beijing olympics

Olympic cheaters better hide those gold medals deep in their sock drawer. The International Olympic Committee has confirmed they will begin retesting samples from Beijing, just months after the flame was extinguished.

Who's Got the Drugs?

Anybody notice something missing? Where are all the drugs? Despite all the attention going into the games, Beijing has been relatively clean (air pollution not withstanding).

Every four years, we watch. We marvel at badminton and wonder about the modern decathlon. With more than 300 gold medals awarded across 37 disciplines, our lives are suddenly much less productive. In this edition of "know your Olympic sport," we focus on the largest athletes in Beijing and how to keep them cool (not you, Yao).

Every four years, we watch. We marvel at badminton and wonder about the modern decathlon. With more than 300 gold medals awarded across 37 disciplines, our lives are suddenly much less productive. To aid in your immersion, we continue with our daily edition of “know your Olympic sport,” (check out the whole series here) by serving up some volleyball.

Inside we’ll provide thermal imaging, a new ball and a sock for the sand. Let us begin!

Every four years, we watch. We marvel at badminton, wonder about the modern decathlon and proudly pause for synchronized swimming. With more than 300 gold medals awarded across 37 disciplines, the next two weeks of our lives should be impressively unproductive. To aid in your immersion, we introduce the first installment of “know your Olympic sport.” It’s part reminder that people actually get medals for this stuff (see: trampoline gymnastics) and part introduction to the science behind the sports.

As a tribute to the recently lit flame in Beijing, our first installment focuses on the pride of China: Table Tennis (a.k.a. Ping Pong). Inside you’ll find a 30-year old performance enhancer in its final days, a training method built for Forrest Gump and all (perhaps even more than) you'll ever need to know about Ping Pong balls.

How do you say "Big Brother" in Chinese? Visitors to the Beijing Olympics need to be careful what they email (and what websites they peruse) according to Senator Sam Brownback, the senior Republican from Kansas. Based on hotel documents, Brownback alleges that the Chinese government has spent millions of dollars installing spy software in major hotel chains to monitor its guests' email and web surfing.

"The Chinese government has put in place a system to spy on and gather information about every guest at hotels where Olympic visitors are staying," said Brownback.

So much for scalping tickets. In a country where Big Brother is more than a myth, Chinese officials have taken technological steps to ensure only those who purchase tickets to the opening and closing ceremonies are allowed inside the Bird’s Nest in Beijing. RFID chips in each ticket will include photos, phone numbers, email addresses and passport data ensuring the $720 face value isn’t increased on the street.

Its better to be seen and not heard. This condescending counsel dispensed to unruly adolescents is doubling as an unofficial recommendation for athletes in the upcoming Olympics in Beijing, China. With a location immersed in controversy, Olympic committees worldwide have threatened to spank any athlete who smuggles a soapbox into his gym bag.