Four months after successfully holding the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China is mulling a bid to host the 2018 Winter Games in the frigid northern city of Harbin, state media said on Thursday, quoting a government official.

Michael Phelps picked up two more awards Monday when The Associated Press named him male athlete of the year and selected his eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics as the top sports story of the year. The AP's members made Phelps a runaway selection for top male athlete. Only Olympic sprinting sensation Usain Bolt and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning got more than a single vote.

Despite being a year from hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics, Canada's Whistler ski resort is experiencing the same drop in business that has hurt ski resorts elsewhere. Part of it is the lack of snow so far, but officials and businesses in Whistler are also pointing to the global economic downturn. Most cities experience a boom ahead of the Olympics, but Whistler is showing it isn't immune to the...

Norwegian rider Tony Andre Hansen has been stripped of his Olympic bronze medal in team jumping after his horse tested positive for a banned drug at the Beijing Games. Hansen was disqualified by the International Equestrian Federation on Monday and banned from the sport for 4 1/2 months. His Norway teammates -- Morten Djupvik, Stein Endresen, and Geir Gulliksen -- will lose their medals without...