A few links on a Sunday ...

The girls in this picture are taking an oath outside of the Olympic Village ... but they also look like holdovers from an Arsenio Hall studio audience.

Athletes pour into the place they will be calling home for the next month ... (Xinhua)

True story: A gender verification lab has been set up at the Olympics ... (AFP)

Hotel prices are actually dropping in Beijing ... (Telegraph)

Too bad Charles Barkley isn't still on the Olympic team, then the people in Macau would have nothing to worry about ... (Review-Journal)

In China, they call this a basketball ticket frenzy. In America, we call this normal---a normal day waiting in line for an iPhone ... (Xinhua)

ESPN recently debuted two new SportsCenter commercials starring Olympian Michael Phelps. In the first, Jay Harris uses one of Phelps' eight Olympic medals as a coaster, which I think would be a fairly unstable way to support one's hot beverage.

Second video after the jump.

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, gold medalists in Athens, won their 99th consecutive match at Saturday's Long Beach Open. Their last loss was in July 2007, when the country was wondering if Brett Favre would play and the Cubs were tied with the Brewers for first place in the NL Central. Oh wait ...

The USOC told the New York Times that they will investigate claims made by Ronda Rousey, America's best chance for a medal, that a judo official molested athletes. The investigation is in response to Rousey's claims about official Fletcher Thornton, posted on a judo forum and her personal blog. She wrote that USA Judo did nothing about "dozens of documented allegations" of Thornton molesting young girls. She then shared these documents with Michael David Smith at Fanhouse, who chose not to post them. USA Judo declined to comment at the time, both to me and Fanhouse.

After the initial firestorm of the story, it seemed that nothing was being done. Rousey took the allegations off her blog, but did not remove them from the judo forum. Weeks later, USA Judo prepared a statement for the USOC, and now it finally seems that there will be some action on the matter. The New York Times noted that the CEO of USA Judo, Jose Rodriguez, is standing by Thornton. This may explain why the USOC felt the

Well, after seeing this dunk from last night's game, I think it's safe to say that Dwyane Wade is feeling healthy again ...

I guess the Chinese security forces missed the memo.

Security is tight right now in Beijing, as it should be. But, after reading Mark Magnier's article in the LA Times today, I think the Chinese have gone over the edge ...

"Fearful of political protests or terrorist attacks, Beijing feels increasingly battened down as the Aug. 8 opening ceremony approaches, leading some wags to predict a "fun-free" or "killjoy" Games. Many of the best things about Beijing, the little corners, the characters, the outdoor cafe tables, are being nibbled away by omnipresent police and neighborhood snoops in security overdrive."

Other interesting notes from the story ...

---If a fan brings a sign to an event and attempts to unfurl it, that person could face up to 15 days in jail, and a $70 fine.

---There will be no outdoor music festivals during the Games

---Bars around Beijing will be closing at 2 AM every night

---Bands must have their lyrics reviewed before they perform

"They seem so paranoid," said

Is there anyone at this summer's Olympics that has more to prove than Dwyane Wade?

Two years ago he was the king of the basketball world. He won an NBA championship, was named a Finals MVP, and became a national celebrity.

Oh, and he used to do stuff like this ...

Fast forward two years.

He's battled injuries off and on since the Finals. He was the main star on a Heat squad that had the worst record in the NBA. He's been the subject of trade rumors throughout the last few months, and he had to go through a very public divorce.

Worst of all, Wade had to fight off rumors that he was dating Star Jones.

Yeah, things could be better right now for D-Wade.

On the bright side, he did have 20 points to lead the Americans to an exhibition win over Canada last night. But, he still has a long way to go to get back to being in the Kobe/Lebron superstar category.

The Olympics will give him a chance to do just that. If he can lead the U.S. back to the top of the basketball world, he will ascend into

Remember Derek Redmond? He was the British runner who snapped his hamstring while running the 400m at the 1992 Olympics, but his dad broke through security and helped him finish the race. I remember watching this, and crying because this moment was so moving. Sixteen years later, I'm sobbing all over again. I could handle hearing the story again, but must it be told by Morgan Freeman? What's next? Michael Phelps crawled to freedom through five hundred yards of smelling foulness I can't even imagine? Is Eddie Dupris going to be the boxing commentator? I better get my box of tissues ready.