Our Monarchs Insider, D-Lo was in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Throughout the Beijing Games, D-Lo provided Monarchs fans with an inside look at the U.S. Women's Olympic Team.

Pregame Video | Postgame Video

Carl Lewis and D-Lo

I just wanted to extend my deepest gratitude to everyone who followed this Olympic blog over the last several weeks. The Olympics were a tremendous experience for me and a dream come true for Kara. Watching my wife have that gold medal put around her neck generated a tremendous amount of joy for me, our family, our friends and all that support the two of us in our respective careers. Seeing someone you love being named the best in the world is an indescribable feeling. During our stay in China we learned the true meaning of the Olympics. Our hotel was filled with Americans. Whether it was athletes, friends, family or office people, everyone celebrated when America won a gold medal. We cheered Michael Phelps the same way we cheered the basketball teams. We cheered the volleyball teams, the gymnasts, the wrestlers and every athlete that competed for our country. Just as we celebrated together, we mourned together. When that American couple was attacked at the start of the games we comforted one another. Tina Thompson said it best when she said, “We are all family. We are here together as Americans.”

I was honestly surprised at the response all our videos received. I’m not familiar with YouTube and posting videos, but by the time the Olympics ended we had 31 subscribers and the Kobe Bryant video had been viewed nearly 12,000 times.

Speaking of Kobe, his play during the Olympics and the love affair China had with him was unreal. He was very supportive of the women’s team and attended all but one game (that game was on the night of a mandatory banquet that all players had to attend). Every time he was shown on the big screen the crowd would lose its mind. Lines would form on the street by the hotel before each game with people hoping to catch the slightest glimpse of Kobe Bryant on the team bus. With a simple hand wave, the crowd would chant, “Kob-a, Kob-a, Kob-a.”

D-Lo, Kerri Walsh and Kara

Before we close out our All Access coverage I thought I’d close out with some small tidbits about some of our favorite Olympic athletes…

• Diana Taurasi is hilarious! Monarchs fans, show her some love.
• Candace Parker is as funny as she is beautiful.
• Carl Lewis, who Kara and I met at the airport, is really nice and very approachable. He’s the only athlete I asked to take a picture with.
• Kerri Walsh is very sweet and very friendly.
• Kobe Bryant introduced himself to me. Hahaha.
• I had some great conversations with Michael Redd. His dad might be my new BFF.
• Dwight Howard is huge. I don’t think he owns anything other than tank tops.
• LeBron James’ mom thought Kara and I were brother and sister.
• Tina Thompson and Tamika Catchings are the two best basketball players in the world!
• Sue Bird is awesome. So is her sister!
• I think I love Cappie Pondexter’s mom.
• Lisa Leslie led our bible study.
• Carlos Boozer sang happy birthday to me.
• So did Chris Bosh.
• Kobe Bryant had a reality show in China.
• Tayshaun Prince does an incredible impression of Allen Iverson.
• Carmelo Anthony cried during the medal ceremony.
• Sylvia Fowles is the next big thing in the WNBA. She is unstoppable.
• Coach Mike D’Antoni rebounded for Kara during practice.
• There was a rumor that Coach K spent over $250,000 for his ENTIRE family to come.
• Kara Lawson will play with kids all day. She asked if we could take Kobe’s daughters home with us.

Carl Lewis and KaraKara

It’s great to be back in the studio. Thank you to everyone who has called and welcomed me back. I can’t wait for the first Monarchs game. There was talk before I left about doing a feature on Kara and her Olympic experience using all our photos and videos from the trip. I have hours of video that hasn’t been seen yet so that could be a lot of fun. My hope is to fly to LA on Thursday to be a part of our first game versus the Sparks. I’m really looking forward to that, my closest friends on the US Team were Lisa and her husband, Delisha and her husband, and Candace and Shelden! I told Michael (Lisa’s husband) I practiced my Beat LA chant as soon as the gold medal game was over.

I hope everyone can make it out to Saturday’s game versus Houston. That one I’m really excited about. I know there are some special things planned with Kara but I’m pumped to meet Shannon Miller. I was a huge fan of gymnastics at the Barcelona Olympics when she first competed.

Again, on behalf of Kara, thank you all so much for your tremendous support during this incredible time in our lives. I can see the headlines now, “D-Lo and Kara – Live in London!” Has a nice ring to it.

God Bless,
D

Our Monarchs Insider, D-Lo was in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Throughout the Beijing Games, D-Lo provided Monarchs fans with an inside look at the U.S. Women's Olympic Team.

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So here we are! Our last full day in Beijing. The day of the gold medal game. Once again this blog will be written in two parts, pre-game and post-game. By the time you read this, the game will be over and you’ll know the results but I’m going to try and paint a picture for you so you can imagine what today was like leading into the game.

