"The 2004 Olympics will leave Greeks with wonderful memories, a greatly improved infrastructure - and a mountain of public debt.

The Games ended yesterday morning (Singapore time) in a blaze of light and sound at the closing ceremony. But today's hangover may include economic difficulties and increased unemployment.

So far, Greece has spent as much as US$9.6 billion (S$16.5 billion) on the Games, said Stefanos Anagnostou, a journalist and an adviser to the country's Ministry of Economy and Finance.

But the full cost will not be known until October, after the Paralympics are over.

Outside observers say the cost could rise to US$12 billion."

Read more at Games' over, now for the debts

"AUSSIE water polo player Craig Miller was dragged from the closing ceremony of the Athens Games after pulling his pants down while celebrating centre stage with fellow athletes.

Miller, 32, was grabbed by security staff and rushed from the stadium. "He pulled down his trousers," a Greek official said after bundling Miller away.

The veteran water polo player looked stunned and a little shaken as he was taken away for questioning, his belt hanging loose and his trousers askew.

It was the only sour note during a ceremony in which an exuberant Australian team celebrated the close of their most successful overseas Olympic Games."

Read more at Athlete caught with pants down [31aug04]

"Years of dedication and efforts have paid off for China as it has made surprises and reaped successes in the Athens Olympic Games, a leading official of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) said.

    "The United States Committee is extremely impressed with the performances of the Chinese athletes at these Olympic Games in Athens," Steven M. Roush, acting chief of Sport Performance of theUSOC, told Xinhua on Saturday.

    China has ranked in an unprecedented second place on the medal table with 32 golds, 17 silvers and 14 bronzes at the fortnight Athens Games.

    "The medal total, especially the gold count, for these Olympics shows an increase from Sydney 2000 and a trend that would indicate a strong showing for 2008 in Beijing.""

Read more at Official Website of the Chinese Olympic Committee

"A former Catholic priest has been given a one-year suspended sentence in Greece after pushing the leader of the men's marathon into the crowd during the Athens Olympics.

Vanderlei De Lima, from Brazil, was at the head of the race Sunday, just three miles from the finish, when he was attacked by Cornelius Horan, who was wearing a kilt and beret.

After a scuffle, De Lima managed to get away, but he was clearly upset and finished third.

Horan, 57, originally from Kerry, Ireland, had a note pinned to his back, reading: "The Grand Prix Priest. Israel Fulfillment of Prophecy Says The Bible.""

Read more at Athens marathon attacker sentenced

"The Brazilian Olympic Committee will lodge an appeal against the result of Sunday's Athens marathon, after it was disrupted by a spectator.

Late in the race, a man in a kilt ran into the road, bundling Brazil's leader Vanderlei de Lima into the crowd.

De Lima restarted the race but then faded into third place as Italy's Stefano Baldini won the gold medal.

Brazil are now appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, saying De Lima was not given enough protection."

Read more at Marathon result disputed

"Olympic gold medallist Darren Campbell has revealed he may quit athletics.

The 30-year-old sprinter said winning the 4x100m relay was the pinnacle of his career, and admitted he could struggle for motivation in the future.

"I just want to go home now, and relax and really assess what I want to do, whether I'm going to continue or just knock it on the head," he said.

"To have Olympic gold is everything I ever dreamt since I was a small child. It was all I wanted from the sport.""

Read more at Campbell hints at exit

"The greatest race of the Olympics produced the most unlikely winner.

In the organizational marathon preceding the Games, Athens spent seven long years chasing time, an implacable and shadowy opponent glimpsed, more often than not, disappearing over the horizon.

But, with the countdown ticking fast as the Games approached, Athens came from nowhere to reach the finish line first, earning itself the right to celebrate the staging of an improbably successful Olympics.

Olympic chiefs at their Swiss base in Lausanne had fretted. The world's media had doubted.

But, as if by magic, it really was all right on the night."

Read more at And the Unexpected Olympics Winner Is...Athens

"The athletes have packed up. Olympic banners are coming down.

The challenge is just beginning.

It's a realization that's just starting to hit the Olympic hosts: The venues and facilities they struggled so hard to build could create even greater problems after the games.

The chief fear -- especially after Athens' budget-busting Olympics -- is expensive idleness. World-class sports centers ring up serious maintenance bills. Finding relevant and revenue-producing roles for the arenas is the long-term quest of any former Olympic city.

