Gold
Sports Illustrated
The first eight-medal photo of Michael Phelps was going to end up somewhere, and SI made sure that it was the place. It rolls out in this week's issue (a shirtless Phelps in front of a red background with eight gold medals hanging around his neck). It's hard to say whether or not that big goofy grin will sell magazines, but it can't hurt.

Silver
AVP
As if NBC's continuous prime-time coverage of beach volleyball wasn't enough, the pro beach volleyball tour wound up with the best-case scenario for a gold-medal match when American stars Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh take on a team from China on Thursday.

Bronze
NBC and DVR
Is NBC intentionally making the Olympics DVR resistant? The network has things set up in six-hour increments, and yesterday morning it set the USA basketball game to start in the fifth hour of a six-hour block and then carry through an additional six-hour block from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. On most DVRs, that means you had to record 12 hours of programming to get the entire game. Seems a little fishy to us.

Tin
Judging controversies
Judging controversies have become as much an Olympic tradition as doves during the Opening Ceremony. Yesterday, Nastia Liukin found herself in the center of the latest controversy when she tied for first place in the uneven bars but ended up with the silver medal. It was just the latest in a string of controversies that ultimately devalue Olympic competition.