You thought Sochi was bad? Just you wait...

     In case you haven't seen the update trending on Facebook today, preparations in Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games are behind schedule.  Like, really behind schedule.  Like, this is what their main Olympic Park looks like right now:

     Meanwhile, this is what it's supposed to look like finished, just over 2 years from now:

     Seriously, they're that far behind schedule.  John Coates of the IOC was even quoted after his sixth trip to Rio as saying that their preparations are "the worst I've ever experienced" and even worse off than the Greeks leading up to the 2004 Athens Games.  And the IOC isn't the only International Sporting Body on Brasil's case either.  FIFA is expressing exasperation over the country's last-minute scramble to ready everything for the 2014 World Cup.  There are problems with water pollution, the 8-sport Deodoro complex hasn't even broken ground yet, and the Olympic Golf Course has no grass.

     But even with all of the handicaps, Coates has reiterated that the IOC is holstering no plans to pull a last-minute switch, saying "...there is no plan B.  We are going to Rio."  Things may look bleak now, but if Squaw Valley could pull it off 50+ years ago, Rio should be able to do it.  If not, we just might be headed for a second consecutive tin-can Olympics.  I can just see the hashtags now.

Reflections: Sochi Closing Ceremony

     After more than 2 weeks of spirited competition, the time finally came to lower the curtain on the 2014 Winter Olympics.  However,  before the curtain fully fell, it was time to end the show with a bang in the Closing Ceremony.  To start things off, the same girl who played a part in the Opening Ceremony came back out to start off the Closing Ceremony.  After that, several dancers came together to form the Olympic Rings(well, 4 rings and one dot in deference to the Opening Ceremony's mishap).

     Then all of Russia's Gold winners marched into the stadium holding the Russian flag, at which point Russia's National Anthem was played.  After the raising of the Russian flag, the athletes marched in all together, and then the final two medals of the Games were awarded(Women's 30k Cross Country and Men's 50k Cross Country)  Then there were several performances on the main floor which served to illustrate more of Russian history, including the art of Chagall, the music of Mariinsky, and even a tribute to the Circus.

     After that was the handover ceremony, where the Games were officially handed off to Pyongchang for 2018.  After a brief display of South Korean culture, the time came to officially end the Sochi Games.  One of the Olympic Mascots, the Polar Bear blew out the Olympic flame, which is particularly meaningful as the same thing happened at the close of the 1980 Summer Olympics.  And then IOC President Thomas Bach called upon the athletes of the world to reconvene in 2018 in Pyongchang, the cauldron went dark, and the floor of Fisht Stadium became a giant dance party.  Overall, not a bad way to end the 22nd Winter Olympic Games.

A Marathon on Skis and the Final Slide: Sochi Day 18

     Well, we've finally hit it.  The final day of competition at the 2014 Winter Olympics.  All the effort, all the drive, all the glory, it all comes down to this.  The first event of the day took us to the Laura Complex in Krasnaya Polyana for the Men's 50k Freestyle.  This race is just what it sounds like, and has the athletes going 50 Kilometers(just over 31 Miles) on skis.  This is the longest event in the Games, with the skiers taking well over an hour and a half to cross the finish line.  Some of the skiers in the heat had been heard of before in these games, such as Dario Cologna, who after winning the 15k race, stuck around to congratulate the last place finisher, a true display of the Olympic Spirit.  Other skiers had come to Sochi specifically for this event and had not competed at all in the past 2 weeks.  Either way, the race presented a strong field, which made it all the more compelling.  After the first 90 minutes of racing, the athletes started to pick up speed as they entered the final stretch.  The competition became hotter and hotter, and the home crowd was on its feet cheering on Alexander Legkov as he captured the Gold.  And then 2 more Russians finished behind him, setting up a Russian sweep on the Final day of the Games.

     Leaving the Russian victory at Laura behind, we take one final trip to the Sanki Sliding Center for the final event of the Games: 4-Man Bobsled.  After Saturday's heats, Team USA stood in 3rd Place, with the Russians on top, poised to win their first ever 4-Man Gold.  As the heats started going, the times started getting faster.  Team USA and Russia both completed their 3rd runs, and then all the sleds took their final run.  At one point, the Canada 3 team took their turn.  This was all the more remarkable since their sled had just been in a rough crash the day before.  But they walked away from the crash, and they were able to give it one more go.  After Canada's valiant effort, the focus returned to the chase for Gold.  The USA turned in a solid performance on their final run, but then Russia came in and bested it.  When it was all over, the team lead by Aleksander Zubkov had succeeded in winning Russia's first ever Olympic Gold in 4-Man Bobsled.  What a way to wrap up the Games, winning the Gold on home turf.

Showtime at the Iceberg, Kostelic's Minefield, Dutch Dominance, and Juicin' while Shootin': Sochi Day 17

     After all the drama, suspense, and wonder that we were treated to at the Iceberg Skating Palace, we came back one more time on Saturday for the Ice Skating Exhibition Gala.  This is where the contestants from the competition come back onto the ice one final time and skate another program in exhibition.  This exhibition set is more showy than the competitive one, with the skaters adding props to their performances.  Additionally, there aren't as many technical pieces(i.e. jumps) in this as there are in the competitive performances.  Adding to the showiness, Tara Lipnski and Johnny Weir were calling the festivities, and they were wearing their typical coordinated decorations, which this time were matching flowers.

     Moving away from the Iceberg and to another venue we'll be seeing for the last time, the Men's Slalom Finals were being held at Rosa Khutor.  Ted Ligety was fresh off of Gold in the Giant Slalom, and so eyes were on him to have a repeat performance in the Slalom. However, that was not to be, as Mario Matt of Austria finished with the Gold in that race. Irrespective of any competitive highlights, the real star of the Final wasn't even an Olympian.  Instead, it was a man by the name of Ante Kostelic, who served as the course setter for the Slalom Finals. His job is to craft the course so as to make it interesting and challenging.  And boy did he ever. Over the 2 runs, 13 skiers either fell or skied off of the course at various points.  If you've got that many people going off course, I would say that the setter did well.  So while Mario Matt may have technically won this, I would say that the big winner of this one was Ante Kostelic.

     Meanwhile Speed Skating officially wrapped up, and the Dutch added to their trophy case.  They won both the Men's and Women's Team Pursuit, giving them a total of 23 Medals in Speed Skating.  Another fact of note from Saturday came from the Biathlon Women's Mass Start, when it was announced today that one of the German competitors had tested positive for a banned substance, which led to Germany being stripped of its 4th-place result.  As it was only 4th, this did not effect any Medal counts.  Check back later for the exciting conclusion to these Games!

An Alpine Phenom, Speed Skating, and a Denial of Gold: Sochi Day 16

     Okay everybody, our first stop in Sochi are the mountains of Rosa Khutor, where we spend our final day out on the slopes taking in the Women's Slalom heat.  There were many athletes demanding our attention on the slopes, but the one with the most hype coming in was 18-year old American Mikaela Shiffrin, who was in Sochi for her first Olympics.  However, the field was quite deep, and Shiffrin wouldn't be facing a walk in the park on the run-throughs.  The first big contender was Maria Hofl-Riesch, coming in defense of her Vancouver Gold in the Slalom, as well as coming off of a Gold in the Super Combined in Sochi.  Not just that, but the field also contained the formidable Tina Maze, who was coming off of several dominant performances in the Games.  After the heats had all been run, Shiffrin came away the winner of the event, giving all of us a tantalizing taste of Olympic skill that we should see for years to come.