Schedule
9:45am Wake up call
10:15am Breakfast
11:00am Video
11:30am Bus leaves for shootaround
12:00pm Shootaround
1:30pm Bus returns – Lunch time
2:00pm Nap time
6:00pm Wake-up, head to Nike Lounge for pre-game meal with team
6:45pm Bible Study
7:00pm Back to room, get dressed for game
7:30pm Get taped
8:30pm Kara’s bus leaves for game
8:45pm D’s bus leaves for game
10:15pm Game starts
12:30am Eat dinner and ?

I can’t believe how fast our time here has gone. We’ve been here 17 days. Incredible! It flew by. Kara and I had some great moments this last few weeks. We have established relationships with people that I’m sure will get stronger as the years go by. That has been the best part of this trip. We have met some really great people.

Entry 1:16AM Beijing time

I can’t describe the feeling I have right now. I can’t say it’s a dream come true because it’s not. The reality far exceeded the dream. I could’ve never imagined the perfect game. But it happened. 5-for-5 from the field, 1-for-1 from 3-point range, 4-for-4 from the line and 15 total points. Kara did not miss. In the gold medal game, with the 12 greatest players in the world, Kara’s star shined the brightest. She led the team to victory on the biggest stage of all. She has worked so hard for so many years for this moment. Nothing can compare to the feeling I know she has right now. I promise you, in the days to come I will have a massive amount of pictures and tons of video. The team is still in media right now and is expected back to the hotel soon. No doubt it’s going to be a long night with a lot of celebrating. Our flight leaves at Noon on Sunday so hopefully we’ll party until then. Thank you to everyone who followed along our Olympic journey. It means a lot to Kara and me. We hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as we have. God bless each of and thank you. We’ll do it again in 2012!

The U.S. women's basketball team was once again too good for Australia at the Olympics. Kara Lawson led the U.S. with 15 points, Candace Parker added 14, and Sylvia Fowles added 13 as the American reserves outscored Australia's 59-11.
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Our Monarchs Insider, D-Lo was in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Throughout the Beijing Games, D-Lo provided Monarchs fans with an inside look at the U.S. Women's Olympic Team.

PRE-GAME:
Kara is at shootaround, which is a mini-practice on game days, right now. Tonight we got Russia! The team that beat us in the World Championships in Brazil two years ago. Although Kara wasn’t on that team she knows what those players went through and she knows there is no way they want to go through it again. If we win, we play in the final Saturday night (Saturday morning in America). If we lose, we will play for the bronze. The bronze medal is a tremendous accomplishment for many countries in many sports. Not in the U.S. Not in basketball. Only the gold medal is acceptable. Ask LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and the rest of the guys from the 2004 Olympic team if a bronze medal is acceptable. The whole “Road to Redemption” started with a bronze medal.

In non-basketball news, the hotel was buzzing about Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor. Although it was expected, seeing them win the gold brought in a lot of cheers. Not so expected was the women’s volleyball upset of Cuba. They move on to the gold medal match tomorrow.

Ok, Kara is back now and I have to get out of the room. She’s about to take her pre-game nap and I’m about to eat lunch. By the time you read this the game will be over. Lets hope the next paragraph is a happy paragraph.

POST-GAME
This is a very happy paragraph!! OMG, what a game. It was physical, the crowd was very hostile, and for the most part the game was very close. We took a 33-32 lead heading into halftime. We missed free throws, we missed lay-ups, we missed everything. The second half started out slow but we took our first lead with about three minutes to go in the third quarter and never looked back. The crowd was totally pro-Russia. They hated us, they booed us, they cussed us, it was intense. We were close to an international incident. In the end Diana Taurasi played like… well… Diana Taurasi! She scored 21 and led us to a very ugly, very brutal, 67-52 win. In all likelihood, barring a major upset, we’ll take on Lauren Jackson and Australia Saturday night for the gold medal.

Kara Lawson contributed two points and two rebounds to help the USA Women's National Team beat Russia, 67-52, in Thursday's semifinals at the Beijing Olympics. The U.S. will play Australia in the finals on Saturday.
Recap | Box Score - (PDF) | Quotes

Our Monarchs Insider, D-Lo was in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Throughout the Beijing Games, D-Lo provided Monarchs fans with an inside look at the U.S. Women's Olympic Team.

MVP! MVP! MVP!

The chant may sound familiar to many basketball fans, especially to those who attended the Kings/Lakers game at ARCO Arena. Well, the chant was ringing again tonight in Beijing. Kobe went off for 25 and led the U.S. men’s team into the semifinals. The game was tight in the first half with the U.S. holding a slim 9-point lead. A 14-0 run to start the second half and back-to-back 3-pointers from The Mamba put the game out of reach. The U.S. wound up winning 116-85.

