BMX makes its Olympic debut this week in Beijing. Here are the four U.S. riders who hope to make history by winning the first BMX Olympic gold medal.

Mike Day Day earned his nomination to the Olympics at the Olympic Trials event in Chula Vista, California. He took first place in three out of the four events and second place in the remaining race.

Because he is so tall (6'3") Day uses a unique handlebar style with an upsweep on it. The handlebar, named after Day, is called The Fly Racing Mike Day BMX Handlbar.

• Read more about Mike Day

Donny Robinson Currently ranked number one in world ranking points, Robinson “credits his drive and determination for his success on the dirt.”

Aside from dreaming about Olympic gold, Robinson is a singer/performer and hopes to one day star on Broadway.

• Read more about Donny Robinson

Kyle Bennett Bennet was the first American to secure a spot on the Olympic BMX team. He has two second place finishes at the X Games and he won the 2007 world championship in Vancouver after recovering from ACL surgery and only having three and a half months to prepare. He is often referred to as “butter” because of his smooth riding style.

• Read more about Kyle Bennett

Jill Kintner Kintner started her career in BMX at only 8 years old then jumped between successful runs in both BMX and mountain biking. She finally shifted her full attention to BMX when she decided to push for the Olympics.

In a journey that came down to the final race, Kintner out-biked friend, roommate and teammate Arielle Martin for the sole spot on the women’s U.S. BMX team. Martin returned home to Utah after loosing to Kintner only to return to the Chula Vista training center four days later on a decision to help Kintner get ready for the games.

• Read more about Jill Kintner

The Track

The U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Cycling built a replica of the Beijing course in Chula Vista, California at the Olympic Training center where the U.S. athletes have been riding for the last several months.  (AP Photo/Greg Baker)

The Event

Seeding starts on Wednesday August 20 with both men’s and women’s semifinals and finals taking place on Thursday August 21 in Beijing. Event coverage will be on NBC from 6 to 9 pm on Wednesday the 20th East Coast Time.

SPOILER ALERT: the US won the 4x100 meter freestyle swimming event! Team USA out-touched its French counterpart by the slimmest of margins (.08 seconds to be exact)

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I am fairly confident in saying that, even this early in the Beijing Olympics, the men's 4x100 freestyle relay will go down as the most memorable race of this olympics. Heck, maybe even in the entire history of the Olympics.

The French team was heavily favored to win behind their world-record holding anchor Alain Bernard. Australia was expected to snag the silver, with the US team following with the bronze. Alain Bernard, the French team's trash talking star, proclaimed, "The Americans? We're going to smash them. That's what we came here for." The humble US team brushed it off as friendly banter.

It seems that Team USA also took the French team's words, let them marinade overnight, grilled them up and feasted on them for a pre-race carbo-load.

As much as I'd love to go into the finite details of this race, the video speaks for itself (watch the race here ). Don't worry if you missed it or don't have the right plug-in, it'll be replayed for decades to come.

My sole purpose in writing this post is not to dictate the race or analyze the details, but rather to give credit where credit is due. This was not Michael Phelps' race, despite his near record split time. This was not Garrett Weber-Gale's race, nor was it Cullen Jones' race, who became only the second African-American to win a gold in swimming (a grand accomplishment on its own!).

This race will forever belong to 32-year-old Jason Lezak, who picked the best possible time to swim <u>faster than any human being has ever swam 100 meters</u>. He did so head-to-head against the 100 meter freestyle world-record holder (at the time).

You tell me...was this the most exciting event you've seen in ANY Olympics? If not, what is?</p>

Air quality concerns have been paramount as athletes begin to arrive in Beijing for the summer Olympic Games. These fears are far from unfounded: The European Space Agency (using satellite imagery) has found that Beijing and its surrounding areas have the world's highest concentration of nitrogen dioxide, a substance poisonous to the lungs.

[Haile Gebrselassie | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haile_Gebrselassie], the marathon (26.22 miles/42.19 km) world record-holder, voluntarily withdrew his position in the marathon event at the Beijing Olympics due to serious concerns about his own health. As an asthma sufferer, he feared that his health and career were in jeopardy if he competed in such poor conditions. He does, however, plan to compete in the shorter 10,000-meter event.

The good news is that Chinese officials have a very extensive (and expensive!) plan in place, and it appears to be improving the air quality in Beijing. The controversial plan includes halting all construction projects, severely limiting traffic within city limits, and in some cases, shutting down factories known for their pollution.

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The image above shows a comparison of Beijing’s air quality with that of Los Angeles and New York City.  An average day in Los Angeles is just barely better than the best day in Beijing in the month of May.  As shown, a very rare bad day in New York City might rate as high as 65, whereas, Beijing averaged 137 on the SEPA index during the month of May (2008).  It is important to note the concern regarding the potential manipulation and loose standards of China’s data standards.

