The Beatles sang that even "Eight Days a Week" were not enough to show you care. But how about eight days over two weeks? Especially if they take place during the Beijing Olympics.
Here is a list of what could be the best eight days of the 2008 Summer Olympics listed on the day they occur in China (Beijing in 12 hours ahead of Eastern time, 15 hours ahead of Pacific time.)
SUNDAY, AUG. 17
It could be a historic day, plus a chance to see a little bit of everything and multiple superstars.
Michael Phelps seems sure to be swimming's biggest star -- just by volume of hardware haul. But ageless Dara Torres also may be in the spotlight as the games' middle weekend ends.
This is the final day at the pool, so we could see Phelps break Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals. Torres, at 41, hopes to be in the women's 50-meter freestyle final.
In track and field, the women will go from one extreme to the other: The longest race (marathon) is in the morning and the shortest (100 meters) in the evening.
Gymnastics will be into its individual event finals, with the women doing floor exercise and vault, and the men on floor exercise and pommel horse.
And although tennis' biggest prizes are the Grand Slams, most of the top men's and women's players have committed to the Olympics -- and are taking them very seriously. Could there be another Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal epic? And Venus and Serena Williams will try to win their second career gold in women's doubles, which has its final on this day, too. The sisters won the 2000 doubles gold in Sydney.
TV: NBC will feature the women's 100-meter final, as well as gymnastics finals, during its primetime coverage. The men's singles tennis gold-medal final and the women's tennis doubles final will appear on the USA Network.
THURSDAY, AUG. 21
In 1996, the U.S. softball and soccer teams were a big part of what made the Atlanta Olympics the Girls of Summer Games for American fans.
Both sports have their gold-medal matches on this day, but one of them will be bittersweet. In 2005, softball was voted out of the Olympics -- along with baseball -- after 2008. Officials and softball players have been lobbying ever since to change the minds of International Olympic Committee voters. But unless that happens, this will be the swan song (for now) of softball in the Summer Games.
The U.S. women's soccer team won the 2004 Olympic gold, but this is a younger team, with stars such as Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy gone. The Americans would like a performance in the Olympics to block out last year's Women's World Cup bronze disappointment, when the falling out between goalkeeper Hope Solo and the rest of the team overshadowed everything else. But the Brazilian women are aching to finally break through in one of this sport's big showcase events.
Oh, and the women's beach volleyball gold will be decided, too.
TV: The USA Network will show the softball and soccer gold-medal matches. The men's beach volleyball gold-medal match will be carried live on NBC in primetime.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 13
Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin hope to lead U.S. women's gymnastics to the team gold.
In the pool, Michael Phelps, Katie Hoff and Natalie Coughlin should be busy. Phelps and Hoff are expected to be in two finals, and Coughlin could be in the final of an event -- the 200-meter individual medley -- that she avoided for years but has blossomed in this year.
TV: NBC will carry several swimming finals live during primetime. Look for women's basketball on the USA Network.
SATURDAY, AUG. 23
It's the penultimate day of the Olympics and jam-packed with events. The women's basketball gold and bronze games will be played. And, remember, it's Australia -- not the United States -- that is the reigning world champion, winning that title in 2006. The gold and bronze baseball games played this day will be the last in the Olympics for the foreseeable future. Men's soccer has its gold-medal match, as does women's indoor volleyball.
Boxing begins its first day of finals. In track, new American citizen Bernard Lagat may be going for a double: The men's 5,000 meters is this day. He is the reigning world champion in the 1,500 and 5,000.
TV: NBC will show the women's basketball gold-medal game live during its daytime coverage. The final baseball game will be shown on the USA Network.
FRIDAY, AUG. 22
Need your Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony fix? They could be leading the U.S. men's basketball team in the semifinals.
In track and field, often the most exciting two races are the men's and women's 4x100-meter relays. As always, the Americans are strong gold contenders in both.
And the decathlon's grueling last event -- the 1,500 meters --will be contested in between those two relay finals.
TV: Look for the basketball semifinals during NBC's daytime coverage. The track relays will be shown during primetime.
FRIDAY, AUG. 15
The women's gymnastics all-around title will be decided.
Shawn Johnson is the Iowa kid from West Des Moines, a pint-sized folk hero in her state. Nastia Liukin was born in Russia to former world-class gymnast parents but raised in Texas.
Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin have a good chance to pick up more swimming gold. And this is the first day of track and field competition, with the American men -- Reese Hoffa, Christian Cantwell and Adam Nelson -- looking for a sweep in the shot put.
TV: Swimming and track and field will dominate NBC's primetime coverage. Find some of the lower-profile sports (women's table tennis team bronze competition, anyone?) streaming on NBCOlympics.com.
TUESDAY, AUG. 19
Gymnastics competition ends with the last of the individual-event finals. The women are on the balance beam, the men on the parallel bars and high bar.
In track, look for American Sanya Richards to blaze into the women's 400-meter final while Bernard Lagat tries to take the men's 1,500-meter title. The U.S. men's 1,500 team is made up of Lagat, Leonel Manzano and Lopez Lomong.
TV: Gymnastics and track and field fans should tune in to NBC in primetime. And watch for the trampoline gold-medal final during NBC's late-night coverage.
SUNDAY, AUG. 24
The men's marathon will be the last word on Beijing's air quality -- or lack thereof. And the final day of boxing finals will be the final day of the 2008 Olympics.
TV: NBC's daytime coverage could include as many as eight gold medals. Primetime will include one last gold-medal match -- men's volleyball -- and the closing ceremonies.