By Staff
The Summer Olympics have always been my favorite. I guess the only thing at Winter Olympics is figure skating. Other than that, I pretty much don't watch the winter sporting event.
Summer Olympics offer several gymnastics events, which I could never do. That is also the time you'll see divers bouncing off of high-dives and plunging under the water with very little splash. That's something else I can't do - dive into the water without splash.
This year the Olympics are being held in Beijing. You've probably already caught an event or two on NBC. If you haven't caught any of the action yet, never fret - you'll have plenty of opportunities.
This year, the network is expecting to broadcast 3,600 hour of events from Beijing. My only question concerning that coverage is why?
Think about how long 3,600 is. That amount of time comes out to 90 workweeks, 450 nights of sleep (if you get 8 hours a night) or just over 14 two-week vacations.
What amazes me most is that the Olympics only last 17 days. Ten days equals 240 hours. Where in the world are they finding all of that Olympic activity to broadcast?
I realize that several events will be taking place at the same time. While Olga Jr. is working on her uneven bars routine, some Greg Louganis-wannabe is perching his toes on the high dive. I understand the whole package.
But why, oh why, does the network feel that it has to broadcast so much? Although I would never minimize the importance of badminton to those who play the game, I'm not sure I would set my clock to get up at 2:45 a.m. to catch the match. I don't mind watching a few swashbucklers take each other on while on the deck of some ship, but I can't imagine myself getting the kitchen clean and the laundry folded in time to sit down to watch the fencing competition in the Olympics.
Call me crazy, but I think a few hours a night on one network station is enough. This year, with the NBC network planning to broadcast so many hours of the events, there won't be too many opportunities to miss the Olympics.
If you have cable television or are on a satellite system, you'll have to do a lot of channel surfing if you want to miss the more obscure Olympic events coverage. From what I understand, NBC actually owns several other stations that will be used to broadcast Olympic coverage. Along with NBC, you can catch coverage on MSNBC, Oxygen, USA, CNBC and Telemundo. If you can't get what you want on those stations, you can go on-line at a couple of places to catch some of the action. The two web sites listed for coverage are sfgate.com/Olympics, nbcolympics.com.
I like to watch the Oxygen channel. I just hope the Olympics don't pre-empt Snapped or I just might snap myself. I won't mind if they interrupt that silly Tori Spelling show, however.
If you enjoy watching long hours of Olympic events, this is your year. If you prefer not to be subjected to so much athleticism, break out the Disney DVDs and have a great two-weeks off.
Lisa Tindell is news editor for The Brewton Standard. She can be reached by e-mail at lisa.tindell@brewtonstandard.com.