SESKER OLYMPICS JOURNAL: Journey to Beijing is trip of a lifetime

BEIJING, China - Family, friends and co-workers told me before I headed to Beijing to cover my first Olympic Games that it would be the trip of a lifetime.

They couldn't have been more right.

This has been an unbelievable experience - from seeing the Great Wall to taking part in the Opening Ceremonies to seeing Henry Cejudo win a gold medal to taking Henry on his media tour to the Today Show, CBS Early Show and World News Tonight. It's been an incredible three weeks in China.

The people here are so friendly, and I don't think it's just because the Olympics are here. I was in Guangzhou, China, two years ago for the World Championships and the people there were just as nice and friendly.

Henry was selected to appear in the U.S. Olympic Committee's Wrap-up Press Conference this afternoon. That is a very big honor. He will be up there with Peter Ueberroth and Jim Scherr of the USOC and a handful of other athletes. I'm headed over to the Olympic Village in a few minutes to bring Henry over here.

I want to thank all of the people out there who have been reading this journal/blog and for giving me feedback. The e-mails from those of you back in the U.S. meant a lot to me.

And I also want to thank all of you who gave me crap for when I had to carry Henry's flowers as I walked him over to the interview area after he won his gold medal. I'm sure that looked great on TV.

Henry is scheduled to appear on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Wednesday on NBC. Our three Olympic medalists also have been invited to appear with all the U.S. medalists on the Oprah Winfrey Show in a couple of weeks. We'll keep you posted on that.

It's been a hectic, but amazing, three weeks here. I'm ready to go home, hug my daughter and see if I can remember what she still looks like. I've been gone a while.

I'll never forget my time in Beijing. It's been the trip of a lifetime.

Friday, Aug. 22

BEIJING, China - Henry Cejudo proved he is the best freestyle wrestler on the planet by winning an Olympic gold medal at 55 kg/121 lbs.

He's also one of the best at handling the news media.

He provided full proof of that during our Magical Mystery Media Tour yesterday. Henry's story has caught the attention and national international media, and with good reason.

Henry had a full schedule of interviews with the media that stretched for nearly 10 hours yesterday, from just after noon to nearly 10 p.m.

Here's a little sampling of the Media Tour that Henry and I did yesterday in the Olympic Green. Henry's youth coach and mentor, Tracy Greiff, also accompanied us on the tour.

Here is a little chronology of what we did yesterday:

12:15 p.m. - A car picks us up at the wrestling venue after the first session ends and takes us to the Beijing Convention Center. We go up to the top floor, with a beautiful view of the Bird's Nest, and Henry is interviewed live by television stations from Denver and Phoenix.

We have a little time before the interviews and are invited to partake in the lunch spread they have in there. Henry, who won't be cutting weight for a while, makes a couple of trips through the line. As Henry and Tracy go through line, I see the Today's Show Al Roker walk by and grab an ice cream bar.

1:30 - We meet a crew from ABC's World News Tonight in the area right outside the Main Press Center. Henry is interviewed for a story that was scheduled to run on ABC on Wednesday night.

2 p.m. - We walk over to the International Broadcast Center where NBC's compound is located. Henry does interviews for NBCOlympics.com, Access Hollywood and NBC Telemundo. The interview with Telemundo is in Spanish. Henry is a pro in front of the camera, smiling and laughing and talking about the emotions he experienced after winning the gold medal.

As his coach Terry Brands says, Henry has a Million Dollar Smile. He's a good-looking, outgoing young man and the TV people love that. My media coaching advice to him is just pretend he's Tom Cruise and don't be afraid to flash his pearly whites.

3 p.m. - We walk into this old, and I mean old, building for a studio interview with CCTV International. This station broadcasts around the world - I think I even get it in Colorado Springs. Henry is on for a very long segment with a U.S. Olympic champion in the women's discus. Henry ends up getting a majority of the questions as he's funny and engaging while the discus thrower looks a little uncomfortable doing the interviews.

4 p.m. - Next up is ESPN Deportes. We journey over there and meet Crazy David, who is very excited to see Henry. I actually had to tell the guy to calm down a little bit at one point because he was so excited he wouldn't stop talking. Henry sits down in the studio at a table where David interviews him. David is wearing a black-and-white pinstripe suit with a pink tie, but as I glance down he is barefoot. Good thing the cameras are shooting just the head and shoulders. I'm trying to figure out what they're saying, but as Henry says you talk a million miles an hour when you speak Spanish.

They ask Henry to do a little promo for them after the interview. He does it in Spanish and then goes da-da-da, da-da-da like the theme from SportsCenter. It was very funny. Henry had to do two takes because he started laughing the first time.

5:30 p.m. - ESPN transports us by van back to the Main Press Center. Henry, Tracy and I grab some dinner in the MPC cafeteria. Henry opts for McDonald's, making two trips up to the counter for food. He may have to bump up 60 kg/132 lbs. next year.

6:30 p.m. - We walk a couple of blocks over to the Today Show's outdoor set, which is situated right next to the Olympic Stadium/Bird's Nest. We are met by one of the workers there and are escorted back into the Green Room, which is actually a trailer.

We're in the Green Room with hurdler Lolo Jones, who was on her way to winning the Olympic title the night before. She had a big lead before hitting the second-to-last hurdle and losing her balance. She ended up placing seventh. We chatted with her briefly - she was very friendly and congratulated Henry. It was heartbreaking to see her lose in that fashion, but she was handling it very well a day later. She seemed like a very cool person.

They have a trailer adjacent to the Green Room that has all kinds of drinks and snacks, including Starbucks. While we checked out the snack trailer, Henry is taken over to another trailer to pose for some portraits with his gold medal for Getty Images.

My boss, Gary Abbott, also has joined us after covering the afternoon session at the wrestling venue. A lady came back in the Green Room and asked me if I knew Gary and if they should let him back there. We had a good laugh about that one.

7:15 p.m. - We're called to the Today Show set from the Green Rom now. Henry and I jump on the back of the golf cart with Lolo Jones and ride over to the massive Today Show set. Gary and Tracy are walking quickly behind us and actually keeping up with us as we roll along slowly.

As we walk on stage, Henry and I are led to an area where Today Show host Matt Lauer is sitting. Matt greets us with smiles and handshakes, and welcomes us. Today Show personalities Meredith Vieira, Ann Curry and Al Roker also come by to congratulate Henry and say hello. A huge group of fans also has gathered to watch the show. A big cheer goes up when Henry walks up on stage with his gold medal and he waves to the crowd.

Former NFL running back Tiki Barber, now with NBC, is sitting on a chair just behind the set. He is text-messaging and drops his Blackberry on the floor, and a piece of it goes flying. I'm sure he can afford a new one.

7:40 p.m. - The Today Show returns from commercial break and Henry is sitting on a chair directly across from Matt Lauer. Henry nails the interview and does a great job. He smiles, laughs and gives great answers to the questions. Henry admitted later he was a little nervous, but you couldn't tell. Doing live TV on the top-ranked morning show in the U.S. is not easy to do. But he handled it very well.

7:55 p.m. - As soon as the microphone is unhooked from Henry, we are walking toward another golf cart to be transported to CBS studios to appear on the CBS Early Show. We are taken up an elevator to their location on the roof top. Henry stands out on the balcony as he is being interview via satellite by veteran broadcaster Harry Smith, who is back in the CBS studios in New York.

Henry got a big chuckle out of Harry's comment near the end when Harry says, "Well, you have a black eye and a gold medal." Henry was sporting a little bit of a shiner for an elbow he took in the semifinals against the kid from Azerbaijan. According to Henry, the elbow was not accidental.

