Hye Marzig was launched 4 years ago on the eve of the London 2012 Olympics, and we're still going strong on the eve of Rio 2016!

Here is everything you need to know if you're keeping track of our Armenian Olympians the next couple of weeks.

Rio 2016's Official Website has shared the following link for Armenia and its athletes:

Rio 2016 Team Armenia Link

Wikipedia even has a page up showing who will be competing in which sport:

Wiki Team Armenia Link

One of our best shots at a medal is of course Arsen Julfalakyan, the former world gold medalist and Olympic silver medalist. He'll be competing in the 75kg class, which kicks off on August 13th. Here's some recent footage of Arsen going toe-to-toe with Vlasov of Russia, with Arsen winning the Silver:

Artur Aleksanyan of Gyumri is another world class wrestler to keep your eye out for:

Finally, as reported a few weeks ago, Armenia will also have gymnasts this year!

Good luck to all of our Armenian Olympians the next couple of weeks, we are all so proud of them! Keep a look out for more updates shortly!

UEFA Ruling Puts Armenia Back in Euro 2016 Mix

UEFA issued the following ruling following the fallout from the Albania/Serbia game last week:


UEFA Ruling


This puts Armenia right back in the mix of things, but Armenia needs to come away with at least a couple of wins in its next few qualifiers to have a legitimate shot at France 2016:


Euro 2016 Standings

BREAKING: Albania/Serbia Fallout Impact on Euro 2016 Qualifying

Following the disturbing turn of events yesterday in the Euro 2016 qualifying match between Albania and Serbia, where the game had to be suspended at the 45th minute, UEFA has just issued the following ruling:




UEFA Ruling




This could have a huge impact on Armenia's hopes of qualifying for France.


We are keeping out eyes on these developments.

LIVE: Armenia Euro 2016 Qualifying Game 1 vs. Denmark

Follow the action live one espn3.com, as Armenia begins its journey for France 2016 Euro qualifying:

Watch Armenia v. Denmark

Denmark v. Armenia

Will this be it? Will Armenia beat Denmark to take over the second spot in Group B standings, putting them in prime position to qualify for Brazil 2014?

Denmark v. Armenia Article

Armenia will most certainly have to be weary of a hungry Danish team seeking revenge following a 4-0 thrashing in Copenhagen at the hands of the Armenians. Tune in to espn3.com at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.

Onto Victory!

BREAKING NEWS: Mkhitaryan Onto Liverpool?

The Guardian is reporting Liverpool are targeting Armenian Henrikh Mkhitaryan as their top transfer target this summer.

Mkhitaryan Liverpool

More on this developing story shortly!

Armenia v. Czech Republic on espn3.com

Browse to www.espn3.com to watch Armenia take on Czech Republic in a pivotal Brazil 2014 World Cup qualifying match.

Armenia sets second-to-last in Group B standings, and is in desperate need for 3 points to keep their qualifying hopes alive.

More to come shortly! On to victory boys!

Baseball Announcer Matt Vasgergian

For those of you following Major League Baseball postseason play, you may have come across Matt Vasgergian announcing games. Vasgergian has been a host on MLB Network since its inception in 2009, and has previously served as a play-by-play announcer for such teams as the Milwaukee Brewers.

Matt originally hails from California, started his career as an actor, and went to USC.

Keep an eye and ear out for Matt as the baseball postseason heats up the next few weeks!

Italy v. Armenia - 10/12/12

Brazil 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifying continues this Friday for Armenia, as they face Italy at 9:00 p.m Yerevan time (9 a.m. Los Angeles time) at Hrazdan stadium. For our readers in Yerevan who attend this game, we would greatly appreciate picture uploads in the comment section. Balotelli v. Mkhitaryan. Pirlo v. Movsisyan.Wishing nothing but the best of luck and tremendous strength to our boys on this historic day!

Armenia Soccer 3rd in World Cup Qualifying

After two matches, Armenia (FIFA Rank #53) stands third in Group B qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

On September 7, 2012, Armenia beat Malta in Ta'Qali Stadium on an Artur Sarkisov 70th minute goal.

However, Armenia - which had a quick turnaround - played in Bulgaria just four days later and lost 0-1. It seemed that every time Armenian striker Henrikh Mkhitaryan would charge into the open field, he would immediately be horse-collared down to the pitch. The match eventually deteriorated into a dirty game - 1 red and 4 yellows were handed out to Bulgaria, 2 reds and four yellow to Armenia (most of Armenia's cards came in retaliation for poor, unsportsmanlike and flagrant play by the Bulgarians). Here are the "highlights," if you want to call it that, from the match.

Regardless, Armenia must regroup and move forward, as they now face world #6 Italy on October 12, 2012.

Washington Huskies Football Coach Steve Sarkisian

With the spotlight quickly turning towards fall sports, we turn our focus to another Armenian American making headway in sports: Steve Sarkisian. Sarkisian was born in Torrance, California, although his father is originally from Teheran, Iran.

Sarkisian has been the head football coach at Washington since 2009, but his previous college coaching stints included stops at El Camino College and USC. Sarkisian also served as the quarterback coach for the Oakland Raiders in 2004. His Huskies are poised to improved on their 7–6 (5–4 in Pac-12) record in 2011.

