2012 Olympic Themed Products from P&G

I saw lots of stuff like this as we were shopping in Target today. The Olympic buzz is building!
As a side note, this is my first attempt at posting from my mobile phone. I guess we'll see how it goes but it's my hope that if this is successful I'll be able to post more frequently about Olympic related stuff as it pops up in my daily life. Let me know if you have any feedback or if there is something you would like to see more of. I'd love to hear from you!

Video: Monty Python - Silly Olympiad

Beijing Olympics public security symbol unveiled

Three Chinese characters that mean "people" will be drawn together to symbolize security at next year's Beijing Olympic Games.

The symbol was unveiled on Thursday at a ceremony in Beijing. The three characters form an image of the Chinese character "zhong", which means many, depicting the necessity of public participation in security throughout the Games. Drawn in the shape of a "shield", the symbol is an internationally recognized image for public security.

It will appear in print, and will be attached to security facilities, banners and the uniforms of security personnel.

(Source: CCTV.com)

7 Applicant Cities for the 2016 Olympic Games

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is pleased to announce that 7 cities have been put forward by their respective National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to apply to host the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in 2016. The cities, in alphabetical order, are: Baku (Azerbaijan), Chicago (USA), Doha (Qatar), Madrid (Spain), Prague (Czech Republic), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Tokyo (Japan).*

NOCs had until 13 September 2007 to notify the IOC that a city within their jurisdiction was interested in applying.

The 7 Applicant Cities will now proceed to Phase 1 of the IOC’s two-step procedure, which will lead to the election of the 2016 host city in Copenhagen in October 2009.

* Phase 1, known as the Candidature Acceptance Procedure, involves a thorough review by the IOC of each city’s potential to organise successful Olympic Games in 2016. Cities are required to answer a questionnaire, and their answers are studied by the IOC. At the end of this first phase, the IOC Executive Board selects the cities that will become Candidate Cities and therefore move on to Phase 2.

* During Phase 2, known as the Candidature Procedure, Candidate Cities will be requested to submit their Candidature File – which is an in-depth description of their Olympic project – and will be subject to a technical assessment made by a visiting team – the IOC Evaluation Commission. The IOC Evaluation Commission’s appraisal will be published in a report, and sent to IOC members no later than one month before they cast their vote on 2 October 2009. The report will also be available for public consumption.

Please click here for information on the Candidature Acceptance Procedure, including the questionnaire to which Applicant Cities must respond by 14 January 2008 and the rules applicable to this process.

(Source: The International Olympic Committee)

Three-times Olympic Gold Medallist to guide Sochi 2014

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced that IOC member Jean-Claude Killy, the legendary French Alpine skier and triple Olympic champion, has accepted the Chairmanship of the Coordination Commission for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. The appointment was made by Jacques Rogge, President of the IOC.

“Jean-Claude Killy’s knowledge of the Olympic Movement makes him the ideal person to guide Sochi as it prepares for the Olympic Winter Games in 2014,” said Rogge. “His relevant and recent experience as an outstanding Chairman of the Turin 2006 Coordination Commission will be a great asset for the IOC and for Sochi.”

In addition to his success as chair of the Turin Coordination Commission, Killy was Co-President of the Organising Committee for Albertville 1992. His reputation as a world-class skier was sealed when he won all three Olympic gold medals in Alpine skiing at the 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble, France.

“It is a great honour for me to be entrusted with this responsibility,” said Killy, an IOC member since 1995. “I am very pleased to be able to make a further contribution to the IOC during the forthcoming years of hard work that await us. I will use key learnings from Turin 2006, and intend to set high standards to ensure Sochi delivers fantastic Games and a tremendous sporting legacy for its city, the Krasnodar region and Russia.

The members of the Commission that Jean-Claude Killy will chair will be announced in due course. The first Coordination Commission meeting is expected to be held next year. Jean-Claude Killy will join President Rogge at the end of the month when he visits President Putin in Sochi.