     Moving on to Speed Skating, we started off with the Men's Team Pursuit.  The Quarterfinal round of this sport saw the Dutch taking on the French, in a contest that wasn't even close from the start.  The Dutch ended finishing 8.6 seconds ahead of the French, in a victory so dominant that the Dutch nearly ran a whole lap ahead of the French by the end of the race, proving once again that the Dutch are unstoppable.  Needless to say, the Dutch wound up winning the event.  Going back to the Iceberg for the Short Track Events, we saw the Men's 5,000 Meter Relay.  This sport is something else, as it has teams of 5 from each country in a relay format.  How it works is that one of the skaters goes around the track while the other skaters warm up on the inside track.  Then after a certain number of laps, the next guy up skates up behind the returning skater and gives him a push on the back to send him on his way.  When you actually look at it, it can get quite chaotic.
     The final highlight of the day was the big hockey game between USA and Canada.  We were out for blood after our loss in the 2010 Final, and we fought the good fight.  Alas, we ended up losing, but never fear, we'll be back in 2018.

Skiing and Sliding, Women's Skipipe, and the Ladies Final: Sochi Day 15

     We may be rounding the final stretches at Sochi, but there's still plenty of thrills and spills left to be had.  To start them off, we're heading to Rosa Khutor and the Men's Ski Cross heat.  Much like the Snowboard Cross we've seen the past few days except with skis, this event is just as unpredictable and provides just as much heart-stopping drama as its board-bound cousin.  The heat starts off with some preliminary runs to seed for the finals, and that is where we run into the first character of the heat, Slovenia's Flip Flisar.  He comes up to the line sporting a respectable handlebar mustache, which earns him the title of "most interesting 'stache in Sochi"  Flisar makes it through the first couple of rounds, before ultimately getting eliminated in the semifinals.  One of the other heats had two competitors fall down at the very last second and slide across the finish line, with the first one across taking the qualifying spot in a photo finish.  The medal round came down to 3 Frenchmen and a Canadian.  After a fall in the home stretch scrubbed the Canadian, the French came away with the second medal sweep in freestyle skiing at Sochi(after the Americans swept the podium in Ski Slopestyle).

     Afterwards, we took a trip over to the halfpipe for one final time in these Games to contest the Women's Halfpipe ski contest.  The event is one of several added to the Olympics new this year, due in no small part to Canadian skier Sarah Burke, whose ardent campaigning led the IOC to add this event to the Winter Games in April of 2011. The newness of this event bodes well for the Americans, owing to our demonstrated prowess in new events.  One of the highlights of the heat was seeing Canadian skier Rosalind Groenewoud, and her red lipstick, which is a personal calling card of hers.  After several heats, the winner was finally announced to be Maddie Bowman, the 20-year old American with a Grandma who you don't want to mess with.

     And then it was off to the Iceberg again, this time to wrap up the competitions in Figure Skating with the Ladies Free Skate.  After Wednesday's short program, the leader was South Korea's Yuna Kim.  This time, there weren't as many spills on the ice, with most everybody skating a clean program.  And then, we started seeing performance after performance, and they were all fantastic.  However, the Gold Medal was ultimately awarded to Russia's Adelina Sotnikova, giving the world the first Gold winner out of the former USSR since Oksana Baiul in 1994(the year we all learned what the price of gold really was).  All told, the Figure Skating competitions at these Games were filled with suspense and wonder, and they won't be soon forgotten.

One Badass Grandma

     Last night at the Women's Skipipe competition, the big winner was American Maddie Bowman.  She took the Gold Medal, and continued Team USA's domination of the new events to Sochi.  But Bowman was almost surpassed in the blogosphere by her grandmother Lorna Perpall.  After Bowman won the Gold, Perpall opened up her overcoat to reveal this:

     Yup, that sweater does indeed say "Badass Grandma".  Maybe she and Boris Shnapir could start up a new fashion cartel.  As they say, only at the Olympics.

The Price of Gold

     Tonight NBC will be broadcasting the Ladies Figure Skating Final from Sochi.  As mentioned in last night's entry, this competition is known as the "Crown Jewel" of the Games.  Before we get into that though, I figured it fitting to take a look back at what is without a doubt the most infamous Ladies Figure Skating contest in Olympic history, the one that took place at the 1994 Lillehammer Games.  For your information, most of the details discussed here come from the 30 for 30 documentary The Price of Gold.  It's a good primer on the subject, and I recommend it if you want to find out more.

     In the early 1990s, US Figure Skating was dominated by 2 women, Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding.  They shared a yo-yo rivalry that always seemed to fluctuate back and forth, with Kerrigan always seeming to come out on top.  But Harding was no slouch.  At the 1991 National Championships, she became the very first American woman to successfully execute a triple axel jump in competition(for comparison's sake, people nowadays do the triple axel with somewhat more regularity).  Even beyond all of that though, Harding and Kerrigan were often portrayed as coming from different social classes.  Kerrigan was the girl who had grown up in a New England blue collar setting, while Harding was the girl whose mother had been married five times and abused her as a child.

     As the years kept going, Kerrigan started getting more and more endorsement deals, which led to Harding getting more and more(according to her) "envious", and just wanting to win once.  In the 1992 Albertville Games, Harding finished off of the podium in 4th Place, while Kerrigan ended up winning the Bronze Medal.  1992 was the final year of the IOC holding both the Summer and Winter Games in the same year, and so the Games were staggered, with the next Winter Games falling in 1994.  This was a unique opportunity, as it allowed everyone another shot in only 2 years rather than 4.  Heading into the qualifications for the Games that year, Harding was sure that her time was arriving.

     The Date: January 6, 1994.  The Place: Detroit, Michigan for the 1994 US Figure Skating Championships.  Nancy Kerrigan is taking some practice runs before her qualifying heat.  As she steps behind a curtain to relax, a blood-curdling scream comes out from behind the curtain.  Nancy is down for the count and it doesn't look good.  Meanwhile, Tonya Harding skates her qualifying and takes the Gold, stamping her ticket to Lillehammer.  Afterwards, USOC officials hold a closed-door meeting where they debate whether or not they will send Kerrigan to the Olympics with the one remaining spot.  Ultimately they decide to accept Nancy to the team, which removes the actual second-place finisher, a 13-year old skater by the name of Michelle Kwan.  But Kerrigan has been impacted by the attack, and so she faces an arduous trail to make it onto the ice in good form.  Over the next 6 weeks, Kerrigan completes what may be the most exhaustive and difficult recovery ever seen to make it back to the Olympic ice a little more than a month after she was attacked.  Meanwhile, rumors start swirling that Tonya Harding may have known more about the attack than she was letting on, a perception that is fueled by her connections to Harding's accused attacker.

     Once Team USA's wheels touched down in Lillehammer, the media frenzy was turned all the way up to Eleven.  All kinds of media were there, desperate to get the scoop on the rivalry.  At some points, you had writers from the New York Times right up next to writers from the National Enquirer.  Finally, on February 23, the time came for the Ladies competition.  Tonya Harding took to the ice and promptly laid an egg.  After barely making it onto the ice in time, she had to stop her program to adjust a skate lace, and things just went from there.  When all was said and done, Harding finished in 8th Place.  Then it was Kerrigan's turn.  When she took to the ice, she was one skate away from completing the Ultimate Cinderella Story, going from clutching her leg in pain to Olympic Gold all in 6 weeks.  Ultimately, Kerrigan only took home the Silver, but her progress was still phenomenal.

