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NBC’s coverage of the opening ceremony for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Friday scored a 16.5 rating in metered-market households, down 28 percent from London 2012 and marking the lowest overnight number since Barcelona 1992 (which also mustered a 16.5).

In the hills that hug Maracana Stadium, many Brazilians saw the flash and glitz of the opening ceremony for the Olympics from rooftops with exposed wiring and water pipes, amid trash-filled streets separated from the spectacle by a highway and train tracks. Mangueira is but one of the thousand favelas in Rio de Janeiro, a slum marred by gang violence and poverty that sits squarely in the shadow of the pageantry of South America's first Olympic Games. In this neighborhood of tattered homes, the next two weeks are a visceral reminder of the lines dividing the city's haves and have-nots,...

Sustainability, the Brazilian resourcefulness trait of gambiarra and smiling were the designated themes of the globally aimed Opening Ceremonies of the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. By that criteria, NBC’s time-delayed coverage tonight barely got a bronze medal with less than qualifying pacing, insipid and sometimes questionable commentary, unimaginative production, and way too many ads that resulted in the amazing feat of turning a Brazilian celebration into a bit of a bore. Far closer to real time than the last several Olympic openers and considering all that could have gone wrong with this relatively low-budget affair in the socially and politically...

Just days after he was released by the Baltimore Ravens in what could be an NFL career-ending transaction comes more sad news with Trent Richardson. The former No. 3 overall pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2012 told ESPN’s Shelley Smith on “E:60” that his family and friends spent $1.6 million of his money in a period between January 2015 and October in 2015.

NBC is interrupting the coverage of the opening ceremonies ever few minutes for at least three minutes of really BAD advertisements. But then the opening ceremonies are pretty bad themselves. . . among the worst of the modern era. How many of our Fellow Freepers are finding this as off-putting as I am? Then the Brazilians used it for a huge propaganda push for the dire consequences of Global Warming, not even "Climate Change!" Good Grief. . . Comments?

Dion Leonard was ready to run 155 miles across four deserts in China for seven days. He wasn’t ready for a puppy companion to join him along the way. The stray puppy, who has since been named Gobi, was nearby when the 2016 Gobi March 4 Deserts race started off on June 19. She decided to join in and lasted the full 22 miles of the first day, and Leonard said he noticed her hanging around the runners’ camp. “On day two, I was at the start line for the race stage and she was standing next to me looking...

Los Angeles Clippers star and former University of Oklahoma basketball standout Blake Griffin drew big laughs with his stand-up comedy routine in Montreal. Last week, Griffin performed at 10-minute set at Montreal’s Just For Laughs comedy festival. During his set, Griffin opened up about his NBA experiences, including his feelings on post-game interviews and the first time he went to a strip club with his teammates. Warning: Video contains graphic language. Viewer discretion is advised.

Pele apologized for disappointing BraziliansPele says his poor health will keep him from lighting the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics. In a statement on Friday, the 75-year-old soccer great says "I'm not physically able to attend the opening of the Olympics."

<p>Rio officials reportedly had to force their way into the Olympic Stadium Wednesday after misplacing the keys to one of the main entrances, causing hours in delays.</p> <p>Ms. Carneiro filmed three men she described as “firemen” using a pair of bolt cutters to break the lock on the gate.</p>

A request to the athletic department by ratadeacero 5h "From a friend's FB wall. 'There was a time when athletics was put in the proper perspective at Baylor. See attached my late father's response to the athletic department's request for a "little help" back in the 80s. I found a draft of this letter when we were cleaning out his office and was able to confirm it was sent.' "

Donald Trump says he should play President Barack Obama in a golf match to determine the next President of the United States during his rally speech in Daytona Beach, Florida. https://youtu.be/Sd5W7d7b8cA

The College Football Czar: 2016 Season Preview a sports publication from The Shinbone by Daniel Clark Welcome to the 2016 season preview issue of The College Football Czar, a seasonal sports publication by the author and editor of The Shinbone. In the coming months, you will find weekly analyses of upcoming college football action posted at this site. To find out more, please see the Ground Rules. This issue contains the Czar's rankings for all 128 teams in Division I-A football, as well as conference preview capsules, potential upsets to watch for, bowl projections, and a guide to help you...

Tennis ace Serena Williams is twerking towards Olympic glory in Rio.The tennis champion has released a new instructional dance video ahead of the Brazilian games in which she teaches fans how to dance - and twerk. In the video, she runs through different moves including a warm up, a transition and then a 'basic shake' in which she wiggles her bottom.But Williams appears to be a big fan of the final move, the twerk. 'Everyone, at some point, should do a twerk,' she says in the videoShe said people should bend their knees, get low, keep their tummy and back...

"This was truly a dream come true for me. I can't thank the people at CCI and Speer enough for allowing me to do this. I couldn't possibly show everything that went on at the factory. However, hopefully I showed you enough for you to grasp the concept of how rimfire is made."

<p>RIO DE JANEIRO - Michael Phelps has been selected as the United States’ flag bearer in his fifth, and final, Olympics.</p> <p>The legendary swimmer was selected by a vote of U.S. athletes.</p> <p>Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time with 22 medals, is the second swimmer to serve as flag bearer after Gary Hall did so in Montreal in 1976. Opening ceremonies are on Friday.</p>

Amber Hill considers herself a ‘typically girly teenager’ with a penchant for pink. Until, that is, she picks up a 12-bore shotgun and shoots clays out of the sky with the kind of accuracy that has her ranked among the favourites for a gold medal at the Olympics. She does have personalised pink cartridges and the £8,000 gun she calls her ‘baby’ is decorated in eye-catching shades of orange and black. She even reveals an ambition to perhaps become a beauty therapist one day, having completed a course before her focus had to shift exclusively to Rio.

The Associated Press, which operates the longest-running college football poll, published a top 25 Tuesday that ranks the nation’s best programs over the poll’s 80-year existence (1936). The No. 1 team? It’s Ohio State, the program that has been ranked in the poll for more weeks than any other team (852), including the most at No. 1 (105). Michigan (No. 7), Michigan State (No. 19), Wisconsin (No. 24) and Iowa (No. 25) also land on the list, as do current Big Ten members Nebraska (No. 6) and Penn State (No. 12), both of which experienced their best years pre-Big Ten....

Drivers in Rio de Janeiro were facing gridlock as the dedicated Olympic Lanes came into use - and brought cars across the city to a standstill. Over 100 miles of special traffic lanes set aside for the transportation of Olympic athletes and staff began to operate on Sunday. Motorists face fines and points on their licence if they stray into the lanes, which connect all the Olympic zones.

When Chicago bid in 2009 to host this year’s summer Olympics, President Obama supported the effort and dismissed critics. “I mean, who’s against the Olympics?” he asked. As it turned out, plenty of people were—including, ultimately, the International Olympic Committee—and nearly seven years later, Chicagoans should be glad about it. While the games that start this week in Rio de Janeiro are already turning out to be a financial and public relations calamity for the Brazilian city, Chicago’s own woes have multiplied since 2009. The Olympics would have been an unimaginable burden to the hard-pressed Windy City.

A journalist has revealed the 'unfinished' conditions inside his room at the Rio Olympics media village, with a hole in the wall gushing a stream of water for the shower. New Zealand Newshub reporter Jeff McTainsh uploaded footage of the shocking conditions at 12pm on Monday, Brazil-time. 'You would have heard a lot about things being unfinished for this Olympics ... well the bathroom I'm standing in is a perfect example of that, let me show you,' he said.