I first saw

Todd Rogers

I was captivated by the pair, Rogers a no-nonsense warrior and Dalhausser a 6-foot-9 athletic freak. I remember thinking "This is the perfect team. Who in the world can beat these guys?"

Now I know. Nobody.

Rogers and Dalhausser won gold in men's beach volleyball at the Beijing Games, dispatching a similarly sized Brazil duo 23-21, 17-21, 15-4.

I loved watching these two play. Rogers, 34, is the brains of the operation who still is on top of his game (they call him The Professor). Dalhausser, 28, is the pupil but full of tremendous ability to go with an imposing frame. In the decisive third set, he owned the match with five blocks that killed the Brazilians' chances.

It was also interesting to watch the relationship between Rogers and Dalhausser, which was clearly mentor-protege (as opposed to gold-winning women

Misty May-Treanor

Of course, after Dalhausser stuffed Brazil's last gasp, securing the gold, he ran over to Rogers and tackled him to the sand, the two of them screaming in joy.

Any possible animosity was nowhere to be found this time. A gold medal has that power.

The United States' women's soccer team is going for gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, and will play Brazil at 9 a.m. on Thursday.

Brazil has become a nemesis for the Americans. Two of the most explosive incidents involving the U.S. in recent years have occured against the Brazilians:

--

Hope Solo

Of course, the U.S. is doing just fine without Wambach, though they haven't played perfect soccer in China. A lot could come together on Thursday--Solo's vindication and the Americans revenge for last year's World Cup, mainly.

Or, Brazil could win. That would be a real punch in the gut.

The whole world wonders. Except

Usain Bolt

Of course, Bolt didn't need to go that fast, and apparently didn't want to see just how fast he can go.

Bolt said afterward that he's not big on records and was happy just winning. But our imaginations wanted to see more. Maybe another day.

As Arizona Republic columnist Dan Bickley wrote, "The fastest man in the world left plenty to the imagination. I'm outraged. I'm thrilled."

Say this about American sportswriters: They're doing their part in not letting this issue be swept under the rug.

Sadly, based on the U.S. women's gymnastics team's silver medal performance in the team competition, the media outcry could come across as sour grapes to outsiders. Which will then overshadow the truth that might hide beneath.

For those living under a rock, there is legitimate controversy about the women's (we'll use that term loosely) gymnastics team of China, which won team gold this week with a superior performance nobody can dispute.

The question is: Are they old enough?

Rules state that Olympic gymnasts must have turned 16 by the end of this year to be eligible for Olympic competition. A passport is required to verify age, which the Chinese provided for all of its gymnasts.

But these "women" don't pass the eye test, and published reports by Chinese newspapers in the past have documented them as much younger than they're now claiming to be (China claims the media were wrong, the first time I've ever heard the media blamed for anything).

The IOC has taken the stance that the passports say they're 16, and there's not much more to do. But several prominent American journalists, from Dan Wetzel to Selena Roberts have called for further investigation in the matter, but nobody expects the IOC to do anything about it.

With the great lengths the IOC takes to prevent dopingwhich they absolutely should doit troubles me if they decide not to dig deep to get to the bottom of the age scandal. It has nothing to do with the U.S., either. The Americans clearly did not deserve to win after sloppy performances in the beam and floor exercises.

So, what's up? Are we just whining because we didn't get our way, or is it important to make sure rules are strictly enforced in the world's most prestigious sporting event?

Breaking news: My TiVo exploded last night. Fed up with the constant demand to record Olympic events I will never get around to watching (something about only having 24 hours in a day), the TiVo finally threw its arms in the air and turned itself into a pile of metal fragments and soot. It was 3 years old.

OK, so I made that up. The ol' TiVo is earning its keep this week, thanks in part to my unreasonable desires to watch all the events I can and NBC's fabulous job of giving us the opportunity if we have the time.

I've quickly found out that I don't have the time. But I remain grateful to the peacock network for all of the coverage they've provided us. In the first 24 hours of the Olympics, I watched the opening ceremonies, fencing, badminton, soccer, weightlifting, swimming, basketball, volleyball, beach volleyball and probably 2-3 others my saturated brain can't recall.

"We realize 200-plus hours a day is daunting for the viewer," NBC Sports executive producer

David Neal

Or, in my case, short-circuit from information overload and never quite catch up.

Oh well. That's my problem, not NBC's. They've done a fantastic job of getting the Olympics into our living room. SI reported that the 2008 Games "will result in 1,000 more total (television) hours of Olympics this year than the U.S. has seen from all past televised Summer Games combined.

And the winners are you and me.

Being from the Midwest, I had no familiarity with water polo until I was a teenager. It was then that I stumbled across a match on television and watched with great interest for a little while.

Until I noticed something kind of important.

"Wait a minute," I asked my father. "They can't touch the bottom?"

Nope. Which makes water polo an amazingly physical game of endurance, strength, strategy and above all else, survival.

It's so-far-so-good for the United States in the Beijing Olympics. The U.S. women beat China in its opener, 12-11, which included a goal by superstar Brenda Villa , who's looking for her first gold medal in her third Olympic try.

The men are doing fine, too. With knowledge that the pool is deep, I watched with great respect as the Americans beat China, 8-4, over the weekend before beating Italy, 12-11, to improve to 2-0.

Hey, I'm all for trying new things. Water polo seems like a great sport. But knowing that the floor is 12 feet down, knowing that your opponent is kicking you and draping you under the water for the sake of victory, and knowing that we humans don't have gills, I'll probably enjoy water polo as a spectator sport. And I won't feel bad about it.

Here's a great goal from the 2000 Sydney Olympics:

The Opening Ceremonies have wrapped up, so it's time to wonder: When are these medals going to be won?

Quicker than you think.

While soccer started its tournament two days before opening ceremonies (with mixed results for the United States), the medals will wait until August 13th to be claimed.

But other sports will startand finishright away. In all, seven gold medals are on the line Saturday, the first official day of competition. The very first ones are likely to be claimed in either the women's 10m Air Rifle

Shooting

It's a cliche, but what the heck: Let the games begin!

One of the great things about the Olympics is that our athletes come from all over our giant nation.

Sports Illustrated wrote that Team USA consists of athletes from 47 of the 50 states. While every professional football team features Texans, Floridians, Californians and a few stragglers, the Olympics really are an inclusive experience for almost everyone in the country.

So, who here has a hometown product representing in Beijing? I have one--5,000-meter runner

Matt Tegenkamp

Still, I never considered Tegenkamp dominate enough to be definite Olympic material. Neither did he until college, according to this Kansas City Star article .

It was in 2001, when he was 19, when he started considering the Olympics a possibility. It took seven years to come true, when he placed second to

Bernard Lagat

Surely, some of you have blasts from the past that are heading to Beijing, too. Let's hear the stories.