Call Montreal's 2006 Outgames the little Gay Games that couldn't. Literally. Born from a spat with the Federation of Gay Games - namely, when Montreal got the big gay snub as host city - the Outgames hoped to offer an alternate queer sporting event.

As we know, it didn't work out. Despite a budget of $15million, the organizers owe more money than we'll ever see in our lives, ringing up more than $2 million in debt. To keep pesky creditors off their backs, the organizers have filed for bankruptcy.

In light of these news, 365 Gay's published a short list of people short changed, including Martina Navratilova (approximately $40,000), OutMarketing ($6,000); Cirque du Soleil ($48,209.30), and those poor Canadian Taxpayers (approximately $3.2 million). Ouch.

To be fair, the Gay Games about $200,000. Hopefully the 2009 Outgames in Copenhagen and Cologne's 2010 Gay Games won't bomb in such an extraordinary way. To be fair, the Outgames faced competition from its aforementioned rival: The Gay Games. Organizers have vowed never to hold them on the same year again, which is good because we're not sure the world needs two different money burning "gay olympics", let alone two in one year.

In case you were wondering why there was both a Gay Games and an Outgames it's because the gays are typically feuding among themselves. The Federation of Gay Games wanted to centralize the finances following the debacle that was the 2002 Sydney Gay Games, thus taking away some financial freedom from individual organizers, and the group organizing the Gay Games in Montreal was none too pleased. Rather than reconcile, the group split off from the Federation of Gay Games and put together the Outgames.

Both events drew about the same number of participants, and both generated a good amount of revenue for the cities of Chicago and Montreal, but we think it would have been more productive, and competitive, had there only been one gay sports tournament this summer. We hope the queens in charge of both the Gay Games and Outgames will take a hard look at how dividing an already fringy tournament makes the competition seem like a joke.

No reconciliation for gay sports competitions [Washington Blade]

• Thursday's WorldPride vigil in Jerusalem's central square – already the focus of much controversy – was hijacked by Lebanon war protestors, who carried their near the gathering. Police had to detain some protesters and intervened to keep them from stampeding over the vigil. [Jerusalem Post]

• Though the organizers of the Gay Games and OutGames have zero intention of coming together for a single sports event, many athletes hope they do; many "missed the unification that one event offers." [Washington Blade]

• Washington D.C.'s Gay Men's Chorus performed the national anthem at Tuesday night's Washington Nationals basketball game — to a standing ovation (though it might've had something to do with the crowd already being on their feet during the "Star Spangled Banner"). [Advocate]

• In New Mexico, more arrests come in the gay bashing case of an 18-year-old. Twenty-one-year-old Leroy Segura and Cecily Gonzales, 16, join two suspects already in custody. [Advocate]

• In Ireland, a gay hotel that was supposed to go up in a small town will now just be a fleeting memory. Promoter Brian Berry had planned on revamping the Carlow hotel but the current owner decided instead to sell it off to a heterosexual couple. [Pink News]

• Though he'll continue to play for Real Madrid, David Beckham won't have a spot on the English national team. While he stepped down from being captain after the World Cub, Beckham isn't being put on the roster by England's new manager Steve McClaren. [CNN]

• Esquire names Sean Preston Federline the "Worst Dressed Man in the World." [Page Six, last item]

The grunting at the wrestling mats and groaning at the rugby games can't often compare to what takes place poolside at Chicago's Gay Games, which just wrapped (as the most profitable year in the Games' seven-year history). But it's not the swimming and diving teams that leave our mouths agape. Nah, that honor goes to the Pink Flamingos, what ever newspaper refers to as an "outrageously campy aquatics competition." (And congrats to Joel of the17thman for picking up a gold and bronze medal at the Games!)

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We always suspected that fellow blogger Keith Boykin had a penchant for pinning athletic young men to the mat, but we never knew he had such impressive guns. Keith wrestled four exhausting matches on Sunday and Monday to come away with the top award in his weight class at the Gay Games in Chicago. Who ever said bloggers aren't bad-ass should be eating their words.

I Won The Gold! [Keith Boykin]

It wouldn't be the Gay Games without some body worship, courtesy the Physique competition. We're going to help you get through Hump Day with this photo spread of some shots from Illinois, where buff guys in bikinis flex for gold.

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Who cares if temperatures soared like the cries from protesters? That wasn't going to stop some 12,000 atheletes representing 65 countries from kicking off and battling each other at Chicago's Gay Games. Tennis. Rowing. Lifting. Diving. With so much sweating and grunting, it's a shame this competition comes around only once every four years. And as for the protesters? Police reported no altercations or arrests.

