One of the funniest came from a Western gentleman in Pokfulam who expressed his disdain for women's soccer, suggesting Cable TV should instead show men's English third-division games. There's a concept advertisers would be lining up for. My guess is he is homesick for Scunthorpe.

I thought the women's soccer, especially the games involving China, were good, bringing home what the Olympics was all about: the best in amateur sport.

Considering that we are seeing free live coverage throughout the day with nightly highlight packages on all four terrestrial stations, Hong Kong viewers have it good in comparison to other countries.

Take the plight of US viewers. American broadcaster NBC purchased the rights to the Games for US$700 million (HK$5.45 billion) and realised a reported US$100 million profit in advertising revenues before the Olympic flame was lit.

In its infinite wisdom, and in consideration of the 15-hour time difference between Sydney and the US East Coast, NBC has shown only taped coverage, a move which has driven viewers away. The same station in 1997 aired 30 seconds of live Hong Kong handover coverage.

US viewers living close to Canada have fared better as they can pick up a live feed from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, a good alternative to the often biased US reporting.

Channel Seven, Australia's largest broadcaster, has had similar problems and has made repeated apologies for cutting to commercials at key times. Some viewers, fed up with missing out on key swimming races and medal presentations, have instead resorted to live coverage on radio.

While there is limited radio coverage locally, today's TVB Jade's coverage, beginning at 7.30am, includes the men's and women's tennis finals (10am), the athletics finals (5pm), the women's diving semi-finals and boxing quarter-finals.

On Pearl, starting at noon, the coverage includes the boxing quarter-finals, the men's and women's basketball quarter-finals and athletics from 2pm.

60 Minutes

World, 10pm

Mike Wallace (above) updates a story on Dr Lee Ho-wen, the Taiwan-born scientist who was accused of breaching US national security when he downloaded 400,000 pages of nuclear secrets.

After serving nine months in jail, the 60-year-old California resident was released when a judge apologised for the bungled spy case that 'embarrassed our entire nation'.

The veteran reporter interviews US Energy Secretary Bill Richardson who stands by the allegations and is refusing to apologise. Other segments include a profile of gossip queen Liz Smith and a group of women cancer survivors.

The Negotiator

HBO, 9pm

Samuel L Jackson (above), one of the busiest actors in show business and a huge fan of Hong Kong films, stars as a veteran Chicago police officer, falsely implicated in a high-profile embezzlement case.

With his good name being dragged through the dirt, the star of Pulp Fiction takes matters into his own hands. Two-time Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey co-stars along with JT Walsh, Paul Giamatti, John Spencer (The West Wing) and David Morse in this good action thriller (1998).

The Substitute 2: School's Out

Cinemax, 8pm

Treat Williams, who proved he was more than capable of playing psychos in Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead, seeks revenge for the death of his school teacher brother, and the punks that did it are going to pay (1998).

All The Fine Young Cannibals

TCM, 3pm

Loosely based on the life of jazz legend Chet Baker, Robert Wagner stars as Chad Bixby, a young trumpeter, whose life is changed by the arrival of an out-of-wedlock baby. Natalie Wood, George Hamilton and Pearl Bailey co-star (1960).