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Let's Catch Up: Olympic Coaches Won't March; North Korea Wants Games On TV

London Underground employee John Light (!) carries the Olympic torch onto a train at Wimbledon Station.
LOCOG
London Underground employee John Light (!) carries the Olympic torch onto a train at Wimbledon Station.

Good morning. With three days until the official opener of the 2012 London Games, here's a summary of the news coming out of the Olympics:

  • U.S. (and other) coaches will not be walking in Friday's Opening Ceremonies, because Olympic honchos wanted to shorten the ceremony. Some don't even have tickets.
  • The Olympic torch had a big night. First, it rode on the London Underground. Then it passed through the set of long-running soap operaEastenders.
  • North Korea is negotiating for rights to broadcast the 2012 games, according to Voice of America. Seems a bit late, but I guess if a dictatorship doesn't let you set your own deadlines, what good is it?
  • Brazil's soccer team won't have goalie Rafael for the games, after he ran into a practice dummy during practice. Out for three weeks with an elbow injury.
  • The British government has deployed even more troops to help secure Olympic venues.
  • And... London Mayor Boris Johnson recited a Pindaric ode in Greek and English at a gala last night.
  • As is the case with most poems, the meat's at the bottom — just like Shepherd's Pie. So, here are the ode's final two stanzas, in English:

    The pipes will play, the drum resound, as medallists are daily crowned; the crowd's hurrah will reach the skies when victors hoist the golden prize.

    Now welcome to this sea­‐girt land, with London's Mayor and co. at hand. Good luck to all who strive to win: applaud, and let the Games begin!

    Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.