The best part of the day may have been when both the men’s and women’s teams, along with all their family and friends, congregated in the meal room to watch a very entertaining game between Greece and Argentina. Not a person budged until the final buzzer when Argentina held on to beat Greece after a failed three-point attempt at the buzzer.

So it’s set; the U.S. women will play Russia tomorrow in the semis and the guys will play Argentina on Friday.

In non-basketball news, Usain Bolt broke the 200-meter world record and established he is undoubtedly the fastest man alive and perhaps the fastest human in history. The women’s soccer team plays for the gold medal tomorrow.

Although today was a rather boring day, Kara and I are having the time of our lives. It’s been a wonderful experience for the both of us.

Our Monarchs Insider, D-Lo was in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Throughout the Beijing Games, D-Lo provided Monarchs fans with an inside look at the U.S. Women's Olympic Team.

We are two wins away from the gold medal. The women’s team took the floor and routed South Korea in the quarterfinal 104-60. Kara has had a great Olympics so far and put forth her best scoring effort with 11 points. She also had two assists, two rebounds, one steal and most importantly, zero turnovers. The defensive effort was top notch and Sylvia Fowles played incredible. We’ll play Russia in the semifinal on Thursday as we take one more step toward that gold medal.

We went to a cool little banquet last night. We took off our USA Basketball Nike gear for the first time in 11 days and put on some nice clothes. Johnson & Johnson, who is a huge sponsor of the Olympic games, put on the party. It was in a building located right in the middle of Olympic Park (near the Birds’ Nest and The Water Cube). The view from the rooftop lounge was beautiful. If I knew how to operate my camera properly I would’ve taken pictures. Unfortunately, every picture I took came out dark.

As I mentioned yesterday, things are getting serious around the hotel. Donna Orender, the President of the WNBA, is here now as is the Commissioner of the NBA, David Stern. Everyone’s family has arrived for these last three games and I’ve even spotted a few big time agents hanging around. The guys looked really impressive last night versus Germany. They were running dunk drills the whole second half. I stand by my prediction, they will not lose and they will not be challenged. The guys play Australia next in the quarterfinals.

Kara Lawson tallied 11 points, two rebounds and two assists as the U.S. Team rolled past South Korea, 104-60, on Tuesday to advance to the Olympic semifinals in Beijing.
Recap | Box Score - (PDF) | Quotes | Photo Gallery

Our Monarchs Insider, D-Lo was in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Throughout the Beijing Games, D-Lo provided Monarchs fans with an inside look at the U.S. Women's Olympic Team.

U.S. vs. New Zealand | Great Wall

Would it be too cheesy or too predictable to call Michael Phelps the Eighth Wonder of the World? I guess you could say he’s had a pretty good 10 days. Eight gold medals, seven world records, photo finishes, blowouts, the most gold medals at a single Olympics and the most gold medals in Olympic history. Let’s not forget he’s still in his early 20s and is fully capable of doing this all again four years from now in London.

The women’s team played New Zealand last night. Most of you know by now we won by a pretty hefty margin, 96-60. Now that pool play is over the medal rounds are set to begin and things are getting serious. If all goes according to plan, we’ll play Korea on Tuesday, Russia on Thursday and Australia on Saturday for the gold medal. Russia and Australia are thought to be the biggest tests. Much like the Americans, Australia has beaten people up, including Russia on its way to the medal rounds.

Kara played pretty well versus New Zealand. She scored nine points and played the entire fourth quarter. There were even some Monarchs fans at the game. I thought that was pretty cool. One of the people there had a cool black shirt with Kara’s face on it. The guys played Germany tonight. It wasn’t pretty. Unless of course you enjoy alley-oops every other play and a total defensive beat down.

With medal rounds starting Tuesday, my sightseeing is pretty much over. I’ve seen all I needed to see. I may do some shopping on off days but that’s it. With swimming over and the 100-meter final finished I’m done attending other events also. I’m here now to support my wife and make sure she brings home a nice new shiny piece of gold jewelry.

Kara Lawson recorded nine points and dished out three assists as the U.S. Women's Team cruised past New Zealand, 96-60, on Sunday to complete pool play undefeated in Beijing.
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Our Monarchs Insider, D-Lo was in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Throughout the Beijing Games, D-Lo provided Monarchs fans with an inside look at the U.S. Women's Olympic Team.

Man, what a Great day in Beijing. Literally and figuratively.

Let’s start with the 9.69 that Usain Bolt ran in the 100 meter final. I was there live and am still excited. It was incredible. I was so upset when Tyson Gay didn’t make the final but I said to my sister in-law, “Bolt is going to break the record.” He was running with such ease. It was the most incredible run I have ever seen. He showboated the last 8-10 meters and still smashed the record. He is a horse. Unreal!!!