     After the Olympic Games, the stars of Harding and Kerrigan took off in separate directions.  One month after the Games, Tonya Harding pled Guilty to Obstruction in the attack on Kerrigan.  3 months later, she was summarily banned for life from skating in USFSA events.  Because of her 'banishment' from the skating world, she had to turn to other various avenues to bring in money, such as professional wresting, a music career that was shorter than Miley Cyrus' VMA performance, and even a celebrity sex tape.  On the other hand, Kerrigan went on to star in a myriad of ice shows and professional gigs, and even appeared in several television shows.  In 2004, Nancy Kerrigan was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame. 

     The 1994 Figure Skating Finals were the highest rated Olympic program of all time, in no small part thanks to the Harding/Kerrigan controversy.  So even as we witness these Games in Sochi, and even as amazing things continue to happen at the Iceberg, rest assured that the Olympics has seen crazier.  Much crazier.

Ryan Seacrest? Really?

     As part of Tuesday's coverage, Bob Costas switched over to a segment previewing the Ladies Figure Skating contest, and specifically their heralded star Yuna Kim.  The segment followed Kim all around South Korea and provided a window into her life.  That's all well and good, but the segment was hosted by Ryan Seacrest.  Now nothing against Ryan, but it seemed rather random to have him do the segment.  I didn't even know he was under contract to NBC.  So folks, just remember.  Ryan Seacrest is apparently like Santa Claus now.  He's always there. 

THIS PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE FLAMING TORCH.

American Milestones and The Crown Jewel of the Games: Sochi Day 14.

     At this juncture of the Games, we have reached what some on the NBC team call the "Crown Jewel of the Games".  Yup, we've finally started the heats in Women's Figure Skating.  It's almost sad in a way, because this is also one of the last times we'll be seeing the Iceberg.  It's almost like saying goodbye to an old friend.  Well, we can't get too depressed, because there's still a bevy of Olympic Action to take place, so lets get to it.

     As we said, the Ladies Figure Skating started off, and it started off with a bang, as the first skater up was 15-year old Polina Edmunds got things started off.  She skated well, but ended up 2 spots below a fellow 15-year old phenom, Russia's Julia Lipnitskaya.  However, the most wowing performance of the night was turned in by Yuna Kim from South Korea.  The defending Gold Medalist from Vancouver came back to defend her title in style, proving why she is worthy of being called an Olympic Champion.

     Elsewhere in Sochi, it turned out to be a good day for American Firsts when it comes to Medals.  On the Men's Giant Slalom course, Ted Ligety became the first American Man to win the event in consecutive Olympics, while at the Sanki Sliding Center, the USA-2 Sled took the Silver, giving Lauryn Williams a medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympics, a feat which has only been done by 4 other people ever(and 1 other American).  Suffice it to say that even as these Games round the final stretch, there are still plenty of reasons to watch.

The Bobsledding Hurdler, New is Better for America, and Simply A-Maze-ing: Sochi Day 13

     When we swooped into the Sanki Sliding Center for the Two-Woman Bobsled heat yesterday, we might have been surprised by the sight we beheld.  Was that really Lolo Jones who we just saw, pushing a Bobsled?  Matter of fact, it was.  That's right, Lolo Jones, the Track and Field star who competed in both Beijing and London, was back for Sochi.  And she wasn't the only track athlete back in the Bobsled either.  Both Aja Evans and Lauryn Williams(both Track stars) were also pushing the sleds in Sochi.  Apparently the skill that Track athletes have at producing a burst of speed comes in handy when starting off a Bobsled.  After the first day of runs, the Americans possessed the Gold and Bronze spots, while the 2010 Gold winners Canada held onto Silver.

     Leaving Sanki, we go into a new event at these Games, the Ski Halfpipe competition.  At the outset of this event, the commentators had been remarking how these new events were working out especially well for America.  To illustrate that point, as of the start of competition yesterday, there had been 7 new events so far, and Americans had medaled in all 7 of them.  This trend continued yesterday, as the inaugural Men's Ski Halfpipe competition got underway.  The hype preceding the American delegation was focused on two skiers, David Wise and Torin Yater-Wallace.  Yater-Wallace is an 18-year old skier from Aspen, and he came into the Games riding a wave of publicity, but ultimately failing to move out of Qualifying.  David Wise is a 23-year old skier from Reno, with a wife and a daughter.  Wise on the other hand had a much better day, eventually winning the Gold Medal.

     Staying in Rosa Khutor, the Men got their shot at the Snowboard Cross competition.  This is one of the most fast-paced and intriguing Olympic sports out there.  The sheer unpredictability of it makes it a favorite to watch.  Case in point: in both the Men's and Women's competitions, there wasn't one heat that I watched where at least one person didn't fall.  In one of the Qualifying heats(3 of 6 advance), 4 people fell.  Which means that one of the people who fell had a shot to get back up and still qualify.  This event ended up giving the Americans a Medal, with Alex Diebold taking home the Bronze.

     After all of that, it was time for the Women's Giant Slalom event. Coming off of her tie for Gold in the Downhill, Tina Maze was teeing up for another great run, which she ended up having.  Also running the slopes that day was Julia Mancuso, who had accumulated her 4th Medal in 4 Games from the Super Combined. She ended up sliding off the course and ending her Olympics right then and there.  But the star of all the chatter leading up to the event was 18-year old Mikaela Shiffrin.  Her debut had been heralded, and even though she only placed 5th, she will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

American Firsts and High-Flying Stunts: Sochi Day 12

     Coming into Monday's action in Sochi, there were several things that Team USA had never done in an Olympics in a while, such as medal in the 2-man Bobsled, or take the Gold in Ice Dancing.  By the end of the day, both of those accomplishments would be notched as completed.

     But first, lets go to Rosa Khutor and watch some more freestyle skiing.  Monday was the day of the Men's Aerials heats.  How Aerials works is pretty much the same as Slopestyle, except that there's only 1 jump.  In 2010, Belarus won the Gold in Men's Aerials, and up till now no country has ever repeated Gold.  Until this year, when Anton Kushnir walked up and turned in a record-breaking performance that captured Gold for Belarus for the second consecutive Olympics.

     Leaving Rosa Khutor for the Sanki Sliding Center, time for the Bobsled heats.  Entering the heats, Team USA hadn't medaled in 2-Man Bobsled since 1952.  Steve Holcomb and his team were out to change that, and change that they did.  Their performance was good enough for Bronze, and a 62-year drought was broken.  And the Americans weren't the only ones breaking droughts either.  The Russians had never won Gold in the 2-man event, but they were going to change that.  And through the efforts of Alexander Zubhov, they were able to change that.

     After all of that drama, it's finally time to head over to the Iceberg.  The big story here is that the United States had never won an Ice Dancing Gold.  With Meryl Davis and Charlie White, our odds improved, but we still had the 2010 winners Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir to contend with.  However, after the skates, Team USA managed to pull through and take the first ever Ice Dancing Gold for the USA.  Just one more reason why these Sochi Games are shaping up to be so historic.

Costas Watch: Day 7-HE'S BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!

     Okay guys, I'm over the moon ecstatic right now, all because of one thing.  BOB COSTAS CAME BACK TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!  Somebody play the Hallelujah Chorus!

