How would you like your rings? Olympian or cash register?

Let me get this straight: the 2002 Winter Olympics are where?

Albertville, France? No.

Lillehammer, Norway? No.

Nagano, Japan? No.

Innsbruck? Sarajevo? Grenoble? Cortina? St. Moritz? Garnisch? Hey, what about the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924, Chamonix?

No.

These Winter Olympics are right here in Salt Lake City and the good ol' U.S.A.

U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!

Rally 'round the flag, America!

Ah, the electricity, the excitement, the passion and humanity of the Olympic Games, back in our country! NO MORE SYDNEY TAPE-DELAYED CRAP! We get the biggest sporting spectacle on the planet, the ultimate in human athletic competition, the most uplifting scenes of victory and the most wrenching images of defeat, live in our part of the world, our time zone, our nation!

Well... not if you live in Seattle and other West Coast markets.

Yep, it's true: a story appeared in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer about how major West Coast markets will be allowed to tape delay the Salt Lake City Olympics and air the Games in the 7:30-11 p.m. time window, instead of the live time window of 5-8:30 p.m. Pacific time.

A couple lousy hours, a couple ratings points, all so viewers can miss having the unique thrill of watching a signature event in all its live vibrance, significance and humanity.

Yeah, the Olympics have become tarnished, but aside of steroid use and blood doping, the stains on the Games have largely come from suits and people who make executive decisions -- decisions to allow pro athletes to compete; decisions to drape Olympic cities in ungodly amounts of commercial material; decisions to let bribes flow freely among people in power; and, of course, unconscionable decisions to tape-delay broadcasts and package them to death, squeezing out all of their authentic and poignant majesty according to crunched numbers.

O Roone Arledge, Roone Arledge, where art thou, Roone Arledge?

Heck, forget Arledge, ABC Sports' programming director who conceived of Monday Night Football and made ABC's Olympics coverage -- with a huge assist from the equally legendary Jim McKay -- a model of great, LIVE television. Forget Arledge himself.

What about the William Paleys, the Walter Cronkites, the Edward R. Murrows? What about all the people who gave decades of their lives to make live broadcast coverage of important events -- and the Olympics, in their own way, certainly rate as one in a world torn apart by violence and discord--not only an example of great journalism, but a cherished service to American citizens (and to documentary filmmakers, while we're at it)?

What about the notion that news coverage is fundamentally a service to viewers, something that should not be governed by market forces and whose quality should be the reason for viewers to tune in?

This decision by Seattle's NBC affiliate (KING-TV) and other West Coast affiliates is yet another sign that such a set of principles, such a broadcasting ethos, is deader than the integrity of Salt Lake City's Olympic officials, and of many International Olympic Committee members.

If you live on the West Coast and hadn't heard about this story before, make the simple act of calling or e-mailing the program director at your local NBC affiliate. For those in Seattle, you can go on the Web to www.king5.com.

The simple act of calling or writing to a media outlet does make a difference (as does voting, and as does the little bit we do as individuals each day in the service of others through financial charity, legislative advocacy, and volunteer service, among many other things).

Speak up for integrity. Speak up for what's right. Speak up for Uncle Walter Cronkite and the idea that some things ought to be done simply because they represent a service that a free and informed democratic society ought to have.

Ah, the patriotism is returning to me now, although in an anger-colored way I didn't really expect.

U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!