I just watched the gold medal women's sabre bout -- two American women, with a third having won the bronze. These are our first medals for this Olympics. Very nice.

I thought the spectacle was amazing and I really enjoyed it, but why was "Scotland the Brave" playing on the bagpipes for the entry of the North Korean team?

It was playing for the entrance of many other teams as well. I think the Chinese simply chose several pieces that they thought would work well for the Parade of Nations and alternated them.

They also had an Aboriginal dance going on during the athletes' entrance. The bagpipes confused me too though. I wondered since when Scotland had its own Olympic team!

Lol This takes you back! (and what, pray is a "tamashanna"?!
If you type Scotland the Brave into Wiki you get the alternative lyrics! Lol!

Yay! A cycling gold for the Brits yay!!

I'm keeping track of how often NBC covers medal ceremonies for non-U.S. gold medalists. Since I don't regard the Olympics as an American track meet, I am always peeved when the network doesn't give us ceremonies and anthems for the foreign winners. I LOVE hearing the national anthems of other countries.

So far, I've heard "Advance Australia Fair" and Japan's "Kimi ga Yo." Sorry, ren, but I missed your "God Save the Queen."

Who has heard other anthems?

They've been very good with foreign anthems here in Australia so far. They've shown most of the medal ceremonies for the swimming, even when the Aussies didn't win the gold. Understandably though, the overall focus is mostly on the Australian athletes, so I have to use the internet to figure out what the Dutch athletes get up to.

Heard the anthems from the US, Korea, China and Australia, and unfortunately just missed the Dutch one.

I can't help it -- I just watched the men's 4x100 freestyle swimming relay. Without a doubt, one of the most exciting finishes I've ever seen!

Geez, wasn't it? As they said it was up to the French team to lose it. I wonder if the Australian first swimmer was slighly peeved at having one a wrld record but still only getting a bronze?

Enjoyed what I've seen so far - am looking forward to the track events too.

That was a cracker of a 4 x 100 for sure. USA were gone, you gotta feel for the French though, and the times were crazy. Australia were a mile back in third and still broke the old record. Great Stuff.

Split between whatever best suits our needs, family, friends and charitable concerns we find worthy.

The worlds problems will not be solved with a multi trillion dollar check, or billions of 50 dollar checks.

Events like the opening ceremonies are capable of lifting peoples spirits. showing beauty rather then tragedy.

Seeing only tragedy in the world can wear people down.

I enjoy watching games, variety of sports I don't usually see. Learning the rules of each game as I watch, and techniques athletes use.

The evening broadcast is live on the east coast of the US, but since we live on the west coast, they delay it until our "primetime", which is 8pm-12midnight. I think just the opening ceremonies were blacked out though - now I think you can see live broadcasts on the internet for sure.

I have to say that men's 4x100 relay was one of the most exciting things ever. I would have felt badly for the French if not for the fact that they boasted loudly that they would "smash" the Americans.

The Brits made an awesome show in the women's 400 freestyle, going 1 and 3. Very exciting race!

I'm amazed by the ages of some of these athletes, in particular the 33 year old gymnast on the German team and of course the 41 year old US swimmer Dara Torres! WOW.

And GB have the wonderful Mary King, going for Gold at 47. She kindly signed an autograph for my birthday this year, so I'm really cheering for her! (Mind, I think I *may* have watched too much Olympics last night, as I *seem* to remember Mary King and Call Again Cavalier doing a double back pike on their way to Basketball victory..)

MSNBC has come out with the news about the "Amazing Fireworks Show" was digitally created months in advance !
So, I am greatly disappointed and disillusioned by the Huge Hoax perpetrated on Viewers around the Globe.
I am sorry I don't know how to attach a link for this story, but its under MSNBC Technology and Science. So, Jonnowales, I am hopeful and confident that you Brits will come up with a brilliant real display for the world to see.

Having just watched a few interesting swimming contests (I won't crow), I decided to peruse, as is my wont, some of the more obscure and esoteric details in my David Wallechinsky "Complete Book of the Olympics." Here's a swimming competition that I think should certainly be revived:

200-Meter Obstacle Race (held at the Paris Olympics of 1900):

"This quaint event required the participants to struggle past three sets of obstacles. First they had to climb over a pole, then they had to scramble over a row of boats, and finally they had to swim UNDER another row of boats. [The winner, Australian] Freddy Lane, grew up around boats in Sydney's harbor and put this experience to good use .... Rather than clamber over the middle of the boats, he crossed them at the stern, where the going was smoother."

I love it.

I'd love to see Michael Phelps win that one!

Ha eight is enough.

I guess I should have said "try to win that one".

Just putting my two cents in here about the age thing. Dara Torres at 41 is a lot more impressive than someone riding a horse at an advanced age. I'd be more impressed if the horse was old. I was also impressed with the flag-bearer choice of the U.S., Lopez Lomong. Lomong is a former Sudanese refugee---a fact not lost on the Chinese who support the repressive elements in the Sudan. Other non-athletes who were of the same heritage and sympathies as Lomong (including former Olympian, American Joey Cheek)were denied visas by the Chinese government. So kudos to the American athletes who voted on this young man to carry the flag.

I saw a one hour special on ESPN during the spring, right before one of the qualifying races Lomong was going to run. It was a great piece and showed him training in Philadelphia as well as telling his story.

Jubal, I agree that swimming at Olympic level is more impressive at a high age than riding, but 67? That's old for the Olympics regardless of the type of sport. At that age you're deemed too old to work in a lot of countries!