(Source: The International Olympic Committee)

Chicago 2016 bid officially submitted

Associated Press
September 4, 2007
CHICAGO -- Now that Chicago officially is the U.S. bid city for the 2016 Summer Olympics, it must convince the International Olympic Committee it deserves to stage the games. Organizers were hopeful Tuesday they could triumph over cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Madrid.

The U.S. Olympic Committee formally submitted Chicago as its bid in a letter last week to IOC president Jacques Rogge in advance of a Sept. 13 deadline. It was a formality because the USOC has worked with Chicago on its bid since choosing the city over Los Angeles in April.

"We look forward to working with the International Olympic Committee in convincing them why we believe Chicago is the best host city," Mayor Richard Daley said while acknowledging "tough competition" from some of the "greatest cities in the world."

Below is the the content for a post I made when Chicago beat out Los Angeles for the official US bid back in April of this year... (original post)


From ESPN:

The Windy City beat out Los Angeles on Saturday as the U.S. candidate for the 2016 Summer Games. Chicago's likely competition will include Madrid, Prague, Rome, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. The IOC will decide in October 2009.

I have to say in complete honestly as a Southern California resident and a fan of the Olympic games that I'm disappointed that Los Angeles didn't win the opportunity to compete for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. But in all fairness it looks like Chicago put together a more compelling bid. It seems as though Los Angeles was resting on their laurels and didn't put their best foot forward. For a basic example compare the logos the cities created. Chicago's is nice and eloquent and seems recognizable as an Olympic logo while LA's was plain and drab and seemed to have no connection with the Olympics. Even New York's failed bid for the 2012 Olympics put together a more compelling logo...


Good luck to the city of Chicago... really... you'll need it... you're up against some pretty stiff competition. It would be nice to see the summer games in the USA again, so bring this one home for us all.

www.usoc.org

Roots launches 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Collection

Roots debuted their 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Collection recently. Having bought the team jacket from the 2006 Winter Games in Torino I was really looking forward to seeing what they were going to offer for the 2008 games in Beijing. In my opinion they certainly haven't disappointed. Their overall theme or style for this line is very nice and subtle. A great way to show support without sticking out like a sore thumb. I'm particularly fond of this hat and this polo.

Video: Holly's Olympic Logo Campaign

Funny and very on the mark sadly. As I said before I will have some personal commentary on the London 2012 logo debacle shortly. Until then enjoy this video.

IOC launches "The Best of US" campaign

From a press release by the IOC:

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today launched the first element of its new global promotional campaign, entitled “The Best of Us”.

The television advert is now on the IOC’s website at: www.olympic.org. It will also be broadcast over the air for the first time on the IOC’s broadcast partner NBC in the United States during the 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics Osaka on 26 August.

The IOC’s 2007/8 promotional campaign objective is to communicate the key Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect to a global youth audience. The theme of the campaign is “The Best of Us” - a simple, powerful idea that transcends cultures and borders, motivating young people around the world to participate in sport by proving that sport can bring out their best.

The IOC will work with United on a multi-dimensional campaign approach, comprising TV, online, print, viral promotion, experiential and PR activities. The global campaign will be rolled out in a phased approach in the run-up to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and beyond.

“The Best of Us” artwork, above, by Spanish artist Jesús Morilla features his interpretation of the Olympic Values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect.

IOC and the “The Best of Us”

Tromsø Norway wants to bid for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games

From gamesbids.com:
Tromso Norway, located more than 220 miles north of the Arctic Circle, wants to bid for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the Tromso 2018 bid committee has already spent $3.3 million to prepare its bid and the Norwegian Sports Confederation has already endorsed Tromso over Oslo/Lillehammer and Trondheim.

Tromso wanted to bid for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games but according to the Tribune the Norwegian government decided against a 2014 bid thinking it was too close to the 1994 Lillehammer Games.

Erlend Rian, an adviser to Tromso 2018 and the city’s former mayor said, “the Arctic is an undiscovered area for most people. We are hoping the selection committee will choose us because we think we represent something quite different from the usual winter resort”.

Addressing the issue of potentially holding the Games in the Arctic darkness Rian said that in 2018 the Games are supposed to start February 16, almost four weeks after the sun returns. He said if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) could be persuaded to push it back just one week Tromso would have seven or eight hours of sunlight each day.