In Athens, however, there's an added complication. Olympic planners dedicated so much effort to overcome delays, there was no time to think about the future. There's now more than $3 billion in new or refurbished venues begging for attention.

"There are ideas. Some plans are being studied. But there is no definite solution," said Christos Hadjiemmanuel, head of Olympic Properties, a state company created as a temporary caretaker for the venues and other sites.

Time is truly money in the post-Olympic landscape."

Read more at Idle Olympic venues could give Athens big problems

"The 2004 Olympic Games officially came to an end in Athens with a spectacular closing ceremony on Sunday.

Greek music and dance kicked off an evening of celebration before the flame was extinguished and the flag lowered.

A firework display welcomed the athletes into the Olympic Stadium, with double gold-medallist Kelly Holmes carrying Great Britain's flag.

The torch has now been passed to China as Beijing prepares to host the Games in 2008."

Read more at Greece bids Games farewell

"Canada's athletes trailed back from Athens into the teeth of a national inquest over their performance at the Olympics which garnered just 12 medals.

The modest haul, two fewer than the Canadian team managed in Sydney in 2000, and good for only 21st on the medal table, set off a media inquest that blared from radio and television and consumed acres of newsprint.

"Unless we make major changes in how we support and train our athletes, we will likely be suffering through the same national angst after the 2008 Games," the Toronto Star warned in an editorial.

For many, the team's performance was summed up by world champion 100m hurdler Perdita Felicien, who entered the Olympic final as heavy favourite -- then crashed into ignominy by falling at the first hurdle.

The Canadian Olympic Committee made an immediate request Sunday for more money to support athletes, calling for a 7,000 dollar (5300 US) increase in government money for senior athletes to a minimum of 20,000 dollars a year."

Read more at Canada's athletes face inquest over Olympics flop

"Hundreds of thousands of Olympic athletes and visitors began what Greek media termed the “Great Escape” from Athens on Monday in an exodus expected to tax airport staff to the limit.

Officials estimate up to 200,000 people will leave for overseas destinations over the next 48 hours while thousands of Athenians who delayed summer holidays until the end of the Games will head for Aegean islands and family reunions across Greece.

“Until August 31 we expect a huge wave of departures,” said Athens airport spokeswoman Marina Papageorgiou.

“The day after (Sunday’s) closing ceremony is the toughest one,” she said."

Read more at 'Great escape' begins from Athens airport

"Greece staged an exuberant closing ceremony on Sunday to bring the curtain down on the Athens Games, which took the Olympics back to their roots and provided drama right down to the last gold medal.

A spectator ran onto the course of men's marathon, the final event of the Games run along the route of the first modern Olympics, and bundled Brazilian Vanderlei de Lima into the crowd as he led the race with about 15 minutes to go.

De Lima was able to rejoin the race after about five seconds but he looked shaken and was passed soon afterwards by Stefano Baldini of Italy, who had already been gaining on him. Baldini won the race ahead of American Meb Keflezighi.

The intruder was Cornelius Horan, an Irish former priest who interrupted the British Formula One Grand Prix last year. He was dressed in a kilt and beret and police said he was drunk.

De Lima said the incident may have cost him the gold medal and Brazilian officials said they would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for a review of the results."

Read more at Games Close with Drama Down to Last Medal

"With Vanderlei de Lima of Brazil unexpectedly leading the race - the final event of these Games - by close to 30 seconds near the 22-mile mark, a man emerged from the crowd and pushed Lima from the middle of the road to the side of the course into a group of spectators, stopping him completely.

Spectators and security guards intervened, but it took the bewildered Lima several seconds to shake free. As he emerged from the crowd with about four miles remaining, his expression was even more pained than a marathoner's customary grimace down the stretch. And as security guards took his attacker, 57-year-old Cornelius Horan of Ireland, into custody, Lima spread his slender arms as if to ask, "Why?"

Seven minutes after the attack, with about 2.3 miles remaining in the race, Lima was caught from behind by the eventual winner, Stefano Baldini of Italy, and then by the eventual silver medalist, Meb Keflezighi of the United States." Read more at A Spectator Disrupts the Marathon With a Shove

Also read about it at:
- Marathoner finishes Third after attack
- Former priest halts marathon leader in his tracks

"A nervous world learned the Greek word for thank you and repeated it endlessly at an astonishingly successful Athens Olympics that quelled fears, surprised skeptics and greatly honored the birthplace of the games.

