17 days, 958 medals, 43 world records, hundreds of thousands of fireworks and countless tears. Never has a sporting event held the world at rapt attention like the games of the 29th Olympiad.

Oh, there were controversies to be sure: Fake fireworks, lip-synching children, age fabrication and the ever-present issue of Chinese censorship were all murmured about with varying degrees of intensity. For the most part, however, Beijing did nothing but charm us over the last two weeks — placing itself as the backdrop to a breathtaking stage of athletics.

Beijing gave us stories of gold: Lisa Leslie took home her fourth consecutive gold medal with the U.S. women’s basketball team in what will be her last Olympics; Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor added volleyball gold to the medals they won in 2004 before they both leave the sport to have children; and U.S. women’s soccer coach Pia Sundhage’s team won the first gold medal victory she’s had as an international head coach.

"When I was six years old, I thought I was the only girl in the whole world who played soccer. I wasn't allowed to play because I was a girl," Sundhage said. "Back then, I could never imagine to be a professional player or a professional coach. Now I'm sitting with a great player, Christie Rampone, and looking at her gold medal. I am so proud."

Beijing gave us stories of silver: The U.S. softball team lost their first game since 2000, falling to Japan in the gold medal match up, and the U.S. women's volleyball team came in second behind Brazil in their final game. … continue reading