In the midst of change

Ice Skating: Pairs long program
NBC gets right into it, and the Americans Hinnsman and get things started, he in all black, she flaming red. Clean program to start; they're really skating in a different event than the top Russians and Chinese, it's like the JV vs. the varsity, but it's still nice to watch. Speed isn't there though; nor is naturalness of elements; nor is height; revolutions are fewer and slower. But as Dick Button says, they are pleasant to watch, good naturalness with each other Sandra Bezic adds, Tom Hammond is silent on this count. Music is good; who knows, in four years these guys could challenge, if they stick with it. No falls or major mistakes, something to build on.

Women wiping out
An odd segment--they show women downhill skiers crashing, with the American helicoptered out for treatment. Then the luge, another American woman also taken to the hospital after a horrific crash that left her unconscious while sliding down the track. Okay... sports can be rough. But lots of men are taken to the hospital--what's the point of just showing two women?

Back to pairs
Back from break, the annoying Canadian retired pairs couple, Salé/Pelletier, demonstrating a lift in pairs skating.

A husband and wife Polish pair, Zagorska/Siudek, dressed in matching red/fading to black outfits. Start their routine wiht her upside down on his shoulders. It's a testament to skating's popularity that NBC shows as much of it as possible, even though the Americans are horrible in this sport. This team is okay, lots of little mistakes up front. Feel bad for the Poles, they have no resources in this sport, hard to do anything on your own--announcers say they plan to retire and start a skating school in Poland. They seem like a nice couple; announcers are respectful, don't talk over them. Wow, he somersaults her up into a lift, as Bezic says he's a good lifter.

Jimmy Roberts and Chevrolet check out Yao Bin, the coach of the Chinese team, who's built the program up from nothing. Oddly, Robers says we may not wanna admit it, but his story for most Americans is probably lost in a sea of "foreign faces and unpronounceable names." Huh? Y-a-o (just like Yao Ming); B-i-n. Come on Jimmy, this isn't American circa 1954.

Bin's is an interesting story; in 1979, at age 22, with his 12-year-old partner they were picked to be China's first figure skating pair. They had to learn from newspaper photos; she dressed in a helmet and pads, because she kept getting dropped. They finished last at the World Championship in Germany that year, and were laughed at by the crowd for being so terrible. But now.... It's a good profile, if short.

Next, Dube/Davison from Canada, both in black, with silver collars. They look like prom king and queen, she's just 19. Interesting how in pairs the women tend to be older than in individual. Nice jumps to open. Good music. Their hand/arm movements seem so choreographed, though. Nice throw; good side-by-side spins. Surprisingly good performance so far, if they do gaze into each others' eyes a bit much. Hammond says it's her first year in senior competition; this team could be quite good back home in four years. Small bobble on a lift; she seems to be getting tired; then he biffs the final lift--they're young. Bezic notes they really fell apart down the stretch; Button says they'll be worth watching.

A perfunctory look at how the judging takes place. For each element, scale is from -3 to normal to +3. Then there are five overall categories that they get judged on, not that the sideline reporter goest through them. You'd think given the importance and history of scoring in ice skating, especially in pairs, this would be better explained--seems more worthy of time than a demonstration of the lift.

Snowboarding: Women's halfpipe qualifiers
Ah, we finally get the names of the worst announcers at these Games, perhaps ever: Pat Parnell--whose qualifications apparently include appearing in Mountain Dew commercials--and Todd Richards--who's appeared in a couple of movies. Sheesh. They're both idiots; henceforth they'll just be referred to as the announcer.

This is pretty boring; start with the first American, Kelly Clark; then Gretchen Bleiler; then another American, Hannah Teter, then a Frenchwoman. They all do awesome, radical, etc. Final American, Elena Hight, 16--Clinton's the first president she remembers. Torah Bright, Aussie, is declared the main threat to the U.S. of A.

HOUR TWO
More snowboarding
Bright--who the announcer says has a tendancy to crack under pressure--is shown first for the second run. She doesn't crack, and actually winds up first after her run.

Next, Hight. Announcer notes everyone else on her team is in the finals, so there's a lot of pressure on her. She seems to be playing it safe; announcers not sure if she'll make it in.

She does; so it's four Americans, three Japanese among the 12 finalists.

Speedskating: Men's 500M
Yaay, a great event. Combined time in two races determines medalists. This is the race that Dan Jansen famously fell twice in. First up: Michael Ireland (from Canada), Joji Kato of Japan. Neither guy skate that fast. Next, another Cananadian, Jeremy Weatherspoon; they do a quick bio on how he fell four years ago, right outof the gate. It's a rough sport, so often you never find out what you can do.

