Summer Olympics News

I watched badminton today. I don’t know, it just kind of makes me laugh. They were talking about how Southern California was where some of the best badminton in the United States was being played, and I just found that amusing.

I’m not taking anything away from the skill required to play badminton, but I just have a hard time taking it seriously. In case you were wondering, the match I was watching was American Raju Rai vs. Ville Lang of Finland. Rai lost.

In China, on the other hand, badminton is very serious business. Their coach has said, anything less than 3 of the 5 gold medals will be considered a failure. Wow, no pressure there.

Late night on NBC you can watch women’s volleyball and women’s 100m breaststroke semifinals. During the day tomorrow, it’s women’s water polo, men’s beach volleyball and more qualifying rounds for swimming. Then in primetime, Michael Phelps his march towards Olympic history in the 200m free. Teammates Aaron Peirsol and Natalie Coughlin have a chance to medal in the men’s and women’s 100m. Also on during primetime, U.S. women’s beach volleyball with Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, the men’s team gymnastics final, and the men’s 10m synchro platform diving final.

MSNBC is broadcasting a full day tomorrow, as well, including women’s tennis, women’s handball, women’s basketball, women’s water polo and women’s volleyball. (Incidentally, U.S. women’s water polo is pursuing their third straight Olympic gold medal.) Men’s badminton (where U.S. competitor Raju Rai may actually have a chance), weightlifting and men’s archery are also available for viewing.

CNBC will be showing men’s beach volleyball, boxing, and women’s softball.

USA is broadcasting women’s beach volleyball, rowing, men’s tennis (featuring Wimbledon champion Rafael Nedal), women’s basketball, and women’s volleyball.

Oxygen will be covering gymnastics and equestrian.

Online, you can see archery, badminton, basketball, fencing, handball, field hockey, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, softball, tennis, water polo, weightlifting, and wrestling.

You could pretty much start watching the Olympics at midnight and just watch it straight through tomorrow.

Your local NBC affiliate will be showing men’s volleyball overnight. Then, from 1-5 a.m., you can see a replay of tonight’s primetime. Tomorrow morning, you can see the U.S. basketball team against China. Also in the morning, rowing preliminaries, women’s cycling and men’s water polo. In the afternoon, check out men’s beach volleyball and more cycling. In the evening, cycling finishes up and there are swimming prelims. Primetime brings Michael Phelps going for a second gold in the men’s 4×100m free relay. There’s more swimming, with the women’s 400m free, men’s 100m breast, and the semifinal of the women’s 100m back stroke. The U.S. women’s Olympic gymnastics team starts their quest for gold, and the first diving gold medals of the Games will be awarded. Late night, you can check out women’s volleyball.

On MSNBC, you can watch men’s soccer: Italy vs. South Korea, women’s field hockey: USA vs. Argentina, and men’s handball: South Korea vs. Germany. In tennis, Roger Federer of Switzerland plays Dmitry Tursunov of Russia. Also, men’s volleyball, men’s water polo, badminton, men’s handball, and the men’s trap shooting gold-medal final.

CNBC will feature tennis and boxing.

USA is showing men’s basketball, women’s badminton, equestrian team eventing dressage, women’s tennis, men’s soccer, women’s archery team final, women’s weightlifting 53kg final, and the gold-medal final in men’s 56kg weightlifting.

Online, you can watch archery, badminton, basketball, cycling, equestrian, fencing, handball, field hockey, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, soccer, tennis, water polo, and weightlifting.

I have obligations that prevent me from posting on Saturday, but I didn’t want to leave you hanging completely, so here’s what’s available for your viewing pleasure on Saturday.

During primetime Saturday night, you can watch men’s gymnastics qualifying rounds, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh doubtless trouncing a Latvian beach volleyball team, and gold medal rounds in the men’s 400m free, the women’s 4×100m free relay and the men’s and women’s 400m IM. Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff will be Americans to keep an eye on in the swimming.

Online, you can watch women’s archery, badminton, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s cycling, equestrian, fencing, handball, field hockey, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, women’s soccer, tennis, water polo and weightlifting.

The television coverage of the China Olympics begins in earnest tomorrow with the opening ceremony, which will air on NBC from 6:30 p.m. until 11 p.m.(all times CST). In case you’re wondering, Beijing is 13 hours ahead of U.S. Central Standard Time. So, as I’m writing this, it’s 8:30 tomorrow morning (weird).

You can also watch several events online tomorrow, including badminton, basketball, equestrian, fencing, handball, judo, shooting and weightlifting, which will actually be after the opening ceremony in Beijing (I think), but before it airs on television here. Having an Olympics on the other side of the world makes those of us trying to cover it feel like we’re living in multiple dimensions I have a hard enough time remembering what day and time it is here without trying to keep track of what day and time it is in China.