Did The Athenians Have Streaming Video?

I pretty much don't know of anything else that exists on television at the moment, and I've spent more time in front of a television than I have in years.

So, here's some thoughts a week into the Summer Olympics:

* Women's ping pong looks quite surreal at 3 a.m. on CNBC.

* I find myself uncharacteristically consumed with nationalism. I want American domination, no matter how compelling the story is for an athlete of another country. I feel like a cliche, and I often root for underdogs, but America's been a bit down on its luck lately, and I love what this country is meant to represent.

* I just can't get over how people wait four years for one moment. If an athlete fails, he's going to be four years older when tries to do it again.

* I don't prefer sports that rest on the whims of judges.

* I never knew how compelling swimming medley relays can be. Four guys each do a different stroke, which is a true testament to art in athletics. It's almost like a classic anthem rock group shredding guitar, bass and drum solos.

* The hero of this summer's Olympics is Jason Lezak. He sprinted faster than anyone in history to overcome a deficit over the last few seconds to beat that French guy in the first relay who was talking all that shit about "smashing the Americans." And tonight he held off the Australians to give Michael Phelps that last gold. He's the ultimate wingman.

* Gymnastics is all about waiting for somebody to screw up.

* Running is so iconic. No other Olympic sport evokes such epic historical moments (Jesse Owens in Berlin; Black Power in Mexico, Carl Lewis everywhere, etc.).

* The Romanian who won the "women's jogging" competition (as my son likes to call the marathon) must have felt like she conquered the world when she entered the stadium.

* I want the basketball team to embarrass anyone who dares stand in their way, unlike 2004 when I suffered from a contrarian satisfaction that we had to settle for the bronze.

* It's pretty easy to remember that everything is exactly 12 hours ahead -- at least on the East Coast.

* So it's kind of emblematic of the repeated misjudgments of the McCain campaign when it ran a negative political ad immediately after that inspiring Lezak comeback.

* And I don't understand making a negative ad that shows a picture of Obama looking especially positive and youthful instead of an embarrasing, scowling, mouth-wide-open video still.

* I don't quite understand "connection points" and "start values" ... and I question a sport in which a camera pans into a computer screen for drama ... but if we've got a dog in the gymnastics fight, I'm with it.

* Rowing ... I just can't stick with it.

* This thing about the Olympics being in China is a monument to dysfunction. Polluted air and 8-year-old gymnasts who look petrified and Tiannamen Square and a gluttonous opening ceremony that typifies an oppresive narcissism ...

* ... and I'm not buying the creepy "bird's nest"stadium architecture as a representation of organic Chinese culture.

* I thought it was cool when one of our gymnasts looked into the camera and said, "What's up, America?" as he sat down after spinning on a bar with one hand.

* The American girl gymnasts played it a lot smoother and looked a lot tougher than the guys.

* Americans generally look happy.

* I like that our volleyball players don't bitch at their teammates at every mistake like those Europeans.

* The president was right to attend the games.

* I didn't realize that Michael Phelps was double-jointed in his knees and ankles and has 14-sized flippers for feet and has a long torso with short legs and a massive wingspan that makes his body a prototype for swimming.

* It makes me wonder how many other people are built like that and don't realize they could be good swimmers.

* If I were a woman, would I think Michael Phelps is hot?

* That Jamaican runner shouldn't have slowed down.

* Sunglasses at night are cool in sprinting.

* The Olympics are a refreshing respite from professional sports. The pros aren't nearly as compelling to me in light of the Olympics and the lower-profile athletes who have one chance to make an indelible mark on American history.

* Good to see Kobe say that being proud to win for your country isn't an outdated notion. And I like how LeBron recognizes the Olympics as the "biggest stage of my life."

* Dara Torres earning the title of the world's second-fastest swimmer at the age of 41 after five Olympics (and two that she sat out in between) is reassuring.

* When does Jeremy Wariner run?