Rian added that a growing number of Winter Olympic events, including some ski jumping and slalom racing, now take place at night under artificial lighting.

As for the cold Arctic winter, the currents of the Gulf Stream warm Tromso. Its deep-water port remains ice-free throughout the year and the average January temperature is 25.

Rian said Tromso’s ace in the hole is the guarantee of snow, which the traditional winter resort areas can no longer guarantee because of global warming.

Would accommodation be an issue in this cit of 60,000? Rian said with its university and with an increasing international interest in Arctic exploration, Tromso is one of Norway’s fastest-growing cities. The 4,000-unit Olympic village that would house the athletes could be designed for easy conversion into suburban housing once the Games are over.

Tromso is also planning to build four hotels to accommodate spectators and the media expected at the Games with the overflow being accommodated in many luxury cruise ships.

Also most residents seem to favour the idea, reports the Tribune.

Stein-Gunnar Bondevik, communications director at the University of Tromso, the northernmost university in the world, said, “even though this is the Information Age and the 21st Century people still have stereotyped views about living above the Arctic Circle. This could be a window of opportunity to show the world that we have four seasons and a modern society”.

The government’s Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs is to make a recommendation to the parliament next spring on whether to proceed with the bid.

Rian said, “our bid will have lots of meteorological data. In years to come what will winter look like? Nobody knows for sure but a least in Tromso you can still be sure of being able to have Winter Games”.

Meanwhile the IOC had no comment on Tromso’s potential bid, reports the Tribune. The newspaper quotes IOC spokeswoman Sandrine Chabert saying, “the process for 2018 has not even started yet”.

Iraq vet is oldest boxer in U.S. history on Olympic team

HOUSTON -- The youngsters back at Fort Carson have got nothing on Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Downs.

The 32-year-old father of two became the oldest American boxer in history to make the Olympic team on Saturday night, beating Yathomas Riley to win the 178-pound championship at the U.S. Olympic trials.

A member of the U.S. Army's World Class Athlete Program, Downs served in Iraq from January 2004 to March 2005. He's still on active duty, but the military will allow him to dedicate all of his time training for Beijing.

"This is another feather in the cap," Downs said. "When I go back to the line and tell all those young guys, 17, 18 years old, and they say, 'Come on, Sergeant Downs, get up that hill,' I'll just pull that feather out and say, 'When you make the Olympic team, then you can talk to me like that.' "

Downs only took up boxing in 2003, but stopped when he was deployed to Tikrit, a provincial capital in one of Iraq's most unstable regions.

Downs was a member of a 16-man platoon that was often in the line of fire -- 11 men were wounded and received Purple Hearts, including four under his direct command.

"Every time I went outside the wall, every time I laced up my boots, every time I put a magazine in," he said, "I was afraid for my life."

Downs threw himself into boxing when he returned, setting Beijing as the goal. After what he saw in Iraq, he's never lacked motivation.

"Anybody that sees their friends and superiors put their lives on the line, knowing what can happen to you any second of the day," Downs said, "it changes your perspective. It opens your eyes to a lot of things and opens your mind to a lot of things you probably wouldn't try."

Downs won the last two light heavyweight national titles and captured a bronze medal at the Pan Am Games in July. Still light on experience, Downs said his Army training has made him a better boxer.

"Just being in the Army, that gives you confidence enough in yourself," Downs said. "All the training we do -- jumping from helicopters, jumping out of planes -- you've got to be competent at what you do at all times."

Read the rest of the story at ESPN.COM
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

Sneek peek at Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games

nintendoworldreport.com reporting from Games Convention 2007:

Developed in collaboration with Nintendo, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is undoubtedly the key title at Sega’s booth. Sometimes taking up more than half of the company’s floor space, the game also appears on a giant projector screen, gets played in huge competitions, and turns up in countless banner ads. These ads show a certain pair of characters standing on a red and blue background.

