Women's team final preview.

Yes, I'm going to talk more about women's gymnastics.

If you don't trust my analysis of what I think will happen tonight in the women's gymnastics final, listen to Elfi Schlegel and Tim Daggett. They know what they're talking about. I did find out that one of my guesses for the lineups tonight was wrong. Jordyn Weiber will not be on beam and Kyla Ross will compete instead. I think this is a bad decision, but as long as USA wins gold, it doesn't matter.

Since the Americans qualified in first, they will start on vault, which is the first event in Olympic rotation order. This is the same order they had in qualifying. If they nail vault like they did on Sunday, they will establish a substantial lead and all the other teams will have to work to keep up with them.

Go USA!

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Missy the Missle.

If you didn't know about this girl before the Olympics, you know about her now. Not only is Missy Franklin the first woman to qualify for seven events in the Olympics but she's also 17-years-old. I've been hearing about her for the past few months and how she was going to be the one to watch in London. I think that she realized how young she is more than anyone else because there has been a lot of pressure put on her, but she said that her goal is just to do her best.

Luckily for the U.S. her best has been two medals in two races, including a gold medal. She is still obviously a teenager but she is so mature. I'm so impressed every time she does an interview. I also love that she continually turns down sponsorship opportunities to keep herself elgible to compete in high school and receive a college scholarship. I respect that so much. She is definitely a role model for young children to look up to.

If you haven't seen many stories about her, here is a sampling:

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What to watch for - Day 5.

Despite some disappointments yesterday, the U.S. and China are now even in the overall medal count with 17 each.

Yesterday, the American men’s gymnastics team had a disastrous night in team finals, falling from first in qualifying to finishing fifth overall. Today is the team final for the women. Team USA looks for its first gold since the “Mag Seven” in 1996. We all remember when Kerri Strug landed that vault to win gold, but some of these girls weren’t even born yet or were to young to remember it. Did I just make you feel old?

The success of the American women in qualifying has been a bit overshadowed by the fact that Jordyn Weiber didn’t qualify for the individual all-around (despite having the fourth-best all-around score). The women posted the top qualifying score of 181.863 that was 1.4 points better than the Russians who sit in second. It should be a two-horse race between the Americans and the Russians. The Chinese and Romanians will also be contending for a medal in tonight’s final.

Just like the men’s competition the scores are wiped clean and everyone starts over. Also, tonight will be the three up/three down format which means that every score counts. That helps the consistent teams and seriously hurts the teams that suffer falls (this was evident last night in the men’s final). If the “Fab Five” can do what they did in qualifying, especially again on vault, there is a very strong chance the color of their medal will be gold. I will be shocked if they don’t end the night on the podium.

The question has been whether or not Weiber can move past the devastation of not qualifying for the all-around and give the team the performances they need. I think the answer to this question will be yes. In fact, I think that she’ll give some of the best performances of her life. She’s a competitor and wants to prove that she belongs in that final

Here’s my best guess for the USA lineup tonight:

Vault – Douglas, Weiber, Maroney

Bars – Ross, Weiber, Douglas

Beam – Douglas, Weiber, Raisman

Floor – Douglas, Weiber, Raisman

In the pool, Michael Phelps has two races tonight. If he medals in both he will become on of the most decorated Olympians of all-time. Phelps will swim in the 200m butterfly and the 4x200m freestyle. He won his semifinal in the 200 fly to qualify fourth and will be in lane six. American Tyler Clary, who has criticized Phelps for not working hard and just relying on his talent, will also swim in the 200 fly and is in lane two. If Phelps wins, he'll be the first person to win three golds in the same event.

The men’s 4x200 freestyle relay is also today and the Americans are expected to be one of the top contenders. It’s not yet known who will swim for the Americans but expect both Phelps and Ryan Lochte to be on the list. Lochte has struggled since winning the 400 IM, falling off in the last leg of the 4x100 to give USA second and failing to medal in the 200 free last night. If he wants this to be his Olympics he has to come on strong tonight.

I love Missy Franklin. I think a lot of other people lover her now too after last night. She goes for individual medal number two tonight in the 200m freestyle. She had that tight schedule last night and conserved some energy in the semifinal yesterday, which paid off in the 100 backstroke, and qualified in eighth. She won’t have the best lane but if she is rested and swims strong she will have a great shot at the podium. Another American teenager, Allison Schmitt, will also be in the final. Schmitt, who trains with Phelps in Baltimore, won the silver in the 400 free and had a great semifinal and is in lane five for the final. Also in the race is defending Olympic and world champion Federica Pellegrini.

