THE GREEK FOLLIES
I didn't watch the opening ceremonies but rumor has it that Bob Costas referred to Athena as the "patron saint of Athens." That's okay, I pretty much know diddly squat about sports. But then again, no one in their right mind would ask me to provide sports commentary on international television.

One of the most controversial aspects of the Olympics from the fans' perspective is that they are being prohibited from entering an Olympic venue if they are wearing clothing with a non-sponsor's brand displayed or if they are drinking Pepsi rather than Coke. Fans can only bring in Avra brand bottled water.

Staff will also be on the lookout for T-shirts, hats and bags displaying the unwelcome logos of non-sponsors. Stewards have been trained to detect people who may be wearing merchandise from the sponsors' rivals in the hope of catching the eyes of television audiences. Those arousing suspicion will be required to wear their T-shirts inside out.

Known as the "clean venue policy," the rules were drawn up by the Greeks and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to shield sponsors from so-called "ambush marketing" - an attempt to advertise items during the games without paying sponsorship fees.

The restrictions on food and drink are intended to ensure that only items made by official sponsors such as McDonald's and two Greek dairy firms are consumed at Olympic venues. Link

I can understand their concerns -- but at some point it all gets a little ridiculous and overshadows the spirit of the games.

Speaking of Greek, we have a great little Greek restaurant in Turlock -- Gyros and More -- two doors down from Jamba Juice in the Monte Vista Crossings. The food is good and not too expensive. But business looks slow to me. I suppose it is hard to compete with the Mexican food/beer place and Panda Express. People just don't think about "going out for Greek" -- which is unfortunate.