Games of the XXIX Olympiad

The 2008 Summer Olympics officially commence on Friday (8-8-08), after some sports kick off with early-bird preliminaries on Thursday.

As a kid (and beyond), I loved the Summer Games. Track and field was my favorite sport to view, and I have fond memories throughout the years of watching the exploits of superstar Carl Lewis, hurdler Edwin Moses, long-jumper Mike Powell, decathlete Daley Thompson, 400-meter runner Quincy Watts and the irrepressible 200- and 400-meter legend Michael Johnson.

My favorite track athlete of all time is Renaldo "Skeets" Nehemiah, the unstoppable 110-meter hurdler of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Alas, Nehemiah never got to shine on the world's biggest stage, his Olympic dream having been dashed by the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Moscow games.

Anyway, my passion for the Olympics has diminished these days. With all the drug and doping controversies in track coupled with the human-interest-story-over-actual-sports approach to primetime coverage on NBC, my interest level has now basically been limited to men's soccer and men's basketball.

Will Brazil finally capture the one soccer title that has eluded the game's most accomplished nation?

Will the USA basketball team reclaim the gold medal that has eluded them on the international stage since the 2000 Olympics?

Tune in.