Before I left for Beijing, I asked people what covering the Olympics would be like. Most of them compared it to working 17 straight Super Bowls.

That sounded ridiculous to me. And my trip to Beijing actually confirmed my skepticism. The 17-straight-Super-Bowl analogy is ridiculous. Kind of.    Read More  >

The ex-pats I talked to said it would be easy. Offer a cab driver 300 RMB ($44) to take you to the Great Wall, be prepared to haggle and definitely don’t pay more than 500 RMB ($73).

But when I tried to explain this plan to the woman at the front desk of my hotel she shook her head.

“That’s too much money,” she said. “Take the bus.”

I didn’t have time to take the bus. I had to be back in Beijing by noon, and traveling to the Mutianyu section of the Wall was an hour and a half each way.    Read More  >

Not long after the security guards arrive every morning, Molly Baker sets up a small seat near a security entrance at the Olympic Green. She lays out three squares of velvety black fabric covering. Then she sits down for the day.

Baker is an Olympic pin trader. Her wares are thumb-sized pins featuring Olympic logos and sponsors collected everywhere from Los Angeles in 1984 to Lillehammer in 1992 and Sydney in 2000 to Beijing in 2008.    Read More  >

Moments after Nigeria clinched its 2-1 win over the United States in today’s Olympic soccer match, Yisa Basorun slapped a trumpeter on the back and started moving his hands like a conductor.

As the trumpeter played, a crowd of more than 100 Nigerian fans clad in green and white began to shake, sing and celebrate. The Nigerian team had secured its advancement to the next round of the Olympic Games, so the music played on.

If only getting through the gate had been so easy.    Read More  >

Tiananmen Square is Beijing’s equivalent of the National Mall in D.C. It’s vast, sprawling, covered with Chinese tourists and surrounded by national landmarks.

I found myself there on Sunday for a quick sightseeing excursion. A light rain was falling and the humidity was heavy, so like most days here I was profusely sweating and regretting lugging my laptop with me.    Read More  >

I arrived at the USA-China men’s basketball game hungry and looking for dinner. I figured I’d just grab something at the stadium, sample the local fare. That was a big mistake.    Read More  >

A steady, heavy rain fell on Victor Diaz as he walked up and down the sidewalk outside Wukesong Indoor Basketball Stadium three hours before yesterday’s USA-China game.

“I need one ticket,” shouted the 29-year-old from Austin, Texas, whose only protection from the rain was a Beijing 2008 baseball cap and a black San Antonio Spurs jersey. “Anybody got one ticket?”    Read More  >

A Sprite-branded table at the Water Cube

Coke is winning big at the Olympics’ two marquee venues — the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube.

At the Water Cube, the concession area is a solid Sprite green. The green signs for food and drink are sandwiched between images of a Chinese man drinking a Sprite. Nearby are Sprite-branded, green pedestal tables and umbrellas.

While the Water Cube concessions are dominated by Sprite green, the Bird’s Nest, which glows red at night, is dominated by Coke red. From the signs to the tables to the umbrellas, everything’s red and branded for Coke.    Read More  >

I was curious about how long it would take the average person to get to the opening ceremony, so I joined a regular line (not the press line) at 4:30 p.m. to find out. I wound up standing outside in the heat and humidity for an hour and 45 minutes before I finally cleared security.

The lines were long, leaving people outside to face the mix of a 93-degree afternoon, a hazy day and heavy humidity.    Read More  >

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  >