Did you hear about this country they just discovered?     I think it's called something like, "China"?

       Let the games begin.    As well as our crash course on still another Olympic host nation.

       The Beijing games start Friday, but NBC is already there: the host network has plenty of boots on the ground, with Lester Holt anchoring Saturday night's news from outside the "Bird's Nest" stadium, the site of the opening ceremony.

        Local stations will start putting Wisconsin faces on the games--we know that our Hamm quotient got cut in half, and that we'll have a full serving of Memmel, but there are tons of other competitors in less familiar events who we'll be learning about over the next three weeks or so.      

       For most of us, the Olympics have a "what, already?" feel.      You've noticed the network "bug" on the bottom of the screen during every NBC show, but only know are many of us starting to get our minds around the fact that the games are about to begin.

       The games WERE top of mind a few months ago, though, as the torch wound a tumultuous trail to China through several countries (including the U.S.) where protesters of all varieties seemed hell-bent on snuffing it.      We shall see if Friday's ceremony comes off as scheduled.

         Here, from the New York Times, is a look at the torch itself over the years--the one lighter the whole world seemingly will have it's eyes on for one intense moment every two years (winter and summer).     It's the symbol of all that's good and right about the games.      And Friday night, it'll signal the start of our crash course on another host nation--one we probably could all use a refresher about.