Lucky two dozen

They organize this final non-live segment of American Idol oddly, and poorly. Starts with all of them in a room, waiting for the results. Each one takes an elevator up to another room, where the three judges tell them yes or no. They cut five people right away in like a minute, people we know nothing about and have barely seen.

Seacrest says everyone else is in a state of shock with so many 'nos' right away. Shock? They should be happy, their odds get better with every no. Then another person's cut too, apparently not unanimously. Then another; seven down, so from here on out it should be 50-50 yes/no.

Odd, wonder what they do between Hollywood and Pasadena--how do they cut from 32 to 12? They don't tell us, or show us--all the tape's from Hollywood.

First yes is Katherine McPhee, the daughter of a music teacher. Judges indeed pick her; I've never thought she was great though. She kisses them all, and acts all flighty afterwards, and in the elevator going down. She's quite the drama queen.

Next is Ace Young, he'll make it. And he does. He's a good-looking solid guy, a bit like Constantine. Another guy is cut; another woman who says she can't believe she's been told no, at 26 she says it's over--she has a complete meltdown, making the judges think they were probably right. She's mad in the elevator down as well.

Next, Robert Bennett, who I've never seen before. I think he'll make it; and he does. So far I'm 3 for 3.... He shows some personality in the elevator on the way down, but also acts weirdly, so I don't think he'll last. He's like a comic.

Mandisa Hundley is next, I think she goes on, even though she's fat. And even though she gives Simon a piece of her mind before it all--he smiles and takes it; then she talks about if Jesus could die.... Ugh. She makes it; has a good attitude, although one would never call her jolly.

Next, Melissa McGhee, cut. Oops, judges disagree; I'd never seen her, made my decision based on her look. Mark Locklear; no idea, never seen him. But he's cut. 4 for 5. Next, Lisa Tucker; makes it. Simon talks about her being 16; Ryan talks to her mom, who looks well-put together and could be in the competition herself. And they show her making it via the reaciton on her mom's face.

David Radford, he'll make it. He says he doesn't know what he did right--well, he's good-looking, has a good attitude, and an old-fashioned crooner's voice. And he makes it.

Next, Jose 'Sway' Galang--I hope he makes it, think he will, too, on his birthday no less. He has an interesting voice, and isn't your standard white boy. He makes it. Nexxt Elliott Yamin makes it; I didn't think he would based on his look. Brenna Gethers, who was hoarse in Hollywood and then nuts, won't make it. Well, Simon agrees that she could be a nightmare, but they put her in. Gosh, she's annoying.

Next, Marci Smith, who hates Brenna. I think she'll be cut. They cut four in a row, none of whom they're shown at all. Oh well. Gedeon McKinney is good, he'll make it. Makes a I'm ready for America to see what God has done; you have to have it. He makes it. Simons says after if he'd heard the speech, he'd have said no.

Next, Stevie Scott--hmm, very interesting, likes opera and a lot of other things, she'll make it, has a good voice and a good look, something different. Yo, any Asian Americans so far? Just Sway... who I guess fills both Asian American and Hispanic.

Next, basketball star Ayla Brown--she's attractive, has a decent voice, just as importantly good personality and the right look. Paula says nothing difficult for you, Simon make a joke about giving the underdogs a shot.

Chris Daughtery, who gets stuck in the elevator, will make it of course. He's only stuck for six minutes; and is through. He calls his wife afterwards, everyone claps for that. Paris Bennett is so cute, she's making a list of who's left and who's in.

So's Rebecca O'Donohue, she'll make it, has the look, and can sing. Yup, she's in. Two people roll their eyes. April Walsh will be cut. She immediately says that's allright. Heather Cox will make it, has the look. And she does. Hmm, which one's fat and red-headed, which one's blonde and attractive?

William "Bucky" Covington--never seen, looks country. Think no, but judges say yes. Patrick Hall, same deal except looks nerdy, same result. Next, youngish Kevin Covais, his parents agree he's a good kid. God, he can sing--I say yes. Simon says it was a really tough decision, can't tell from his reaction in the elevator--but he's through! Wow, this is gonna be interesting.

Paris Bennett next, she of course makes it, despite Randy's try at a fake-out. She's so cute, a good person. Yaaay! It makes me happy just to see her. Four places left, eight people in contention.