Efharisto, Athens, for architectural masterpieces of stadiums and arenas that showcased record performances. The fountain sprays, reflecting pools and soaring arches. The undulating, giant white Wall of Nations that caught the whispering wind, bringing music to our ears and smiles to our faces.

Efharisto for the thousands of security forces who stood guard day and night, keeping terrorism away. An undercurrent of danger, a sense of tranquility. We saw guns everywhere, walked in peace.

Fireworks and spectacular lighting kicked off the closing ceremony Sunday night, a two-hour extravaganza of folk dancing and music in the Olympic tradition that summed up the glee and relief the games brought to Greece. Afterward, thousands of athletes marched into Olympic stadium, waving their arms and flags, snapping photos of each other, hugging, and basking in the cheers of 70,000 fans."

Read more at Triumphant Olympics end with pride and relief

The winner of the Gold Medal: Stefano Baldini from Italy
The winner of the Silver Medal: Mebrahtom Keflezighi from United States
The winner of the Bronze Medal: Vanderlei de Lima from Brazil

"MATHEW Helm reckons it's a dive he has practised thousands of times.

And the two-and-a-half back somersaults with one and a half twists in a pike position turned out to be his ticket to a silver medal.

Helm pulled off one of the best dives of his life to clinch second in the men's 10m platform, capping off Australia's greatest Olympics in diving -- one gold, one silver and four bronze."

Read more at Helm's perfect 10

The winner of the Gold Medal: Alina Kabaeva from Russia
The winner of the Silver Medal: Irina Tchachina from Russia
The winner of the Bronze Medal: Anna Bessonova from Ukraine

The winner of the Gold Medal: Team from Croatia
The winner of the Silver Medal: Team from Germany
The winner of the Bronze Medal: Team from Russia

The winner of the Gold Medal: Zhong Chen from China
The winner of the Silver Medal: Myriam Baverel from France
The winner of the Bronze Medal: Adriana Carmona from Venezuela

The winner of the Gold Medal: Dae Sung Moon from Korea, South
The winner of the Silver Medal: Alexandros Nikolaidis from Greece
The winner of the Bronze Medal: Pascal Gentil from France

The winner of the Gold Medal: Team from Hungary
The winner of the Silver Medal: Team from Serbia and Montenegro (Yugoslavia)
The winner of the Bronze Medal: Team from Russia

"Olympic men's hammer champion Adrian Annus has been stripped of his gold medal after failing to take a drugs test, the International Olympic Committee said Sunday.

The Hungarian failed to meet an IOC deadline Friday to submit a urine sample or lose the gold.

The IOC's disciplinary commission opened its hearing on the final day of the Games, exactly one week after Annus won the gold.

Annus, who returned to Hungary and announced his retirement from sport after winning his medal, provided a negative dope test after the competition."

Read more at Hammer Gold Medallist Annus Loses Medal

"Colombian cyclist Maria Luisa Calle Williams has been stripped of her bronze medal after testing positive for a banned stimulant, the International Olympic Committee said on Sunday. Calle Williams tested positive for the substance heptaminol, the IOC said.

She was third in the women's points race in the velodrome on Wednesday, giving Colombia its first medal of any colour in the short history of women's Olympic track cycling."

Read more at Colombian cyclist stripped of medal

"Retiring soccer star Mia Hamm was elected by her fellow U.S. athletes to carry the nation's flag in Sunday's closing Olympic ceremony.

Hamm won her second Olympic gold medal this week when the U.S. team beat Brazil in Thursday's final. She also was part of the 1996 gold medal team, as well as the 2000 team that took silver."

Read more at Hamm closes career as U.S. flag bearer

"Australia has won an unexpected silver medal in the men's 4x400 metre relay at the Athens Olympics.

The Australian team of John Steffensen, Mark Ormrod, Patrick Dwyer and Clinton Hill finished second behind the United States (2:55.91) in a time of 3:00.60.

Nigeria ran home in 3:00.90 to claim the bronze medal.

It was the first time since the 1956 Olympics that Australia had medalled in the event.

Steffensen, who celebrates his birthday on Monday, could hardly believe the team's achievement.

"Who would have thought us boys getting second, I'm speechless, you don't know how hard we have had to work," he told Channel Seven.

"All us boys have done some real hard yards and right now its hard to believe."