8:10 p.m. - We're back in yet another vehicle and being transported over to CNN's studio location. Henry has been invited to appear on CNN's Spanish network. On the way over, Henry sits in the back of the van and does an interview in Spanish with a radio station in Miami.

8:40 p.m. - Henry, Tracy and I are led into a building to do the interview with CNN. We all bust out laughing when we realize its the same dumpy old place where we were earlier with CCTV.

Henry finishes the day by breezing through the Spanish interview with CNN. We meet CNN sports anchor Larry Smith, who gives us some CNN pins to take with us. I give him a USA Wrestling pin that I told him I expect to see on his sport coat. He laughed about that one.

9:20 p.m. - The interviews are finally done and Henry is spent. He's ready for a well-deserved break. The van from CNN transports us over to the Olympic Village. A weary Henry tells us as he departs that he is headed straight to bed.

We are giving Henry the day off today from talking to the media. He has been invited to take part in the U.S. Olympic Committee's Wrap-up Press Conference on Friday afternoon. It's a very big deal for us. Only the top U.S. athletes from the entire Games are selected. We're excited the USOC selected him to take part.

We also learned Henry may be appearing on the Tonight Show next Wednesday, Aug. 27, in Los Angeles.

It's an exciting time for Henry. He has a great story and we're happy to see the rest of the World is now hearing all about Henry Cejudo.

Thursday, Aug. 21

BEIJING, China - I took my share of grief for putting Henry Cejudo on the cover of the 2007 USA Wrestling Media Guide.

My headline - The Future is Now - was derived from the June 2007 Sports Illustrated article about Henry. They did an amazing four-page feature on Henry and U.S. National Coach Kevin Jackson called Henry the future of wrestling.

But Henry didn't live up to the hype in 2007. He lost in the first round of the 2007 World Championships. He wasn't 100 percent physically or mentally. But he was just 20 years old and just a year out of high school.

But what a difference a year makes. Henry turned in one of the most incredible athletic performances I've ever witnessed in person when he won the Olympic gold medal Tuesday night. Henry lost the first period in his first three matches, but somehow regrouped to win all three to make the finals. That string started when he beat 2006 World champion Radoslav Velikov of Bulgaria in the first round. Henry's conditioning was superb and it paid off for him. He broke everybody he wrestled.

Henry looked even better in the finals. He actually won the first period this time and swept a tough wrestler from Japan to win the gold. Henry's victory celebration, where he ran around the mat with the American flag, was one of the coolest things I've ever witnessed. Seeing him reach his goals was gratifying.

I've worked closely with Henry and he's a joy to work with. He handles himself very well and is very good with the news media. We learned that he's going to be on the Today Show on Wednesday. The show airs here from 7-9 p.m. (7-9 a.m. on the East Coast and 5-7 a.m. in Colorado). Make sure and tune in to see our newest Olympic champion. Hopefully, we can add some more hardware in the next two days.

I was lucky enough to be down on the floor, escorting Henry to the holding area where the medalists gather just before the medal ceremony. I then took him through the mixed zone, where media interviewed him, and then on to a press conference where all four medalists answered questions.

We had a great media turnout. Among the heavy hitters who showed up was Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke, a regular on ESPN's Around the Horn show. I chatted with him briefly before the finals. I showed him last year's media guide with Cejudo on the cover and he chuckled when I told him I jinxed him at the 2007 Worlds.

Henry's big night was just getting started. The U.S. Olympic Committee invited Henry on its Managing Victory Tour. Adam Wheeler brought three people on his tour after winning a bronze medal in Greco-Roman wrestling. Henry's family and friends ended up filling three USOC vans. Two of his brothers, Angel and Alonzo, are here along with his sister, Gloria. His mother didn't make it to Beijing because of problems with her passport, but Henry got on the phone shortly after his win and gave her a call.

We were driven in the vans from the venue to the Beijing Convention Center, where Henry did interviews with network affiliates with the Bird's Nest providing a scenic and perfect backdrop. Henry did television interviews in English and Spanish. He's not only the youngest Olympic wrestling champion in U.S. history, he also speaks two languages fluently.

Henry appeared on morning TV shows in Los Angeles, Phoenix and Denver. He did an interview in Spanish on the Telemundo network.

When we finished there, we took Henry and his crew over to the Main Press Center for a short press conference. I moderated the press conference - the first time I've done that - and it went well. We had Henry, his brother Angel and USA Wrestling Assistant National Coach Terry Brands up on the podium with me. It went well.

We didn't get out of the MPC until nearly 10 p.m. and went straight to USA House for a party the USOC was throwing to honor Henry.

It was a magical night. I'll never forget it.

Wednesday, Aug. 20

BEIJING, China - There was no wrestling yesterday, but it still somehow ended up being a very hectic day.

Here is a little chronology of what I did with my day:

7 a.m. - Woke up in my dormitory room at Beijing Normal University. Walked into the fourth-floor lobby area and hooked up my computer. I checked my e-mail and wrote my latest entry into this blog. Threw in a load of laundry, which I ended up hanging in my room to dry.

10 a.m. - Waited downstairs for the shuttle that would take me, Randi Miller and her mother to the Managing Victory media tour on the Olympic Green. Randi won a bronze medal the night before.

10:15 a.m. - Jeff Howard of the USOC calls me to tell me the shuttle driver got lost. Both me and Randi's mom are instructed to take a cab to the Main Press Center. Randi's mom is staying at a hotel in Beijing while I'm at BNU.

10:30 a.m. - I arrive at the MPC and meet Jeff just outside. I call Randi's mom and her cab driver is lost. After waiting a few minutes, Jeff heads over to the Olympic Village in a van to pick up Randi and some other athletes for the media tour.

11 a.m. - Randi's mom is still in the cab with the driver who can't find the MPC, a huge building that towers above the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube in the Olympic Green. Jeff has picked up the athletes and they are headed straight over for the interviews. I continue to wait for Randi's mom before we finally run out of time. Randi's mom heads back to her hotel and I head back to Beijing Normal University.

I got a hold of Randi by phone and she said everything went well with the interviews. It was unfortunate her mom didn't make it over there to see it, but she's still beaming about her daughter winning an Olympic medal.

12:30 p.m. - I swing through McDonald's for lunch. The Big Mac and McNuggets combo is not the best thing for me. But it's quick and it's cheap, and that works well with our crazy schedule here.

2:15 p.m. - I walk over to the taxi stand outside Beijing Normal to catch a cab over to the freestyle weigh-ins at the venue. I'm walking just behind Mike Zadick and Henry Cejudo, who are weighing in about an hour from now. They pile into a car provided by Steve Silver, our Team Leader for freestyle. Bill Zadick jumps into a cab with me and we ride over to the arena.

3:15 p.m. - Both guys make weight and the names of the 19 wrestlers in each weight class are drawn. The pairings come up on a wall in the warmup area and we fill the countries into the brackets. Henry has a World champ from Bulgaria first round. Mike is on the opposite side of the bracket as two Olympic champs and a World champ.

5:15 p.m. - I finish writing and posting a short story on this Web site detailing the pairings for Mike and Henry. I continue handing out Olympic pins to the large throng of volunteers who work at our venue. The first day here I couldn't get on the field of play or into the mixed zone or into the warmup area. After loading the workers here up with USA Wrestling pins and USOC pins, I can go just about anywhere now without any problems.

6:05 p.m. - I'm sitting in a virtual parking lot as Rush Hour traffic has slowed everything to a crawl as I cab it back to BNU.

