Opening Ceremony Olympics

U.S. Olympian Mike Barrett dies

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Mike Barrett, a member of the 1968 U.S. basketball team that won the gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics, has died. He was 67.

At 6-foot-2, Barrett was considered too small to play major college basketball and starred at West Virginia University Tech in the mid-1960s. He joined the Navy afterward and was part of an armed forces team that competed at the Olympic trials in Albuquerque. Members of the Olympic team were selected from various squads.

In a 2008 interview with The Associated Press, Barrett, who had retired as an account executive and lived in Nashville, said that walking out to a packed stadium for the opening ceremonies was overwhelming.

"I thought nothing in my life athletically is going to top this," Barrett said. "Then when you're on the medals stand for the ceremony and they raised our flag and played the national anthem, it shows how shortsighted you can be sometimes."

The Americans survived Olympic pool play, beat Brazil in the semifinals and defeated Yugoslavia in the gold medal game, 65-50.

"It was a fabulous ending for an opportunity to represent the country," he said. But he was too nervous to properly appreciate it at the time.

"The pressure that we were under, we had never lost a basketball game," Barrett said. "The media in general didn't think much of us. You went down and you were just focused on not embarrassing the country and not embarrassing yourself.

"You couldn't enjoy the moment. As I've gotten older, I've certainly learned to do that."

Barrett was named the 1968 Amateur Athlete of the Year in West Virginia. He would later play several seasons in the American Basketball Association. Tech retired his No. 10 jersey in 2003.

Barrett died Monday, according to his obituary from the Harpeth Hills Funeral Home. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn, and his brother, Scott Barrett, of West Virginia.

Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremony: Tickets, Details | FM Dallas

Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremony: Tickets, Details

COUNTDOWN FOR the Vancouver Olympics 2010 has started. The coming Friday is the big day for the people of Vancouver, Vancouver Olympic Committee, Winter Olympic participants and all the members who are related with Vancouver winter Olympics 2010. The opening ceremony of Vancouver Olympics 2010 is taking place on February 12 at Vancouver BC Place Stadium, British Columbia in Canada, which has a capacity of 60000 seats.

The Opening Ceremony for the 2010 Winter Games is sure to be an outstanding event. This will be the first time in history that both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be held in an indoor venue.

The goal of the Opening Ceremony is to ensure that the truly representative of Canada’s cultural diversity and linguistic duality, by highlighting the excellence and richness of the performances of leading Canadian artists. It is expected that 4,500 dancers, athletes and performers, the will be participated in Opening ceremony of Vancouver Olympics.

The Government of Canada will contribute million to ensure the Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games exceeds expectations of Canadians from all parts of the country. VANOC’s (Vancouver Organizing Committee) overall budget for all Olympic Ceremonies elements, including victory and welcome ceremonies, is .5 million.

US Vice President, Joe Biden, George Clooney and legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin, along with other dignitaries from across the globe will take part in opening ceremony of Vancouver 2010.

Opening ceremony tickets are available at Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, Paris, Toronto, Vancouver, Seattle and many other cities of the world. Tickets cost is between 5 and ,118. It is estimated that over three billion people will watch the opening ceremony of Vancouver 2010 or Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010.

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