Back Porch International Olympics

Stephen Colbert announced -- in case you missed it or thought it was fake like his Republican-y shtick-- on Monday night that Colbert Nation would become the new primary sponsor of the US speedskating team for the Winter Olympics.

Colbert jumped in because, as is happening all over the country, the former main sponsor for the speedskating team, DSB Bank NV, a bank of sorts, had to back out of their sponsorship. (Oddly, banks aren't doing well right now in this fantastic financial time.)

But you know who apparently is doing well? Colbert Nation -- Stephen announced on Tuesday night's show that, despite Canadian hackers allegedly going after the donation link, on the first evening of sponsorship, his viewers had raised over $40,000 (!!) to back up the speedskating team. Moving picture happy funtime after the jump.

U.S. Freestyle Ski Team aerialist Emily Cook hasn't had the best Olympic experiences. After making the 2002 team, she severely broke both her feet while training just two weeks before the opening ceremony, and was forced to watch the Games in a wheelchair.

While there was some serious doubt as to whether she would ever ski again following the injury, Cook made it all the way back to the 2006 Games, but finished in 19th place.

Now, the 30-year-old native of Boston is gearing up for what could be her final Olympic Games, and strongly believes that her previous obstacles have fully prepared her for a medal run in 2010. FanHouse spoke to Cook about overcoming her career-threatening injury and what she needs to do to break the U.S. women's 12-year medal drought. The full interview is below.

The 2010 Vancouver Olympics are three months off, and yesterday we got our first glimpse at the newly designed medals. First impressions? Well, they're different. Very different. So different, in fact, that people aren't quite sure what to make of the look.

(More photos after the jump.)

Chicago won't be hosting the 2016 Olympics, but that doesn't mean we can't celebrate its candidacy. Sure, the city was eliminated from consideration in the first round of voting Friday, a distant fourth to eventual winner Rio de Janeiro. But that shouldn't take away from the possibilities of what almost was.

And what better way for supporters to commemorate the Second City status (now on the world stage!) than to don one of these stylish, limited edition Chicago 2016 Candidate City tee shirts.

(Photo evidence after the jump)

Apparently, being an Olympian at the tender young age of 14 doesn't preclude one from incensing the pathetic bullies of the world. Tom Daley, a 14-year-old diver from England -- who finished seventh in Beijing and is planning on diving in the 2012 London games -- has been virtually forced to change schools due to being excessively bullied.

Daley was attending Eggbuckland Community College, until finally having to say enough is enough. Though it began that way, this wasn't simply verbal harrassment.

Caleb Campbell, the 6-foot-1, 230-pound Army safety who the Detroit Lions selected in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft, is currently training with the U.S. bobsled team in an effort to make the 2010 Winter Olympics team. It's quite the change of careers for Campbell, who had his NFL dream yanked out from under him at the last possible moment in July of 2008.

The Army's decision to reverse course and require Campbell to report for service, despite having implemented a 2005 exemption penalty, ignited a firestorm of debate. Now Campbell is training in Lake Placid, N.Y., while stationed at West Point. He has a new dream -- making the Olympic team.

While the military won't allow Campbell to pursue a career in the NFL until late 2010, they do have a policy in place that allows would-be Olympians to pursue their training as part of their military commitment. After being contacted by a member of the U.S. bobsledding team in July of 2008, Campbell has thrown himself into the training and pronounces himself in the best shape of his life. "Some days, it hurts to get out of bed," he says.

The Jaked J01 swimsuit was temporarily banned by FINA (the International Swimming Federation) earlier this year because it supposedly gave swimmers an unfair competitive advantage. Recently, it's been the subject of talk of an entirely different sort, as an ill-located tear in the suit forced Italian Olympic swimmer Flavia Zoccari to sit out of a championship race.

At the Mediterranean Games on Wednesday, Zoccari (right) was forced to stand down from competition after the back hinge of the bathing suit tore, leaving a large portion of Zoccari's backside exposed.

Jaked, the manufacturers of the suit, boast that the J01 is "more than skin," but in Zoccari's case all it did was show more skin.

Zoccari, who was flooded with tears of embarrassment after the mishap, later apologized for the incident.

The above video, courtesy of The Onion, is an obviously satirical news report about gymnast Shawn Johnson, comparing her to a racehorse and saying that her parents decided to put her down after she suffered a knee injury. Just so we're clear, Shawn Johnson is not dead.

Usain Bolt is the fastest man in the world at 100 meters and the fastest man in the world at 200 meters, so it's not like anyone doubted that he's also the fastest man in the world at 150 meters. But just to prove the obvious, Bolt ran in a 150-meter race over the weekend, and he ran the fastest time ever recorded.

A new study on the global reach of the 2008 Summer Olympics reveals that the opening ceremony at the Bird's Nest Stadium became the first television broadcast ever to reach 1 billion people around the world.