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Maybe you've never competed in the Olympics. Maybe you've never ridden the conveyor belt that takes kayakers to the top of the Shunyi Olympic Rowing/Canoe Park K1 slalom course. Maybe you haven't been asked to wind your way down a 350-meter gauntlet of rushing, swirling water that drops down twice.

But you know the feeling. Sort of.

Right now, we're all on the conveyor belt. We're being pulled up the slope of summer sports—nothing we can do about it—while football coaches wring sweat out of their players, MLB teams jockey for position, the SuperSonics migrate to Oklahoma City and Brett Favre turns a different shade of green. Even the early days of the Olympics have that feeling of lulled suspense. Something's going to happen; we just don't know what it is.

Then we're off down the flume, navigating medal ceremonies, Williamsport, fantasy drafts, the U.S. Open, football pools, Appalachian State at LSU, pennant races, Redskins at Giants, football polls, Favre vs. Brady I, the opening face-off, Pavlik vs. Hopkins, the World Series, the Breeders' Cup, more football, the opening tip-off, Favre vs. Brady II...

Phew! As Eoin Rheinisch, an Irish canoeist, says of the Shunyi course: "It's a real challenge. I love it."

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