UPDATE -  Looks like both Werder Bremen and Schalke have both decided to let Diego and Rafinha stay in China.

WTF is going on?

As our DP brother Ives already hipped you to, the Court of Arbitration of Sport ruled that clubs (ie. Barcelona, Shalke04 and Werder Bremen are the main clubs in the mess as they’re about to start Champions League Qualifiers) may hold out and / or recall players under contract back from China and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

This ruling goes against everything FIFA supposedly wanted, with Sepp Blatter citing the regard for the Olympic spirit being the most important thing for clubs, coaches and management to remember.

According to CAS Secretary General Matthieu Reebut the ruling was made because the Olympics are not set on FIFA’s Match Calendar as the main reason the 3 person panel ruled in favor of clubs.

Looking back at the original statements from the clubs and from FIFA, ones got to wonder if FIFA knew this was the way the chips were going to fall all along as it sure seemed like the clubs were confidant of the final ruling all along and Blatter was reduced to using the word “Spirit”. And in the bigger scheme of things, will FIFA ever make a change to it’s calendar considering you know the starting dates of the Olympics will never change.

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UPDATE - First days results are on the books.

Norway 2, United States 0

Japan 2, New Zealand 2

Brazil 0, Germany 0

Canada 2, Argentina 1

North Korea 1, Nigeria 0

China 2, Sweden 1

via WNT Blog

Aug. 6 vs. Norway
Venue: Qinhuangdao

Broadcast Start Time
MSNBC (7:30 a.m. ET)
Universal HD (7:30 a.m. ET) - Replay at 8 p.m. ET and 10:30 p.m. ET
NBC Olympic Soccer Channel (7:30 a.m. ET)

Referee: Nicole Petignat (SUI)
Asst. Referee: Cristini Cini (ITA)
Asst. Referee: Karine Vives Solana (FRA)

No Wambach, Osborne or Whitehill and the same ref that ejected Shannon Boxx in the 2007 World Cup Semi-Final when the US were down 2-nil to Brazil in Extra Time and Christiane ran into Boxx’s legs.

Video of the Red Card after the jump….

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These two Brazilian synchronized swimmers and part-time models are bringing the sizzle to Beijing.

Check their video after the Jump… 

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U.S. Men’s Olympic Soccer Team TV Schedule:

Aug. 7 vs. Japan Venue: Tianjin
MSNBC 4:55 a.m. ET
Universal HD 4:55 a.m. ET
NBC Olympic Soccer Channel 5 a.m. ET

Aug. 10 vs. Netherlands Venue: Tianjin
USA Network 7:30 a.m. ET
NBC Olympic Soccer Channel 7:30 a.m. ET

Aug. 13 vs. Nigeria Venue: Beijing (Workers’)
USA Network 5 a.m. ET
NBC Olympic Soccer Channel 5 a.m. ET

Predicted Lineup after the Jump…

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The Olympics are finally set to jump off this week, so what better time for Nike to release their USA sneaker pack. Conisiting of the Delta Force Low, Rejuven8, and Blazer High all with a red, white and navy colorway. Glad to see that the Blazer High’s made it into this pack. Keep an eye out for these at select retailers. More pics after the jump.

[Via Hypebeast]

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With Nike and adidas grabbing all the attention they can get, rivals Puma have been relatively quiet on the whole Olympics front. But they have just stepped up their game and put themselves in the mix with the release of these collectible vinyl toys. They might not have a sneaker in every medal color, but these vinyl toys are a cool attempt to do something different.

[Via Hypebeast]

The Olympics isn’t just about the spirit of competition, but about nations and athletes coming together. To be an Olympian…

Image via LATimes

Dara Torres, 41, Swimmer, Team USA.

Those are some abs…!

Image via NYTimes