The torch relay was conjured up by the Nazis for the 1936 Olympics and then embedded in our dreamy Olympic consciousness by the magnificent gossamer photography of Leni Riefenstahl, Hitler's favorite moviemaker. Now, three-quarters of a century later, it has come back as an unexpected curse to haunt another totalitarian government to which the International Olympic Committee has hitched its wagon.

From Frank Deford's commentary on "Morning Edition".

No one cares about the competitions except the competitors themselves, who don't need the Olympics as a venue to set world records. "The Games" have always been, in their modern incarnation, an artificial construct based on am idealistic myth, redolent with nationalistic hype. The concept of "amateur athlete" joined that myth at least four Olympic cycles ago. All that remains is the count of which country "won" the most medals of which metallic content, and the commercial sponsors' trumpeting their sponsorships, trying to garner even more sales.

I suggest: the televised coverage of the Beijing games be boycotted by everyone on the planet who owns a television, and that purchasing the sponsors' goods and services be avoided as much as possible.