ISRAEL GUTIERREZ: Ni hao from Beijing!

It’s hard to mince words on such a sensitive topic, so I won’t even bother beating around the bush.

The Olympics stink.

Not figuratively. The Games themselves have been a pleasure.

Literally, it stinks around here.

Whether it’s walking by a bathroom made up of toilets that we far too accurately call "squatters," or sitting in a bus with no working air conditioning, there are some serious odors going on around here.

I hate to stereotype or insult an entire continent of people, but I do believe some of this reeks of European influence.

As if I didn’t have enough proof already, I arrived at the U.S.-Greece game a couple hours early and came across some damning evidence.

I sat at a press spot about 10 or so feet behind a large gathering of Lithuanian fans who were chanting and jumping and waving a giant flag. Well, let's just say that all the activity created a veritable steam cloud of natural body odor that took over the entire section of the arena.

Several others sitting in the press area evacuated. But I held my ground, all the while breathing through my mouth, knowing that the game was just about over and the crowd would eventually disperse. They did, and my olfactory glands were no worse for the wear.

Between the smog (or as the Chinese call it, a "mist") and the natural human odors floating around here, all I want to do when I get back home is inhale.

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