Saturday, August 20, 2016

These Hockey Players Are The First Same-Sex Married Couple To Make It To An Olympic Final

Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh will took on the Netherlands together as part of England's field hockey team.
From: NewNowNext
Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh made history tonight when they faced off against the Netherlands in the Olympic field hockey finals. The women are the first same-sex married couple to ever make it to an Olympic final together.


Kate and Helen first became the first same-sex couple to not only play on the same Olympic team, medal together, when they took home bronze for Great Britain at the London Games in 2012.

The following year, they got married decided and took a break from field hockey. While they weren’t initially planning to come back for the 2016 Rio Games, they couldn’t resist.

“It would be really special [to win gold]. We’ve been through ups and downs,” Kate told the Sun.

“I would really love to go out with a bang and stand on top of that podium and sing the national anthem and be one of those people.”


The duo have always wanted their relationship to be seen as something normal. “We’re not out there shouting it, it’s just part and parcel of who we are,” Kate said.

“It was definitely a conscious decision [to come out],” Helen added. “If you are really open about it, people say, ‘Why do you make such a big deal about it?’…[but] if you don’t mention it, you could be seen as hiding it, which we didn’t want either.”

Though they might’ve been concerned about how the public would react when they first came out, Helen and Kate have said the response from the global LGBT community has made it worthwhile.

“Those messages we get from time to time have made it really pleasing that we have been so open,” Helen said. “When people say ‘you’ve helped me come out to my parents or deal with my own sexuality’ it’s really powerful.”

The ladies took the field alongside their teammates in the final match against the Netherlands this afternoon, won the Gold, 
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Argentina's Men's Rugby Team Was Going for Gold in Rio

From: Wicked Gay
 Argentina's men's rugby team has been training hard and hoped to win gold in Rio.

The U.S. men’s Olympic rugby team began its nearly century-old defense of its Olympic gold medal by splitting their first two games of the 2016 Games.


 The squad lost its first pool match on the final play against Argentina, which won 17-14. But the Americans rebounded later in the day with a 26-0 rout of Brazil in the second game.

Madison Hughes recorded six points in the win over Brazil.


 The U.S. men’s rugby team is the defending Olympic champions — even though that last gold medal came nearly a century ago. Argentina has stated that the USA is THE team to beat.

Of course, we are team USA, we couldn't pass up an opportunity to show off some prime Argentinian beef!


Check out the boys from Argentina staying in tip top shape in Rio below:
A video posted by Union Argentina de Rugby (@unionargentina) on


A video posted by Union Argentina de Rugby (@unionargentina) on

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Former "Big Brother" house guest and future porn star Will Wikle gave Trina a run for her money.



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Austin Armacost posed nude with a pack of cigarettes


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Nigel March


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Bad ass out Tongan swimmer Amini Fonua remained the gift that keeps on giving—







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Over a dozen LGBTI Olympians have barely missed out on medals in Rio

About a dozen LGBTI Olympians have barely missed out on an Olympic medal in Rio finishing in the top 10, some of them finishing fourth.
From: OutSports
Larissa Franca Maestrini came within a set of a bronze medal.
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
While we don't yet know the final medal count for Team LGBTI, we do know that there are tons of out Olympians with top-10 finishes who barely missed out on a medal.

German discus thrower Nadine Müller finished sixth in her event with a distance of 63.13 meters.

British speed walker Tom Bosworth finished sixth in the men's 20km walk, posting a personal best of 1:20.13

Kelly Griffon and Jillion Potter of Team USA finished fifth in the women's sevens rugby tournament.

The Brazilian womens' handball team, with goalkeeper Mayssa Pessoa, lost in the quarterfinals to the Netherlands, 32-23.

The American women's soccer team also lost in the quarterfinals of their tournament, 2-1, to Sweden.

Brazilian beach volleyball player Larissa França came oh-so-close to a bronze medal, losing to the American team in the bronze-medal match, 2-1.

Partners Edward Gal and Hans Peter Minderhoud and the Netherlands finished fourth in team dressage.

Eefje Muskens of the Netherlands lost to South Korean, 2-1, in the quarterfinals of doubles badminton.

American Ashley Nee made it to the semifinals of the women's kayak singles, while Great Britain's Fiona Pennie finished sixth overall in the event.

