought the world digital photography and high-speed...

Looks like those little Honduran soccer guys are holding their own against the US in their World Cup qualifier tonight. 0-0 at the 1/4 point. No television coverage, you have to follow it on the USSoccer.com website's matchtracker. This could be a big night for both teams.

Today, October 5th, three Americans were awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine. This continues the strong showing of US medical research, with US researchers counting for eighteen of the last thirty winners. US institutions where the research was conducted accounted for 19 of the 30 last prizes. If this was a sporting contest, commentators would be talking about an "American legacy of dominance" in the field. Instead of talking about the tremendous success the US has had, all we hear from our politicians and left wing talking heads is how the medical system is broken. The media talks about the...

Chicago loses in first round of voting. 101st Airborne Division due in Copenhagen shortly. Beck, an increasingly contentious figure, got under the Administration's skin via typically goofy segment (Link goes directly to video) on Obama's plan to travel to Copenhagen to lobby on behalf of the city of Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympic Games. While the White House bloggers do effectively rebut several of the points raised during the segment on Beck's show, you have to ask yourself when the White House decided to duke it out with television pundits. Guy Benson, blogging for the National Review, is wondering...

A stunned media was left speechless when President Barack Obama’s personal sales pitch on behalf of Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Summer Games failed to sway the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Of the four contending bids, Chicago’s was the first to be rejected—giving it a last place finish in the event. MSNBC’s Ed Schultz called the outcome “fishy.” “When the most persuasive man on the planet can’t sell a bunch of Eurostiffs on the benefits of a great city like Chicago, something ugly and obscene is going on,” Schultz opined. “One can only wonder if the racism fomented by...

Yup - the boys from Chula Vista, near San Diego won the Little League World series. First time for a California team. Good job boys.

FINA, swimming's world governing body, finally figured out the way to determine which of the controversial long-length, high-tech swimsuits to restrict. On Friday, it banned every last one. With a nearly unanimous vote, FINA's member nations accepted a proposal initiated by the United States to allow only waist-to-knee suits, known as "jammers," for men, and shoulder-to-knee suits for women, beginning in competition next year.

German Paul Biedermann has ended Michael Phelps's domination of the men's 200-metre freestyle, smashing the American's world record on Tuesday en route to a gold medal at the World Aquatics Championships in Rome. Biedermann raced to a time of 1 minute, 42 seconds, eclipsing the mark of 1:42.96 the American set at last year's Beijing Olympics. Phelps finished a full body length behind the German in 1:43.22. Russia's Danila Izotov took the bronze in 1:43.90. -Phelps is coming off a long layoff that included a three-month suspension resulting from a photo fallout showing the Olympic great inhaling from a marijuana...

This updated story corrects an earlier mistranslation of a key quote. - Editor Tour de France winner Alberto Contador on Monday launched a stinging attack on teammate Lance Armstrong, saying relations between the two were tense throughout the race. "My relationship with Lance is zero. He is a great champion and has done a great Tour, but on a personal level I have never had a great admiration for him and I never will," the Spaniard told a news conference in Madrid. Contador won the Tour on Sunday with a comfortable lead over his rivals. His Astana teammate Armstrong, a...

(CNN) -- Tour de France winner Alberto Contador has launched a stinging attack on Astana teammate Lance Armstrong after returning as a hero to his native town of Pinto near Madrid. Lance Armstrong (right) looks on after Alberto Contador is handed the Tour de France trophy in Paris. Contador told a news conference that relations between the two riders were tense throughout the race, making the atmosphere very difficult for the team as a whole. Although not giving specific reasons why, Contador admitted the situation has affected his relationship with the American. "My relationship with Lance Armstrong is non-existent. Even...

ARIS — With the Arc de Triomphe in the distance and a sea of fans along the roadside, Lance Armstrong stood on the podium at the Tour de France on Sunday, two spots below what he was used to. From 1999 to 2005, Armstrong won this race, the most prestigious event in cycling. This time, he was third, behind the winner Alberto Contador of Spain and Andy Schleck of Luxembourg. But for the 37-year-old Armstrong — and for many in the cycling community — it was a victory, even though Armstrong fell short of crossing the finish line first. “I...

