Some rise, most fall

Again, blogging backwards, watched 'live' starting around 10:00 p.m.

HOUR ONE
Michelle's farewell
Broadcast starts with a produced piece about Michelle Kwan's decision to pull out, giving her spot to Emily Hughes. It's so sad... but part of why we love sports is because the 'right' athlete doesn't always win. She's gracious and open in the studio interview, and you're reminded of why we all hoped she would get her gold.

Snowboarding: Men's half-pipe qualifier
As the camera briefly draws back you get a glimpse of the dirt on mountains bare of snow... somehow appopriate for this entirely artificial sport. Not that it's not fun to watch; just a little jarring going from Michelle to this.

The qualifying round isn't that exciting and goes on too long--everyone gets two chances and the best score counts, which I guess came about because people fall too often in this sport and you'd rather have competitors going for it all rather than playing it safe. Announcers are so California and like dude; they try to be grave and professional, but there all the moments where they're just acting like fans that the whole thing is almost unbearably painful to listen to.

I think NBC needs to go back to professional broadcasters, instead of putting on-air all these ex-athletes who are essentially reality show contestants. Sure, they can bring interesting anecdotes--but these amateurs aren't journalists, always root for the home team, often have bad communications skills, rarely bring any sense of perspective or clarity to an event, and can better serve as a guest voice in the booth where they can be free to be themselves; rather than as the host, where they have to think of the guests (that's us) first.

Anyway, the overwhelming favorite in this event, American Shaun White, biffs his first run, causing great anxiety among the cognesceti. One of the announcers says "I've only seen him fall like four times--literally, I've only seen him fall four times." Well, how many times have you seen him perform under Olympics pressure?

All the Americans are wearing these baggy, white pajama-like outfits with corduroyish stripes. Man, these kids today, with the pants and the hair, always trying to catch all this air... Wow, Andy Finch rips off a nice run, gets up super-high.

Men's Luge
Allright, an event I really like; hope ex-competitor now announcer Duncan Kennedy, and Carol Lewis and Bob Papa don't mess it up. They start with the legendary German, Georg Hackl. Hard to watch, getting right into it with no transition or set-up, sheesh. Also, announcers are unfortunately bad. Wow, Hackl finishes his run, and is already just second! Never seen that before. Since he's early, he'll finish out of the medals.

Next, American Tony Benshoff--currently fourth. Can take the first-ever singles medal for the U.S. No information on his background, or sappy bio, so not sure he does it. He hits the wall down the stretch, but has a good run and looked good for much of it. Usually the Americans choke in this event; if Benshoff doesn't get a medal, it won't be his fault.

Latvian M. Bubenis goes next, and by a few hundredths of a second slips past Tony. Russian Albert Demtschenko is next to last competitor, has got the look of steel at the start, and he takes over the lead. At this point you know it's over even if you haven't seen the results; hometown favorite and defending Olympic champ Armin Zoeggeler is like Hackl was for so long, chalk.

Sure enough, he grabs Italy's first gold medal of the games. Crowd goes wild, both Russian and Latvian look happy to finish where they do, and poor Tony waits till next time. But considering how totally incompetent the U.S. used to be at this event, a fourth place finish is good.

HOUR TWO
Short track men's 1500M qualifying heat
It's all about Apolo Ohno, who won a controversial gold in Salt Lake and seems like a nice guy, a happy-go-lucky free spirit but with some depth to him. Brief recap of 2002 at the start, leads quickly into the here and now.

First heat isn't Ohno's; takes a bit to get used to short track after the all-out nature of luge. Here, the object is positioning for most of the race, it's not until the last few laps that the skaters skate hard and want to lead. It's funny, they look like gentlemen with their hands tucked behind their backs, until the chaos of the final laps break out. Skaters from China, Netherlands, and Italy advance.

Next heat features South Korea's Ahn Hyun-Soo, who's Ohno's big rival this time around apparently. Non-annoying announcers talk about the efficiency of the Korean skaters; just like they're cars! Ahn hangs back for first part of race; when he passes the other three, it's in one fluid motion, nice to watch. He wins, with another Italian and a Hungarian following.

It's funny--the Olympics is one of the last arenas where you can freely stereotype by nationality. Partially because competitors from different countries do tend to cluster; there are definite national styles--the Russian school of ice skating is distinct from the Chinese which is different from the American, and it's funny when the Italian team, say, hires a Russian coach in hopes of learning the Russian way.