Cyclist  Linda Villumsen of New Zealand finished sixth overall in the women's time trial.
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Out Olympian Amini Fonua Thanked The Rio Volunteers In The Best Possible Way

One of the bravest athletes competing in Rio is also one of the sweetest.
From: NewNowNext
Out Tongan swimmer Amini Fonua spread cheer around the Olympic Village in Rio yesterday, handing out ice cream to the volunteers who’ve worked so tirelessly to keep things running there.

“This is how we do in Tonga, show our appreciation to the workers with ice cream,” he said, handing an ice cream bar over to a volunteer maintaining the tennis courts.
A photo posted by Amini Fonua (@aminifonua) on

Said Fonua: “We love you Brazil, we love the volunteers. Thank you for all the hard work you’re doing; some of us appreciate what you do for us. So we give you ice cream— the easiest way to make friends is with ice cream.”

Walking away in search of another volunteer, Fonua added: “It’s hot, and he needed an ice cream. And a thank you.”


Fonua is one of the bravest athletes competing at the Olympics in 2016, representing Tonga even though homosexuality is illegal and punishable by up to ten years in prison there.

He first made headlines in 2013 when he came out as gay at conservative Texas A&M University, and again last week when he publicly condemned the Daily Beast’s infamous Olympic Grindr article, which was taken down after critics — including Fonua — pointed out that it potentially outed closeted LGBT athletes from homophobic countries.

He’s also a pretty incredible Instagrammer. Check out more of his finest work below:


A photo posted by Amini Fonua (@aminifonua) on

A photo posted by Amini Fonua (@aminifonua) on

A photo posted by Amini Fonua (@aminifonua) on

A photo posted by Amini Fonua (@aminifonua) on

A photo posted by Amini Fonua (@aminifonua) on



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Out British boxer Nicola Adams wins Olympic gold medal

She becomes a repeat gold medalist after winning in London.
From: OutSports
Nicola Adams, an openly bisexual boxer from Britain, won the gold medal today in the women's flyweight division at the Rio Olympics. It was her second consecutive boxing gold after winning the title in London in 2012.

"The gold rush continues," Adams told the BBC. "I'm now officially the most accomplished amateur boxer Great Britain has ever had. I can't believe it."

Adams, from Leeds, has won Olympic, European and Commonwealth golds and now becomes the first Briton to defend her Olympic crown since middleweight Harry Mallin in 1924.

Adams, 33, won by unanimous decision over  Sarah Ourahmoune of France.

In an interview earlier this year with the Huffington Post, she was openly proud about being an out athlete and that she never hid her sexuality.

"I didn't really come out kinda thing, I was just me, and it was just kind of accepted I guess - I just wanted that to be one part of me, it's not everything I do and at the end of the day I'm a sports player, I'm an athlete, and that's just one part of me."
"I get tweets and messages all the time saying by seeing you coming out it has helped me come out as well and I think I was just being myself," she tells HuffPost UK.

Adams is the second publicly out gay, lesbian or bisexual athlete to win an individual gold in Rio, joining Brazilian judo athlete Rafaela Silva.  There are 53 out athletescompeting at the Olympics.
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A Look Back At Pre-Lochte Olympic Scandals

From: Queerty
Ryan Lochte may be one of the best swimmers in the world, and one of the worst thugs, but he’s only mediocre when it comes to generating Olympic scandals. The event has a long, tawdry history of making the world gasp in shock, raise its collective eyebrows, and grab its pearls. Someone at E! just compiled a lurid collection of some of the strangest scandals and it’s an absolute must read for anyone who loves drama and dirt.

Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding are of course top of mind — you may be old enough to recall the weird situation when Harding arranged to have someone hit Kerrigan’s legs before the games. Alas, the hit man wasn’t as good as Harding hoped, and Nancy wound up winning silver. Tonya is banned from the professional figure skating organization for the rest of her life.

Then there’s Lance Armstrong with the whole drug-taking issue, along with Marion Jones, and Yulia Efimova who is alleged to have done the same. Tommie Smith and John Carlos delivered black-power salutes back in the 60s, and were banned. And various Olympic officials took bribes throughout the late 90s (and probably for much more time) by people hoping their city would be selected for the games.

