On top of all that, the competitions take place half a world away. This means coverage of sports you’ve never heard of won’t be live. So before you rush out to the closest Roots store to buy your official Team USA beret read this first, if you’re going to watch at all.

Archery
What’s the Buzz?- This event will remind you of ESPN’s Outdoor Games, but without the camouflage.
When Is It?- August 15th-22nd.
Worth My Time?- Watch it, then go out into your backyard and hunt down some squirrels.

Badminton
What’s the Buzz?- Everyone’s played it in their backyard, but did you really think badminton was of Olympic sport quality?
When Is It?- August 14th-21st.
Worth My Time?- Uh, no. Unless you really want to hear the announcers say shuttlecock on television.

Baseball
What’s the Buzz?-The U.S. didn’t qualify for this year’s games, but Americans are participating as members of the Greek team, as athletes of Greek heritage. Look for Cuba or Japan to win gold.
When Is It?Preliminary games run through the next two weeks. Medal games are on August 25th.
Worth My Time?Probably not, watch the Tigers series instead. The world’s best are already playing major league ball, (but not necessarily for the Tigers.)

Basketball
What’s the Buzz?- The U.S. men’s troubles are well documented. They no longer dominate the sport. The women are still strong in international play but the margin is getting smaller.
When Is It?- Games run throughout the Olympics. Gold medal games for the men and women are on August 28th.
Worth My Time?- Do you even have to ask? This will be the most watched sport of the games (in America anyway.)

Boxing
What’s the Buzz?- If you usually watch Fight Night on Showtime then you’ll probably want to catch an Olympic boxing match. Try for New Zeeland’s Soulan Pownceby, he’s a convicted felon, or Iraq’s Najah Ali who fights on Wednesday.
When Is It?- August 14th-22nd, Finals 27th-29th.
Worth My Time?- Only if Don King is promoting the gold medal match.

Canoe and kayak
What’s the Buzz?- Competition for both is divided into flatwater racing and slalom.
Flatwater racing takes place on calm open water, slalom in river which will resemble whitewater rafting and actually be exciting.
When Is It?- Slalom August 17th-20th; Flatwater August 23rd-28th.
Worth My Time?- Watch the slalom finals on the 18th (women) and the 20th (men); skip the flatwater races altogether.

Cycling
What’s the Buzz?- Three different kinds of events, road, track and mountain biking.
When Is It ?- Road 14th, 15th, and 18th; Track 21st- 25th, Mountain Bike 27th (women) and 28th (men).
Worth My Time?- Watch the road race if you didn’t get your fix during the Tour de France, watch the track if you like NASCAR, and watch the mountain bike race if you’re up late on the 27th and 28th .

Diving
What’s the Buzz?- Athletes compete in platform, springboard, and synchronized diving events. The Chinese are usually the favorites.
When Is It?- August 14th, 16th, 20th -28th.
Worth My Time?-Diving is going to get a lot of coverage, you probably won’t be able to miss it.

Equestrian
What’s the Buzz?- Competition is divided into two categories, Dressage and Jumping. Do you know what dressage is? It’s a horse walking around, then it stops and backs up a little, then it walks around a little more. Thrilling.
When Is It?- Who cares.
Worth My Time?- No

Fencing What’s the Buzz?- It’s not what’s in your backyard. Competitors square off duel-style using either a foil (light), epee (medium), or saber (heavy).
When Is It?- August 14th-22nd.
Worth My Time?- For sure. The saber competition resembles sword-fighting, what other sport encourages stabbing at your opponent?

Field hockey
What’s the Buzz?- Obviously, it’s pretty much like hockey without the ice. You can only score on shots taken within the ‘striking circle’. Brett Hull surrenders.
When Is It?- August 14th-27th.
Worth My Time?- Might be the only hockey you watch for the rest of the year.

Gymnastics
What’s the Buzz?- There are three types; Artistic Gymnastics (events like uneven bars, balance beam and vault), Rhythmic Gymnastics (Ribbons), and Trampoline.
When Is It?- Artistic 15th-19th and 22nd-23rd; Rhythmic August 26th-29th; Trampoline 20th -21st.
Worth My Time?- Gymnastics will get a majority of TV coverage but it won’t be funny like Will Ferrell in “Old School.” Skip it all.

Handball
What’s the Buzz?- This is the closest you’re going to get to Olympic dodgeball. Handball is kind of like soccer, but players throw the ball instead of kicking it.
When Is It?- August 15th-29th. Gold medal games are on the 29th.
Worth My Time?- Definitely. This will be the most entertaining obscure sport you’ll see in Athens.

Judo and Taekwondo
What’s the Buzz?- They’re martial arts competitions divided into weight classes. Judo resembles Greco-Roman wrestling with throws and pins, Taekwondo is more self-defense.
When Is It?- Judo 14th-20th; Taekwondo 26th-29th.
Worth My Time?- It will be better than a watching Karate Kid marathon. Wax on!

