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The Torch
3:01 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

London Opens Up, In Danny Boyle's 'Warm-Up Act' For The Summer Olympics

Originally published on Fri July 27, 2012 5:33 pm

Every recent opening ceremony of the Olympics went for glitter and glamour, in an escalating war of excess. Ceremony fanatics consider the Beijing opening ceremony the gaudiest of all — and Oscar-winner Danny Boyle (the director of Slumdog Millionaire) had $42 million to try to outdo the Chinese organizers.

Instead, Boyle says, "You can't get bigger than Beijing. So that, in a way, kind of liberated us. We thought, 'Great. Oh good. We'll try and do something different, then.' "

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The Torch
2:02 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

Legally Blind Archer Sets World Record At London 2012 Games

Credit Paul Gilham / Getty Images
Archer Im Dong-hyun (right) of South Korea inspects his target after breaking the world record during the men's ranking round Friday.

As we've reported, there were no public events on the Olympic sporting schedule today, the day of the opening ceremony. But we must note that two world records were set at the London 2012 Games this morning. That's when South Korean archer Im Dong-hyun scored a record 699 points.

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Monkey See
12:31 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Of 'Dark Knight,' Summer Games And Such

Credit NPR

Originally published on Fri July 27, 2012 1:47 pm

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The Torch
11:32 am
Fri July 27, 2012

London Olympics: Watching The Opening Ceremony, And This Weekend's Events

Originally published on Fri July 27, 2012 12:46 pm

The London 2012 Summer Games are set to begin in earnest, with today's opening ceremony kicking off a weekend of gold-medal competitions. But if you're in America and you hope to watch the Opening Ceremony live, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed: NBC is tape-delaying its broadcast until Friday night.

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Asia
11:27 am
Fri July 27, 2012

Pay, Not Play, Fuels British Invasion Of Chinese Soccer

Originally published on Thu August 9, 2012 12:20 pm

On a gray, polluted Beijing morning, parents peer through a fence anxiously at their little darlings' wobbly dribbling skills on the soccer pitch, as they try to score goals against former Manchester City goalkeeper Alex Williams.

Across town, Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta poses gamely with another group of Chinese kids.

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Sports
10:46 am
Fri July 27, 2012

Robin Predes On Rowing His Way To Victory

Credit Courtesy US Rowing

Originally published on Fri July 27, 2012 1:57 pm

U.S. Olympic rower Robin Prendes hopes to lead his boat to the medal stand in London. As part of Tell Me More's series on the athletes you'll be watching, host Michel Martin speaks with Prendes about how he got into rowing after immigrating from Cuba and what he's doing to prepare for the Olympics.

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The Picture Show
10:39 am
Fri July 27, 2012

Photos: Female Arab Athletes On The Rise

Originally published on Fri July 27, 2012 11:47 am

The Olympics have come a long way since the days of scantily clad Greek men throwing javelins. It wasn't until 1900 that women competed for the first time. And for the first time ever this year, Saudi Arabia is allowing women to compete in the Olympics. (Though even that's complicated.)

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The Two-Way
10:33 am
Fri July 27, 2012

Thanks For The Mariners Memories: Ben Gibbard's 'Ichiro's Theme'

Credit Elaine Thompson / AP
New York Yankees right fielder Ichiro Suzuki readies for a fist bump ... or a fist pump for his new song?

Ben Gibbard, the man behind indie rock darlings Death Cab for Cutie, has been a Seattle Mariners fan since he was five-years-old, and is such an Ichiro Suzuki devotee he wrote a song about the outfielder.

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The Torch
10:11 am
Fri July 27, 2012

'It's What We Have': Spain's Athletes Sigh, And Put On Olympic Uniforms

Credit Alex Fabregas/Twitter
Taking One For The Team: Field hockey player Alex Fabregas modeled Spain's Olympic outfit in this photo he posted on Twitter. Athletes have been publicly stoic about the colorful clothing, which was provided for free.

Originally published on Fri July 27, 2012 12:56 pm

Spanish Olympians are learning a painful lesson as they suit up for Friday's opening ceremony in London: You get what you pay for.

With Spain on the brink of bankruptcy, its Olympic committee decided to save money this year. It got its Olympic uniforms for free, from the Russian designer Bosco, which also provided kits for the Russian and Ukrainian teams.

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The Torch
9:15 am
Fri July 27, 2012

Place All Metal Objects In The Tray, Please... Oh, Hi Kobe!

Credit Vickie Walton-James / NPR
As Team USA basketball player Kobe Bryant passed through a security checkpoint Friday, British soldiers were moved to relax a ban on photography in the area.

We ran into USA Men's basketball at the security sweep today. Yes, even big-time basketball players and coaches must suffer the indignity of the magnetometer. We were all making our way through security into the Main Press Center, where the team was about to meet journalists.

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo, coach Mike Krzyzewski and much of the rest of the team seemed to have little trouble getting screened. Assistant coach Nate McMillan may have forgotten to empty his pockets, because he got the pat-down.

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