Seventh heaven for Michael Phelps. He is one gold medal relay race away from his record-breaking eighth gold medal in Beijing. Not only has he been great, he’s been dominant. However, today he was just tall. Hopefully most of you have seen the race by now and saw him beat the silver medalist by a fingernail. .01 seconds to be exact. I’m amazed by what he continues to do and I, like the rest of the country, am pulling for the eighth gold medal.

The men’s hoop team handled its business tonight against Spain. Spain is full of NBA talent but the Dream Team proved it is worthy of that name. I honestly believe this is the first national team since ’92, when Jordan, Magic and the rest of the gang got together in Barcelona that is worthy of the Dream Team name. LeBron, Kobe, D-Wade, CP3, the list goes on and on. They are the cream of the crop. The best of the best. I’m telling you right now, they will not be tested! They will destroy everybody on their way to a gold medal. Spain was supposed to be a “big challenge.” They beat them by 40!

On the other side, Kara and the rest of the WNBA Dream Team take on New Zealand next. It should not be a challenge but we do have to play better then we did against Spain. (Yes I said we like I’m out there playing too). This is the last game of pool play, the medal round begins on Tuesday. All sight seeing will be over. No more shopping, no more goofing around all hours of the night. It is strictly business!

Oh yeah, we went to the Great Wall today. The whole team and all the families spent a few hours out there. It was beautiful. It is one heck of a workout. You’re either walking uphill or downhill. Either way you’re working up one heck of a sweat but believe me, it is worth it.

Prior to taking off to Beijing for the Olympic games, Kara Lawson caught up with WNBA.com to discuss her role, her team and the competition.
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Our Monarchs Insider, D-Lo was in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Throughout the Beijing Games, D-Lo provided Monarchs fans with an inside look at the U.S. Women's Olympic Team.

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The team was tested a bit tonight. Ok, well, they were tested in the first half. Spain was a big physical team that gave us problems. But by the end of the third quarter we had stretched what was a 7-point lead to a 20-point lead. We wound up winning by 30. Tina Thompson is playing incredible, as is Tamika Catchings. Sylvia Fowles had a great game and so did my girl Diana Taurasi. I wish everyone could see how funny D is. Kara struggled a bit in the first half but played much better in the second half and really helped stretched that lead out.

He did it again. Another gold medal. Another world record. Michael Phelps has already established himself as the most dominant Olympian in history. Now he sets out to do what no other man or woman in Olympic history has done.

Phelps matched his wins from Athens, where he also collected two bronzes. He's already the winningest athlete in Olympic history with 12 golds, but his sights are set on eight in Beijing.

Mark Spitz won seven golds at the 1972 Munich Games. Phelps has two more events to leave any doubt he's the greatest Olympian ever. He’ll go for his 7th gold medal on Saturday and, if all goes according to plan, he’ll go for his 8th gold medal on Sunday.

The coverage on Phelps out here in Beijing is pretty minimal. While the crowds appear to be firmly behind him, the television network is not. His first race today was aired live because there was a Chinese swimmer involved. His second race wasn’t shown because Doubles Table Tennis was on.

Kara Lawson scored five points and dished out two assists as the U.S. Women's National Team coasted past Spain, 93-55, on Friday at the Beijing Olympics. USA is now a perfect 4-0 in pool play and has secured the top seed in Group B.
Recap | Quotes | Box Score - (PDF) | Photo Gallery

Our Monarchs Insider, D-Lo was in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Throughout the Beijing Games, D-Lo provided Monarchs fans with an inside look at the U.S. Women's Olympic Team.

Photo Gallery

It rained all day today. That did two very noticeable things -- 1) It cleared up the smoggy air, and 2) It created some very pleasant temperatures. There weren’t a lot of major events today. We are losing in the overall medal count to China now 35-34 but we should pick up steam heading into Track and Field. Kara and I went to The Cube for the first time. The Cube is the nickname for the aquatics center where Michael Phelps and the rest of the swimmers compete. Phelps competed in a heat for the 100-meter butterfly. Although he lost the race he qualified for the semi-final, which takes place tomorrow.

The Cube is beautiful. I mean it is gorgeous. It’s located right next to The Bird’s Nest and is every bit as impressive as its neighbor.

As far as competition the story of the day is definitely the men’s basketball team. It was thought the game against Greece would be a major test for these guys and a chance to find out just how good they really are. The won by close to 30 and proved they are the team to beat. This isn’t the same group that won bronze in ’04. These boys are here to win. D-Wade, although he missed a bunch of free throws, is playing at a very high level, as are Chris Bosh and Kobe Bryant.

Speaking of Kobe, I met him for the first time today. Kara and I were hanging out in the Players Only Nike Lounge with Carlos Boozer when in walks The Mamba. Although I was as excited as an eight year-old the night before Christmas, I maintained my composure and played it cool. I’ve said it before, no matter how many entertainers I’ve met in my career, nothing compares to the excitement I feel when I meet my favorite athletes. I was excited when I met Terrell Owens and I was pumped when Kobe introduced himself to me. Before the medal rounds get started and business gets real serious around here I’m going to take some pictures with these guys.