6:45 p.m. - After dumping my computer off in my room at BNU, I run into Mike and Bill Zadick, their father Bob and their uncle as I walk toward the taxi stand. A short time later, I'm back in yet another cab and headed to the Main Press Center to see if any press officers want to go hang out.

7 p.m. - I grab dinner from the Mediterranean section of the dining area at the MPC. The spaghetti and slice of Pepperoni pizza are excellent. The food here has been very good.

7:20 p.m. - Three of the girls in the USOC press office ask me if I want to tag along to see Michael Phelps appear on the Today Show. We walk over to the outdoor set next to the Olympic Stadium. We immediately spot Phelps, who finished with a record eight gold medals, up on stage talking with Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira. The show was very cool. The girls pose for a photo with Al Roker and I shake hands with Meredith. I also wedge my way into the background when they shoot a short segment with a chef who appeared on the show.

Swimmer Dara Torres also was on the show, along with a number of other top U.S. swimmers.

8:45 p.m. - We leave the Today Show set and venture over to the Olympic Super Store. It's like a giant warehouse with a ton of Olympic gear in there, ranging from small pins and keychains to giant bears with the Olympic logo on them. I bought a shirt, a little bear and a notebook.

10:30 p.m. - We're back at the MPC again. I print out a couple dozen Mike Zadick bios and bring them back with me to the dorms. Since he was a late addition to the U.S. team, his bio isn't in the media guide. We'll distribute those to the news media in the morning.

11:15 p.m. - A long day ends with a trip to the 3rd floor area of the MPC, where many of us congregate each night to unwind.

Midnight - We hop in the shuttle and head back to BNU. We need to squeeze in a few hours of sleep before another big day hits us tomorrow.

Hopefully our guys can make a big splash in freestyle over the next three days.

Tuesday, Aug. 19

BEIJING, China - We received the news we expected Sunday afternoon when Mike Zadick was added to the Olympic Games. Mike was added to the field when a wrestler from Bulgaria was injured and was unable to compete in freestyle at 60 kg/132 lbs.

Mike could be one of the biggest stories of the Olympics in wrestling. He didn't take part in the Opening Ceremonies, he hasn't been living in the Olympic Village and he didn't receive all the cool swag and perks the other U.S. Olympians have received. But Mike has the same shot to win an Olympic gold medal that any other Olympian does now.

Mike's been living here at Beijing Normal University with the U.S. training partners. I've been around Mike almost daily since the freestyle team arrived in China 10 days ago. Mike looks very focused and ready to compete. Mike nearly won a World title in 2006 and he looked very good in winning the Olympic Trials back in June.

He was giving me a hard time the other night when I walked into the BNU lobby eating a double cheeseburger from McDonald's. I know it's not much fun seeing somebody eat in front of you when you're cutting weight. Mike was in good spirits and was laughing as we chatted for a couple of minutes.

Talked to Mike's big brother, Bill, briefly last night. Bill, a 2006 World champion who is here as a U.S. training partner, said Mike looks and feels great. Bill said Mike is ready to win an Olympic title.

Monday, August 18

BEIJING, China - I've already experienced more than my share of great moments from my first Olympic Games.

One moment I will never forget came when the eight fastest humans on the planet settled into the starting blocks around 10:30 last night for the finals of the men's 100-meter dash.

I joined a large group of press officers from the U.S. as we made our way to the track and field venue, the Bird's Nest, for the finals of the 100. We grabbed seats in the Press Tribune area. The 100-meter field would be running straight toward where we were sitting for the finals.

As you probably know, Jamaica's Usain Bolt broke his own World record in blazing to an unthinkable time of 9.69 seconds in the 100. Even more amazing is he slowed down about 10 meters before the finish, dropping his arms to his side and then pounding his chest as he crossed the finish line.

The sellout crowd of 90,000 fans gave Bolt a standing ovation. During the 10-second race, cameras were flashing all over the massive stadium as Bolt sprinted toward history.

As Bolt's time of 9.69 flashed across the scoreboard, we were all looking at each other in amazement. We couldn't believe it. As someone who ran track and field in college and is a big fan of the sport, it was great to be able to witness that event in person. I can't believe they can keep lowering this record. A human can only run so fast. Before Bolt is done, he may lower the record to the point where nobody can break it.

The 6-foot-5 Bolt is a freakishly talented athlete who looked like he could've run about a 9.60 if he wouldn't have slowed down before the finish line. Even though he slowed down, Bolt still beat the second-place finisher by two-tenths of a second. That is a very wide gap in a race as short as the 100.

Bolt looks like he could be playing wide receiver in the NFL. He would be a tough guy to cover, that's for sure.

Sunday, Aug. 17

BEIJING, China - I felt terrible for Shawn Johnson.

Since winning the all-around World title last year in gymnastics, she's been under the microscope. The favorite to win the Olympic Games, Johnson ended up winning a silver medal yesterday in the all-around competition.

Her American teammate, Nastia Liukin, came away with the title.

All the pressure was on Johnson to win. NBC cameras followed her every move and she was expected to win. That's a lot of pressure for a 16-year-old who has two years of high school left. Liukin, meanwhile, flew under the radar with all the focus on Johnson. She capitalized with the performance of her life to win.

Steve Silver, our Team Leader in freestyle, came through and scored tickets for us for the all-around finals. Mike Finn and Bryan Van Kley of WIN Magazine also attended with us, along with USOC volunteer Barb Meendering. We are all from Iowa and came to cheer on Johnson, who is from Des Moines. We were happy to see the U.S. finish 1-2.

We had excellent seats. We were in the second row, right next to where the uneven bars were being contested. The NBC cameras shot me with my black and gold Iowa Hawkeyes polo shirt on. Hopefully, I ended up on television so my daughter could see me.

I'm no expert on gymnastics, but I had a hard time comprehending how Johnson lost. Her score in the uneven bars was very low. Her routine looked perfect and clean, and she stuck her landing. The reaction from the U.S. coaches and fans indicated they were pleased with the routine. Her score in the floor exercise also seemed low for some reason. Again, her routine looked flawless. She stuck all her landings and smoothly executed her routine.

Johnson is impressive. She's powerful and explosive, and is a tremendous athlete. Give Liukin credit - she performed well. I'm a little biased, but I thought the wrong girl won.

Let's hope Johnson can win a gold medal in the individual event competition today.

Once gymnastics ended, Mike, Bryan and I checked out the Silk Market that everyone has been talking about. It's the massive shopping area right in the heart of Beijing. It was interesting, but it looked more like a glorified garage sale to me.

The sales people, as expected, were very determined to make a sale. Bryan was looking for an Armani suit. We went two different places. The lady would put an amount on the calculator and then we would put a counter offer on there. She started at 2,000 Yuan (just under $300 U.S.) and Bryan countered with 250 Yuan (about $35 U.S.).

The sales lady didn't like our initial offer. She shook her head and stuck her lip out, kind of like a little kid who is pouting. Bryan and I walked away a couple of times and she kept calling us back. She grabbed my arm like you would with a 2-on-1 move in wrestling and I playfully started wrestling around with her. We all broke up laughing. She finally caved in and Bryan got the suit for about $35 U.S. The suit is very nice. I told Bryan to wear it to the wrestling venue.

Saturday, Aug. 16

BEIJING, China - They call it Managing Victory.

The U.S. Olympic Committee's program for when an American athlete wins a medal in the Olympics. No matter what sport and no matter what medal, the USOC treats its Olympic medalists like kings.

Just ask Adam Wheeler, the first American to win a medal in wrestling on Thursday night.

After Wheeler won the bronze medal in Greco-Roman wrestling, he stood on the medal stand before taking part in a press conference with all the medalists at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. He then spent the next 30 minutes or so taking a drug test.