     That's right folks, AMERICA HAS BEEN SAVED!!!!!!!!  We made it through the struggles, and we came out on the other side better people for it.  No more Matt Lauer, more Meredith Vieira, and thankfully NBC didn't have to hand the ball over to Al Roker.  Now that that distraction is out of the way, we can get back to our normal business of cheering on Team USA over the final 6 days of the Games.

Costas Watch: Day 6

     Well, we turned on the Olympics last night and what did we see?  Not Meredith Vieira, but no Bob Costas either.  Instead, it appears that NBC has gone back to Matt Lauer this time, because Bob Costas is still out.  At this point, I'm tempted to hand the commentary over to Oprah:

     Will he ever return?  Will our great nation ever be restored to its former glory?  Will The Olympics ever be the same again?  Stay tuned to find out.


     LATE BREAKING UPDATE:  According to MSN, Bob Costas is supposed to be coming back for tonight's coverage.  Now I'm not sure if I want to bet the farm on it yet, but this is clearly the best sign we've gotten in a while.  So I'll be watching VERY closely along with the rest of you, and hopefully I will have glorious news to report to you after tonight's coverage.

Nice Hat, Bro.

     Any of you who were watching the figure skating competition and saw the Pairs heat, probably saw the American pairing of Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir.  They took Bronze in the Team competition and finished 9th in the Pairs heat.  But lets focus on Shnapir for a second.  He was born in Russia and came to America as a child.  His parents were cheering him on in the stands, and his father was a sight to behold:

     Yeah.  That hat.  Just look at it, and if you don't feel more American just for that, we might need to check your pulse.  So keep watching Figure Skating, and keep feeling more American!

Age is Served, the 2014 "Miracle", Three Thousandths of a Second, and Ahn Return to Glory: Sochi Day 10

     Albertville. Lillehammer. Nagano. Salt Lake City. Turin. Vancouver. Sochi.  What do those cities have in common?  Aside from them being the hosts for the Winter Games dating back to 1992, They are also all Games which have featured Noriaki Kasai in ski-jumping.  That's right, the man who turned 41 years old back in June is still competing in the Games this year.  There are Olympians who weren't even born yet when Kasai started competing(including Team USA's dancing Luger Kate Hansen), which makes his age and the fact that he's still competing(and not suffering Plushenko-style breakdowns)really impressive.  And not only did he still compete, he competed well, taking the Silver Medal, which was his first Individual medal(he won Silver as part of a Team in 1994).

     Moving over to the Bolshoy Ice Dome, we've got some Hockey to talk about.  Now it wasn't for the Gold Medal, but when you put USA and Russia up against each other, it's always going to be a hot ticket.  And today was no exception.  The two teams battled to a 2-2 tie at the end of Regulation, though that was only preserved by virtue of a Russian goal being waved off at the end of the period.  So, it was on to overtime.  After the scoreless overtime period, they moved to shootouts. At that point, T.J. Oshie skated out and finally scored the game-winning goal, moving Team USA to victory.  Now it was only a match in Group play, so it wasn't as important as 1980 was, but there was one familiar face there.  Al Michaels was calling the game on NBC.  Yup, that Al Michaels.

     Speaking of improbable and frankly insane finishes, let's go back to the Adler Arena for more Speed Skating.  The Men's 1500 Meter race was contested, and this was the next big shot for Shani Davis to repeat as an Olympic Champion.  Much had been made about the uniforms used by Team USA and their supposed inequities, and they received special dispensation to replace them with a better model.  Alas, that did not seem to work, as both Davis and Brian Hansen finished off of the podium, in 11th and 7th place respectively.  But that wasn't the most gripping tale to come out of the 1500 Meter.  No, that comes to us courtesy of the uber-photo finish between Zbigniew Bródka and Koen Verweij.  The two skaters finished so closely that it was initially called a tie, until the timing was reviewed and Bródka was declared the winner by three one-thousandths of a second.

     The sport of Speed Skating wasn't done giving us Olympic moments though, and for that we head to the Iceberg for the Short Track heats.  Victor Ahn was in the midst of trying to reclaim the Olympic glory that had eluded him, and had already captured a Bronze medal, when the 1000 Meter came up.  After a well-fought battle, Ahn finally had Olympic Gold.  So regardless of how old you may think you are, the Olympic dream is never totally out of reach.  Just ask Victor Ahn and Noriaki Kasai.

Costas Watch: Day 5

     We've had to make it through a fifth day now without Bob Costas welcoming us to the Fortress of SolitudeInternational Broadcast Center.  Luckily, the greatest medical professionals of our time have finally come to a completely scientific reason for Costas' absence:

     That's a really good thing, because as we all know, it is necessary to know the cause of something before we try to treat it.  However, just because we know how to fix something, doesn't mean there's any hope of fixing it.  WE ARE FACING A DISASTER HERE, PEOPLE!  Get worried, get panicked!  Because without Costas around to guide us through the Olympic Games, I am deeply afraid that the State of our Union going forward could be depicted in this picture:

     While NBC has so far fielded a good spread of fill-ins, Bob better get back quick if we ever want this great nation to be the America of our forefathers again.

The Olympic Spirit, An Unexpected Milestone, and A Long Awaited Olympic Moment: Sochi Day 9

     When Americans turned on their televisions to see NBC's primetime coverage last night, they were greeted not by the visage of Bob Costas(who is still out with an eye infection), and not by the visage of Matt Lauer, but instead by the warm face of Meredith Vieira, who was pulled from the ranks of the Today Show.  While that certainly makes the hosting gig seem like a revolving door, this is important for another reason.  Meredith Vieira is actually the first woman to ever be the lead anchor of a network's Olympic coverage.

     So with that bit of history, lets get to the Olympics, shall we?  Before we talk about the actual competitions, I just wanted to mention something that happened today in the Skiathlon heats.  The Men's 15 km race was won by Dario Cologna from Switzerland.   After he won his competition, he stuck around to congratulate the other competitors.  And not just the other guys who finished behind him.  No, Cologna waited until the VERY LAST skier crossed the line, and then congratulated him.  That skier was Roberto Carcelen, one of only 3 athletes in Sochi from Peru.  If there is any better way to exhibit the Olympic Spirit, I haven't seen it.

     And now, back to Rosa Khutor.  This was the time for Men's Supercombined, a sport where two Americans(Bode Miller and Ted Ligety) were poised to do great things.  However, as has been the trend this Games with  Americans seemingly on the edge of greatness(Shaun White, Shani Davis, etc...) it was not to be.  Miller wound up finishing 6th, and Ligety slid into 12th Place.

     Moving over to the Iceberg for what wound up being a much less dramatic day than yesterday, the skaters competed in the Men's Free Skate.  Since Evgeni Plushenko had retired the day before, there was no Russian representative in the Finals.  After his fall yesterday, Jeremy Abbott was all but out of medal contention, but qualified for the Free Skate, and so he skated the program anyway.  With the announcement that he was retiring after the current season, this amounted to Abbott's farewell tour.  After all of that, we were left with Yuzuru Hanyu, putting the icing on the cake from his Short Program.  Hanyu went into the Free Skate, and actually fell down, but got right back up, and in fact did well enough to secure himself the Gold Medal, which is the first one ever awarded to Japan in the Men's Figure Skating category.