It’s going to be a busy week. We’ve got a big game versus Spain tomorrow, track and field starts, we're going to The Great Wall and I’ll be reporting live from the 100 meter final.

Our Monarchs Insider, D-Lo was in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Throughout the Beijing Games, D-Lo provided Monarchs fans with an inside look at the U.S. Women's Olympic Team.

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It’s been a great day in Beijing. Michael Phelps took home two gold medals today and set two world records in the process. Just for the record, that’s five gold medals total and five world records broken. The dude is unbelievable. Kobe, LeBron and D-Wade went and watched Michael’s two finals this morning and Kara and I are going to see him tomorrow night.

The men’s team had the night off and the women’s team played Mali. Ok, maybe it would be more appropriate to say they routed Mali. They handled their business. Lisa played incredible and Kara had an awesome all-around game. The most excitement came in pre-game when Candace and Sylvia took turns dunking.

Gymnastics has been another point of interest out here. The Chinese are really strong in that event. The U.S. team gave them a run for their money but a couple of poor performances ruined their shot at gold.

Watching the Olympics out here is much different than watching it in America. Coverage here of the Chinese team and the events in China is good. They don’t care about the American teams or what events we’re good at, though. They even tape delayed one of Michael Phelps’ races this morning. Pretty frustrating. A lot of events I don’t actually see, I can only read about them. I miss you Bob Costas.

Just for those keeping track, today ended with the U.S. having 29 medals and China having 27!

On a totally selfish note, the highlight of my day came after the game when the entire Women’s Basketball team sang Happy Birthday to me. The only thing that topped Diana Taurasi’s singing was the encore version of Happy Birthday done by Dwight Howard, Carlos Boozer and Chris Bosh. No better birthday present than my wife winning a gold medal.

Kara Lawson scored seven points and dished out seven assists to help the USA Women's National Team cruise to an easy win over Mali, 97-41, at the Beijing Olympics Wednesday. The U.S. is now 3-0 in the tournament.
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Our Monarchs Insider, D-Lo was in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Throughout the Beijing Games, D-Lo provided Monarchs fans with an inside look at the U.S. Women's Olympic Team.

Photo Gallery

We got a great win versus China last night. Kara played well as did the rest of the team. The team has a day off today (Tuesday). No game, no practice, just a day to relax and recover. We slept until 11:44 a.m. and only woke up because Kara’s mom called the room. It’s the first full night of sleep I’ve gotten since I arrived. I’m hoping this will bring a refreshing start for me and not have me yawning through the day.

Our trip to the Great Wall got canceled. Kind of a bummer. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to make arrangements to go. My sisters and I are going out to dinner tonight then headed to a beach volleyball game. That should be a lot of fun. Kara and I scored tickets to see Michael Phelps go for a gold medal on Thursday night so we’re both pretty pumped about that. We’re still hoping we can go see Roger Federer and the Williams sisters but scheduling may prohibit that from happening.

Today is the first day you can see the sunshine. It’s been smoggy, cloudy and in some cases rainy the last few days. Today looks beautiful. Hope everyone is enjoying the Olympics. We’re headed to lunch so I’ll check in later.

I thought I’d share with you what have been some of my favorite moments during these first few days of the Olympics.

1. Obviously, nothing can compare to seeing my wife walk out into National Stadium during the Opening Ceremony. The adrenaline rush leading into the Ceremony and that moment in particular was incredible.
   
   
2. The meal room is my favorite place to hang out. Not only is the food incredible but the company is great as well. Tamika Catchings is a person we eat with daily. As is Delisha Milton-Jones, her husband Roland, Lisa Leslie, her husband Michael, Candace Parker, and her fiancé and Sacramento Kings player Shelden Williams.
   
   
3. Oh and speaking of Shelden… you can’t take him anywhere. Shelden is 6’7 and every time we walk outside fans mob him. I don’t know if these fans recognize him as a basketball player or if they just think because he’s so big he’s on the men’s Olympic team.
   
   
4. I’ve met a lot of great people out here so far. Cappie Pondexter’s mom is the coolest lady I’ve meet in years. She’s been my travel buddy along with Ro, Shelden and Michael.
   

Kara and I took a long walk today. We wound up at one of the strangest shopping centers I’ve ever seen. It’s a mall that is built like it’s a department store. It’s in a high-rise building that goes up 16-18 stories and each level is a different store. There are no walls or entrances - only signs that state what the store is. It all blends together. They did have some very nice clothes though.

