To stay and play would pay debt

The US Olympic Committee, which has been on both ends of boycotts, is flatly opposed to staying home from Beijing.

"Boycotts do one thing very well and only one thing," said USOC chairman Peter Ueberroth, chief organizer of the 1984 Los Angeles Games. "They punish athletes."

But even if the USOC were tempted to pull out, as it did from Moscow in 1980 under extreme duress from the Carter administration, it would feel an obligation to repay a double favor from the Chinese, who not only skipped Moscow (deferring their Summer Games debut) but turned up in Los Angeles, giving those Games considerable credibility after the Soviet pullout.

"I feel indebted to China," Ueberroth said.

Fanning the flames

The Olympic torch relay, which will cover 135 cities on five continents in 130 days, already has become a magnet for demonstrations about China's treatment of Tibet. There were protesters at the kindling of the flame in ancient Olympia and also in Athens Sunday when the torch was handed off to the Chinese for its global hopscotch, which includes stops in St. Petersburg, London, Paris, and San Francisco. The most controversial leg clearly will be the May ascent of Mount Everest, which could spark another uprising in Tibet . . . The USOC will be staying put in Colorado Springs for at least another quarter-century after yesterday's agreement with the city providing for a $53 million expansion and makeover of its aging complex, with its extensive training center and national headquarters for 10 sports bodies. The committee, which moved from New York to the Springs in 1978, had considered relocating (Denver, Chicago, San Diego, and Las Vegas reportedly were considered). But the city's public-private package, which includes new office buildings, renovated facilities, and more athlete dorms, was attractive enough for a long-term commitment.

Blades weren't sharp

Johnny Weir's bronze medal saved the US figure skaters from being blanked at the World Championships for the first time in 14 years. Otherwise, it was a grim week in Sweden. With former titlist Kimmie Meissner and Bebe Liang finishing seventh and 10th, the American women will be down to two entries next year for the first time since 1995. Tanith Belbin fizzled on a twizzle in the dance compulsories, and she and partner Ben Agosto missed the podium for the first time in four years. And Rena Inoue and John Baldwin were 10th, behind all three Canadian pairs. Things should be better in Los Angeles next year (and they have to be, with Olympic berths on the line), since rising stars Mirai Nagasu, Rachael Flatt, and Caroline Zhang all will be age-eligible, as will pairs skater Keauna McLaughin. The Canadians, meanwhile, had a fantastic showing, winning the men's crown (Jeffrey Buttle) for the first time since 1997 and grabbing a silver in dance and a bronze in pairs. The Russians continued their post-Turin slide, managing only a dance bronze and failing to medal in pairs in consecutive years for the first time . . . The US women's ice hockey team begins the quest to regain its crown at the World Championships in China Friday, taking on Germany. The Americans, whose only title came in 2005, have finished second to the Canadians nine times, with those two countries winning 20 of the 30 all-time medals. On the squad are three-time Olympians Angela Ruggiero and Jenny Potter, two-timers Julie Chu and Natalie Darwitz, and Turin veterans Caitlin Cahow, Sarah Parsons, and Molly Engstrom.

Stone-cold

Though the Canadian women defended their world curling crown on their home ice in Vernon, British Columbia, the rise of the Asians was the big story. The Chinese, who humiliated the US, 10-1, in the round robin, won the silver for the continent's first global medal in the sport and Japan finished fourth, nearly upsetting the Canadians in the semis. The Americans, who had won medals at three of the previous five tournaments, had an epic collapse, losing four of five after winning four of five, and missed making the playoffs for the first time since 2002. "We know we're better than this," said skip Debbie McCormick, whose rink won the 2003 title but finished seventh this time . . . Now that the US men's soccer team has qualified for Beijing, the women get their chance this week in Mexico, where they'll take on Jamaica and the hosts in the prelims. It should be a breeze for the defending Olympic champions, who only need to win three matches to get their ticket. The men relied on defense (three shutouts) and Freddy Adu (four goals) to win their qualifier, stifling Canada, 3-0, to get back to the Games after missing Athens . . . That recent tsunami of world swimming records, most of them in the sprints, can be credited to Speedo's new LZR Racer, the full-length bodysuit ultrasonically welded together. "When I hit the water, I feel like a rocket," testified Michael Phelps, who broke his own 200-meter butterfly record at the Missouri Open wearing only the lower-body LZR Legskin. Australia's Eamon Sullivan (21.56) took down the record in the 50 freestyle (21.64) that Russia's Alexander Popov set in 2000. Then France's Alain Bernard, who didn't even make the finals of the 50- and 100-meter freestyles at last year's world meet, set three global marks in three nights in those events at the recent European Championships. Then Sullivan broke the 50 record twice in two days, bringing it down to 21.28. Though the super-light, mini-drag suit, which goes for $550, has been approved by the international federation, not everybody is happy about it. "It would be great to see the final of the Olympics just be basically people and their talent," says South Africa's Roland Schoeman. "Like Popov, when he was just swimming in his briefs."

Pedal for the medal

Brits-on-bikes dominated the World Cycling Championships on their home track in Manchester, winning half of the 18 gold medals, with sprinter Chris Hoy earning a record fourth men's sprint crown. It was a strong week for the American women, who took one of every color: gold by Jennie Reed in the keirin (unfortunately, not an Olympic event for females), silver by two-time world champ Sarah Hammer in the pursuit, and bronze by Reed in the sprint . . . Left off the US women's softball team for the farewell tournament in Beijing was legendary pitcher Lisa Fernandez, the biggest reason for their three gold medals. "It's like Michael Jordan getting cut from the basketball team," said catcher Stacey Nuveman. No regrets, though, from the 37-year-old Fernandez, who'd taken three years off to begin a family and knew it was an uphill struggle. "I just ran out of time," she said. The team's 185-game winning streak in pre-Olympic play, dating to 1996, was stopped recently by Virginia Tech, with Angela Tincher tossing a no-hitter and whiffing 10. The Americans, who'd outscored opponents by a 1,475-24 aggregate and were 23-0 this year, had a dozen gold medalists back from the 2004 team, with Jennie Finch on the mound. Tincher is one of five finalists for the Sullivan Award, which goes to the nation's top amateur athlete. The recipient will be announced today.

Read all about it

Two worthy new additions to the Olympic rowing library. "Kelly, A Father, A Son, An American Quest" (Mystic Seaport), by Harvard sculling instructor Dan Boyne, is an intriguing tale of Philadelphia's most charismatic family. Jack Kelly, who won three sculling golds at the 1920 and 1924 Games (and also was a superb boxer), was the finest sculler America has produced. Jack Kelly Jr., a four-time Olympian and USOC president, won the last US medal in the single in 1956. His sister Grace Kelly was an Oscar-winning actress, Princess of Monaco and mother of Prince Albert, an IOC member, and five-time Olympic bobsledder for Monaco. "The Wonder Crew" (St. Martin's Press), by Susan Saint Sing, tells the unfamiliar story of the Navy eight that upset Great Britain's fabled Leander boat at the 1920 Games, beginning a US victory string in the event that lasted until 1960.

Material from Olympic committees, sports federations, interviews, and wire services was used in this report.