Someone should write a paper comparing/contrasting the Olympic styles of various countries with their performance and tendencies in other fields. Americans would be all over the place, we have and do a little of everything. Bet you the Germans and Japanese would be pretty consistent--they seem to win or lose the same way in everything. French would be consistent; China would be hard to typify, their modern artists and classical musicians are not what you'd expect at all, nor really are their athletes (then again, when you have 1.3 billion people, you're gonna have all kinds).

Third heat is on, with an American, Alex Izykowski from Michigan, who the announcers says is in a tough grouping. His hometown of Bay City apparently raised $30,000 to send him and his family here. Do well, Alex! He's in first halfway through, but as we know, that means nothing in this sport. Few seconds later he's second, then third; now there's a fall, he only has to beat one guy to qualify. And he does it!

Now it's Apolo's heat. Ohno is just crusing through the race; looks visibly relaxed compared to everyone else. He wins easily--he really has the aura of a champion. Interesting how certain athletes have that, while with others, who may be just as good, you're always kindof surprised.

Snowboarding, part deux
Profile of White; he's got long red hair, hence the flying tomato nickname. He seems really tight with his family; you can tell he's a good kid, raised well. Qualifying rounds, part two; some Italian dude does well, then a Finn does too. Nothing in the Olympics is boring--four years ago I spent hours watching cross-country skiing, totally engrossed--but these snowbaord qualifying rounds seem like they've been going on forever. It doesn't help that every few minutes they raise the official high drama fake crisis of the day--will Shaun White qualify?! Or will the tomato get squashed?!

French guy goes, does well. White waits--the announcers must've said that at least six times already. Japanese guy goes, not great; you'd think they'd be better in this event, they generally have good body control--hence strong gymnastics squad--and are into all the cool fads over there.

So White's gotta do well on this second qualifying heat, otherwise, in a huge upset, he's out. Announcer says he just needs to do his stock run to get past. He seems to be playing it safe--but is still definitely better than everyone else. "It's just annoying that I fell in my first round" is a funny post-race quote; also, he's not some idiot racer, he didn't talk to the media until he qualified.

HOUR THREE
Men's downhill
This should really be one of the centerpiece events, along with ice skating and hockey. But NBC's treating it as an also-ran--unbelievable that snowboarding is getting waaay more airtime, but when you hang your broadcast on all-USA all the time, you sacrifice sport for flag-waving.

Austrian starts, the famed Fritz Strobl; he's followed by another, wild, Austrian, Michael Walchhofer, the World Cup leader, who despite skiing really raggedly beats Fritz's time, bulling his way to first.

Next, a Swiss, Bruno Kernen; shouting Tim Ryan and his partner mentions how the once-proud team has fallen on hard times. Kernen also just pinwheels crazily near the top, but the thing about downhill is you can make up for your mistakes. Annoyingly, the engine of one of the camera helicopters drones loudly in the background. Wlachhofer still in first.

Hmm, some actual reporting--Americans are using for the first time ever a new pair of skies just in from the factory, even though these skies have never been used in competition before, and the Austrians passed on using their pair. Hmmm, I wonder how this turns out... let's see, the world's top ski team says no way, too late, we'll go with what got us here. The crazy Americans say sure, cause you know, we're thinking we can't beat you guys with what we have, we need some x-factor. Sheesh.

Ah, the legendary Hermann Maier. Big guy, fun to watch. You know, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy--NBC isn't promoting these foreign guys anymore, so of course people don't have any interest in events that Americans don't win. Maier is slow for some reason; is this typical this year, or is something wrong? Announcers are no help. He's currently in third.

Next, another legend--Kjetil Andre Aamodt, from Norway, with seven previous medals. Wow, he totally windmills, somehow doesn't fall. The veteran is uncharacteristically a bit out of control, my guess is he won't be in medal contention. Ryan just said he thinks he may add medal number eight... but at the end Aamodt finishes third, with many skiers yet to come.

Still can't believe this premier event is being shoehorned into like 20 minutes. It's like NBC is polluting the environment, just for hopes of short-term gain. It's Bode time... he looks slow from the top. Announcers are just praising his record, instead of talking about this race. He's losing time... Ryan says he was spotted out late at a bar last night, sidekick defends Bode. Silence now, he's going slow. Almost standing up, you don't wanna do that. In fourth. Heh, heh. Just looking at the World Cup results, it looks like Miller's stronger event is the slalom; glad the announcers mentioned it.

