Summer Olympics

Just when you thought there couldn't be a bigger forum for Kendrick Lamar to continue his feud with Drake, the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles are only a few years away.

Casey Wasserman, who's the chairman of the organizing committee for the 2028 Games, told the Associated Press' Graham Dunbar fans can expect to see Lamar in the festivities.

"Fortunately in my day job I represent Kendrick Lamar," Wasserman said. "He is truly an LA icon so I think it would be a pretty fair bet that Kendrick will be involved in the Olympics in Los Angeles in some way."

Lamar is at the height of his fame right now. He took home five Grammys on Feb. 2 and then a week later had an average of 133.5 million people watch his performance in the Super Bowl LIX halftime show.

A lot can change between now and the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Even assuming the beef between Kendrick and Drake continues to simmer, it may not have the cultural relevancy it does now. It's tough to top having tens of thousands of people inside Caesars Superdome singing along to "Not Like Us."

Still, Lamar is likely to remain a headline act when the Los Angeles Games roll around. In addition, his ties to the city make him a natural candidate to include the opening ceremony or have serve in an ambassadorial role.

Boxing won't be exiting the Summer Olympics program for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said Monday the IOC's executive board affirmed boxing's status moving forward and that he's "very confident" it will receive full approval.

"I am very confident that the session will approve it so that all the boxers of the world then have certainty that they can participate in the Olympic Games L.A. 2028 if their national federation is recognized by World Boxing," Bach told reporters.

This comes a few weeks after the IOC gave provisional recognition to World Boxing as the sport's governing body.

Leading up to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the IOC formally severed ties with the International Boxing Association, citing concerns over the IBA's management and sporting integrity.

This past summer and for the 2021 Games in Tokyo, the IOC managed the logistics and qualifying procedures for the boxing competitions. Now, those duties will fall to World Boxing.

World Boxing itself resulted from individual federations breaking away from the IBA to form an entirely new organization in April 2023.

Boxing's history at the Olympics dates back to 1904, and the 1912 Games were the last time it was excluded from the full program.

The United States owns more boxing medals (118) than any other country, but Uzbekistan has emerged as the ascendant power. Since 2016, nine gold medalists have hailed from the central Asian nation.

Uzbekistan joined World Boxing in November to ensure it could compete in 2028.

After winning the 60-meter final at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on Sunday, Noah Lyles had a message for Miami Dolphins star receiver Tyreek Hill.

Lyles celebrated his victory by pulling out a note that said, "Tyreek could never," and holding it over his face:

Both Lyles and Hill had challenged each other to a race following Lyles' success at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Lyles reiterated his desire to get a date set for their marquee one-on-one matchup.

"When you're ready to actually put some words down and you're actually ready to race, see me," Lyles said of Hill, per Nick Zaccardi of NBC Sports. "I'm right here. I ain't going nowhere. But all I know is, your football season's over. You ain't got no excuse now."

Hill later posted a response to Lyles, laughing off his call-out without indicating if he's interested in a race or not:

Per Zaccardi, Hill competed in his first track meet in nine years at the 2023 USA Track and Field Masters Indoor Championships and ran a 6.70 in the 60m. Lyles' personal best is 6.43.

Hill and Lyles would surely draw a massive audience if they were to meet for a race, and the ball is now in Hill's court to answer Sunday's challenge.

The International Olympic Committee plans to replace the 10 medals swimmer Gary Hall Jr. lost when his home was destroyed in the California wildfires last week.

IOC president Thomas Bach issued a statement regarding the matter on Sunday per USA Today's Tom Schad.

"We are in full solidarity with the citizens of Los Angeles and full of admiration for the tireless work of the firefighters and the security forces," Bach said. "Currently the full focus must be on the fight against the fires and the protection of the people and property."

Hall, 50, competed for America from 1996 to 2004, winning five gold medals, three silvers and two bronzes between the Atlanta Games, Sydney Games and Athens Games.