After that, the USOC brought a shuttle over to our venue to take us over to the International Broadcast Center and the Main Press Center for additional interviews.

We started out with Adam doing interviews for a handful of NBC affiliates. Adam was on live with a morning show in Los Angeles. The reporter, who obviously was misinformed, asked Adam about his nickname of "Adam the Android." He told the reporter he had never been called that and she quickly apologized, saying she was misinformed. Ahh, the joys of live TV.

The interviews were done high atop the building with the Olympic Stadium, aka the Bird's Nest, in the background. It was very cool.

The group of us, which also included Adam's wife Marley, mother Julie and training partner R.C. Johnson, were then driven over to the NBC studio area where he did another interview.

While Adam was being interviewed, R.C. pretty much grabbed every food and drink item he could get his hands on. At last count, he had eaten approximately 28 Oreos, 10 Snicker bars, 2 ice cream bars and a drink from Starbucks. Luckily, R.C. won't have to make weight in a while.

While we waited in the Green Room at the NBC studios, they put the replay of Adam's bronze-medal match win up on the High Definition TV in the room. It was very cool. Hopefully, we can make a few more of those trips when the men's and women's freestyle teams compete.

Adam is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, and so is his wife. She teaches at the same middle school my daughter attended in Colorado Springs. Small world isn't it?

Once we were done with interviews, the USOC provided us with transporation to the Greco-Roman party at USA House. The whole U.S. team, plus coaches, training partners and USA Wrestling staff, were on hand for the event.

It was a disappointing tournament for the Greco-Roman team. One year after winning the World Team title, the U.S. won just one medal at the Olympics. Look for the Americans to bounce back at the 2009 World Championships in Denmark.

Friday, Aug. 15

BEIJING, China - I rode over with USA Swimming press officer Jamie Fabos from Beijing Normal University to the Main Press Center on the shuttle early this morning.

Jamie has one of the more exciting, and more challenging, jobs of the Olympics. She's the person who connects the news media here with Michael Phelps.

As you know, Phelps remains on pace to break Mark Spitz's Olympic record of seven gold medals in one Olympics. Phelps won his fourth and fifth golds yesterday, and is on course to win eight gold medals.

Jamie said Phelps is great to work with and he "gets it" when it comes to working with the news media. That makes a big difference when you're doing what we do.

One interesting piece of our conversation came when I told Jamie I had made it over to the swimming venue the other night to see Phelps set an Olympic record in the prelims of the 200 butterfly.

Jamie said she has yet to see Phelps actually swim in person in Beijing. That's because she's back in the mixed zone, where athletes walk through after the race to talk to the media, managing the massive group of media who are here following Phelps' historic quest. She watches him swim on a television screen back in the interview area and then walks Phelps into the area where he meets the press.

Jamie said Phelps was a little upset yesterday after setting yet another World record in winning another gold medal. He had a problem with his goggles and they filled with water, so he couldn't actually see where he was going. But he somehow won the race and another gold medal. The guy is incredible.

The goggles problem could have cost Phelps - due to cash in with endorsements if he wins eight gold medals - a fortune.

I told Jamie she's going to have to sneak out into the competition area to see him swim at least once.

I can't wait to go see Iowa girl Shawn Johnson compete in the all-around gymnastics competition tomorrow. I grew up near Iowa City and she's from Des Moines. She's the reigning World all-around champion.

Now we need to get these wrestlers going and win some medals of our own.

Thursday, Aug. 14

BEIJING, China - It's amazing who you will run into when you're halfway around the World.

I received a phone call yesterday from my former colleague and friend Cliff Brunt. We worked together as sportswriters for the Omaha World-Herald. Cliff is a sportswriter for the Associated Press in Indianapolis. He was covering diving yesterday at the Olympics. We plan to hook up at some point during the Games to catch up.

Cliff has come a long way since his days as the girls high school writer in Omaha.

A couple of hours later, I ran into another Omaha World-Herald alumnus in the cafeteria at the Main Press Center. ESPN.com's Elizabeth Merrill, who used to sit in the same area of cubicles that Cliff and I did at the World-Herald, also is here covering the Olympics.

Liz covered Nebraska Cornhuskers football for the World-Herald before working briefly as the Kansas City Chiefs beat writer for the Kansas City Star.

We're hoping to have a little Omaha reunion at some point during the trip.

I received an interesting phone call yesterday. Legendary Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan, a regular on ESPN's Sports Reporters, called me yesterday and asked me if I could hook him up with Carissa Gump. She's a weightlifter and I told him he was probably trying to contact weightlifting press officer Cecil Bleiker.

I told Bob it was an honor to speak with him, but he needed to get in touch with Cecil.

Wednesday, Aug. 13

BEIJING, China - Finally got to check out the wrestling venue today when the competition kicked off at the China Agricultural University Gymnasium.

The venue is only a little over a year old and it is very nice. It seats around 5,000 fans and was packed for Tuesday night's finals. And it's only about a 10-minute bus ride from the Olympic Green and the Main Press Center.

Russia and Azerbaijan are off to great starts after placing 1-2 in each of the first two weight classes.

Following the first session, I ventured back over to Beijing Normal University for freestyle practice. A special guest, former President Bush, was scheduled to visit our practice.

But near the end of his tour at BNU, where most of the U.S. Olympic Teams in various sports train, Bush started feeling ill and had to cancel his trip to our practice.

He actually stopped right outside our wrestling room and we could see him through the glass windows in the facility. Bill Zadick actually went out and shook his hand and talked with him for a minute. As Bush walked by, he walked over toward the windows and shook hands with a few people in our group.

For a guy in his 80s, he still looks great. Fortunately for us, our Olympians had a chance to meet President Bush and former President Bush prior to the Opening Ceremonies last week.

The freestyle team is scheduled to take a bus to the Great Wall on Wednesday. They are taking a day off from training.

Greco-Roman action continues on Wednesday with 18-year-old Jake Deitchler and 37-year-old T.C. Dantzler taking the mat. Let's hope they can get things rolling for the American team.

Tuesday, Aug. 12

BEIJING, China - I've been fortunate enough to see four of my all-time favorite athletes compete in person.

I've seen Michael Jordan play basketball, Tom Brady play football, Michael Johnson compete in track and field, and Cael Sanderson wrestle.

I added a fifth person to my list on Monday night.

I had a little free time on my hands and walked over to the swimming venue, the spectacular Water Cube, to see Michael Phelps compete in Heat 6 of the 200-meter butterfly.

Phelps actually was trailing entering the final 50 meters before he blew past the field to win the heat. He made it look so easy, like he was coasting in just qualifying for the next round. But as he's known to do, Phelps once again did something dramatic as he broke the Olympic record.

It was amazing to have an opportunity to see Phelps compete in person. I'm a huge fan of his and I can't wait to see if he breaks Mark Spitz's Olympics record of seven gold medals.

Phelps has won two gold medals so far, and remains on course to achieve his goal of eight golds in Beijing. He will have to swim in 17 different races, with qualifying and finals, to reach his lofty goal. The guy is a phenomenal athlete. I couldn't imagine the pressure he is under here in China.

I had a great day here in China. In between attending our morning and afternoon practices for men's and women's freestyle, and Greco-Roman, I had a chance to see one of the more amazing places I've ever been.

WIN Magazine's Bryan Van Kley and I ventured over to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. We spent about two hours walking around and snapping photos. We put a number of the shots up in our Olympics photo gallery.

While Bryan and I were walking out of the Forbidden City, I spotted New York Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni. He was with his wife and son, and he needed someone to take a picture of the three of them. I gladly obliged. D'Antoni is the former Phoenix Suns coach who is serving as an assistant coach on the Olympic men's basketball team. We chatted for a minute and wished each other good luck.