Back from break, they reveal the truth with the Brittenum twins, forgery charges for both. So out they go. Next, Kellie Pickler, easily in. She breaks down; Paula shows emotion too, Simon isn't gushing over her like he once was. As usual, she talks it out; even makes a joke with Ryan pretending she's going home. Next, Taylor Hicks; through, I'd say. He comes up playing on a harmonica, well too. Panel responds well; he's in. Starts singing. Cool guy, I really like him.

Next, Kinnik Sky and Megan Bobo, neither one of whom they've really shown. Megan's out, Kinnik's got the last spot. Kind of a bad way to do it, with them there together.

Finally, last two guys. Wow, Syd Harcourt has quite a voice; William Makar is his competition. I'd say Syd myself, but think they'll go with the budding teen idol Makar. And they do.

Of my eight favorites coming out of the first audition round, two are gone--Mecca was ousted before Hollywood, and Garet cut after the first Hollywood round. The other five are still in it: Paris, Kellie, Taylor, Chris, Patrick, and Lisa.

Totally looking forward to seeing everyone's makeovers next week.

Neither here nor there

For once I have no idea what happened today as I start watching. Neither, it appears, does Bode.

Ice needs ice
It's not an inspiring lineup tonight, so let's start with the odd piece in the Post a few days ago by Paul Farhi, entitled Where the Rich and Elite Meet to Compete:

In the history of the winter competition, dating from its inception in 1924, dating from its inception in 1924, competitors from only six countries -- the Soviet Union/Russia, Germany (East, West and combined), Norway, the United States, Austria and Finland, in that order -- have won almost two-thirds of all the medals awarded. Only 17 countries have ever amassed more than 10 medals during the past 19 winter Olympiads. Only 38 countries have won even one medal. ...

By contrast, the all-time list of summer winners is long and deep, extending to athletes from 143 countries, including such places as Tonga, Paraguay and Burundi. The Summer Games have medal hogs, too, but nothing like winter ones. The top six in the summer -- the United States, the Soviet Union/Russia, Germany, France, Britain and Italy -- have swept up slightly more than half the medals since the modern games started in 1896.

I think Farhi, a Style writer, is stretching to try and make a point. Given the Summer Olympics have had an extra 28 years to spread, let's given their cousins another few decades to percolate. Even so, the gap isn't that wide between 'nearly two-thirds' (63%?) and 'slightly more than half' (52%?)

Nobody's arguing the Winter Games are as accessible as the Summer--no equipment required to run fast after all--but let's not try to make one egalitarian and the other elitist. I mean, East Germany wasn't exactly rolling in dough when it was dominating the Winter medals table. And in this day and age of international students studying in the U.S., how much GNP does it take to have one student with a talent for a sport training here and competing for their homeland?

HOUR ONE
Speed skating men's team pursuit
Hmmm, it's a team event, but Chad Hendricks said in a press conference he's not gonna beg a teammate to race with him so he can try for five golds. Shani Davis says this isn't his event, and he wants to concentrate on his best shot for gold. Dan Jansen says well, that means the U.S. isn't fielding it's strongest team.

Very odd formation--eight laps, three guys each on both sides of the ice. It looks cool, like cycling team pursuit. How can the U.S. not beat Italy?! Yet the teams are pretty much tied. Jansen says they're really skating well--yet it's essentially tied with three laps to go. Now Italy's up, and widening; U.S. is trailing, K.C. Bouttie is way behind, others don't wait for him--and Hendricks looks mad as the U.S. loses. Pathetic. Not sure I like him anymore; NBC is making it about Davis, says he's the only elite skater who didn't compete for his country.

Women's 500M short track
Qualifiers for semis; sheesh, pretty early in the process to start showing this. Some American is racing, the Chinese woman is way in front. Crash, three hit the boards hard, American Alison Baver gets up first, qualifies for semis. Wow. Hmm, she's dating Apolo.

Next, another American, Haley Kim, the one who's spent most of her life in South Korea. Ugh, she's way behind early, forget it; it's not even close. Commentators say she's been nursing an injury, and this is her least effective distance. Then they show the final heat, bunchof young, good skaters, two are taken out early by the favorite South Korean stumbling.

Three of a kind
Dick Button and Scott Hamilton join Costas in the studio to talk about Plushenko and the other skaters. It's an interesting, informative talk. Particularly when then talk about the nutty Johnny Weir. Who Scott defends... sortof, saying he's essentially telling the world I'm here, I'm weird. Button likes his style on the ice; he's not at all dressed for tv, I like him, he's like an old-style analyst, is a pro and cares about what he says and reacts to what others say. Funny moment at the end with Scott and Dick praising each other, and Bob saying we adjourn this meeting of the mutual admiration society. And from that to Ted Legaty's medal ceremony.

