FIFA rates Nigeria as third worst football Developing Country

Nigeria's self-proclaimed development in football has been slammed by FIFA which ranks the country as the third worst soccer developing nation in the world.

Nigeria Is Africa's Third Best At London 2012 Paralympic Games

As the 2012 Paralympic Games rounded off in London on Sunday, no fewer than 10 African countries made the medals table, winning a total of 112 medals over the 11 days of the Games, Aug. 29 to Sept . 9.

Nigeria: Dollar Rain for Country's Paralympic Medallists

The Team Nigeria London 2012 Paralympic Games medallists have been momentarily rewarded with cash donations in London for their outstanding performance and lifting the image of the country high during the games.

Armstrong to Lose Seven Tour de France Titles, Gets Life Ban

Armstrong says won't fight charges; will lose 7  titles

Seven-time Tour de France championLance Armstrong said on Thursday he would no longer fight doping charges by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which said it would strip him of his titles and ban him from competitive cycling.

6 Most Romantic Places In London (PHOTOS)

www.yourtango.com:

In honor of the summer Olympics, YourTango is taking you on a tour London's best hotspots for love.

Michael Phelps facing possible fine and a loss of medals after posing for Louis Vuitton

Yahoo news is reporting that Olympic swimming champion, Michael Phelps, could be in trouble for his recent photo shoot with French luxury fashion house - Louis Vuitton.

DRC Missing Athlete is on “holiday”

With only four athletes for the 2012 Olympic games in London, the Democratic Republic of Congo had nothing much to show to the world. But right after the closing ceremony last Sunday, the country became the subject of headlines in mainstream media all over the world. What happened? Cedric Mandembo, a judoka who competed in the +100kg category, boxing Coach Blaise Bekwa, national athletics technical director Guy Nkita and judo coach Ibula Masengo could not be traced by both the head of the country's National Olympic Committee, Amos Mbayo Kitenge and London organizing committee officials.

Olympics: Closing ceremony review

The Spice Girls perform during the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium August 12, 2012.

LONDON -- With a little British pomp and a lot of British pop, London brought the curtain down on a glorious Olympic Games on Sunday in a spectacular, technicolour pageant of landmarks, lightshows and lots of fun.

The closing ceremony offered a sensory blast including rock 'n' roll rickshaws, dustbin percussionists, an exploding yellow car and a marching band in red tunics and bearskin hats. It was all delivered in a psychedelic mashup that had 80,000 fans at Olympic Stadium stomping, cheering and singing along. Organizers estimated 300 million or more were watching around the world.

London 2012 basketball: U.S. beats Spain for gold in thrilling game

Team U.S.A. with their gold medals after defeating Spain in the mens basketball final at the  London 2012 Olympics

LONDON—Kevin Durant scored 30 points, LeBron James added 19 and the U.S. men's basketball team defended its Olympic title, holding off stubborn Spain 107-100 on Sunday for the gold medal — just as the Americans did in 2008.

Kobe Bryant added 17 for the U.S., which only led by one point after three quarters and was ahead just 97-91 when James drove the lane for a thunderous dunk and followed a miss by Spain with a three-pointer.

In the final minute, U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski, in his final international game, took out his top stars who came to London determined to keep American basketball on top. When the final horn sounded, Krzyzewski locked James in a tight embrace as Bruce Springsteen's “Born In The USA” rocked the arena.

Pau Gasol scored 24 and Juan-Carlos Navarro had 21 for Spain, which had to settle for silver in the second straight Olympics.

Why Team Nigeria Failed at London Olympics – Minister of Sports

We haven't won even one medal so far! And we all know why, but let's hear what the Minister of Sports and Chairman, National Sports Commission, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, has to say! :-). Full text of his speech yesterday Thursday August 9 at the Nigeria House in Stratford, London

London 2012 football: Canada beats France to win bronze

Team Canada celebrates their 1-0 victory over France in the bronze medal soccer match at the London 2012 games.

It will be remembered as the greatest moment in Canadian women’s soccer history, an improbable goal in extra time that has given the country an Olympic bronze medal.

Diana Matheson scored in extra time to give Canada a 1-0 win over France here Thursday afternoon to set off a raucous celebration of a team a nation has grown to love.

After fighting off the physical and mental fatigue during a difficult week under intense pressure — to say nothing of a second half entirely dominated by the French — the women won Canada’s first medal in a traditional team sport since 1936.

Against the run of play, Canada launched a full-out attack into the French box in the 92nd minute. Sophie Schmidt’s shot hit a French leg and bounced back to Matheson who made no mistake on the shot.

It was an incredible end to an incredible week for the women, who lost a heart-breaking semi-final to the United States, 4-3 in extra time, marked by dubious officiating.

And then it was the French, who had soundly beaten Canada 4-0 at last year’s World Cup, who took over a listless game in the second half and had several chances to break through.

They had taken one shot off the post, one off the bar and one off, it appeared, the face of Canadian goalkeeper Erin McLeod in a desperate attempt to score.

But with extra time looming, and Canada obviously exhausted, Matheson and Schmidt combined for the historic goal.

“I feel amazing,” Matheson told CTV moments after her winning goal.

