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The Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame got under way today in Olympia, Greece, with the lighting of the flame at an official ceremony outside the famed Temple of Hera.

The Olympic Games have traditionally been a ratings bonanza for American televison networks and they still are. Correspondingly the astronomical rights fees have reflected broadcasters’ level of interest in securing them. But the times, they are a changin’. As the future rights fees are not likely to reach such heights.
(see chart below)

The Richmond Olympic Oval is the long track speed skating venue for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and bound to be eye-candy for viewers around the world. A 15 minute train ride down the new Canada rail line from downtown Vancouver, With its floor to ceiling views of the Fraser River and North Shore Mountains, not only is the vista impressive, but so are the numbers:

The men’s hockey competiton at the XXIst Winter Games in Vancouver will be one of the most coveted tickets form the first day of competiton through to the gold medal match, but will Canada even be in that title game?

There are plenty of world class teams that are capable of winning it all including Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic.

2010 Vancouver Olympic Television Schedule

The sports world turns to its biggest winter extravaganza beginning on the 12th and running through the 28th of this month. So to help prepare those who are more expert in the nuances of an NFL game or the intracacies involved in a NASCAR pit stop, we’ll present over the next few weeks a basic guideline to the sports, venues and potential stars of the XXIst Winter Olympics from Vancouver, Canada.

Sport and Cinema’s 2009 Holliday Book Picks Historically the “toy department” has been a rich source for literary products and for those looking to find something to satisfy the voracious reader on their shopping list, here are some titles bound to produce smiles under the Christmas tree:

Unlike most nations around the world, there is very little government financial support for the Olympics in America, so when NBC broadcast a taped ceremony over the weekend of the USOC’s latest inductees it was for a good cause.

Triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt of Jamaica smashed his own 100 meters world record with a stunning time of 9.58 seconds to win the final on Sunday at the IAAF World Track Championships in Berlin.

Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Paula Creamer and Michelle Wie striding in alongside Michael Phelps as part of the American team in the parade of athletes entering the main stadium for the Opening Ceremonies?