Sorry, been meaning to say this for a couple of days. It’s not very fair that the Americans, who couldn’t give a fig about soccer, are getting really good at it. Meanwhile, dear old England, as far as I can see, have got tons of work to do before they become serious contenders for next year’s World Cup in South Africa. I’ve been saying since the World Cup was played in the US in 1994 and the hosts lost narrowly to Brazil, that the USA would win the trophy before England did so again. And I haven’t been proved wrong...

Lance Armstrong moved level with Fabian Cancellara at the head of the overall standings after helping Astana to a team time-trial success on stage four of the Tour de France. Cancellara, of Saxo Bank, retains the yellow jersey going into tomorrow's fifth stage but Armstrong, the seven-time winner of the Tour, was able to wipe out a 40-second deficit on the roads of Montpellier. Astana posted a time of 46 minutes and 29 seconds to win the 39km stage, with Garmin-Slipstream finishing second 18 seconds back and Saxo Bank third, a further 22 seconds behind. Alberto Contador, Armstrong's team-mate, moves...

Lance Armstrong jumped from 10th to third place at the Tour de France on Monday, positioning himself for a shot at the yellow jersey after evading trouble on a windy ride along the Mediterranean. Britain's Mark Cavendish won his second straight stage. He and Armstrong and overall leader Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland kept up with a breakaway group that bolted from the pack with 18 miles left in the 122-mile third stage. Armstrong, a seven-time champion coming out of retirement, is 40 seconds behind. He was able to make his big jump because riders in front of him at the...

Canton -- Team USA's David Wilson sat on a table and stared straight ahead in Team USA's locker room, chewing on his mouthpiece and cradling the American flag in his lap. "Special," Wilson said quietly when asked how it felt to be chosen by his teammates as the USA flag bearer for the inaugural IFAF Junior World Championship at Fawcett Stadium. "My brother is watching on the Internet right now." Wilson's older brother, Ronald, is aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, stationed in San Diego. And, how ironic is it that Reagan's middle name was Wilson? Wilson, from Danville, Va., and...

USA is winning the final of the Confederation CUP, shortly before half time 2-0!!

Confederations Cup USA vs Brazil

JOHANNESBURG—United States head coach Bob Bradley is normally an all-business type who always seems to answer media questions with a serious tone and rarely smiles in the public eye. How ironic, then, that two days before the most momentous match in his career—the Confederations Cup final against Brazil—Bradley was jocular, if not downright giddy, at his afternoon press conference. The good mood was apparent before even the first question had been asked. Bradley sat down at the dais with U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra on his right. For some reason, the arrangement felt odd for Bradley and he asked Bocanegra to...

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa (AP)—The world will surely take notice of this. The U.S. soccer team is in the final of the Confederations Cup, beating mighty Spain 2-0. Even more stunning, the Americans were on the verge of elimination and ready to head home last weekend before a reversal of fortune. On Wednesday, goals by Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey led to an upset of the planet’s top-ranked team. Call it a miracle on grass—maybe not the World Cup, but still an American soccer echo of the U.S. hockey team’s upset of the Soviet Union at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics....

The IMPOSSIBLE is happening. SPAIN..the leading # 1 team in the world, 35 game winning streak, they have shut out opponents in the series...and the soccer world already conceded that SPAIN is SUPPOSED TO WIN..YET HERRE THEY ARE SHOCKING THE FN SOCCER WORLD. Kiss my ass you America hating soccer fans...

USA beats Europe to win the Ryder Cup!!!!!!

We cannot say farewell to the 2008 Olympics without offering a 21-gun salute to the fine U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, based at Fort Benning. (Not to be confused with the three-volley salute common at funerals, the 21-gun salute is typically reserved for the president as part of the "Hail to the Chief" ceremony, and for other heads of state.) The unit brought home two gold medals: Spc. Walton Eller III for the double trap competition and Pfc. Vincent Hancock for the skeet. Eller set two Olympic records with a score of 145 in the qualifying rounds and 190 in the...

On Friday night, the U.S. team entered the political fray again by choosing archer Khatuna Lorig, who was born in what is now the country of Georgia, to be the U.S. flag bearer in Sunday's closing ceremony.

Georgian born Khatuna Lorig will carry the US flag.U.S. team picks Georgian to lead them in closing ceremony

The 'Redeem Team" does it, beating Spain in a close game tonight.

