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WASHINGTON (AP) — Supporters of a bill that would make international sports doping a crime argued Wednesday that the legislation would deter scandals like Russian state-sponsored drug use at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Yulia Stepanova, a Russian former track athlete who became a whistleblower about the drug program, said at a congressional hearing that ending doping in her country would have to “start from the top” — with Russian President Vladimir Putin himself. The bill was named for Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, the Russian lab director who exposed the cheating in Sochi. Rodchenkov has said the doping stemmed from Putin’s command...

Jonathan Quick will leave Sochi empty handed, but not quietly. Humiliated after a 5-0 loss to Finland in the Olympic bronze-medal hockey game Saturday, the U.S. goaltender harshly criticized his team’s effort a day after losing to Canada in the semifinals. “It shouldn’t be too hard,” he told NBC. “We do that all year long. We’re professionals. We play back-to-backs all year long. “There’s no reason we show up and not piss a drop.” Quick also took responsibility for his own play. “My job is to stop the puck, and I didn’t do that very well,” the Los Angeles Kings...

As soon as the Winter Olympics draw to a close tonight in Sochi, another sport will begin: debate over whether the city will actually benefit from hosting the games. “If costs are the benchmark for ‘successful’ Games,” says Janice Forsyth, Director of the International Center for Olympic Studies at the University of Western Ontario, in London, Ontario, Canada, “Sochi is the most unsuccessful games in history, bar none.” The Sochi organizing committee spent an estimated US$51 billion on the Games, surpassing the next most expensive Olympics (Beijing Summer Games, 2008) by about $8 billion. The problem is that “rarely, if...

I thought I did. Now I know I did. Why is it so hard for the blow hards on our alphabet news networks to give credit to a movie about Texas whose score was written by a Russian born American composer.Obviously, the Russians are proud of him.Why isn't our media? Just because he was a patriot in Hollywood in a time when it wasn't overwhelmingly dominated by Marxists?As soon as the opening dance becomes available on You Tube, I would appreciate it if someone would post it!

It was over in a flash. A Finnish Flash. For Team USA, however, it was more like a flash finish. Team Finland scored two goals in 11 seconds early in the second period to snap a 0-0 tie en route to a 5-0 victory in the bronze medal game Saturday. Veteran Teemu Selanne, playing in his 35th Olympic hockey game, scored two goals including the game-winner to lead Finland. It was a wonderful conclusion to what has been a splendid Olympic hockey career for a classy gentleman. Selanne scored on a nifty backhand shot at 1:27 of the second period...

Change.org, a website that hosts public petitions, crashed Friday morning after a flood of users signed a petition to investigate a controversial Olympic figure skating result. Russia's Adelina Sotnikova won the gold medal in an upset over South Korea's Yuna Kim. After the event, a Change.org petition called "Open Investigation into Judging Decisions of Women's Figure Skating and Demand Rejudgement at the Sochi Olympics" was started by a user named "Justice Seeker." It went viral in a way the website had never seen before. "The petition gained 700,000-plus signatures in just six hours and is sending traffic to our site...

Ex-Olympic skater and current NBC commentator for the Sochi games Johnny Weir is not shy about protesting Russia's homosexual laws live on air, if his wardrobe has anything to say about it. Weir has appeared with full makeup -- blush, lipstick, etc. -- as well as silk blouses and gaudy jewelry. Hairstyles have ranged from piled on top to a braided tiara (seen below). This was his plan from the beginning...

An openly gay women's ski jumper says protests against Russia's law banning homosexual "propaganda" aimed at minors aren't worth it because "no one cares." Daniela Iraschko-Stolz of Austria, who is a gold medal favorite in the women's normal hill, married partner Isabel Stolz last year. After training Sunday, she said, "I don't think it's a good idea to make protests here, no one cares ... I know Russia will go and make the right steps in the future and we should give them time."

There has been no shortage of protests and calls for Olympic sponsors to take a firm stance on gay rights in the lead-up to the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, especially in light of Russia's anti-gay propaganda laws last year and international outcry following Russian President Putin's recent comments linking homosexuality and pedophilia.

