In his thrilling downhill victory at the 1976 Winter Olympics the Austrian seemed almost to be falling as much as skiing

Then, as now, there was snow on the ground, ice on the inside of my bedroom window and everybody had flu. I'd been off school for over a week. I lay in bed 24 hours a day. My parents were at work. Relatives and neighbours called in periodically to check that I hadn't been kidnapped, or set fire to anything. They brought Lucozade and those old-fashioned oranges with skin as tough as rhino hide and pith so thick that by the time you'd removed it all your fingers were knotted with cramp and there was nothing left to actually eat. Those oranges were more for exercise than nutrition.

I filled the long hours of the day by picking the encrusted snot off my nostrils, trying to identify the bitter taste of the gunk I coughed up (iron filings?), turning my pillow over every 20 minutes so I could feel the cool side against my face, reading Commando and War Picture Library comics and waiting for the BBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics to start. It was 1976, Innsbruck.

In truth I wasn't interested in much of the games, just the ski-jumping, the bobsleigh and the Alpine skiing. I was a normal 1970s boy – my attention was arrested by anything that involved speed, goggles and the prospect of crashes, preferably into hay bales. We were the generation rallycross was invented for.

Britain had, we were constantly assured, "a great tradition in the bobsleigh". After all, Robin Dixon and Tony Nash had taken the gold just 12 years before, and there'd been a silver as recently as 1924 (the year Belgium got the bronze). The other two events were a write-off, though. We had no ski jumpers, and our skiers were strictly non-League. Our best man, Konrad Bartelski was raised in that hotbed of mountain sports, Holland; our top woman, Valentina Iliffe, came from snowy Australia.

My patriotic allegiance was therefore switched to the Canadian team. The Canadians were nicknamed "The Crazy Canucks" and had the sort of self-deprecating, plucky, it's-a-crazy-madcap-scheme-Ginger-but-it-just-might-work attitude the English could identify with. There had been a big Canadian airbase near our village during the war. Everyone liked the Canadians. They were like the British, only bigger.

Ken Read was probably the best skier, but I had a particular fondness for Jungle Jim Hunter. Jungle Jim had learned to ski despite coming from the plains of Saskatchewan, perfecting his aerodynamic stance by riding, in full ski gear, strapped to the roof of his dad's pickup truck. He had improved his balance by tucking himself inside the wheel rims of the family tractor as it rumbled around the fields. Jungle Jim wore a sort of camo-pattern ski suit and his nickname suggested a character from a Victor comic who might have schussed down a hillside in Burma to surprise the Japanese: "Looks like we've caught the enemy with his pants down!" "Aiieeeeee!"

The Canadians raced well at Patscherkofel, but not well enough. Switzerland's Bernhard Russi, the reigning Olympic champion, went down the 1.88 mile course at in a blur of red and a clarion of cowbells. He took half-a-second off the next best time, set by the Italian Herbert Plank ("What kind of name is that for an Italian?" my grandmother asked, as she shuffled into my bedroom with emergency rations of chocolate snowballs "He sounds more like a joiner from Boosbeck"). Read was fourth. Jungle Jim back in ninth.

Franz Klammer was the last of the big names to go. Looking back, I can see that the pressure on the 22-year-old was immense. He'd won eight out of nine World Cup downhills the year before, all three races in 1976. There were 66,000 spectators lining the course and surrounding the finish line, most of them Austrian. He was the favourite. The man who might have been his biggest rival, Switzerland's Roland Collombin had broken his back 18 months before. Klammer was on home territory. He had one chance. If he messed it up then, frankly, he was buggered.

The buzzer went. The crowd yelped like sea lions. Klammer dressed in the lurid colours of a DC comic superhero – bright yellow bodysuit, red boots and helmet – careened down the mountainside with such blatant disregard for his own safety it was like he was a teenage hoodlum joyriding in a stolen body. He leapt, he bounced, he bumped. His skis flew out at odd angles. He teetered perpetually on the edge of disaster. At times he seemed to be falling more than skiing. It was a performance of such reckless bravado and wild freedom it's hard to imagine that anyone watching – including Bernard Russi – wasn't urging the Austrian to succeed. Behind at the split, he recovered to win by 0.33 seconds.

Of all the sport I watched in the 1970s nothing – not Gordon Banks's save in Mexico, the Rumble in the Jungle or Emlyn Hughes hugging Princess Anne on a Question of Sport – made such an impression on me. Thinking about it now I realise something: I remember the whole of Klammer's run at Innsbruck in vivid colour. Odd, because I know for a fact that the television I watched it on was black-and-white.

Yesterday ESPN announced nominees for its 2010 ESPY awards. Fans vote for winners until July 10. The network will broadcast half-hour a nomination show today at 8p.m. ET. Winners will be announced during The 2010 ESPYs, televised LIVE Wed, July 14, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN HD. The complete list of categories with female nominees: BEST FEMALE ATHLETE Maya Moore, NCAA Basketball Helped lead UConn to back-to-back national championships. Averaged 28.5 PPG and 11.5 RPG in the two games at the Final Four. Averaged team-high 18.9 PPG and 8.3 RPG during 2009-10 regular season. Diana Taurasi, WNBA Named WNBA MVP for 2009 regular season and playoffs. Led WNBA in scoring during regular season (20.4 PPG). Helped Phoenix win the WNBA championship. Lindsey Vonn, Skiing Capped a historic season with her third straight overall World Cup title. Won gold medal at Olympics in downhill, becoming the first American woman to do so. Won the final super-G race of the season for her 33rd World Cup win, eclipsing Bode Miller as the most decorated American skier. Serena Williams, Tennis Earned number one world ranking at the end of the 2009 season. Won 2010 Australian Open, becoming the first woman to successfully defend her Aussie title since Jennifer Capriati in 2002. Tied Billie Jean King for 6th on the all-time women’s Grand Slam titles list (12). BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE Brittney Griner, Baylor Women’s Basketball Averaged 18.4 PPG and 8.5 RPG as a freshman. Totaled 223 blocked shots, an NCAA-record. Registered an NCAA Tournament record 40 blocks in five 2010 tourney games, which includes tournament single-game record 14 vs. No. 13 Georgetown. Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans Improved from 1,228 rushing yards and 10 total touchdowns as a rookie to 2,006 rushing yards and 16 total touchdowns in the 2009 season. Led the league in rushing with 2,006 yards and became the sixth player in league history with 2,000 rushing yards in a season. Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals Became the first pitcher to record at least 14 strikeouts and zero walks in his MLB debut. Struck out the final seven batters he faced in his debut and fell one shy of the record for strikeouts in a MLB debut of 15 by Karl Spooner (1954 Dodgers) and J.R. Richard (1971 Astros). John Wall, University of Kentucky Basketball As a freshman, led the Wildcats in scoring (16.6), assists (6.5) and steals (1.8) while setting the school single-season assist record with 241. Recorded five double-doubles on the season as Kentucky went 35-3 and made it to the Elite Eight. BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE Usain Bolt, 100 and 200-meter World Records Shattered 100 and 200-meter mark at World Track and Field Championships. Ran 100 meters in 9.58 seconds, 0.11 seconds faster than the mark he set in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics. Set a world record of 19.19 seconds in the 200 meters at the world championships. Brett Favre, NFL record for consecutive starts Set an NFL record for consecutive starts at 271, passing the old mark of Vikings DL Jim Marshall at 270, which ran from 1961-1979. Began his consecutive starts streak 17 years ago. Roger Federer, Most Grand Slam singles titles Won 15th Grand Slam singles title, eclipsing Pete Sampras by winning Wimbledon 2009. Won the finals in an epic battle against Andy Roddick, capturing the fifth set 16-14. Served 50 aces in the record-breaking victory. Connecticut Women’s Basketball, Longest winning streak in Women’s NCAA Basketball History Undefeated season extended their record 78-game winning streak. Won second straight national championship in 2009-2010 season. Made women’s college basketball history with NCAA- record 71st straight win, a 59-44 victory over No. 6 Notre Dame in the semifinals of the Big East tournament. Isner vs. Mahut at Wimbledon, Longest Match in Professional Tennis History Tied 59-59 in the fifth set when match was suspended due to darkness. Played for ten hours until match was stopped, which is nearly three and a half hours longer than the previous record. BEST UPSET Frankie Edgar over B.J. Penn, MMA Dethroned the long-time lightweight champion, winning the title with a unanimous 50-45, 48-47, 49-46 decision at UFC 112. Became Penn’s first loss at lightweight since 2002. Hawaii softball upsets #1 Alabama, NCAA Softball Defeated Alabama 5-4 on a two-run, walk-off home run by Jenna Rodriguez in the bottom of the seventh in the deciding game of the Tuscaloosa Super Regional. Advanced to the Women’s College World Series for the first time in school history. Northern Iowa shocks No. 1 Kansas, NCAA Men’s Basketball Advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history, making Kansas the first No. 1 seed to lose before the Sweet 16 since Kentucky and Stanford both did it in 2004. Northern Iowa hit nine three-pointers in the stunner. Y. E. Yang stuns Tiger Woods, PGA Championship The 110th-ranked player in the world became the first player to beat Tiger Woods in a major when Woods had at least a share of the 54-hole lead. Shot a two-under-par 70 in the final round, while Woods was +5 (75). BEST MOMENT Phil Mickelson, 2009 Masters Finished 16 under par with a bogey-free final round for the fourth-lowest winners’ score in tournament history. Had back-to-back eagles in third round. Celebrated with his wife Amy, who was battling cancer. Joannie Rochette, Winter Olympics Earned a bronze medal in Olympic skating just days after her mother died. Rochette’s mother passed only a few hours after arriving in Vancouver to watch her daughter compete. New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV Tracy Porter’s interception helped New Orleans wrap up Super Bowl win over the Colts. Brees finished with a record-tying 32 completions in 39 attempts for 288 yards and two touchdowns as New Orleans captured its first NFL championship, winning 31-17 over the Colts. Landon Donovan World Cup vs. Algeria With the U. S. on the verge of elimination from group play, Landon Donovan converted a rebound from eight yards out in the 91st minute. Helped the U. S. beat Algeria, 1-0, to advance to the knockout stage. Was the first World Cup win for the U.S. in eight years, placing the Americans in first place in Group C. BEST TEAM Alabama Football Won its first national championship since 1992. Earned its eighth major poll championship after going 14-0, with 12 games decided by more than a touchdown. Won BCS championship with 37-21 win over Texas. Chicago Blackhawks Won the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1961. Only the New York Rangers had more time between Cups (53 seasons). Had 52 regular-season wins, second-most in the NHL during 2009-10 season. Connecticut Women’s Basketball Completed their second straight perfect season, the second basketball team to do that in Division I history, joining the 1971-73 UCLA men. UConn has won 78 straight games, 10 shy of UCLA’s Division I record. The Huskies beat Stanford by 6, their first single-digit win of the streak, to win their seventh National Championship. Los Angeles Lakers Won 16th NBA championship in franchise history. Won the final two games of the series to beat the Celtics in seven games for its second consecutive championship. 57-25 in regular season; best record in Western Conference. New Orleans Saints Set a franchise single-season record for wins and consecutive victories; captured Super Bowl XLIV. Ended the regular season with the NFL’s No. 1 ranked offense. Scored 31 of the game’s final 38 points to bounce back from a 10-0 deficit and win Super Bowl XLIV, the first Super Bowl championship in the franchise’s 43 seasons. Became the first team to win in its Super Bowl debut since the 2002 Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII. New York Yankees Won their record 27th World Series championship by defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. Had an MLB-best 103–59 record during the regular season. Led MLB in runs scored with 915. Capital One Best College Athletic Program (not included in voting module) BEST COACH/MANAGER Geno Auriemma, Connecticut Women’s Basketball Led UConn. to back-to-back national championships and perfect 39-0 records. Won his seventh national championship. Joe Girardi, NY Yankees Led the Yankees to their 27th World Series in his second year as manager. Became the first manager to win a World Series title for the same team for which he had played on a World Series champion since Billy Martin. Phil Jackson, Los Angeles Lakers Won his 11th NBA title after leading the Lakers to the franchise’s 16th championship. Passed John Wooden for most championships by a major basketball coach. Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Men’s Basketball Took a team ranked eighth in the preseason ESPN/USA Today poll and led them to the national championship. Blue Devils finished the season with a 35-5 record. Joined John Wooden (10) and Adolph Rupp (four) as only men with at least four national championships. Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints Led Saints to 13-0 start en route to the Super Bowl championship. The Super Bowl champions set a franchise single-season record for wins and consecutive victories. Nick Saban, Alabama football Led Tide to BCS championship with win over Texas. Became the second head coach to win two BCS national championships, joining Urban Meyer of Florida. Became the first head coach in major college football history to win a national championship at two different schools. BEST COMEBACK (Not featured in voting module) Kim Clijsters, Tennis Made history to become the first unseeded woman to win the Open. Beat both Serena and Venus Williams as well as seeded players Caroline Wozniacki and Na Li en route to the championship. The first unseeded player to win the US Open and is just the second unranked player to win a major since the inception of computer rankings in 1975, joining Evonne Goolagong at the 1977 Australian Open. BEST WNBA PLAYER Tamika Catchings, Indiana Named WNBA defensive player of the year. Led her team to the WNBA finals in the 2009 season. Becky Hammon, San Antonio Finished second in regular season in scoring (19.5 PPG). Finished third in the regular season in assists (5.0 APG). Lauren Jackson, Seattle Finished third in scoring during the regular season (19.2 PPG). Tied for 10th in rebounding (7.0). Candace Parker, Los Angeles Averaged 13.1 PPG during the regular season. Led the league in rebounding with 9.8 RPG. Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Led WNBA in scoring during the regular season (20.4 PPG). Named MVP for the regular season and playoffs. Helped Phoenix win the WNBA championship. BEST FEMALE GOLFER Cristie Kerr Had 13 top 10 finishes in 25 events played in 2009. Helped USA team win Solheim Cup. Lorena Ochoa Won three LPGA tournaments and finished second four times. Had 13 top 10 finishes in 22 events. Led LPGA in scoring average (70.16). Jiyai Shin Was top money winner on LPGA Tour with over $1.8 million. Earned Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honors. Won three LPGA tournaments in 2009. BEST FEMALE TENNIS PLAYER Kim Clijsters Won 2009 U. S. Open. Became the first mother since Evonne Goolagong at 1980 Wimbledon to come back and win a Grand Slam singles title. Became the first unseeded woman to win the Open, beating both Serena and Venus Williams en route to the championship. Serena Williams Set the record for single-season prize money in women’s tennis by topping $6.5 million in 2009. Won 2009 WTA season-ending championship in Doha, Qatar. Won 2010 Australian Open. Venus Williams Finished 2009 season as the sixth-ranked woman’s player. Moved up to #2 in world rankings by the start of the 2010 French Open. BEST FEMALE COLLEGE ATHLETE Tina Charles, Connecticut Women’s Basketball Averaged 18.2 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 61.8 field goal pct in under 28 minutes per game Helped lead the Huskies to a National Championship and a 39-0 record for a second consecutive year. Became the school’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder. Megan Hodge, Penn State Volleyball Led her team to its third straight NCAA championship title, winning 102 straight matches. Led the Big Ten with an average of 4.67 kills per set (560 kills total). Megan Lagenfeld, UCLA Softball WCWS Most Outstanding Player as UCLA won its 12th national softball championship. Batted .527 with 20 home runs and 58 RBI in 61 games during season. Posted 14-1 record with 1.53 ERA as a pitcher. Maya Moore, Connecticut Women’s Basketball Helped lead UConn to back-to-back national championships. Named Most Outstanding Player at 2010 Final Four. Averaged 28.5 PPG and 11.5 RPG in the Final Four and a team-high 18.9 PPG and 8.3 RPG during the regular season. BEST FEMALE ACTION SPORT ATHLETE Torah Bright, Snowboarding Won gold at the Winter Olympics in the halfpipe. Ashley Fiolek, Motocross Won Super X gold at the 2009 X Games and her second straight WMX season title. Jen Hudak, Freestyle Skiing Won 2010 Winter X Games SuperPipe gold and the 2009-2010 AFP World Tour Championship. Stephanie Gilmore, Surfing Has won the world title in all three of her seasons on the Women’s ASP World Tour. Ashleigh McIvor, Freestyle Skiing Won ski cross gold at the Winter Olympics and earned Skier X silver at the 2010 Winter X Games. BEST FEMALE ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY Linnea Dohring A gymnast without the lower half of her right arm and hand, she consistently scored in the 8.1-8.5 range in both the vault and floor exercises during all regular season meets. Was a three-year starter and co-captain on Grandview’s varsity Soccer team. Alana Nichols Won two gold medals (sitting downhill, sitting giant slalom) among four total medals at 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. Amy Palmiero-Winters Became the first amputee to qualify for a U.S. national track and field team. Competed in the 24-hour world championships in May 2010 in Brive, France. Won the AAU Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete. Stephani Victor Won gold in the sit-ski super combined to earn her third medal of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. BEST BOWLER Kelly Kulick Became the first woman to win a PBA Tour title when she defeated Chris Barnes to win the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas. Bill O’Neill Finished second in points (208.2). Won Lumber Liquidators U. S. Open. Walter Ray Williams Jr. Led PBA in points (229.1), earnings ($152,670), scoring average (222.9) and match play appearances (15). BEST FEMALE US OLYMPIC ATHLETE Hannah Kearney, Skiing Won a gold medal in freestyle skiing moguls. Scored 26.63 points to win by .94 — a wide margin in a sport often decided by tenths and hundredths. Julia Mancuso, Skiing Won two silver medals in alpine skiing. Her silver in the downhill marked the first time the U.S. has captured the top two spots in alpine skiing since 1984 (and 3rd time overall). Lindsey Vonn, Skiing Won a gold medal in the women’s downhill, marking the first gold medal by an American woman in the Olympic downhill. Also won a bronze medal in the women’s super-G. BEST TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETE Usain Bolt Shattered the world record, running 100 meters in 9.58 seconds at the 2009 World Track and Field Championships. Set a world record of 19.19 seconds in the 200 meters at the world championships. Allyson Felix Won the 200-meters at the 2009 World Track and Field Championships. Sanya Richards Won the 400-meters at the 2009 World Track and Field Championships with a time of 49 seconds.

