LONDON – Around the 2012 Olympics and its host city with journalists from The Associated Press bringing the flavor and details of the games to you:
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NO STAR LINE AT SECURITY?
I'm standing in line with a bunch of media members waiting to get cleared through security when two men come hurrying in to the back of the line. Dressed in Serbia gear and clearly in a rush to get somewhere, they try to ask the security personnel to expedite the process for them.
Not happening. They have to stand in line like everyone else.
As I get through the screening, I turn to see who is there. It's Novak Djokvic, only one of the three best tennis players in the world. His watch sets off the alarm, but he rushes out before I have a chance to ask what in the heck he's doing there with us lowly regular people.
— Jon Krawczynski — http://twitter.com/APkrawczynski
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DOPING TEST OVER, FINALLY
Remember the problems two fasting Moroccans were having to comply with the urine test that's part of doping checks here? It took two and a half hours, but they've managed it.
The team coach had said earlier that the two chosen players — who are observing the Muslim holy month of Ramadan — had found it "more or less impossible" because they hadn't consumed anything since 2:30 a.m.
— Joseph White — Twitter http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP
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ALL ABOUT PHELPS
Michael Phelps is such an Olympic colossus that the US swim team press conference broke down this way:
A half hour of questions and answers with Phelps, then a half hour with the rest of the team.
Does this reinforce the idea that Phelps is somehow separate from his teammates?
Teammate Natalie Coughlin likes it this way.
"We used to do all the press conferences together and would just sit here daydreaming" while Phelps fielded all the questions.
— Warren Levinson — Twitter http://twitter.com/WarrenLevinson
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TOO LATE TO SWITCH SPORTS?
American track star Lolo Jones hasn't been able to hurdle the heat so far. Tweet: "No air conditioners. It's HOT in the rooms. No need to practice. Just lay in ur bed and sweat. Where r the applications for Winter Olympics???"
— Jon Krawczynski — Twitter http://twitter.com/APkrawczynski
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SING ALONG WITH PAUL
Londoners have been careful not to leak too many secrets about Friday's opening ceremony, but some have slipped out anyway.
With thousands taking part in dress rehearsals being held at night, it's been difficult to keep all the juicy details under wraps. And while it's been impossible to see what's going on inside Olympic Stadium, there have been clues floating in the air all week.
"I've heard Paul McCartney do 'Hey Jude' twice," said a bartender on Euston St. "At least it sounded like him."
Tom Withers http://twitter.com/twithersAP
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WRESTLING GOLD?
U.S. women's wrestling coach Terry Steiner is hopeful that the growth of the sport domestically will lead to the country's first gold medal.
Steiner said that in 2002, two years before women's wrestling made its debut at the Athens Games, just five American colleges offered women's wrestling. That number currently stands at 21, and Steiner said girls' wrestling is also the fastest-growing sport at the high school level in the U.S.
The Americans have a pair of two-time Olympians in Clarissa Chun at 48 kilograms and Ali Bernard at 72 kg. Both reached bronze medal matches before falling in Beijing and are considered legitimate medal contenders
"Our goals are very simple. We've got four athletes and we'd like to leave here with four medals. And I think we have the athletes that can perform and have performed at a high level," Steiner said.
— Luke Meredith — Twitter http://twitter.com/LukeMeredithAP
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WHERE'S ROGER?
Roger Federer has an endorsement contract with Rolex. That doesn't mean he's on time.
The Swiss player, who returned to No. 1 in the world again after winning his seventh Wimbledon earlier this month, was to meet with media at 5:30 p.m. but at about that time it was announced he would be 30 minutes late. Federer, with 17 Grand Slams, won a gold medal in doubles in 2008 with fellow countryman Stan Wawrinki. He'll be back at Wimbledon to try to win gold in singles, and his chances improved when Spain's Rafael Nadal pulled out due to injury.
— Betsy Blaney
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TALL AND SMALL
A tower of men's tennis will face, or rather peer down at, the tour's smallest player in first-round action at the Olympics.
No. 11 seed John Isner of the United States is matched against Olivier Rochus of Belgium in a draw that was announced Thursday at Wimbledon. Isner is 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 meters) tall, and his opponent is 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 meters) tall.
Last year, Isner defeated Rochus to win the title at Newport in the United States. The Association of Tennis Professionals described it as the "biggest-ever height differential" in a tour final.