Laura Wilkinson has, among other things, an Olympic gold medal, a big ball of tape and a plan. The gold medal, won eight years ago in Sydney, represents the competitive apex of her 15 years in diving, which came to a close Thursday night (Thursday morning CDT) with her ninth-place finish in the women’s 10-meter platform final. The tape ball represents the physical stresses of hurling her body off a three-story tower day after day, month after month, embodied by the miles of athletic tape Wilkinson, 30, has required over the last year to wrap her wrist and, during Thursday’s...

BEIJING -- The U.S. men's volleyball team won the Olympic gold medal Sunday, defeating defending champion Brazil to complete a perfect run through a tournament shadowed by a grisly attack at a Beijing tourist site. The Americans captured their third gold medal in the sport with a 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-23 victory in the final. Top-ranked Brazil, a two-time gold medalist, settled for the silver medal. The U.S. surge to the title came after coach Hugh McCutcheon's father-in-law was fatally stabbed the day before competition started. McCutcheon missed the team's first three games to be with his wife, a former...

BEIJING -- Torri Edwards' screeching expression said it all on a night of rain-soaked relay calamity on the Olympic track Thursday. Think about the famous Edvard Munch painting, "The Scream," and you get general idea of back-to-back disasters unfolding for the U.S. relay teams within about 30 minutes. There was disqualification for the men in the preliminaries of the 400-meter relay, followed by the same for the women, a huge dose of Olympic-size ignominy. This wasn't a whisper to a scream. It was a scream to a scream at the Bird's Nest. And, on top of it all, the botched...

<p>Results re-posted further down in thread so they won't be a spoiler.</p>

Every generation needs heroes. Young people especially need role models. How blessed we are that the role model of these Summer Olympics is Michael Phelps. Here is a young man who embodies self-discipline, hard work and goal orientation. It is not so much the world records he shattered. It is not only the number of medals he won. His whole outlook is to be celebrated. He has a commanding presence yet he is the boy next door. True, his endorsements will make him millions. Yet I dare say that is the furthest thing from his mind right now. As I...

Just saw Kerri Walsh pause the interview after winning the gold to thank W for his inspiration, Class.

Mark Spitz thinks there's only one man who Michael Phelps can't beat. His name is Mark Spitz. Spitz, the American swimmer whose record of seven gold medals in a single Olympics Games was shattered by Phelps, said Wednesday that if the two legends squared off in their primes, it'd be a draw. "I think that the relationship between people that are great is they have a common thread of knowing how to beat their competitors and they know how to constantly be in shape and in top form," Spitz told the Daily News. "If that's the case, I'd know everything...

Leave it to the liberal print media to find some way to kill everyone's Olympics buzz. For instance, did you know that the choice by the U.S. Olympic Committee to have Ralph Lauren stitch the threads for Team USA's opening ceremonies uniform was an unfortunate nod to racism and classism and a futile, nostalgic clinging to America's waning WASP empire? That according to Sameer Reddy (pictured at right, photo via Newsweek) in an August 20 online exclusive for Newsweek

Sour-faced Bob Costas and Cris Collinsworth should take a lesson from the enthusiastic, America-loving Bela Karolyi. ---------------------------------------------------- Being the typical American family — 2.1 kids, house in the burbs, yappy dog — the Olympic Games have been running in the background pretty much non-stop at our house. In the evening, after work, I settle down with everyone else and watch what Bob Costas and company have for me that night. Maybe it’s just the fact that after three days both fish and avuncular TV anchors stink, but the NBC talking heads have gotten on my last olfactory nerve.....

Shawn Johnson had dark circles under her brown eyes and a headache, but when she jumped onto the balance beam Tuesday night she switched on her smile and defiantly pounded out a gold- medal routine. "This gold means more than anything to me," Johnson said. "Beam is my favorite event, and I've worked hardest on this for a long time. It's the perfect ending to my Olympic experience." The United States finished 1-2, with Nastia Liukin getting the silver. China's Cheng Fei won the bronze.

He's the "eight" wonder of the world! Here is the iconic first photo of a bare-chested, medal-clad Michael Phelps doing his best Mark Spitz impression - sporting an Olympic-sized grin as his eight golds dangle from his neck. The photo - taken inside an ancient temple in Beijing on Sunday night - will grace the cover of Sports Illustrated, which hits newsstands tomorrow.