“We thought as a group we’d earn this medal and we did. Our goal coming in was to be on the podium and that’s what we were focusing on (not the U.S. result).”

Matheson also felt the bronze medal will boost interest in women’s soccer across Canada, and set up Canada’s role as host of the 2015 World Cup.

“We came in (to Olympics) wanting to leave a legacy for Canadian soccer and we did that.”

The New York Times profiles Nigeria’s brave basketball Olympics team

Bruised and Beaten, but Nigerians Are Unbowed

By Greg Bishop

LONDON — The buzzer sounded the end of the fairy tale, and the Nigerian team limped off the court in slow motion, unwilling, unable to let go. As they filed into the tunnel, the crowd stood in unison and cheered the team they call D’Tigers.

Tony Skinn, the Nigerian point guard who went to George Mason University, wound up in a hospital, having surgery for a torn quadriceps Monday.

D’Tigers lost against on Monday, this time to France, standing ovation notwithstanding. To their list of firsts — first Olympics appearance, first Olympics victory — they had added something less historic: their first Olympic exit.

London 2012: Seven Cameroon athletes go missing

YAOUNDE—Seven Cameroon athletes have disappeared while in Britain for the London Olympics, the 

Ministry of Sports and Physical Education said on Monday evening.

The seven—five boxers, a swimmer and a soccer player—are suspected of having left to stay in Europe for economic reasons.

“What began as rumour has finally turned out to be true. Seven Cameroonian athletes who participated at the 2012 London Olympic Games have disappeared from the Olympic Village,” David Ojong, the mission head said in a message sent to the ministry.

London 2012: Usain Bolt wins gold in the men’s 100 metres at the London Games

LONDON—Usain Bolt wins gold in the men’s 100 metres at the London Games.

Bolt joined Carl Lewis as only the second man to go back-to-back in track's biggest race. Bolt's training partner and fellow Jamaican, Yohan Blake, finished second in 9.75. American Justin Gatlin took bronze in 9.79.

Bolt fell shy of his world record of 9.58 seconds but improved on the 9.69 he ran four years ago in Beijing to enter his name, once again, in the Olympic record book.

After taking half a victory lap around the track, he stopped, kissed the track and gave his now-famous "To The World" pose, pointing both fingers in the air while the fans screamed.

NBC: 'No Offense Was Intended' By Commercial That Played After Gabby Douglas Win

NBC apologized for the timing of one of its commercials that featured a monkey on the Olympic rings. The commercial was promoting NBC’s upcoming sitcom “Animal Practice” and it aired immediately after Bob Costas discussed Gabby Douglas’ gold-medal winning effort in the women’s all-around gymnastics. You can see the awkward segue below:

NBC says no offense was intended by a poorly timed promotional ad featuring a monkey on gymnastics rings that aired on the network directly following a commentary by Bob Costas on Gabby Douglas' gold medal inspiring other African-American girls to take up the sport.

Lithuanian who gave Nazi salute against Nigeria fined

Nigeria’s basketball team D’Tigers lost the match against Lithuania but there is something to cheer up their fans outside the court. In another type of court it was full points for the pride of the country.

A Lithuanian man who gave a Nazi salute during the match between both countries has become the first person to be convicted of a racially aggravated offence at the Games and fined £2,500. He was told that his behaviour and that of other Lithuanian fans was “despicable”.

Team USA Basketball Vs. Nigeria: Preview.

The Team USA Men's Basketball team look to continue their unbeaten run in the 2012 Olympics this afternoon when they face Nigeria at 5:15pm eastern time on NBC Sports Network. The US are overwhelming 42 point favorites in the game.

The Nigerians are the 21st ranked team in the world according to FIBA while the US is #1, but that doesn't even fully illustrate the gap between the two. The US has complied 852 points in the FIBA ranking system while Nigeria has just 67.6. The Americans are coming off a game against Tunisia in which they won by 47, yet failed to cover the spread. In fact, Tunisia even took the lead on 3 separate occasions.

150,000 Condoms Handed Out To Olympic Athletes

Ready for some exercise: 15, 000 condoms have been made available to the athletes during the games

You'd think they might want to save their energy but it seems that Olympic athletes will be working up more of a sweat off the field than they will on it this Summer. In a sign of what the world's fittest sportsmen and women get up to in the Olympic village, a record 150,000 free condoms - 15 for each competitor - have been made available to them.

Pictures of Nigeria's delegation and other Pan-African teams Majesty and Regalia at 2012 London Olympics

BEHOLD THE MAJESTY AND REGALIA OF PAN-AFRICAN TEAMS AT THE 2012 LONDON OLYMPICS!

 

 

Algeria's flag bearer Abdelhafid Benchabla

 

Angola

 

Nigerian basketball team win first Olympic game

The Nigerian basketball team this morning won their first game at the 2012 London Olympics, making the basketball team the first in Nigerian sporting history to win a match at the Olympics. They beat Tunisia 60-56 and need just one more win to get through to the next round. With this win, D’Tigers has become the first basketball team in Nigeria’s sporting history to win a match at the Olympics. 

The team needs just one more win to get through to the next round. Go team Nigeria!