Rest in Peace, Jim McKay.

Most people know him as the ABC sportscaster known for hosting the longrunning “Wide World of Sports” series, and for being the prime voice of the Olympic Games while they were covered by ABC.

We here at the USRT tend to see things a little differently, on terms that we know best. Hence the title of this post.

McKay was the first widely traveled sportscaster in history as his career began to rise as the use of television broadcasts via satellites became common. Week in and week out, one would tune into “Wide World of Sports” to see McKay broadcasting from some part of the world covering just about any sport in existence from just about anywhere on the planet. Whether it be an Olympic Games in Austria, being one of the first sportscasters let into Communist China, or covering a mainstream event like the Indy 500 it would be a real treat to find out exactly where on Earth McKay would be that week.

McKay traveled about five million miles in the quest to bring sports from around the globe home to the average person who would never get to see such places or in some cases, such sports. And did so with an enormous amount of class and dignity. In the words of Jeremy Schaap “Unfailingly, he treated the barrel jumpers and cliff divers and bicycle polo players with the same respect he afforded Mario Andretti and Mark Spitz and Bill Shoemaker. ”

And he was, and always will be for folks of my generation and up the defining voice of the Olympic Games, as it seemed like he was there calling every big event that occured on a quadrennial basis. And his finest moment as a broadcaster took place in 1972 with his eloquent handling of the horrible hostage tragedy at Munich.

Thank You, Jim. Happy travels where ever you may be now.

With all the neverending sadness and bullshit that defines the conflict between Israel and Palestine, how great it is to come across a story like this, proof again that the human spirit can triumph over all.

Would it not be awesome to see this guy actually win a medal, and see the flag of Palestine being hoisted at the awards ceremony?

Allow me to join in the chorus with his fellow Gazans - “Run Nader Run!”

The price tag for this monolith, to be erected in Stratford, just east of London, is 496 million Pound Sterling, and that amounts to over a billion US dollars. It will be the centerpiece of the Olympic Park, and be set on an island, accessible via pedestrian bridges and ticket turnstiles and security checks will be performed well away from the building.

Once the Olympics are finished, the stadium will be scaled back to 25,000 seats and serve as a multi-purpose venue with a focus on athletic events. There are no plans to bring a franchise in the Premiership to this location.

The U.K. Telegraph has more on this, including a preview video.

Time to dust off this letter…

“Dear Fans,

Please refrain from making your final judgment on the logo until you see how the whole thing looks.

Sincerely,
Larry Quinn”

More from the UK Telegraph. Oh and by the way… the cost for this mess? $800,000!

In Beijing they are busy building and prepping Wikesong Baseball Field, which will be the host venue for baseball in the 2008 Olympic Games.

Then incredibly, as this article in the Globe and Mail points out, they will be demolishing this perfectly fine and beautiful baseball park once the Games are over, to build a shopping mall no less. While the NBA has Chinese folks rabidly excited, apparently one can’t say the same about baseball over there.