DrunkWithBode

Yeah, I saw that too. I'm not sure what the deal is. And the local 30-minute special that precedes the primetime show was advertised as starting 7 PM. I'm not completely sure that they haven't changed their schedule in the past. Looking back at the Athens schedule, it says each weeknight broadcast was scheduled to start at 8 PM, but I could've sworn there were nights when they went on the air at 7:30. I guess we'll see soon enough.

I like it. It's a little on the colorful side, but I like it a lot. It beats the predominantly blue/green look that seems to get recycled over and over in Atlanta, Syndey, Athens, etc.

From what I recall, Brian Williams was criticized a bit for being a little downbeat in 2006, where for every country he seemed to have a completely depressing anecdote about some serious issue they were facing. I didn't think he was too bad and it's certainly not something that he can't fix. Peter Jennings was great at it for many years, providing enough details about foreign countries without making you weep for the future of the world. Then again, they might just go with Meredith Viera. I could see that happening, too.

I'd assume it'll be Brian Williams of NBC News. Mary Carillo & Dan Hicks usually handle the Closing.

Too bad that Al Michaels, he of "Do You Believe in Miracles?", won't be in Beijing. I guess he's gotten to the point where he rather do the NFL for a few months and spend the rest of the year relaxing.

Are they still going ahead with the cloud seeding thing? Is there any chance that it works and if so, when should we expect the rain?

NBC just released its tentative schedule today. Available in PDF form here: http://nbcumv.com/sports/program_detail.nb...ympicgames.html This is what we (U.S. viewers) have been waiting for. LOTS of great information here. I guess all that's left is the announcing assignments (I've only browsed thus far but I don't think they're in here) and we'll be all set.

Sailing and dressage try my patience a bit, but I'll watching any and everything that I can. If I had to rank the five sports that I'm most excited about, I'd say (1) swimming, (2) track & field, (3) basketball, (4) gymnastics, (5) indoor volleyball. Some other personal favorites are rowing, water polo and handball. I'm actually kind of excited about baseball, too. It'll be interesting to see how the USA rebounds from missing the '04 Olympics and one of the Orioles' (my favorite team's) top pitching prospects, Jake Arrieta, will likely be one of the top players on the team.

It's curious that NBC would delay Trials coverage for the west coast, considering how it's unlikely to get big TV ratings either way. But I remember reading that for the Olympics, the decision whether or not to delay the coverage is up to the local affiliates. I remember it being a big deal in 2002 when the Winter Olympics were in Utah but local NBC affiliates in that region were choosing to hold the coverage until 8 pm local time.

I saw it once on TV after the trials. Might've been last Saturday, I think. Been watching NBC & USA all week and I haven't seen it since. It's pretty stupid in my opinion, but this wouldn't be the first time that there's ever been a bad cross-promotion. If they were airing it 10 times a day, I'd probably be annoyed. But it's pretty much never on TV, so who cares?

USA Track & Field revealed their uniforms during the trials a few days ago.

There's no chance that you're this miserable in real life. At least, I hope not. I'm sure it's terribly inconvenient for you to have to scroll past pictures of the stadium. If you don't want to see the pictures, don't read the thread.

Tyson Gay runs a wind-aided 9.68 (!) to win the U.S. Trials. Walter Dix and Darvis "Doc" Patton also make the team in the 100m.

Holy crap, are you serious???? That's a huge turn of events.

Gay ran it in the quarterfinals too, so he can probably do even better. The funny thing is it came a round after he was almost eliminated because he misjudged the finish line and pulled up early. I'd guess he was trying extra hard to be impressive in the quarterfinal. As for Beijing, I don't see Powell winning gold, mainly because he has yet to be truly impressive in a major meet (just look at how he got dusted in the '07 Worlds and then admitted to being nervous afterward). Bolt is the real deal, though. I think either he or Gay will win the gold. It might be a biased pick, but I'm going with Tyson Gay. As for the American women, their 100m competitors are set for Beijing: Muna Lee (1st, in a mild surprise), Torri Edwards (2nd) and Lauryn Williams (3rd). I think it'll be Veronica Campbell's race in Beijing.