Men's freestyle skiing qualifiers
I'm not sure about this moguls event. It's one of those is it a real sport things; and the skiers NBC focuses on all seem obnoxious, led by that Jeremy Bloom--who NBC bills as a two-sports star even though he really wasn't much of a wide receiver playing in the Big 12 at Colorado. Announcers are your usual loud-yellers.

Canada's Chris Wong kicks off NBC's saturation coverage, nice run, he's in first. Then Mikko Ronkainen of the strong Finnish team; flailing jump, not great. Better second run, and fast. Another Canadian zips down, and Marc-Andre Moreau's into first.

These announcers at least try to do analysis during and after the run. Neat segment with a camera strapped to a skiere as he bumps down the course and flies into the air. No idea how these guys don't all have brain damage. Hmm, apparently the goggles play a key role in letting them see the course as they zoom down.

The classically-named Ruslan Sharifullin of Russia goes next, this doesn't seem at all like a sport Russians would take to. Too frivolous somehow and fun somehow, and he falls on the 2nd jump. Travis Cabral kicks off the American contingent, he just goes for it, and has good jumps, should be in first. And he is. His teammate Travis Mayer is next, same deal, he'll be new leader, even faster than other Travis. These Americans have a definite style of straight ahead as fast as possible--whoah, Mayer is just 4th. Odd.

Alexander Bilodeau of Canada next, bobbles out of the gate, looks hunched over compared to the Americans, and has a poor 2nd jump landing. Into 7th. Now Bloom goes; kindof a rough run, impressive but some mistakes. Into 3rd. Next, Dale Begg-Smith. He's apparently an Internet millionnaire, after starting a company to finance his skiing. Wow, he gets up there on a jump; funny pinkish ski bottoms. Good run, into first. They talk to Bloom, sportspeak. Next, Janne Lahtela, defending champ, from Finland. Has been having chronic back pain... nice, relaxed somersault, whoah, almost misses 2nd landing.

Finally, Toby Dawson, the last American. Originally South Korean, adopted at age 3. He's been trying to be a bit different than everyone else the last year; they show his family. Different technique up top; takes a different line too; big jump, sortof leaning differently; wow, huge second jump, too. Great run... but somehow doesn't get a very good score, into sixth.

So four Americans in the top seven, going into the finals.

Not that short
Sheesh, more coverage. Semis this time. They should've cut out a round, and shown men's double luge instead. Baver's heat gest going first, she's in third halfway through. Tough heat; she tries to pass, but then oddly doesn't stick with it, commentator says if he was her he'd have gone for it. Chinese and Canadian make it instead. Next semi, another Chinese woman, Wang Meng--she aggressively jockeys at the start and leads start to finish. Tight race though.

HOUR TWO
Women's downhill
Starts with a brief look at Lindsey Kildow, who was in that horrific crash during practice a couple days ago that left her in the hospital. She's gonna race, though. Tim Ryan also sets up the storyline of Kildow racing against her 'friend' Julia Mancusco, they've known each other for a decade which means they essentially have grown up together.

Alexsandra Meissnitzer kicks off the Austrian women's charge; weird that the women haven't had much success when the men are so dominant. She grabs first. American Kirsten Clark next, no previous mention so she must not do anything. Looks fast up top, though. But trailing already; this apparently isn't really her event. At some point you'll know the U.S. team has arrived when only the best can qualify out for each event. Ugh, almost totally stands up near the bottom; time is poor, far back.

Michaela Dorfmeister of Austria next, she's well-known and apparently led the charge to toughen up the women's course. She's wearing this cool green helmet; skis like the Austrian men, just barrels down, almost out of control, but just channeled enough to stay on course. Wow, she's half a second faster halfway through; compared to men, still skis more carefully, reminds me of footage of Phil Maher in 1984. Wow, grabs lead, by over a second. She's gonna be hard to beat. Swiss skier Martina Schild goes, her grandmother apparently won the downhill in 1948 games; granddaughter manages to slip into second.

More in-depth profile of Kildow and Mancuso. It's like something you'd see on American Idol--nice and free-spirited, possibly just a little kooky in the case of Mancusco. 'Friendly, but not friends' is how Lindsey terms their relationship. Apparently the announcers don't watch these things.