The women’s 200 individual medly will also be contested with two Americans in the final. Caitlin Leverenz will swim in lane three and Ariana Kukors in lane six. The biggest name in this race is Ye Shiwen of China. She won the 400 IM on Sunday and has raised eyebrows with some of her splits, which are pretty much unheard of times for the women. She is the favorite in the race, as long as she the officials don’t discover something in one of her drug tests.

USA men’s basketball will take on Tunisia at 5:15 p.m. (est) and looks to go 2-0 so far in the games. USA won 98-71 against France on Sunday, while Tunisia fell to Nigeria 60-56. The red, white and blue should win pretty easily and keep the dream of a team repeat alive.

Women’s soccer is also in action today with a match against North Korea. The U.S. is 2-0 while PRK is 1-1 after losing 5-0 to France. The Americans have a three-point lead in the goal differential going into the match and a win will give them a victory over all three teams in its group.

The women’s 10m synchronized diving competition is also tonight, but the Americans don’t have a team competing so feel free to tune out when this event comes on.

Poor Jordyn.

The biggest surprise of the games so far is not that Michael Phelps didn’t medal in the 400 IM, it’s that Jordyn Weiber didn’t qualify for the individual all-around finals. This may be the biggest shocker of the entire games when all is said and done.

I am heartbroken for this girl. I’ve watched her the past few years since she made the jump to the senior level and she has been outstanding every single time.

If you saw any headlines prior to the coverage last night, you might have thought that she fell on one or two events not to qualify. No, she competed well. Yeah, she’s capable of much better but when you look at it only three gymnasts outscored her. It just so happens that two of those gymnasts come from the same team as her.

It used to be that three gymnasts from each team could qualify for the individual all-around. This rule changed in 2003 as teams were required to become smaller and less gymnasts competed per even. For example, there were seven members of the 1996 team and six competed on each event and five scores counted. Now there are five members with four competitors in qualifying and three in the team finals. It’s actually a little more rare these days to find an all-around gymnast because teams put such an emphasis on each event and a lot of teams don’t have more than two all-arounders. The all-around rule now is that 24 gymnasts can compete and only the top two from each team. Yes, it’s a ridiculous rule because it keeps some of the best gymnasts in the world, clearly, out of the all-round final and you’re not going to have the best competition possible. I get the idea of wanting to give more countries a chance, but the reality is that the girls who qualify in the last spots are not going to even come close to stepping on the podium. Now the reigning world champion isn’t going to have a chance to even compete for the all-around, an event which she could easily win.

Could Weiber still compete in the all-around? Technically, yes. The coaches could pull Aly Raisman and let Weiber compete or Raisman could concede her spot to Weiber. Will this happen? More than likely, no.

Raisman has worked very hard to be known has an all-around gymnast. A lot of coaches told her to stop training on bars because it’s her worst event and she could concentrate on becoming better at her best events. But she kept training and it’s now paid off for her. If Raisman is anything it’s consistent. I like Aly and I’m happy for her. I think she’ll hit her routines but I don’t think she’ll win gold. I hope I’m wrong. But she’s just not strong enough on all four events to defeat Gabby Douglas or Russia’s Victoria Komova. The thing is that Weiber can and has. But she won’t get the chance this time. The U.S. still has a very strong chance in Douglas, but they don’t have that one-two punch they thought they’d have going into the meet.

The big worry now is if Weiber can pull herself together to still be a strong competitor for Team USA in the team finals. The finals are a three up, three down format, which means that all scores count from the three gymnasts that compete on the event. Jordyn and Gabby should compete in all the events, while I suspect Aly will just compete on beam and floor. I think that Jordyn will be great on tomorrow. This will be like her all-around final and she wants to prove that she deserves to be in that competition on Thursday.

I also have to say that I am so impressed with how she composed herself for post-meet interviews. She just had the most crushing blow of her gymnastics career and she is able to stand there and be interviewed about that – at 17-years-old. Pretty sure I would have run off and would still be crying now. I believe that she’s happy for her teammates, but she wants it to be her in that all-around. And I do too.