I got a chance to see a lot of Beijing today. The place is beautiful. It is huge, bigger than any big city in America. With the exception of the smog and pollution the city is really clean. The streets are clean, the buildings are clean and it’s a great place to experience. We went out to eat today. Did we have some great authentic Chinese food? No. Maybe some exotic Asian cuisine? No. Kara wanted pizza. And let me tell you that pizza was banging!

The last thing we did today was check out a beach volleyball game at this beautiful Olympic themed park. Beach volleyball is a lot of fun and very exciting to watch in person. We have a late game tonight, 10:15 pm, so I’ll post some pictures and some video after that.

Led by 27 points from Tina Thompson (Houston Comets), the 2008 U.S. Women's Olympic Team (2-0) jumped on host country China (1-1) early and rode a 23-0 first quarter run to an easy 108-63 win Monday night at Wukesong Arena in Beijing, China.
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Our Monarchs Insider, D-Lo was in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Throughout the Beijing Games, D-Lo provided Monarchs fans with an inside look at the U.S. Women's Olympic Team.

Kara Preparing for Men's China Game | Photo Gallery

We’re preparing to head out to our game versus China. It’s been a very busy day. My sisters, mother in-law and I went out and did some sightseeing. We went to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. The Forbidden City is part of the ancient history of China and has been described as China’s Buckingham Palace. I was a little more fascinated by Tiananmen Square. Granted, there’s not really a lot there to look at but the Tiananmen Square Protest of 1989 is a historical event that took place in my lifetime. If you’re not familiar with the protest that took place in ’89 you should look it up. It’s really fascinating and incredibly tragic. Many of you may remember the picture of the little Chinese man standing in front of three military tanks. That’s the most famous picture taken from that protest.

Tomorrow we’re waking up bright and early and heading out to The Great Wall. I’m really excited about this because it’ll be the first thing Kara and I get to do together. Between the games, practices and the other things that seem to come up, we haven’t had the opportunity to do anything but eat together. The team is going to take a team picture out there while the families follow along and walk the Wall.

The men’s game versus China was pretty exciting. Granted, the game itself wasn’t even close but watching these guys play gives me a reminiscent feeling of the original 1992 Dream Team. LeBron, Kobe, D-Wade, Melo, CP3, J-Kidd and all the other guys on this squad have a certain level of greatness to them that makes me feel like we could be seeing something very special. The crowd was so into every play it was fun to see how much they appreciate the sport of basketball.

On a personal note, I’m struggling to get adjusted to the time difference. I’m yawning at all hours of the day. I’m hoping to shake it off in the next day or two. As I type this it is 2:37 am in Sacramento. With that said, this has been an experience of a lifetime. It’ll never get old. The way many people get excited seeing or talking to celebrities is the same way I get when hanging out with athletes. Hanging out with Michael Redd and Chris Paul, then chatting it up with Deron Williams and LeBron James will never get old. I’ve yet to approach guys for pictures but there’s no way I’ll get out of here without snapping a few

Our Monarchs Insider, D-Lo was in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Throughout the Beijing Games, D-Lo provided Monarchs fans with an inside look at the U.S. Women's Olympic Team.

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It’s been kind of a quiet day around here. I’m sure many of you heard about the unfortunate incident involving the American family that was attacked at a tourist center. It’s really sad and my heart just aches for that family. We were told about the incident on the way to Kara’s game Saturday night. Details at the time were very sketchy and we were told it was totally random and not to worry. It’s tough not to think about though.

The weather today has been very unpleasant. While it’s still warm, there’s been light rain, overcast and as we speak there is a massive thunder and lightning storm happening. Everyone around here is really groggy and spent most of the day around the hotel. I did head out for a short while with my family and did some shopping. Take a look at the pictures and you’ll see exactly why I didn’t buy anything.

While it has been a slow day, we are in for a very big night. The US men’s team plays its first game and it just happens to be against Yao Ming and the host country China. I’m interested to see how the fans react. They adore Kobe Bryant. They are incapable of booing him. Yao Ming is the hometown superstar. The place is going to be rocking. The only downside is the game starts at 10:15 PM. We’ll be at the arena well past midnight. By the time I leave here I would’ve seen 15 basketball games in 16 days. Can’t beat that!

I have a lot planned this week. There’s a good chance we’ll go to the Great Wall on Tuesday. I’m trying to go see Roger Federer, the Williams sisters and Michael Phelps this week. Oh, and my sister in-law Susan scored us two tickets to the 100 meter final next week. YES!!!!

Our Monarchs Insider, D-Lo was in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Throughout the Beijing Games, D-Lo provided Monarchs fans with an inside look at the U.S. Women's Olympic Team.

Photo Gallery

I couldn’t be happier with the start to Kara’s Olympic career. Not only did the US blow out the Czech Republic but also Kara was the first player off the bench. On a team with the 12 greatest basketball players in the country, that’s quite an honor and a testament to her game. The team started off a bit slow but picked up late in the first quarter and wound up winning 97-57.