<p>You know how it is: once one thing goes wrong it just seems like everything else goes wrong too.</p> <p>Take Sochi for example. It started with the dangerous face water, and the “pee with a friend” toilets for two (my guess is they forgot to order and/or install the stall walls, butt who knows).</p>

Somebody has to cover the cost of Sandra Fluke's contraceptives.  So, with that in mind, government mafia extortionists disguised as the IRS are eagerly awaiting the tally on Olympic gold, silver and bronze.  At the SOTU, Barack Obama said of the Sochi Olympics: "We believe in the inherent dignity and equality of every human being, regardless of race or religion, creed or sexual orientation." Then he said, "Next week the world will see one expression of that commitment when Team USA marches the red, white and blue into the Olympic stadium and brings home the gold."  Translation:  The president...

As the young Olympic gymnast competed in the all-arounds, the TV announcer said: "She messed up really well. This is so good, she got another deduction of points." Not the type of attitude you'd normally expect from a TV sports commentator. Unless the announcer is Russian, and the athlete is an American. Before Russian gymnast Viktoria Komova did her vault, Ivanova announced: "Vikochka (sweet Vicky), show these Americans how it should be done." After Komova made mistakes in her routine, Ivanova remarked with: "She made a few mistakes, but we did not notice them."

No sooner did AdMe.ru publish racy pictures of Russia's female athletes competing at Sochi wearing next to nothing, did the shots go viral online. And then came the judgment. Column inches spoke of the 'demeaning' way Russia is marketing its female Olympians. Others said the photos were controversial, adding that it brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'checking out the competition'. True, the photos are racy. True, these girls look like gorgeous pin-up models fit for a Pirelli calendar (well they are Olympic athletes; all those hours down the gym is bound to pay off). But what, really,...

I just watched President Obama's taped interview with Bob Costas on NBC. He looked stoned. I'm not the only one who has that impression after seeing his droopy eyelids, bloodshot eyes and droopy mouth. Twitter lit up with comments about Obama's stoned appearance.

2012 was a swing an a miss...this time around it was a swing, miss, and then the freakin' bat slipped out of the designers hands...It's the Olympics, not an ugly Christmas sweater contest.

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Yellow, murky tap water. Warnings about what a toilet can and can’t handle. Missing floors, door handles and light bulbs. The complaints have been flooding in – and going viral on social media – as media members get settled for the Winter Olympics in Sochi. But just as quickly there’s backlash forming from people who say journalists need to stop grumbling about their accommodations in Russia and start focusing on covering the games. One columnist in the Toronto Star even accused reporters from around the globe of turning “into Ugly Americans when venturing beyond their comfort...

The 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, officially kicked off Friday with a massive ceremony celebrating the host country’s storied history. From Peter the Great to “Swan Lake,” many of Russia’s finest figures and achievements were given a chance in the spotlight. But the Russians also paid tribute to the country’s reigning political doctrine of the 20th century: communism.

(Update: Obama Applauds!) This photo came across Twitter today, thanks to Jonah Goldberg. It’s from the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Sochi, Russia. (snip) Rachel Bachman ✔ @Bachscore Follow Russia in the house. #Sochi 1:02 PM - 7 Feb 2014 Update: And more. Look who’s applauding. John Ekdahl @JohnEkdahl Follow 1:28 PM - 7 Feb 2014

The president said he chose not to attend the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in part because he didn’t want to distract from the competition, he said in an interview airing Thursday.

If all you know about Vladimir Putin is what you learned from Bob Costas during NBC’s Olympic coverage Thursday night, you might be excused for thinking the Russian autocrat is a great peacemaker on the world stage. Costas ran a video montage to bring viewers up to speed on the Russian president as the Olympic Winter Games began in Sochi, Russia. For a minute, NBC looked an awful lot like a Russian propaganda network — at least in how it portrayed Putin as a leader in the international arena. “Just in the past year, Putin brokered a deal to allow...