2004 Athens Olympic Games Begin @ Telemundo.

NBC’s Athens Olympics early round soccer coverage begins Wednesday and continues Thursday on Telemundo. Telemundo’s historic Olympic broadcast debut features a soccer tripleheader highlighted by Mexico vs. Mali in men’s action. This marks the first non-English language Olympic broadcast in U.S. television history. NBC’s 24-hour “Complete Olympics” coverage begins Friday with the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron during the Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Bob Costas and Katie Couric will co-host NBC’s primetime coverage of the Opening Ceremony at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Costas will host NBC’s primetime Olympic coverage throughout the Games, which concludes Aug. 29.

Highlights for Wednesday, August 11, 2004, include:

MSNBC HIGHLIGHTS:

The Olympics begin on MSNBC with LIVE coverage of Mia Hamm and the USA Women’s Soccer Team taking on host country Greece.

Commentators: JP Dellacamera (play-by-play); Lori Walker (analyst)

TELEMUNDO HIGHLIGHTS:
Telemundo begins its soccer tripleheader with LIVE coverage of Mexico’s men’s Olympic team taking on Mali.

Commentators: Andrés “GOOOAL!” Cantor (play-by-play); Alejandro Blanco (analyst)

MSNBC
10:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Women’s Soccer – USA vs. Greece (LIVE)

TELEMUNDO
1:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Men’s Soccer – Mexico vs. Mali (LIVE)
Men’s Soccer – Argentina vs. Serbia and Montenegro
Women’s Soccer – USA Women vs. Greece

Highlights for Thursday, August 12, 2004, include:

HIGHLIGHTS:
Iraq makes an emotional return to the Olympic soccer tournament; playing for the first time since 1988 in a game against European power Portugal, LIVE on MSNBC.

NOTE: Former Iraq Olympic Committee head Uday Hussein ordered cruel punishment when the soccer team’s performance did not match his expectations. Shortly after Iraq was readmitted to the Olympics, the men’s team qualified for the Athens Games in soccer – Iraq’s No. 1 sport. For many Iraqi sports fans, it marked Iraq’s symbolic return to the international community and is a great source of pride.

MSNBC
1 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Men’s Soccer – Iraq vs. Portugal (LIVE)

Commentators: JP Dellacamera (play-by-play); Marcelo Balboa (analyst)

TELEMUNDO
1:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Men’s Soccer – Costa Rica vs. Morocco (LIVE)
Ghana vs. Italy
Paraguay vs. Japan

Commentators: Andrés “GOOOAL!” Cantor (play-by-play); Alejandro Blanco (analyst)

Listings subject to change check http://www.NBCOlympics.com for updates.