What to watch for - Day 4

Team USA had a great night in team qualifying on Saturday and has a really good chance to win its first gold in men's gymnastics since 1984 and its first ever gold in a non-boycotted Olympics. The biggest surprise in qualifying is not that China and Japan faltered but that Great Britain beat both of them. GBR qualified in third behind USA and Russia. So the U.S. is in really good position to win gold, right? Well, yes and no. The Americans looked better than any team out there in qualifying and if they do that again they have a good shot. However, all scores are erased and each team starts with a clean slate in finals. Japan made a lot of mistakes Saturday, but since the scores clear they are still the favorites. China would be up there too but their qualifying was disastrous and they have some injuries, which probably does help the U.S. The arena should be very pro GBR with the home country team in the finals. Hopefully that and some pressure from the Americans will make Japan falter in finals as well.

Yesterday in the women’s synchronized springboard Kelci Bryant and Abby Johnston became the first American divers to win a medal since Laura Wilkinson in 2000. Tonight is the men’s chance to be the first U.S. male medalists since 1996 and the first in the synchronized events. David Boudla and Nick McCrory will compete in the men’s synchronized platform event. The Chinese are near impossible to beat so a silver medal is almost like winning the gold these days in diving. Great Britain has a great diver in Tom Daley, so expect a good atmosphere at the pool.

It looks to be a big night in the pool for Team USA as Americans have a great chance to win all four medal events tonight.

Ryan Lochte has a chance at medal number three of these Olympics tonight at it comes in the 200m freestyle. I’m guessing he’s very disappointed in his finish as the anchor in the 4x100 last night. He didn’t necessarily have a terrible race but the U.S. still finished second when they had the lead as he entered the pool. I said yesterday that I thought Michael Phelps would swim well in the 4x100 and he did. I think tonight Lochte will swim will in this 200m. He is the favorite in this event because of Phelps. That’s because Phelps actually won this event at the U.S. trials but dropped it to take his program down to seven events. However, it’s not like Lochte isn’t good at this race. He is the world champion after all.

The women’s 100m breaststroke should be a great race. Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte has breezed through the qualifying and is possibly the favorite. However, she hasn’t been in the pool at the same time as Americans Rebecca Soni and Breeja Larson. Soni is the silver medalist from Beijing and the world champion, while this is Larson’s first trip to the Olympics but she beat Soni at trials. The only problem I have with Larson is that she’s an aggie. So I’m cheering on Soni for the gold and Larson for the silver.

The Americans are favorites to win both the men’s and women’s 100m backstroke. Matt Grevers has had two great swims leading up to the finals and is looking very strong. On the women’s side, Missy Franklin goes for her first individual medal and has certainly impressed in the prelims and semifinals. Look out for Australia’s Emily Seebohm who came close to breaking the world record in prelims and some consider her the favorite.

The Fab Five.

Women’s gymnastics is by far my favorite sport in the Olympics. I, like most little girls, was mesmerized by the sport when I was little and wanted that to be me. I knew very early on that that pipe dream was not going to happen for me, so I took to following the sport. I’ve been keeping up with news and interviews of this Olympic team over the past few weeks. I must say, I think these girls are just adorable and they sure make me believe that they are a team when this is a sport that can often be about the individual.

I’ve heard that the difference between them and the team in 1996 is that they are actually a team. In 1996 it was a bunch of talented individuals doing their thing and that led them to a gold medal. These girls are all about the team winning the gold and the individual success comes after.

Here’s one of my favorite interviews that I’ve seen with them over the past week.

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Looking back at Day 2.

Here are a few of my thoughts on the events that happened yesterday:

The 400 IM was still huge but not as originally advertised. Neither Phelps or Lochte qualified in the manner they wanted. This put Lochte in lane three and Phelps in lane eight. Lochte was strong off the blocks in the first 50m of the butterfly, which is typically Phelps' best. Then Lochte really took over during the backstroke and that was it. At one point he was very close to breaking Phelps' world record, but he let up a bit in the last 50m to settle for just the gold. Of course the most surprising part of this race was not that Lochte won, but that Phelps did not medal. First time since Sydney in 2000 that Phelps didn't walk away with some type of medal in a race. I don't think the reason he finished fourth was due to his lane assignment. He could have overcome that IF he was in good shape to contend for this race. The 400 IM is one of the hardest races in swimming and Phelps took a lot of time off between Olympics. He is not in the same shape and Lochte has really proven to be the best in the event over the last several years. I don't think this means Phelps is done or anything like that. He's just not the best in that race anymore. But he's still a competitor and I think he'll be back strong, especially in his key events. I wouldn't be surprised if he leaves London with six medals in the six events he has left.