Bode Miller's fourth medal of the 2010 Winter Games will not come in the Giant Slalom after the American failed to finish the first run on Tuesday. Switzerland's Carlo Janks leads after the first of two runs.

Bode Miller's fourth medal of the 2010 Winter Games will not come in the Giant Slalom.

Miller -- who nearly crashed during the top half -- hooked his glove on a gate, was unable to correct his line and skied off the course in Tuesday's first slalom run, eliminating him from contention (an athlete must successfully complete both slalom runs to qualify). Bode said it was his high-risk style of skiing that resulted in today's error. 

"I'm taking more risk than everyone else. That's partly why I'm able to get medals. It looks easy when you make it," Miller told The Associated Press in an interview after missing out on becoming the first man to win four Alpine medals at one Winter Games.

"When you crash like today, it's like, 'Oh, huh?' I did a good job today, too," Miller continued. "I was right there. I was right on the edge."

Though Miller won silver in 2002 in the Giant Slalom, he was not expected to compete in this year's event because of a lingering ankle injury, as Fourth Place Medal points out.

It's not surprising that Miller won't medal, and it's not even that surprising that he didn't finish. Miller has skied in only two giant slalom races this season. Suffering from a lingering ankle injury, he failed to finish in Colorado, and then wasn't fast enough to qualify for a second run in Italy.

In fact, Miller didn't even qualify for a spot on the United States team; he was added later as a coaches' selection in the hopes that he could turn in a couple of great runs. But it wasn't to be.

Fellow American Ted Ligety, one of the pre-race favorites, is in eighth place after the first run, 0.60 seconds behind the leader, Switzerland's Carlo Janka. Austria's Romed Baumann is second and Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal, winner of medals already in 2010 (silver in Downhill and gold in Super-G), sits in third.

The second run begins at 4 p.m. ET; you can follow it live at the Vancouver 2010 website.

More: SB Nation’s full coverage of the Winter Olympics and the 2010 Winter Olympics Medal Count Tracker.

Watching the Winter Olympics on NBC is like having a two-week marathon of MTV’s “Jackass” at our disposal to watch people crash and burn.

It’s on all day, every day, taking only brief commercial interruptions and two half hour breaks for the evening news during prime time.

Admit it, the Winter Olympics—with the exception of hockey, snowboarding, Lindsey Vonn and the surprisingly attractive women of curling teams worldwide – are the redheaded stepchild, twice removed, of the Olympic games.

Unless we are avid participants of one of the events, we watch the Winter Olympics for two things:

One, to see the United States kick every other country to the curb in athletic competition (unless you’re Collegian Editorials Editor Ian Bezek, who decided to defect his citizenship to Canada for two weeks), or two: watch those who aren’t Americans eat snow and ice and eat it hard.

For example, despite still being mad at him for breaking up the Beatles, we loved seeing Apolo Ohno become the most decorated Winter Olympian in history, much like Michael Phelps did in the 2008 Summer games in Beijing.

It’s fun, gives us something to cheer for with our neighbors. It’s not about the Cubs vs. Cardinals, Broncos vs. Raiders or Lakers vs. Celtics, it’s about America.

It’s us against the world.

We loved seeing Vonn take gold in Ladies’ Downhill Alpine Skiing, we enjoyed seeing American Julia Macuso take silver in the same event, but maybe more so than the medals, we cheered inside when we saw the Swedes and Italians completely wipe out on the last fourth of their runs.

Ergo, “Jackass.”

Disclaimer.

Now it’s not that we’re cheering for injuries, we’re cheering for brief pain. There’s a difference. It was sad when Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died on the track during a practice run. Despite my incredibly bad habit of trivializing death, that was not one of the “Jackass” moments I’m referring to. What happened to Kumaritashvili was a tragedy.

End disclaimer.

Why do we watch figure skating? In 1998, it was because I thought Michelle Kwan and Tara Lipinski were hot, even if I wouldn’t admit it as a fourth grader.

In 2010, if I’m watching figure skating, I’m rooting for the skater to be unable to land the triple axel or the guy to drop the gal after throwing her in the air. Admit it, we all root for ice skaters to fall. It’s nothing personal. It’s just the way it is.

What’s the best part of speed skating (other than Ohno and Stephen Colbert)? Seeing the domino effect when a competitor trips and smashes into the barrier.

The best part of ski jumping?

Ski falling.

The biathlon?

Well for this one, I really have nothing. It’s not like we’re rooting for someone to get shot—that’s what countless hours playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is for.

The best part of bobsledding is the Jamaicans, and they didn’t even qualify for Vancouver. Without a feel-good, Cinderella story and John Candy, why else should I watch the sport?

With the exception of the aforementioned events and people, it’s really hard to argue we have any other reason to watch this two-week, international athletics spotlight. There’s no basketball, no volleyball, no spectacle of someone becoming the fastest man or woman on Earth.

In reality, the Winter Olympics are here to entertain us like Jar Jar Binks or Ken Jeong. They have no real value, serving only as comic relief.

For the same reason a director knows without a doubt he’ll always get a laugh from the audience with a punch in the crotch, that’s why we watch the Winter Olympics. It's for pain, for hard falls, for America, and for an international tribute to Johnny Knoxville.

• Quick slalom run takes American from seventh to first
• Leader after downhill leg fails to press home advantage

A dazzling slalom run last night catapulted the United States' Bode Miller to victory in the super-combined skiing, a win which finally turned sporadic dominance into Olympic gold.

After lying seventh from the downhill run Miller skied one of the fastest slalom legs for a two-run combined time of 2min 44.92sec.

Miller has also won a silver and a bronze at the Vancouver Games – a sharp contrast from his medal-less performance in Turin four years ago, when he made more headlines for his late-night partying than his skiing.

Ivica Kostelic of Croatia took the silver medal, 0.33sec behind, and Silvan Zurbriggen of Switzerland won bronze, a further 0.07sec back.

The downhill leader Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway did not complete his slalom leg, ensuring the victory for Miller.

Miller was faster than Svindal on the upper section of the downhill run but acknowledged a series of mistakes on the lower part. Still, having begun his career as a slalom specialist, he was not counting himself out and charged all the way down in the second leg.

Miller increased his lead at both checkpoints in the slalom. He skied fluidly on the top, then started to get bounced up in the air as he tried to maintain his speed on the quicker gates in the lower section, dropping some speed before the finish but maintaining enough to beat Kostelic.

Miller gave a big smile on crossing the finish line and stuck out his tongue while the crowd roared in approval.

With his third medal Miller matched the retired Norwegian great Kjetil Andrea Aamodt for the most by a man in Alpine skiing at a recent Olympics.

Aamodt won two silvers and a bronze at the 1994 Lillehammer Games, while Jean-Claude Killy swept all three events at the 1968 Grenoble Games. Toni Sailer did the same at Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1956.

Maybe the hype was just four years too early.

American alpine skier Bode Miller, who infamously seemed more concerned with partying than winning medals in the 2006 Winter Games (he'd leave Turin without a single piece of hardware), has now won three medals in Vancouver, including his first ever gold.

Miller's gold came on Sunday, in Men's Super Combined, finally fulfilling the lofty expectations that had been placed on him after winning a pair of silvers in 2002. The win gives him three medals at the Vancouver Games, more than any other athlete thus far, including a bronze in Downhill and silver in Super-G.

Miller was in seventh place after the morning's downhill run, but then vaulted himself atop the medal stand with one of the fastest slalom runs. He beat Croatia's Ivica Kostelic by 0.33 seconds for the gold. Switzerland's Silvan Zurbriggen won the bronze.

Bode's total of five career Olympics medals is two more than any other U.S. skier.

Fellow American Ted Ligety, who won gold in Combined in 2006 in Turin, finished fifth on Sunday, 0.50 seconds out of medal contention.

With two more events still to go -- Giant Slalom and Slalom -- Bode has a legitimate chance to leave Vancouver with a total of five medals. After Turin, Bode said, he "got to party and socialize at an Olympic level." Now he looks like he has decided to ski at an Olympic level, too.

More: SB Nation’s full coverage of the Winter Olympics and the 2010 Winter Olympics Medal Count Tracker.

Bode Miller won his first Olympic Gold medal in the Men's Super Combined with a combined (slalom and downhill) time of 2:44.92.  Ivica Kostelic of Croatia won the Silver medal with a time of 2:45.25 and Silvan Zurbriggen of Switzerland  earned Bronze.

This win brings Bode's medal count in the Vanouver Olympics to three and his overall Olympic medal count to five.    With this medal, Bode ties the record for the most Alpine skiing medals won by a man at a single Winter Olympics and put him second on the overall Alpine skiing medal list.

In addition, Bode's Golde medal brings the U.S. Alpine Ski Alpine count to eight,  an Olympic record.

Also racing for the U.S., Ted Ligety was 5th and Andrew Weibrecht 11th.  Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal, winner of the Gold in the Super G did not finish.

Related: Alpine Ski Racing | Alpine Skiing Schedule | Olympic Skiing

_{Bode Miller Wins Gold in Super Combined Copyright Getty Images}

Bode Miller Wins Gold in Super Combined originally appeared on About.com Skiing on Sunday, February 21st, 2010 at 18:54:33.

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Lindsey Vonn wasn't the fastest down the mountain today, but she stayed on her skis and won her second medal of the Olympic Games.

