Summer Olympics Viewing Guide

The 2012 Summer Olympics in London formally get started with opening ceremonies on Friday.

Most events will be broadcast live on television or online, and NBCOlympics.com has a fairly helpful TV schedule. London2012.com is also helpful in finding what events are taking place when. (Remember, London is six hours ahead of Brookfield, so adjust accordingly.)

You can catch Pole Vault women's qualifying will be at 10:20 a.m. Saturday Aug. 4 and the Final at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 6.

Because of the time change, NBC’s prime time coverage will be largely repackaged coverage from the earlier in the day. (With Bob Costas!) But NBC’s cable networks and website will have live coverage.

Track and Field — Everyone wants to see if sprinter Usain Bolt will win another gold medal in the 100 meters. American Tyson Gay will try his best to beat the world record holder. If he makes the final, he’ll run at 9:50 p.m. in London on Sunday, Aug. 5. That’s 3:50 p.m. here, which will make nice viewing for a Sunday afternoon.

Lolo Jones will try to overcome a disappointing fall in the 2008 Beijing Olympics when she returns to action in the 100m hurdles. The final in that event is set for 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 7.

The final for that race will be broadcast here on Tuesday, Aug. 7 at 4:15 p.m.

Swimming — Baltimore’s Michael Phelps is the main attraction, but there are other Americans competing, including Ryan Lochte and a host of great female swimmers. Events start this Saturday morning and run all the way to Saturday, Aug. 4. There are gold medal races every day, so check the schedule.

Soccer — The American women actually played their first game, against France, on Wednesday. Action on the pitch continues to the gold medal game on Thursday, Aug. 9 at 2:45 p.m. ET. The American men did not qualify for London, but the men’s gold medal game is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 11 at 10 a.m.