The government of Taiwan, or Chinese Taipei in Olympic-speak, adjusted their requirements for cash prizes. Athletes finishing in the top eight will receive awards, but that doesn't include baseball and softball, where eighth means last. Those teams have to finish at least sixth to return home rich. The country likely won't finish that low with European entries in those fields, but the message is clear: No cash for losers.

BASKETBALL: The Diamond Ball tournaments continue in China. In the women's field at Haining, medal favorites from the United States slipped past Latvia 84-74. The U.S. team has only been training since last Monday due to the in-progress WNBA season back in the States. Australia's world champion "Opals" had an easier time, defeating the host China team by 14. The Aussies led by 22 in the fourth quarter and eased up.

It's a story that will likely be paved over with embarrassing losses once the Games begin, but please take a moment and appreciate the women from Mali. That national team had never finished better than third in the African championships, but stunned hosts Senegal to win the 2007 title and a trip to the Olympics. Djenebou Sissoko, WNBA Houston Comet Hamchetou Maiga and company are having a hard time at the Diamond Ball (losing to China by a 91-67 count yesterday), but are as selfless as they come.

In Shanghai, the highly favored U.S. men's team beat Russia 89-68, in perhaps the highest-scoring defensive struggle in the history of basketball.

GYMNASTICS: The United States women's team, as injury-riddled as the men's, received more bad news when 2005 world all-around champion Chellsie Memmel sustained an ankle problem in practice yesterday. She was seen in an air-cast and is still slated to compete next week.

Meanwhile, a third female Chinese gymnast may be too young for Olympic competition. The world governing body FIG has a strict age limit of 16, but Yang Yilin was apparently born on August 26, 1993, which would make her 14. Half of China's women's team is now under suspicion for faked age documents.

EQUESTRIAN: Faithful readers know how much this blog loves the worldwide horse migration to an Olympic city. Four-legged athletes from all around the globe are being flown into Hong Kong, site of the equestrian events. And now we have video!

SWIMMING: Jessica Hardy, the U.S. sprint swimmer who tested positive for steroid clenbuterol last month, will not press matters and withdrew from the country's swim team. Hardy was to compete in four short-distance events, but was given a two-year competition ban after a test on July 4 revealed the drug.

Open water swimming will return to the Olympics for the first time in a century. One competitor, David Davies of Great Britain, has a phobia that might seem incompatible with the event. He's afraid of big fish.

---

Today marks an important Olympic anniversary -- 72 years ago today, Jesse Owens won his first gold medal at Berlin 1936 in the 100m.

And in case you've forgotten amongst all the Beijing hubbub, there's another Olympics coming up in just 558 days. The Vancouver 2010 organizing committee released the hourly schedule of competitions for the XXI Olympic Winter Games.

And in China...

Despite a valiant attempt at a citywide crackdown, "Chinglish" still persists in Beijing. "The peach kernel sauce explodes the diced chicken" is pure poetry, for certain. As this blog always does when a story of this type comes up, a gentle reminder that language misuse between English and Chinese is a two-way street.

Yesterday, there was an orchestra concert in Tianamen Square. The youth group of 2008 musicians became the first foreign orchestra to perform at the site of infamous protests in 1989.

If you'd like to protest at the Games yourself, get your application in now. The government is requiring five days notice for gatherings at small sites around Beijing, which BOCOG announced on July 23.

But if you're just there to watch the Olympics, you'll run into an army of volunteers willing and ready to help you find your way.

A lucky 100,000 of them were chosen to attend Olympic sites — that's three for every journalist, or ten for every athlete! Another 400,000 are dotted around Beijing to help an expected 2.5 million visitors.

I've had plenty of interesting conversations so far with the volunteers — about the weather, the sports and my impressions of the city. An attempt to stray into politics, however, was politely rebuffed. "All countries have their positives and negatives, sir. We are no different. It rains a lot in August, you know — did you receive your umbrella?"