Blog Hound: Bloggers Discuss Various Olympic Topics

Bloggers discuss various topics related to the Beijing Games.

SportsMedia Challenge's Buzz Manager analyzed online discussion about four US cyclists having to apologize after wearing USOC issued "smog masks" upon their arrival in Beijing. Bloggers who felt the cyclists did not to apologize for wearing masks because they would "protect" them from the smog were tallied as positive, while bloggers who felt the apology was needed were declared negative. For more info on this topic, visit www.SportsBusinessDaily.com. See more info on this topic.

• The Buzz ranked 4 out of 10, a topic of a medium level of interest among sports bloggers.
• The positive commentary noted that the four athletes did not need to apologize for two main reasons, the first reason being that the masks were issued by the USOC and the athletes wore the masks to protect themselves from the smog. Many bloggers noted that the athletes have trained for years for these Games and should do anything possible to ensure that everything go well. The other reason noted is that many Chinese wear masks when in Beijing and this reason alone shows that the athletes should not apologize when Chinese citizens have even worn masks in the past.
• The negative responses stemmed from bloggers outside of the US who felt the athletes were disrespectful and should not have worn the masks because it seemed that they were "looking down" on Beijing.
• The neutral commentary consisted of reports that the athletes were asked by the USOC to apologize for wearing the masks.

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