Next, Daron Rahlves, deciding after watching Miller's race to switch back to the original skies. So insane; right before his start. Ooh, he looks a bit out of control. Now it looks like he's skiing too controlled in the middle; announcers are puzzled as to why he's almost a second slower than the leader. Wow, he did look like he was skiing well and on a good, just slow. Was it the skis?! He's in seventh at the moment.

They show Scott Mccartney cause he's an American; as he's skiing they're not even talking about him, they talk about his mom's accident. This is pathetic. He's a minute in, they haven't talked about this race at all. God, he's all over the course, dumping speed left and right. They haven't even done the customary computer run down the mountain. He even finishes pretty well, 11th--too bad announcers didn't talk about it.

Ah, interview with Rahlves, about the ski change stuff. He says it didn't really affect him... seems puzzled as to what happened to what seemed like a good run. Marco Buechel, a Russian. Again, they talk about his bio as he skis, even though he seems like a serious contender. Ooh, he stands almost straight up--so he won't be fast enough; finishes in sixth. Hmm, apparently they're now going to commercial after each break.

Last racer; Antoine Deneriaz from France, who was first in training, but not that great most of the year. Again, bio as he skis. Whoah, he's going after it, he looks fast--almost sitting down on his skis. Now announcers are paying attention, belately, over a minute into the race, since he's half-a-second ahead of the Austrian's pace. Picking up time; he's gonna win. And Tim, in what's gotta be the most embarrassing reaction for an announcer, busts out with a 'he's gonna win this thing!' as Antoine nears the finish line. Well, duh--too bad you couldn't have said that closer to the start.

The first post-race interview, of course, is with the 5th place finisher, Bode. He admits he wouldn't have beaten Deneriaz no matter what, at best he says he had a shot at second.

Wow, huge French flag in the crowd; so now they gotta go to the replay to figure out exactly what happened, since they weren't paying attention the first time. Good technology of showing his run together with the Austrian lasts only for a few seconds.

Deneriaz gets one question in the post-race interview. And it's not till Bob Costas that the huge margin of victory--largest since 1964--is mentioned.

HOUR FOUR
Mens 1500 short track semifinals
First heat, Ahn hangs back, then again, with one move, passes everyone with five laps to go. Now he falls back; now he sprints up, and he and the Chinese skater pull away on the last lap. The announcers note how relaxed he was, even when he fell back a little.

Next, Apolo's heat. Announcer says he should have no problem making it out of this round, it's an easy race for him since the others aren't really of his caliber. He's up front, then passed; skating easy. Wow; pure power, he just blasts past everyone with seven laps left. Announcer is looking ahead to an exciting final. Ohno and the Chinese skater are out in front.

Oh no, Apolo! He wipes out! The announcers are surprised! But then recover quickly, and give us good analysis. Taking what the announcers say is an unnecessary risk at the end, trying to move up to first from second even though he'd have qualified where he was. After, he talks about wiping out in the semis--'it sucks, you know, straight up.'

Hmm, this all makes me like Apolo even more. He just takes it in stride--it's a sport, especially in this sport stuff like this happens, got more races to. Funny, NBC runs a promo right after this for the short track finals, features a close-up of Ohno.

Oh well; now the two South Koreans are apparently favored in the finals. Two Chinese skaters, a Canadian, and a 16-year-old from Hungary. As you might imagine, the Koreans, Ahn Hyun Soo, Lee Ho-Suk, finish 1-2, and one of the Chinese men, Li JiaJun, grabs third. And the South Korean broadcaster, who was disqualified in a controversial decision four years ago, wells up with tears too.

Shaun of the gold
The finals in halfpipe airs near the bottom of the hour, so even if I didn't know Americans went 1-2 in this event, I'd figure something good happened for the U.S.

Wow, a 46.8/50 in the first finals run for Shaun White--pretty cool, it seemed to me he was even playing it a little safe, but maybe his B+ game is still better than anyone else's A game.

Next up, another one of those Finns--but he wipes out right at the end of what the announcers call a 'solid' run. Another of the four Americans in the finals (vs. three for Finland), Andy Finch. Ouch--midair, smacks down on the top of the ridge on his hip. Then goes back for it; another fall, the guy's already got a foot injury so he'll end this run.

Another American, Mason Aguirre, does well. Another Finn, Anti Autti, also wipes out near the end. Final American--Danny Cass, on a green board, boy, he really gets up high; but then wipes out flat on his back.

