How I Tuned The Heartstrings For NBC Olympics Coverage

Ronda Rousey, in August of 2008, was 21 years old. Her home was Riverside County, California. When she was 14, she had named her new kitten Beijing because she was so certain she’d be there for the 2008 Games, as a judoka — like her mother, Dr. AnnMaria De Mars, who had been a world champion before the Olympics even had a medal for women in judo. I had her mother’s cell phone number, in case I needed to call to talk about Ronda’s career, her accomplishments, the cat. [Deadspin]