You think the gentlemen cloaked in synthetic fibers down at Augusta National are insensitive. Consider that when the ancient Olympics Games were contested in Olympia, Greece, women were a different type of target demo. They were targeted all right -- bodily hurled off cliffs if caught watching the men compete. (It was the loincloth-optional era, apparently).

This was pre-Edison reality television. Talk about falling for a guy.

Immersion in historical (or hysterical) Olympic tidbits will be hard to avoid as the world begins to face the frightening reality that Athens, birthplace of the so-called modern Games in 1896, is host city of the next Olympic gathering, in August 2004.

	Although this is a shot of English traffic, expect a surplus of traffic jams in Athens during the 2004 Olympics.

In fact, the Games begin one year from today, or, about 13½ months from now if you're a member of the Athens Olympic Organizing Committee (ATHOC). The folks planning things in Greece have tended to run a bit behind schedule. Actually, they don't run at all. In a country where Nike is considered a goddess not a footwear choice, everybody drives. The resulting gridlock is then blamed for blown deadlines, among other things. Building contractors avoid the congestion by taking extensive holidays in the fabulous Greek Isles.

As you might imagine, it enrages the International Olympic Committee -- which owns the Games and all things Olympic -- to get their Athens status reports scribbled on "Wish You Were Here" postcards from Santorini. The IOC quickly got into the habit of sending inspectors to Greece on a recurring basis. Their mission is to leave no priceless artifact unturned in order to find WMC: Weapons of Mass Construction.

Happily, all Games-related sites are now works-in-progress even though some conclude that Athens looks like the back lot at Universal, and might still convey that aesthetic a year from now. Who needs an actual stadium when an architecturally sound façade will do? Spectators can be referred to as extras.

Greece, of course, is the home of Marathon, and the marathon (the original 26-mile route is mapped out for this time, too, but the 2004 competitors will be allowed to wear shoes), so it is fitting that getting ready for the Games has become a grueling, staggering journey to the finish line. The Greek government is ponying up $5 billion (that's 4.4 billion if you are a Euro spender), and the privately-financed ATHOC operating budget is in excess of $2 billion. The security budget alone is $600 million -- not a lot of money considering that, on a clear day, you can almost see Baghdad.

Not to be a fatalist; but if you visit during the Games next year, you'll be far more likely to bump into the business end of a shoulder-mounted missile launcher than, say, American sprinter Marion Jones or Michael Phelps, who is a U.S. swimmer with Mark Spitz-like potential. Some 10,500 athletes will compete in Athens. About 45,000 people are assigned to security. (When you're standing in one of the mile-long security check-in lines, you'll realize those nude Olympians in 776 B.C. were on to something.)

	You may see a missile launcher before world class sprinter Marion Jones at the 2004 Olympics.

Again, not to be a doomsayer, but if Tommy Franks and Colin Powell are the flagbearers for the U.S. Olympic Team delegation when it marches in the Opening Ceremonies on Aug. 13 next year, I'm outta there.

The refurbished Athens Olympic Stadium in a suburb north of the city will be the site of that glorious opening night, after which the 75,000-seat facility becomes home to the track and field competition. Since some of those events will be contested under a blazing summer sun -- the average August high temperature in Athens is 88 -- it was presumed brilliant when someone suggested a partial roof.

Famed Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava was commissioned to design said roof, which he did, and we are pleased to report it looks greats on paper. No one knows how it looks atop the stadium because it's not there yet. As of a few weeks ago, ATHOC's charismatic chief, the fashionable Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, assured the world's media the roof is a priority. She also said deadlines were tight but would be met toward completion of a traffic-relieving light-rail system. Unless there is a way to hitch a stretch limo to that system, though, don't expect to see a lot of Mrs. Angelopoulos-Daskalaki aboard the light rails.

IOC officials have said they'd prefer no roof to one that is still encased in scaffolding when the world's broadcasters train their cameras on the stadium next year. Rules prohibit excessive signs inside Olympic venues -- that apparently includes large banners that say "Pardon Our Dust" or "Your Tax Drachmas At Work."

	There will be high security in Athens in an effort to prevent tragedies such as the explosion in Atlanta during the 1996 games.

All of those billions generated by the fastest-growing European Union economy have not been squandered as there is a new airport and highways, as well as plans to finish a new soccer stadium in time for the Games -- though it is unclear if ATHOC refers to the 2004 Games or some future Games.

Test events at Olympic venues involving actual sports are rolling out this month, seven in all, including the World Junior Rowing Championships. Last Thursday's races were, to ATHOC's despair, postponed by unusually high winds across southern Europe. A bulletin was released pointing out that wind can be a factor, as "rowing is an outdoor sport." Who knew?

Meanwhile, scientists are anxious to see what happens when the perpetual cloud of cigarette smoke above Athens, generated by unrelenting Greek smokers, is carried by these high winds toward neighboring Turkey, where it will collide with another perpetual cloud of cigarette smoke, generated by Turkish tobacco. Some are predicting Newark.

The elements will be of no consequence over at the new Ano Liossia Olympic Hall, home of freestyle wrestling. Women will compete as Olympians in wrestling in 2004 for the first time. Apparently, we underestimated the far-reaching influence of the Jerry Springer Show.

If this global spectacle begins in 365 days, then I can confidently announce -- barring high winds, blinding rains, ozone alerts or a traffic jam not seen since the satellite trucks were creeping toward Eagle, Colo., last week -- that the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad will end in 382 days.

Moving around Athens during those 17 days next summer promises to be a monumental logistical challenge, although some of the fortunate among Olympic officials and corporate VIP delegations can look forward to the oasis of tranquility that will be the Port of Piraeus. A total of 13 luxury cruise ships will be docked and transformed into secured floating hotels, among them the Queen Mary II.

Not to raise anyone's tension levels, but do you have any idea how many amphibious security devices and trained military divers will be needed to protect that port from some diabolical scheme? Let's just say that if I spot Hans Blixx or Tom Ridge in wet suits, I'm outta there.

Steve Woodward is freelance journalist specializing in Olympic coverage. He has covered the Games since 1988, and is happy to report having never watched a moment of ancient or modern pentathlon.