Best & Worst of the Olympics

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Olympics Best/WorstWORST: LondonWORST: The musical pairing the world was not waiting forGymnasticsAlicia Sacramone not winningAnd tonight on NBC another Michael Phelps interviewNBC justifying its late-night coverageWORST: Mary Carillo getting acupunctureBEST: Airline reading material for the OlympicsBest sportswear debateWorst SportsmanshipRock 'n' roll gymnastsTape becomes fashionableWORST: Chinas retro-heavy American soundtrackBEST: A butter-sculpted Shawn JohnsonBEST: Bela Karolyi. More Bela Karolyi.Alicia SacramoneThe Spanish basketball controversyNBCs Olympic coveragePandasNBCs interview with Michael Phelps momOlympics - Opening CeremonyChellsie Memmels comebackKerri WalshGeorge W. Bush, Misty May Treanor, Kerri WalshKobe Bryant / Kazakhstan's Olympic TeamSwimmingNBC's unapologetic tabloid angle in a profile of French swimmer Laure Manaudou was a new low.Politicizing the OlympicsOlympics media coverageMariel Zagunis and Sada JacobsonDara TorresMorgan FreemanThe new Lara CroftThe Chinese gymnastics team

By Denise Martin, <i>Special to the Times</i>, Todd Martens and Sheigh Crabtree, <i>Los Angeles Times staff writers</i><br>
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With the Olympics having given us two weeks of nonstop sports, it was hard not to get caught up in some of the drama, even for the less-athletically inclined. Michael Phelps' quest for eight gold medals was a week's worth of tension, and the American female gymnasts took part in a near epic battle with Team China.<br>
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And new questions arose just as the Olympics began. For instance, could the president of the United States escape Beijing without slapping the bare back of a volleyball player?<br>
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OK, so the last one probably wasnt on anyones mind before the Olympics started, nor did anyone anticipate the role Morgan Freeman would play in this years Games.<br>
<br>
Morgan Freeman? Thats right. Here are the best and worst of the Games, from a more pop-culturally inclined perspective (read: nothing thats going to irritate our <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/olympics_blog/">sports bloggers</a> too much).

Olympics Best/Worst

( US Presswire )

By Denise Martin, Special to the Times, Todd Martens and Sheigh Crabtree, Los Angeles Times staff writers

With the Olympics having given us two weeks of nonstop sports, it was hard not to get caught up in some of the drama, even for the less-athletically inclined. Michael Phelps' quest for eight gold medals was a week's worth of tension, and the American female gymnasts took part in a near epic battle with Team China.

And new questions arose just as the Olympics began. For instance, could the president of the United States escape Beijing without slapping the bare back of a volleyball player?

OK, so the last one probably wasnt on anyones mind before the Olympics started, nor did anyone anticipate the role Morgan Freeman would play in this years Games.

Morgan Freeman? Thats right. Here are the best and worst of the Games, from a more pop-culturally inclined perspective (read: nothing thats going to irritate our sports bloggers too much).

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