Jansen talks about how he advised Weatherspooon to del with it... he didn't say it on-air, but I bet he said just win a gold medal, all will be forgotten.

Up against Wotherspoon in Joey Cheek of the U.S., who they say is skating really well even though this isn't his best event. Nobody falls; wow, Cheek goes out strong, blows into first. Hmm, funny they profiled the Canadian and not him, now that he's in first halfway through I bet we see something on him in the second half.

Next is Casey FitzRandolph, who won four years ago. Against Yu Fengtong of China. Yu totally gets out to a great start, but FitzRandolph slips a bit, and that's pretty much it for the defending gold medalist, who finishes 17th. It's a heartbreaking event.

Final pair has American Kip Carpenter vs. Lee Kan Seok of South Korea, which the announcer mistakenly calls Korea. Oops, a false start on Kip. Oddly enough, the false start is charged to the pair. On the restart, Kip slips, and that's it for him too. Screw-up on the crossover by Kip doesn't help things.

Button's pairs
Shen/Zhao, he of the Achilles injury. Good outfits, he's all black like a prince, she reddish, like a... modern princess. Music is nice, too. But whoops, she misses the second part of her opening jump, again; ironic because everyone's been worried about him. But then they have a beautiful, big throw. The Chinese have really improved their artistry; look forward to the day when they skate to Eastern composers. Another huge throw; nice jumps. And an effortless big lift to end things; 'incredible' says Bezic, marveling that he's made it through--once it's over he's gasping for breath. Button gushes, says they have their own personal Olympic medal here now. Judges place them in first.

A weird team from Germany, Savchenko/Szolkowy--he's in a brown outfit, she tan, with an odd spray-onish tan, not very classic-looking. They start gracefully, easily; skating a bit slower than the Chinese. Good music. Screw up a throw; they're very fluid though. Big lift; the music changes to some interesting dirge-like piece; I gotta say, I like their performace, but Button tells us they're slow, and not very original, with no spark. The more I listen, the more I like Button, he makes these old-mannish comments that don't really flow, but are interesting. This announcing team is definitely growing on me. Some other dumb mistakes--including the dreaded out of sequence side-by-side spins. As Bezic notes, they have an easier program, so any small bobbles will be magnified. Button gets it right at the end--it was a pleasing performance, enjoyable to watch. But, as we know, comfort doesn't win gold.

Next, Inoue and Baldwin. In maroon velvety prince/princess outfits. They miff badly their opening jumps--American hallmark in this event is choking on the easy stuff. Another biff on their second jumps, badly out of sequence. Announcers get quiet. Beautiful throw, but camera angle makes hard to see. Hammond throws in maudlin bit about Inoue's health history. Histoirc throw coming up; and she falls flat on her face. Button gives out another personal medal for their having landed it in the short. Bezic notes if it weren't for having landing it, they really wouldn't even be competitive with the top pairs, not in their league. More bio from Hammond--it's like he hears silence, and goes down his list. At the end, Hammond notes Baldwin was elected captain of the U.S. figure skating team--which tells you something about the sad state of U.S. skating. He again manhandles her like his doll in the kiss/cry; marks are low, just 3rd and it's early.

HOUR THREE
All American
It's the women's finals. Hannah Teter kicks it off for the Americans/NBC, wow, nice big trick. Too bad I already know what happens here. Afterwards, she does an odd pantomine bit when the camera's on her. Next American, Gretchen Bleiler--her run looks even better than Teter's. Both women celebrate. Third competitor they show, third American, Kelly Clark. Wow, huges first move; announcer says she's way better than the other girls. Three Americans hug now. Clark finishes third--but announcers don't say why. Even crazier--that's all they show outof this segment!

Come back to the 2nd runs; they show Bright, maybe they confused Australian with American. She does really well, so I guess that's why they showed her. Announcer keeps calling them girls, then noticeably follows by making a comparison to men's competition. She gets a fourth-place score, the announcers say they're shocked.

Elena Hight, the fourth American, who they bill as the future of the event; she's very twisty, draws a wowww at the end. Still stuck in sixth though. It's irritating that you get no relative sense of how good competitors are from the announcers, they react to scores as if they were audience members. Norwegian Kjersti Buaas, only one who could stop an American sweep. She bobbles a bit, announcer say 'a little sketch there', seeems like a good run, but again, who knows. Buass jumps into second.