Vonn skied to a gutsy bronze in Saturday's super-G, falling behind Austria's Andrea Fischbacher and Slovenia's Tina Maze.

Vonn, who has already clinched the 2010 World Cup super-G discipline title with two races remaining, raced from the 17th spot and cruised to more than a half-second advantage over the field.  She lost critical tenths on the bottom section, however, and Fischbacher held onto a more aggressive line two spots later for a .74-second lead.

"When I came down to the finish and saw No. 1 next to my name, I thought 'Hopefully, this is another gold medal,'" she said. "Obviously, that wasn't the case, but I did my best, and I'm definitely very, very proud of another Olympic medal."

Vonn, who won gold in the World Championship downhill and super-G a year ago, came into Vancouver with hopes for a medal and now has downhill gold and super-G bronze.
This was her third of five events on Whistler Mountain after she hooked a ski tip and crashed out of the slalom in yesterday's super-combined.

"I'm a double Olympic medalist, and that's a pretty cool thing to be able to say, she said. "I obviously would have loved to have a gold medal today, but Olympic medals are never very easy to come by."

Julia Mancuso, for a while, seemed poised to collect her third medal of these Games after storming out of the gate first for a lead that held through 12 skiers until Germany's Maria Reisch beat her out by .04 seconds.

"When I watched Maria's run and she beat me by four-hundredths, I was bummed. But she beat me by a second in the section I made my mistake."

Nonetheless, Mancuso owns the most medals ever by a U.S. woman after adding silvers in downhill and super combined to her giant slalom gold in Torino.

"I have nothing to lose," she said. "I'm really, really proud of my Olympic career so far—a gold and two silvers. I'm not going into the GS ranked the best, but I've been training well and skiing really well. And I'm excited to go in there and give my best."

Mancuso and Vonn will try to add to the U.S. Alpine Ski Team's medal count when they return to Franz's Run for the giant slalom on Wednesday, with the first run at 10 a.m. PT.

"I don't have any regrets on any of my races here," Vonn said. "I definitely gave it everything I had every day. Especially on super-G, it's difficult. If you look back, you can always find places where you could have made up time, but having only one inspection and no training runs, it's difficult to always know how aggressive you can ski and how the line is going to run and what the speed is going to be.

"Given the circumstances—a lot of girls had trouble today—and given everything, I think today was a really solid result."

Watch Alpine Skiing Men Super Combined Downhill liveWatch everybody here to see an exclusive the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Games live video Alpine Skiing Men Super Combined Downhill. …

The Boston Celtics (35-18) four-game road swing continued with a third consecutive victory on Friday, a 96-76 decision over the Portand Trailblazers.

Ray Allen paced the Green with 21 points, 11 coming in the fourth quarter as the home team tried to rally. "Ray is going to get traded tomorrow," Doc Rivers said. "We're going to keep saying it so he can keep playing well."

After escaping L.A. with an 87-86 win over the Lakers on Thursday, the Celtics started strong in Portand last night against the Trailblazers rolling to a 56-38 lead at the half. Kevin Garnett had 13 points and seven boards at the half. Rajon Rondo (8 points, 9 assists) ended the half with a nifty jumper. Rondo finished with 10 points and 11 assists. KG had 16 points.

The Celtics staggered to the All-Star break. A quick start, post break, might make them look like more legitimate contenders again. One question Bostonist has, though, is does swapping Eddie House for Nate Robinson really make them a better club?

The Red Sox pitching staff is assembled in Fort Myers with potential aces everywhere. Jon Lester refused to be labeled the ace. But, he talked about Josh Beckett like he is the ace. John Lackey was added to the mix this winter and sounds like he doesn't give a crap if you call him the ace or not. "Honestly, I expect a lot out of myself and...there's going to be some pressure, but I would have that on myself no matter where I was playing."

Vince Wilfork's contract status might be the top item on the minds of Pats fans. Of course, it is unsettled as Bill Belichick has told us nothing about the situation. He's unsigned and seems likely to be franchised. Adalius Thomas seems like he'll be elsewhere soon, which makes one wonder why he's not gone yet. Richard Seymour was shipped off to Oakland in September and is also a franchise-tag candidate. Ex-Pats receiver Deion Branch's name popped up in trade rumors this week.

This Bostonist loves the Olympics. Even curling. If you've watched any of the alpine skiing from Vancouver, you surely wondered about the blue lines on the downhill course. Initially, Bostonist thought it was just a prank pulled by the snowboarders. No. It's the latest method of trying to ensure safety on the treacherous downhill slopes.

As of Friday afternoon, Olympians from New England earned seven medals (two gold, two silver, three bronze) in the Winter Games. If New England competed as a separate Olympic team, that would be the fourth highest medal total behind the United States, Germany and Norway. Canada and France also have seven medals. New England's population is about 14,300,000. For reference, traditional Winter Olympics power Netherlands has about 16,500,000 people and four medals so far in Vancouver.

Kathryn Tappen's blog at NESN.com recently highlighted a great local charity event scheduled for Wednesday, March 3 at the Radisson Hotel in Boston. It's the Face Off for Ace fundraiser for the Ace Bailey Children’s Foundation, which supports hospitalized children and their families.

Ace Bailey played professionally for 11 seasons with five different teams, including the Boston Bruins, and the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association. Bailey died on September 11, 2001 on United Airlines Flight 175.

Wayne Gretzky will speak that night and will be joined by Don Cherry, Ray Bourque and Terry O’Reilly, among others, to support the charity. Visit www.acebailey.org for more information.

Ski Channel

Patrik Jaerbyn's Shocking, Brutal Crash in Men's Super G Zimbio (FRANCE OUT) Patrik Jaerbyn of Sweden crashes during the Alpine skiing Men's Downhill at Whistler Creekside during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics on ... Sweden's Jaerbyn airlifted to hospitalNinemsn Alpine skiing crash ends Swede's GamesTVNZ 40-year-old Swedish skier Patrik Jaerbyn sustains concussion after super-G crashABC News Post Chronicle -LALATE (blog) -Winnipeg Free Press all 127 news articles »

For greatest athletes on earth, flirting comes naturally: 100,000 condoms

In case link doesn't work.

By Mike Celizic
TODAYshow.com contributor
updated 1:11 p.m. ET, Thurs., Feb. 18, 2010

It may be the most exclusive neighborhood in the world. Money can’t buy a room there: The only currency accepted is supreme athletic talent.

It’s the Olympic Village, and its residents are the strongest, fastest, most competitive and most confident men and women in the world. Scattered among this population of athletic heroes are the greatest champions from across the globe, people who have won multiple Olympic medals and world titles and dominate their sports.

“You can’t believe there’s all these iconic champions from every sport you never thought you’d meet, and now you’re having lunch with them,” said Scott Hamilton, the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics men’s singles figure skating champion and a participant in the 1980 Lake Placid Games.
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100,000 condoms
The citizens of the village are young, remarkably healthy, and the definition of physically attractive. In such an environment, flirting is as natural as breathing.

“It’s eye candy all the time. Everybody’s checking everybody else out from moment they get there,” recalled Cammi Granato, captain of the powerful U.S. Ice Hockey Team that won gold in Nagano in 1998 and silver in 2002 in Salt Lake City.

Inevitably, some athletes get beyond flirting. That’s why the Vancouver organizers have laid in a stock of 100,000 condoms, which works out to 14 for each of the 7,000 athletes, coaches, trainers and officials housed in the Games’ two villages. (Apparently, skiing, skating and sliding aren’t the only activities at which Olympians excel.)


Slideshow
Image: XIIIth Winter Olympic Games, Lake Placid, NY
Winter Olympic villages
From Lillehammer to Salt Lake City, see which gorgeous snowy towns hosted the games in the last century.

more photos
The distribution of free condoms at the Olympics goes back at least to 1992 and Barcelona. In 2000, Sydney organizers thought that 70,000 would be enough. They were wrong and had to send out for 20,000 more. Beijing also ordered 100,000 condoms with an Olympic motto: Faster, higher, stronger.

Laugh if you will, but also give the International Olympic Committee credit for acting like a responsible parent: In addition to handing out condoms, they run HIV and AIDS information campaigns in the Olympic Village. And the U.S. Curling Association has gone a step further: In partnership with Kodiak Technology Group, they have introduced the Hurry Hard condom, named for a phrase curlers chant to get their teammates to sweep the ice faster. Proceeds from the prophylactics — which sport a happy cartoon curling stone on their label above the slogan “Be smart, stay safe” — are split between USA Curling and Monterey County AIDS prevention.

But few athletes reach for the condom supply while their events are going on. They’ve spent four years since the previous Olympics working, training and preparing for one shot at glory, and they’re not going to throw countless hours of hard work and sacrifice away for anything — even Norwegian cross-country champions and Chinese speedskaters.


Video
Take a tour inside the Olympic Village
Feb. 11: TODAY’s Meredith Vieira visits the place athletes from around the world will be calling home for the next few weeks.

Today show
The fact is, people with poor impulse control don’t make it to the Olympic Village. “Olympians are surprisingly mature, no matter what age. It’s required of you,” said legendary skier Picabo Street, who won gold in the super-G in Nagano and silver in the downhill in Lillehammer. “If you act like an idiot, you really stand out.”

Street’s strongest memory of her three Olympic villages — she also skied in the Salt Lake Olympics — is the incredible level of energy radiating from so many hypercompetitive people at the pinnacle of physical and mental conditioning.

“It’s hundreds of auras, which does lead to a huge movement of energy,” Street told TODAY. “It’s not normal, resting energy; it’s jacked-up, hyped-up, on-the-brink-of-my-dream-coming-true, got-to-get-it, got-to-do-it energy, and it’s there all the time.”

Kind of makes you hyperventilate just thinking about it.

Room and no boredom
With the athletes so cranked up, Olympic organizers make sure to provide plenty of activities to soak up their excess energy, from video games to concerts to computers with Internet access.

The Olympic Village in Vancouver includes a lounge, post office, café, stores, art galllery and a health clinic open 24 hours a day.
Vancouver has actually provided two villages — one for the skiing venues in the mountains outside of town, the other on the water in downtown Vancouver. Both will be sold as condos after the Games.

Individual teams are housed together in however many adjoining units they need. Athletes bunk two to a room, and bedrooms do not contain televisions.

Each venue has a separate lounge. In Vancouver the lounge is housed in a separate, 45,000-square-foot building, along with a post office, café, stores and an art gallery. Also available in the village are television lounges, game rooms with everything from Guitar Hero to pool and table tennis tables, training centers, and a 24-hour health clinic where athletes can get massages and other physical therapy.


Then there’s the food. It’s available 24 hours, and chefs attempt to satisfy as many international varieties of palate as possible. In Vancouver, that means different varieties of rice for Koreans, Japanese and Chinese cuisines. There are also McDonald’s at each village, and the food there, as in the cafeterias, is free.

Night life
There are no lights-out times or curfews in the Olympic Village, but coaches and team officials keep an eye on their charges, some more strictly than others. The Austrians, traditional kings of the Alpine events, are kept on a particularly tight leash, according to Street, while the Italians seem to take more joy out of each day.

Alcohol is not allowed in the village, nor are prying reporters or most other visitors.

Ever since 1972, when Palestinian Black September terrorists killed 11 Israeli athletes and coaches at the Munich Olympics, security in Olympic villages has been as tight as organizers can make it. Once inside, the residents are in a virtual cocoon, insulated from the world outside.

And once they finish their competitions after years of grueling work and constant self-denial, the Olympic Village residents are finally free to blow off some steam.

For many, that means going to town, hitting the bars and clubs, creeping back home in the wee hours and hooking up. The trick for partying athletes is doing it without bothering peers who still have to compete.

NBC figure skating analyst Sandra Bezic was a wide-eyed innocent of 15 when she skated in the pairs competition for Canada in 1972. She remains struck by the fact that even when they party, Olympic athletes are in control.

“Athletes who have trained so hard and respect their bodies so much, their letting loose is not even like normal teenager rebelling,” Bezic said.

Still, some go overboard. In 1998, for example, NHL hockey players participated in the Olympics for the first time. The American team did poorly in the tournament at first, whereupon some players, after a bit too much sake, tossed their furniture out the windows of their high-rise dorms. The team was sent home in disgrace when it was eliminated from competition.

That was the same year the U.S. Women’s team won its first Olympic gold medal. Granato said that U.S. hockey officials tried to confine the women to quarters, too, because of the sins of the men’s team. “We ignored that for the most part,” she said with a laugh. Gold medals demand celebrations.

Dress code
Out in the real world, few people would have the nerve to hang a gold medal around their neck and go out to a bar. But in the Olympic Village, gold medals are a perfectly acceptable fashion statement for any occasion. Athletes regularly wear them to the cafeteria, to the game lounge — and to bed.

“We slept with ours,” Granato said.

And even in a society of champions, the medals are like magnets. Win a gold and everybody wants to be your friend. Rumor has it that male winners, in particular, have their pick of females.


TODAY asked ’84 gold medalist Hamilton if that was true.

“Really?” he said in mock surprise. “Why didn’t anybody tell me?”

That’s the thing about life in the Village. You hear stories, but there are never names attached to them. It would break the code: As with Las Vegas, what happens in the Village, stays in the village.

So no one will go on the record when talking about certain female figure skaters — no home country was specified — who, as one former athlete put it, “really liked hockey players — and I use the plural. I think Sweden was a very grateful country for that.”

Alpine Skiing Women Super Combined Downhill liveWatch everybody here to see an exclusive the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Games live video Alpine Skiing Women Super Combined Downhill. Va …

Lindsey Vonn, Alpine skiing’s blonde pin-up, became the first American to win the women’s downhill at the winter Olympics. Vonn, cover girl on a US magazine swimsuit issue, overcame the pain of her bruised right shin which prevented her from wearing ski boots only a week ago — and the pressure of immense hype — to win by the widest margin in 16 years.

