Marion Jones speaks out about her jail time.

Saying she will focus on efforts to help children learn from her mistakes, recently released Olympian Marion Jones gave her first interview to Oprah Winfrey since being stripped of five Olympic medals and serving several months of jail time for lying in court about using steroids. Once the world’s most famous woman sprinter, Jones still insists she didn’t knowingly take performance-enhancing drugs, believing they were a diet supplement. “I’m trying to move on,” she told Winfrey. “I hope that everybody else can move on, too.” Asked about her lowest moment while jailed, Jones said “so many things to count.” She concluded that missing the birthdays of both her 5- and 1-year-old sons topped the list. Jones wept as she read a letter she’d written to the boys while incarcerated. But she expressed a new pleasure at having people deal with her as a non-sports heroine. “I appreciate, so much, the little things,” Jones added. “I am energized by this next chapter.”

USA men’s and women’s basketball teams come out on top
Both USA basketball teams are gold medal winners following the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Lisa Leslie became the first basketball player to earn four golds as the women beat Australia this past weekend. Meanwhile, LeBron James backed up his promise of a gold for the men – and likely shed his embarrassing nickname from past Olympics competition, “LeBronze.” The men defeated defending champion Spain. The 2012 Olympics are set to take place in London.

Men’s basketball team could take top spot in Beijing Sunday. The “Redeem Team” could finally live up to its nickname on Sunday. But first, the men’s basketball players representing the United States at the Beijing Olympics will have to take down defending champion Argentina tonight. Argentina beat the USA in the 2004 Olympics semi-finals. If the men win against the South American ballers tonight, they’ll move on to Sunday’s gold-medal match-up. It would be the team’s first gold in international competition since 2000.

Two of Dallas’ pro athletes try their hand at beach volleyball.
Brandon Bass, Adam “Pacman” Jones compete for charity. Dallas Mavericks forward Brandon Bass will team up with recent Dallas Cowboys recruit Adam “Pacman” Jones next month for a celebrity charity event. Bass and Jones will host the First Annual Celebrity Volleyball Beach Battle Sept. 13. Several other Mavericks will also compete in the tournament, which pairs a celebrity with four fans on each team. The cost of all that fun in the sun? A meager $2,500 per team, with proceeds going to the Brandon Bass Reach Back Foundation.

World Lens – Storm batters the Dominican Republic; Usain Bolt sprints to gold; Cubans celebrate Castro’s birthday. See the pics at World Lens.
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Usain Bolt wins 200-meter semi-final in Beijing Olympics.
Sprinter could take first double since Carl Lewis. World-record-setting 100-meter runner Usain Bolt can become the first to win a double in the 100 and 200 sprints since 1984. Bolt beat out the USA’s Shawn Crawford in Tuesday’s 200-meter semi-final with some observers saying he actually slowed down toward the end. It was enough to beat Crawford, the defending 200 champ, by .03 seconds. Legendary USA Olympian Carl Lewis was the last sprinter to win both the 100 and 200 over 20 years ago. Bolt is favored to repeat Lewis’ feat.

U.S. favorites fall in 400-meter and 100-meter hurdles. United States track and field stars Sanya Richards and Lolo Jones struggled in their respective events and failed to capture medals. Which American athlete benefited from Jones’ mishap? Find out more at BET.com’s Olympics ‘08.

Cleveland’s Edwards still sidelined after sock sprint. NFL wide receiver Braylon Edwards could miss a second pre-season game as he continues recovering from a gash in his foot that he suffered while running in his socks. Edwards hasn’t returned to the Browns line-up since he took stitches for the injury he suffered while racing teammate Donté Stallworth after a recent practice. Stallworth accidentally stepped on Edwards’ foot with his cleats, causing Edwards to spend a night in the hospital. He’ll likely be fully recovered in time for the regular season, says Cleveland’s management.

Sisters snatch gold medal for tennis doubles.

Venus and Serena Williams have proved they’re twice as nice after being eliminated from Olympics singles competition last week. The sisters captured a gold medal in the doubles tournament on Sunday after beating Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-2, 6-0. “I’m so excited, I can’t even speak,” Venus says. “To share this kind of moment with your sister, it never grows old.”

Shaq cancels plans for divorce

Weeks after a Memorial Day weekend photo showed Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O’Neal and his wife Shaunie lounging together on vacation, the couple confirms that they’ll remain together. Shaq filed for divorce last September, calling the marriage “irretrievably broken.” And this spring, he famously rapped about his ex-Laker teammate, saying, “Kobe ratted me out, that’s why I’m gettin’ divorced.” But rumors of Shaq’s infidelity or of Shaunie’s abuse of his paychecks are no longer a factor, Mrs. O’Neal says. “Neither one of us could probably answer why we were getting (divorced) in the first place,” she observes. “Things have been going so great that someone actually had to remind us that ‘Hey, you do remember those papers are still there.’ Literally, it was days ago. So, we’ve agreed that before we leave Florida in a few days we’ll make sure that that’s gone away.”

