The Olympics' history are filled with obscure and bizarre sports that were once part of the Games like tug of war, roller hockey and live pigeon shooting. This means that just about any minor event is subject to cancellation every four years.

The New York Times talked to five sports and media experts and asked them which events they would least like to see at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Olympic historian David Wallechinsky, the president of the International Society of Olympic Historians, suggested that the IOC get rid of boxing. He believes it is unworthy of Olympic status because of its convoluted scoring system, athlete eligibility requirements and "the corruption and incompetence of the referees and the judges."

Slate's June Thomas suggested getting rid of tennis. She feels the famous faces that compete in the sport such as Roger Federer and Serena Williams have taken away the spotlight from its less famous athletes.

Actor and comedian Harry Shearer gets my vote in this debate. He wants to get rid of synchronized swimming, a ridiculous sport he knows intimately thanks to the hilarious sketch that he and Martin Short did for "Saturday Night Live".

Plus, any sport that produces a face this horrific deserves more than just expulsion from the Games. It deserves an apology to the universe. I can still see it when I shut my eyes.

Photo: Peter Gridley, Photographer's Choice RF/Getty Images

Kobe Bryant blew up in the second half of the US's quarterfinals win over Australia on Wednesday scoring all 20 points after intermission. What was his reward for the stellar performance? A drug test.

Marc Berman of the New York Post reported on Friday morning that Bryant was chosen to take the mandatory random drug test after the game and was unable to ride back to the hotel with his teammates.

Bryant confirmed after the US's semifinals win over Argentina that he was selected for the drug test the previous game.

"That was not cool," Bryant told NBC's Craig Sager. "I didn't have to go, so I had to sit around for a couple hours until I had to go. I probably drank about 10 bottles of water."

The good news is that after Wednesday's drug test, Bryant may be off the hook for future tests.

"It's not my test tonight," said Bryant, "so I'm good."

Before the Olympics began, Grant Hill said the members of 1996 Olympics team tried avoiding being the leading scorer so they wouldn't have to be drug tested. Now we understand why. But as we've learned, the real enemy at the Olympics in terms of drug tests aren't PEDs, but this.

H/T Complex

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Nearly everything has been going perfectly for Gabby Douglas, who won the gold medal in the individual women's all-around gymnastics and team competition at the London Games. But there is one thing that isn't working out as she hoped -- her celebrity crush.

On Wednesday, Douglas shared with US Weekly 25 things that most people don't know about her. Number 20 on the list was that actor Ian Somerhalder is her celebrity crush.

Somerhalder, who stars on "The Vampire Diaries," and the rest of the show's cast filmed a message expressing their support of Douglas after learning that she was a fan of the show:

"All of us are big fans of you," Somerhalder says in the video, before later blowing her a kiss.

The video must have made Gabby's day ... until she found out the bad news that Somerhalder is dating his co-star on the show, Nina Dobrev.

Little details like that won't stand in Douglas' way of locking down her favorite man, however.

"I'll show him my gold medal. You never know!" she jokingly told US Weekly.

Douglas is hoping to meet the cast when she returns home to the states.

"It's amazing and to think I'm part of their little group now is so cool!" Douglas told Us. "They tweeted at me. You know you've finally made it when the stars are tweeting at you. They're backing me up."

She's also hoping to meet Oprah Winfrey, Holly Robinson Peete, and Chilli.

Between Douglas receiving a message from her favorite show's cast, Missy Franklin hearing from Justin Bieber, and Michael Phelps exchanging tweets with his favorite rappers, we're seeing that the Olympics are connecting athletes and celebrities on a regular basis. That's just one of the rewards for the athletes after spending years training for competition.

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If the Olympic Village is truly as sex-infested as everyone claims it is, it’s probably safe to assume Lolo Jones doesn’t partake in the festivities. Unless you have been living in a cave for the past few months, you are well aware that Jones is one of the world’s most famous virgins. At 30 years of age, she says keeping her viriginity has been harder than training for the Olympics but is something she takes pride in. However, Jones insists she is not the only one not doing any fooling around in the Olympic Village.