WHISTLER, British Columbia — Lindsey Vonn lived up to expectations and won the Olympic downhill Wednesday, and childhood rival and American teammate Julia Mancuso took a surprise silver medal.

In a race characterized by several crashes – including one to Swedish standout Anja Paerson – Vonn's bruised right shin proved not to be a hindrance as she sped down Franz's Downhill in 1 minute, 44.19 seconds.

Mancuso finished 0.56 seconds behind, and Elisabeth Goergl of Austria took the bronze medal, 1.46 seconds back.

Maria Riesch of Germany, Vonn's best friend and usual rival of late, finished eighth.

It's the third time two Americans have finished 1-2 in an Olympic Alpine race, and the first time in 26 years.

At the 1984 Sarajevo Games, brothers Phil and Steve Mahre took gold and silver in the slalom and Debbie Armstrong and Christin Cooper accomplished the feat in giant slalom.

Vonn was hurt Feb. 2 during pre-Olympic practice in Austria and had hardly skied over the past two weeks.

Still, as the two-time defending overall World Cup champion and the winner of five of the six downhills this season, she entered as an overwhelming favorite.

Mancuso won the giant slalom at the 2006 Turin Games but hadn't finished on the podium since the Olympic test downhill here two years ago. The Squaw Valley, Calif., skier has won only two World Cup downhills in her career, the last nearly three years ago.

Mancuso was an early starter and still led when Vonn skied.

Vonn, a Minnesota native who lives and trains in Vail, Colo., put on a skiing clinic for all the world to see.

Waiting in the starting gate with the sun reflecting orange off her goggles as she stared down the course, Vonn was a study in concentration. Kicking out of the start without regard to her bruised shin, she increased her lead at the first three checkpoints, kicking up a trail of smoky snow in her wake as if she were a race car, tucking at every opportunity.

Just when it seemed Vonn might go wide, she applied even more leg pressure, shifted her weight and maintained her line.

It wasn't all perfect, however, and Vonn lost nearly two tenths on the bottom, almost getting knocked off balance as she went over a small bump just before the finish.

It was more than enough for gold, however, and Vonn collapsed on her back in joy in the finish area. She then raised herself and placed both arms in the air in triumph.

A few moments later, Vonn's smile turned to a frown, as she watched with concern as Paerson lost control off the final jump, getting a huge amount of air and sliding through the finish headfirst.

More on Winter Olympics 2010

Click here to watch all sports of 2010 Winter Olympic Games live streaming online!Click here to watch 2010 Winter Olympics Live Stream Online!The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI O …

Even in the womb, my son Bode had an Olympic connection—we named him after Bode Miller as we watched the Torino Games.

Since that day, I have dreamed of getting Bode’s autograph or posing for a picture with him. My dream finally became tangible when serendipity (a.k.a. the USOC) handed me tickets to the men’s downhill where Bode was competing on Monday.

Our Whistler accommodations at Creekside Village are not only luxurious but they’re also conveniently located at the base of the downhill run. We were given the option to take the chairlift or hike up the mountain.

I’ll let you guess which option was more popular.

I’ve never attended a downhill event and was surprised to be almost outnumbered by Europeans in the stands. The Swiss, in particular, were in abundance, toting their oversized cowbells and reacting to every nuance on the mountain.

Loudly.

Bode was scheduled to ski eighth. You’d have thought I was his own mother for how nervous I was for him. He was the overall World Cup champion when he went to Italy in 2006 and he came up short in five Alpine events. This was his chance for redemption.

The great thing about attending the downhill is you don’t miss a thing. Cameras capture the skier’s every move at the top of the mountain and it is broadcast live on a Jumbotron. I decided I would film the big screen and move to the actual ski slope as he barreled across the finish line.

The first part of my plan went accordingly. The second did not. There was a minor glitch: When I moved my Flip Video camera over to film him directly, I couldn’t find him. I ended up capturing a really nice looking ski slope without anyone on it.

Evidently, I do not have a future in broadcast journalism.

It took Bode 54.40 seconds to achieve a measure of redemption for the Torino Games and win the bronze medal. He held a press conference later that afternoon and come hell or high water, I vowed to be there.

Or rather, come “dumb” and “dumber,” which was what happened to me.

I had spent the afternoon at the USA House getting interviewed by KOA radio and CNet about my Olympic experiences using the Office ’10 Beta. I was supposed to Skype in to Fox31/Channel 2 in Denver but my continued Internet connection problems plagued me and I was running behind because of it.

I arrived at the Whistler Media Center with 10 minutes to spare. It was my first visit there and I spent the next few minutes trying to find the press conference room. I finally asked someone for directions.

You know. Because I’m female and I am allowed to do that.

Turns out, the press conference was at the Whistler Media House, which was on the other side of the pedestrian village. With mere moments to spare, I did what I do best: I freaked out and then sprinted to the WMH.

In my Sanitas clogs.

Through throngs of people.

And yes, it was every bit as ugly as it sounds.

I arrived breathless, sweaty, and frazzled, but most importantly, on time. I kicked back and listened to my son’s namesake field press questions

Bode Miller has been vindicated by the media for his renegade attitude, particularly as it relates to commercialism at the Olympics. At the press conference, he was different than in Italy, penitent even, having finally achieved a sort of truce surrounding the inevitable pitfalls that come with this sport.

He blew off questions about his Olympic legacy, saying it could have been anyone’s day out there and he was 0.09 seconds behind the winner and 0.02 from second place. This margin between first and third is the smallest in Olympic history.

"I was really getting myself wound up and emotionally involved in what I was doing. It's part of why I came back and raced. I was amped up."

With this this bronze medal and the two silvers he won eight years ago in Salt Lake City, he is the most decorated American in Olympic skiing.

An impressive Olympic legacy, even if he claims he doesn’t care about having one.

My plan was to approach him following the press conference but I did not anticipate he would be rushed away to attend the medal ceremony. Dejectedly, I left the building.

As I was standing outside licking my wounds, I was approached by Kevin Neuendorf, Public Relations Manager for the USOC. Kevin has been integral in securing me event tickets and we had not yet met. He had recognized me from my blog.

The hair is always a dead giveaway.

We chatted about my Olympic experience thus far. At one point, I lamented I had missed my opportunity to meet Bode Miller. It got worse when he said, “That’s really too bad. If I’d known you were coming, I could have had you meet him backstage following the press conference.”

The moral of this story is two-fold:

There is more to the U.S. Olympic team than Lindsey Vonn.

 

Even as Vonn makes her much anticipated debut in the women’s downhill this afternoon, day six at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver should showcase the depth of the American team.

 

A day after failing to produce a medal and falling behind in the medal count for the first time at these games, the Americans could bounce back strongly today and crown more Olympic champions than they have in the first five days of the Olympics combined.

 

Vonn is favored to win gold in the downhill, which is considered to be the best of her five events that she will contest in Vancouver. Shaun White and Shani Davis, meanwhile, are favorites to defend their respective gold medals from four years ago in the men’s snowboard halfpipe and 1,000 meters speed skating.

 

After numerous delays at the alpine skiing venue, Vonn will finally take to the slopes today in search of her first medal in her third trip to the Olympics. While questions surround her about an injured right shin and how she will handle the pressure of the intense American media attention she has received in the lead up to Vancouver, Vonn’s stiffest challenges will come from a relatively unpredictable and unfamiliar course as well as a number of worthy rivals, mainly her close friend Maria Riesch of Germany.

 

The event promises to be close—in the men’s downhill less than a tenth of a second separated first from third—and anything can happen with just one run to determine the champion. Vonn, however, has won five of the last six downhill races on the World Cup circuit, so assuming her shin is healthy enough she has to be the pick for gold.

 

White and Davis are even better bets for gold.

 

In the snowboard halfpipe, White brings a degree of difficulty and a level of creativity to the sport that no other athlete in the competition can match. His record in big competitions is unprecedented and he won gold in Torino easily.

 

Riders do dangerous and high-flying tricks that create some measure of uncertainty in the competition. The gold medalist, however, will be determined by the best score of two runs in the final round, meaning White will have two opportunities to put all of his tricks together flawlessly. With a clean run it seems unlikely that anyone can match the scores White will receive from the judges.

 

Davis is clearly the class of the field in the 1,000 meters as defending Olympic champion, two-time world champion, and current world record holder at the distance. He will likely face tough competition from South Korea’s Lee Kyou-hyuk, who will look to add to the success his nation has already had at speed skating in these Olympics, and Canada’s Denny Morrison and Jeremy Wotherspoon, who will look to benefit from a home ice advantage.

 

By Winter Olympic standards, however, long track speed skating is predictable. With only limited potential for crashing out and no novel elements thrown at athletes from unfamiliar course layouts, the best man most often wins. All indications are that right now that is Davis.

 

White, Davis, and Vonn may not find themselves alone on the podium should they claim gold in their respective events. Scotty Lago and Louie Vito of the United States could make it an American sweep in the men’s halfpipe, while Chad Hedrick, the 10,000 meter gold medalist in Torino, and Julia Mancuso, the women’s giant slalom gold medalist in Torino, could add to their Olympic hardware behind Davis and Vonn, respectively.

 

The U.S. also has a few podium hopefuls in the day’s other four medal events.

 

While no American has a realistic chance for the top three in the men’s 1.4K sprint in cross country, American Kikkan Randall could earn the first U.S. medal in the women’s 1.2K sprint after winning silver at the last world championships.

 

In men’s doubles luge, the team of Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin face long odds against talented German and Austrian sleds. Grimmette, the U.S. flag bearer for the Opening Ceremony, however, has the type of Olympic experience and track record that cannot be discounted. He is competing in his fifth Olympics and medaled in the event in both Nagano in 1998 and Salt Lake City four years later.

 

In the women’s 500 meters in short track speed skating, Katherine Reutter, the three-time defending U.S. champion could reach the podium, though China’s Wang Meng is the heavy favorite. Given the unpredictability of the sport, Reutter’s teammate Alyson Dudek could also find herself in the mix if a few breaks go her way.

 

American star Apolo Anton Ohno will also be in action in short track in the qualifying rounds of the men’s 1,000 meters and 5,000 meters relay.

 

While Lindsey Vonn’s Vancouver debut is sure to steal the spotlight today, it is also a critical day for the entire U.S. team. If all goes relatively to plan, the Americans should have their most successful day in Vancouver yet and find themselves atop Germany in the overall medal count again.

Wet conditions, poor visibility, and mushy snow in Whistler, British Columbia, is playing right into the hands of US skier Lindsey Vonn.

The 25-year-old Vonn injured her lower leg in her first slalom training session last week when she jammed a ski tip causing her shin to impact the top of her ski boot.

After arriving in Vancouver, Vonn revealed that she might have to miss part or all of the Olympic Games as well as a number of training sessions.

She took pain killers and numbing cream on Thursday in anticipation of her first training run at Whistler, but the session was delayed and later postponed because of poor visibility on the slopes.

She was able to take part in the warmup and course inspection, but she never got the opportunity to test her ailing shin. A makeup training session was rescheduled for Friday, but that too was cancelled on account of a lack of visibility and wet conditions.

A third practice run today, Saturday, Feb. 13, was cut in order to prepare for the men's downhill race scheduled for this afternoon, but that was also called off because of constantly worsening weather.

What it all means for Vonn is that tomorrow's super-combined event (downhill and giant slalom) was postponed because the competitors haven't had sufficient time to train on the actual courses. As of Saturday afternoon, no makeup date had been set, although it is unlikely to go ahead until Tuesday at the earliest.

While Vonn was scheduled to contest all five alpine skiing events—and medal in at least three—she was never really favorite to win the super-combined gold that was initially planned to run tomorrow.

The downhill competition on Wednesday and the Super-G next Saturday are Vonn's preferred events, and with the extra rest that she is getting right now because of the delays and cancellations, she could actually be in good shape in her major disciplines at the middle and end of next week.

Will she be 100 percent? Probably not. But as her fiercest rivals know, a semi-healthy Vonn can still compete with the best in the world.

Sports bookmakers William Hill still have Vonn, injured shin and all, as the favorite to win both the downhill (6/4) and super-G (7/4) gold medal, and the odds of her taking a big medal haul will only grow with every day the events get pushed back and rescheduled.

The biggest loser in all of this is Vonn's best friend and closest rival Maria Riesch. With Vonn out of the picture, Riesch would be the heavy favorite to finish first in the downhill and to finish among the top two in the super-G. Vonn's participation also bumps Anja Paerson down one more place on the podium, although she is still expected to medal more than once in Vancouver.

While I think it is premature to call Vonn the favorite before she even tests out her shin, I do think her stock is already on the rise. Three or four days ago, there were doubts whether her Olympics was over even before it began.

Now she is once again in the discussion as the one to watch. Just the fact that she said she could "grin and bear" the pain is a strong sign that she will be ready to go whenever the races get underway.

Every passing day plays right into her hands, and as long as the competition gets delayed and rescheduled, Vonn will be rehabbing her leg and growing in strength and confidence.

No news is good news for the cover girl of U.S. skiing. For now, that's more than she could have wished for when she touched down in Vancouver just days ago.

Continuing rain and warm temperatures have forced officials to call off Saturday's scheduled men's downhill.

The announcement was made by the International Ski Federation and Vancouver organizers before dawn as soft, slushy conditions made the snow surface unsuitable for racing.

There was no immediate word on a reschedule date.

Among the American contingent getting the day off as a result of the cancellation is Bode Miller. He was expected to compete in all five alpine skiing events, although after a strong 2002 Olympics largely disappointed in Torino four years ago.

He will next be in action Sunday in a super-combined training run. His first chance of a medal will now come on Monday.

Elsewhere on the mountaintop, the U.S. snowboardcross team said the rain has not dampened their spirits.