Monday, Aug. 11

BEIJING, China - One restaurant I try to avoid when I'm in the United States is McDonald's. The amount of calories in those extra-value meals are not a good thing for me.

But it seems like every other meal I eat in Beijing is at Mickey Dees. We have a McDonald's connected to where we are staying at Beijing Normal University and there is one in the Main Press Center. The one at the MPC is open 24 hours a day.

During pre-Olympic meetings with the U.S. Olympic Committee, they assured us that the McDonald's in Beijing was not only good but better than the franchises in the U.S.

They were right. The food at McDonald's is excellent, the workers are much more efficient than those in the U.S. and the restaurants are much cleaner here. The chicken McNuggets, as our own Gary Abbott can attest, are very good.

I've eaten more McDonald's here than I would like, but it's a great place to go when you're as busy as we are here.

I got back to BNU late Sunday night and made a quick stop at McDonald's. As I was walking out the door, Greco-Roman heavyweight Dremiel Byers and training partner Tim Taylor were coming in. Taylor said he tried to talk Byers out of coming over (Dremiel weighs in on Wednesday), but to no avail.

A Big Mac meal, complete with french fries and drink, runs about $3 U.S.

Earlier in the day, I interviewed USA Wrestling Resident Freestyle Coach Terry Brands for a story for this Web site. There isn't anybody I respect in this sport more than Terry. He is so passionate and knowledgeable about wrestling. And he's from Iowa, so he can't be all bad. It broke my heart when he came up short of making the 1996 Olympic Team. Seeing him make the 2000 Olympic Team in Dallas was one of the coolest moments I've seen in my career.

I think Terry has his guys - Henry Cejudo and Steve Mocco - peaking at the right time. I think both guys, who are residents at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, could walk away with some hardware in China.

I got my tickets to Friday's gymnastics competition from Steve Silver, our Team Leader for men's freestyle. Can't wait to see Iowa girl Shawn Johnson shoot for the all-around gold medal.

Sunday, Aug. 10

BEIJING, China - The Olympic Games competition is right around the corner now after we conducted our third and final press conference with the men's freestyle team meeting the media on Saturday afternoon.

Looking up at our six-man freestyle team on the podium, I think each of our guys is capable of winning a medal. This team only has one World-level medalist in Daniel Cormier, but don't be surprised if Henry Cejudo, Doug Schwab, Ben Askren, Andy Hrovat or Steve Mocco win a medal.

Speaking of Askren, he just popped off the elevator on the fourth floor at Beijing Normal University to do some laundry. Ben has a new look - he cut his hair today after the press conference. Between Ben's short hair and Andy Hrovat being clean-shaven, I'm not sure what's up with this group.

Max Askren, Ben's younger brother and training partner in China, just walked up here to check on their laundry. You won't meet a nicer kid than Max. He's not a bad wrestler himself. He's made a Junior World Team and earned All-American honors this year for Missouri.

The Olympic Games Greco-Roman competition is set to begin on Tuesday morning at the China Agricultural University Gymnasium. Spenser Mango, the first American to compete, will weigh in on Monday. Spenser is explosive and powerful, and I think he has a very good shot at winning a medal at 55 kg/121 lbs.

Gary Abbott and I still haven't made it over to the venue to check everything out before the competition starts. He was there last year for the Junior World Championships, so at least we have an idea of what is going on.

I met Bryan Van Kley and Mike Finn of WIN Magazine for dinner on Saturday night at their hotel, the Crowne Plaza. We ate at a Brazilian steakhouse that was pretty good for the most part. Mike is working as a researcher for NBC for the Olympics, assisting broadcasters Matt Devlin and Rulon Gardner with information on our athletes.

Bryan, Mike and I all grew up in Iowa. Those guys have secured tickets for Friday night's gymnastics competition where Shawn Johnson of Des Moines will go for the all-around gold medal. I am hoping to join them at the event, since we have a day off on Friday.

Just as we were finishing dinner, Matt and Big Ru spotted us and dropped by our table to say hello. Rulon worked out with U.S. heavyweight Dremiel Byers toward the end of the Greco-Roman practice. Matt, our play-by-play man, just landed a gig as the new voice of the NBA's Toronto Raptors. Matt's a very good guy. We're glad he's doing wrestling at the Olympics. He did a good job at our Olympic Trials.

Rulon, meanwhile, is looking more and more like the twin brother of Butterbean. He is a large man.

NBC is staying at the hotel, and we saw Today Show host Matt Lauer walking through the lobby Saturday night. We also saw Access Hollywood's Billy Bush and NBC sports reporter Jimmy Roberts.

I also saw one of my favorite writers in the Main Press Center. Sports columnist and best-selling author Mitch Albom was standing just outside the USOC office on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday, Aug. 9

BEIJING, China - I've done some pretty amazing things during nearly 20 years as a professional in the communications business.

But I'm not sure anything would top what I experienced on Friday night when I took part in the Opening Ceremonies for the 2008 Olympic Games.

I wasn't even planning on attending the Opening Ceremonies until U.S. Olympic Committee Director of Media Services Bob Condron called me around noon Friday.

He asked if I would like to work with the USOC in helping coordinate media activites for the Opening Ceremonies, which took place in the National Olympic Stadium. The stadium is nicknamed the "Bird's Nest" because of its unique design. I've been to Michigan Stadium, Lambeau Field and Wrigley Field, but this might be the coolest stadium I've ever seen. It's a magnificent structure.

There were more than 90,000 fans packed into the sold-out stadium with an estimated 5,000 athletes walking in the Opening Ceremonies. One veteran journalist told me a ticket to the Opening Ceremonies was probably a tougher ticket to get than the Super Bowl this year because it was in China and the demand was so high. I felt very fortunate to have one of those tickets in my hand. Kudos to Bob for hooking me up.

Bob chose me and Julie Bartel, a press officer with USA Softball, to work with him and USOC Manager of Media Services Kevin Neuendorf.

Bob, Kevin, Julie, USOC Chief Communications Officer Darryl Seibel and I took a shuttle over to the Olympic Village around 4:30 p.m. to meet the USA teams in all sports. We then boarded buses with the athletes to go over to the fencing venue.

In the bus with us was Opening Ceremonies Flag Bearer Lopez Lomong. He is a track and field star. He sat right next to us. We talked with him and he posed for pictures with us. He seems like a great guy. Very nice and down to earth.

All the teams arrived in the fencing venue and each team had a spot up on the big podium in the center of the arena. We were in there to meet the President of the United States. A short time later, two of the last three U.S. Presidents walked onto the main floor. President George W. Bush and his father, George Bush, came in to meet all the athletes.

President Bush gave a short speech and then walked around and met all of the athletes. He posed for pictures with everyone. He was joking and laughing with everyone. Barbara Bush, his daughter, also was there.

A funny moment occurred when Ben Askren handed his camera to a lady to take a picture when the team posed with the President. He didn't know it initially, but the lady he handed the camera to was the President's daughter. His teammates were giving him a hard time for that one. She did take the pictures for Ben and said it was no problem when he thanked her.

The USA wrestlers seemed to be having a great time, talking with the other athletes and posing for pictures.

We also spent a lot of time around the men's basketball team. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony were among the players our guys rubbed elbows with. A funny photo op came when 6-foot-11 Tayshaun Prince of the Detroit Pistons posed with 4-foot-11 women's wrestler Clarissa Chun.

