It's still weeks away so let me be the first to make a few Olympic predictions:

1.  The star of the swimming events won't be Michael Phelps.  Ryan Lochte will beat Phelps in head to head races.  The star will be the young american gal Missy Franklin.  Natalie Coughlin will get one more medal but it won't be gold (and she will again be the hottest looking woman on the Olympic team).

2.  Jen Kessy and April Ross will win the beach volleyball gold.  Misty May and Kerri Walsh will have to settle for a bronze.  Although not expected to win it all, Phil Dahlhauser and Todd Rogers will win the gold again as Phil Dahlhauser will completely dominate all the matches they play.

3.  Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt will finish 1-2 in the 100 meters.  Bolt will win the 200.

4. The american women will dominate gymnastics, winning team gold, and gold in the bars and floor exercises.

5.  The U.S. Basketball team will flub badly early on with a loss, but still make the medal round and win the gold.  The players will be an embarrassment compared to the original dream team. 

6. Allyson Felix will win the 200 meter sprint but Carmelita Jeter will not win the 100.  A runner from a European nation will come out of nowhere to win the 100.

7. Sebastian Coe will enter the arena with the torch but Sir Roger Bannister will light the Olympic flame.