Mancuso is up first, odd camera angle makes it hard to see her up top. Unlike the men there's no sense of danger, seems to be more controlled and deliberate. She's losing time, not good, doesn't seem to be going that fast. Maybe a pure line will held down low, cause she's small too. Gosh, she's waaay back. Oh well, into 6th. Anja Paerson from Sweden, who I remember from four years ago, runs next. She's fast up top, finishes in 3rd.

No idea how Kildow is able to ski after that accident; but here she comes. Lots of chattering on her skis; but looks allright. Bit slow though; not sure anyone's gonna catch Dorfmeister. She's very tentative I think, careful in her tucks, almost deliberate. Gosh, she's lost a lot of time; oh well, definitely a case of where just showing up is victory. Both Americans in top ten, not bad for a program that didn't really exist not too long ago. And she's upset--good!

Dorfmeister's almost crying, only one skier to go. Given that it's almost 10 and they're showing an Austrian here, my guess is the U.S. did nothing today medal-wise. Final skier is Carol Montillet-Carl, a Frenchwoman--and defending champ--who looks motherly somehow. Skis like it too, she's 1.31 behind off the top--but I guess she's just coming off a big accident. She finishes well back.

Wow, so the Austrian women finally break through after 26 years of no gold in this event. Dorfmeister says post-race she's been so nervous, no sleep the last couple of nights. And making no sense, NBC goes to commercial at the top of the hour.

HOUR THREE
Men's 1000M short track qualifying
Boy, NBC must totally be desperate to stick a mere qualifying heat in this time slot; hope Ohno doesn't fall. Rusty Smith of the U.S. is in second for most of the first of six heats, Korean guy behind, Hugarian in front. Now Smith goes in front, then the Korean, and that's how they finish. So top two advance, plus two of the fastest 3r-d place finishers.

Next is a Slovakian followed by an unidentified skater and then a Korean. Announcers say these guys aren't going that fast, so they know only two will advance. Then a Chinese, Italian, Belgian, and a German. Asian guy's in front, metaphors galore. And the legendary Li JiaJun uses his big body to control the race from up front, wins.

Final heat--they didn't show a couple--features Apolo, with young skaters--a Russian, Ukrainian, and Dutchman. They go slow, oddly enough, not gunning for three out even though they know the times they have to beat. Ohno tries to make a move from the back, still in third. Next, moves into second. Then a sweet inside move and he's easily in the lead, and opens it up. Announcer really likes the way he looks; and he wins.

Crash
Jimmy R. and Chevrolet (it'd be funny if one night a truck was in the studio) take a look at crashes and the game, focusing on Kildow. He's got this thing where he tries for poetry; so sometimes it just falls flat. It's a patronizing piece--the women downhillers have had it the roughest of all so far, after petitioning for the downhill course to be made more difficult maybe they didn't know what they were getting into. Oh? He wraps it all up with the whole she won even though she didn't thing.

Mogul's mogul
Wow, it's a cool-looking course at night, lights on along the straight-down slope. Finnish Mikkok Ronniken first, wow, these guys are going fast; good run, he was flying. Looked like the tape was on fast forward. High score, announcers says will be hard to beat.

Canadian Alexandre Bilodeau next. Starts off a bit slow, huge first aerial that apparently nobody does. Misses his second big jump a bit. Wow, am getting into this event, I feel like I'm watching the *best*run*ever everytime down. But not a great score.

Lahtela of Finland next, looks like an elderly man compared to the rest. Announcer compares him to U2, always putting out hits. Big 2nd jump, but messes up the landing--no mistakes at this level allowed. Nice camerawork, can't be easy capturing these guys at full speed. How does this sport not destroy everyone's knees?

Jesper Bjoernlund of Sweden; nice two jumps, sticks his landings, but nothing like the first guy. High score has him in second, though. Next, Mayer goes. Looks nervous, but focused. Seems to be slowing up for some reason, an okay jump at the end--he won't be first. Just in third, six left to go.

Dawson next--also seems nervous. Wow, he's going fast! Wow, an amazing! second trick! It was like a somersault--cork 720--camera angle was great; he should be in first, easily. Whoah! He's only in second--but he seems happy.