The Wall Street Journal recently released a Beijing Air Quality Widget, allowing visitors to see this real-time air quality details (or see their detailed air quality widget).  From the historical data, you can see that Beijing averaged an API index of 137 during May, which decreased significantly to just 77 during the month of July.

Beijing residents have noted better visibility and brief periods of blue skies in recent weeks, so one can deduce that China’s efforts are working to some extent. Looking at historical data as well, it appears that Beijing’s efforts to curb air pollution are working, at least to some extent.

Let’s hope our athletes can breathe easy in Beijing!

Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Michael Redd scored 20 points apiece Friday as the USA dominated Canada 120-65 in a Beijing Olympic basketball tune-up.

Chris Paul handed out eight assists for the United States, who will play two warm-up games in Macao and two more in Shanghai before their Olympic opener in Beijing against hosts China on August 10.

Although Canada may not have been serious competition it did look like Team USA played very solid from as an overall team aspect. TEAM USA looked like one big "dunk" highlight reel with Chris Paul taking over the front court.

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James injured his right ankle in a scrimmage Tuesday when he landed on the foot of reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant. As a result, James did not play on Friday, but he wasn't needed as the United States outscored Canada 34-18, in the third quarter en route to taking a 95-56 advantage entering the final period.

"I thought for our fifth day of practice we showed a lot of energy," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Guys are committed to playing defense. I liked the effort we had on the defensive end of the court. We're still developing this team. The more the game went along, the more comfortable they became. We got a commitment to protect each other's back. We're collectively responsible on defense."

The United States are vying to regain international basketball glory for the first time since claiming Olympic gold in 2000. Team USA was embarrassed en route to winning bronze medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2006 World Championships. Since then, the team has been restructured. USA Basketball hired veteran NBA executive Jerry Colangelo to build the squad and appointed iconic Duke University coach Krzyzewski.

Players since have had to commit to Team USA for three years to foster the kind of continuity other international teams possess.

The USA Decathlon Team consists of three world class athletes that will represent the U.S. for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The U.S. already in my eyes has the edge in the event in terms of probable medal winners because of Bryan Clay & veteran Tom Pappas. Both have Olympic experience and Clay is the favorite to win the Gold this year as he attempts to be only the 2nd man in history to break the 9,000 point barrier.

Getting a chance to compete in the Olympics is just about every athlete's dream. After two days of fierce competition and years of training beforehand, Trey Hardee's vision of sporting the red, white and blue in Beijing is now a reality. The 24-year-old former University of Texas standout ended up with a second-place finish in the decathlon in Eugene and he posted a career-best total of 8,534 points, ranking him behind overall winner Bryan Clay and ahead of Olympic veteran Tom Pappas.

Not bad for the now 6-foot-5 track star who was once overlooked when he tried to make the basketball team in high school. Hardee's path to Beijing wasn't a smooth one. He had to overcome a hip injury, which cut his training short.

"At this time last year, I couldn't even train, I couldn't do anything," said Hardee, who lives in Austin, Texas. "My hip was pretty busted up. I couldn't run. It hurt to walk."

Once his hip healed, Hardee was forced to put his training into high gear.

"Really it wasn't until this year, until like late winter, early spring of 2008, that I was really able to train really hard again," he added.

Trey needed and had a breakout meet on the 2nd day as he set the stage for the rest of his day by an epic battle in the first event--the 110m High Hurdles. The event posted 3 world class times. Trey was trailing after 6 hurdles and over the final 4 looked like a man possessed as he sprinted to a 1st place finish and a time of 13.71 (PR) Whew! What a race!

The 24 year old at the end of the day found himself standing in 2nd place and bound for Beijing! At the Olympic Games over the course of 10 events anything can happen to anybody. Although he may not be everyone's favorite he is certainly mine. Trey is so young and so talented. His energy level cannot be matched. The title of the World's Greatest Athlete is up for grabs in Beijing and Trey Hardee wants it!

Below is the Video of the 110m HH Day 2 of the Decathlon Trials in Oregon

Trey Hardee is in Lane 7--Talk about shifting gears..

USA Cycling finalized its Beijing Olympic roster in the men's and women's road and time trial events this week. Unlike in past Olympic years, there were no Olympic Trials and all slots were filled either by athletes meeting specific selection criteria (performances at world caliber events) or by coaches selection.

On the men's side of things, Santa Rosa resident and Team Astana rider Levi Leipheimer will ride both the road race and the time trial(TT) in Beijing.  A winner of the final time trial on the way to his podium finish in last year's Tour de France, Leipheimer has shown consistency in the race against the clock and was awarded one of only two slots in the TT.