     But the truly momentous story comes to us from the Sanki Sliding Center, in the finals of the Women's Skeleton.  Yesterday we talked a little bit about Noelle Pikus-Pace and her long wait for her Olympic Moment.  After training for the 2006 Games, she was forced out by a freak injury.  After coming back for Vancouver, she finished in 4th Place, after which she retired.  She eventually got back into Skeleton at the urging of her husband, so that she could finally realize her dream.  She made it to Sochi, and then last night took Silver in the Skeleton Finals, finally realizing her dreams of winning an Olympic Medal, showing that even a dream deferred for 8 years can still be realized.

Costas Watch: Day 4

     Okay everybody, things are getting interesting now.  We've gone through the 9th Day of the Games, and Bob Costas has an eye that still looks like this:

     And not just that, but it seems that the hosting desk has now become the Sochi equivalent of the Tonight Show at the start of 2010.  After going with Matt Lauer for the first 3 days of Costas' absence, NBC continued raiding the Today Show and brought out Meredith Vieira for hosting duties.  At this rate, it won't be too long until NBC decides to bring back Jay Leno(for a third time) to do the Olympics.   As we head into the second weekend of the Games, who knows what NBC will come up with tonight?  Just one more reason for all of us to stay tuned, I guess.

The American Sweep, a Return to the Olympics, and Drama at The Iceberg: Sochi Day 8

     Today's coverage takes us to 3 different venues.  First up, Rosa Khutor for the Men's Ski Slopestyle Competition.  The most compelling competitor in this field coming in was Nick Goepper hailing from Lawrenceburg, Indiana.  In order to effectively train, he actually built a small course in his backyard.  The work seems to have paid off, as he wound up taking home the Bronze Medal.  Not just that, but the podium was actually swept by Americans, which led to this nifty moment at the medal ceremony:

    After that groundswell of American pride, we moved over to the Sanki Sliding Center, where the Skeleton competition was heating up.  Team USA was represented by Noelle Pikus-Pace, who had actually come out of retirement for the Olympics.  She had competed in both Salt Lake City and Vancouver, but had been forced to sit out of the 2006 Games due to a freak accident.  After the 2010 Games, she retired to focus on her family, but was eventually urged to come back to the sport, which she did so for Sochi.  She wound up finishing the first day in second place, which was a solid positioning.  Also at Sanki, the British competitor set the course record for the track, and the Russian competitor set the record for quickest start.  The Skeleton finals would come tomorrow.

     And now for the moment you've all been waiting for, lets head over to the Iceberg.  Today's figure skating heats were dramatic, and that's an understatement.  Today saw the start of the Men's Singles heats, with the Short Program being held.  Starting off the competition was the Russian hero Yevgeni Plushenko, who had skated brilliantly in both of his heats in the Team competition.  However, as he was warming up for the skate, he came down from a jump strangely and immediately winced in pain.  After consulting with the coaches, Plushenko made his way over to the judge's table and took himself out of the competition.  When the withdrawal was announced over the loudspeaker you could have heard a pin drop in the room.  Shortly afterwards, Plushenko officially retired, calling it a career after winning 4 Olympic Medals in 4 Games, and taking over 50 Medals in various International Competitions.  After that, Jeremy Abbott was up for Team USA.  Abbott started off his program just fine, but then wiped out hard on the ice just a few seconds in.  However, he got back up and finished his program.  But all of that was just a warmup for the main event of the evening: Yuzuru Hanyu.  The 19-year old skater from Japan had already wowed the crowd when he skated in the Team competition, but that proved to be just a warmup.  In his Short Program, Hanyu scored 101.45 on the Short Program.  Let me reinforce that for a second: he scored 101.45.  That's not just the best performance from Sochi, that is the highest score EVER in the Short Program.  That's right folks, we just watched history being made before our eyes.  And that's just another day at the Olympics.

Costas Watch: Day 3

     Everybody, this is bad news.  Bob Costas isn't back yet.  MY WORLD IS FALLING TO PIECES! 

     But even in light of this terrible news, I shall persevere.  Why?  Well, was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?  NO!  Was it over when Derek Redmond lamed up in Barcelona?  NO!  Heck, was it over when Jeremy Abbott wiped out yet again tonight?  NO! NO! NO!  Olympians keep going, Olympians are never discouraged, and we must dig deep and try to survive the absence of Bob Costas for a little while longer.  Hang tough America, we can do this together.

A Return to Glory, A Loaded Final, A Missed Chance, and IT'S A TIE: Sochi Day 7

     As today's primetime broadcast of the 2014 Winter Olympics started out, we were greeted by the visage of Matt Lauer.  Yup, Bob Costas is out again.  But never fear, Matt Lauer is here to hold things down till Costas gets back.  Our first stop tonight is at the Iceberg, where it's time to wrap up the Pair Skating competition.  The Russians were already on top after last night's Short Program, which made tonight's Free Skate the icing on the cake.  And the Russians iced their cake with ease, as the superstar duo of Tatiana Volosozahr and Maxim Trankov came in and dominated the field, breaking their own records in both the Short Program and Free Skate.  After that, another Russian pair took Silver, and a German pair won Bronze, even after turning in a performance where both partners fell down.  One interesting feature of figure skating in Russia is how much it draws upon ballet, which was explained in a special NBC report last night.  Essentially, since Russia is so ballet-mad, coupling the two disciplines works out quite well for all involved.

     Leaving the Iceberg for Rosa Khutor, we're back for the Women's Halfpipe.  28 Women started out the day, dealing with ice that was in a much better condition than that which the men had to deal with, and eventually the field was narrowed down to just 12.  Of those 12, 3 of them had won Olympic Gold in the previous 3 Games.  Torah Bright won Gold in Vancouver, Hannah Teter won Gold in Turin, and Kelly Clark won it in Salt Lake City.  And after all the scores had been calculated, it was a newcomer to the Games, 24-year old Kaitlyn Farrington who walked away with the Gold Medal.  Bright took home Silver, and Clark took home Bronze, leaving Hannah Teter off of the podium.

     Moving to the Adler Arena, it was time for the speedskating competition. Much like the Men's Halfpipe, there was a feeling of anticipation in the air, for this was the night that History could be made, with Shani Davis poised to win Gold in the same event for the 3rd straight time.  However, History was not to be made, as Davis ended up in a disappointing 8th Place.  Another American finished right behind Davis, keep an eye out for him in the future.  As for the overall medal totals, the Dutch continued their dominance, taking home both Gold and Bronze(which was won by Michel Mulder, one of the twins party to the Dutch sweep earlier in the week).

     Leaving the Arena for Rosa Khutor once again, it's time for the Women's Downhill competition.  After several days of Alpine Skiing competition being held, the field had started to gain some recognition.  You had Maria Hofl-Riesch, the German winner of the Super Combined; Lara Gut, the Swiss competitor; you had Tina Maze, the Slovenian skier/pop star; and of course you had Julia Mancuso, America's best shot at a medal and the one who grew up with the spirit of 1960 surrounding her.  But once the competition got started, all bets and superlatives were off.  Overall, the snow cover at the venues was better than the day before, so we didn't see as many falls this time.  Hofl-Riesch turned a 12th place performance, well off of her time in the Super Combined.  Julia Mancuso wound up getting into 8th Place.  Dominique Gisin finished the 1.69 Mile course in a time of 1 Minute, 41.57 Seconds, a time that seemed like it would stand up, which it did.  But then Tina Maze took the final run of the day, and gave it all she had.  When she got to the finish line, the clock read 1:41:57.  Maze had forced a TIE for the Gold, the first time that an Alpine event has ended in a tie for Gold.  Not just that, but Maze's Gold was also the first EVER Gold for the nation of Slovenia.  What a way to wrap up yet another historic day from Sochi.

