Olympic Track and Field: The Earlybird's Desktop Guide to London 2012

With the 2011 track and field season now essentially in the books, a short and well-deserved lull lies immediately ahead (no disrespect to the overland harriers).

Track fans and particularly athletes will use this time for reflection, evaluation, rest, and perhaps a bit of self-indulgence.

Around November, the trumpet will sound and another cycle of stretching, jogging, lifting and jumping will again commence. But this time, hearts will beat a little stronger, goals will stretch a little higher, commitment will reach a little deeper.

2012 is an Olympic year and all eyes will be gazing toward London.

With that in mind, can it ever be too early to start bookmarking a few handy sites you know we're going to need come next July and August?   

If you're fortunate (and wealthy) enough to actually attend the Olympics in person, check out this ticket central site. It covers event tickets, lodging, transportation and tours. Really...if you are planning to go, you should be all over this today!  Update: it looks like only one sport remains available for open seating - except in the rare case of ticket cancellation. Update #2: it now appears there will be more tickets available next year - but the cost and the mad dash don't look inviting.

Here is the complete schedule of all Olympic events, times and venues. Be sure to use the search features to narrow your search.

Television coverage will once again take us to new heights in technology. Panasonic promises to give us up to 10 hours per day of 3-D footage, distributed through various television outlets. Of course, one must possess a TV set which will receive the 3-D signal.

Meanwhile, the usual standbys, NBC and Universal Sports in the USA, BBC across Europe, and ninemsn in Australia will continue to provide the "old" HD technology. Universal Sports, on DirecTV or online, will offer live (not tape-delay) coverage.

Take a virtual tour of Olympic Park. It shows the various venues and gives interesting information. Later, a Google Earth interactive tour should become available.

Download a Weather Channel desktop for interactive real-time (or future) weather information for any little corner of the world. Even in a non-Olympics year, it's handy to have this information at your fingertips.

And how would we survive without our furry (er...titanium-clad?) friends, the Olympic mascots? Wenlock (Olympics) and Mandeville (Paralympics) appear to be a cross between Cyclops and a showerhead—not nearly as huggable as Jingjing or Berlino. Fun tip: lots of children's fun stuff on this site.

Enjoy the upcoming 2012 season. It should be a good one.

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