olympics

SYDNEY, Australia -- The Olympics end today. The final medals will be decided. But I'm ready to name my own winners and losers of the past few weeks.By the way, I am a purist.Only gold ...and tin.Olympic Comeback* Gold: To out-of-retirement swimmers Jenny Thompson and Dara Torres. They came. They saw. They delivered.* Tin: To French track diva Marie-Jose Perec. She came. She saw. She ran away.New Olympic Event* Gold: Triathlon. Every time you watch it, you think "grueling."

"The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted the spoons." -- EmersonThe people who run the Olympics have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.Inside are goodies such as free trips, jobs for children, college scholarships and an old favorite, cash.These goodies were offered by cities hoping to host the Olympic Games. Since the Games and all their tourism dollars come only once every two years, you can see how, as the competition swelled, so did the pot.

EN ROUTE TO NAGANO, JAPAN -- I wave good-bye to the lucky ones, the ones who get to see the Winter Olympics."So long," I say to my buddy with the big-screen TV, as I board the plane for Japan, "enjoy the event.""You, too," he says, waving."Lucky stiff," I mumble.I should not feel envy, but I feel envy. I am jealous of their luck. I am jealous of their good fortune. Mostly, I am jealous of their seat."Don't forget to tell me what happens," I yell to my buddy who owns a sports bar. "I want details."

HAKUBA, Japan -- To appreciate the scene -- one man, leaping into the sky, soaring above his flag-waving countrymen -- you must first appreciate the culture. Japan is a place where you do not stand out, where conforming is good, where joining is good. Those who dare to be different risk scorn and disgrace. There is an expression taught to the very young: "The nail that stands out gets hammered down."

ATLANTA -- You take an idea. Get everyone in the world together, in one place, at one time, under one flag, for one cause. It is preposterous. It is unfathomable. But you circle it and you study it and you begin to chip away, like a sculptor on a mountain of granite.

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Forget the dateline. This has nothing to do with baseball or Florida. It has to do with the Winter Olympics, which ended nearly two weeks ago. It's something I would like to get off my chest.