According to The Los Angeles Times' Chuck Schilken, Hall fled his house in Pacific Palisades, California, last week, taking with him only his Type 1 diabetes, a painting of his grandfather and a religious artifact. He said he planned to retrieve his medals but didn't have time.

"I was getting pelted by embers on that first run," Hall said. "So I grabbed my dog and some dog food, and that was it."

While Hall won't have the exact medals he lost in the tragic fires, he'll at least get to have a keepsake to remember his accomplishments from the Olympics thanks to the IOC.

The Rose Bowl Operating Company announced plans for a multi-year revitalization of the stadium on Monday, via Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger.

The upgrades include field-level club seats, a new scoreboard and fan connectivity as well as bowl seating improvements. The enhancements cost $80 million and the project is expected to be finished ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, per Front Office Sports.

Jens Weiden, the CEO of the Rose Bowl Operating Company, revealed that six of the eight planned projects for the 102-year-old venue have already been fully funded or completed during the announcement.

"Thanks to the leadership of the Rose Bowl Operating Company Board of Directors and due to the tireless efforts of the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation Board and Advisory Boards, the Rose Bowl Stadium has never been better positioned to thrive," Weiden said. "These investments will help ensure that we remain one of the most dynamic football, soccer, concert and festival venues in the world."

The eight major upgrades are expected to be completed in two phases, with the first phase aiming to wrap up in 2026 and Phase II beginning after the 2028 Olympic Games.

Phase I includes a marquee sign improvement, seating bowl sound system replacement, an east side safe-standing section, gas and water infrastructure refurbishment, stadium cellular service enhancement and an end zone field club.

The second phase will include extensive improvements to bowl seating as well as the installation of a state-of-art videoboard. Phase I will cost approximately $30-$35 million and Phase II is expected to cost $45-$50 million, per the project's official website.

In the meantime, the Rose Bowl will host a quarterfinal matchup in the College Football Playoff on Jan. 1.

Legendary sprinter Michael Johnson's upstart track and field league officially landed a major addition on Tuesday.

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas signed with Grand Slam Track and will compete in the league's four Slam weekends in 2025.

"I am so excited to be joining Grand Slam Track, and partnering with Michael Johnson to give our sport the platform it deserves," Thomas said in a release. "Coming off of the Olympics, I want to continue testing myself and competing at the highest level against the fastest women in the world. Grand Slam Track allows us that chance in 2025. Michael's vision is incredibly exciting, and I can't wait to give the millions of track fans around the world even more chances to watch us compete. I look forward to seeing all of our fans at the four Slams next year."

Thomas was one of the biggest stars of the Paris Olympics this past summer after winning gold in the 200-meter sprint and the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. The 27-year-old also owns a silver medal and a bronze medal from the Tokyo Olympics.

"This is an incredibly exciting day for all of us at Grand Slam Track," Johnson said. "Gabby was unquestionably one of the biggest superstars to come out of Paris, and for us to bring her excellence, exceptional speed, and tenacious competitive spirit to our league is a huge moment for us. What's even more important is that this ensures fans around the world will get to see Gabby compete against the fastest women in the world four times a year at our Slams."

Grand Slam Track will host its first event on April 4-6 in Kingston, Jamaica. A total of $12.6 million in prize money will be awarded at the four slams each year.

United States track star Christian Coleman is willing to race IShowSpeed, or train with him, after the social media star ran the 50m dash against Noah Lyles and posted a respectable finish against the Olympics superstar.

"I mean, I guess," Coleman told TMZ Sports, smirking, when asked if he would be interested in racing IShowSpeed himself. "If he wanted to. But my thing is with these type of situations, what do I get from this? As long as it's in good spirit, and we're prompting the sport and it's a healthy respect. As long as nobody, or him especially, feels like this is a serious thing. ... I'd be down, just for entertainment factor, but what do I get from that? He's clearly not faster than Noah."

Coleman did acknowledge that Speed was an impressive athlete who would easily beat the average person in a race.

YouTube stars performing in sporting events that are more spectacle than the pinnacle of their event—see the Paul brothers—has become all the rage. Speed put up a respectable showing against Lyles, but it remained clear that the Olympic champion was a cut above.