But of course the dark past of the Olympics goes much further back. Prior to the rise of Hitler, Germany was a fairly accepting place for LGBTQs, and sent gay Olympian Otto Pelzer to compete in 1928. Rather than working for the Nazis, he was arrested for homosexuality and imprisoned at a concentration camp for years. Following the war, he fled to India, coached there for several years, then died of a heart attack in 1970.
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Lesbian Olympian Wins Silver In Rio, Faces Hatred At Home

Javelin thrower Sunette Viljoen says she will fight for oppressed LGBT people "till my hands are stubs."
From: NewNowNext
 Sunette Viljoen is an Olympic champion: On Thursday, the South African javelin thrower earned a silver medal in Rio, launching her projectile 64.92 meters, or more than 212 feet.

What’s more, she used to be a world-class cricketer, representing South Africa in the 2000 World Cup.


 But while her countrymen are celebrating her victory, the out track-and-field star has been met with pain and rejection from her family.

Earlier this summer, Viljoen, 32, posted on Facebook that her brother had slapped her in the face in a disagreement over her sexuality.

“God help me‚” Viljoen wrote. “My brother has just lifted his hands to me again… [and] slapped me through the face.”

In the same post she revealed that her father struck her four years ago over the same issue.


 Olympians rely heavily on the love and support of their families to get them to the Games, but Viljoen’s family has ostracized her. The stress and heartbreak has taken its toll.

“It is a month before the Olympic Games and I know the Devil is trying to work through other people to make me take my eye off God and the finish line,” she said of the incident with her brother.

But after coming in fourth place at the 2012 Games in London, Viljoen rededicated herself. She credited her girlfriend, TV news presenter LiMari Louw, with being her rock.


LiMari knows me inside out and she knows exactly what to say and when to say it‚ how to handle and how to see situations,” she told TMG Sport in 2015. “She’s literally my psychologist.”

Not an activist by nature, Viljoen is sharing her story to help others facing the same “hell.”

“I’m speaking out for every person out there who is being broken emotionally or physically over who they love,” she wrote in the July post.

“I will fight for you till my hands are stubs and dedicate my Olympic year to you.”

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19 out LGBTI athletes have won Olympic medals so far in Rio

We'll track the medal count for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex athletes competing at the Summer Olympics in Rio.
From: OutSports
We're keeping track of the medal count for Team LGBTI, as though they were competing together as a country. We are counting anyone who is out publicly, or comes out publicly during the Games, as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex.

In 2012, about 40% of the publicly out LGBTI athletes won medals, as Team LGBTI did very well for itself at the Summer Olympics in London.

With so many athletes participating in track & field, soccer and basketball, the final medal count will be expected to increase in week two of the Olympic Games. Still, our athletes are holding their own early on.

Gold Medals

Nicola Adams
Great Britain
Boxing
51kg weight class
Beat France's Sarah Ourahmoune, 3-0, in gold-medal match

Kate Richardson-Walsh 
Helen Richardson-Walsh 
Susannah Townsend
Great Britain
Field hockey
Won gold by beating defending-champ Netherlands in shootout

Rafaela Silva
Brazil
Judo
Women's 57kg
Won first gold medal for Brazil and Team LGBTI

Silver Medals

Lisa Dahlkvist
Nilla Fischer
Hedvig Lindahl 
Caroline Seger
Sweden
Soccer
Fell to Germany, 2-1, in the gold medal match after beating USA and Brazil

Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel 
Maartje Paumen
Netherlands
Field Hockey
Lost to Great Britain in a shootout

Sunette Viljoen
South Africa
Track & Field
Javelin
Barely edged out third and fourth place for silver

Rachele Bruni
Italy
Swimming
10km
Dedicated her medal to her "beloved"

Carl Hester
Great Britain
Dressage
Team Dressage
Hester also won gold in team dressage in London

Spencer Wilton
Great Britain
Dressage
Team Dressage
This is Wilton's first Olympic medal

Bronze Medals

Stephanie Labbe 
Marie-Eve Nault
Canada
Soccer
Canadian soccer team beat Brazil, 2-1, for bronze

Tom Daley
Great Britain
Diving 
Men's synchronized 10-meter platform 
Edged out German duo on last dive for bronze

Jen Kish
Canada
Rugby
Women's sevens 
Beat Great Britain, 33-10, to win bronze; Lost semifinal match, 5-0
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Are you tuning in ? Men's Water Polo Gold Medal Match on soon

From: Speed o Rex


It's truly an exciting quadrennial happening.  The Olympic Water Polo gold medal is on the line today!


