Those five magical and colorful rings

The Olympics are just a few weeks away, and I can't wait.

There are so many events to watch and I plan to be glued to the television with nearly every free moment I can sneak.

One major event of interest this year, at least for me, will be the 400-meter hurdles.

A former high school classmate of mine, Kerron Clement, qualified for the team in this event, and I'd say his chances to win a medal are fairly high.

In 2005, he broke the indoor world record in the 400-meter sprint with a time of 44.57. The record was previously held for a decade by the man who made gold shoes famous at the 1996 Olympics, Michael Johnson.

He finished second during the Olympic qualifiers last month, but looking at his times, he has been very consistent the past few months, and things look bright for him.

The other event of interest this year is basketball.

The United States Basketball Team has been a disappointment for me in recent years, not because they have lost, but because the players on the team weren't truly team-oriented, and it didn't surprise me that they have lost.

The teams from other countries have two qualities that American players have gotten away from the past 10-15 years: the foreign players have a better team concept and, most importantly, their shooting skills far exceed ours.

I do question a few of the choices for the team this year. Carmelo Anthony is a distraction and definitely not a team player, Michael Redd is a gunslinger who likes to shoot every time he gets the ball, and Jason Kidd, well, anyone who watched him after his trade to the Dallas Mavericks knows why I don't like that pick.

However, I do like the selections of Carlos Boozer, Tayshaun Prince and Deron Williams for two reasons: rebounding and defense.

The defensive intensity has really been lacking on the past couple of Olympic basketball teams and these three players in particular will give that added boost to return the gold medal in basketball back to the USA.

I enjoy nearly all the events and once the games end, I will be counting down the days until Feb. 12, 2010, when the Winter Games begin in Vancouver, Canada, because curling finally caught my attention a couple of years ago, and I can't wait to see it again.