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Michael Vick’s estate suffers as he serves time

A bankruptcy judge may appoint a trustee to oversee ex-NFL star Michael Vick’s estate while the suspended player serves prison time for financing an illegal dog-fighting ring. A Sept. 5 hearing could determine how the former Falcon’s property will be handled. “It has become clear, since the filing of this case, that Mr. Vick has very limited knowledge of the state of his finances,” wrote bankruptcy Judge Frank Santoro. “…It appears that Mr. Vick has routinely relied upon others to make financial decisions for him, giving them discretionary control over large sums of money.” Vick filed for bankruptcy protection July 7. A former advisor to Vick was recently accused of hustling a church out of $500,000.

U.S. Olympians have a tough weekend in Beijing. The U.S. men’s track and field team had a less than stellar weekend on the track, capped off by Tyson Gay failing to qualify for the 100-meters final. Did the U.S. women fare any better? See more of our coverage at BET.com’s Olympics ‘08.

Sisters are knocked out of Olympics singles, Blake advances.

Not only won’t Venus and Serena Williams have a one-on-one title rematch in the Olympics, neither will compete for a medal. After saying earlier this week that a tennis singles showdown to follow their Wimbledon face-off would be “fantastic,” Venus and her sister both lost quarter-finals match-ups Thursday in Beijing. Venus, who won Wimbledon, fell to China’s Li Na, while Serena lost to Russia’s Elena Dementieva. The sisters can still capture a gold in doubles competition as they did at the 2000 Games in Sydney. While the siblings were upset, James Blake did some upsetting when he beat Roger Federer in straight sets. Blake moves on, leaving Federer two titles shy of Pete Sampras’ record of 12.

Venus, Serena could have Wimbledon rematch at Olympics

Venus and Serena Williams could face-off on a world stage for the second time this year. The sisters, who not long ago battled to a Wimbledon title confrontation which Venus won, are on track to possibly meet again Saturday in a singles tennis final at the Beijing Olympics. The pair won in both singles and doubles play Tuesday, with Serena beating Australia’s Samantha Stosur and Venus defeating Iveta Benesova. The Williams duo joined to beat Benesova and Nicole Vaidisova, both of the Czech Republic. Venus says she’s excited about the potential for a title rematch against her younger sibling: “That would be fantastic. Obviously, it’s a long ways away, but the third round makes it closer. I’m really excited for both of us to be playing really well for the U.S.”

Golf champ will spend five more months recuperating

Tiger Woods fans will have to wait until 2009 to see him dominate on the golf course again “As far as swinging a club, that’s not going to happen until next year,” Woods announced in a Tuesday newsletter to readers of his tigerwoods.com Web site. He’ll spend five more months recovering from knee surgery. “I just don’t have a choice,” he wrote. “We simply don’t know what type of swelling there would be or if there would be any residual effects the next day, once you start wheeling and dealing on the knee. Everyone’s body reacts differently. I could putt right now, but I’m not going to do it.” There’s sure to be plenty of competition for Tiger’s crown as king of the game during his absence.

Vikings’ safety Williams out for early season. Minnesota’s Madieu Williams has been sidelined for at least six weeks with a neck injury. The West African-born free agent acquisition suffered from spasms last week, but wouldn’t discuss the nature of his ailment. “I’m not allowed to discuss the condition of my injuries,” Williams tells the Star Tribune newspaper. He began with the Vikings after leaving the Bengals for a $33 million, six-year deal during the off-season.

Togo gets its first Olympic medal ever

Togo, a country in West Africa, recently won its first medal ever in an Olympic event, reports the BBC. Benjamin Boukpeti (above) took home the bronze medal in the men’s single kayak slalom in Beijing. He was so excited about the win that he broke his paddle in half. “I can hardly believe it, but I’m not surprised,” he said. Aside from earning his nation’s first Olympic medal, Boukpeti also became the first male kayaker to win an Olympic slalom medal who is not European. After the race he hugged and kissed his parents (his mother is French, his father Togolese). Alexander Grimm, from Germany, won gold and France’s Fabien Lefevre – who was originally picked to win it all – won silver. But the day belonged to Boukpeti. “This is unexpected; it is a good surprise for Togo. It is more than a beautiful surprise because many Togolese are not aware of this sport’s discipline,” said Cornelius Aidam, Togo’s minister for communication, culture and civic education.

Food shortage is affecting thousands in northern Kenya. A critical food shortage in northern Kenya is leaving tens of thousands at risk, reports the Integrated Regional Information Networks. Affected are areas in Baringo and East Pokot, which are in Kenya’s north Rift, according to a charity official. “There is an acute food shortage and the situation has been rated as alarming,” said Anthony Mwangi, the public relations manager with Kenya’s Red Cross Society (KRCS). Skyrocketing food prices, as well as a lack of rain leading, are to blame for the food crisis. In addition, the nation’s livestock is not selling as well as it used to due to the poor health of the animals. “The livestock are in poor condition and are fetching low prices in the markets,” he said. The shortage is affecting almost 100,000 thousand people in total (at least 64,000 in East Pokot and 32,000 in Baringo). During the shortage many youths (at least 5 percent) have been missing school. “They are staying behind to support their parents,” Mwangi said. Some starving residents have had to eat wild fruits and rodents. The Kenya Red Cross Society has stepped in to help, distributing 1,246 tons of food and food materials to those affected, Mwangi said.