London calling for Coach K and more thoughts on the Olympics

My column today is about Coach Mike Krzyzewski putting his legacy on the line to direct the U.S. Olympic team one more time.

As you may have noticed from my recent blog posts and stories, I'm gearing up to cover the Olympics for The Charlotte Observer and The Raleigh News and Observer. I leave for London in about three weeks (the opening ceremonies are July 27th).

My extensive coverage of the U.S. swim trials -- the swim team is where North Carolina will have its largest representation of athletes -- was part of that run-up (see the blog posts below this one -- eight swimmers with N.C. ties ended up making the U.S. team). I will also cover some men's basketball, some track and field and a variety of other things while in England.

One thing about covering the Olympics is that it's an inexact science. Literally hundreds of athletes will represent the U.S. My primary job will be to tell the stories of those with connections to the Carolinas. It's always possible that someone will slip through the cracks, though.

So if you know of an Olympic athlete (competing for the U.S. or for another country, like the J.C. Smith track athletes who will compete for Jamaica) who has a Carolina connection, please let me know by e-mailing me at sfowler@charlotteobserver.com. Thanks, as always, for reading.