"It's snowboarding," said five-time X Games gold medalist Nate Holland. "We work in this stuff all the time. Super cold, icy conditions...wet, rainy fog...it's all a part of it. I grew up in this stuff over in Idaho, so I'm pretty comfortable."

Two-time Olympian Graham Watanabe (Sun Valley, ID) said his only concern is getting one or two runs on the course on race day, in order to get a feel for the snow.

"It is pretty wet, so as it compacts, it's going to form ripples in the snow, especially in the turny sections," he said. "Being stable on the board is going to be more difficult than on a smooth course."

The men's alpine skiing downhill scheduled for Saturday has been postponed by at least two days due to heavy snow and rain at the site.

Whistler (AFP) - Austrian Michael Walchhofer topped the second training run for the men's Olympic alpine skiing downhill here on Thursday. More importantly for organisers, all but one of the 89 racers completed the run, meaning that Saturday's blue riband event can go ahead, one of the prerequisites being that all competitors must have skied the course at least once before the race itself ...

Andrew Weibrecht of United States competes in the men's alpine skiing downhill practice held at Whistler Creekside ahead of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics on February 10, 2010 in Whistler, Canada.

The XXI Winter Olympic Games are set to start Friday, February 12 in Vancouver for the 2010 games. This is the 21st installment of the winter games and the third time Canada has hosted the games overall and second time it has hosted the winter games.

While there will be a lot of coverage of the host country and how well the Canadians do on home soil. There is also a chance for Americans to have another good medal haul at the Winter Olympics.

The past two winter games the United States have had their best two medal counts in the Winter Games. In the Salt Lake games held on U.S. soil in Utah the U.S. won 36 medals and in Turin, Italy the U.S. won 25 medals.

Even with all the success the U.S. has had in the past two Winter Olympic Games, there are some events that Americans have had no or very little success in. So with the opening ceremonies upon us here is a look at the winter sports the U.S. look to end medal droughts in.

To break down these winter sports, here is the individual sport and the last gold medal won by a U.S. athlete plus the last medal overall. Also, we will look at the American athletes who will get a chance to break the medal droughts in these winter sports as well as the countries that are considered traditional powers that the U.S. athletes will have to beat to win a medal.

 

Nordic Combined

Last U.S. Gold Medal: None       Last U.S. medal overall: None

The Nordic Combined is one of two sports that American athletes have never medaled in at all. To compete in the Nordic Combined an athlete must be a good cross-country skier and ski jumper. This event is also a male only event.

There are three different events in the Nordic Combined, which are the Individual Large, and Individual Normal, Team. Only the Individual Large event has been at every Olympics while the Team event has been in the last seven and Individual Normal event makes its first appearances in these Olympics.

The U.S. Nordic Combined team is made up of five men. These men are Johnny Spillane, Bill Demong, Todd Lodwick, Brett Camerota, and Taylor Fletcher.

This U.S. team might be the best chance the United States has ever had at winning a medal in the Nordic Combined. The U.S. athlete with the best chance over all could be Lodwick, who came out of retirement in 2008, and won the World Championship in 2009.

For the U.S. to win a medal in the Nordic Combine they must fend off challenges by the traditional powers in this sport. Those traditional powers are Norway, Germany, Finland and Austria.

Norway has dominated this event by far winning the most gold medals with 11 and the most overall medals with 26 total medals. Finland is a distant second to Norway with four gold medals and 14 total medals.

 

Biathlon Men’s and Ladies’ Event

Last U.S. Men’s Gold Medal: None           Last U.S. Men’s Medal Overall: None

Last U.S. Ladies Gold Medal: None          Last U.S. Ladies Medal Overall: None 

The Biathlon is the other Winter Olympic event that no U.S. athlete has ever won. A biathlon is the term used for sporting events that consist of two disciplines.

In this case the two disciplines are cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. There are five events for both the men and women in the Olympics.

For the men there is the Men’s Individual (20km), Men’s Relay (4x7.5km). The next three events are intertwined starting with the Men’s Sprint (10km).

The top 60 finishers of the Sprint race qualify for the next event with is the Men’s Pursuit (12.5km). This event starts with the winner of the Sprint race followed by each of biathlon athletes at the same time interval they trailed the sprint winner.

The top 30 finishers of the Men’s Pursuit are qualified for the Men’s Mass Start (15km). This event has a single start for all the athletes.

In the Ladies’ Biathlon Events the distances are different but the events are the same. The Ladies’ Individual is (15km), Ladies’ Relay (4x6km), Ladies’ Sprint (7.5km), Ladies’ Pursuit (10km), and Ladies’ Mass Start (12.5).

The Men’s Biathlon is made up of five members. These members are Tim Burke, Jay Hakkinen, Jermey Teela, Lowell Bailey, and Wynn Roberts.

Of these five athletes Burke might have the best chance to end the medal drought in any of the five Biathlon events. In December of 2009, Burke became the first America Biathlon athlete to ever lead the overall Biathlon World Cup.

The Ladies’ Biathlon team is made up of four team members. These members are Haley Johnson, Sara Studebaker, Lanny Barnes, and Laura Spector.

None of the four Ladies Biathlon team members have had much success in any of the events. If the U.S. is going to get a medal from the Ladies’ Biathlon it might come from Spector the only woman to qualify for the U.S. based on her performance in the overall World Cup standings.

To win a medal in either the Men’s or Ladies’ Biathlon, U.S. athletes will have to find away to get past the teams from Germany, Norway, and Russia. These three countries have had a lot of success in this event.

Germany has had the most success in the Biathlon, winning 14 gold medal and 38 overall medals. Norway is second in the medal count overall behind the Germans with nine gold medals and 24 overall medals. If Russia counted the medals won by the U.S.S.R. it would lead the medal count with 16 gold medals and 36 overall medals.

 

Luge Men’s and Ladies’ Singles  

Last Men’s Single Luge Gold Medal: None    Last Men’s Single Luge Overall Medal: None

Last Ladies Single Luge Gold medal: None    Last Ladies Single Luge Overall Medal: None

The U.S. has won a Luge medal in the Doubles event four times and all four in two Olympic games. These games were in 1998 in Nagano, Japan and 2002 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

 All four of the medals won by American athletes in those two games were a silver and bronze. No U.S. athlete has ever won a gold medal in the Luge in any of the three events.

The Luge first made its Olympic appearance in the 1964 games in Innsbruck, Austria. This event has been in every Olympic game, since the games in Austria.

In the last 46 years the U.S. Men’s and Ladies’ single Luge teams have not been able to break through to reach the medals podium. It took the U.S. 34 years just to win a medal in this event.

The Men’s Single Luge team is made up of three members. Those members are Tony Benshoof, Bengt Walden, and Chris Mazdzer.

Benshoof is the U.S. best chance for a medal in the Men’s Single Luge event. While competing in the Turin games, Benshoof, finished fourth. This is the best finish ever for and American athlete in the Men’s Single Luge.

The Ladies’ Single Luge team is made up of three members as well. These members are Erin Hamlin, Julia Clukey and Megan Sweeney.

Hamlin has the best chance of the Ladies’ in the Single Luge Event. She finished 12th overall in the Single Luge in Turin four years ago.

If the Americans want to medal in any Luge event they will have to find away to bump the Germans off the podium. In the Olympic history of the Luge event it has been owned by the German Team.

No matter what flag the Germans have competed under they have dominated this event. Overall under every flag Germany has won 25 gold medals and 65 medals overall.

 

Men’s Two Man Bobsleigh

Last U.S. Men’s Two Man’s Bobsleigh Gold Medal: 1936    

Last U.S. Men’s Two Man’s Bobsleigh Overall Medal: 1952

While the U.S. men have not won a Gold Medal in the Four Man Bobsleigh Event since 1948, the American Men have medaled since then. In the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City the U.S. Four Man Bobsleigh team won a silver and bronze medal.

It has been 62 years since the U.S. last won gold in Four Man Bobsleigh it has been even longer since they won a gold in the Two Man Bobsleigh. The U.S. men have not won a gold medal in the Two Man Bobsleigh in 74 years and no medal overall in 58 years.

The U.S. has qualified three sleds in the Two Man Bobsleigh. Most of the American Two Man Bobsleigh team will also compete in Four Man Bobsleigh team as well.

To find a place on the medal podium the U.S. Men Bobsleigheder’s will have to find away to get past Switzerland and Germany. The good news is that the U.S. is third in overall medals in the Bobsleigh events with 18 overall. Those 18 medals are also with the Women’s two Ladies Bobsleigh team medals as well.

Switzerland is the best country in this event as far as medals go. The Swiss have won nine gold medals and 30 medals overall.

The Germans are also strong in this event under any flag as well. Germany has won 15 gold medals and 37 medals overall under different flags.

 

Men’s Ski Jump: three events (Large Hill Individual, Normal Hill Individual and Large Hill Team

Last U.S. Ski Jump Large Hill Individual gold medal: None   

Last U.S. Ski Jump Large Hill Individual overall medal: 1924

Last U.S. Ski Jump Normal Hill Individual gold medal: None

Last U.S. Ski Jump Normal Hill Individual medal overall: None

Last U.S. Ski Jump Large Hill Team gold Medal: None

Last U.S. Ski Jump Large Hill Team overall medal: None 

The U.S. has not had very much success in these three events. Only one medal in these three events and the last medal came 86 years ago.

The Large Hill Individual is one of ten sports that have been in every Winter Olympic Games. All the U.S. has to show for it is one bronze medal won in 1924 by Anders Haugen.

Vancouver could chance that for the U.S. with a strong three man team. This team is made up of Nick Alexander, Peter Frenette and Anders Johnson.

Alexander won first place in the U.S.  Men’s Ski Jump Championship in 2009. Frenette is a dark horse who has not competed in the Ski Jump World Cup.

Johnson is a returning Olympian who finished in the top 50 in all three events in Turin in 2006 and his best finish was a 14th place in the Large Hill, Team. This team could steal a medal if they make strong jumps and get some breaks from the best ski jump countries.

For the Americans to get in the medal race they will have to find away to beat three strong countries in the ski jump events. Those countries are Finland, Norway and Austria.

The Fins have won 10 gold medals and 22 medals overall. Norway has won nine gold medals and 28 medals overall.

Austria has won five gold medals and 20 medals overall. These three countries are the only ones to win double digits in medals in this event.

 

Men’s and Ladies’ Cross Country Skiing  (events: individual, team, speed and relay)

There are 16 Men’s and Ladies’ Cross Country Skiing Events combined. The U.S. has only managed one medal in Cross Country Skiing. 

Last gold medal in any Cross Country Skiing Event: None

Last overall medal in any Cross Country Event: 1976

Cross Country Skiing is another Winter Olympic event that the U.S. has struggled in. The last time an American won a medal in Cross Country Skiing of any time was 1976.

The U.S. has men’s and Ladies’ Cross Country Ski team. There are six members of the men’s team and five members of the ladies team.

Winning a medal in this event will be a long shot for the U.S. in these games. There are five countries who have won double digit medals in this event.

If the U.S. is going to get any medals they will have to find away to beat Finland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and Italy. These five countries dominate the Cross Country Skiing Events.

The U.S. has one medal which was a silver medal and won by Bill Koch in the Men’s 30 km. This event was changed in 2006 to a 30 km double pursuit.

 

Other Winter Olympic Events That the U.S. Is In A Medal Drought: 

Pairs Figure Skating:

Last Gold Medal: Never             Last overall medal: 1988   

 

Men’s Alpine Skiing:

Men’s Downhill last gold medal: 1994     Men’s Downhill last overall medal: 1994

Men’s Slalom last gold Medal: 1984        Men’s Slalom last overall medal: 1984

Men’s Super G last gold medal: None     Men’s Super G last overall medal: 1994

 

Ladies’ Alpine Skiing:

Ladies’ Downhill last gold medal: none    Ladies’ Downhill last overall medal: 1994

Ladies Slalom last gold medal: 1972         Ladies’ Slalom last overall medal: 1972

Ladies Super G last gold medal: 1998      Ladies Super G last overall medal: 1998

Ladies Combined last gold medal: none   Ladies Combined last overall medal: 1948

 

Ladies’ Speed Skating:

Ladies’ 500 meters last gold medal: 1994   Ladies’ 500 meters last overall medal: 1994

Ladies’ 3000 meters last gold medal: none   Ladies’ 3000 meters last overall medal: 1980

Ladies’ 5000 meters last gold medal: none   Ladies’ 5000 meters last overall medal: none

 

Ladies’ Short Track Speed Skating:

Ladies’ 500 meters last gold medal: 1994     Ladies’ 500 meters last overall medal: 1994

Ladies’ 1000 meters last gold medal: none   Ladies’ 1000 meters last overall medal: none

Ladies 1500 meters last gold medal: none    Ladies’ 1500 meters last overall medal: none

Ladies’ 3000 meter relay last gold medal: none  

Ladies 3000 meters relay last overall medal: 1994 

Let the Games begin! Hundreds of athletes from more than 80 countries have descended on Vancouver, British Columbia, for the 2010 Winter Olympics. As we zoom into the Opening Ceremony (airing tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC), here are the headlines setting this gold rush apart.

Where's the snow?

As Murphy's Law would have it, Vancouver has experienced its warmest January on record. Earlier this week, some worried the lack of white stuff would endanger all the snow events. At Cypress Mountain, home to the snowboarding and freestyle skiing races, helicopters and trucks have been hauling and dumping snow around the clock. And Olympic organizers have been forced to reduce some athletes' practice times. However, at a news conference Monday, Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, did his best to put worried athletes at ease. "There is no concern," he said. "And there is no Plan B." Now, that's confidence!

Lindsey Vonn, world's best female skier, is injured.

