Archive for August 2008
DAYS 19-26: Off to Shanghai
Well, folks, it’s been fun. Thanks for following along on my Olympic journey. Today, I’m flying to Shanghai for a week of sightseeing and relaxing (and vacationing!) with my friend Lindsay. I am taking off my reporter’s hat and replacing it with the flowered-shirt and around-the-neck camera of a visiting tourist. I am also turning…
Read MoreDay 18: Closing Ceremonies
Last night was the last night of Club Bud, our favorite hangout here in Beijing. Today is the last day of the Olympics. Writing both of these sentences makes me a bit sad. This has been quite an experience, to say the least. And a large part of me is sad it is ending. A…
Read MoreDay 17: The Wall
In New York, out-of-towners find it funny/annoying/narcissistic that we refer to New York as “The City.” As in, “I live in The City,” or, “I’m going to The City tonight.” Well, folks, here you can tell your hotel to book you a trip to “The Wall,” and a few hours later, you are on your…
Read MoreDay 16: BMX is a Success
This morning, the rain finally stopped. So again, after about three hours of sleep, I headed to the Laoshan BMX track for the finals of the inaugural Olympic BMX race. I think it was a glowing success, and at least for now, it is here to stay. The U.S. did fantastic, as expected. Mike Day…
Read MoreDay 15: Rain, Rain … Get Lost!
After a restful three hours of sleep, I dashed through the worst rain storm we’ve had yet and caught the 7:30 a.m. bus to the media center. Once we arrived, I hopped a second bus to the BMX venue and had just found a seat when a volunteer came onto the bus and informed us…
Read MoreDay 14: BMX Hits Beijing
This morning, I took the bus to the Laoshan BMX track to see the debut of BMX at the Olympics. Instead of rehashing the details, I’ll let you read the piece I did for ESPN.com and the one I wrote for ESPNTHEMAG.com and if you still don’t have your fill of BMX coverage, check out…
Read MoreDay 13: Tour de Beijing
This morning, it finally happened. It was fairly quick (lasted about two hours) and not nearly as bad as many of my friends have experienced it. I got a touch of food poisoning. I’m not sure what I ate, because everything at dinner last night was great. My friends Amy and Gretchen and I had…
Read MoreDay 12: Life After Softball
I finally made it out to the softball stadium today. Of course, I didn’t get to watch much of a nail-biter (Team USA beat China 9-0 in four innings), but I at least had the chance to see our superstar team in action. The field was beautiful. I wanted to run down on the field,…
Read MoreDay 11: Is Eight Enough?
As of midnight last night, I was going to have to watch this morning’s swimming session on a TV in the media center. Swimming is such a tough ticket that even members of the credentialed media have to have a ticket. And the IOC is only offering so many. (We could only score one.) So,…
Read MoreDay 10: The Fastest Man Alive Eats … Nuggets!
I’ve always wanted to watch the Olympic 100-meter race in person, as close to the track and the athletes as I could manage to position myself. So when I arrived at the Bird’s Nest Saturday evening and saw a row of empty seats in the first row of the stadium, a little past the halfway…
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