They start with Kass, who has a clean run, getting up really high. Funny, the announcer is talking about his subtle moves, in a very unsubtle tone. Kass' score puts him in silver medal position... right now, Americans are 3 of top 4.

Finn Autti, wearing what looks like a steel helmut. Announcer says whatever he lays down, White will have the 'last rebuttal'. Never thought I'd hear that debate phrase used in snowboarding. Clean run for the Finn, but apparently not as high and impressive as Kass. Whoah, judges give him a low score that the fans don't appreciate.

Aguirre's up for his last run... announcers mention U.S. has a chance at a sweep like 2002. He's checking out some sort of gadget before his run--maybe it's music he's piping in? Announcers don't enlighten. A bit shaky, smacks an edge down; oh well, no sweep but still fun to watch.

Final competitor, a Finn. His run seems okay, even without a near fall at the end. Cameras catch Shaun letting out a victory scream, celebrating a bit with his coaches. Will he make a run anyway? Yup.

Whoah! He gets up high, then just messes around a little. Kindof an odd, non-scored run. But he seems like a good kid, tears up, talks about his family; wrapped in the flag in the best sense.

Mix the spacy, well-meaning but young White and the intellectual veteran Bob Costas and you get one of the most bizarre interviews I've ever seen. But Bob's a pro, and he adjusts, and together the two keep you watching. Costas asks about the medal, his family, his 'flying tomato' nickname, and getting babes with his gold. It's a bit awkward and funny, especially when the two of them talk about Shaun's desire to maybe meet Sasha Cohen....

HOUR FIVE
Women's 500M short track qualifying
Both U.S women they show make it to the finals, with Hyo-Jung Kim advancing after another skater was DQed for impeding her, and Allison Baver winning her heat. Kim, the announcers say, want people to know she's an American, born here to a naturalized U.S. citizen, even though she's spent much of her life in South Korea. Win the gold, and you can be sure you'll be recognized as an American.

Men's 1500M short track B final
Odd, Apollo Ohno is missing, supposed to be out here for the race (which is a non-medal final)--instead he's coming out from the back still, even as his competitors are being annnounced.

Some of the coaches for the other racers are trying to keep him out! But Ohno gets past them, climbs out onto the ice. So bizarre! The race is weird too, Ohno starts out in last for a while, didn't seem to know what to do, before making a last-minute rush and almost makes it to the front, before finishing third.

Women's 3000M short track relay qualifying
There are a lot of laps in this event, but it goes by pretty fast. Most interesting feature is how skaters give their teammates pushes as they 'hand off.' China leads most of the race, with the U.S. trailing Canada by a pretty significant margin. Oh well; the announcers, ex-skate Dan Weinstein and Ted Robinson--who are pretty good, informative without being obtrusive (and not too loud)--say it's a disappointment for the U.S. to not even make the final.

Since it's night, they show an entire semifinal heat that doesn't involve Americans--the favorites South Koreans, and the Germans, Italians and French. Funny, they say one of the ROKers has been skating slower since she moved to France to start skating for the French; laxer training apparently. So it's not genetic....

South Koreans lead easily most of the way, Italians behind them; rest of the field far behind.

Day's wrap-up
Again, since it's night they follow a brief interview with the first American gold medal winner, Chad Hedricks, by showing the entirety of Canadian Jennifer Heil's gold ceremony.

It's astonishing... the day in review takes just a few minutes, but shows all the sports that never get any air time--and succeeds only in making you wish they gave you a chance to experience the drama slowly unfolding in something close to real-time.

Doesn't NBC get it--anyone would rather watch a compelling cross-country skiing race for 20 minutes, than see yet another ice skating filler piece, or downhills qualifying. The network's job is to find announcers and do the research to set up a sport in a way that helps us understand what's compelling about what we're watching, even if the rest of the year we'd flip right past it.

It's been a weird day in any case; Kwan and White--old and new, female and male, off-ice and on-snow, all the obvious dichotomy cliches--dominated, with the U.S. team as a whole suffering through another disappointing day. Feels like the broadcast has been padded with a lot of qualifying stuff, much of it not that compelling.

Typically, NBC wastes more precious minutes with a strained-voice and stuffed-looking Kelly Clarkson belting out Since You've Been Gone--and doesn't even bother running it over sports footage. So when do they do end the night with a clip of Michelle Kwan's farewell performance at Salt Lake, it lasts just 30 seconds.

Photo of halfpipe gold medalist Shaun White by Adam Pretty/Getty Images.