Read more at Aussies win surprise relay silver

"Triple gold medallist in swimming, Petria Thomas, will carry the Australian flag at this morning's closing ceremony of the Athens Olympics.

In her third and final Olympic campaign, Thomas won the 100 metres butterfly and was a member of the women's 4X100m freestyle and medley relay teams, which both won gold in world record breaking fashion.

She also won silver in the 200m butterfly to add to four previous medals she had won in Atlanta and Sydney.

Thomas's success in Athens was especially significant due to the fact she has undergone three shoulder reconstructions during her 10-year international career."

Read more at Thomas to carry flag at closing ceremony

"Double Olympic gold medallist Kelly Holmes has been given the honour of carrying the flag for Great Britain at Sunday's closing ceremony in Athens.

Holmes, who added 1500m gold to her 800m triumph on Saturday night, has revealed she has no plans to bow out of athletics just yet.

"I don't plan to retire. I'm in the best shape of my life.

"The most important thing is to enjoy it," she told BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme."

Read more at Holmes given Olympic honour

This is a summary article of all of the doping cases at the Athens Olympics....

"Greek weightlifter Leonidas Sampanis was the first athlete in Athens stripped of a medal because of a doping offense. Sampanis lost his bronze from the 62-kilogram class.

-- Russian shot putter Irina Korzhanenko tested positive for steroids after she won the gold and was stripped of her medal.

-- Hungary's Robert Fazekas lost his gold medal in discus for allegedly tampering with a doping test.

-- Hungarian weightlifter Ferenc Gyurkovics was stripped of his silver medal and kicked out of the Olympics for using the steroid oxandrolone.

-- Ukrainian rower Olena Olefirenko tested positive for a banned stimulant, costing her four-woman crew the bronze medal in lightweight sculls.

-- Hungary's Adrian Annus was stripped of his gold medal in hammer throw Sunday for failing to take a follow-up drug test demanded by the IOC.

-- Weightlifter Zoltan Kovacs of Hungary, who finished last in the 105-kilogram class, was banished from the games for failing to provide a urine sample.

-- Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou pulled out of the games while the IOC was investigating their missed doping tests."

Read more at Doping cases at the Athens Games

"Arab countries will walk away from the Olympics with a higher number of gold medals than ever before and squads are now looking to build on this success in future tournaments. 

Morocco was the Arab country highest on the medals table at the end of the Olympics, winning two gold medals and a silver in running events.

Egyptian athletes did well in wrestling and boxing events, winning one gold and three bronze medals, the first medals for the country since the 1984 Olympics."

Read more at Arabs strike gold at Olympics

"America's biggest Olympic hero yesterday accused George Bush of exploiting the Athens Games for his own political advantage in the run-up to the presidential election.

Carl Lewis, who won nine Olympic gold medals in athletics in a record-breaking career, condemned Bush for using the presence of Iraqi and Afghan teams in Athens in a television advertisement to boost his chances of re-election.

Criticizing Bush for linking his foreign policy with the two countries being allowed to compete here, Lewis said: 'I felt that was disingenuous. It is funny that we boycotted the 1980 Games [in Moscow] in support of Afghanistan, and now we're bombing Afghanistan,' he told the Athens News yesterday.

'Of course, we've invaded Iraq and are in there and are using it for political gain. It bewilders me, and I understand why the Iraqi players are offended.

'To support the players or the community is fine, but for political gain I disagree.'"

Read more at Olympic Gold Hero Accuses Bush

"History should be kind to the 2004 Summer Olympics and this lusty, energetic city.

Olympic officials awarded Greece the Games for sentimental reasons in 1997, a risky recognition of the Greeks having invented the event in 776 B.C. and then staging their 1896 A.D. rebirth.

Nothing better, one could assume, than a homecoming to reacquaint the human race with the 100-meter dash and a simpler, more virtuous time.

But the Games were a massive, expensive - more than $8 billion and rising - undertaking for a small nation with limited financial resources and a placid persona. Greece soon seemed ill-equipped to organize, manage and actually present such an event.

The talk at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia, was that the Olympics might have to go back there in 2004. The joke leading up to the 2004 Games here was that Beijing, China, host of the 2008 Summer Olympics, was more prepared than Greece was for its imminent Games."

Read more at Olympics' return to roots compelling

"The biggest sporting extravaganza, the Olympics 2004, will come to an end today.

For the 10,500 athletes from a record 202 countries, tonight's closing ceremony will be the perfect opportunity to let their hair down at last.