Instead of fighting each other, they compete in various Olympic events. The game carries the official Beijing 2008 Olympics license, which enables authentic logos and stadiums to be included. However, this is where the realism ends. Everything else is inspired by the bright and zany worlds of Nintendo and Sega’s most popular franchises. The spectators constitute a giant mob from the Mushroom Kingdom, the physics behave in exaggerated ways (though still convincingly), and the screen display is almost entirely made up of primary colors. And in case you didn’t know, the playable characters aren't straight out of the real-world games, either.

The two newest members, Yoshi and Amy, join the previous cast of Mario, Sonic, Luigi, Bowser, Knuckles, Peach, Dr. Eggman, and Tails. Each one has unique stats, measured in four areas; speed, acceleration, dash, and skill. Unsurprisingly, Sonic has maximum speed, the Mario Brothers are balanced, while Peach boasts high skill levels. With the setup, Sega clearly intends to make the different characters excel at different events.

This mechanic is particularly meaningful in the Circuit Mode, which was briefly explained. Up to four human players choose a character that they keep throughout multiple events, and, at the end, the overall scores are tallied and the winner is declared. The setup actually bears resemblance to the Grand Prix mode in the Mario Kart games, in which you control a character for multiple tracks, accumulating points in the process.

Other modes were mentioned, including Single Mode, which throws you into a single event, Mission Mode, which sets you up against a series of competitors, and a more dedicated single-player mode, yet to be revealed.

Sega demoed four of the five events present in the build and then handed over the controllers to people from the press to play the remaining one; the 110m hurdles. This event prompts you to hold down B, and then let it go when the gun goes off for a turbo start. To run, you furiously waggle the Wii remote and nunchuk up and down as quickly as possible, and to leap, you press B. I found the controls to work rather well – especially for short term play. Not only do they provide a physical workout, they also demand that you get into a rhythm in order to get over the hurdles. Plus, it’s a blast to watch others play. For longer play sessions, the controls might get tiring, though. Hardcore gamers may also complain over a lack of depth, because - in terms of complexity and subtlety - the controls are definitely more in line with those found in Wii Sports than those in Camelot’s Mario sports titles, for example.

Among the other events were the 100m dash – just a simpler variation on the 110m hurdles – and the triple jump, which plays very differently. Before starting, you can opt to do a clapping motion with your Wii remote in order to get momentum with the crowd by your side. (Whether this action has any real effect was unclear.) Then you start doing the running motion until your speed suddenly locks halfway down the lane. This gives you ample time to prepare for the hop, skip, and jump, performed by lifting the Wii remote, the nunchuk, and then the Wii remote again. Some practice is required, because if you lift the controllers too much, your jumps become too vertical. Not lifting them enough translates into a weak jump. The hammer throw is the only event that uses the Wii remote exclusively. Players swirl it akin to a hammer throw movement in real life. The B button throws the hammer – as long as you don’t step over the line.

The archery has an equally intuitive control setup but feels more relaxing. Drawing the arrow is simulated by first positioning the nunchuk in front of you and then holding both the A and B buttons. You then pull back the Wii remote, after which two cursors pop up. One of them is controlled by tilting the nunchuk, the other by aiming with the Wii remote. Preferably, they need to be aligned in the middle of the screen within thirty seconds. If that happens, you release the buttons for a perfect shot. The further the cursors are apart, the more inaccurate the shot becomes. The whole process gets even more complex once the need to compensate for the speed and direction of the wind comes into play.

In addition to the aforementioned events, table tennis, judo, gymnastics, swimming, and other track and field based events are in development, but Sega couldn’t comment on those at all.

The art style - reminiscent of Camelot’s games - is simple, colorful, and cartoony. Animations not only move remarkably fluidly, they also capture the personalities and movement traits of the characters very well. Everything from Mario’s flailing arms as he runs to Bowser’s extreme weight as he hits the ground after a long jump is beautifully depicted. The sheer amount of cheering spectators appearing on-screen is also noteworthy.