Next, Bloom. His dream is to win gold, then a Super Bowl ring. Ok.... An okay first jump; nice second, not great jump. He won't win. Finishes fourth. Bye, Bloom. Next, Moreau of Canada. Apparently a surprise to be this high. Nice first jump; And a good second one, he'll be third or lower. And he's third....

Final American, Cabral. So far a disappointing event for the Americans. No one's fallen yet, either. 720, okay. Nice second jump, but hits the ground--so at best bronze. Probably out of the medals. Yup; in 8th. Dawson's mom looks pretty happy, he's guaranteed a medal. Begg-Smith of Australia last guy. His knees technique looks really good; first jump is nice. He'll win gold if he keeps it up; and he does.

So the touted Americans just get a bronze. Dawson looks like a good guy post-race interview, usual athlete speak. Bloom says he made a couple of small mistakes; still happy for Toby. He actually seems like a nice guy too; looking forward to the NFL combine.

HOUR FOUR
Short track men's relay
Wow, first semi South Korean guy hit wall; team almost out, until German guy hit wall later. U.S. versus China, Italy, Japan. 44 laps! U.S. in last early, means nothing. Focus is on Apolo... hopefully all goes well, this sure is exciting to watch. Wow, Ohno goes from 3rd to first, in a huge move, crowd totally into it. This is almost an unimaginable event, it's like totally teetering on chaos. Whoah, Japanese and Italians take each other out, so U.S. and China just needs to keep going. About 18 laps left, 4 minutes elapsed, about 3 left. U.S., China easily advance.

Man, finals will be nuts, Italians get through after Japan DQed, so five teams! Afterwards Apolo talks--'if you mess up once, it hurts, bad, but you still have more races to go.' Sheesh, Andrea Joyce is grilling him like he's on the stand.

Short track women's 500M final
Crazy--they're showing this, no Americans but two Chinese among the four. 4.5 laps for gold, wild, frenetic. Wang, who again executed a strategy of going for it all on the start, wins. Whoops, falls twice on victory lap, with her teammate carrying big Chinese flag.

I'm telling you, we're watching a country grow up in front of our eyes. China competed for the first time in the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid in 1980, with 28 athletes and an 18th place finish (in slalom) its best result. By Salt Lake it was up to 72 athletes, finishing 13th with 2 golds, 2 silvers, and 4 bronzes.

And now, it's already got 7 medals, just 2 fewer than the U.S. It's been a rough night for the U.S.--just one bronze. And we're trailing by quite a bit in the overall medals, too. As I said on Sunday, someone unexpected needed to step up in a totally inspiring and everyone else needed to feed off his or her charge. Nobody yet; maybe nobody at all.

HOUR FOUR.5
Nordic combined team
Seems like Germans vs. Austrians here. Austrians jump, do well, Then Germans. Then Austrian, takes first; then last jumper, German, and he takes first back. Russia in third, after first round of jumps. Hmm, that was brief.

Lickety-split
Ted Ligety's in the studio for an interview with the wooden Jim Lampley. He asks him if Bode being DQed gave him extra motivation--cause you know, everything here stems from Miller for NBC. Then Jimmy asks him how much of his success is from being born at winter sports HQ in Park City, Utah; Ted says a lot of it.

Afterwards they show the women's luge ceremony, with three Germans on the podium. Funny, on the bottom of the silver and bronze podiums, it says Passion Lives Here. Apparently so does English.

Night ends with Duran Duran playing, again absent any sports footage.

Photo of China's Wang Meng celebrating winning the 500M short track gold by Mark Baker/ AP.

Photo of Austria's Wolfgang and Andreas Linger after winning the doubles luge gold by Jean-Paul Pelissier/ Reuters.

Photo of Bode Miller with March 2002 Playboy playmate Tina Jordan during a party in a bar after he was DQed in the combined slalom earlier in the night, by a Reuters stringer.

Idle, Idol, Ideal

This is usually one of my favorite parts of the competition, when they pair people up and you see some of what they're really like. Wow, they don't get back to the hotel until 2:00 a.m. Anyone who's rehearsing at this hour is crazy.

Terrell starts lecturing about his two teammates, who are in bed. He's getting tiresome. At 3 a.m. he's calling one of them--what a waste of time. Other teams practice without everyone. Terrell calls his second teammate, reminds them what he's told them before. More talking; no practicing, or sleep.

Next morning people look tired. Terrell is still complaining, creating drama. Some girl says no one ever called her to let her know when to practice... she's also an idiot dramatic type, talks and preens for the camera.

