Bush busy cheering in Beijing

Apparently bored with hanging out at the White House and staring at Secret Service stiffs in suits, President Bush took his Secret Service stiffs on a trip to Beijing, where he watched as many Olympic events as possible.

Bush spent a day at the pool, watching Michael Phelps swim his way to gold in the 400-meter individual medley.

He took a break and talked politics -- Bush met with Chinese leaders, discussed North Korea's nuclear program and spoke out about the conflict between Russia and the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

But then he got serious and gave a pep talk to the U.S. men's basketball team before its 101-70 victory over China.

"He basically came up to us and said, 'I'm here to support you, our country supports you, and so go out there and kick some butt,' " Kobe Bryant said.

Bush also hit the beach and visited with American volleyball stars Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh.

May-Treanor invited Bush to smack her bikini-clad butt for good luck, but he refused, and instead patted a tattoo on her lower back.

If she had asked the same of Bill Clinton, the result might have been different.

• GET FIT FAST -- Several top Olympians, including sprinter Tyson Gay, offered fitness secrets in a feature on nbcolympics.com.

Gay, the current 100- and 200-meter world champion, said his goal is to run the 100 in 9.74 seconds. His personal best is 9.84.

Gay said he has been "working hard" to prepare himself to win gold, and he's not kidding. Gay explained what one must do to sculpt a sprinter's six-pack and develop those muscles in the midsection:

"Lie on your back on a decline bench, holding a weight plate against your chest with both hands. Then lift your upper body off the bench about 6 inches. Holding this position, press the weight plate straight up from your chest, as if you're doing a bench press. Lower the weight (but not your torso) and repeat. As you push the weight, your abs have to contract even harder. Do 12 presses, rest one minute, and repeat once or twice."

Here's an alternative: Lie on the couch and watch the Olympics on TV while drinking beer and eating pizza.

• VEGAS VACATIONS -- With Jason Lezak swimming the anchor leg, the U.S. men's 4x100 freestyle relay team won gold Monday in an exciting comeback that beat France and set a world record.

Lezak, from Irvine, Calif., first qualified for Nationals in high school but, according to his bio, decided to go water skiing and gambling near Las Vegas with friends instead.

In 2004, Lezak said Vegas is fun when you're young, but as you get older you realize that "Vegas is bad news."

• SLEEPLESS IN BEIJING -- Dwyane Wade led the U.S. past China by scoring 19 points on 7-for-7 shooting from the field. The game seemed to be a highlight of his career, maybe ranking even higher than his relationship with Star Jones.

"I played in the (NBA) Finals, and that was unbelievable, but this game was even bigger," Wade said. "This feeling, I haven't been this anxious to play a basketball game since I was a kid. I couldn't sleep."

COMPILED BY MATT YOUMANS REVIEW-JOURNAL