The clock tower overlooking Horse Guards Palace

Here in London, there is a growing brouhaha over the fact that a bunch of the country’s soccer players have refused to sing the national anthem when “God Save the Queen” is performed before each of the team’s matches.

The issue centers on the fact that while “God Save the Queen” is officially the British national anthem, in soccer—where the four countries that make up the U.K. compete separately—it has been co-opted by the English team, largely because England has no national anthem of its own.

In contrast, the national teams of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland use their own anthems and the idea of belting out “God Save the Queen” is roughly akin to asking American athletes to sing along to “La Marseillaise.”

Ryan Giggs, the captain of the British team, was one of five Welsh members of the team that stood tight-lipped during the rendition of “God Save the Queen” before Great Britain’s 3-1 win over United Arab Emirates on Sunday, while all six of his English teammates belted out the anthem.

Giggs said afterwards that an athlete’s decision on whether to sing the anthem should be “a personal thing.”

But he added: “The British anthem is the same for a Welshman, a Scotsman or an Englishman. It’s difficult.”

Stuart Pearce, the British head coach, said the anthem refuseniks were “not an issue,” but the pre-match rendition could receive an even icier response ahead of Britain’s next match. The British team faces Uruguay in Cardiff, Wales on Wednesday and local fans are unlikely to sing along.

In case you somehow haven’t noticed, NBC has been turning the anxious, twitching, writhing, panic-stricken parents of the athletes into overnight TV sensations.

This year they seem to have an especially promising crop in one particular arena—gymnastics. As Aly Raisman and Jordyn Wieber competed for the U.S. Sunday, their respective moms (and one dad) got quite a bit of attention. So here’s a question: If there was an Olympic medal for TV face-time, whose parents would have won the gold?

By our count, Raisman’s parents (pictured right in a screen grab) got 68 seconds of air time during NBC’s prime-time broadcast. Wieber’s mother graced the screen for a total of 32 seconds.

After Raisman’s routine on the uneven bars, NBC showed her parents for 48 consecutive seconds. In that time, her mother—who looked considerably more anxious than her daughter ever did actually competing—said the phrases “come on” and “let’s go” 12 times apiece. Her father didn’t chime in until the very end, when he blurted out, “Stick it, please.” (Raisman obliged.)

Wieber’s mother, meanwhile, struggled to watch as her daughter performed on the bars—but she erupted with joy after she finished. NBC didn’t show Wieber’s mother after Wieber failed to advance to the individual all-around finals.

There was champagne by the bottle, a pack of royals and dozens of champion horses. All that was missing was the Grey Poupon. And yet, the sell-out crowd of an estimated 50,000 that gathered Monday for the equestrian cross-country competition at London’s Greenwich Park was issued a warning: Please do not climb the trees—they’re historic!

No actual tree-climbing was in evidence, but with horses running at nearly 30 miles per hour through the -mile course, that was maybe not such a surprise. Instead, picnickers sprawled on the nearly 200 acres, sipped rosé champagne at $70 a bottle and cheered on their favorite riders, many of whom faced serious challenges on the difficult terrain.

The course took the riders quite literally over the moon—a sharp crescent-shaped jump placed near the Royal Observatory—and 27 other obstacles. The path led, somewhat unusually, into the equestrian stadium where a full complement of royals turned out. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Kate and Wills), Prince Harry and the Duchess of Cornwall (Camilla) were all on head to watch Zara Phillips, granddaughter of the Queen of England, who wasn’t present for the second element of the three-day Eventing competition.

Rolex is as much a part of Wimbledon as white socks, worn-out grass and strawberries and cream. The watchmaker became the tennis tournament’s official timekeeper in 1978 and has had a ubiquitous presence ever since.

But at the Olympics, Rolex is going down in straight sets.

Swiss timekeeper Omega SA, the official timekeeper of the Olympics, is one of the rare corporate sponsors whose name is allowed to be visible inside Olympic venues on the theory that keeping time is integral to many events. As a result, Rolex-branded clocks around the famed grounds of Wimbledon will be covered up for the duration of the Games.

For Omega, “this is something of a coup,” said Simon Chadwick, a professor of sport business strategy and marketing at the University of Coventry in the U.K. “It is historically an event associated with one of its main rivals. It’s like Nike walking into Adidas’s living room and sitting down and taking his shoes off.”