Now that Euro 2008 has come and gone, the biggest event of the summer – betting or otherwise – is the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. The International Olympic Committee doesn’t keep official records of which countries have won how many medals, but the United States has dominated this competition ever since the modern movement began in 1896.

China is spending a lot of money to change that in 2008. This is an incredibly important event for the Chinese Communist Party as it tries to move even further into the international community (i.e. marketplace) without giving up its one-party grip on the Chinese people. The recent victory at Wimbledon by Zheng Jie over world’s No. 1 Ana Ivanovic is testament to how far Chinese sports has come in the past 20 years.

If you’re going to bet on the Summer Games this year, China is making inroads in just about every sport under the sun – not just tennis, diving and gymnastics. Money is power.

It should be a no-brainer. During the offseason, Major League Baseball general managers voted 25-5 last year in favor of instant replay. It looks like they’ll get their wish as soon as August 1, at least on disputed home-run calls.

Whether or not a ball clears the fence in fair territory should be an easy call with the support of existing video coverage – the occasional Jeffrey Maier moment notwithstanding. So as long as the league can crank out a workable replay system that is acceptable to umpires, players and front-office personnel, what’s the problem?

Tradition. Baseball prides itself on being old school; they’d often rather get the call wrong and chalk it up to human error. Noted conservative and baseball fan George Will pooh-poohs the idea of instant replay. But even Will, after making the usual straw man and slippery slope arguments, accedes that using replay for boundary calls is acceptable. Byzantine whimsy, indeed.

We ain’t done yet. The 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines is going to a playoff. Tiger Woods birdied the 18th hole Sunday to tie Rocco Mediate at minus-1 for the tournament; they’ll play another 18 holes on Monday starting at noon Eastern.

Woods was the –400 favorite at press time, casting a huge shadow over Mediate at +275. But how much longer can Tiger compete on his recently scoped left knee? “I took some things to kind of relieve that,” Woods told the Associated Press after sinking his 12-foot birdie on 18.

Mediate is the No. 126 golfer on the PGA Tour’s money list. That ranking is about to go up substantially. He’s 45 years old, with five career Tour victories – most recently the 2002 Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic. This would be Mediate’s first major championship. He’s been quite consistent thus far: 69-71-72-71 in the first four rounds. Woods is 72-68-70-73 with four double-bogeys compared to one for Mediate.

It is being known as one of Roger Federer’s most embarrassing losses of his career; his loss at the French Open this weekend against the Champion Rafael Nadal.

Most experts did pick Nadal to be the favorite on the clay but such a great win was unexpected. The winning match ended at 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 and even Nadal himself realized that Federer wasn’t playing up to his usual standard.

Federer said he will continue to work with new coach Jose Higueras at least through Wimbledon. He might need the moral support after absorbing his worst thrashing in 173 career Grand Slam matches. His previous nadir was a straight-sets defeat to Andre Agassi in the fourth round of the 2001 U.S. Open in which Federer won just seven games. The third-set bagel was Federer’s first in any match since 1999.

“I could lose every time in the semifinals and tell myself I don’t want to face [Nadal] in the finals, but I’ve been strong and I’ve been tough, and I made my way there,” Federer said. “That gives me great, great feeling, you know, a good satisfaction.”

The Chicago Bulls had a very disappointing 2007-08 campaign at 33-49 (36-46 ATS), blowing the team up at the trade deadline when it became clear the Ben Wallace Experiment was failing. How much better will they be now that they have the No. 1 pick?

Taking point guard Derrick Rose might not change anything in the short term. The Bulls already have incumbent Kirk Hinrich at that position, even if he is coming off a sub-par season. Michael Beasley is a better candidate to have an immediate impact, but the 6-foot-10 (allegedly) forward might only replicate what Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah already do. These are picks for the future.

Whoever lands at No. 2 will be an instant upgrade for the Miami Heat. But coach Pat Riley reportedly isn’t impressed with Beasley, so point guard O.J. Mayo remains a possibility with the second pick. All three were one-and-done college freshmen, and there’s more where they came from in the 2008 Draft.

Bet on the NBA playoffs!

Horse racing fans and sports bettors will be making a quick trip to the betting windows this weekend as the post-time for the Belmont Stakes draws near. Post positions were drawn earlier today and wouldn’t you know it — Big Brown will be racing from the No. 1 position. If history serves him (and his owners) well, we could be looking at our first Triple Crown winner in 30 years — more winners (23) have started from the No. 1 post than any other position.

As for Big Brown’s much publicized cracked left front hoof, trainer Rick Dutrow says it continues to improve. “He’s in better shape now than he has ever been,” Dutrow told reporters.

Hoof specialist Ian McKinlay will make one final repair to the injured hoof on Friday, replacing the sutures with new ones, adding a drain if necessary and an adhesive to close the crack. “The adhesive that we’ll rebuild that wall with is stronger than the hoof itself,” McKinlay told the Associated Press.

If all goes according to plan and Big Brown wins the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown, the colt will then be entered int the Travers Stakes on Aug. 23 at Saratoga in upstate New York, then he’s off to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships and then finally — Big Brown will be retiring to stud.

“The only thing that will keep Big Brown from running in the Breeders’ Cup Classic is Big Brown,” Michael Iavarone said. “If he is healthy, he will run.”

According to a press release, Michael Iavarone and Richard Schiavo, the managing partner of International Equine Acquisitions Holdings (IEAH), which owns Big Brown, and trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. all said they plan to run Big Brown in the Breeders’ Cup.

The Breeders’ Cup takes place over two days from Oct. 24-25 at Santa Anita Park. With a total purse of $25.5 million awarded (up from $23 million in 2007), it is the most important and richest event in American horse racing.

This is definitely not what NASCAR officials had envisioned. The Car of Tomorrow was meant to make Sprint Cup racing more competitive. That’s what they’ve got in the standings – Hendrick Motorsports no longer has a monopoly on Cup points – but it comes at a cost.

Because every CoT is essentially the same, it’s a lot more difficult for a driver to catch and pass the leader. That puts more importance on qualifying, and on the pit crews. The driver is arguably less important than before the CoT was introduced.

Adjust your handicapping accordingly. Meanwhile, this is the Top 10 in the Cup standings:

1. Kyle Busch 2050
2. Jeff Burton 1908 (–142)
3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 1779 (–271)
4. Carl Edwards 1713 (–337)
5. Greg Biffle 1658 (–392)
6. Jeff Gordon 1646 (–404)
7. Jimmie Johnson 1644 (–406)
8. Clint Bowyer 1633 (–417)
9. Denny Hamlin 1630 (–420)
10. Kevin Harvick 1566 (–484)