Big international sports events sometimes get mired in protocol and formality. There is stuff you simply are not allowed to do. If your credential or ticket is the wrong color or lacks a certain number, there are doors and sidewalks that are off limits. If you are an athlete, you can't catch a cold because, if you do, the medicines that might make you feel better contain various banned substances.

Why there was even a time when earning cash for a job well done against world class competition was considered a huge no-no.

Luckily, here at the Goodwill Games, athletes earn prize money in broad daylight, and that's not all. For example, we observed Wednesday that it's OK to lay a "high five" on the Premier of Queensland. Games founder Ted Turner delivered a firm, unrehearsed one to Premier Peter Beattie during a press conference.

And at the Chandler Aquatic Center, home of swimming competition, very little was off limits, except for world records, which are worth $50,000. None of these fell Wednesday, yet all kinds of strange, entertaining behavior was not only tolerated but encouraged.

If you were a member of the Australian women's team cheering for the your men's team in a dual meet with the despised U.S. rivals, it was OK to paint your face or wear a clown hat, complete with dangling bells, or a shimmering wig. A white bearded gentleman on the Aussie swim team staff dyed his facial hair green.

During a break in the action, the Aussie women, delirious about competing at their home pool, performed an impromptu version of the Chicken Dance. A swim meet in Australia carries the anticipation and ritual behavior Americans reserve for, say, Georgia vs. Florida in college football.

The traffic jam started 90 minutes before the first race on a marathon night of swimming under a new dual meet Goodwill Games format. People wanted to arrive early to save time for meat pies and sausage rolls on sale at the concession stands. (As far as I can tell, there is one no-no associated with the purchase of a meat pie. You don't ask for details about the meat. You squirt yellow mustard into it and wash it back with a Foster's lager to offset the sensation of having created an abdominal oil spill).

Oh, yes, they drink beer at swim meets here. And chardonnay in plastic stemware. But despite the adult beverages, no brawling was evident. There is even a polite hush in the building when television reporters, such as TNT's Craig Sager, perform post-race interviews as swimmers are just out of the pool. The questions and answers are carried over the p.a. system.

In one such interview, we learned of the strategic complexity behind the 50-meters freestyle. After upstaging Americans Jason Lezak and Olympic champion Gary Hall Jr., Australia's Ashley Callus, revealed his prime tactic. "You put your head down and your bum up," he said, invoking the King's English.

Under a points system in which individual results accumulate toward a team total, Team Australia walloped its USA opponent Wednesday night, 93.5 to 55.5. The highlights can be seen Wednesday on CNN/SI at 2 p.m. ET and in prime time on TNT, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

As this is the first Goodwill Games hosted on Australian soil, the official meat pie consumption record is still for the taking, as were a pair of men's swimming records Wednesday. Recent 1,500 freestyle world record setter Grant Hackett of Australia established a Goodwill Games 1,500 free record of 15:01.25, and the USA's Tom Malchow set a Goodwill mark in winning the 200 butterfly in 1:55.27.

Both earned $1,000 bonuses, and Malchow still has a chance to break the world mark and earn $50,000 before the week is through.

"I'd definitely like to pick up the other 49 (thousand) somewhere along the way," he said.

FOUNDER'S DAY: AOL Time Warner Vice Chairman Ted Turner finds himself among kindred spirits here in Brisbane, where his straight-forward demeanor mirrors that of most Aussies he encounters.

The Goodwill Games and Turner Broadcasting founder spent part of his morning Wednesday fielding press questions about the future.

Though he acknowledges being a bit hard of hearing these days, Turner's vision is another story. Looking ahead, he likes what he sees. He boldly warned the locals not to bet against the Games going forward beyond the Brisbane edition.

"A better bet than putting your money into a pokie machine," said Turner, referencing the Australian version of the slots.

Turner went on to pledge that he would consider "just about anything" to keep the Games alive pending future decisions by the senior management of AOL Time Warner.

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