Underdogs leap to gold

HOUR ONE
Men's figure skating
Japanese skater kicks things Daisuke Takahashi off; never seen a Japanese man do anything in this event, but here goes. All in black, with red, like a cabaret performer or something. Announcing booth crowded but good--Scott Hamilton joins Sandra Bezic, Dick Button, Tom Hammonds. Takahasi bit shaky on opening jumps; steps out of second jump. Music okay. With four-man booth Hammonds is quiet, which is fine. Wonder how they know who should speak next.... Good footwork by this guy; Button says he has potential, just 19. Hamilton immediately brings a level of muscular analysis that with Button and Bezic's strong skills make this by far the best announcing team you'll see at these, or really any other, games.

Evening gets off to a bang as heavily-favored Russian Yevgeny Plushenko skates next. He'll win gold; too good, and he's Russian. All in black, with cutouts. Only lost twice since Salt Lake City, where he finished second. He just looks like a champ, which matters in this sport. Music sounds Russian; really, it could be anything, but it's good. Lands a big quad, bit shaky on landing but follows with a triple, nobody else is doing these kinds of jump. One after another, big and pretty smooth. Hammond says under the new scoring system, his best is 20 points better than anyone else; and he has the top 7 marks recorded. Wow. He does this odd twisting thing during the middle part, judges call it passion. He's good--but compared to his predecessors, Alexei Yagudin and Victor Petrenko, there's something lacking. Maybe because he has no real competition, no need to risk all to win. Almost seems bored out there; Bezic says everything in his approach is calculated. He gets a great score from the judges, 90.66. A-?

Next, with fans still showing up, Jeffrey Buttle of Canada... very vampy, all black with white collars and cuffs. He's tall and lean and long-limbed, jumps look easy, also somewhat odd. Falls on an early jump. Music is like jungle scat, it's allright, he does funny dance motions with his arms. Touches down on another jump, very ragged program. He should just skate, instead of trying so hard to be artistic or something. Or at least perform competently, makes the theatrics a bit easier to enjoy. Marks are low.

Technical specialist for the judges--Viktor Petrenko. That's like Troy Aikman working as a replay specialist at the Super Bowl. They should get him in the broadcast booth!

Frenchman Frederic Dambier skates--this should be good, he's wearing an odd mainly black outfit with cutaways. Karl Orff's Carmenia Borina. Falls on his second jump; oh well. Afterwards, odd 'interview' with Pleshenko, who basically just says he doesn't wanna talk now, will talk later after the long program.

Stéphane Lambiel from Switzerland, defending world champ, oddly dressed in some sortof peasant garb, red and black. Hamilton says his planned program is actually harder than Pleshenko, except right off the bat he doesn't do it. Odd music in background. Quad leads into triple, well-done. He's got a 'boyish' quality says Bezic, nicknamed the Little Prince. He's actually fun to watch, Bezic says he's very original; Button likes his style. But you gotta execute....

Catch-up
NBC reports Joey Cheek's donation's of his USOC bonus for gold is going to a group chaired by Johann Olav Koss, Olympic Aid, that's essentially a Peace Corps for athletes. Koss is one of my favorite all-time Olympians; he was great in cross-country, even better as a person.

Men's combined downhill
Ugh, it's Bode time, NBC thinks. Benjamin Raich of Austria is up first, he looks sleek and fast on the downhill portion. Austrian style is pure muscle, just got for it, no finesse necessary. He skis into first. Next, teammate Rainer Schoenfelder goes, zips past into the lead. I wonder why downhill isn't grabbing me like it has in the past; I conclude it's the announcers' fault.

Next up Ted Ligety, youngest member of the team. Since I know results... let's just say he matters today to NBC. He looks slightly out of control, which actually is a good thing in downhill, which is essentially a constant controlled fall. He's bleeding a lot of snow and hence speed, standing up too much too. Slow, into 13th.

Next, Ivica Kostelic, who may be better known at this point as the brother of Janica--who won three golds in Salt Lake, the best ever by a skier. The two of them are essentially the Croatian ski team, great story of what one determined family can do. He has a decent run.

Bode's about to race, so a big profile. Nobody cares! First, Giorgio Rocco of Italy goes, falls way behind, slalom is apparently more his strength. Then it's Miller time, after NBC shows a clip of him racing on one leg after losing a ski last year. He's looking fast here; very aggressive, the guy can definitely ski. Stays close to the ground, takes a good line too. Into first, by quite a bit.