It's totally ridiculous how we never see the rest of the world--are the Americans so great it's not even worth watching others? Clark's gotta answer; man, she goes huge. time after time, but then wipes out right at the end! Oh well, she went for it. "Blurring the difference between men and women" the announcers say; one of them says he's going on the record, the most explosive run he's ever seen--wow. She finishes outof the medals, but what a run.

Bleiler goes, this American team is totally feeding off each other--announcers are like wow the whole time. Not Clark-level, but nice. One announcer says he thinks it was a gold medal run. Better be right if you're gonna say that--and he isn't, she gets silver. Teter's the gold medalists, does a victory lap, and everyone's happy. She's so valley girl in her post-race interview, it's almost a parody. But she's funny, down to doing voices and stuff, seems nice too.

Speed wins
Second run in speedskating finals, held at Oval Lingotto, starts with Yuya Oikawa of Japan and Yu Fengtong. Jansen reminds us Japan cares a lot about this sport--where are the Dutch, though? Odd, I guess they're more distance guys. Blistering start for both, right at the end Yu trips and falls across the finish line. Crazy thing--he's still second overall, odd in a sport where hundredths of seconds decide medals.

Next to last pair, Dmitry Dorofeyev of Russia, Wotherspoon of Canada. Russian--in a totally crazy reddish whitish 70s paisleyish outfit--totally beats Canadian, odd, Jeremy's good.

Then Cheek, with Lee Kang Seok of South Korea. Jansen says this is almost a done deal. He looks so smooth, Jansen says just has to stay on his feet. And he does--and he wins! He's got a shot at another gold in the 1000, his stronger event.

Afterwards, ESPN reports (a word with which NBC needs to become more familiar), Cheek says he'll donate the $25,000 he wins from the USOC to refugees in the Darfur region of Sudan. Further, Eric Adelson writes:

Cheek also called on his sponsors to match or beat that pledge. "The best way to thank someone," he said, "is by helping someone else.' Here's your Olympic hero, America. Or maybe we should say, "Here's your boy, Red, White and Blue!"

Amazing how reporters like yours truly chase after the Bode Millers and Michelle Kwans of the world and stories like Cheek's get largely ignored. While Miller had to avoid the media, Cheek came to the pre-Olympic media summit in Colorado Springs and basically sat around waiting for reporters to find him. When a few trickled by, he spent as much time quizzing them about their lives as the scribes asked about his. He disclosed his goal of getting into Harvard, and suggested that it might mean more to him than winning a gold medal. How many pro athletes feel the same? (Besides Ryan Fitzpatrick.)

And it wasn't like Cheek lacked any of the usual myth-making credentials. He won a world championship, just like Miller. He's honest and eloquent and witty, just like Bode. (Cheek recently told USA Today that he planned to major in economics because "I heard that's what gets the girls.") He has a cool backstory, with parents who had little money but did tons of charity work anyway. Joey's mom gave her time to help the homeless and help child victims of abuse. Joey's brother, Michael, remembers waking up on Christmas morning to get a card announcing that an uncle had donated money in his name to a cause.

(To be fair, Miller has a family full of philanthropists and he himself donates time and money to the Special Olympics. But that didn't get many headlines, did it?)

Yet most Americans will only see Cheek's name for the first time now. And if he placed fourth or lower on Monday, most Americans would probably never have heard his name at all.

Da Russians
Petrova/Tikhonov of Russia. He's in all black, she all red. Typical Russians--smooth, fast, confident, good music. But they bobble their second jump, so that's atypical. Then she pops out of another jump, so maybe these guys are from Belarus?! A couple of big and elegant throws, but they're just skating out the string. Nice big lift. Bezic and Button notes new scoring system doesn't differentiate between jumps just to get them out of the way, versus having them occur naturally; Bezic says these guys 'copped out' by doing their jumps right at the beginning. Tikhonov looks so tired, Bezic says, even though he's Russian and they're known for their training. Four and a half minutes is a long time to skate. Bezic really isn't impressed by the performance, says she hopes they don't get the marks. She does set up the dichotomy--Russians are better skaters, Chinese better choreography, so whoever performs better will win. Low marks, crowd whistles.

Pang/Tong, black and gray with yellow highlights. Phantom of the Opera... they won't win on the basis of that, it's too standard a choice. Okay jumps to start. They skate tentatively, no sense of danger, of going all out. Nice throw; Button says though it's not breathtaking like it has been. She's got a nice grace to her, though, very long-limbed. And Button like their unison. Their artistry is good; and a nice big throw. And a good death spiral. The Chinese, Bezic notes, have really improved their choreography recently; they've always been known for their 'tricks'. A nice performance, but no heart in your throat watching. Announcers really warmed to this pair as it went on. Scores aren't bad, in second.

