I don't have a problem with the media focusing on "home town" success. Let's face it, every country does that. You need to be over here when the Brits win a bronze in the small bore rifle shooting to experience overkill! But it wouldn't hurt to realise that there is a whole other Olympics going on outside of the pool, basketball arena and drug-fuelled sprinting. Case in point, my brother (who lives in the US and is a BIG sports fan) when discussing the possibililty of Michael Phelps winning 7 or 8 golds admitted he'd never heard of Ian Thorpe. As for the influence of money, sure it's unavoidable now, but there were Olympics before TV and there'll probably be Olympics after it all implodes and people start switching off (as they're already doing in track and field).

Finally (you'll be glad to hear) FS, I don't hate America. My bro lives there as do my American nephews and neices and I am very close to my first cousins who were all born there and are 100% American. Now, we don't all have the same view of the world as you would expect and we often disagree about things, but we still love each other aaaah! So in praise of the USA, I thought Paul Hamm was brilliant last night and deserved gold...mind you the guy in the shot putt was an a**hole.