HOUR TWO
Women's 500M speedskating
A bit odd here--they don't show two Americans (who posted mediocore time), and the lead-in talks about China's attempt to win their first-ever gold in this event. Okay.... American Elli Ochowitz vs. German Pamela Zoellner. False start by Elli; but on the restart she gets off okay, winds up winning pair, into sixth after first of two races.

Next Svetlana Zhurova of Russia and another Germany, Jenny Wolf; both are cruising, Russian just too strong. Next, Wang Manli of China and Sayuri Yoshii of Japan. Wow, Wang looks big and strong. Just speeding off, looks a bit too relaxed for some reason; also poor finish.

Next American Jennifer Rodriguez against Chiara Simionato, both finish well off leaders. I guess Rodriguez, who did so well four years ago, isn't that strong in this race. Wonder why her skate boots are half red, half white.

Enter one odd duck
Perhaps one of the weirdest profiles ever. American Skater Johnny Weir lays it all out there--flamboyant, outspoken, and an idiot. He says all these things as if anyone cares, as if anyone knows who he is--he tells his critics to 'eat it.' Uh, okay. Says he's pushing the boundaries; profile has him wearing all sortsof weird clothes and acting out. How about winning something before you go off?

Outfit is swanish, white with featherish. To Camille Saints Saëns's The Swan; good music, if overused. Button says Weir basically doesn't understand the piece and is giving a simplistic, incorrect interpretation. Beautiful first jump; why's he wearing one red glove? Cause he's brilliant and misunderstood. He's actually skating well, odd sense of urgency, as if he's in a hurry to shove it in everyone's face. I think he's had some bad experiences in life and is bitter--but compared to what people from Russia or Eastern Europe or pretty much anywhere in the rest of the world have to go through to get here, not much sympathy for the self-obsessed guy. Fun watching him skate, it's like Broadway on ice. Pretty clean program, will get good marks. Brezic says a beautiful but intelligent performance; Hamilton likes his calmness. On replays, he clutches his hands on his jumps, very odd and little boyish. Good scores put him in second.

Post-race interview says he felt a lot of pressure coming in, thank God it's over. Very straightforward, but again, so unaware of reality.

Tomas Verner of the Czech Republic goes next; black with what looks like torn orangeish patches. And weird music, very fluid; but biffs opening jump. Inconsistent, says Bezic, doesn't trust himself. And he messes up a few more times, so expected low scores come to pass.

Next up, Kevin van der Perren of Belgium skates to weird technoish music, in black outfit with EXIT on the back. Big first jump, but celebrates, and doesn't do second part; double jump combination is good. Hmm, does some sort of Nazi salute during spin, probably political commentary. Kindof a fun, zany skater; Bezic says a lot of theater, but also a lot of speed. Falls totally on a jump, shows disappointment, but then does some neat spins, salute again. Gang of four should comment on that. Disappointment on face as program ends.

Bode antidote
Bob Costas says it may come as a shock, but there are skiers beside Bode here. Jimmy Roberts and Chevy tell us about Benjamin Raich, the great Austrian skier, who with his dad makes his own skis. It's one of those man/nature stories; odd, who knew skies weren't all fiberglass. Essentially Raich's skis are wood in the middle. Roberts says Raich is the anti-Bode, with Raich saying: "If he wants to make a show, that's okay".

HOUR THREE
More alpine combinedLigety rips off a strong slalom run, and grabs the lead. Hmm, this kid can ski. Next, Kostelic of Croatia, zipping through the slalom--and into first by nearly a half second over Ligety. Next is Raich of Austria, who apparently got his own coaching staff to compete against Miller in the World Cup. He finishes first.

NBC goes to commercial with some Miller 'highlights'; my gosh, they really are flogging this horse. Back with Austrian Schoenfelder, a 'wiry little guy' who the announcers talk over and who does nothing. Lewis Johnson talks to Ligety; he seems normal and eager to do better.

Rocca of Italy runs through, he doesn't seem to be attacking so much, skiing very carefully, and finishes fifth. No real analysis from the announcers; and then up comes Bode. He looks fat and stiff; the announcers talk about his lackluster slalom effots this year; odd, looks like he misses a gate... loses time, but still leads by about a second. Finally, some analysis of how a slalom skier can save time. Announcers mention he looks winded, but don't bring up his beer gut.

Back from break, sure enough, replay shows he 'straddles' a gate. While they're confirming, they show a subpar American, S. Macartney; halfway through they say it's official, Bode's been disqualified. Oddly enough they continue talking about the irrelevant Macartney's run, Bode's DQ is mentioned only afterwards, almost in passing. It apparently happens all the time in slalom, but somehow it's fitting that it happens to Bode and none of the other guys. So two races down, three more to go for Bode. So weird how NBC covers this quietly, in contrast to all the hype they've showered upon him previously.