Kevin, Julie and I helped escort the basketball team, and some of the other athletes, from the staging area into the Bird's Nest. As we walked outside, thousands of Chinese fans were lined alongside the path we were walking. We ended up helping the USOC security people in keeping the fans from getting too close to the athletes. The NBA guys were great. They posed for pictures, signed autographs and talked with the fans.

I talked to Carmelo, and also to Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets. They seemed like cool guys. Kobe was sitting on some steps while waiting to go in the stadium and one of the women's basketball players approached him with a deck of cards. They sat there and were playing the card game, War, while waiting.

We walked the team all the way into the stadium, right up until they walked onto the main stadium floor. The fans went crazy when the U.S. team came in.

Kevin, Julie and I had tickets in the press area, so we ended up walking back outside and halfway around the stadium before finally getting in. We got there just in time to see NBA star Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets carry the flag in for the Chinese team.

It was great to see all the different athletes from around the World gathering in one sports stadium to celebrate the Olympics. I loved all the colorful clothes that participating countries had on for the event.

The rest of the ceremony was fabulous. We're in China, so you know the fireworks had to be good. The fireworks show was the best I've ever seen in my life, by far.

The torch lighting was awesome as well, with Olympic gold medalist Li Ning doing the honors in impressive fashion. It was a memorable ending to an unforgettable night on 8-8-08. The Opening Ceremonies lasted 4 1/2 hours - it was 8-9-08 before it ended, but it was worth every minute of it.

Friday, Aug. 8

BEIJING, China - We could not have scripted a better day for our Greco-Roman wrestling team.

We were nearing the end of our late morning practice, when a towering figure walked into the practice room. It was 2000 Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner.

Now working for NBC as a color commentator, Big Ru (and I mean Big) put the boots back on and worked out with World champion and 2008 Olympian Dremiel Byers. Ru is a big, big man. I've never seen Dremiel look so small.

After practice, the entire Greco-Roman contingent and the women's freestyle training partners hopped on a bus and headed to the Great Wall. Rulon came along as well.

We went to a different section of the Great Wall than the one I went to nearly a week ago. We rode in cable cars up a steep, steep incline to the top of the Wall. I was freaking out when I looked down on the way up. For anyone afraid of heights, this was not the trip for you.

We invited the media to come along for the trip and we had some heavy hitters on our bus ride to the Wall. Sports Illustrated and the New York Times each sent a writer and a photographer. NBC sent a reporter and a cameraman, and had T.C. Dantzler miked up for the whole trip.

We had some incredible photo opportunites. At the top of the Wall, we had Rulon and Dremiel wrestling. Jake Deitchler and his coach, Brandon Paulson, also wrestled around atop the Great Wall as did T.C. and his training partner, Peter Hicks. We also had a journalist from Italy come to follow us. People were giving the Italian reporter crap for the Boston Celtics shirt he was wearing.

It was an unbelievable afternoon, and we can't wait to see the kind of media attention we'll receive for this. This Greco-Roman team, I can't say enough about how good they are with the media. They are phenomenal.

Rulon was hilarious, as usual, the whole trip. I didn't get in the cable car with him. He has bad karma, or something like that, with all the accidents he gets in. I tried to wrestle around with him on the Great Wall before he reached out, grabbed my wrist and started to squeeze it. That man is still very strong.

Rulon is an unbelievable ambassador for wrestling. He will do anything for the sport. The Charlotte Observer was at our practice to do a story on Dremiel, and Rulon gladly jumped in to do an interview on his former training partner and close friend.

On the way down the Great Wall, I bought a Chinese hat that a lot of their farmers wear. I also bought one of the hats for one of our Greco coaches, Momir Petkovic. Momir wanted one of the hats, but walked away when the lady wanted 200 Yuan (about $28 U.S.) for it. After Momir walked away, I talked the lady down and bought the hat for 20 Yuan (about $3 U.S.). I gave the hat to Momir and he had a big smile on his face after that.

It was a fun trip!

Thursday, Aug. 7

BEIJING, China - Went back to the airport today to meet our women's team and the place was a zoo.

The brand-new terminal at Beijing's airport is massive. It's the biggest airport I've ever seen.

There were probably about three times as many people crammed into the airport than there were on Saturday when I met our Greco-Roman team after they landed.

Maybe it was because the Williams sisters - Venus and Serena - were on the same flight with our women's freestyle team.

It was great to see another one of our teams land in China. Talking with Marcie Van Dusen and Clarissa Chun, you could sense how excited they were about competing in their first Olympics.

My friend from boxing, press officer Julie Goldsticker, was ecstatic when she saw a Starbucks near our gate at the airport. She quickly hurried over and made a purchase.

We were invited to USA Today's Olympic Games kickoff celebration on Wednesday night at the Marriott Hotel. Gary Abbott, USA Diving's Jen Lowery and I grabbed a cab over to the Marriott for the celebration. The hotel was a palace - very plush and very nice. We were up on the second floor in a very nice area, complete with a band.

We were treated like kings. It was a great chance for us to mingle with the folks at USA Today. I chatted with wrestling writer Gary Mihoces and feature writer Vicki Michaelis. They've been great to us and it was good to see them.

USA Today's Olympics coverage has been excellent. In recent days, they've done cover story features on swimming and beach volleyball. Last week, they had features on Olympic wrestlers Jake Deitchler and Ben Askren.

Wednesday, Aug. 6

BEIJING, China - One of the fun parts about coming to the Olympic Games is seeing which big-name athletes and media personalities roll into Beijing.

As I mentioned earlier, Matt Lauer of NBC's Today Show walked right past me at the airport as I waited for the Greco-Roman team to arrive in China.

On Tuesday, Michael Phelps, Dara Torres and the rest of the U.S. Olympic swimming team had breakfast on the second floor of Beijing Normal University, where we are staying. Phelps is looking to break Mark Spitz's Olympic record of seven gold medals. He is shooting for eight.

Press officer Nicole Jomantas of Judo said she ran into Phelps on the elevator at BNU. He is still sporting the Fu Manchu moustache.

I've seen Olympic champion gymnast Dominique Dawes at BNU the past few days. She was pedaling away on an exercise bike on Tuesday morning. She's doing some work interviewing athletes for a Website.

I was talking to Brad Vering after Tuesday night's practice and he said he ran into tennis star Roger Federer in the Olympic Village. He said Federer asked him for directions.

John Bardis, our Greco-Roman Team Leader, said he saw the guy who beat Federer in the epic Wimbledon final, Rafael Nadal, in the Olympic Village.

NBC's Lester Holt rolled into our practice on Monday morning. He watched the end of our Greco-Roman practice before interviewing Vering and T.C. Dantzler. He seemed like a cool guy. He said he was a little groggy because he had to wake up in the middle of the night to anchor a news program on NBC. After doing the two interviews, he turned to me and said, "Those guys were great!"

We have a reporter from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch coming to our practice tomorrow to interview Spenser Mango, who grew up there. We also have a guy from the Wall Street Journal scheduled to stop by our workout at BNU.

Our Greco-Roman team is going to be taking a bus to visit the Great Wall on Thursday morning. We've opened the trip up to the media and we already have Sports Illustrated, the New York Times and NBC on board to cover the trip. Our guys will put on a show for them, as they always do.

Our women's freestyle team is set to arrive in town later today. It will be good to see Coach Terry Steiner and the girls. The freestyle boys will be here on Thursday.

Tuesday, Aug. 5

BEIJING, China - The high-performance athlete training center at Beijing Normal University is where our athletes are making their final preparations for the Olympics.

There are around 20 different sports holding practices at BNU. The place, as you might expect, is massive. Among the teams expected to practice in there is the men's basketball Dream Team. Nobody seems to know which gym they will be in, but it would be cool to see Kobe, LeBron and company.

