The Sports Burka

BEIJING – One of the many things that makes the Olympics great is that at some point in the Games you are guaranteed to see something you’ve never seen before.
I’m not talking about watching a man run faster than anyone in the history of the world, even after slowing to a jog and beating his [...]

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The Bird’s Nest

BEIJING – Don’t we look great together?
I’ve never had a crush on a building before, but when I saw the National Stadium in Beijing, I just knew.
It’s the prettiest building I’ve ever seen. And the most photogenic. Trust me. I have 137 photos of it.
And it looks perfect in all of them.
I know what you’re [...]

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Heineken House

BEIJING – A few weeks ago, this building was an agricultural exhibition center.
It’s the size of a small convention center, or a very large sports bar.
On August 8th, the place turned into a giant beer hall, dance club, and ticket dispensary, and it will stay that way until the Closing Ceremony. It’s called the Holland [...]

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The seventh fight of the day

BEIJING – The opponent came out first, to polite applause.
His name happened to be Joe Murray, and he happened to be representing Great Britain. But none of that mattered much. No one had come to the Worker’s Gymnasium that day to see Joe Murray.
The man they were waiting for came out moments later, and a [...]

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Who’ll stop the rain?

BEIJING – The Bird’s Nest may be an architectural wonder, but the site of tonight’s Opening Ceremony has one very important weakness. There’s no roof.
And on one of the most important nights in modern Chinese history, it just might rain.
Luckily, China has these guys. There are 37,000 of them, and they’re pretty sure they can [...]

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