The London Olympics officially kicks off today though two events, archery and women's soccer, have already begun to ensure a full tournament can be played. After tonight's opening ceremonies the rest of the games begin tomorrow with swimming, men's gymnastics, rowing, tennis, and road cycling among others.
Scientists from King's College in London say pollution in the British capital has reached the highest level in six years. "Recent sunshine and low winds are exactly the conditions that can be bring smog to London," the environmental experts said in a statement yesterday. They also launched a website that offers hourly air quality updates venue by venue and street by street. London has the largest and most advance air quality surveillance systems in Europe.
On this side of the pond, the Yankees and Red Sox were off yesterday and will kick off a three game series tonight in New York. Meanwhile, the Mets snapped a six-game losing streak, winning 3-1 over Arizona.
The NBA has released the schedule for the upcoming season which will begin October 30th with a game between the Heat and the Celtics, meaning Ray Allen's first game with the Heat will be against his former team.
And both the Jets and Giants have reported to their training camps. The Giants will call the University at Albany home while the Jets reported to SUNY Cortland, drawing a lot of media attention for their new quarterback Tim Tebow.
But head coach Rex Ryan sought to quickly dispel rumors, myths, and doubts among fans and the press. "They say if you have two quarterbacks you have no quarterback," said Ryan, "Tell that to the San Francisco 49ers when they had Steve Young and Joe Montana. I think they won a few games," he said.
Jake Sorgen, WAMC News
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press