The winners and the losers

• Loser: As organizers of Salt Lake's 2002 Winter Games can attest, the host city wants to put its best foot forward during opening ceremonies. In most respects, the 2008 Beijing Games ceremonies were spectacular, with one glaring exception. Remember that darling little girl in the red dress who sang the patriotic Chinese hymn? She was lip-synching to 7-year-old Yang Peiyi, who was singing in the wings because Chinese officials determined that she didn't have the right look for the role. Both families told the news media that they were pleased their daughters participated in the ceremonies. They likely were proud of their respective roles, although Lin Miaoke's appearance at center stage was a self-esteem boost like no other. Meanwhile, the treatment of Yang Peiyi appeared very much to be a painful slight.

• Winner: Speaking of the Olympics, it has not been lost on the USA men's basketball team the importance of the Americans playing as a team and displaying the utmost sportsmanship during the Beijing Games. Credit coach Mike Krzyzewski who has insisted that members of the so-called "redeem team" comport themselves in a positive manner and resist the temptation to hotdog when playing teams that do not have the same degree of talent. The team, perhaps one of the most-watched and most popular across the Games, has also made a point to support other American athletes during their competitions and to sign autographs and pose for photographs with Chinese fans.

• Winner: Earlier this week, President Bush signed into law consumer-safety legislation that bans lead from children's toys, imposing the toughest standard in the world. This is a critical issue considering there are some 28,000 deaths in the United States each year linked to unsafe products, including toys, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

• Loser: What is it about Utah? Why are gasoline prices some of the highest in the nation? Why is inflation in Utah twice the national rate? If there's a ray of hope in this picture, oil prices are falling and food prices are expected to moderate, economists say. Meanwhile, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s office has announced the state is carefully monitoring motor fuel prices to hopefully discern why motorists in the Beehive State pay so much.