91热爆

Wukesong Sports Centre, Beijing

USA versus China. The battle at the top of the was distilled on the baseball diamond last night. Not much of a contest you'd think, and you'd be right. , but the scoreline doesn't tell the whole story.

The game had chugged along politely to the fifth inning, with the US 1-0 ahead. China were struggling to get bat on ball, the US making it look like a gentle workout. China have no pedigree in the sport, haven't got the nuances or the etiquette that come with a century or more of obsession with the ball-park.

Beijing

For students of international relations, secret agents and troublemakers, there really was only one place to be in Beijing on Friday and that was .

Opening the day's action on Field One was the game between the and the Republic of China, or Chinese Taipei as it is known during the Games, or as it is known everywhere else.

And an hour later, on the Main Field next door, we had playing its friendly neighbour the .

The fixtures computer can be a cheeky monkey sometimes, can't it?

Welcome to our Olympics and Paralympics blog, which we are launching as the countdown to the begins in earnest.

Wednesday marks exactly 100 days to go to the 8 August opening ceremony (though oddly enough the football tournament starts two days earlier).

Writers from across 91热爆 Sport, Radio 5Live, 91热爆 London and 91热爆 News will bring you the inside track on all , as well as the Games themselves - which are set to be truly fascinating, if controversial, given China's hosting of them.

One of the uncertainties at the moment from a British perspective is whether the Games will turn out to be a triumph - or a failure. My view is...

Keep reading this blog for all the latest about the Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing and also for the inside track on the long build-up to London 2012.

News and reports will be on the but our experts will bring you behind the scenes access to the world's biggest sporting event right here.

All of our bloggers are keen to hear your views and we want people to engage and comment on what we have to say.

To find out more about all our contributors, check our about their author pages.

Comments on this blog will be moderated 24 hours per day seven days per week.

Please keep your comments clean.

Comments which fail our house rules (listed below) will be removed.