The ATP biography for Rochus, whose career-high ranking was No. 24 in 2005, says his ambition as a child was "to be tall."
At 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 meters), Ivo Karlovic of Croatia is the tallest man on the tour.
— Christopher Torchia
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BRAZILIAN PARTY
Hundreds of Brazilian fans are taking over St. Mary Street in Cardiff, Wales, ahead of the team's opening match against Egypt in the men's football tournament. Making a lot of noise and dancing to loud music, the Brazilians are bringing some life to what normally would be a calm city center on a Thursday afternoon.
Smaller groups of Egyptian supporters were also on hand, peacefully engaging with the Brazilians ahead of the Group C match at the nearby Millennium Stadium.
The gathering of fans is one of the few signs of changes brought on by the Olympics to Cardiff, located some 150 miles (250 kilometers) from all the action in London.
— Tales Azzoni — Twitter http://twitter.com/tazzoni
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WHEN IN LONDON ...
U.S. gymnast Gabby Douglas joked after making the Olympic team she hoped to "catch an accent" when she arrived in London.
Douglas doesn't quite have the hang of it yet, but her teammates are picking it up quickly.
Aly Raisman put on a show for reporters shortly after the U.S. completed podium training on Thursday, putting the proper lilt on "absolutely brilliant" and "Introducing the gymnasts" (with the emphasis on the second syllable of gymnast).
How good was it? Even a member of the Olympic Broadcast System (a Brit) applauded.
— Will Graves — Twitter http://twitter.com/WillGravesAP
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WELCOME TO NODNOL?
Call that a welcome? A sprawling shopping mall next to London's Olympic Park has been forced to alter signs greeting Arabic-speaking visitors, after a campaign group pointed out that the message was almost unreadable.
Westfield Stratford, which has more than 260 stores and is located right next to the main Olympic venues, has confirmed it is replacing banners put in place to welcome Olympic visitors after it was contacted by the Council for Arab-British understanding.
The council said signs that were supposed to say "Welcome to London" in Arabic were instead written backwards and did not have the letters joined up, leaving the message virtually indecipherable.
Chris Doyle, the council's director, says the banner has taken a simple message and "jumbled it up and separated the letters — what you got was a load of gibberish."
— David Stringer - Twitter http://twitter.com/david_stringer
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OLDER MEDALS
The British Museum is a huge draw for tourists, and the medal display is very timely.
The exhibit features actual medals awarded, including one for the pentathlon in the 1873 Wenlock Olympian Games, and artist renderings of this year's medals.
— Jenna Fryer — Twitter http://twitter.com/jennafryer
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MAJOR DONATION
Nearly 2,000 Moroccan kids are benefitting from a decision by British rower Mohamed Sbihi not to fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in order to pursue his Olympic dream.
Sbihi, who is part of the men's eight at the London Games, felt he wouldn't be able to maintain his competitive edge if he abstained from food and drink from dawn to dusk during Ramadan, which began last Friday.
So, as a compromise, he is instead digging deep into his pocket and paying to feed 1,800 people via an English-based charity — Walou 4 Us — that works with kids in Morocco.
"It's written in the Quran that those unable to fast have to feed 60 people or fast for 30 days for every day they miss intentionally," Sbihi said.
"So, it worked out 1,800 people or 5 years' fasting. I'm very fortunate that I have funds to pay and make the donation. I made the donation about a month and a half ago."
— Steve Douglas — Twitter http://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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TWITTER OVERLOAD?
People in Britain, the United States and elsewhere appear to be having difficulty accessing Twitter, a day before the 2012 Olympic Games are due to officially launch and spike activity on the site. The social network's main website is unreachable from New York, London and Johannesburg.
Twitter spokeswoman Rachel Bremmer says they're aware of the issue and are looking into it.
She didn't immediately elaborate on the nature of the problem.
The Olympics are expected to bring an unprecedented surge of activity by sports fans on social networking sites.
At the recent European Championship final, users fired off more than 15,000 tweets-per-second, setting a sports-related record for the site.
— Raphael Satter — Twitter http://raphae.li/twitter
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EDITOR'S NOTE — "Eyes on London" shows you the Olympics through the eyes of Associated Press journalists across the 2012 Olympic city and around the world. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item, and get even more AP updates from the Games here: http://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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