The security to get into the venue was pretty crazy. There are three different checkpoints and the restrictions are similar to that of an airport. No liquids, no food, if you have make-up you have to put it on in front of a security guard, and they even threw away my sister’s gum. Surprisingly enough, they let me in with both a still camera and a video camera.

The venue is beautiful. I’m sure it seats around 25-30,000. The upper tier was packed while the second tier, likely comp tickets, had a few empty areas. President Bush and one of his daughters were there but you would never know that because the entire men’s basketball team came as well. The crowd loved them. At halftime, the crowd erupted when Kobe Bryant walked in. I’ll write more about this later, but there is no doubt Kobe Bryant is the biggest star at these Olympics. Some may make an argument for Yao Ming but the way people respond to Kobe out here is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

The U.S. Women's National Team opened their bid for a fourth-straight Gold Medal strong with a 97-57 win over the Czech Republic in Saturday's opener. Monarchs' guard Kara Lawson pitched in with three points and three assists.
Recap | Box Score

Our Monarchs Insider, D-Lo was in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Throughout the Beijing Games, D-Lo provided Monarchs fans with an inside look at the U.S. Women's Olympic Team.

Before the game - Video
Kobe is in the building - Video

Wow, what an amazing night. The Opening Ceremony ran me through every form of human emotion. To see my wife and so many of our friends make that walk through National Stadium was a feeling that is very difficult to describe. It’s a mixture of pride, joy and relief. The wait to find out if Kara made the Olympic team was difficult for both of us. Being an Olympian has been a lifelong dream of hers and to finally get that call on July 1 meant the world. To watch her walk around the stadium with that big smile on her face reminded me that every overseas trip, the cancelled Hawaii vacation, the shortened honeymoon was all worth it. For that moment, it was all worth it.

The show was so visually stimulating. To be in the arena and feel the excitement of the nearly 100,000 people there is indescribable. The lighting of The Torch was unreal. You have no idea how high that guy was. He was running through the sky. Hahaha. It was great.

Now that the Opening Ceremony is over it’s time to get down to business. The team plays its first game today and while everyone is having fun enjoying the moment, we all know nothing short of a gold medal will do. It’s time to play basketball.

Our Monarchs Insider, D-Lo was in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Throughout the Beijing Games, D-Lo provided Monarchs fans with an inside look at the U.S. Women's Olympic Team.

Photo Gallery | D-Lo Arrives at Beijing Airport - Video
Kara's Opening Ceremonies Outfit - Video

There’s been a big deal made about the smog and pollution in Beijing leading into the Olympic games. I can tell you first hand, its pretty gross. It’s not necessarily the pollution that’s gross, it’s the pollution combined with the humidity that is really nasty. I mentioned before, the air is really thick. When you walk outside it grabs you. Honestly though, if you take away the humidity the air looks similar to areas of Los Angeles.

Tonight is going to be a big night, and a very long one for that matter. The Opening Ceremonies kick off in just a few hours and Kara and I are both pretty excited. Obviously this is Kara’s first Olympics, so her walking out into National Stadium with the rest of the Olympians is going to be a great moment for our family. The one downside to the festivities tonight is we have to get there really early and we leave really late. The US is the 136th country to walk out during the ceremony. That means you won’t see the American athletes until around 10-10:30 pm.

As I look back on the first full day in Beijing the best part, no doubt, is the dining area. This hotel is reserved entirely for USA Basketball and three times a day buffet style meals are served in one of the ballrooms. LeBron James’ personal chef prepares the food and it is incredible. Perhaps the coolest thing about this ballroom is it is where everyone eats. I bumped into Dwight Howard while getting pasta (Dwight Howard is huge, he looks like he’s built from stone) met Michael Redd while getting some steak and asked Carlos Boozer if his barber would cut my hair while I’m here. I’ve met a lot of famous people in my radio career but I still get excited (although I try to hide it) when I meet my favorite athletes. Although I saw him, I’m still waiting for my meeting with Kobe Bryant.

I’m jumping in the shower, heading to lunch and then I’m going to come back to the room to get ready for this long night. Check back soon, I should have some pictures from the festivities tonight and hopefully some behind-the-scenes stuff from the hotel.

Take a look at the pictures as the U.S. women's team runs through a pre-Olympic practice session in Beijing.
Photo Gallery | Talking Hoops

Our Monarchs Insider, D-Lo was in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Throughout the Beijing Games, D-Lo provided Monarchs fans with an inside look at the U.S. Women's Olympic Team.

Entry #1
Let’s start from the beginning. I set the alarm for 4 am wanting to give myself plenty of time to get ready without that, “I’m being rushed” feeling. Plus, I thought the early wake up would come in handy on the flight and make it easier to nap.