Next, the favored Russian pair, Totmianina/Marinin. They recount a horrific accident that left Totmiyanina unconscious; it affected him more, he saw it all while she was knocked out. He seems like a good guy, very gentlemanly. Slowly they rebuilt their confidence together... gosh, some very nice Russian scenes in this profile. Their coach sounds very sharp, Russians always find these good coaches, masters of psychology, almost parental toward their skaters.

Both in pinkish/reddish matching outfits. Bell tolls to start the music; wow, they are so fast. Bezic says they can't afford a mistake, final Chinese pair have more difficult routine. Wow, they're so smooth, makes it look effortless. Music matches well, lets them show off their moves. A not-great lift; followed by a good throw. Some nice footwork; Bezic says if they have a weakness it's their lifts. They do a good one; then a nice throw. Music is so nice; another tentative lift, Bezic and Button says it's a cautious program, not transcedental. It's enjoyable to watch, but no sense of danger. Definitely room for the Chinese. The announcers build on each others' comments, agree this was good, but not great. I like how they talk out loud though, trying to express in words how they feel. Their scores are really high; judges are still judging on history a bit, but Russians deserve it, they've defined this sport for so long the Chinese are going to have to really deserve it to get gold.

The Chinese arrive
Zhang/Zhang--who will attempt a throw quad sowchow, which has never been landed in competition. Apparently they've made it about half the time in practice. Better uniforms tonight, light whiteish/blue.

The throw is their first move--and wow, she totally falls, hits the ice hard, unable to protect her body. I've never seen anyone fall like this before in competition--oddly enough, Chinese coach is impassive, doesn't rush to their aid like any American coach would've done.

He immediately goes to her aid, and slowly brings her off the ice. And now--it looks like they're going to try and skate again! Announcer asks what happens next... answer is they continue from where they stop, if the referee allows it. And they're going to continue! My gosh.

He's holding her very tenderly; announcer rightly says this isn't about a medal, it's about fulfilling a dream. So they start up again... and do a difficult double axel/triple toe loop!

Wow, a huge throw; then a nice lift. This is amazing. Most people would've given up, and rightly so. But they're not just skating, they're skating well. Almost like nothing happened. They're gonna get one heck of a standing ovation. Talk about the Olympic spirit. And mind over matter. She's a little shaky, but who knows, maybe they'll even get enough points for a medal.

The music is beautiful. Man, ice skating gives you more moments like this than all the other sports combined for some reason. It's one reason why we all love it so.

I'm so glad I don't know what happens here. A little out of unison on their final spins--but who cares. And the standing ovation goes on and on, and the announcers let us soak it up. It's really amazing; especially on replay, which NBC only shows at the end.

The most amazing thing--they get the silver! With their teammates taking bronze, and fourth. The Russians, as they always do, take the gold. Unusually, she tears up. I think the torch has been passed though; the Chinese know they could have won gold here, and the judges do too. The Times notes in its article that landing the jump may have been the only way they could've knocked off the big red machine--in four years, I think the playing surface will be even.

Title XX
NBC wrapped up its night focusing on how the women pushed their way to the front tonight, showing they, too, are willing and able to pay the physical price in pursuit of athletic excellence. Given how the broadcast networks have historically been very slow to showcase women sports on an equal footing with the men, Jim Lampley's comments don't quite ring true and come across as patronizing political correctness.

Anyone who's been watching the Olympics or the WNBA or women's soccer or really any television the last decade knows at the top level athletes compete to win at just about any cost, and paying the physical price is part of the game. This isn't new, or noteworthy, unless the focus is on people's reaction to it.

The Times includes a quote from Toutmiania that's as good as any to end on, both for what it says about her as a woman, and a Russian:

In October 2004, Totmianina was injured in an even more violent fall, tumbling from the top of a lift and hitting the ice headfirst. She sustained severe bruises and a concussion, but returned to skate only two weeks later.

When asked about Zhang Dan recovering enough to finish the competition, Totmianina said, "I could not finish my program because I was unconscious."

Photo of women's luge in Cesana Pariol by John D. McHugh/AFP.

Photo of speedskater Joey Cheek after winning gold by Max Rossi/Reuters.

Photo of Zhang Hao throwing Zhang Dan by Grigory Dukor/Reuters.