Gymnastics and basketball may get the most attention, but here’s what to expect from our favorite sports.

Sheila Taormina (pronounced Tar-meena), 39, is already making history even before competing at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing for which she has qualified in pentathlon. She is the only woman in Olympic history to qualify for the Olympic Games in three different sports. In 1996, she competed as a swimmer winning a gold medal in the 800m freestyle relay. Then in 2000 (6th place finish) and 2004 (23rd place), she competed in triathlon. Now, in 2008, she will compete in the unique sport of pentathlon that is comprised of five disciplines: running, swimming, shooting, fencing and equestrian.

It’s a scary world out there, and I’m not talking about handguns. The world’s ice caps and glaciers are melting faster than predicted. The level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is above the “safe” level and rising. Some leading scientists are warning that we are getting dangerously close to a climate “tipping point” where no matter what we do to curb global warming there’ll be no reversing the rise in temperatures for a century or so. 

Astana Cycling Team General Manager Johan Bruyneel announced that nine riders have re-signed for the 2009 season.  Assan Bazayev, Chris Horner, Maxim Iglinskiy, Andreas Klöden, Steve Morabito, Dmitriy Muravyev, Daniel Navarro, Gregory Rast and Michael Schär have recommitted their services to Team Astana and will rejoin a formidable team that includes 2008 Giro d’Italia Champion Alberto Contador and two-time Tour of California winner Levi Leipheimer.

How a mining town survived a mining bust with a brutal race, changing the course of history 100 miles at a time.

Photos courtesy of Dan Kapke and the Leadville Trail 100.

Hills. Heat. Injuries. Bad nutritional decisions. Flat tires. Getting old. Tough competition. There are plenty of things that stand between you and your arrival at the finish line. But there’s a silent, invisible foe that most of us don’t think about. And it could prove to be your biggest challenge ever.

As triathlons explode in popularity and the recent Ironman USA in Lake Placid, N.Y., sold out in under an hour, the new Westchester Toughman Half Ironman in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., will satisfy the niche for the ultimate challenge.  The event, scheduled Sept. 21, 2008, is the first half-Ironman in Westchester County and the only half-Ironman open to registration within a four-hour radius.

June 21. This is the summer I finally whip my body into optimal shape. My goal is to average running 40 miles per week and then celebrate my summer of discipline by entering either the Adirondack Marathon or the Boulder Backroads Marathon on September 21. I would start running today but I don’t want to miss this afternoon’s Rachel Ray Show. Rach is hatching up a special summer recipe for Sloppy Joes.

Last May my friend Scott mentioned that while on the Internet he had stumbled across a 203-mile race called the Texas Independence Relay. He wanted to know if we were going to do it. Of course, I said. We like to run, and so do our friends, so why wouldn't we? 

Kenny Johnson was one of the stars of FX’s The Shield until a grenade sent him down for the count in the finale of the fifth season. The former world-class arm wrestler went blow for blow with Bob Babbitt on The Competitors Radio Show (www.competitorradio.com) to talk about his new project, as a detective on TNT’s Saving Grace, and his training for a possible upcoming movie roll on the life of boxer Jerry Quarry.

Transcribed by Kurt Munz