More short
This competition's pretty much over, but worth watching to see if anyone new emerges. Stefan Lindemann of Germany, looking oddly thugish and bloated. Only 5'4, in black with discoish stripes. Some sortof odd north african music or something--those Germans and their cultural wanderings. Good opening jumps though, not great speed though. And biffs a required rotatation. Button adds he blew it on the opening in, where 90% of all mistakes in jumps are made. Funny look on his face, like he's at a disco dancing watching others and hoping to get noticed. Trips badly on his final jump; Bezic and Hamilton comment on how he's used a lot of energy but not gotten much results; this program feels long. Currently in 14th.

Next, Matt Savoie, of the U.S. Never heard of this guy before; he looks like a thin college student, lanky with big hair. Powerful is a better look in this event. Gray shirt, fading to black. Button says he does 'old moves in new ways.' I'm not sure he's known enough to have a style. Starts too fast; good music choice, though, Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. Nice, big, opening triple axel. Good second series of jumps, both triples. Hmmm.... But two steps outof a jump; low level of difficulty overall means any mistakes hurt a lot. Odd, arena looks like it's half-empty, at least in the lower bowl. Not great applause as he ends; Bezic likes him, says he brings something special--sophisticated, intellectual. Hamilton says sometimes you just have to skate stupid, just do the jumps without overthinking. Not horrible marks, in 6th place.

Next is Brian Jourdin, of France, who's actually beaten Pluschenko, in 2004 Worlds. Tuxish outfit, white fading to black, 007 on back. Dumb Bond music; screws up opening jump, it's over for him. Fast, but frenetic, almost caffeinated. Then techno music, and shadow boxing... yeah, the French are brilliant. The theatrics overshadows his not-bad techniques. Button criticizes his footwork; Bezic says the choreography is trite. These guys are fun to listen to. Photographers must love ice skating, so much rink space in which to take photos from. Costume looks like something he made himself, at the last minute. Someone like this will never win gold, no classic sense at all. Button says he's actually got great jumps, but overshadowed essentially by his foppishness. Leave without seeing his scores; nice, NBC.

Two of two
Second, and decisive slalom run. Night's fallen; some nice aerial shots. Reporter caught up with Bode as he's 'walking back to his RV'. He seems ok, not too concerned about stuff. Macartney's shown first,okay run down brightly lit icy course, nearly wipes out near end. Next, Rocca; I remember Tomba used his huge forearms to bash through the gates, nothing like that from Rocca, he skis too carefully.

Next, the Swiss, Albrecht; they used to do well in this event, apparently not so much lately. Also skis carefully, barely in first at end, .01 seconds. Quick interview clip with Ligety--jeez, wonder why--as we near the bottom of the hour. Back to Schoenfelder; feel bad for these Austrians, they're always expected to win these things, but someone for the rest of the world always seems to ski the race of their life to beat them. He's into first, for now.

Now, Ligety... his folks seems really excited in the stands. Let's go, non-Bode! Wow, he looks fast from the top. He needs to make up like a second... wow. He's really going after it, his feet look so fast. Into first, by more than a second, huge in this sport. Jeez, he was cat-like quick.

Two racers left; Kostelic first. He's slower, too much hand/upper body movement up top; and his feet are moving too much too. He celebrates, currently in second. Final racer to come, Ligety's got a huge smile on his face as Kostelic celebrates. Now Benjamin Ratch... 9/10s of a second lead, lot of time. He's losing time... and he misses a gate, and stops, so Ligety wins! He'd have won anyway. Ligety is swarmed by other skiers and teammates (no Bode), wow. He made up more than 3 seconds over 2 slalom runs, pretty cool. Big smile; seems like a nice kid, announcers show some real, non-scripted emotion. He says he's totally surprised in the post-race interview; hugs his family. And Kostelic and his sister embrace emotionally too, nice that NBC doesn't lose track of that story.

Back to short
Evan Lysacek of the U.S. gets a pep talk from his coach before going on onto the ice... wearing a militarish black uniform with gold braid. Flamenco music; lanky and long-limbed. 'Disasterous' warmup, Hamilton says. Falls on his first jump. Seems to be settling down after that, though. But also seems to be trying too hard, a bit hyper. Skates pretty fast, though. Turns a triple into a double, all the pretty spinning in the world isn't gonna change that. Oh well; as Hamilton notes, openly looks disappointed, wonders what undermined his confidence coming in. Button on a replay says his technique was terrible on his fall, they show it twice in all. And he's got his head in his hands in the kiss and cry; scores are predictably poor, in 9th.