While she could be just covering for them, Lolo said she has not seen any hooking up going on between her track and field teammates and others in the Village.

“I’m in a suite with seven girls, and I guess we don’t have any sluts on the team,” Jones said, according to USA TODAY Sports. “I haven’t seen any hookups. I’m sure it’s going on, though, but I haven’t heard any juicy details yet.”

Fair enough. If you believe Hope Solo, it’s definitely going on and there are definitely plenty of juicy details. Ryan Lochte said something similar to Lolo about not knowing of any crazy sex stories, but there is a reason it becomes big news when unauthorized batches of condoms make their way into the dorms. Sex in the Olympic Village is a big business. Just ask Durex — the official condom of the London Olympics.

With the Olympics coming to a close, Lolo also reiterated that she would still like to meet Tim Tebow.

“You always think you’re the last virgin on earth,” she explained. “I respect his journey, and any virgin I just love talking to them and sharing the journey and the frustration.”

Here’s hoping Mr. Right comes along shortly and Jones can put an end to that frustration.

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Here's video from Thursday's quarterfinals for men's BMX. As per usual in the sport, the race got out to a feverish, congested start. But that changed drastically after the first turn, where everybody but one person was involved in a crash. France's Joris Daudet attempted to get the inside lane but in doing so bumped into American David Herman, causing both riders to take a spill.

That led to a comical pileup with five other racers. Everyone was OK and continued racing. The lone rider unscathed by the wreck was New Zealand's Marc Willers, who cruised to a win that couldn't have come any easier.

Some say the Olympics are about the spirit of competition and overcoming challenges to achieve greatness. I say the Games stand for something bigger than that. They are about coming together with our loved ones to create memories that will last a lifetime. Of course, some family members can't take the time or expense to go to the Games in person. 

One family from Australia faced just such a problem, according to the Australian Broadcasting Company. 

Former Olympic athlete George Avery of Australia competed in the London Games in 1948 and wanted to attend the 2012 Games with his daughters. Unfortunately, he passed away a couple of years ago. 

So his children came up with a brilliant idea. They decided to bring George to the Olympics anyway.

They couldn't concoct a "Weekend at Bernie's-esque" plan because George was cremated. So instead his daughter Robyn Glynn went to the Games with his father's remains, snuck into the Olympic Stadium and scattered his ashes over the triple jump area. Then they managed to sneak out before anyone could catch them. 

Photo: Chris McGrath/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images

The Olympics aren't even over yet and Ryan Lochte is already getting acting roles. Maybe this painful performance will prevent him from getting any more.

Funny or Die, the comedy website founded by Adam McKay and Will Ferrell, is in London for the Olympic Games. They pulled together some of the most famous British people who aren't royalty and the US swimmer for a viral video.

Sir Patrick Stewart plays Ticket-Tooth Phil, the greatest ticket scalper at the 2012 Summer Games and perhaps the greatest in the history of the hustle. It also features clever cameos by "Shaun of the Dead" and "Star Trek" star Simon Pegg and "Game of Thrones" actress Maimie Williams.

Lochte also joins in the fun but we should warn you: His performance is quite cringeworthy. Seriously, the last time I made a face that scrunched up from embarrassment, I had just learned that his mother knew he only had time for one-night stands.

Oh and it's also NSFW thanks to a couple of cockney-flavored curse words. You can watch it on Funny or Die's website.

Usain Bolt has already made it known that he is the greatest athlete to live. And the Olympic decathlon champion has traditionally earned the moniker of "world's greatest athlete," which means a strong case can be made for American Ashton Eaton.

But it's possible the best pound-for-pound athlete in these Olympics is a female boxer. And if not, she certainly could be the most popular.

Ireland's Katie Taylor won her country's first gold of the 2012 Olympics -- and first at all since 1996 -- by beating Russia's Sofya Ochigava 10-8 in the title bout taking place in front of a raucous pro-Taylor crowd. Even before the gold medal match the IOC confirmed that one of Taylor's previous bouts was measured as the loudest event of the entire Games.

