Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

At the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992, one of the local drivers employed by the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ said to me, "You sound like you're on honeymoon with your job." And that feeling is reinforced every four years.

Beijing will be my fourth Olympics (my first for 5 Live) and I'll spend much of the first week at the boxing arena and then take up residence in the Birds Nest for the athletics.

My trusted companion, as ever, will be Damon Runyon. OK, he's long since "taken the run-out powder" but his short stories still breathe. His tales of Broadway and Guys and Dolls are a welcome distraction for a mind full of stats and sums.

One of his characters once said that any contest between two members of the human race is an even-money shot.

And that's why sport, especially the Olympics, is so special. We expect - but we just don't know.