Vonn's huge potential to win Olympic medals for the U.S. -- she's favored to pick up five -- has drawn comparisons to Michael Phelps (and she's received nearly as much media attention, including sexy Sports Illustrated photos.) So Vonn was already the talk of the games when she announced on Wednesday that she'd injured her right shin in training. "This is definitely one of the most painful injuries I've ever had," she said, adding that it was "possible" that she wouldn't be able to compete. But as of yesterday, she was feeling good enough to ski, and she's benefited from some delays in the training schedule (due to poor snow conditions). Still, Vonn's shin is a major media focus as we head into the Games.

Bode Miller gears up for a comeback.

You remember this guy: Coming into 2006's Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, Miller was ski racing's reigning world champ. Favored to win five medals for the U.S., he was a rock star on the slopes and on numerous magazine covers. Only problem? Miller didn't win a thing. Even worse, throughout the Olympics, he was seen partying at clubs late into the night. And with the press, he seemed oddly indifferent about winning. Four years later, he's back to redeem himself, planning to race in all five Alpine skiing events. Will he pull it off? His first opportunity is in this Saturday's Men's Downhill Alpine Skiing competition. If Miller wins, he could be back on top.

Speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno is poised to become the most-medaled U.S. Winter Olympian.

The goateed, 27-year-old Seattle native already has five medals from the last two Olympics. Two more, and he'll break speed skater Bonnie Blair's record of six Olympic medals. Tomorrow he gets his first chance during the men's 1500 meter race.

And the final torch bearer is...

Canadians are still wondering who's going to light the Olympic torch in tonight's Opening Ceremony. The job is considered a high honor, and it will go to someone quintessentially Canadian. Since Wayne Gretzky is the country's most celebrated sports star, many are putting their money on him. But others speculate that, since the cultural history of native, aboriginal Canadians will be highlighted throughout the evening, the honor will go to a native Canadian. 

For a schedule of all Olympic snow events, click here.

To find out your local Olympic TV schedule, visit NBC's Winter Olympics site.

Which Olympic event are you planning to watch this weekend?

Emily Azevedo

Emily Azevedo

Event: Bobsled.

Age: 26.

Local connection: She's from Chico and graduated from UC Davis in 2005.

Story line: A hurdler at UC Davis, Azevedo turned to bobsledding after watching the 2006 Olympics. She won a national title last year with driver Bree Schaaf. The pair finished 10th at the 2009 World Championships. Azevedo and Schaaf placed sixth in a World Cup race last season held on the Olympic track in Whistler.

Medal prospects: Unlikely. But not out of the question.

When competing: Feb. 23-24.

Shannon Bahrke

Event: Freestyle skiing.

Age: 29.

Local connection: Grew up in Tahoe City.

Story line: The 2002 Olympic silver medalist in moguls placed 10th in the 2006 Games before suffering a knee injury in 2007. She showed she's still a contender with a sixth-place moguls finish in the 2009 World Championships, a victory at the U.S. national championships and three consecutive top-five World Cup finishes in the past month. Her brother, Scott, is a promising aerialist.

Medal prospects: Solid. Her experience should help.

When competing: Feb. 13.

Stacey Cook

Event: Alpine skiing.

Age: 25.

Local connection: Born in Truckee.

Story line: The 2006 U.S. super giant slalom champion finished 19th in the downhill and 23rd in the giant slalom in the 2006 Olympics. Finishing 13th and ninth in two difficult downhill races in Austria last month secured her spot on the Olympic team.

Medal prospects: Remote. But she's gathering speed.

When competing: Feb. 17.

Elena Hight

Event: Halfpipe (snowboard).

Age: 20.

Local connection: From South Lake Tahoe.

Story line: Hight first stepped onto a snowboard when she was 6 and developed into one of the world's top talents, as evidenced by a sixth-place finish in the 2006 Olympic halfpipe. Finishing second at Mammoth Mountain last month suggested she might be at peak form.

Medal prospects: Slim. She has a good combination of youthful promise and experience but a lot of talent ahead of her.

When competing: Feb. 18.

Nate Holland

Event: Snowboardcross.

Age: 31.

Local connection: Lives in Squaw Valley.

Story line: The Idaho native has won five consecutive Winter X Games gold medals. He finished 14th at the 2006 Olympics, third at the 2007 World Championships and 13th at the 2009 World Championships. He has also posted four top-10 finishes on this season's World Cup circuit.

Medal prospects: Modest. His best performance puts him in medal contention.

When competing: Feb. 15.

Errol Kerr

Event: Ski cross.

Age: 23.

Local connection: Lives in Truckee.

Story line: Kerr, who lives with his mother, Catherine, will compete for Jamaica to honor his late father, who is from there. Kerr is still raising money to make the trip to Vancouver. The faster he skis in this new Olympic sport, the more comparisons he'll get to the 1988 Jamaican bobsled team depicted in the movie "Cool Runnings."

Medal prospects: Fair. Momentum might be on his side.

When competing: Feb. 21.

Julia Mancuso

Event: Alpine skiing.

Age: 25.

Local connection: Grew up in Olympic Valley.

Story line: She became a golden girl with her giant slalom victory in the 2006 Turin Games. Since then, she's fought through injuries, started a clothing line and struggled to get back to peak form. Under pressure, though, she thrives.

Medal prospects: Fair. She's rounding into form, so don't count her out.

When competing: Feb. 14, 17, 20, 24, 26.

Darron Rahlves

Event: Ski cross.

Age: 36.

Local connection: Rahlves moved to the Lake Tahoe area when he was 12, lives in Truckee.

Story line: The downhill specialist retired from Alpine skiing in 2006 after a career that included 12 World Cup victories, seven national titles and three World Championship medals. But he never won an Olympic one. His speed helps in ski cross. Rahlves dislocated a hip at the Winter X Games but is expected to compete in the Olympics.

Medal prospects: Solid. He looms as a potential breakthrough in his new sport.

When competing: Feb. 21.

Marco Sullivan

Event: Alpine skiing.

Age: 29.

Local connection: Truckee native lives in Squaw Valley.

Story line: The former North Tahoe High School football captain finished ninth in the 2002 Olympics in the downhill. He placed 25th in the 2009 World Championships in the downhill. He posted two top-five downhill and two top-five super-G performances on the World Cup circuit in 2009. He also won the U.S. downhill title last year.

Medal prospects: Remote. But his experience will come in handy.

When competing: Feb. 13, 16, 19.

Shannon Bahrke

Stacey Cook

Elena Hight

Nate Holland

Errol Kerr

Julia Mancuso

Darron Rahlves

Marco Sullivan

Julia Mancuso. Images courtesy of Nike. American Lindsey Vonn, 25, who is pegged to medal in all five downhill-skiing events at the Vancouver Olympics, seems to have stolen the spotlight leading up to the 2010 Winter Games. But let’s remember that Vonn’s teammate Julia Mancuso, 25, is the only female American alpine skier with an Olympic medal under her belt: Mancuso won the gold in the giant slalom at the Torino Olympics, in 2006. When she took the podium, she was wearing a tiara. Her coaches, who call her “Princess,” had given her the plastic crown as a good-luck charm. The original crown may or may not make an appearance at the Winter Games this month (“I might just bust out the old tiara and have some fun with it,” she says), but leading up to the competition, Mancuso has been living like a princess—well, sort of. She’s been traveling the World Cup circuit in a palatial R.V. “To say that it’s an R.V. is an understatement,” she says. “Many people may remember having seen my sister and I in my R.V. in 2006 at the Torino Olympics. That was an R.V.: a little cramped, cold, messy, but a ton of fun. I have since upgraded to something that resembles more of a tour bus, equipped with TVs, Nintendo Wii, kitchen, dining area, bathroom—although I don’t use the shower in the bus, the hotel showers are still better—my own “master bedroom”, bunks in which friends can crash, and—oh yeah!—an espresso machine. All in all it has four doors and therefore five rooms, including two bathrooms.”

In St. Moritz, Switzerland on Sunday, Lindsey Vonn won her third consecutive Audi FIS Alpine World Cup super G race. This is the last race before the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and the win makes Vonn unbeatable for the World Cup Super G event title.

It wasn't a good day on the finish list for the U.S. men in Sunday's World Cup slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, as no Americans made the final posting. However,  Ted Ligety, while being disqualified for a gate straddle was pushing the leaders' time on his second run.

Had he not miscued Ligety probably would have finished in the top five. So even though he was off the board for the race, it was, in fact, a real confidence builder - showing Ted can hang right in there with the European slalom specialists. Good news for the U.S. Team as they head into the break before the Olympic events.

Don't think the team is going to be just sitting around until the Olympics, as all the teams have training camps to mixup with a little down time.

I'll be bringing you all the U.S. Ski Team News and Announcements. I'll also be surfing up all the good stuff on the other Olympic competitors and bringing you the news right here.

For example, did you know - the current men's World Cup Downhill leader and 2009 Giant Slalom champion, Didier Cuche broke his right thumb in a crash in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, on Friday.  He is wearing a cast but says he will be ready to race in Vancouver - if the Swiss team gives him the O.K.

 Also, Daron Rahlves took a nasty tumble in a quarter-final Winter X Games race Sunday and had to be transported to the hospital, where he was treated and released. Stayed tuned for updates.

Related: Alpine Competition Overview | 2010 Olympic Alpine Schedule |  Join the U.S. Ski Team Fan Club

_{Photo Lindsey Vonn on St Moritz Super G podium Copyright Getty Images}

Vonn Clinches 2010 World Cup Super G Title originally appeared on About.com Skiing on Monday, February 1st, 2010 at 01:00:10.

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The 2010 Winter Olympics from Vancouver are just two weeks away.

Shaun White and Team USA will look to continue their dominance on the half pipe; Lindsey Jacobellis will look to make amends for a showboating error that cost her a gold medal in Torino; and Lindsey Vonn will look to stand atop the alpine skiing world at the third time of asking.

America will likely move into second on the all-time list of medal winners in 2010, moving ahead of the Soviet Union and looking to close the gap on runaway leaders Norway. Team USA brought home 25 medals from Torino four years ago, their best ever haul on international soil, and a strong run north of the border could help them add to the 78 gold metals captured over the years.

In part one of my two-part look at America’s chances in Vancouver, here are the movers are shakers, the contenders and the pretenders, for the seven snow sports of the 2010 Games.

 

Alpine Skiing

The Basics

There are five different events in the alpine skiing program, each of which will be contested by the men and women.

The downhill and super-G events are known as the speed events, and medals are awarded purely on a “quickest down the mountain” basis. In the more technical giant slalom and slalom events, athletes make two runs and racers’ times are combined. In the super-combined event, changed slightly for this year’s Games, skiers make one downhill run and one slalom run, with medals awarded to the racers with the fastest combined times.

American Hopes

20 of the 49 athletes racing down the newly-designed Whistler Creekside courses next month will be representing Team USA.

Austria has historically been the dominant force in alpine skiing, having won twice as many medals than every other nation (101) other than Switzerland. But all eyes will be on Lindsey Vonn, who had a headline crash in Torino four years ago, as she looks to quench her thirst for an Olympic medal at the third time of asking.

Vonn is currently ranked No. 1 in the 2009-10 FIS Alpine World Cup standings. She won the women’s downhill event at Lake Louise in Canada and the super combined race at Val d’Iserein France in December, and she followed it up with downhill and super-G victories in Haus im Ennstal in Austria and at Italy’s Cortina d Ampezzo at the start of 2010.

25-year-old Vonn, an Olympian in 2002 and 2006, is still searching for her first Olympic medal, despite winning the World Championship twice. She has dominated in all five World Cup downhill races this season, and she’ll be looking to cap February off in style in Vancouver.

Leanne Smith from North Conway, N.H. is probably America’s next best hope of an alpine skiing medal, while Bode Miller on the men’s side will be looking to put a disappointing 2006 Games in Torino behind him and build on the two silver medals he captured eight years ago in Salt Lake City.

Competition

German Maria Riesch, ranked second overall in the World Cup standings, is a close personal friend of Vonn as well as the American’s biggest challenger in the downhill and slalom speed events. Defending World Champion Kathrin Zettel of Austria is accomplished in both slalom and giant slalom, and Sweden’s Anja Parson, a five-time medallist, can never be discounted.

Janica Kostelic, who defended her combined title and won a super-G silver medal in Torino will not be competing in Vancouver.

Chances of a Gold in Vancouver: 80 percent

 

Biathlon

The Basics

The biathlon combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting. There are five events scheduled for the 2010 Winter Olympics: individual, sprint, pursuit, mass start, and relay, where the format is the same for the men’s and women’s competition with only the distances varying.

American Hopes

Team USA has never won a medal in the biathlon—one of only two droughts for the red, white, and blue in the Winter Olympics—but a trio of New Yorkers are hoping to change all that in Vancouver.

Returning Olympian Tim Burke, Lowell Bailey, and Haley Johnson represent America’s best chances in the two-pronged event. Burke finished second in the 20km individual race in Ostersund in Sweden at the end of 2009, and he became the first American to lead the World Cup standings when he wore the yellow bid earlier this month.

Without the pressure of the eyes of a nation, Burke and co. might have a legitimate shot at picking up a medal in one of the four men’s events (10km sprint, 12.5km pursuit, 20km individual, and 15km mass start) north of the border.

Competition

Norway’s duo of Ole Einar Bjorndalen and Emil Hegle Svendsen make a gold medal unlikely for Burke, but if he shoots well, there’s every chance of him being in the mix.

The women unfortunately are less likely to break their 18-year biathlon famine—although Johnson had a top-30 finish in a World Cup event last month—and a team medal in either the men’s or women’s relay is out of the question because of the strength of nations like Russia, Austria, Sweden, Germany, and Norway.

Chances of a Gold in Vancouver: 15 percent

 

Cross-Country Skiing

The Basics

Cross-country skiing involves athletes skiing over different terrains in two different styles. There is the “classical” style where athletes glide across a prepared track that has parallel grooves cut into the snow, and there is “freestyle”which is move like ice skating where skiers transfer their weight over a smoothed course.