I also heard Michael Phelps may squeeze a swimming workout or two in at BNU.

Wrestling is located in the lowest level of the facility. Our guys have a huge room to train in, complete with three full-sized mats. Just across the way from wrestling is a gigantic swimming pool, where the water polo teams have been training. Boxing also is training right across from wrestling.

Right across the hall from boxing is a 24 Hour Fitness, complete with weights, treadmills, etc. A number of guys on our Greco-Roman team ventured over to the 24 Hour Fitness after the wrestling practice on Monday.

The U.S. is the only country with a facility like this in place to help its athletes prepare for the Olympics.

The outdoor stadium, where the Greco boys placed soccer for a cross-training workout on Sunday, is very nice. The grass playing surface was in such good shape we thought it was artificial turf when we first entered the stadium. The running track, where the U.S. track and field athletes will train, also is state-of-the-art.

I rode over on the shuttle to the workout facility with the U.S. Olympic volleyball team on Sunday. I'm 6-foot-1, but I'm pretty sure I was the shortest person in the van.

I'll be headed back to the airport tomorrow to greet our women's freestyle team when they arrive in Beijing. The freestyle team is scheduled to land in China on Thursday.

Before I forget, I want to wish my baby brother, Aaron, a happy 36th birthday today. Happy birthday to "Corn Days." My brother was a state qualifier in high school and is now an excellent wrestling official at the high school level.

Monday, Aug. 4

BEIJING, China - One word none of the journalists who covered our Olympics press conference will use in their reports is boring.

Our six Greco-Roman wrestlers and three coaches were outstanding on Monday afternoon. They were upbeat, articulate and funny. They are as good with the news media as they are on the mat, and that's pretty darn good.

The Greco crew gave the U.S. Olympic Committee what they were looking for with a lively and entertaining press conference in the Olympic Games Main Press Center.

Several news media raved about all the great material they obtained from our press conference. To those of us who follow this group, it wasn't a big surprise.

The USOC was hoping for something a little more upbeat in its second press conference of the Games and those guys delivered.

Dremiel Byers and T.C. Dantzler were cracking jokes, while Brad Vering, Spenser Mango, Jake Deitchler and Adam Wheeler did an excellent job as well.

Their best material came in the Green Room while we waited to go into the room for the press conference. If T.C. wasn't so successful as a businessman, he could probably make a living as a stand-up comedian. It's a fun group to hang out with.

Dremiel had the quote of the day. He was asked about his answer to a question in the media guide about the person he would most like to meet. The person he picked was Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

"I think I wanted to meet Castro so I could talk him into getting me one of those hats from him," Byers said, as the press conference room erupted in laughter.

"I think he's a strong-willed person. I heard a story when I was in Cuba that one of their athletes got a medal and he got to have dinner with Castro. They were sitting at the table and Castro says, 'Champion huh?' Then he pulls out a dollar and hands it to the guy. I was like 'What did you do?' And he said, 'I acted like it was the best dollar I ever got.' I thought it was a great story."

The media again broke up laughing after that commment by Dremiel.

Kudos to those guys for getting wrestling off to a great start with the media folks at the 2008 Olympic Games.

They are a confident, cohesive and charismatic group. Look for the U.S., the reigning World champions in Greco-Roman, to turn in a strong performance on the mat here in Beijing.

Sunday, Aug. 3

BEIJING, China - The Main Press Center, located right in the heart of all the Olympic activity in Beijing, has been our home away from home since we came here.

The MPC is massive - it's like a small city.

The Main Press Workroom, which houses a majority of the print journalists who are here, is gigantic. There are 971 work stations in there. In addition, there is a workout room, a hair salon and a small lounge where reporters can unwind. It's all right there next to where they work.

A number of other U.S. news agencies - such as Sports Illustrated, the Associated Press, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times and Newsweek - have their own offices in the MPC. A number of foreign press agencies, such as Australian Associated Press and a large agency from Japan, have their own offices as well.

There is a huge dining area in the Main Press Center, which includes a McDonald's. There also is a post office, a bank, a covenience store, a coffee shop, an outdoor lounge and a camera store, to name a few. I dropped by the bank to exchange some money when I arrived in here this morning. The exchange rate is about $1 U.S. equaling about 7 of the Chinese currency, which is called Wuan.

This place is incredible, to say the least. Beijing has gone all out to make this event a huge success. The Main Press Center is a state-of-the-art facility which makes life a lot easier for us.

The U.S. Olympic Committee press officers, the team USA Wrestling's Gary Abbott and I are a part of, work in the USOC offices on the second level of the MPC. Our group includes all of the USOC communications team, led by Darryl Seibel, plus all the press officers from the individual National Governing Bodies like wrestling.

The USOC media services team is led by Bob Condron and Kevin Neuendorf. They've been extremely helpful with everything. Bob has been coming to the Olympics since Jesse Owens competed (well, maybe not quite that long), and he's knowledgeable about every aspect of covering a huge event like this.

The USOC staff has done an outstanding job in preparing us for what lies ahead over the next several weeks. They've been great.

Sitting in the USOC office right now are NGB press officers from cycling, triathlon, softball, diving, tae kwon do, synchronized swimming, volleyball, boxing and shooting. It's quite the mix. I worked with a lot of these people last year at the Pan American Games in Brazil. It's a fun group to work with.

There also are a handful of areas in the Main Press Center that are designated for press conferences. We will have a press conference for each of our three styles here. Our Greco-Roman press conference is scheduled for Monday at 3 p.m. local time. All six of our wrestlers, plus three of our coaches, will take part in the press conference. It is only the second press conference of the Games, and the only one scheduled for Monday, so we're optimistic that we will have a big turnout.

USA Diving kicks off our press conference schedule tonight. They will be in the large room which can accommodate up to 800 media. Diving is very big in China and the U.S. traditionally excels in diving, so the U.S. team will attract plenty of attention.

We also may get our Greco-Roman team on the Today Show. I'm working with the USOC and NBC on trying to make this happen. We saw Matt Lauer of the Today Show at the airport yesterday. It was funny how he walked past a huge throng of people relatively unscathed and unnoticed. Everybody in America knows his face, but not in China. He probably didn't mind that a whole lot.

The Main Press Center is located right next to a number of venues, including the Olympic Stadium and the swimming and diving facility.

The Olympic Village is only about a 10-minute walk from here, which Gary and I did yesterday. Our venue for wrestling is only a short distance from here, which is nice.

Our first batch of media guides arrived yesterday when one of our Greco coaches, Anatoly Petrosyan, brought a few guides with him in his suitcase on the trip over here. The cover looks great and the guide turned out well. We're having most of our guides shipped to China, and hopefully they will arrive in the new few days.

Saturday, Aug. 2

BEIJING, China - It was a busy and interesting day.

Once again, I spent the morning working at the Main Press Center. This afternoon, I ventured out to the airport to greet our Greco-Roman Team as they arrived in China.

Everybody seemed fairly upbeat for the most part, which was surprising considering they had just stepped off a 12-plus hour flight across the Pacific Ocean.

We took the bus with the team to the Olympic Village late Saturday afternoon. The Village looks very nice and has received rave reviews from numerous people who have been out there.

We are 10 days away from competition, and the Greco boys look poised to turn in a great performance. Brad Vering, on a mission last year when he won a World silver medal, looks even more determined this year. Don't be surprised if he wins a gold medal in Beijing.

Team Leader John Bardis gave all the Greco guys video cameras. National Coach Steve Fraser was giving his camera a workout, filming virtually everything and anything that he witnessed on the bus ride from the aiport to the Village.