 *************************************
2016 Olympic Water Polo Gold Medal Match
Saturday, August 20
Croatia vs. Serbia
4:45 PM Eastern, NBC
*************************************





 ... plus Luka Bukić of Croatia at the ready.  His team will be defending their Olympic title today against a somewhat favored Serbian team.  It should make for plenty of
chills and spills.





Name
Luka Bukić

Date of Birth
April 30, 1994 (Taurus)

Hometown
Zagreb, Croatia

Height/Weight 
6'5"/198 lbs

Sport
Water Polo

Position
Driver
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The Daily Show Finds Out If Trump Supporters Would Pass ‘Extreme Vetting’ Gay Rights Test

From: Towleroad
The Daily Show correspondent Jordan Klepper went to a Donald Trump rally to find out if Trump supporters would pass the “extreme vetting” that Trump proposed for immigrants coming to the U.S.

As previously reported, Donald Trump says Muslim immigrants must be able to prove that they support equal rights for women and gays in order to be allowed in to the country.

But is support for equal rights for women and gays even popular among Republicans?

Klepper put Trump-ers to the test. He asked one man to finish this sentence: “Gay marriage is ________.” His answer? “Disgusting.” “Actually the answer is legal in the United States,” Klepper responded. To which the man retorted, “It’s legal but I don’t like it.”

Another woman said gay couples shouldn’t have the same rights as heterosexual couples. “I don’t think it’s fair,” she said. “The regular couple they worked so hard. And the gay couple wants more.” Klepper interjected, “When you say more, do you mean equal?” “Yeah,” she answered.

And it turns out, Trump rallies aren’t exactly bastions of feminist support. Or just clear-headed thinking in general.

Watch, below.
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Ryan Lochte Apologizes For Not Being More ‘Careful’ and ‘Candid’

From: Towleroad
US Swimmer Ryan Lochte publicly apologized for not having been more “careful” and “candid” in his description of events that happened late at night at a gas station in Rio de Janeiro.

As previously reported, Lochte claimed that he and his teammates were robbed at gunpoint by criminals disguised as police officers and that a gun was cocked and aimed at his forehead. He later revised the specifics of that story.

Local police investigated Lochte’s claims and found no evidence to corroborate his version of events. Police then indicated that Lochte and his teammates vandalized a gas station bathroom and urinated on the floor.

Lochte still insists that the incident ended with a gun being pointed at him.

Read Lochte’s apology in full, which he posted on Instagram, below:

I want to apologize for my behavior last weekend — for not being more careful and candid in how I described the events of that early morning and for my role in taking the focus away from the many athletes fulfilling their dreams of participating in the Olympics. I waited to share these thoughts until it was confirmed that the legal situation was addressed and it was clear that my teammates would be arriving home safely.
It’s traumatic to be out late with your friends in a foreign country – with a language barrier – and have a stranger point a gun at you and demand money to let you leave, but regardless of the behavior of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that am sorry to my teammates, my fans, my fellow competitors, my sponsors, and the hosts of this great event. I am very proud to represent my country in Olympic competition and this was a situation that could and should have been avoided. I accept responsibility for my role in this happening and have learned some valuable lessons.
I am grateful for my USA Swimming teammates and the USOC, and appreciate all of the effort of the IOC, the Rio ’16 Host Committee, and the people of Brazil who welcomed us to Rio and worked so hard to make sure that these Olympic Games provided a lifetime of great new memories. There has already been too much said and too many valuable resourced dedicated to what happened last weekend, so I hope we spend our time celebrating the great stories and performances of these Games and look ahead to celebrating future successes.

A photo posted by Ryanlochte (@ryanlochte) on
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‘I Am Cait’ Gets The Axe Plus 8 Other Queer Reality Shows That Everyone Hated

From: Queerty
 Break out the fiddles. I Am Cait, the E! reality series that followed Caitlyn Jenner on her journey of self-discovery, has officially been canned due to shockingly low ratings.