Costas Watch: Day 2

     Forget the First American medal in Luge.  Forget the overspending on Sochi.  Forget the dethroning of Shaun White.  Forget the compelling storylines.  Forget EVERYTHING ELSE!  Clearly, the BIGGEST story to come out of Sochi so far has come from the Fortress of SolitudeInternational Broadcast Center.  Bob Costas, the veteran of NBC Olympic coverage dating back to the 1988 Seoul Summer Games, is out with an eye infection.

     This is a national disaster, people!  Matt Lauer said he'd be back today, but he wasn't!  Oh, Please Lord, help us!  What are we ever going to do without Bob Costas?  I don't know, and we as a nation may not survive much longer without the soothing voice of Bob Costas.  We'll be back tomorrow to see if Costas has returned, and indeed to see if our nation lives to see another day.

An American First, Family Affair Pt. 3, the End of an Era, and NBC goes to its Bullpen: Sochi Day 6

     For those of you tuning in to NBC's Primetime coverage last night, you may have been questioning the accuracy of your vision.  No, you don't need to run out and get glasses, that really was somebody other than Bob Costas anchoring the Olympics, something that hasn't happened since 1998.  The reason for the sudden switch?  Well, that's quite simple.  It turns out that Costas hasn't been wearing those glasses all week in an attempt to look like an aged Harry Potter.  He's actually been in the throes of an eye infection, one that left him looking, in the words of Matt Lauer, "like the losing boxer in a prize fight".  And so, yesterday marked the first time in 26 years that Costas would miss an Olympic broadcast.  But the show must go on, and so Matt Lauer was pulled from the couches of the Today show to come over to the Fortress of SolitudeInternational Broadcast Center.

     And with that, it's back to Rosa Khutor where the Women got their crack at the Slopestyle course.  One difference though, this time they're on skis.  The competition was dominated by skiers from Canada(because what else is new), but one of the winners was Canada's Kim Lamarre, who has yet another family connection to the Olympics.  Her Grandmother was a Alpine Skier in the 1956 Winter Games.  Lamarre continued the family tradition and actually bested her Grandmother's performance by taking home the Bronze.  Team USA won Silver, and Canada won the Gold.

     Also on the slopes was the Men's Halfpipe event.  Going into this one, Shaun White was the center of attention, as his quest for a 3rd straight Gold was ever-present.  Once the heat started though, all eyes left White and moved over to an iPod.  No, not the ground-breaking/overpriced MP3 Player from Apple, but Iouri Podladtchikov, the 23-year old competitor from Russia, competing for Switzerland.  This is a guy who has invented his own ground-breaking snowboard trick, the YOLO flip.  This entails doing a 1440 in the air(which is 4 full revolutions).  Needless to say, it's quite the crowd-pleaser.  After Padladtchikov wowed the crowd, two Japanese phenoms got their own runs in.  And then it was all up to Shaun White.  A big problem that has persisted all through these Games has been the warm temperatures, and those were making the halfpipe not nearly as firm as it should be.  The pipe had already claimed several competitors in the prelims, and it reared its ugly head again in the Finals.  White was well into his first run when the sloppiness of the terrain ate his momentum and caused him to crash.  On his second run, he did better, but was still unable to best Padladtchikov.  Thus, the 23-year old won Gold, and the King of the Halfpipe had been dethroned.

     But it wasn't all bad news for Team USA last night, especially after what went down at the Sanki Sliding Center.  Luge has been a part of the Games since the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Games, and in all that time no American has ever made it onto the podium.  Well, Erin Hamlin changed all of that last night.  Racing in memory of her Grandmother, who had passed away in December, Hamlin turned in a quality performance that ultimately was good enough to get her the Bronze, the first Olympic Medal ever earned by Team USA in Luge.  Hamlin wasn't the only attraction from Team USA though.  Kate Hansen has earned herself a cult following online for her warmup routines, which see her shaking it to Beyoncé.  She may have gotten 10th Place at the Olympics, but she's blowing it up on social media.  And you know what they say about the Internet, what's up there lasts forever.

The Small Town Olympics

     After her Bronze winning performance in the Women's Super Combined, Julia Mancuso remarked that she drew her Olympic inspiration from growing up around Squaw Valley, site of the 1960 Winter Games.  While all Olympics are unique in their own right, the Squaw Valley Games might have had the most interesting story of any games on record.

     In 1955, Alexander Cushing owned 2,000 acres of land in a small area called Squaw Valley, about 185 miles northeast of San Francisco.  The area contained a meager ski area, with one chair lift, two rope tows, and a 50 room lodge.  Then Cushing caught wind of possible bids by Reno and Anchorage, and his mind started working.  He figured that if those towns could get the Games , then he could throw a Games at his place as well.  Using some influence, he convinced the Governor of California to back the bid, which got Cushing another $1 Million.  This convinced the United States Olympic Committee to accept the bid, at which point it went before the International Olympic Committee.  Initially, the Games were awarded on a probationary basis, but on April 4, 1956 they were awarded to Squaw Valley outright.  This obviously annoyed the other traditional European powers who had bid for the Games, but their outrage was pointless, the Games belonged to Squaw Valley.

     Now the task at hand was readying the resort for the Games, which was quite a tall order.  The village was so sparsely populated that when the hand off came at the end of the 1956 Games, an IOC member had to stand in for the mayor of Squaw Valley.  By the time 1960 rolled around, the area had been transformed into a world class resort, complete with hotels, restaurants, public works buildings, and athletic venues, all ensconced in the city of Squaw Valley.  One divergence was the lack of a Bobsled run.  The high costs and the lack of entrants conspired to have the Bobsled contest left off the program, thus making the 1960 Games the first and only ones without a Bobsled competition.  There was one final hiccup on the way to the Games though, as the United States threatened to deny visas to Communist athletes in 1957.  After the IOC stated that they would revoke the Games if that move was pulled, the Communists got their visas.

     Once the Games started, the innovations didn't stop.  These were the first Games with an official Olympic Anthem, with the IOC having adopted one in 1958.  Also, these Games were the first to have their television rights sold, which were acquired by CBS for $50,000(by comparison, NBC spent $793 Million to secure the rights for the 2004 Games).  The presence of CBS also had another impact.  On one of the runs of the Men's Slalom, there was a dispute as to the timing of the competitors.  The judges asked to see the CBS feed of the heat, which gave the network the idea to eventually roll out the first Instant Replay.  The 1960 Winter Olympics go down in history as one of the more interesting back stories, as well as serving as an Olympic inspiration to athletes 50 years later.

Family Affair Pt.2, History Repeating Itself, Canadian Moguls, and Women's Supercombined: Sochi Day 5

     Today's competition took us back to the Iceberg(a venue which will see use throughout most of the Games) for the heats in Speed skating.  The first heat saw the Netherlands sweep the podium, and in a style similar to Women's Moguls, two of the occupants on the podium were related by blood.  This time around the Dutch had the family domination, with Michel Mulder winning gold, and his twin brother Ronald taking Bronze.