Team USA gymnastics star Jordan Chiles has not given up on her effort to reclaim the Olympic medal that was stripped from her following a controversial ruling.

"It's hard to tell yourself everything is going to be fine when we literally didn't do anything wrong. Everything was in the time that it needed to be," Chiles said during an appearance on NBC's TODAY show, her first live TV interview discussing the situation. "For them to come back and say it was four seconds too late when we have proof … I can only control what my truth is and I know that we were right."

Chiles was awarded the bronze medal in the floor exercise at the Paris Olympics after her coach Cecile Landi pointed out a mistake the judges made when determining the degree of difficulty for part of her routine, correcting her score.

However, on the last day of the Paris Games, the International Olympic Committee announced that it would adhere to a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling that Landi missed the one-minute deadline to protest the score by four seconds, dropping Chiles back to fifth place. The bronze medal was awarded to 18-year-old Romanian Ana Bărbosu.

Chiles said she still physically has the medal, but she is fighting to have the official results changed back. She has pursued legal avenues with her lawyers to have the medal returned, and she said there is video evidence that Landi made the scoring inquiry within the 60-second window. The 23-year-old explained why the medal is so important to her.

"It was like a cherry on top. My redemption tour going into Paris was 'Yes.' Coming back with a gold, coming back with the understanding that I was able to go out there and be the best version of myself," she said. "With this floor medal it was like 'Wow, I never expected myself to make a floor final.' Plus it was an all Black podium. That was history being made. I was very glad to be a part of."

Chiles added that she has not yet considered whether she will compete in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

"LA is in and out of my mind. I think right now, I'm just trying to take in what's happened from Paris and just take day by day," she said.

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Olympic gold-medal sprinter Noah Lyles defeated YouTuber Speed in their 50-meter race on Wednesday, with $100,000 on the line for charity.

Lyles clearly throttled down in the final 10 meters and let his form get goofy for laughs, keeping the contest close despite protestations from Speed that he won.

After the race, Lyles offered Speed the chance to train with him and race again after a week, but in the 100 meters this time. That, of course, is the race where Lyles won the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Games.

Raygun's breakdancing performances at the Paris Olympics will be her last.

The Australian breakdancer announced Wednesday she will no longer compete in the sport after receiving backlash from her performance in the Olympics.

"I'm not going to compete anymore, no," she told 2DayFM (h/t ESPN). "I was going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems really difficult for me to do now to approach a battle. Yeah, I mean I still dance, and I still break. But, you know, that's like in my living room with my partner. It's been really upsetting. I just didn't have any control over how people saw me or who I was."

As breakdancing made its Olympic debut in Paris over the summer, Raygun quickly became the face of the sport, but not exactly for the reasons she hoped. Moves like her signature kangaroo bounce were the subject of memes and jokes on social media throughout the Olympics.

There were also theories that Raygun made her way to the Olympics illegitimately as an online petition accusing her of manipulating the qualification procedure received 50,000 signatures, per ESPN. The Australian Olympic Committee requested the removal of the petition and refuted a claim that her husband and coach, Samuel Free, was involved in her selection.

"The conspiracy theories were totally wild," she said. "But I just try and stay on the positives and that's what gets me through.

"The people that have like [said], 'You have inspired me to go out there and do something that I've been too shy to do. You've brought joy, you've brought laughter. You know, we're so proud of you.'"

Despite attracting some fans at the Paris Olympics, breaking will not be a part of the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, a decision made before the sport debuted in Paris.

"It was disappointing that it was decided before we'd even had a chance to show it so I think that was possibly a little premature," Rachael Gunn said in August. "I wonder if they're kicking themselves now, particularly because they've got some great American breakers who could totally be on the podium. But it's not the end for breaking, the breaking culture is so strong."

As Raygun's Olympic breaking career comes to an end, so does the sport at the Games, at least for now.

There's still a chance it could be one of the events included in the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, Australia as sports are often added and dropped between Games.