There was some more great swimming on last night as well. The U.S. won bronze in the women's 4x100 and Elizabeth Biesel won silver in the women's 400 IM. Biesel swam a great race and was in position to win it until China's Shiwen Ye turned the burners on in the last 100m and ended up setting a new world record.

We got to see Missy "The Missle" Franklin for the first time last night and she swam strong in the leadoff position for the relay team. In the end the team finished third behind Australia and the Netherlands. I was sad not to see Natalie Coughlin swim in the final after swimming well in the prelims. She failed to qualify for the Olympics in the 200m backstroke - the event in which she is the defending two-time gold medalist - while girls that grew up idolizing her got the spots in that race. But she's been the biggest cheerleader for the entire U.S. team. She swam possibly her only race of the Olympics yesterday and I'm glad the team won bronze (a medal which she gets for swimming prelims) and that makes her the most decorated U.S. female Olympian of all time.

One of the biggest surprises was not in the pool but in Greenwich Arena where men's gymnastics was taking place. The U.S. men were expected to contend for a medal, but with Japan and China mightily struggling in qualifying, Team USA qualified first for the team finals. The Americans had some struggles and were far from perfect, but they got through each rotation with some good scores. Great Britain, which had to wait until after the world championships last year to qualify for the Olympics in their home country, outscored both China and Japan yesterday. That is huge. There was no guarantee that GBR would even qualify for team finals. The stage is set for a great team final tomorrow night.

What to watch for - Day 3.

There are not a ton of marque events happening today, but arguably the most popular event of the games gets underway.

The qualifying round for women’s gymnastics starts today. Team USA is the favorite to take home gold, just like they have the past two Olympics. However, 1996 was the last time the Americans won gold in the team competition. Injuries made a definite dent in the team four years ago, but the team could have still won without some mistakes towards the end of the meet. The 1996 team was called the Magnificent Seven and this team is being called the Fab Five. It’s a bit of a heavy crown to wear when they haven’t even competed yet and all five of them are Olympic rookies (the Mag Seven didn’t get the name until after winning the gold). However, four of the Fab Five were on last year’s world championship team that obliterated the competition and they have plenty of international experience.

China is the reigning Olympic champion but that team has dropped off immensely since Beijing. The Chinese pushed hard to put on a show in Beijing and haven’t seemed to want it as badly since then. Romania has a long history of excellence in the sport but has struggled in recent years. Russia will be Team USA’s main competition and is still angry over missing a medal four years ago. The Russians finished second at 2011 worlds and analysts say they have been looking very strong since arriving in London. Keep an eye out for Great Britain’s Elizabeth Tweedle. She is one of the best in the country’s history and will be a big crowd pleaser, especially on bars.

The qualifying round is also the chance for individual gymnasts to qualify for the all-around competition. Americans Jordyn Weiber and Gabby Douglas should qualify for the individual competition and are the favorites to take the top two spots on the podium.

The USA had one of the best comebacks in Olympic swimming history four years ago in the 4x100-meter relay. I still get chills when I watch Jason Lezak swim those last 50m. This race is supposed to be just as exciting. The Australians are contenders this time and the French are back as well. Lezak, Michael Phelps and Cullen Jones are all back to swim the relay, along with Nathan Adrian, who is now the fastest 100m freestyler for Team USA and the anchor leg. Michael Phelps is coming off an embarrassing (for him) performance in the 400 IM yesterday. My guess is he will be very hungry today and will swim strong.

Prime time coverage is also scheduled to include the women’s synchronized springboard event. China owned all the diving events in Beijing, winning all eight golds. The U.S. didn’t win a medal in 2008 but hope to change that with the team of Kelci Bryant and Abby Johnston.

I won’t give away any spoilers because I hate when that happens to me. But I will say that USA men’s basketball is about to conclude their opening game of the tournament against France. Check any news or social media site to find out the score.

Phelps v. Lochte?