There are 12 events in Vancouver, six for the men and six for the women. The events, which specify whether you must ski in the freestyle or classical style, are the same for both men and women, but the distances vary.

American Hopes

America will send 10 athletes to Vancouver—eight who were allocated a roster spot and two more by quota re-allocation.

Kris Freeman is America’s best hope in the men’s competition, while Kikkan Randall will lead the charge for the women.

Freeman, from Andover, N.H., is the top distance racer in the country and he’ll be hoping for a medal when he takes his poles for the third time on the Olympic stage. He is a five-time World Champion, and he will have his best chances of a medal in the 15km freestyle or the 50km classical race.

For the women, Kikkan Randall is the USA’s best hope. She’s in the top 40 in the World Cup sprint standings, and she has been on the podium twice in 51 World Cup starts, most notably her second-place finish in Liberec last year.

She also finished an impressive ninth in the sprint event in Torino in 2006 after coming 44th in Salt Lake City in 2002.

Competition

Petter Northug is one of Freeman’s biggest rivals at the games. The Norweigien 24-year-old, who won three gold medals in last year’s World Championships, is arguably the favourite in four individual events in Vancouver. He’s the current Tour leader and world No. 1, and everything points to more success at Whistler.

In the 15km race, don’t discount Italian Pietro Piller Cottrer. He is a strong distance skier and was part of the Italian team which took gold in the relay in Torino four years ago.

Andrus Veerpalu from Estonia is one of the ones to watch in the 50kn event. The veteran, who turns 39 next week, will be competing in his sixth Olympic Games, and he’ll be favored to come away with a medal of some color after winning gold at the 15km distance twice before.

Randall will have to overcome the likes of Charlotte Kalla, Petra Madjic, and Justyna Kowalczyk if she wants to reach the podium in Vancouver.

22-year-old Kalla is widely touted as Sweden’s best hopes of a cross country champion in more than four decades, while Slovakian Majdic is a two-time defending spring champion at the World Cup. She came runner-up in the overall standings last winter.

Majdic lost out to Kowalczyk in the World Cup, the woman who also won Poland’s first ever Olympic medal in cross-country skiing in Torino in 2006. She won a pair of gold medals at the Worlds, so she will head to Whistler Olympic Park as a firm favourite.

Chances of a Gold in Vancouver: 20 percent

 

Freestyle Skiing

The Basics

There are three different events in the 2010 Olympic program: Moguls, aerials, and ski cross. Men and women compete in all three.

The mogul event will see skiers racing down a hill over a course of large bumps, making sharp turns while keeping their knees bend. There are also two ramps which send the skier into the air where they are expected to perform flips and twists. Skiers are judged on speed and style.

The aerial competition is one of the most exciting events on the Winter Olympics schedule. Skiers fly down a slope and over a concave ramp, propelling them up to 50ft into the air to give them enough time to perform multiple flips and twists before landing the other side. Get ready to hear a lot about the lay-full-full, lay-tuck-full, and double-full-full-full. Tune in to this—you’ll be glad you did.

The ski cross is a new event for 2010 and pits four racers against each other in a first-to-the-line battle over jumps and turns.

American Hopes

Team USA will go into the Olympics feeling confident. Four of the team’s women swept the top four spots at Lake Placid in upstate New York last week, and Jeret Peterson—a two-time Olympian and seven time World Champion—says he is looking to push the envelope with his trademark three-flip, five-twist jump.

Hannah Kearney will spearhead a strong mogul team in her second Olympic Games. She failed to live up to expectations in 2006 despite entering the games as the World Champion, but a strong showing on Whiteface Mountain has her name being thrown out once again as a possible medallist.

She has the speed and air assault to dominate the mogul, and it’s likely that the US will have a great start to the competition when Kearney takes to the mountain on Day One of the competition. Shannon Bahrke, Michelle Roark, and Heather McPhie could also challenge for spots in the top 10.

Also watch out for Emily Cook in the aerial event. She came in fourth in the 2009 World Championships and will be competing in her second Olympic Games. She is a strong medal contender, even if she is unlikely to strike gold.

Jeret Peterson, who has never placed better than seventh in his previous two trips to the Games, may represent the best chance for the men in the aerial competition. Talk will center around him landing “The Hurricane” his signature quintuple spinning triple flip. If the conditions are right and he pulls it off, his daredevil approach to his sport may just be worth it.

Competition

If the Americans hope to win a medal in the men’s aerial, a feat they failed for the first time in Torino four years ago, they may have to withstand the barrage of Canadian trio Steve Omischl, Kyle Nissen, and Ryan Blais.

Omischl has stood on the World Championship podium four times, including the last three years on the very top step. Nissen finished fifth at the 2006 Olympics and fourth in the 2009 World Cup aerials, and Blais rebounded from injury in 2007 to finish seventh in 2008.

Chances of a Gold in Vancouver: 60 percent

 

Nordic Combined

The Basics

This event combines cross-country skiing and ski jumping—two events in one day. It is a male-only event and features three events: two individual events distinguished by the size of the hill, and a team competition.

American Hopes

Bill Demong and Todd Lodwick will be flying the flag for Team USA. They have competed in nine Olympic Games between them and both have won the World Championships.

Demong won the bronze medal in last year’s World Cup, and he is excellent on the large hill; Lodwick took the gold in the 2009 normal hill competition.

Many fans of the sport will know Demong for one of two reasons: as the 22-year-old star forced to miss a year of action after fracturing his skull in 2002, or as the member of the American team that lost his bib in the 2009 World championships, and thus getting disqualified. He’s looking to set the record straight in February and be remembered for all the right reasons.

Johnny Spillane adds depth to the American roster for the team competition, and pundits are saying this is probably the best chance the country has ever had for its first Nordic combined medal.

Individually or as a team, the US really does have more than a punchers’ chance.

Competition

France’s Jason Lamy Chappuis is the skier in form heading to Canada. He won his fifth World Cup event of the season last weekend and currently holds a 38-lead over Felix Gottland at the top of the international standings.

34-year-old Gottwald came out of retirement last May, adding an extra threat to the Americans’ chances. He has won two gold medals, a silver medal, and three bronze medals in four Olympics, and he gives the Austrian team a dangerous combination of skill and experience.

Meanwhile, Finland’s Anssi Koivuranta, the defending World Cup champion, is as good as anybody on his day, and Notway’s Magnus Moan will likely be in contention in both the normal and large hill events.

Chances of a Gold in Vancouver: 75 percent

 

Ski Jumping

The Basics

There are three events in Vancouver in the ski jumping class: two individual events and a team event. As with the Nordic combined event, it is contested by the men only.

The individual events are separated into two categories: the normal hill and the large hill. Athletes are awarded points based on the length of their jump and their style, both in-flight and on the landing. The team event is also held on the large hill, where the scores of four members are combined to produce a grand total.

American Hopes

The US is sending three athletes to Vancouver to compete in the ski jumping events: Nick Alexander, teenager Peter Frenette, and Anders Johnson.

The bad news is that none of them will seriously contend for a medal.

Johnson, who became the youngest American representative on the Olympic ski jumping team when he competed as a 16-year-old in 2006, will look to improve on his 40th position in Torino, but it is doubtful whether he will even be in serious contention for a top-30 finish.

Johnson finished just inside the top 50 at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Liberec in 2009, and he has never finished better than 29th in a World Cup meeting. An ACL injury slowed down his Olympic preparations last year, but he insists he is fit and ready to go. Even a healthy Johnson is no match for more than two dozen other jumpers.

Competition

With Team USA unlikely to feature at the business end of any of the competitions, there are scores of ski jumpers you could expect to finish ahead of the American trio.

Gregor Schlierenzauer, a winner of a record 13 World Cup events in 2009, is definitely one to watch in Vancouver, as are fellow Austrians Thomas Morgenstern (large hill) and Wolfgang Loitzl (normal hill). Expect the Austrian team to win gold or silver in the team event and have at least one jumper on the podium in each of the individual competitions.

Swiss Harry Potter look-alike Simon Ammann, who burst onto the scene with individual victories in the normal and large hill eight years ago, can also be counted on for an impressive Olympics, and Finnish nine-time world champion Janne Ahonen could add some serious European spice to an already-bursting top five.

Chances of a Gold in Vancouver: Two percent

 

Snowboarding

The Basics

There are six events on the Vancouver snowboarding program, three for the men and three for the women. They are the halfpipe, parallel giant slalom, and snowboard cross.

American Hopes

America took home seven of the 18 snowboarding medals at the 2006 Olympics, including three golds.

Shaun White and Danny Kass went one-two in the halfpipe for the men, while Hannah Teter and Gretchen Bleiler replicated the feat in the women’s event. Seth Wescott took gold in the snowboard cross, while Team USA also took silver in the women’s cross (Lindsey Jacobellis) and bronze in the parallel giant slalom (Rosey Fletcher).

Jacobellis is once again one of the main gold medal contenders in Vancouver. Few will forget the crash that cost her gold four years ago when, with a big lead and the finish line in sight, Jacobellis mis-timed the landing on a showboat trick and hit the ground, allowing Switzerland’s Tanya Frieden to win gold.

Shaun White will also head into the Games as one of the favorites for a gold medal. One of Team USA’s more high-profile athletes, White will look to defend his Olympic championship with a lot of confidence.

He dominated the field at the US Snowboarding Grand Prix last week, finishing one point off a perfect score after nailing his “Double McTwist,” a jump including one-and-a-half horizontal flips packed inside two vertical flips.

On the women’s side, Kelly Clark is also in good form, winning her third half pipe event in the last four outings. The 2002 Olympic champion should have scooped a medal in Torino, but she tried a 900-degree spin to try and snatch gold when a 720-spin would have likely landed her at least bronze. She crashed and finished fourth. With that behind her, she is one of the favorites for another gold next month.

Two teammate who may have something to say about that are 23-year-old Hannah Teter and the covergirl of US snowboarding Gretchen Bleiler.

Teter, the defending champion and humanitarian from Vermont will more than likely be on the podium in Vancouver, while Bleiler is coming into form at just the right time after winning her first win of the season on Mammoth Mountain in California earlier this month.

Competition

Team USA’s competition could come from within: from friends and teammates. That said, there are still a number of athletes, particularly in the women’s competition, that could ruffle some feathers.

In the half pipe competition, China’s Liu Jiayu represents the biggest threat to an American sweep. She is the 2009 World Champion and could ruin more than one American dream in Canada mid-February.

22-year-old Australian Torah Bright could also upset the established order on the half pipe. She beat Kelly Clark to the gold medal three times in 2009, and she could very well bring the Aussies their first Olympic snowboarding medal.

Chances of a Gold in Vancouver: 95 percent

 

In part two I will preview the ice sports: bobsled, curling, figure skating, hockey, luge, short track, skeleton, and speed skating.

Brian Krabak always knew he’d go into medicine. His love of sports and the mechanics of the body inspired him to take up diving and soccer in high school and eventually pre-med and bio-engineering in college. This February, Krabak will be taking his love for athletics and medicine to the international stage: the Winter Olympics.

“There’s an excitement that goes along with being a part of something this big. I personally love the diversity and culture and excitement of being at such an international event,” Krabak said. “For me, it’s an honor to provide medical care in that setting. As a sports-medicine physician, you want to help the everyday person and the professional.”

In less than three weeks, Krabak will be heading north to Vancouver to serve as a sports-medicine physician in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Once in Vancouver, he will be stationed at the sports clinic in the athlete village, tending to patients injured during the daytime events. Krabak is an associate professor and non-surgical-sports-medicine specialist at the UW Medical Center.

He started as an event physician in 1996 at the track and field Para-Olympics while he was still in residency. Since then, he has also aided in the Salt Lake Olympic Games and the aquatic portion of the Athens Olympics. He was selected for the winter games after a rigorous application process.

Krabak said that the Vancouver Olympics, while an incredible honor, were also a bittersweet opportunity.

“There’s a certain number of people you’re going to see that have sustained a worse enough injury that their Olympic dream is over, and you have to tell them that,” Krabak said. “And then there are others who might have minor injuries and they can continue, so we have to tell them how to safely do that.”

The Winter Olympics in particular can result in traumatic and sometimes permanent injuries because of the intensity of the sports. Alpine skiing, for instance, can result in ligaments tears, fractures and concussions. Most athletes must return from an injury within 24 hours to compete.

“Over time, you get to learn about the athletes themselves,” Krabak said. “If somebody sustains a significant fracture and you have to tell them, ‘I know you just spent 10 years of your life training, but you can’t compete,’ that can be very emotional to watch. But if we’ve done our job correctly, then we’re keeping people safe.”

Krabak explained that his profession is about more than just treatment and recovery. To properly doctor athletes, he must understand their sports.

“You have to understand the sport to understand the stresses that will require them to go back,” he said. “Someone who’s skiing downhill is very different than someone who’s doing cross-country,”

Krabak’s involvement in the Olympics will not be all that different from his work here at the UW. Having collaborated with high-caliber athletes at the university, the main difference is the setting.

“You don’t always know the athletes’ backgrounds, and that’s where it becomes essential to ask the right questions in regards to the athletes and the stresses that are going on,” Krabak said. “Working the Olympics is a fun, multicultural experience, because different countries have different philosophies on how you manage an injury.”

Reach reporter Celina Kareiva at news@dailyuw.com.

Financial meltdown has endangered medal hopes just two weeks before the Winter Olympics

I don't know how it happened," Konrad Bartelski is saying. "When we got together in Méribel last April, there was genuine enthusiasm. We had very good skiers, and we had enough money to do the job." The job being to compete in the alpine events at the 2010 Winter Olympics with a small squad of British skiers hoping to follow in the footsteps of Gina Hathorn, Divina Galica, Martin Bell and Bartelski himself, who finished 12th in the downhill at Lake Placid in 1980.

