Liukin, the Olympic all-around gymnastics champion, appears to want to stay competitive. Her U.S. teammate Johnson, who was favored in the event, contemplates taking a break.

BEIJING -- This is the difference between being the women's gymnastics all-around gold medalist and the balance beam gold medalist:

Almost everything you wanted to know, from the toughest conference, to the best games, to the most overrated teams (sorry, Hokies and Bulls).

Everyone is itching to get started, especially over at USC, so let's adjust our under armor and dig into the 2008 season survival kit:

Fox says it will be the first time a current player has served in a full-time capacity for any national pregame studio show for any sport.

San Diego's Shawne Merriman is already one of the NFL's best defensive players. This season, he'll be the quintessential multi-tasker.

The indoor game, six to a team, is a virtual ballet with a perfectly choreographed routine, whereas the beach sport, with two to a team, is a more freewheeling game that calls for versatility.

BEIJING -- Kerri Walsh remembers the first time she tried to play competitive volleyball on a beach. But she'd rather not.

FedEx Cup playoffs begin without the world's No. 1 player, who is recovering from knee surgery, won't be back until possibly April and might not ever be the same.

As further proof that the PGA Tour season didn't end when Tiger Woods had reconstructive knee surgery in June, the $63-million FedEx Cup playoff series starts today with the $7-million Barclays at Paramus, N.J. The show goes on, but the showstopper isn't around.