I came away confident about Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. It seems that Sega is making a visually attractive game with plenty of events that genuinely take advantage of the Wii remote in unique and varied ways.
By Lasse Pallesen, European Correspondent - August 24, 2007

A look at the venues planned for the London 2012 Olympics

I have heard that London 2012 is aiming to be the "greenest" games to date. I hope they can reach their goal. Above is a look at the planned layout of their venues for 2012. It'll be interesting to look back on this image in a few years and see how much of it was actually realized and how much changed.

Here is some info on the site from the wikipedia:

The 2012 Olympics will use a mixture of newly built venues, existing facilities, and temporary facilities, some of them in well known locations such as Hyde Park and Horse Guards Parade. In the wake of the problems that plagued the Millennium Dome, the intention is that there will be no white elephants after the games. Some of the new facilities will be reused in their Olympic form, while others will be reduced in size and several will be relocated elsewhere in the UK. The plans will contribute to the regeneration of Stratford in east London which will be the site of the Olympic Park, and of the neighbouring Lower Lea Valley.

However this will require the compulsory purchase of some business properties, which would be demolished to make way for Olympic venues and infrastructure improvements. This has caused controversy, with some of the effected proprietors claiming that the compensation offered is inadequate. In addition, concerns about the development's potential impact on the future of the century-old Manor Garden Allotments have inspired a community campaign.

The majority of venues have been divided into three zones within Greater London: the Olympic Zone, the River Zone and the Central Zone. In addition to these are those venues that, by necessity, are outside the boundaries of Greater London.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) noted that future negotiations were necessary to ensure the use of the Old Trafford and Villa Park football stadiums. The need for compulsory purchase orders was also highlighted as a possible problem for the Olympic Park, but did not expect this to cause any "undue delay to construction schedules".

Authentic 1984 Olympic Torch up for auction on eBay

Man this thing looks awesome. I don't know what I would ever do with it but it would be cool to own such a beautiful piece of olympic history. As of this posting it is going for $3,450.00 with 2 bids.

Description from the auction:
Up for auction is a classic piece of modern sports memorabilia and quite possibly the most beautiful torch ever designed. Once in a blue moon you see one pop up for sale or auction, but not one in this condition. This piece is an official issue 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Torch, number 4969 of 5000 made. This piece is being offered by my father who was the Chief Medical Officer at the baseball events during the '84 Olympics. As with all high ranking LAOOC members, he was presented with a torch at the conclusion of the games. He is downsizing his enormous Olympic collection due to his retirement move out of state with my mother. He plans to only retain his player memorabilia and pins. As with all 1984 torches, this one has been lit. Don't let someone fool you into believing that they have a brand new, never lit torch available. The Olympic flame was briefly carried by all manufactured L.A. torches, even those not in the official torch run from Greece. This includes the approximately 2000 special issue torches for dignitaries, LAOOC members and sponsors. After all, how can it be called an Olympic torch without having had the Olympic flame burn in it? There have been frequent reports of only 3000 torches being made but this is false. The initial production run was 3000 for the torch relay portion of the games. These were 'sold' to those who could afford the $2,500 donation (1982 dollars) to the LAOOC, which allowed the donor to run a short leg with the flame and keep his/her torch as a souvineer. The additional production of 2000 was used to reward those involved on different levels. This torch, with serial #4969, makes it one of the final few ever produced. Since this one was not part of the relay, it has been spared from damaging elements such as sun and rain, and has avoided sweat and dirt from prolonged human contact. The leather still smells new! The brass is flawless and the interior bowl only shows the faintest remnants of fire. It has been in storage in it's original case for 20 years, and comes with all paperwork and even extra Torch fuel!

Olympic memorbilia is some of the toughest pieces to come across for those not specifically involved in the games. It is also the hottest collectable in sports once again. Official tickets and metals to Olympic games have been selling for thousands at the brick and mortar auction houses. Due to their beauty and scarcity (people rarely part this this type of piece), torches continue to be the most popular and desired piece after individual Olympic pins. The 1984 torch was issued in a run of only 5000 which makes it one of the hardest to find in the last 30 years. Atlanta and Sydney for example, issued more than 15,000 torches.

New Zealand considering a bid for winter games

From gamesbids.com:
A New Zealand website reports that New Zealand Olympic Committee president Eion Edgar is spearheading a Winter Olympic Games bid for New Zealand.