Final skater, Emanuel Sandhue of Canada. Red shirt, black; very operatic music. Wow, two huge opening jumps. Hamilton says he's gifted, but very uneven. Bezic says he hasn't skated a clean short program this season; he pops out of his next element. He's the other guy to have beaten Pleshenko since 2002. Falls on an easy jump. Button says he's glorious, except for the jumps. Bezic--he has all this talent, but hasn't been able to train consistently, you wanna wring his neck, there's an obligation to work that talent. He clearly needs a Russian coach.

HOUR FOUR
Speedskating--Women's 500M
Ren Hui of China vs. Wolf of Germany, Hui wins and is in first. In the final heat, Svetlana Zhurova of Russia edges Wang Manli of China, to take first overall. But Chinese women pick up two medals in a sport where they've never won gold... again, times are a' changing.

Never thought I'd see a Chris Farley clip played--legitimately--at the Olympics. But during a short profile of an American ski coach who's the one standing in the start box bellowing, they note accurately his resemblence to the SNL skit where Farley plays a motivational speaker who lives in a van down by the river.

For once, they end the prime time broadcast properly, with U2's In the Name of Love playing over highlights from Ligety's gold-medal winning run.

HOUR FOUR.5
Team cross-country skiing sprint
Only in late night do we get to see this awesome event. With the great Al Trautwig announcing, and a partner who just follows his lead.

Such interesting race, they pole hard up hills, then glide down. First lap of six takes about 2:30. Interesting technology automatically shows who's in first, totally scrambled at the handoff. Norway leading in, looks like Russia leads coming out; Italy way back in ninth, surprising since they've done well as of late.

Back, suddenly 6:40, with Norway and Sweden out front. These are the real men at the Olympics--nothing frou-frou or Johnny come lately with this grueling sport. Fourth lap starts, Russia rounds out top three--where's Italy? Germany, Finland, Kazakhstan round out top teams. Up the hills it almost looks like they're running, these guys are so swift.

Fifth lap starts, Norway still in lead but just by a few feet. Norwegian guy maintains lead, Norway goes into final lap with a few feet advantage. Anchor guys go out for sixth and last lap, Germany trying to catch first three. Man, this is gonna be great. Meanwhile, back at finish line, lap five skiers on the ground, dead to the world.

Russia goes in front up last hill; Sweden, with former Norwegian head coach, neck and neck with Norway. Norway back out in front, this is really great. Russia falls back a bit. Final push, guys are just going nuts, Russian in second now. Norway in lead; Swede passes at end, goes crazy, totally destroys everyone with a new technique--like a leap frog, wow, what was that! 6/10ths of a second, after 20 minutes of grueling skiing. Swedish women also won gold--after it's been 18 years since any Swedish team won a gold in this event, 12 years since the Swedes won a gold in any event (odd that they've been such underachievers, compared with the Norwegian winter sports juggernaut).

Not that the Norwegians are happy with their performance; the English-language site for one of their papers had an one of their papers published an article entitled Winter Olympics off to a bumpy start for Norway , which--written before the cross-country double losses--had these memorable lines:

Biathlon star Ole Einar Bjørndalen also wound up with silver instead of the gold medal that his fans expected. His coach called the star's performance in the 20-kilometer event "amateurish" after Bjørndalen had to reload and thus lost precious seconds in Saturday's competition.

And on Monday, the Norwegians' female biathlon star Liv Grete Poiree performed poorly as well, failing to mine any metal at all, finishing 10th after missing three shots. She called herself a "coward," and said she "can only apologize" for the results.

The odd thing is a glance at standing through tonight shows Norway with the most medals at 11 (albeit just 1 gold), and Russia and the U.S. trailing at 9 and 7 respectively.

Skating wrap
Hamilton makes a funny joke, that Pluschenko's so dominating with an 11-point lead going into the long program he's going for the gold, silver and bronze. Essentially there's no way he can lose, short of just a disastrous outing.

As Jim Lampley wraps up the day's action, he notes in passing that the German women swept the luge medals--for the 6th time?! Are you kidding?! A little research--cause NBC does none--finds the U.S. came close to busting up the streak:

Of the 36 medals awarded since luge debuted at the Innsbruck Games in 1964, the Germans own 27. They have swept the Olympic competition six times in 12 tries, and now twice in a row.

Photo of Ted Ligety during the second slalom run by Javier Soriano/AFP.

Photo of Swedish skier Bjoern Lind jumping across the finish line by Cornelius Poppe/Scanpix.