     Speaking of family domination, let's go back to Rosa Khutor, the scene of the domination at the hands of the Dufour-Lapointe sisters the other day.  The Men are up for their turn at the Moguls, and we're in for even more high-flying hi jinks, and more than a few falls.  Starting off with the Prelims, there were a total of 30 entrants into the sport, with the field eventually being pared down to 6 for the medal round.  That is where Alex Bilodeau comes in.  The 26 year old Canadian had already made history in Vancouver when he became the first Canadian to win a Gold Medal on home soil.  Not just that, but he is also renowned throughout Canada for his relationship with his brother, who has Cerebral Palsy.  After the 2010 Games, his brother became almost as famous as he did.  Going back to 2014, Bilodeau makes it into the Finals no problems.  However, one of the American skiers attempts a flashy move on a jump and instead wipes out in the snow.  In the Final round, Bilodeau pulls off a full 1080(that's completing 3 full rotations in the air), and winds up winning the Gold.  Not just that, but one of his countrymen takes the Silver, meaning that 4 out of the 6 medals awarded so far for Moguls have gone to Canadians.

     We then go back to the Iceberg once again for more speed skating.  This time the pack is led by Victor Ahn of Russia.  4 years ago, Ahn competed for South Korea under a different name.  This time, he's back with a new country and a new name.  One other interesting incident from the speed skating heat was a moment of deja vu.  You may or may not remember in 2010, the dramatic finish to one of the speed skating heats, where two South Koreans slid out and hit the wall right before the finish line.  Well, that same thing happened this time in Sochi.  Not just that, but the competitors who slipped were also South Korean.

     Wrapping up the days competition, we journey back to Rosa Khutor(yet another venue which will see use all throughout these Games) for the Women's Combined skiing event.  This event combined both downhill portions and slalom portions, with the scores from each heat being combined to give the final time.  In the downhill portion, the title was ultimately taken by American Julia Mancuso, who blew everyone away by besting the best time by half a second.  Afterwards, on the slalom she didn't do as well, but still pulled it out and won a Bronze, giving her a full set of Gold, Medal, and Bronze(Gold in Turin, Silver in Vancouver).  Rounding out this day of competition, the USA Men's Hockey Team started off their pursuit of Gold with a 9-0 victory over Switzerland.

The Team Finals, the Start of Hockey, Luge, and Biathlon: Sochi Day 4

     The biggest part of Sunday's competition was the wrap-up of the Team Figure Skating competition, which takes us back to the Iceberg to catch it.  After the first 4 heats, the bottom 5 teams were eliminated, which left 5 teams to contend for the Gold.  The Pairs free competition had been held the day before, so that left the Men's, Women's, and Ice Dance portions for Sunday.  The United States competed well on this day, steering the team to a Bronze Medal.  Overall, the Russians won the team Gold, which made Julia Lipnitskaia the second-youngest figure skating gold medal winner, after Maxi Herber, who won Gold at the 1936 Winter Games when she was 2 months younger that Lipnitskaia.

     Additionally, the day's competition saw the first competitions in Ice Hockey, with the Women's Prelims being held.  The finals for Men's Singles Luge were also held, with Germany winning Gold, Russia taking Silver, and Italy receiving the Bronze.  This day also saw the beginning of the Biathlon competition.  For those of you who don't quite remember, the Biathlon is a sport that combines both cross-country skiing and shooting.  It was originally devised as an exercise for Norwegian soldiers, but now is maintained as a sport.  The Women's Sprint competition was held yesterday, and Anastasiya Kumina of Slovakia became the sports first repeat champion.  Russia and Ukraine came in to finish with Silver and Bronze, respectively. 

The First Gold, the Team Semis, and a Sister Act: Sochi Day 3

     So, we’re back to Sochi for a third day, and we’ve got plenty to talk about.  After the pageant and spectacle of the Opening Ceremony(and a bit of getting lucky) we returned to the slopes and the ice to continue the events we started on Thursday.  First up, Men’s Slopestyle.  After automatically qualifying 8 people directly into the finals, there were still 4 spots up for grabs in the semis.  Early favorite Mark McMorris actually had to go through the semis in order to qualify for the finals, which was quite the surprise to everybody.  Eventually, the Finals were held, in which Team USA pushed through and emerged victorious, with Sage Kostenburg winning the very first medal awarded in these Sochi games.

     After that, competition moved over to the Iceberg, where the Team Figure Skating event continued.  After having completed the Men's short program and the Pair short program, today saw the Ice Dance, Ladies, and Pair free competitions.  And that brings up Meryl Davis and Charlie White, the pair who have won 23 Gold Medals in International Competition(there are waaaaaay more International Ice Skating events than just the Olympics) since 2008.  This was the pair that the United States needed after finishing in 7th place and 5th place on the first day of competition.  And things panned out quite nicely for them, as the pair took 1st place in the Ice Dance.  Then came the Ladies short program.  As if the Sochi games didn't already have enough controversy attached to them, the US Figure Skating team was ready and willing to provide more.  In the National Championships, Ashley Wagner had finished in 4th Place, but was sent to Sochi anyway based on her apparent experience internationally.  Needless to say, this ruffled a few feathers.  But once Wagner got onto the ice, she skated her program, and represented the team well.  But the real spectacle of the Ladies heat came when Julia Lipnitskaia stepped onto the ice.  The 15 year old skater from Russia wowed the crowd with her precision and skills(kind of like how Yuzuru Hanyu did the day before).  Afterwards, the Pairs free program wrapped up the 2nd day of Team competition, with Team USA finishing 4th, and Russia taking first in that heat.

     Moving back to Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, it's time to finish up Women's Moguls.  After Thursday's Prelims, the Finals competitions started out.  The Finals were broken up into 3 rounds, with the final heat giving out Medals.  Hannah Kearney made it through into the Medal Round, as did 2 of the Dufour-Lapointe sisters(Justine and Chloe).  In the Medal Round, the 2 Canadian sisters finished with Gold(Justine) and Silver(Chloe) while Kearney finished with Bronze.  And with that, competition was over for another day.

Getting Lucky with the Police

     So, I'm sure that all of you are familiar with the song "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk.  It's a pretty rockin' number, and certainly a toe tapper.  Not just that, but it also won a bunch of Grammys, and Daft Punk actually performed the song with Pharrell and Stevie Wonder during the show.  For the benefit of all of you, here's the video for that one:

     It's tight, it's legit, and it's got STEVIE WONDER in it.  I was under the impression that that performance simply could not be topped in the amazement department.  At least I was until I got off of work today and saw some chatter online about something to do with the Russian Police singing.  As with most viral videos, I decided to check it out(that's why they're called viral), and oh my goodness, it's something to behold:

     This is the Choir of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Holy Mother Russia it's something else.  This may or may not be the greatest viral moment to ever come out of the Olympics.  Oh, and thus far into the year, it's clear that 2014 pretty much belongs to Daft Punk so far.  Remember to stay tuned folks, with moments like this on only opening night, these Olympics look to be unforgettable.

Dreamscapes: Sochi Day 2-Opening Ceremony

     Today in Sochi, the Olympics finally opened their arms and let the world in, substandard accommodations(at least for the media) and all.  The Opening Ceremony, which took place on the second day of NBC's telecast, started off with a video of an 11-year old girl reciting the Russian Alphabet, with each letter representing a famous part of Russian history.  Some of the more renowned mentions were:

• Lake Baikal
• Yuri Gagarin
• Sputnik
• Gleb Kotelnikov(more well-known as the inventor of the knapsack parachute)
• Television
• The Russian Empire
• Space Stations
• And many more

     After that, we were treated to a performance of the Russian National Anthem.  Then came the Parade of Nations, where all 88 participating bodies marched into the stadium to capture their moment in the Olympic limelight.  After all 2,800 athletes were in the stadium, the theatrics picked up again, this time going into a dream sequence depicting various events in the history of Russia, such as building St. Basil's Cathedral, the rise of Peter the Great, the twilight of the Russian Empire, and then the dawn of the Revolutionary era.