The proposal is for skiing and snowboarding at Queenstown and Wanaka skifields, curling at Naseby and short course speed and figure skating in Dunedin.

The Edgar plan reportedly has attracted a $500,000 pledge from Major Events NZ, a government body that funds events bringing “significant benefits” to the country.

According to the website two of New Zealand’s top snow sport athletes are endorsing the bid. New Zealand free-ski team member Amy Sheehan and Kiwi cross-country skier Nat Anglem gave the Winter Games proposal a thumbs-up at a presentation last week.

Beautiful logo for Prague 2016 bid

I came across this beautiful logo for the Prague 2016 summer games bid and wanted to share it here. It is amazing how great some of these bid logos are. Seeing logos like this one come out of a bid campaign makes the logo for London 2012 look even more shameful. I'll have more commentary on that soon but for now here are some details of the Prague 2016 bid. The Prague Assembly confirmed 2016 Olympic Bid back in March of this year. From gamesbids.com:

It’s been confirmed that the city of Prague will bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, although it’s expected that the bid will not succeed, but is considered a trial for an Olympic bid in 2020 or 2024.

Fifty out of 63 assemblymen voted in support of the bid, 10 voted against and three assemblymen abstained from the vote.

Prague Mayor Pavel Bem said, “our studies conclude that the Olympic Games may be profitable for Prague”.

He added, “the Olympic Games must bring a profit. If Prague would have to get indebted over them, we will not organize them”.

Bem said, “it is 99-per cent certain that the 2016 Games will be in a different continent than Europe”. He was referring to the fact that the 2012 Summer Games will be held in London.

Prague City Hall will found an organization called Olympic Prague in cooperation with the Czech Olympic Committee (COV), which will control the bid’s organization.

According to the Associated Press many facilities would have to be built from scratch. The main stadium for track and field would likely be located in the capital’s north-eastern Letnany area, while come competitions would take place in other Czech cities, including Bmo, Ostrava, Olomouc and Pizen.

The Lipno dam near the border with Austria would host the sailing and yachting races.

Lenovo says "no thanks" to Vista for 2008 Olympics

From engadget.com:
Poor Vista, you really can't buy a break. First you've got legions of users angrily awaiting a decent update for a whole slew of problems, then there's the CEOs taking pot-shots at you, and now, Lenovo, supplier of the 2008 Olympic Games' computer systems says it's sticking with XP. Word on the street is that all vital computing tasks for the Games will be handled on XP-enabled PCs, while some internet lounges used by athletes will be equipped with Vista systems. According to Yang Yuanqing, chairman of Lenovo, "the Olympic Games require mature, stable technologies and it's not a place to try new technologies." Yang, we're pretty sure a legion of Vista users feel similarly about their desktops. You can almost hear Microsoft's sharp intake of breath from here.

Behind the Bamboo Curtain Editorial from ESPN

One year form the start of the 2008 olympics, there's a China they want you to see ... and one they don't...

Story by Wright Thompson
BEIJING — We leave the capital on Highway 108 early in the morning, ahead of the sludge of commuter traffic, which grows by a thousand new cars a day. The blacktop beneath the green Jeep knocks us around; we're taking the back road west, ignoring the modern, smooth expressways.

More than 2,500 kilometers separate us from our destination: Chengdu, the dominant city in China's Wild, Wild West. A driver, interpreter and I are setting out to look at a sprawling, complex country through the prism of the 2008 Olympics. In front of us is a week of white-knuckle mountain roads, countless oxen, a Rolls-Royce, homes made of mud, skyscrapers made of steel, a dreary coal-town wedding, a forest of smokestacks, a quilt of rice paddies, hundreds of villages and cities filled with people, each with a story to tell about the hopes and dreams of the real China and what, if anything, the Summer Games can do to make those dreams come true.