All those disastrous pre-games headlines about construction chaos and security concerns will finally be forgotten as Greece gets set to bid farewell in style.

The stadium is being turned into a giant wheatfield. About 250,000 balloons will cascade down from a night sky exploding with fireworks."

Read more at NDTV.com - Athens awaits grand finale

"Finals in boxing, wrestling and taekwondo herald the symbolic finale to the Athens Olympics, the men's marathon, tracing the legendary route ran by Pheidippides in 490 BC to announce the Athenian victory at the battle of Marathon.

Favourite for the 301st and last medal of the games was Kenya's world record holder Paul Tergat, the silver-medallist over 10,000 metres at Atlanta and Sydney.

"This is going to be my final Olympics. If I could win the gold medal, everything would be complete and I could go on to other things with a free mind." said Tergat."

Read more at Marathon men bring down curtain on Athens Olympics

"Cuban master Mario Kindelan has stopped the amazing run of British teenager Amir Khan by outpointing him in the lightweight final of the Olympic boxing tournament.

Khan, 17, was trying to become the youngest boxer to win an Olympic boxing gold medal in over 50 years on Sunday but Kindelan had other ideas.

Nearly twice Khan's age at 33, the defending champion relied on his greater experience to counter-punch methodically and win a 30-22 decision.

Khan, who fought bravely but seemed a bit nervous, leaves Athens with the silver medal but a bright future ahead."

Read more at Cuban Kindelan stops Khan's run to gold

"Andre Ward won the gold medal in the light heavyweight division Sunday, beating Magomed Aripgadjiev of Belarus to claim a bit of redemption for an American team that took a beating at the Olympics.

Fighting in the last bout of the games, Ward found his mark with quick inside punches in the third round to win the first boxing gold for the United States since David Reid in 1996."

Read more at Andre Ward Redeems U.S. Boxing With Gold

The winner of the Gold Medal: Team from Brazil
The winner of the Silver Medal: Team from Italy
The winner of the Bronze Medal: Team from Russia

The winner of the Gold Medal: Khasjimourat Gatsalov from Russia
The winner of the Silver Medal: Magomed Ibragimov from Uzbekistan
The winner of the Bronze Medal: Alireza Heidari from Iran

The winner of the Gold Medal: Buvaysa Saytiev from Russia
The winner of the Silver Medal: Gennadiy Laliyev from Kazakhstan
The winner of the Bronze Medal: Ivan Fundora from Cuba

"China achieved its best performance at an Olympics on Saturday with four more gold medals, a day after Liu Xiang and Xing Huina created athletics history.

China advanced to 31 gold medals, three behind medal standings leader the United States to continue their record-breaking exploits in Athens.

Luo Wei won the women's taekwondo under-67kg beating Elisavet Mystakidou of Greece for only China's second Olympic taekwondo gold medal since the Korean-born combat sport made its debut at the 2000 Sydney Games.

Canoeists Meng Guanliang and Yang Wenjun had a thrilling men's flatwater canoe C2 500 meters final in which six boats finished within 0.58 seconds of each other.

The gold medals kept on coming in the evening with China's women downing Russia in the volleyball and Hu Jia coming from behind to give his nation a record sixth Olympic diving gold in the men's ten-meter platform gold.

China had a total of 62 medals, eclipsing its record total medal tally of 59 from Sydney."

Read more at China breaks record Olympic medal haul

"South Korea appealed to sport's supreme legal body Sunday in an attempt to secure the Olympic gymnastics all-round gold medal for Yang Tae-young, who was robbed of the title 11 days ago by a scoring error.

Paul Hamm, who became the first American man to win the Olympic all-round title, should not have been awarded the gold, the governing body of gymnastics (FIG) ruled last Saturday.

Despite admitting the error, the FIG refused to redistribute the medals and the Koreans have now applied to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to overturn the federation's decision.

CAS spokesman Matthieu Reeb said although its decisions are usually made public in 24 hours, it may take longer to evaluate an outcome in the Korean's case due to the technicalities involved."

Read more at S.Koreans Lodge Appeal Over Hamm's Gold Medal

"Denmark won its third straight Olympic gold medal in women's team handball Sunday, beating South Korea 4-2 on penalty throws to break a tie after two overtimes.

Henriette Mikkelsen scored the decisive goal in a dramatic shootout to seal Denmark's undefeated run through the tournament.