Modern Pentathlon
What’s the Buzz?- The pentathlon combines five completely different events into one. Athletes compete in shooting, fencing, swimming, horse-back riding, and cross-country running. Eastern Europeans dominate this sport.
When Is It?- August 26th (men); August 27th (women).
Worth My Time?- Probably. You can get you your fix of five sports in one race.

Rowing
What’s the Buzz?- Fourteen different boat classes are used. The U.S. is a favorite in many of the competitions.
When Is It?- August 14th-22nd.
Worth My Time?- You’ll live if you miss this.

Sailing
What’s the Buzz?- - There are eleven different sailing events including keelboat windsurfing, dinghy.
When Is It?- Events run throughout the games.
Worth My Time?- Only if the bumper sticker on your car says ‘My other vehicle is a dinghy.’

Shooting
What’s the Buzz?- There are four different events: Rifle, Pistol, Running Target, and Shotgun. Not drive-by. Plus, you get to see the most out of shape athletes in Athens.
When Is It?- August 14th - 22nd.
Worth My Time?- Watch it with the archery coverage and a Pabst.

Soccer
What’s the Buzz?- Although it’s the most popular sport in the world, Americans don’t really care about it. The U.S. didn’t qualify but the women have a shot at the gold.
When Is It?- Preliminaries run throughout the games; Women’s gold medal match on August 26th, Men’s gold medal match on August 28th.
Worth My Time?- Watch the women’s gold medal game if the U.S. makes it. Plus, there’s always a chance to see some soccer hooligans.

Softball
What’s the Buzz?- The U.S. dominates this women only sport. They’re led by pitcher Jennie Finch.
When Is It?- Preliminaries August 14th-20th. Gold medal game August 23rd.
Worth My Time?- Other than the gold medal game, not really.

Swimming
What’s the Buzz?- One of the oldest and most popular Olympic sports. American Michael Phelps has a chance to win eight gold medals.
When Is It?- August 14th-21st.
Worth My Time?- Only the Phelps races, you should go swimming yourself instead.

Synchronized Swimming
What’s the Buzz?- Competitors swim upside down in pretty patterns.
When Is It?- August 23rd-27th.
Worth My Time?- Not a chance.

Table tennis
What’s the Buzz?- If only you had used that ping-pong table in your basement more, you too could have been an Olympian.
When Is It?- August 14th-22nd.
Worth My Time?- This will be the second most entertaining event next to handball. The Chinese will likely win gold.

Tennis
What’s the Buzz?- Venus Williams and Andy Roddick are the two biggest names to represent the U.S.
When Is It?- August 15th-22nd.
Worth My Time?- Only if you like tennis to begin with. The competition is really no different than any major tournament.

Track and field
What’s the Buzz?- Other than all the doping scandals? Not much. ‘Track’ consists of the running events and ‘Field’ consists of the jumps, pole vault, and throwing various objects.
When Is It?- August 18th – August 29th.
Worth My Time?- Even though these events are built up more than any other Olympic competition, they usually end up being anti-climactic.

Triathlon
What’s the Buzz?- Athletes compete by swimming 1500m, cycling 40km, and running10 km, one right after the other. The U.S. sends three men and three women to compete.
When Is It?- August 25th (Women) and 26th (Men).
Worth My Time?- Although these athletes have some of the best endurance of anyone, watching at home is pretty boring.

Volleyball
What’s the Buzz?- There are two kinds, indoor and beach. This year will be the first time games will be held at night, with floodlights lighting the court.
When Is It?- Indoor August 14th-29th; Beach 14th-25th.
Worth My Time?- The beach competitions can't be missed, especially the medal matches. Only watch indoor if you really miss high school gym class.

Water polo
What’s the Buzz?- The object here is to throw a ball into the net while trying to keep you head above water and avoid the warm spots in the pool, what’s not to like? The U.S. has chances for gold by both the men and women.
When Is It?- August 15th-29th.
Worth My Time?- Just the medal games on the 26th (women) and 29th (men).

Weightlifting
What’s the Buzz?- Not much to this one, athletes lift weight over their heads.
When Is It?- August 14th-25th.
Worth My Time?- Not really, but it’ll be better than watching the meatheads at your gym.

Wrestling
What’s the Buzz?- American Rulon Gardner is defending his gold medal from Sydney. Women’s wrestling is making its debut in the 2004 games.
When Is It?- August 22nd – 29th.
Worth My Time?- Only if Gardner gets challenged to a rematch at Wrestlemania. What? Not that kind of wrestling? Forget it. -

Jeff can be contacted at jhatline@detroitbuzz.com