TIME WELL-SPENT IN FRONT OF MY TV

(Aug. 11): There are folks out there who will come to the conclusion that I totally wasted my weekend. Perhaps, but I'm not apologizing for spending so much time in front of the television set watching as much of the Olympics as humanly possible.

And what a show it's been so far, starting with the spectacular opening ceremony. To quote NBC anchorman Bob Costas, they might as well retire the trophy because it's hard to imagine anyone ever surpassing the show put on by the host Chinese.

Yesterday, it was Michael Phelps who was the big story. If the American does make history by winning eight gold medals during these games, much of the credit will belong to teammate Jason Lezak.

Swimming the anchor leg of the 400-meter freestyle relay, Lezak rallied from a seemingly insurmountable deficit to barely beat out his French counterpart, enabling Phelps to claim his second gold.

But there was more, the US men's basketball team is obviously on a mission. Overcoming a relatively slow start, the Redeem Team – led by the relentless LeBron James -- eased past China in its opener.

The women's soccer team – of which Hawaii's Natasha Kai is a member – split matches by losing to Norway and beating Japan and the men.

The women's volleyball team – featuring four players with Hawaii ties – also split its matches, beating Japan and then being swept by Cuba.

And the men's volleyball team – led by Hawaii's Clay Stanley – edged Venezuela, three games to two.

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