Cecil Bleiker of the USOC invited me to meet him at the Hard Rock Cafe. We had a great time. Dinner was excellent and they had a live band that did a great job playing a number of American songs. They had a sweet mural on the ceiling that featured my favorite band of all-time, The Beatles. They also had a sweet portrait up on the wall of The King, Elvis Presley.

I ventured into the gift shop and picked up a T-shirt for my daughter. She now has Hard Rock shirts from Beijing and Rio de Janeiro.

Friday, Aug. 1

BEIJING, China - The Great Wall of China is recognized as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

After visting, and climbing, a small portion of the Great Wall on Friday afternoon it is easy to see why.

The ancient and massive structure is impressive and breathtaking. After working all morning at the Main Press Center, press officers Bill Kauffman and B.J. Evans from USA Volleyball joined me on a trip out to the Great Wall on Friday.

B.J. and I made it up to the top of a very steep portion of the Great Wall. Bill made it about two-thirds of the way up before stopping. His decision to wear dress pants and dress shoes in the summer heat was not his best idea. Our climbing experience was similar to a trek up the Incline in Colorado Springs, but with a lot more humidity.

It was a great experience. We took a bunch of photos. As you can see, I now have a photo of me posted with the journal. Bill took that one on our trek up the Great Wall.

Parts of the Great Wall were built as early as 5th century B.C. as a means to fortify the country and keep out warring factions. The Great Wall stretches over approximately 4,000 miles.

The round trip cab ride to the Great Wall ended up being just under 500 Yuan. But considering the cab driver waited around for an hour and a half while we visited the Wall, it was a bargain. And 500 Yuan translates to about $70 U.S. Split between three people, the trip was more than worth it.

I hit another wall late Friday afternoon, the wall from being so tired from traveling all day yesterday. I caught a short nap before heading out to dinner with Bill, along with Jen Lowery from USA Diving. We hit a great little pizza place called the Kro's Nest.

We were hoping Cecil Bleiker, who manages about 38 different Olympic sports, would join us. But he forgot to charge his cell phone so we were unable to track him down.

Early in the day, on our way to the Main Press Center, we drove right by the Olympic Stadium and the swimming venue. They are side-by-side and are two very eye-catching structures. The Olympic Stadium is known as the Bird's Nest for its unique design. The swimming and diving venue is known as the Water Cube for its design. The venues here are very impressive.

The U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman Team will be arriving in Beijing in about 15 hours. Gary Abbott and I plan to meet the team at the airport around 2 p.m. local time on Saturday. The Greco boys will start practicing right away at Beijing Normal University.

Thursday, July 31

BEIJING, China - Nearly 12 hours, four movies and two meals later, we touched down in China at just after 2 p.m. local time on Thursday.

The flight, which was packed with 300-plus people, actually wasn't too bad. Among the U.S. Olympians on our flight were Olympic champion Laura Wilkinson (diving) and Olympic silver medalist Morgan Hamm (gymnastics). Athletes from track and field, and fencing also were on board on the marathon trek from San Francisco to Beijing.

The flight took an interesting route, running up north initially along the Alaskan border before turning west toward China. I'm just glad it's July and not December. The plane might have had a block of ice around it.

I had a window seat on the left side of the plane for the flight. I sat next to an interesting guy, Oscar Moreno, head coach of the El Salvador swimming team. He is a cool guy. Moreno and his team caught a five-hour flight from San Salvador to San Francisco before joining us for the San Francisco-to-Beijing flight.

This is Oscar's fifth Olympics. He swam in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. He got a kick out of watching some of the movies on the flight. He particularly enjoyed the first movie - "Fool's Gold" - a goofy, romantic comedy starring Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson.

As you would expect, Olympic banners and signs were everywhere during our bus ride from the airport to Beijing Normal University. The press officers for the U.S. Olympic Committee, which I'm one of, are staying at Beijing Normal.

Our teams also will practice at Beijing Normal. We checked out the practice facility and there are three full-sized mats in the workout area. A number of other teams, including basketball, Tae Kwon Do, volleyball, boxing, water polo and judo are practicing at BNU.

Kevin Neuendorf of the USOC invited a group of 15 press officers to dinner. We walked to a nearby Chinese restaurant (what else would you expect on our first day here?) and had a fabulous meal. Kudos to Kevin for picking a great local spot. Good to see Bob Condron of the USOC at dinner. Looking forward to working with Bob. Great man with a great sense of humor.

As I remember from my trip to this country two years ago, the Chinese people are extremely nice and friendly. We were reminded of that at the restaurant tonight. They also love to try out some of the English that they know on the Americans. The people here have made us feel very welcome already.

The Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics are just over seven days away. It's great to have the trip over here behind us. We're going to check out the Main Press Center and hopefully the venue tomorrow.

Our Olympic Team in Greco-Roman wrestling is scheduled to land in Beijing on Saturday.

For now, it's time to get some sleep. It's been an exhausting day, to say the least.

Wednesday, July 30

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - We've landed in San Francisco after a two-and-a-half flight from Colorado Springs and we're on our way to Beijing, China for the 2008 Olympic Games.

I started the morning with a buzzing alarm at 3 a.m. before my boss, USA Wrestling's Gary Abbott, picked me up at 4 on his way to the airport.

Among the group of friendly faces on our two flights today are Julie Goldsticker of USA Boxing, Bill Kauffman and B.J. Evans of USA Volleyball, and Andy Lee of USA Cycling.

We're part of the U.S. Olympic Committee press services staff for the Olympics. We're working for the USOC, and primarily focusing on the sports we work with. A number of us have other sports on our credentials, where we may be called on to provide assistance. In addition to wrestling, I have track and field, and weightlifting on my credential.

I would love to see swimmer Michael Phelps and gymnast Shawn Johnson, who is from my native Iowa, compete in Beijing. Not sure that is going to happen though, with it being such a tough ticket.

I've already been giving Bill, my roommate at the Pan American Games last year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a hard time this morning. He's probably glad we have our own rooms in Beijing. Bill's a good guy who does a great job. He was the first one to reach the terminal in the Springs and San Francisco. He's ready for the Olympics.

Julie also was in Rio last year. She's a cool girl and has a great sense of humor. She is headed out to try and find one last meal to eat in the U.S. before our long pilgrimage to China.

Ran into three members of our Greco-Roman Olympic Team - Adam Wheeler, Brad Vering and Spenser Mango - in the airport in the Springs. National Team Coach Steve Fraser also wandered in. They were on their way to San Jose for a couple of days of processing with the USOC before heading to China.

Gary and I need to arrive ahead of the Greco guys, the first U.S. team to land in China, to be there for any media opportunities that arise. Greco competes first, starting on Aug. 12. We will be working with the national and international media to connect them with our athletes and coaches in China.

We will be at all of our teams' practices at Beijing Normal University, where the press officers and training partners will be staying. The Olympians will be at the Athletes' Village.

We've already been through security twice and we have a couple of hours to kill before we get on the plane for the long 12-plus hour flight across the Pacific Ocean.

I'm ready for the flight. They'll show four movies - Fool's Gold and some Dr. Seuss movie I think are on the menu. My iPod is fully charged. Bill is giving me crap about having ABBA on there. That's what I listened to last year to try and muffle out some of his snoring in Rio.

Bill's a big celebrity now. He received a photo credit in the Sports Illustrated Olympics preview, for a picture of the new volleyball being used in the Games.

This is all for now, so I will sign off until after I land and get some sleep in Beijing.

We're sending a young and hungry team to China for the Olympics. I'm looking forward to a great performance by our 16 athletes who are scheduled to compete in Beijing.