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OUTSIDE THE RINGS
Watching the Games: Digital Restrictions a Pain
A lot has been made of NBC’s digital offerings back in the U.S. The next step in that digital evolution needs to be allowing Olympic reporters to access their home broadcaster’s digital feeds from the Games’ host country.
I tried to pull up the U.S.-Norway women’s soccer game last night and was blocked — as expected. It would be a great benefit to reporters and people visiting the Games if they could have access to both the domestic and international feed. Read More >Comments -
On The Ground: GWU Professor Lisa Delpy Neirotti
Live From The Opening Ceremonies
The heat and humidity in the Bird’s Nest is unbearable. Everyone is sweating like marathon runners. Johnson & Johnson should have put deodorant in our goodie-bags! At least water was provided.
Other than the heat, the ceremony is great. The use of light is incredible and the Chinese people are keeping up the energy throughout the long parade of nations. Typically, by halfway through the excitement dies down. But not here! Since I don’t know the Chinese alphabet, I keep waiting for the U.S. team. Read More > -
DeFrantz Honored By World Olympians Association
The World Olympians Association gave IOC executive board member and USOC board member Anita DeFrantz the Osaka Award at the grand opening of the Olympians Reunion Center, a hospitality center backed by Visa for former Olympians.
The award was created in association with the city of Osaka to recognize those who, throughout their career, support and assist Olympians and the Olympic movement. Previous award winners include Tom Shepard, Visa’s former executive vice president of global partnerships; the International Ski Federation; and IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli. Read More > -
Catching Up With Don Thompson of McDonald's USA
Don Thompson joined McDonald’s in 1990 and rose to president based on his success at reorganizing the U.S. business, which is now in its fourth consecutive year of sales growth.He is responsible for strategic direction and overall business results of 13,700 restaurants in the U.S. He took time following a McDonald’s press event in Beijing to speak with SportsBusiness Journal staff writer Tripp Mickle. Read More >
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OUTSIDE THE RINGS
Early Impressions: Fried Rice and Fantastic Help
I’ve now been on the ground for 24 hours and I’ve been impressed by two things. First, that this event is extremely well organized, and secondly, that everyone in China is eager to help anyone in town with a yellow badge around their neck. Read More >
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OUTSIDE THE RINGS
Arriving in Beijing: What I Saw and Couldn't See
I arrived in an old terminal at PEK — not the fancy new one — so I was a little surprised to see a Hermes shop inside.
Two people decked out in the costumes of two of the Olympic mascots greeted us in the terminal area. The airport was decked out with Olympic sponsorship signage — UPS had signage on the baggage collection area, Samsung had billboards and Panasonic had some signage as well. Read More > -
News Notes: Visa Center Opening Draws A Royal Crowd
Backed by Visa, the Olympians Reunion Center celebrated its grand opening Thursday night at Prince Jun Palace in Beijing’s Central Business District.
The outdoor party on a humid evening was a gala to see and be seen. Among those mingling were International Olympic Committee member Anita DeFrantz, high jump greats Dick Fosbury and Dwight Stones, triple jumper Willie Banks and Namibia’s only Olympic medalist, sprinter Frankie Fredericks. Read More > -
OUTSIDE THE RINGS
One Long Flight With Two Crazy College Kids
Thirteen hours is a long time to sit in a plane seat, but my trip did make me miss college.
I was seated beside two rising sophomores at the University of Virginia, or as the Wahoos say, two rising “second years.” They bought tickets to three events — diving, basketball and baseball — through RazorGator. They thought their basketball tickets were for a men’s game. Turned out, they said, to be for a women’s game between Ukraine and Cuba.“It’s going to be awesome,” the guy from Nashville said sarcastically. Read More >
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McDonald’s Is Loving It On Beijing’s Olympic Green
McDonald’s expects to serve an Olympic record 1.5 million burgers from its four Olympic-based restaurants it will have open during the Beijing Games, said Debbie Kuiper, McDonald’s general manager of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
“Everything about Beijing is bigger and better,” Kuiper said before a press conference at the world’s largest McDonald’s restaurant — a 35,529-square-foot facility on the Olympic Green. Read More > -
Catching Up With Hamm Brothers’ Agent, Sheryl Shade
Two weeks ago, Sheryl Shade, an agent and sports marketer who has made her mark over the past two decades repping Olympic gymnasts, had a major worry on her plate and a minor concern on the back burner.The major worry: One of her clients, Olympic team member Morgan Hamm, had tested positive for a banned anti-inflammatory drug. Shade, principal of New York-based Shade Global, was monitoring from afar an International Gymnastics Federation decision expected in Switzerland that, she thought, would clear Morgan. Read More >