First part of the day goes off pretty well. Like a total diva I fly from Sacramento to San Francisco were I’ll connect for a 12 hour flight to Beijing. I thought flying would be better then driving to Frisco because I wouldn’t want to leave my car at the airport for 19 days. When I get to my gate at the international terminal they’re having some problems. Their computers are down and they’re having trouble checking people in. No problem though, because I heard the words every traveler wants to hear, “Sir, you’ve been upgraded to Business Class.”

YES! YES! Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday and God Bless America all rolled into one. Not only am I in Business Class, but also I’m on the second story of a two-story plane and I’m in an exit row. Those unfamiliar with traveling should know an exit row gives you a lot more leg room. The seats in front of me are a good 10 feet away.

Entry #2
It’s 2:39 pm according to my computer, which means I’ve been in the air for about four hours. Not bad until you consider I still have eight more to go. The entire cabin is dark with the exception of this older guy to the right of me who refuses to pull his window shade down. AGH!!

Part of the beauty of Business Class is you can choose the movie you want to watch because the TV is in front of you. I just finished Iron Man. Great movie. Robert Downey Jr. killed it and there is not a role in the world Terrence Howard can’t play to perfection.

Entry #3
Time 9:22 pm Pacific Time! I’ve been on this plane 10 hours. I’m guessing I don’t smell too good. The flight has been surprisingly relaxing. I’ve watched Iron Man, Weird Science, Any Given Sunday and Maid of Honor. I’ve got time to watch one more but thought I’d get some writing in. Remember the nap I spoke of earlier? Yeah, that never happened. It’s funny, I’ve been in the air for 10 hours but because we’re flying so far forward in terms of time, it’s been light outside the whole time. According to the cool little flight map on the screen in front of me we’re somewhere over Korea right now. Oh, I forgot to mention my boy Shelden is on this flight also. Shelden Williams, of the Sacramento Kings, is also the fiancé of Kara’s teammate Candace Parker.

Entry #4
Time 2:11 am Pacific Time, 5:11 pm Beijing time. I’m here! The flight was a piece of cake. Very comfortable. What happened after that…not so much! I could tell you a very long, frustration filled story about how it took me two hours to find my mother in law, but I won’t. If you check the video you see a sea of people. It was an incredible site. However, we found each other and got on our merry way. The air in Beijing is thick. The heat is intense. The humidity is incredible. It’s very similar to a nasty day in Miami. Remember what it looked like in Sacramento a few weeks back when all those fires were burning? That’s what it looks like here.

The hotel is on lockdown! SERIOUS LOCKDOWN! Because the men’s team is staying here you have to show several pieces of ID plus proof that you’re staying there to get through the door. It’s no joke.

I’ll check in again later. Shelden and I are going to go grab some food. Talk to ya soon.

The Olympics will be Sacramento Monarchs guard Kara Lawson’s fourth trip to Beijing, and hopefully this time will be as successful as her first.
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During the USA's practice sessions last week in Palo Alto, Calif., head coach Anne Donovan answered questions from the media about the squad's progess and the preparations for Olympics. Read what she had to say as the world counts down the days to the Beijing Games.
Donovan Q & A

Paced by the double-double of three-time Olympic gold medalist Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles Sparks), who recorded 14 points and 10 boards, the 2008 USA Basketball Women’s National Team (3-0) survived a classic battle against world champion Australia (2-1) for a 71-67 victory and the 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball gold medal on Tuesday night in Haining, China.
Recap | Quotes | Photo Gallery | Box Score

2008 USA Women's National Team Defeats Latvia 84-74 to open 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball Play.
Recap | Quotes | Photo Gallery | Box Score

USA Women in Uniform Gallery.
Photo Gallery

Check out what Kara Lawson and the U.S. Olympic Basketball Team had to say after its most recent practice.
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Just the Facts ... 2008 Olympic Women's Basketball.
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The USA Basketball Women's National Team made it official. On July 29 they went through the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team processing, getting gear, Olympic rings, jackets, everything that all the '08 USA team will don in Beijing!
Read More | Photo Gallery

USA Basketball announced 2007-08 USA Women’s National Team members Tamika Catchings of the Indiana Fever, Kara Lawson of the Sacramento Monarchs and DeLisha Milton-Jones of the Los Angeles Sparks as the latest three additions to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team.
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Kara Lawson named to the U.S. Olympic Team.
Official Release

Head Coach: Anne Donovan
Assistant Coach: Gail Goestenkors, University of Texas
Assistant Coach: Dawn Staley, University of South Carolina
Assistant Coach: Mike Thibault, Connecticut Sun
Team Physician: Sheldon Burns, Minnesota Lynx
Athletic Trainer: Ed Ryan, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Video Coordinator: Heidi VanDerveer, Occidental College