The two nations have split the title in the last five Olympics, with Denmark winning titles in 1996 and 2000, and South Korea in 1988 and 1992."

Read more at Danish women win another handball gold

The winner of the Gold Medal: Yandro Miguel Quintana from Cuba
The winner of the Silver Medal: Masuod Jokar from Iran
The winner of the Bronze Medal: Kenji Inoue from Japan

The winner of the Gold Medal: Mario Cesar Kindelan Mesa from Cuba

The winner of the Silver Medal: Amir Khan from United Kingdom (Great Britain)

The winner of the Bronze Medal: Serik Yeleuov from Kazakhstan

The winner of the Bronze Medal: Murat Khrachev from Russia

The winner of the Gold Medal: Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz from Cuba
The winner of the Silver Medal: Worapoj Petchkoom from Thailand
The winner of the Bronze Medal: Aghasi Mammadov from Azerbaijan
The winner of the Bronze Medal: Bahodirjon Sooltonov from Uzbekistan

"With the next Summer Games set for Beijing, China will have a chance to defend its women's gold medal without leaving home.

Ping Zhang led a determined rally past Russia with 25 points in the Olympic final in Athens yesterday, winning 28-30, 25-27, 25-20, 25-23, 15-12. After dropping the first two sets, China came back to tie — staying a step ahead of the Russians in the final set. Yuehong Zhang ended it with a spike from the left side.

China's players began hugging and crying with joy on their side of the court, while a stunned Russian team sat on its bench in tears. This was China's first medal since a silver at Atlanta in 1996 and first gold since 1984.

"I don't remember the Chinese team's first victory — I was too young," said setter Kun Feng, China's captain. "I didn't think about it at all. I was only fighting for the glory of victory.""

Read more at China women rally to volleyball gold

"Egypt's Mohamed Aly will not contest Sunday's Olympic super heavyweight boxing final in Athens after failing a pre-fight medical.

The decision means that his Russian opponent, Alexander Povetkin, is awarded the gold medal without throwing a punch.

Aly, who upset Cuban favourite Michel Lopez Nunez 18-16 in his semi-final, has a shoulder injury.

Povetkin succeeds Britain's Audley Harrison as super heavyweight champion.

The 24-year-old won the world title last year and has received several offers to turn professional.

On Friday, Egypt heavyweight Mohamed Elsayed was also disqualified before his semi-final bout for failing a medical test."

Read more at Egypt suffer boxing blow

"SHORTLY AFTER THE U.S. Olympic men's basketball team defeated Lithuania, 104-96, in Saturday night's bronze-medal game, coach Larry Brown called for changes in the process of selecting American players for international competition.

Shortly after that, Stu Jackson, chairman of the USA Basketball senior national team, added a few thoughts of his own.

Brown and Jackson are bright men with interesting ideas. Unfortunately for the future of American basketball as practiced on the international stage, at some point Tim Duncan's voice is going to be heard. And here is what Duncan had to say after Saturday's game:

"I'm about 95 percent certain my FIBA career is over," Duncan said. "FIBA sucks.""
Read more at ContraCostaTimes.com | 08/29/2004 | NBA culture clashes with FIBA

"Olympic supremo Jacques Rogge Sunday offered gold medals all round to Athens for organizing a superb Olympics after years of doom and gloom leading up to the opening.

"I am an extremely happy President of the IOC," he told reporters on the day the Games wrap up. They really did a fantastic job. I am very, very happy about the Games."

From security to ticket sales, he was glowing in praise of the organizers, who faced a barrage of criticism in the run-up to the Games over construction chaos, security concerns and budget overruns."

Read more at Golds All Round for Athens from IOC Chief

"What you remember about an Olympics probably says a lot about who you are. Is it Paul Hamm and the ugly gymnastics controversy that continues to fester like an unwashed wound? Or is it the golden performances of Michael Phelps, the American sprinters, and the American women’s soccer and softball teams?

Do you think of the failure of the outfit formerly known as the Dream Team as an embarrassment and a blot on the glorious history of U.S. basketball, or as the dawn of a new era of intense international competition that will ensure that future Olympics are packed with excitement and emotion?

Is the record for Olympic drug busts a stain on sports or a positive sign that the I.O.C. and strict anti-doping testing are finally catching up on the cheaters and cleaning up the competition?"

Read more at MSNBC - Is Olympics glass half-empty or half-full?