Most of you know by now that Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte did not qualify in the fashion they were expected for the 400 IM. Some of you may even know the outcome of the final race by now. I'm trying my best to stay off news sites and social media so that results don't get spoiled for me.

The headline this morning was that Phelps had "barely" qualified for one of his best races. First of all, this made it sound like he didn't win his heat and was lucky claim the eighth spot. Not true. Lucky? Maybe. But he won his heat, he just didn't post a great time, which he knew. And it's important to note that he still beat everyone in the pool with him.

Lochte also won his heat and ended up qualifying third. He also said that he was not happy with his performance. Remember that these qualifying heats were also the first races for them this entire Olympics and they were possibly even conserving some energy (maybe too much) for tonight.

Neither Lochte or Phelps will swim in the best lanes for the race and will be far apart from each other. I may end up being wrong, but I think this race is now going to be even better than could have ever been advertised.

Do you think there could be anything more motivating for Phelps than almost missing the chance to defend his Olympic title? And Lochte, who is the reigning world champion, is not in the position he wants to be going into the final. If it were me, I'd say, "Oh well." But that's why I'm not an athlete. I think this final is going to be amazing to watch. I just have to hope no one spoils it for me in the next few hours.

Opening ceremony thoughts.

I think there some differing opinions on the success of last night's opening ceremony. First of all, people need to remember that no one will ever try to match what Beijing did. They can only find a way to set themselves apart.

However, I actually saw some similarities between last night and four years ago. Beijing's artistic portion was very beautifully crafted and executed and that made it very Chinese. London was historical and eccentric with a surprise touch of sentiment and that made it very British. The similarity being that both did an excellent job of portraying themselves to the world.

The artistic portion really was like watching a live film. Those actors had to keep their characters going for quite a long time. While famous people tend to make appearances from time to time, I was impressed that someone like Kenneth Branagh was so involved. And I thought he did a great job. I loved the olympic ring being made and then the five coming together with the fire. It was a big "wow" moment. And actually more symbolic than some might realize. The Olympic Park is in East London which is not known for being the wealthiest or nicest part of the city and it's not a place you typical visit unless you want to go on the Jack the Ripper tour. All the factories were built there during the industrial revolution because the wind wouldn't sweep all the smoke west into the main part of the city. Now a very large part of the Olympics are taking place there and it is very meaningful to the East Londoners.

Now, let's talk about the entrance of the head of state. Beijing didn't do anything like that. And if they had a James Bond, you better believe they would have tried. We can only assume the Queen didn't actually jump out of that plane but I love that she agreed to do that video.

There was a lot I liked about the portion based on children's literature. Combine Mary Poppins and Harry Potter in an Olympics and you have a fan in me. Also, I don't think many know about the lasting legacy that J.M. Barrie left for children in London. He did a very unselfish thing in leaving the rights to Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Hospital. While that giant baby was a little creepy, the fact that J.K. Rowling had an appearance made this portion awesome.

Mr. Bean on the keyboard was probably the most entertaining part of the night. He has such a talent for making people laugh without saying a single word.

I think that the last part dragged on a bit, but I got a lot more out of it by watching it again.  Probably not the way it's supposed to be, but sometimes you have to watch a British production twice to fully grasp it. In the end, the world wide web is arguably the greatest gift to our society today.

The Parade of Nations seemed to take forever as always, but Bob Costas said it went by quicker than any Olympics he's been a part of. And I pretty much trust anything he says. Maybe it seems to take so long because we have to wait until pretty much the end to see the USA come in. But it's still awesome every time. I also love watching the host nation come in. There is always such an energy to them that you don't see from any other nation.

I think that the way the cauldron was lit was a surprise and a very refreshing idea. Having more than one person hold the final torch is not new. It was kind of done in Salt Lake City and was a big part of  Vancouver. But having young athletes, who could possibly be Olympians, was a cool idea. I love the unity of the Olympics and how all these nations come together. I thought is was great how all the flags were placed on that torre and that the copper bowls that came in with every nation combined to light the Olympic cauldron. And it was a beautiful sight watching it all come together.

Then Sir Paul McCartney performed. He will always be amazing. It's doesn't matter what decade. And to see someone like him, who has probably performed in just about every venue and situation, get choked up performing at the opening ceremony, you understand how much something like this means.