In terms of popularity, Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt might be the only ones in the same neighborhood as Taylor, though American audiences would have no way of knowing it without tracking down the written accounts from witnesses on the scene.

Though it may sound like a case of classic Guinness-lacquered Irish hyperbole to suggest that Taylor is the best athlete at these Olympics, this type of talk is not coming from the corner stool at the local pub.

Former world light welterweight champ Amir Khan believes Taylor's superior technical style would allow her to compete with men at 132 pounds.

"She's a brilliant fighter. I really believe that she could beat a lot of the men at that weight," Khan told an Australian newspaper. "I think it's the great footwork she has, great hand speed, she throws great combinations as well. She's got a great eye."

Boxing isn't the only sport where Taylor has showed tremendous prowess, by the way. She also plays on the Irish national women's soccer team, which means it's probably a good thing they didn't qualify for the Games. I do pity the fool that tries to give her a dirty slide tackle, though.

This is the first year women have boxed at the Olympics, and many cite Taylor's huge popularity in Ireland with helping get the sport accepted into these Games. Certainly the crowds she brought in show that it belongs.

It's merely a parlor game to compare athletes across disciplines, but there's no doubt Katie Taylor is one of the very best in these Games. And if you don't think so -- well, you might not want to say it to her face.

PHOTO: Alberto Pizzoli, AFP/Getty Images

For the second day in a row, the United States went big in London at the 2012 Olympics. Americans combined to win 10 medals on Thursday, including five golds. 

The biggest story of the day was the U.S. women's soccer team, which defeated Japan 2-1 in the gold medal match. The win avenged last year's heart-breaking loss at the World Cup.

The women's water polo team also topped Spain 8-5 in the gold medal contest to end its tournament in winning fashion.

The Americans also had a great day in track and field. Ashton Eaton took home gold in the decathlon, while Trey Hardee earned the silver. Americans also went one-two in the triple jump as Christian Taylor won the gold and Will Claye got the silver. 

Meanwhile, 17-year-old Claressa Shields won America's first gold in women's boxing, while Marlen Esparza was awarded a bronze. 

To round out the day's medals, Haley Anderson missed a gold medal by 0.4 seconds in the women's open water swim. She had to settle for silver, while Terrence Jennings took home a bronze medal in taekwondo. 

The United States now holds a commanding lead in the medal department. The U.S. currently has 90 overall medals, while China is second with 80. The Americans also lead with 39 gold medals, while China has 37. 

The United States is in great position to win the medal race, in both the gold and overall distinctions. The Americans are favored to win gold in both men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball, and there are a few track and field events remaining where the U.S. should pick up medals. 

It's shaping up to be a great finish to the London Games for the United States.

Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images

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Great Britain has been utterly dominant in cycling at the Olympics. The British took gold in seven of 10 track cycling events and added another in road cycling thanks to Bradley Wiggins. All told, Team GB has received 12 total medals in 14 completed events.

Naturally, this has led to accusations of cheating from Great Britain's eternal rivals to the south, France. Accusations that British Prime Minister David Cameron scoffs at rather amusingly.

"We've got a system that seems to be delivering. It's driving the French mad," Cameron told BBC Radio 2. "I did an interview with French television yesterday and they virtually accused us of cheating."

"I think they found the Union Jacks on the Champs Elysee a bit hard to take," Cameron added referencing Wiggins winning the Tour de France last month.

An interviewer from France 2 television echoed the sentiment of French cycling technical director Isabelle Gautheron and those polled by national newspaper L'Equipe that the Brits were using "magic wheels," but Cameron countered by saying French manufacturer Mavic is responsible for Team GB's wheels.

"The French should know our secret because you make our wheels," he said.

"You know, they're round. They go fast because they pedal hard."

Sacre bleu!

Surprised by the sharp tongue? Evidently, you haven't seen Prime Minster's Questions.

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