BEIJING – Shawn Johnson had spent a week smiling her way through the gymnastics hall. No close defeat, no age controversy, no puzzled judges score could stop her. Where human nature said her face should relay some of her internal emotions – disappointment, frustration – she just kept smiling. Tuesday she beamed after beam. On her fourth and final chance, Johnson won her gold medal with a nearly flawless routine on balance beam, outpacing teammate Nastia Liukin and China’s Cheng Fei. At the end she unleashed a smile as big as Beijing itself, a glorious conclusion to a competition that...

NBC Questions Kobe Bryant’s Pride of Being on Team USA 2008-08-17 -By Warner Todd Huston In a recent interview with USA Olympics basketball team member Kobe Bryant, NBC Sports reporter Chris Collinsworth seemed to question Kobe’s patriotism when the player said that he was proud to wear the team USA uniform. Wondering if it was “cool” to be proud of being on Team USA, Collinsworth seemed to surprise even Bryant with the temerity of the question. Why Collinsworth wouldn’t think it would be “cool” to be proud to be on the American Olympic basketball team is anyone’s guess. In a...

BEIJING, China (August 16, 2008) - The U.S. Shooting Team added to its medal count at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing today when 19-year-old Pfc. Vincent Hancock (Eatonton, Ga.) captured the gold medal in Men's Skeet. Hancock of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, a world champion and world record holder in Men's Skeet was in first place going into the final after hitting 121 out of a possible 125 targets in the qualification round, which is a new Olympic record. Hancock shot 24 targets in the final to finish tied with Norway's Tore Brovold, who shot a perfect 25,...

Assorted TV commentators keep opining that the Olympics are all about the brotherhood of man, rather than national ambition or patriotism. But don't tell that to the fanatically nationalist Chinese -- or to Kobe Bryant, the NBA star who is playing with Team USA in Beijing. In an interview Friday on NBC, the world's most famous basketball player told Chris Collinsworth how he got "goosebumps" when he received his Olympics uniform. "I actually just looked at it for a while. I just held it there and I laid it across my bed and I just stared at it for a...

Michael Phelps News *****Spoiler alert****

So affecting is his sincerity that we got three separate requests for this last night within minutes of it airing, one of them from MKH. As for Collinsworth’s question, I don’t know how to take it, frankly. From the transcript it reads like he’s making a neutral point about how American culture views patriotism, but watch his expression as he asks it. Clearly he’s not trying to get him to say, “Yeah, you’re right, it’s stupid to be proud of your country� in the middle of their Olympics coverage, but … weirdness. Good work by NBC, though, in dousing a...

I've been perusing the discussion boards across the net, and there seems to be (duh) two schools of thought- those who want Phelps to break the Mark Spitz record and those who don't. Personally, I have no great love for Spitz- in fact, I don't particularly care for him at all. But, from all appearances, he came by his medals honestly- with the added burden of a mustache and without any kind of special swimsuit. I really don't know anything about Phelps but, considering his record breaking success, you kinda wonder about steroids or blood doping. I mean, the guy...

Wow! Amazing! http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0808/oly.phelps.sequence/content.1.html

Food Cited In Illnesses That Hit Track Team By GINA KOLATA and JASON STALLMAN BEIJING — Several members of the United States track team became ill at the team’s pre-Olympic training center in Dalian, about 300 miles east of Beijing, and food poisoning was the likely cause, according to a coach for three Olympians. “When we were in Dalian, a lot of guys got sick — five or six every day,” said John Cook, who coaches the runners Shalane Flanagan, Shannon Rowbury and Erin Donohue. United States Olympic officials, who had acknowledged concerns about food issues in China leading up...

"Did you notice that Michael Phelps wears earphones and is listening music just before his every Olympic start, at Beijing's Olympiad Water Cube pool deck, be it finals or semifinals? I first noticed that before his first gold swim on August 10: Phelps removed earphones 2 minutes before the start, and he was the only swimmer who worn earphones at the pool deck. Intriguing scientific evidence testifies: Listening to music improves blood oxygen capacity and is a performance enhancement." "So what? Can one call listening to music shortly before entering the swimming pool for competition a performance enhancement? Yes, say...