Athens in particular is an interesting setting for the Olympics. Unlike Beijing (the future site of the summer games) Athens has remained relatively untouched from North Americanization. Other than the ones brought into the Olympic Village you won't see any Starbucks, McDonald's, Subway, KFC etc. The city is congested; the air is thick and filled with the smell of chain smoking including the startlingly image of young women smoking in droves. Local residents or Athenians, regularly leave Athens during July and August to escape the unbearable 40-degree summer heat and retreat to the comfortable and beautiful conditions of their seaside cottages. Maybe starting the Olympics in September like the IOC did for Sydney in 2000 would have been a good decision but then again the IOC is the same organization that approved ballroom dancing and curling as Olympic events.

	Many countries patterned their opening ceremony suits after a famous comedian. (Source: Fox Broadcasting)

Does anyone else find it weird that softball and soccer already started competition before the opening ceremonies? I thought the whole point of the opening ceremonies was to kick off the start of the games. Having events start before this is like watching family members eat before grace or handing out meaningless awards before the award show; like all the technical awards they dole out in a separate ceremony before the actual Academy Awards telecast. I really enjoy watching all the countries come out in the opening ceremonies for two reasons; one, I love watching athletes trudge out in suits and hats normally reserved for Cedric the Entertainer's wardrobe, and second, I like watching countries march out with a lone country representative like Suriname (a South American republic) whose lone athlete is Letitia Vriesede, a female weightlifter. How much pressure is on this woman? Just imagine if she oversleeps and misses her event. You think Canada overanalyzes our hockey team's performance? Just imagine how much coverage this woman gets in the Suirname sports section.

Speaking of women's weightlifting, is that and women's wrestling the only appropriate time you can actually ask a woman for her weight without getting hit or given a dirty look? Before I get off the topic of the opening ceremonies I have to throw in my two cents about Canada's choice of Judoka and noted separatist Nicolas Gill for flag bearer. I don't dispute Gill's athletic abilities but I don't understand why a country should celebrate someone that wanted to distance himself and no longer be a part of Canada. I don't blame Gill because he is certainly entitled to his opinions. I just think a more appropriate ambassador could have been chosen like wrestler Daniel Igali, a native of Nigeria (with an adoptive Canadian mother) truly represents the multi-cultural aspects of Canada. Plus if you saw the indelible images of Igali wrapping himself and kissing the Maple Leaf flag from four years ago you would know this is a person that has undeniable love for his country.

Do you think the Canadian Olympic Committee CEO Chris Rudge has attended the John Kerry school of wavering? Judge for yourself; after Rudge was asked about Canada's upcoming performance at the Olympics, he says, "I predict Canada will win 12 to 18 medals. I'd like to see 16 to 20 medals. Realistically we're going to do 14 to 18." Way to hammer down a choice. This is not the guy you want choosing a restaurant.

Roots has once again provided the official clothing for the U.S. and Canadian athletes and their design this year has a real retro inspired feel to it. Funny, that same retro feel has traveled over to the pool where swimmers are now opting for the full-body swimming suits. Weren't these things originally inspired around the early 1900's? I'm still waiting for a swimmer to show up in one of those red and white striped suits. Now that would really be retro.

To say that these Olympics are suffering from poor ticket sales would be to say that Scott Weiland has a small drug problem or that Ruben Studdard is a little overweight. Of the available 5.2 million tickets only slightly more than half or 2.8 million tickets have been sold by the latest figures reported at the start of the first day of competition. The 2000 Sydney games enjoyed sales of over 6 million tickets or 80% capacity. The biggest benefactor of ticket sales is the host country. On average the host country enjoys about 95% of revenues from ticket sales. By suffering through poor ticket sales the people of Greece and the country's porous tourism efforts will end up sabotaging any financial success that could come of these games. Yes Greece will still receive money from corporate sponsorship and broadcast rights sold but not until the IOC dips in and receives their cut. It's too bad the Canadian Olympic Baseball team couldn't have been just comprised of the Montreal Expos because they would feel right at home playing in front of small crowds.

	AI and Duncan are stunned that the selection committee didn't round out the roster with some pure shooters. (Source: AP)

The lack of success or struggle of the Men's U.S. Basketball team may come as a shock to some but when you step back and realize the parity that the internationalization of basketball has created coupled with Team B or perhaps Team C that the U.S has brought to Athens it shouldn't be a surprise if this team doesn't bring home a gold medal. After watching the U.S. team struggle through the exhibition schedule and falter against Puerto Rico in their opening game it's evident what the team lacks: shooting. The team assembled has terrific athleticism with the likes of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Richard Jefferson, Shawn Marion but all of these players are essentially the same type: a slashing/penetrating player that drives to the net with athleticism and creativity. The only problem is the Olympic game doesn't call fouls as closely and as a result a NBA move to the net is not getting rewarded with a trip to the charity stripe. Plus players like the aforementioned and Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury need to have their shots to get into the flow of the game. Without it they sputter and end up forcing their shots. I understand the U.S. selection committee had their hands tied selecting the roster what with all the players turning down invitations for a myriad of different reasons but still the team could have used an infusion of players who can shoot and/or defend players like Michael Redd, Ron Artest, Jim Jackson, Bruce Bowen, the unheralded guys. Or how about bringing over pure shooters guys like Fred Hoiberg and Casey Jacobsen; you know, the prototypical white guys. You need a team with some unsung players willing to sacrifice shots for the greater good of the team and this U.S. team isn't built on that.

A staggering stat to consider just how far the rest of the world has caught up to the U.S. in hoops: In 1992 the first year of the NBA led Dream Team the average margin of victory was 43.8 points. In 1996 that fell to 31.7, 21.6 in 2000 and thus far in 2004 exhibition play, that total has fallen to 7.8.

It'll be interesting to see how the next two weeks play out: Will U.S. Olympic Swimmer Michael Phelps garner more medals than Canada? Will the drug related suspensions of Greek track stars Kostantinos Kenteris and Katerina Thanou prove an ominous sign of further drug usage at the games? Will the much-publicized terror and security threats be breached? Tons of questions exist and the next two weeks will provide us with plenty of answers.