The scene was peaceful and organized but not too intense (until the rowing started, certainly). It didn't look like the snippets you might see on TV from a gay pride parade.

Nobody in a diaper. Not a whole lot of flamboyance, period. The most conspicuous-looking folks were the fire and brimstone guys, who were dressed nicely but not for the beach. Them, and the cops – nobody from the Village People – but actual peace officers on duty.

Most everyone else left their costumes at home, if he or she had one to start with.

To realize that a "gay regatta" was occurring on Crystal Lake, the lake, you had to know it was gay going in.

Nothing appeared forced, or forced-upon, in any way. Just some folks rowing their boats for fun and for prizes. Being athletic. Being a teammate. Supporting each other. Being themselves. Having fun.

And to think: The gays can practice sport without wearing mascara and heels.

Gay Games no big deal, just another day at beach [Northwest Herald]
Games lift off with warm reception [Chicago Tribune]

Advocate coverboy band Dangerous Muse is performing at Chicago's Gay Games on Wednesday, July 19 — and we've got a pair of tickets with your name on it, courtesy PINK magazine.. Interested in seeing this hot electropop twosome? All you've got to do is email us at holla@queerty.com with your name, mailing address, phone number, and a line or two on why you deserve these tickets — and we'll pick the winner. Don't worry, you won't be added to any mailing lists. Just promise you'll send us photos from the concert, aiight?

Meanwhile, we're also interested in whether you'll be doing like Ozzie Guillen and attending this year's Gay Games, so let us know below.

• The World Cup may have wrapped with an Italian victory, but that doesn't mean we can't all celebrate the man-on-man action. [Queer Beacon]

• The four suspects in Kevin Aviance's gay bashing last month are claiming it was Aviance who provoked them, saying "Calm down, sweetie" when the two parties bumped into each other. That's their defense against the hate crime charge, it seems. [NYDN]

• Chicago's Gay Games are just five days away, which means it's the perfect time for a primer. [About.com]

• Hipper-than-thou shopping listserv DailyCandy just unloaded a part of itself to an unknown investor. Pricetag? $130 million. [WSJ]

This year's Gay Games in Chicago are shaping up to filled not only with headline acts – Andy Bell, Cindi Lauper, Margaret Cho, Megan Mullally – but some headline advertisers, as well. Both ESPN and Gatorade have signed on as official sponsors, joining the likes of Kraft and Walgreens in the face of plenty of right-wing groups calling for boycotts of these companies. (Keep in mind Kraft is owned by Altria, which owns Phillip Morris, which make Marlboro cigarettes. How many conservatives do you picture switching to Camel?)

We've been hammered with press releases from corporate sponsors of gay pride events for weeks now — Svedka vodka, for instance wants to make sure Queerty readers know drag queen empresaria Lady Bunny is Madame President in 2033, or at least she'll play her on the Svedka float during NYC pride.

Do we get the warm and fuzzies when big companies embrace the GLBT community? Sure. Are we more likely to buy their products if they actively target our demographic? Most likely. Are we losing some of our gay pride purpose by letting corporations attach themselves to our community efforts? Probably.

Gay Games add sponsors [Chicago RedEye]

Two professional figure skaters have been banned from the Berkeley Iceland skating rink, after practicing together for the upcoming Gay Games in Chicago. They have filed suit against the rink, saying they were kicked off the ice because of their sexual orientation.

According to Courthouse News, "Alan Lessik and John Manson-Santoa claim they were barred in violation of a Berkeley ordinance because the rink manager, Monte Tiedemann, objected to the skating while holding hands, which is an integral part of any pairs routine."

We at Queerty are incensed at the arrogance of Lessik and Manson-Santoa, thinking they can just throw open the closet doors and expose the secretive world of gay figure skating. With macho routines like this and the sport's superstars doing such a good job of concealing their sexual orientation, it's best to keep these issues a secret.

Gay skaters hot over ban from ice [Courthouse News]

• Egypt has an astonishingly low HIV infection rate, but not because everyone is using condoms. Gays are afraid to get tested because their hospital records might be used against them in police raids, so the freely available tests are underutilized. [Pink News]

• Black voters are repeatedly duped by the Republican party's homophobic tactics, according to a new study. [365 Gay]

• You can now officially find gay sex inside of Walmart. The Brokeback Mountain DVD will be sold as planned despite protests from Christian groups. [LA Times]

• The community of family-friendly Crystal Lake, IL will allow the Gay Games to send its perverted, homosexual rowers to compete on their beloved body of water. [ABC7]

• Syphilis is on the rise in Chicago. Shall we issue an orange alert or can citizens smarten up and start playing safe? [The Advocate]