     Soon afterwards, Vladimir Putin officially declared the Sochi games open, which set off more fireworks.  After a performance of Swan Lake, the Olympic Cauldron was lit using the Torch, which has been going all throughout Russia for the past several months.  Maria Sharapova brought the torch into the stadium, at which point she handed it off to several different Russian athletes, all doing their own part in igniting the cauldron.  Once the cauldron was lit, the Opening Ceremony was finished, and the Sochi games were officially underway.  Stay tuned everybody, we're just getting started here...

Near Perfection, A New Event, and A Family Affair: Sochi Day 1

     As opposed to London 2012, where television coverage of the whole Olympiad was kicked off with the Opening Ceremony, this year NBC decided to get a jump start on things, starting off their broadcast schedule Thursday evening with preliminary competitions in team figure skating, slopestyle, and women's mogul, with coverage of the Opening Ceremony to follow tomorrow.  So, we were left today without an Opening Ceremony to watch, but still plenty to grab our attention.

     The first event being talked about is team figure skating, which takes the existing figure skating events(ice dance, men's, women's, and pair) and combines them all together, so that they are each assigned a point value for a specific place in the standings.  At the end of it, the countries are ranked by how many points their teams have compiled. Today saw the men's and pair competitions, and the whole shebang was led off by the home team, with Russia's Evgeni Plushenko leading off the proceedings(if the name sounds familiar, that's because Plushenko also skated in 2010, finishing second behind Evan Lysacek[who is sitting out the Sochi games]).  After Plushenko, Jeremy Abbott stepped up to bat for Team USA.  Abbott might also be a familiar face, mainly because of his 9th Place finish in Vancouver thanks to an ill-timed fall while skating.  Alas, lightning struck twice, and Abbott once again fell while attempting a quad spin.  The next skater of note after Abbot was Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu, and boy is he a skater of note.  First off, he's only 19 years old.  Secondly, he turned in a performance that was damn near flawless, easily the best one I've ever seen.  He wound up receiving a score of 97 from the judges on the routine, and I am quite interested in seeing what his future holds.

     Moving on from figure skating, we saw a new event take center stage, the slopestyle contest.  Several Olympians made their debuts during this year's event, but the most impressive performance of the day was from Canadian Max Parrot, who turned a very dominant performance.

     After slopestyle qualifying, we moved to women's mogul(which is where the competitors ski down a hill dodging small piles of snow.)  This event was dominated by America's Heather Kearney, who won gold in this event in Vancouver.  However, one of the most interesting stories from mogul comes to us courtesy of the Canadian team.  Team Canada was represented in the prelims by Maxime Dufour-Lapointe, who was then followed by her sister Justine, who was then followed by her sister Chloe.  That's right, there's three of them, which hasn't happened since 1980.  We shall see what happens with the Dufour-Lapointe sisters.  Next up on Friday, the Opening Ceremony awaits...

Terror Threats, Rights Violations, Contaminated Water, and oh yeah, Winter Sports: Final Countdown to Sochi

     Well everybody, welcome back to The Flaming Torch.  It's been a few weeks, but I think we're ready to dive into some last-minute pre-Olympics coverage.  So far, the biggest things that have come down the wire have been Russia's harsh anti-gay policies, the lurking threat of terrorism, and various other issues(like foreign reporters having their phones tapped, a lack of potable water in the accommodations, you know, minor stuff[okay maybe not]).  But believe it or not, there are actually story lines relating to actual sport.  So far we haven't had the tragic pall cast over the start of the Games like we did in 2010, when Georgian Luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed in a training accident just before the Opening Ceremonies.

     Speaking of Opening Ceremonies, we've come to expect a great deal from them over the past few years.  Who can forget Beijing's 2,008 drummers, or the theatrics of London's 2012 show(remember that giant baby?  Still creeps me out), or that giant light-up bear that showed up in Vancouver 4 years ago?  Well, the organizers are being tight-lipped with the details, but what has been gleaned from various forms of chatter is that the Ceremony will feature roughly 3,000 performers reenacting various Russian fairy tales. Anything more than that, you'll have to watch the Ceremony tomorrow night to find out.
    
     Aside from the Opening Ceremony, there's been the last minute updates on which athletes are going, and who is competing in what.  Lindsey Vonn is out, sidelined by an injury that is still bothering her.  Shaun White is still in, just not in all of his events, having just pulled out of the slopestyle contest today in order to fully focus on the halfpipe.  And then of course you've got the uniforms.  Oh, the uniforms.  First up, you've got Team Germany, who's choice of uniform color may or may not be(but probably is) a rebuttal of Russia's infamous anti-gay policies.

 

     I'm not gonna lie, those uniforms actually look pretty cool.  Speaking of uniforms, let's take a moment to talk about Hubertus Von Hohenloe, a member of Team Mexico.  As part of his skiing uniform, he is wearing a one-piece mariachi suit.  You just need to see this to believe it.

 

 

     But let's be honest.  The outfit that everybody's going to be talking about tomorrow night belongs to Team USA:

 

 

     They look like something that your grandmother would have knitted.  Nothing against Grandmothers, they're awesome, but when you're getting a product by Ralph Luaren that is being displayed on the world stage, you've gotta do better than that.  Now I know that the common defense is that these are American made, but that's like saying that you'd rather have an Edsel than a Lamborghini because it's American made.  But before I get too far onto the hate train, this isn't the first time a stunt like this has happened.  In the 1984 Winter Games, the USA delegation rolled into the stadium with a getup that looked like a short version of what Joe Namath wore to the Super Bowl with a cowboy hat on.  But beyond all of that, bad uniforms, threats, controversies, etc... The Opening Ceremonies of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games air on NBC at 6:30 PM tonight.  And then I'll be back afterwards to sum up the ceremonies and provide a look ahead to Day 1 of competition.  Let the Games begin!

 

Hello Everybody, and Hail to the Olympics!

     First off, I'd just like to say welcome to the Flaming Torch!  You may or may not know this, but I actually have another blog as well.  If you knew that, great!  If not, here's the Reader's Digest version.  My other blog, which is called Chicago 365, revolves around the great city of Chicago, giving historical tidbits, reviews of various goings-on, as well as amusing vignettes that you never knew(for example, did you know that on two separate occasions in the 1950s, Chicago's beaches were stormed by military equipment?)  However, in the interest of branching out, I'm trying something new.  The purpose of this blog(in case you guys haven't gotten the hint already) will be to do a day-by-day profiling of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. (and heck, if I get really ambitious, maybe even Rio 2016.  But let's worry about that one in two years)

     If this is the only entry that you see, then consider yourselves lucky, cause you've clearly gotten in on the ground floor of this enterprise.  The Games kick off on February 6, so this blog will be getting more active the closer we get to the Opening Ceremonies.  And once the cauldron is lit, I'm gonna hit the ground running and start putting up new content during all 17 days of the Games.  So there you have it.  Read this post.  Tell you friends about it.  Tell your enemies about it.  Tell the person who cuts your hair about it.  Tell everybody you know about it, so that when this blog goes live, it gets an audience.  So make sure to talk this page up, and until next time...

 

Citius, Altius, Fortius