Nowadays Bartelski earns his living commentating on ski races for ESPN but until very recently he was also in charge of the selection of the British team, a job he had held for most of the past decade. No longer. "The very day we were making the selection," he recalls, "I got an email telling me that the men's programme was being stopped, from that moment." He resigned on the spot.

The British Ski and Snowboard Federation, an old-established body which nowadays trades under the snappier name of Snowsport GB, was in meltdown, and the closing of the men's training programme for the Winter Games was merely a symptom. The BSSF receives funding from UK Sport, the international ski federation (FIS), and various sponsors. But now it has barely a week to find £200,000 if it is to avoid going into administration, even after raising twice that amount from supporters when it fell into difficulties last summer. The sudden and unexplained removal of its £30,000 overdraft facility by the Royal Bank of Scotland in November has hardly helped, but it is not the whole story.

"It's horrendous," Bartelski says. "Bills haven't been paid, coaches have found that their credit cards are no longer working, and some of the skiers are owed serious amounts of money."

Among them is Chemmy Alcott, the 27-year-old from Twickenham, who is £20,000 in the hole after paying for her summer training on the understanding that she would be reimbursed by the federation. Another to be affected is Zoë Gillings, the 24-year-old from the Isle of Man who finished fifth in the snowboard cross World Cup final standings last season but has been forced to restrict her pre-Olympic preparation on the slopes to four days rather than the scheduled six weeks.

Two weeks ahead of the start of the Winter Olympics, the effect on the competitors' morale can be imagined. "When you realise, going into the most important event of your career, that the athletes don't come first, then you're never going to get a gold medal," Bartelski says.

"Chemmy is a world-class competitor, but with two weeks to go someone has opened a trapdoor under her feet. When you go to bed at night in that kind of state, at a time when you're needing all the rest you can get, your head just spins."

The British Olympic Association is doing its best to provide emergency help, but the government has been understandably reluctant to bail out a federation that shows no sign of being able to manage the affairs of a sport that, as far as Britain is concerned, has no real history of international success.

"On the one hand," Bartelski says, "you've got a lot of rich people in England who love to go skiing, and on the other you've got these skiers who put in an enormous effort. There really ought to be a way of connecting the two. We have some world-class skiers, including several in the junior categories who are among the top 10 or 12 in the world, but no good businessman is going to put money into something that's so badly run."

This is, he suggests, an old story for British sport, and the recent success of Britain's cyclists suggests that it is indeed the quality of the administrators that makes the difference. Once a credible platform has been built, the money flows in. British skiing needs people of vision and authority, and it needs them now.

Desert Island reveals Warren's

Frank does it his way with unexpected soul

Frank Warren was already on to his fourth record – Billie Holiday singing Don't Worry 'Bout Me – by the time I tuned in to Sunday's Desert Island Discs. Next came Sinatra's All the Way, very much the kind of choice you might expect from an east London boxing promoter of a certain vintage. But then, prefaced by the statement of an enduring devotion to soul music, came the Temptations' gorgeous Since I Lost My Baby, a true fan's favourite, followed by Al Green and Lyle Lovett delivering Funny (How Time Slips Away), from an obscure album of duets by soul and country artists. Finally – and conclusively, if you happen to be the kind of person who expects Kirsty Young's programme to reveal inner truths – Warren presented us with Aretha Franklin at her most majestic in the unadorned 12-bar blues of Dr Feelgood. I'll be tuning in to the repeat, on Friday morning, to find out if his first three records matched up to this immaculate playlist.

Wenger would have averted Roman's decline and fall

Nice to see Roman Pavlyuchenko scoring an excellent goal for Tottenham in their 2-2 draw with Leeds on Saturday, making a rare appearance as a substitute under Harry Redknapp. Remembering the Russian's performances alongside Andrey Arshavin in the 2008 European Championship finals, one has to wonder how many goals he would have scored over the past season and a half had Arsène Wenger decided to buy him for the other north London team.

One-eyed Sky must see beyond its own team

It was to be expected that Sky Sports would make a major effort with their coverage of the Tour Down Under, in which their very own cycling team made their big-race debut. But the producers at the Murdoch-owned channel are going to have to be careful not to allow a desire to please the proprietor to overwhelm their editorial judgment. The sole success of Sky's riders in the six-day race came in the final stage, a commendable achievement for a new outfit, but from the coverage throughout the week you might have thought that there was only one team in the event. It's nice to see cycling on Sky, but that sort of monocular approach could get boring very quickly indeed.

Here's the complete, sport-by-sport schedule for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. All times are Pacific standard time and are subject to change. For a television schedule, go here. ALPINE SKIING At Whistler Creekside Saturday, Feb. 13 Men’s Downhill,...

Top North American talent, medallists to headline nightly Whistler Victory Ceremonies at 2010 Winter Games

Dec 15, 2009

Vancouver, BC ? The great outdoors will provide a spectacular winter backdrop for nightly Whistler Victory Ceremonies paying tribute to medal-winning Olympians with a lineup of top North American acts, the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) announced today.

The 15 headliners, which include Feist, Usher, Our Lady Peace, and The Fray, will perform for one night each from February 13 to 27 during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games at Whistler Medals Plaza, a world-class outdoor amphitheatre built expressly for the nightly events and the Closing Ceremony of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. See below for the full list of headliners and dates they appear.

“Celebrations in Whistler will be rockin’ for 15 incredible nights during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games with this impressive lineup of top solo artists and bands ? all playing outdoors under the stars in honour of the world’s best athletes and their triumphs,” said Christy Nicolay, VANOC’s vice president of sport production and Victory Ceremonies. “Thanks to our partners, the Resort Municipality of Whistler and the Government of Canada, we’ll have a fantastic venue for these events ?Whistler Medals Plaza.”

Whistler Medals Plaza is an intimate space designed to serve the needs of the Sea to Sky community not only at Games time but also in the long term. Given its space limitations and the restrictions on travel into Whistler, access to Whistler Victory Ceremony tickets is limited to residents living from Squamish to Mount Currie.

The ticketed nightly ceremonies in Whistler ? which kick off on February 13 with the All American Rejects and the presentation of medals for men’s ski jumping and downhill skiing, as well as the women’s 7.5-kilometre sprint event in biathlon ? are designed to pay tribute to the world’s best competing in 2010 and celebrate Canada’s hosting of one of the world’s largest sporting events.

Whistler Medals Plaza includes a large “turntable” stage to accommodate both the medals presentations and the entertainment programming. Adjacent to each side of the stage will be video walls featuring Vancouver 2010 Look of the Games’ graphics, as well as two giant screens showing highlights of the athletes’ performances and enhancing the activity on stage.

Gates open nightly at 4:30 pm (Pacific Time) with a DJ and interactive games for the crowd, followed by a live simulcast of the nightly provincial and territorial preshow held at BC Place in Vancouver. At 7:00 pm, the medal ceremonies will be held for the winning athletes of the day at Whistler-area venues, followed 30 minutes later by that night’s headlining act. The evening celebrations will end at approximately 8:30 pm.

All medal presentations in Whistler will be televised around the world as part of Olympic broadcasting plans for the 2010 Winter Games. The nightly concerts on February 13, 22 and 27 will also be broadcast live.

Ticketing information for Whistler Victory Ceremonies
Whistler Victory Ceremony tickets will be distributed to the public in the Sea to Sky region through a contest operated in partnership with Tourism Whistler at www.whistler.com.

The contest will operate for 11 days, starting on January 4, 2010 and is open to residents from Squamish to Mount Currie. Entries at www.whistler.com will be limited to one per e-mail address.

The contest will close on January 15, 2010 and winners will be notified via e-mail by January 22, 2010. Tickets must be picked up by the winner (with ID and proof of address in the Sea to Sky region) at the Main Ticket Centre in Whistler, located next to Whistler Medals Plaza, by January 31, 2010.

A number of Whistler Victory Ceremony tickets were also previously made available residents from Squamish to Mount Currie who registered accounts prior to the “Locals” ticket sale (October 24 to 25, 2009), or who received a voucher at a Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) community event marking 100 days until the start of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games on November 4, 2009.

Whistler Victory Ceremony headliners’ line-up and dates they perform

Saturday, February 13: All American Rejects (www.allamericanrejects.com)
Live medal presentations in men’s downhill skiing, ski jumping (individual normal hill) and women’s biathlon (7.5-kilometre sprint).

Sunday, February 14: Estelle (www.estellemusic.com)
Live medal presentations in ladies’ alpine skiing (super combined), as well as men’s Nordic combined (individual normal hill) and biathlon (10-km sprint).

Monday, February 15: Pierre Lapointe (www.pierrelapointe.com)
Live medal presentations in men’s luge and cross-country skiing (ladies’ 10-km free and men’s 15-km free).

Tuesday, February 16: Feist (www.listentofeist.com)
Live medal presentations in men’s alpine skiing (super combined), women’s luge and biathlon (women’s 10-km pursuit and men’s 12.5-km pursuit).

Wednesday, February 17: Our Lady Peace (www.ourladypeace.net)
Live medal presentations in alpine skiing (ladies’ downhill) and cross-country skiing (men’s and ladies’ individual sprint classic).

Thursday, February 18: Deadmau5 (www.deadmau5.com)
Live medal presentations in men’s luge doubles and biathlon (women’s 15-km individual and men’s 20-km individual).

Friday, February 19: Hedley (www.hedleyonline.com)
Live medal presentations in men’s alpine skiing (super-G) and ladies’ cross-country skiing (pursuit, 7.5 km classic and 7.5 km free).

Saturday, February 20: Stars (www.sadrobots.ca)
Live medal presentations in men’s and women’s skeleton, ladies’ alpine skiing (super-G) and men’s ski jumping (individual large hill).

Sunday, February 21: OneRepublic (www.onerepublic.net)
Live medal presentations in men’s cross-country skiing (pursuit, 15 km classic and 15 km free) alpine skiing (giant slalom) and two-man bobsleigh, as well as biathlon (men’s 15-km mass and women’s 12.5-km mass).

Monday, February 22: To be confirmed
Live medal presentations in cross-country skiing (men’s and ladies’ team sprint free) and men’s ski jumping (team large hill).

Tuesday, February 23: The Fray (www.thefray.net)
Live medal presentations in Nordic combined (men’s team relay) and women’s biathlon (4x6-km relay).

Wednesday, February 24: Jet (www.jettheband.com)
Live medal presentations in ladies’ alpine skiing (giant slalom) and men’s cross-country skiing (4x10-km relay classic/free).

Thursday, February 25: The Roots (www.theroots.com)
Live medal presentations in women’s bobsleigh, Nordic combined (men’s individual large hill) and ladies’ cross-country skiing (4x5-km relay classic/free).

Friday, February 26: K’Naan (www.knaanmusic.ning.com)
Live medal presentations in ladies’ alpine skiing (slalom) and men’s biathlon (4x7.5-km relay).

Saturday, February 27: Usher (www.usherworld.com)
Live medal presentations in men’s alpine skiing (slalom) and four-man bobsleigh, as well as ladies’ cross-country skiing (30-km mass start classic).

The headlining talent for the Vancouver Victory Ceremonies, held indoors at BC Place in the heart of the city’s downtown, was released on December 8 by VANOC and is available at www.vancouver2010.com.

About VANOC
VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com.

Press Contact
If you are a member of the media, please contact mediarelations@vancouver2010.com

For all other inquiries, please contact info@vancouver2010.com

The official video game of the upcoming Olympics will be released on January 12, 2010.   Vancouver 2010 allows players to simulate the events of the actual Winter Olympic Games so I know that fans of the biggest sporting event in the world will probably want to pick up a copy. I wouldn’t say that this is the highest quality game I’ve ever seen which is unfortunate since the Olympics are such a big deal but it could be worse. The events include Alpine Skiing (giant slalom, slalom, downhill and Super G), Sledding two-man bobsleigh, luge singles, skeleton), Freestyle Skiing (aerials, ski cross), [...]Post from: EveryJoe Official “Vancouver 2010” Video Game ...

The official video game of the upcoming Olympics will be released on January 12, 2010.   Vancouver 2010 allows players to simulate the events of the actual Winter Olympic Games so I know that fans of the biggest sporting event in the world will probably want to pick up a copy. I wouldn’t say that this is the highest quality game I’ve ever seen which is unfortunate since the Olympics are such a big deal but it could be worse. The events include Alpine Skiing (giant slalom, slalom, downhill and Super G), Sledding two-man bobsleigh, luge singles, skeleton), Freestyle Skiing (aerials, ski cross), [...]

Post from: EveryJoe

Official “Vancouver 2010” Video Game

The 2010 Winter Games are right around the corner, and if the media has their way, US Skier Lindsey Vonn will be a household name by the time the Opening Ceremonies are under way. Lindsey is entering her third Olympic Games at age 25, her last two appearances didn’t yield her anything except experience – and plenty of it. With a legitimate shot at gold in all five women’s Alpine events: downhill, super-G, slalom, GS and super combined (one downhill run and one slalom run), Lindsey is being touted by the media as skiing’s answer to Michael Phelps. Pressure, much? In reading a recent AP article, Lindsey discusses the weight she bears as an ambassador of her sport – and the pressure that comes with success in the World Cup circuit in a pre-Olympic year. She is quick to remind people that she has not yet won an Olympic medal so any medal, any color would be an accomplishment in her eyes, not to mention the role that Mother Nature can play in the world of ski racing: “Having not won a medal, I would be really happy with just one bronze. I’m going to go out there and try to win gold, but, you know, there’s a lot of things that can happen in ski racing,” Vonn said when the women’s World Cup circuit made its lone U.S. stop in Aspen late last month. “I mean, I can get a big gust of wind, and my downhill race is over.” Let’s hope that Lindsey continues handle the balance between training and promotion of the sport she loves so much in the weeks leading up to the games. Good Luck Lindsey! Show your support for you favorite athletes with Vancouver 2010 Olympics Gear!