The show’s first season, which premiered last summer, started out strong. Reviews and ratings were favorable, and the show even picked up the Outstanding Reality Program award at the 27th GLAAD Media Awards. But as time progressed, and as Jenner regularly started making gaffes about how Hillary Clinton “couldn’t care less about women” and Donald Trump “would be very good for women’s issues,” she quickly fell out of people’s good graces.

“It’s time for the next adventure,” the 66-year-old said this week, before thanking “the best girlfriends I could ask for!” Given Jenner’s vocal support of Trump and his anti-LGTBQ Republican friends, however, we can’t help but wonder if her girlfriends feel the same way.

Scroll down for eight more queer reality TV shows that everyone hated…


 Boy Meets Boy

This 2003 reality series by Bravo centered around James, a gay man who got to go on dates with and choose from 15 potential male suitors. But, as is often the case in these sorts of things, there was a twist. The suitors were mix gay guys and straight guys, and James didn’t know which was which! The show lasted a whopping six episodes before being canceled.




 Carson Nation

This 2011 docu-series produced by OWN followed Carson Kressley of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame as he traveled to various sad small towns across the America selecting “deserving individuals,” including a soldier’s daughter, a 45-year-old male virgin, and a woman dying of cancer, who he felt needed makeovers. It should come as no surprise the series only survived six episodes.

 Playing It Straight

This 2004 FOX reality series, which ran for a total of eight excruciating episodes, involved a heterosexual woman and a bunch of dudes all forced to live together on ranch. Her challenge? Guess which of the guys were gay and which were straight. The woman would watch them participate in group activities, observing their vocal inflections and mannerisms, then vote off the ones she believed were homosexuals. Nothing homophobic about that, right?

 The Glee Project

We usually love everything Ryan Murphy does, but his 2011 foray into reality TV proved that sometimes even he makes mistakes. The talent show served as a sort of competition/audition for teeny boppers hoping to land a spot on Glee. Ryan and Glee‘s casting director, Robert Ulrich, would judge the contestants on their singing and dancing abilities. The show limped along for two seasons before being quietly yanked off the air.

 Gay, Straight Or Taken?

This short-lived 2007 reality series by Lifetime involved a female contestant going on a poolside group date with three men. There was a catch, of course. One of the men was straight but in a relationship, another was gay and in a relationship, and the third was straight, single and ready to mingle. The woman had to guess which was which. If she picked correctly, she won a trip.


 Tacky House

This 2009 reality series by the Style network starred former Queer Eye design guru Thom Filicia, who would go around and redo the homes of people who had gone overboard on a theme. He was supposed to turn their houses “from gaudy to glorious,” but he usually just succeeded in turning them from gaudy to slightly less gaudy. The show met its untimely death after just one season.

 Queer Eye For The Straight Girl

In 2005, Bravo hoped to recapture the success of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy by switching up the formula. The makeover show involved three flamboyant gay guys and a bossy lesbian who called themselves the “Gal Pals” and would help clueless straight women improve their looks in hopes of finding their Prince Charming. Needless to say, the show bombed and was canceled after 13 unlucky episodes.

Jacob and Joshua: Nemesis Rising

Who wouldn’t want to watch two douchey identical gay twins from Montana form a crappy pop duo called Nemesis then embark on a journey seeking fame and fortune? Turns out, a lot of people. The 2006 reality series by Logo bombed so bad that the network didn’t even air the final episode on TV. Instead it was made available online only… where still nobody watched it.
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#THINKIN


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Celebrating Today August 20th

Happy Birthday Today To:
From:  Favorite Hunks & Other Things
 Actress Amy Adams turns 42 today.

 Adorable Ben Barnes turns 35 today.









Ahh, poor Mr. Pinciotti! Don Stark turns 63 today.
 Fred Durst turns 46 today.



 The great actress Joan Allen turns 60 today.
 I had a massive crush on 'Gary' from Thirtysomething. Peter Horton turns 63 today.











I loved Ray Wise on Twin Peaks, Ray turns 69 today.
 Left and below from his days on Dallas.




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