Joining Levi in both the road race and the time trial will be Garmin-Chipotle rider Dave Zabriskie. Dave is currently recovering from a crash in the Giro d'Italia which left him with a fractured vertebrae.  He has been training in and around his home in Salt Lake City and the 2006 silver medalist in the World Time Trial Championships should be at full strength in China.

Making his fifth appearance in an Olympic Games, George Hincapie will ride the road race.  The Team Columbia rider first rode at the games of Barcelona as an amateur in 1992 and will be counted on for experience and leadership of the US's five-man road team.

Jason McCartney earned himself a spot on the 2004 Olympic Team by winning the trials road race; this year, he is a coaches selection. Now riding for Team CSC the rider from flood-ravaged Coralville, Iowa has matured since his days as an American-based professional witness his stage win in last year's Vuelta a Espana.

The final rider is Christian Vandevelde, currently competing in the Tour de France for team Garmin-Chipotle. Christian represented the US on the track at the 2000 Sydney Games, this will be his second appearance in the Olympics. Vandevelde is enjoying an excellent road season and may be the big surprise in Beijing. If Zabriskie's back fails to heal completely, look to Christian to take his slot in the time trial.

Overall, this is a strong men's team, especially in the time trial where a medal from either Leipheimer or Zabriskie is a real possibility.  Americans won gold and bronze in Athens.  With only five riders per team, the road race is usually a crap shoot and 2008 should be no different.  The road course is hilly and challenging and if a group goes away early, that could be the race.  Team USA will need to be diligent at the front and put riders in all the moves. The Italians always seem to race well in events like this so keeping a big eye on them is also a good strategy.

On the women's side, Kristin Armstrong heads a very strong US team. The 2006 World Time Trial Champion and 2007 World Time Trial silver medalist is a strong favorite for a medal in the TT. The US won silver in this event in 2004 with the now-retired Dede Barry and in 2000 with Mari Holden; the US is in a great position to upgrade that one spot higher on the podium.

Joining Armstrong in the TT is Dr. Christine Thorburn who finished fourth in the TT in Athens and was the 2006 World TT bronze medalist.  Dr. Thorburn has taken a leave of absence from her medical responsibilities to train specifically for the Beijing Games. This is her swan song in cycling, hopefully she can go out with a bang.

Armstrong and Thorburn will be joined in the road race by Amber Neben. Neben has been riding strongly in Europe all season and is a two-time winner of the Tour de la Aude, widely regarded as the premier women's stage race.  Unfortunately, with only three riders per team, the women's road race is even more of a crap shoot than the men's.  Hopefully, Neben or Thorburn can get into a small group from which they can win.  If not, look to Armstrong for a solo move late in the race.

Bruce

The original Dream Team, the U.S. basketball team that won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, was a phenomenon on and off the court. It mattered not that it dominated the Olympic competition, beating its eight opponents by an average of 44 points. What was important was that the Dream Team, the first U.S. Olympic team to include NBA stars, gave fans a glimpse of basketball at its finest, and an entire world responded.

Many consider it the greatest team ever assembled and wow what a team it was. Start with three of the game's all-time greats: Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Add the irrepressible Charles Barkley for a little spice, as well as seven more NBA All-Stars: centers David Robinson and Patrick Ewing, power forward Karl Malone, swingmen Scottie Pippen, Chris Mullin and Clyde Drexler and point guard John Stockton. Complete the roster with Christian Laettner, the best college player of 1991-92 and a future NBA All-Star.

Top 10 Highlights from the original Dream Team of 1992 in Barcelona

This year's team has been dubbed: The Redeem Team...

The U.S. men's basketball team was named June 23 and consists of NBA players in the USA Basketball program. Changes can be made after June 23, but only due to injury. Team USA qualified for the Olympics by winning the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada. It defeated defending Olympic champion Argentina in the final.

“We want to show the world that we can play the game the right way and play as a team,” said Jason Kidd, who is 44-0 on the international stage. “I think that’s what the international teams have started to understand to play as a team and win as a team. If we can get to that level, and we showed that last summer, we can be as good as anyone in the world.”

Team USA will try to redeem themselves in this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing after a bronze medal finish in the 2004 Athens Games. The team is headlined by the usual NBA All-Stars, but this year's team is headed by Duke's Coach K with a team first approach. The 2008 Roster includes:

Carmelo Anthony

Carlos Boozer

Chris Bosh

Kobe Bryant

Dwight Howard

LeBron James

Jason Kidd

Chris Paul

Tayshaun Prince

Michael Redd

Dwyane Wade

Deron Williams

How do you think this years team will do in Beijing or compare to the original Dream Team?

Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Dwayne Wade and the rest of Team USA discuss expectations in Beijing.(NYPost.com)