BASKETBALL: The FIBA qualifying tournament rolls on as its third day is complete, with contenders emerging for the last three Olympic spots. Greece, Germany, Slovenia and Croatia each won their first two games and will move on to the quarterfinals, which begin tomorrow in Athens. Canada (1-1) kept its slim hopes alive with the closest game of the tournament so far, a 79-77 nailbiter win over South Korea. If the Canadians don't beat Croatia today, however, they're out.

While all that's going on, several teams that have already qualified for Beijing are tuning up at the Stankovic Cup tournament in China. Russia may have gotten in with an upset win over Spain at last year's EuroBasket, but there is no question that basketball in the country has declined considerably since the Soviet Union disbanded. Russia went 3-4 in an eighth place finish at Sydney, did not qualify for 2004, and are not considered medal contenders next month. Yesterday, in the first day of the Stankovic, Russia was pummeled by African champions Angola, 89-70.

BASEBALL: What is likely to be the final Olympic baseball tournament ever will take place next month, and Cuban ex-president Fidel Castro is seriously non-plussed about the ouster of his favorite sport. For now, countries are announcing their rosters this week. Canada, Chinese Taipei, Japan, the Netherlands and South Korea unveiled their 24-man teams earlier this week. The United States will send a contingent made up primarily of AAA class minor-leaguers. We're still waiting on defending gold medalist Cuba.

ATHLETICS: In a story we've been following closely in recent weeks, South African Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee runner attempting to compete with able-bodied athletes at the Olympics, ran a lifetime best of 46.25 yesterday, but it wasn't good enough to meet the Olympic world standard of 45.55. The "fastest man on no legs" is, however, still eligible for the relay team, should his country's federation pick him. After the IAAF declared that his carbon fiber blades presented a potential danger in a relay, Pistorius is lawyering up.

GYMNASTICS: Morgan Hamm, twin brother of 2004 overall gold medalist Paul, was given a doping warning by the USOC for taking a shot of glucocorticosteroid into his injured left ankle before the U.S. trials. Yesterday, he was cleared to compete in Beijing. Paul is still recovering from an injury of his own, a broken hand.

And in China...

Remember that locust infestation that threatened the Games we talked about last week? China is on it. The country will use 200 tons of pesticides and 33,000 Orkin men to fight off the bugs.

As you might already know, the number eight is the luckiest number for the Chinese, and that's a big reason why the Games are starting on 08.08.08 at 8:08 PM. But were you aware that the number 4 is considered unlucky, and that many Chinese buildings don't have a fourth floor? The BBC's James Reynolds explains.

4 in Chinese - "si" - sounds like the word for death. We dialled a mobile phone number with the maximum number of 4s - and found that it was unassigned.

Part of the reason why Beijing did not overwhelmingly earn the right to host the 2000 Olympics, a bidding process won by Sydney by just two IOC votes, was that concerns over human rights trumped the city's clearly superior bid. In 2001, Beijing won by a landslide over Toronto because it promised to do better. Has it? The BBC World Service recently put together a fascinating in-depth

audio documentary, which is available here in its entirety. Well worth your time if these matters are of concern to you.

Organizers are spending these last few weeks running rehearsals for the opening ceremony. Most are under tight security, but the fireworks preparations can't be held under wraps. Take a look at these pictures -- if this doesn't get you hyped up for the Olympic Games, nothing will.

(Football photo © Icon SMI; fireworks via Xinhua)