Behind us lies Beijing. With just a year until the opening ceremony — and all the metaphors of rebirth that go along with it — the construction in the city is breathtaking. New roads keep up with all those new cars, enough that lifelong Beijingers often get lost, sometimes finding themselves at the end of an uncompleted freeway. Entire ancient neighborhoods are bulldozed by day. At night, sparks rain down the sides of buildings, welders working around the clock, replacing the old with the new. Everywhere you look, there are bundles of steel and towers of wood and stacks of bricks, stretching to the horizon like soldiers, raising the obvious question: Where does all of this stuff come from?

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING AT ESPN.COM
Copyright 2007 by ESPN

A Reno-Tahoe 2018 Winter Games Gets Support From Presidential Candidate

From GamesBids.com:
According to published reports there are efforts to bring the 2018 Winter Olympic Games to Reno-Tahoe. KRNV-TV reports that several people gathered at Mt. Rose to discuss the plan and those supporting the 2018 campaign said the Reno-Tahoe Games would include more events than the 1960 Tahoe Winter Games that were confined to Squaw Valley.

The group is confident that Reno-Tahoe has the capability to host such an event, with large venues like Lawlor Events Center and the University of Nevada, Reno, to be the site of a possible Olympic Village.

Steve Trounday of the Reno-Tahoe Winter Games Coalition said, “how do we match up against other cities that might be vying for the bid in 2018? I think we match up very well. We have an airport that can handle it. We have the mountains so close. We are one of a few cities that is 45 minutes away from the furthest venue”.

Addressing concerns that traffic could be the biggest roadblock, Trounday said that the region does have multiple highways leading up to Tahoe and a railroad running right through downtown Reno. He also said the Olympic Games could help the area secure a new form of transportation that would benefit future generations.

He said, “I think we can get light rail from the university to Mt. Rose or from Reno to Truckee”.

Gilbert Coleman, a local economist, said the idea of a Winter Games in Reno-Tahoe is completely feasible as Reno is no stranger to tourism.

Supporters of the bid said money generated from the Games would total more than $5 billion and create new jobs.

Republic Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who helped bring the Winter Games to Salt Lake City in 2002, told the Reno-Tahoe Winter Games Coalition that if he was elected to the White House he will try to make Reno-Tahoe a reality.

He said, “you can bet, if you are the host city representing the United States, I will work to help this city get the Games”.

He added, “we’d make sure the federal government would be a partner with Nevada and with the Reno region and making sure we had our ducks in a row. You can never know that you are going to get the Games your first time out”.

Jim Vanden Heuvel, chief executive officer of the coalition, called Romney a “miracle worker” in turning around the Salt Lake City Games.

He said Romney’s pledge of federal government support to help in the bid process represents a reversal of decades of tradition that put the responsibility for drawing the Olympics to the United States in the hands of non-profit organizations. He said the governments in other countries take the lead in the bid process.

Romney later said it would “be appropriate” for the federal government to help the region improve its roads to handle traffic from the Games.

He also advised the committee to hire people with experience running the Games.

AP cuts deal with NBC on Beijing Games video

Here are the details from the Associated Press itself...
NEW YORK -- The Associated Press and NBC Universal reached a deal that allows AP to include video links and other exclusive content from the 2008 Summer Olympics in a premium online service, the companies said Tuesday.

NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co., owns the broadcast and video rights to the Games, which begin Aug. 8 in Beijing.

The AP, the world's largest news agency, plans to start the online service in the coming weeks with interactive graphics, multimedia and text content produced on its own. NBC Sports and NBC Olympics will provide links to exclusive video and other online content generated by NBC.

"The joint effort will provide AP customers with comprehensive Olympic coverage leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympics, as well as during the 17 days of international Beijing competition," the AP said in a statement.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The move aims to satisfy increased demand by media outlets for online and interactive content, as more newspaper readers turn to Internet-based sources for their news, sports, business and entertainment information.

Much of the sports market "has essentially moved online and to broadcast, so this service adapts to the market and the expected consumership of these Games," said Lou Ferrara, the AP's deputy managing editor for multimedia.

News outlets that subscribe to the premium service can feed it directly to their own Web site or use a hosted version that can be branded accordingly, Ferrara said.

The Associated Press is a not-for-profit cooperative owned by its member newspapers and broadcasters.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press