Here's my quick "Best" list:
Best moment: Lighting of the cauldron.
Most memorable: Queen Elizabeth and James Bond.
Best artistic portion moment: Forming of the Olympic rings.
Most entertaining: Mr. Bean.
Creepiest moment: Giant sleeping baby doll.
Best opening ceremony outfits: Bermuda. I love that they always wear Bermuda shorts.
Best nation entrance: Independent Olympic Athletes. It's not technically a nation and they compete under the Olympic flag, but their excitement could not be contained.
Best unexpected moment: The construction workers cheering the flame into the the stadium they built.
Best performance: Sir Paul. No question.

What to watch for - Day 2

Three words to describe what to look for today: Phelps vs. Lochte.

This very well may be what you should be looking forward to for the next week. Today is the first race that features arguably the best two swimmers in the world. Lochte has come on really strong since Beijing, while Phelps took some time off. Lochte beat Phelps at the World Championships last year and proved that there is finally someone to challenge one of the best swimmers ever. Today is the 400-meter individual medley - a race that Lochte won at the U.S. trials. The question isn’t whether or not the two will medal, but who will take home gold and silver.

The women’s 400m IM final is also tonight. American Elizabeth Beisel is the best chance for the red, white and blue in the race and is the reigning world champion. Australia’s Stephanie Rice is the defending Olympic champion and is in London to defend her title.

Missy Franklin will make her Olympic debut today in the 4x100m-relay. The 17-year-old has the chance to win seven medals, which is unprecedented. USA was second to the Dutch at the world championships last year. But some say that Franklin is a lot stronger than she was last year and that the Americans have a great chance to win gold.

Artistic gymnastics also begins today with the men’s qualifying round. The United States men have not won gold since 1984 and the 2012 team has been labeled as the best American team since then. Team USA won a surprise bronze in Beijing and is expected to stand on the podium again. Japan is the favorite for the gold, followed by China, but USA could challenge for that top spot than some expect. While Jonathan Horton is the only veteran on the team, expect Danell Leyva and John Orozco to post the best scores for the American squad.

NBC will also show early-round beach volleyball coverage in prime time with a match featuring two-time gold medal winners Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings. While they are the defending Olympic champions, they are not the top ranked duo or the favorites. However, no one would be surprised if these ladies earn the three peat. This early in the competition the most impressive thing at beach volleyball might be the venue. The sport is being played at the Horse Guards Parade, which is right down the street from Buckingham Palace. It’s one of the venues incorporating a more modern sport with classic London.

USA women’s soccer will also hit the pitch again today in search of their third straight gold medal. They defeated France by a final of 4-2 on Wednesday and take on Colombia at noon (eastern time).

While my goal is to send this out every day, I’m not going to make that promise. I may just get to caught up in watching every second rather than writing about it.

Until tomorrow!

Viewer's television guide.

Since the games are in London, which is five hours ahead of the East coast, the primetime coverage will be all tape delayed events. Some things will be live during the day, but I think NBC is going to hold the good stuff for the evening.

If you're like me and wondering what is going to be aired when, go here and you can see exactly when to set your DVR or make sure you're ready in front of the television. Make sure to set it to your cable provider and time zone. Happy watching!

Olympic Venues.

Want to know more about some of the venues for the events in the Olympic Park and around London? TODAY did a segment about some of the facilities to give you an idea.

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Opening Ceremony secrets.

Anyone else really curious as to what the Opening Ceremony will be like? Danny Boyle shared a little in a recent interview with Meredith Vieira. You can get a small idea.





All the countries doing broadcasts of the ceremony go in for rehearsals a few days before the event so they know what to talk about during the telecast. They are required to remain pretty tight lipped about what they see, but Matt and Meredith shared a little on Today this morning.

What to watch for - Day 1.

The day has arrived! The Olympics start today in the new Olympic Stadium in East London! Who will light the cauldron that will burn all 17 days of the games? Well, reports have David Beckham, Sir Steve Redgrave and even Prince William all as possibilities to be the final torchbearer.

However, Beckham, who was one of the main forces in London getting the Olympic games, has never actually been an Olympian. But this possibly could be Great Britain’s way of awarding him for his efforts after not putting him on the country’s Olympic soccer team.

The opening ceremonies will be the work of director Danny Boyle (the Oscar-winning director of Slumdog Millionaire). We all remember what China did four years ago, but it’s an accepted idea that will never be topped because of the unlimited resources and “volunteers” that they had in Beijing. Boyle has talked very little about the ceremony but says that it will be like watching a live film. He has also made references to Shakespeare’s The Tempest and classic British children’s literature such as J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan.

