What was going on when I was born?

The president of the International Olympic Committee has protested what he calls the overemphasis on American athletes in ABC's television coverage of the Games. Peter Ueberroth, the president of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing committee, characterized the protest as a ''stern message'' that ABC, with its flag-waving emphasis on American athletes, threatened to diminish the ''international flavor'' of the Games in the eyes of the American public. The president of the international committee, Juan Antonio Samaranch, made the protest in a letter to the Los Angeles committee. 'A Consensus' of Board Mr. Ueberroth, who disclosed receipt of the letter at an informal news briefing Thursday night that had been called to discuss traffic problems, said that it repesented ''quite a consensus'' of the nine-member I.O.C. executive board and that he had urged the network ''to consider trying to give a good focus'' to its coverage.

Mexico and Venezuela said today they would halt delivery of discount- priced oil to any Central American and Caribbean countries ''that initiate warlike actions'' against others in the region. The announcement by the two nations said they were adopting the policy to provide incentive for ''preservation of peace'' as well as for strengthening ''democratic and social development.'' A Foreign Ministry spokesman here said the condition for further oil deliveries would not be retroactive. It will be up to Mexico and Venezuela, he said, to determine whether a country should be put under sanction.

The Senate's assistant majority leader said today that the final military budget for 1985 would grow 5 percent after accounting for inflation, rather than the 7.5 percent that President Reagan and the rest of the Republican leadership have insisted on. The comment by the assistant leader, Ted Stevens of Alaska, who is also the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, caught the White House and the majority leader, Howard H. Baker Jr., by surprise. It was the first time a Republican leader had publicly voiced the budget expectations, although they have been common corridor talk on Capitol Hill. Senator Baker said he did not expect 5 percent to be the final figure. ''I'm going to talk to Senator Stevens,'' he added. The White House, in a statement, said it was continuing to push for a 7.5 percent rise.

The nation's unemployment rate rose unexpectedly in July to 7.4 percent, the first increase in 20 months, the Labor Department reported today. The increase, from 7 percent in June, was the latest of several signs that the nation's strong economic expansion was moderating in late spring and early summer. It was the first overall increase in unemployment since November 1982, the bottom of a recession, and the largest one- month increase in two years, since the jump from 9.5 percent in June 1982 to 9.9 percent in July 1982. The rise, accounted for mostly by higher unemployment among adult women, brought the total of unemployed Americans last month to 8,543,000, after adjustment of the statistics to account for seasonal economic variations.

Saudi Arabia has released about half the 33 Americans it was believed to be holding in prison on a variety of offenses, according to Saudi and American officials as well as one of the freed prisoners. A State Department official said Thursday that 17 Americans had been freed recently under a general amnesty for Saudis and foreigners decreed late in June by King Fahd. More releases are imminent, the official added. A Saudi Embassy spokesman said that Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Ambassador, had been working for months to arrange the release of all Americans in Saudi prisons ''to broaden and strengthen relations between the two countries.''

The heaviest trading in Wall Street history sent stock prices soaring again yesterday as investors gained confidence that the economy had entered a sounder phase. It was the best week ever for the stock market in terms of both volume and price gains. As brokers spoke of a buying panic, volume on the New York Stock Exchange exceeded 200 million shares for the first time, with the total of 236.6 million easily topping the previous record of 172.8 million set on Thursday. It was less than two years ago, on Aug. 18, 1982, that volume first topped 100 million shares.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York accused Governor Cuomo yesterday of misrepresenting the implications of a statement the bishop made in June on abortion and politics. Archbishop John J. O'Connor said that, contrary to the Governor's interpretation, ''it is neither my responsibility nor my desire'' to give voters evaluations of public officials or candidates on the basis of their stands on abortion and other issues. The Archbishop said rather that he wanted to make church teaching on the issues clear and would let ''those interested in such teachings'' decide for themselves ''whether or not the public statements of officeholders and candidates accord with this teaching.'' 'Surprised' by Statements He said he was ''surprised'' to read of statements attributed to him by the Governor in an interview this week with The New York Times on issues touching religion and politics. The Archbishop also implied that some of Mr. Cuomo's remarks had been ''foolish.''

The toll in a bomb explosion at the Madras International Airport Thursday night rose today to 23 people killed and 24 wounded, the authorities said. They estimated that the bomb, which had been concealed in a piece of luggage and exploded in a passenger lounge, had caused $300,000 in damage to the airport building.

Following is the text of a statement on Poland made public today by Larry Speakes, the White House spokesman: The President has taken note of the release of political prisoners announced by the Polish Government on July 21. He believes that it represents a significant move in the direction of national reconciliation in Poland.

The official Polish Government spokesman reacted today to President Reagan's decision to ease some of the United States sanctions on Poland by saying he expected a fuller retreat on the curbs imposed after the declaration of martial law. Jerzy Urban, the spokesman, stressed that he was offering a preliminary and not fully official response when he told foreign journalists that ''the Government of Poland wants to emphasize that it never asked for a lifting of sanctions.'' Instead, he said, ''we demand the lifting of all restrictions without any conditions.''

There is a riddle going around here these days that asks, ''Why is Poland just like the United States?'' One answer is that in both Poland and the United States one can't buy anything with zlotys and, on the other hand, in both countries one can buy anything with dollars. The point about dollars is not really much of an exaggeration. Scattered throughout Poland are 650 Government-run shops that sell a wide range of mostly imported goods, all for dollars or other hard currencies.

The Administration announced today that President Reagan was easing some economic sanctions against Poland because of ''a significant move in the direction of national reconciliation'' by the Polish Government. The White House said ''complete and reasonable implementation'' of the amnesty for political prisoners that was approved by the Polish Parliament on July 21 would probably result in the withdrawal of United States opposition to Polish membership in the International Monetary Fund. The Administration also announced that the President had authorized the restoration of scientific exchanges and the lifting of the ban on American landing rights for the Polish airline LOT. Sanctions Imposed in '81 The sanctions were ordered by President Reagan after the military Government in Warsaw imposed martial law in December 1981, banned the Solidarity trade union and cracked down on the union's campaign to increase political and civil rights.