As a player, he starred at BYU, and still ranks third all time on the NCAA career passing efficiency rating (162.0). He also had a short stint playing professional football with the Sakatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

Here is a VIDEO (on the left) of Sarkisian at the 2012 Pac 12 Media Day talking about the upcoming season:

Good luck to him this year!

Armenian Olympic Medalists Welcomed Home

Armenia's three Olympic medalists arrived in Yerevan on August 14, 2012, to overwhelming support by local fans. It is especially rewarding to see the appreciation being shown Armenia's first female medalist ever, Hripsime Khurshudyan, for her history-making performance.

Although the below VIDEO is in Armenian, the love, excitement, and jubilation needs no translation. Please click on the link and press play directly on the embedded VIDEO.

CLICK HERE:
Olympian Arrival Video

Artur Aleksanyan Wins Armenia's Second Bronze

Artur Aleksanyan (Greco Roman wrestling 66kg) has just won Armenia's third medal at the 2012 London Olympics, a bronze! The young 20 year old beat Turkey's Ildem in the quarterfinals to earn a Bronze medal match against Cuba's Estrada. With a flip in the first round, and a push-out in the second, Aleksanyan soared to a resounding victory! We congratulate Aleksanyan and all of Team Armenia!

Here is some VIDEO of our newest hero in previous action:

BREAKING NEWS: ARSEN JULFALAKYAN WINS SILVER

Arsen Julfalakyan (men's Greco Roman wrestling 74kg) has just won Armenia's second silver medal ever!

Here is a link about Arsen:

Arsen Julfalakyan

And here is some VIDEO of him in previous action:

BREAKING NEWS: Hripsime Khurshudyan Wins Armenia's First Medal

Hripsime Khurshudyan (Women's 75+ kg Weightlifting) has just medaled for Armenia! With a lift of 128 kg in the snatch, and 166 kg (total 294) in the clean and jerk, Hripsime won a bronze for Armenia! Congratulations, we are all thrilled for you, and thank you for representing us with pride!!!

The Future of Armenian Soccer, Henrikh Mkhitaryan!

Thought we'd take a break from all the Olympic coverage and mix things up by featuring whom I believe is the future of Armenian Soccer: Henrikh Mkhitaryan. At the tender age of 23, Henrikh already has the second most goals for any Armenian Soccer player all-time (8). During the 2010-2011 season, Henrikh's rights were bought by the the Uranian league champion Shakhtar Donetsk for $7.5 million. His upside is limitless, and it's no wonder he's been dubbed the "Maestro" of Armenian Soccer. Check out footage of this young stud, and endless luck to him indeed!

NBC: Nothing But Crappy Olympic Coverage

     Armenia gets very few chances at shining under the international limelight. This is why many of us anxiously, patiently wait every other year for the Summer and Winter Olympics for that special moment when Armenia is introduced for the world to see. Normally, this proud moment is a goose bump-filled, tears-of-joy moment of pride.

     This year's incompetent coverage by NBC has left us all wanting something more, however. After introducing Armenia, NBC's inept announcer (Bob Costas) simply said "Armenia..." ... and paused. Now I do know they did very brief recaps of countries they had missed during commercial breaks, and I did hear him whine that they have never seen the countries introduced so quickly. But, honestly, are you kidding!?! This is what contingency plans are for! From General Electric (NBC's parent company), to Jeff Zucker, all the way down to this useless announcer, everyone has to be held accountable. You mean to tell me not one of them planned a word or two for each country in the four years they have had (not to mention endless millions of dollars) getting ready for the Olympics? Shame on you NBC!

     For anyone who may believe I am over-reacting, then surely the newly-formed Facebook page "NBC Sucks" and its 5,931 members justifies my reaction. In the mean time, Bob Costas, you fool, why don't you read this link and educate yourself...

Armenia 

USA Womens Water Polo Coach Adam Krikorian

Just as in every Olympics, there will Armenians from throughout the Diaspora participating from numerous countries. We will be highlighting such individuals in the weeks to come. One example is Adam Krikorian, who hails from the Northern California city of Mountain View, California. He has been a water polo coach at UCLA since 1996, and the head women's water polo coach since 1997. He became head coach of Team U.S.A. Women's Water Polo in 2009. Let's keep an eye on him as his team marches towards gold in London!

Here's an article about him:

U.S.A. Women's Water Polo London 2012

NBA: OKC Thunder's Rex Kalamian

Following in the footsteps of legendary Armenian American NBA coaches such as Jerry Tarkanian, Kalamian hails from Southern California and graduated from Cal Poly Pamona in 1993. He joined Oklahoma City Thunder Coach Scott Brooks' staff in 2009 following short stints with various teams (Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers). Previously, he worked with the L.A. Clippers in various capacities, including an assistant coached, for 9 years.

Check out his profile:

Rex Kalamian Profile

Basketball: Armenian National Basketball Team Announcement

It seems that Armenia's National Basketball program is tackling its heretofore post-independence futility and irrelevance head on. Recently, they made the exciting announcement that they are redirecting their program in an entirely new direction, naming an Armenian American as head coach and opening the doors for Diasporan Armenians to join the team. Go Team Armenia!!!

Bardakian Named Head Coach