I think there will be some reference to Chariots of Fire since I heard the theme playing in the background of a video blog from Ryan Seacrest from Wednesday’s rehearsal.

We do know that Sir Paul McCartney will be performing tonight. This is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Boyle says not to take a bathroom break within the first 15 minutes because that’s when the theme is established. I suggest you take your bathroom break during the Parade of Nations since there will be 204 countries and 10,940 delegates this Olympiad. Remember Greece always enters first and the host nation last. The United States will be the 194^th nation to enter.

Here are some Olympic tidbits to help you through day one:

·      London is the only city to host the Olympics three times.

·      The U.S. has never won a gold in table tennis, badminton or team handball.

·      For the first time, the number of U.S. women delegates (269) competing outnumbers the men (261). #girlpower

·      The U.S. flag will be carried in by two-time defending sabre gold medalist Mariel Zagunis. She was selected to be the flag bearer by her fellow Team USA members.

·      Guor Marial will compete under the Olympic flag since the Sudanese refuge, who is a permanent resident of the US, is not a citizen of any country. The 28-year-old from South Sudan, which has yet to establish a national Olympic committee as a new nation, escaped the civil war in his home country as a child. He declined an offer from Sudan to run in the games because of the 28 relatives he lost in the conflict.

·      South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius will be the first amputee track athlete to compete at any Olympic games. The double amputee will run both the 400m and the 4x400m relay.

·      Women’s boxing will be the only new sport making its debut in London.

·      There are five sports that have been part of every modern summer Olympic games. They are track & field, swimming, gymnastics, cycling and fencing.

·      For the first time ever, every country will be sending both male and female athletes.

·      Will Monaco end its streak of 26 games (18 summer) without winning a medal?

·      The Queen’s granddaughter, Zara Phillips, will be competing for Great Britain in equestrian. Both her mother and father, Princess Anne and Mark Phillips, are both former Olympians for GBR.

·      The USA topped the overall medal count in Beijing with 110 medals (36 gold, 38 silver and 36 bronze). Will they be able to take the most this Olympiad? We can only watch to find out!

Call me. Maybe?

If you keep up with pop culture, you've heard the song Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen. If you haven't heard it, I'm going to assume you're living under a rock. It's not a particularly ground-breaking song (sorry to those that think it is), but it is incredibly catchy. I'll admit to bopping around whenever I hear it. And...I may or may not know all the words.

But anyways, there have been many YouTube videos dedicated to this song. The most well known were performances by the Harvard baseball team and the SMU women's crew team.

Well, USA swimming has gone and added to the list. Enjoy!

Bob and the ladies.

There have been a lot of stories and videos in the past the week previewing different events and aspects of the games. I couldn't begin to compile them all. But I'll share these two with you. I adore Bob Costas and I'm loving the storyline of the 2012 games being all about the women.

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Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Olympic song.

Do you love hearing the Olympic theme? I do. It's one of my favorite pieces of music. This is probably for two reasons.

1. I love the Olympics (duh)
2. It was written by John Williams

Williams is one of the most well-known composers of our generation. Even if you don't know his name, you know his music. Trust me.

Most probably just call it the Olympic song, like me. But the official name is the "Olympic Fanfare and Theme." He wrote the Olympic Fanfare for the 1984 games in Los Angeles and it's been used (at least by the United States) as the anthem ever since.

Rock Center did a great feature on him on its most recent show. Enjoy the music and get yourself ready for the games!

 

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The perfect video montage.

I love the Olympics. This is probably evident due to the fact that I made a blog for it. One of my favorite parts of the whole 17 days is the montage that NBC plays at the end of their closing ceremony broadcast. It so perfectly combines all the best highlights and moments of the Olympic games. And any video set to a great score of music is bound to create some emotion.

Here is the video from the end of the 2008 Olympics. It begins with Bob Costas' closing remarks and then some ariel images of the country. The best part starts about 6:19. If this video doesn't give you chills, we can't be friends.

Cheers.

Well, instead of constantly posting on my regular blog about the Olympics, I decided to create one specifically for the XXX Olympiad. Check here for my thoughts on the games, events, athletes, etc.