Some groups are happy together; Terrell is making more calls, fusses and yells at his brother. Man, I can't wait to hear what he says in front of Simon.

10 am, some groups gotta go, others get more of the day to rehearse. First group, three girls, with Paris Bennett fronting, others singing backup. Wow, they've also got that Stephanie Scott woman, what a power group. They'll all be fine. Simon rakes them over the coals--no chemistry, no buzz. Hmm, they make decisions right after they sing! Paris, Stephanie get through--Simon says she's lucky to continue--third girl is out.

Terrell wastes time complaining; on stage his foursome is horrible as a group, they do nothing but stand and shoop-shoop. Individually, actually, they're not bad, except for some bald guy. Terrell isn't bad for all his stupidity; but forgets some of the words. And he of course rips half his group, it's pathetic. Judges though let three of them through, including Terrell. Then afterwards he trashes the one guy guy who practiced with him... ugh. Too bad T's been DQed because of legal problems, he was an entertaining trainwreck.

Back, and the guy who looks 12, Kevin Covais, leads his smooth group. They could go tour right now, all four make it easily. Some girl Tyra ditches her orignal group, tries to join another one, but doesn't seem that happy with it. Terrell's bro Darrell makes it to the next round, but wants to say something. He insists; says his spirit has been broken. It's bizarre; he thought his brother had been cut, but he hadn't been. So Terrell tells him he has to go back and apologize.

Other people keep singing... all-girl group sounds fine, decent choreography, all make it through, even the one who had the words written on the back of her hand.

They show a guy who forgets what song they're singing; lots of people butcher the lyrics--you'd think in year 5 they'd have learned you gotta remember the words--and that nutty Tyra leaves her second group. Tries to rejoin original group 30 minutes before they perform... they yell at her, but let her back in.

The group she just ditched is totally unable to remember the words, it's painful to listen. See ya to all three.

So Seacrest helps Terrell and Darrell get mikes in their hands, they talk to judges; fellow competitors aren't so sure they want them back. Simon tells them he's fed up with their hissy attitude, tells them to get off the stage, they'll get back to them.

Tyra's new group sings; they're pretty good. She's not so much, got a weird, mannish voice. The three of them make it--and she's through too, after they make her stand alone. Next group is a bit vampy, 2 girls and a guy, one of them says they had some issues, the one she was talking about goes off on some sort of crazy speech about how it's Idol, not Idols. Guy goes through; girls both make it through, even the one with the odd voice.

Funny 'trailer' about that Garet Johnson cowboy and his two fellow cowpokes. One guy says the epitome of being an American Idol is we can all work through our differences. Garet apparently is unable to perform the dance moves properly; so looking forward to their performance.

Back come Terrell and Darrell. One of them apologizes. They've both been invited to stay; and that's it. Now, the cowboys.... It's a very odd performance. Not sure this is a good song for them at all; plus they keep forgetting the words. Good thing the judges like them. Simon calls it ridiculous, and my gosh--all of them are cut, and go home! Oh no, Garet is so sad afterwards, starts crying, tells one of the other guys he's sorry he let him down, they hug for like a minute. Afterwards he says he knows he's not ready, he's so green at this; that if he waits a few years, he may become something. What a good kid; can't believe he's gone already!

Part 2
Everyone left had to choose one of 95 songs to sing, alone, in front of the judges. Oddly, they show only a few seconds-long excerpts for a few... this show was badly skewed, would've enjoyed hearing more here. Focus is on the judges deciding who to cut or keep.

Everyone's in one of four rooms, waiting. Room one--cut! Nobody I care about, though. That Tyra girl's here. Next room--makes it through. Then Simon has to leave, for an engagement in London? Ok....

Room three has one of the twins--but Paris is here, so I'm sure they're safe. And they are. So see you to room four; and that's all from the Hollywood show, with 32 people moving on.

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.

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.

She passes the torch

Day two of the Torino Games will always be the day Michelle Kwan bowed out.

Not on the rink like she'd have preferred, but at a news conference. She said her reinjured groin meant "I don't believe I can be at 100 percent and I respect the Olympics too much."

I wonder if people understand why she tried to compete to begin with, and why she says she won't compete unless she can give it her best, especially with alternate Emily Hughes ready to step in.

Nobleness and grace mixed with passion isn't always seen for what it is, and our society always seems skeptical that someone can be as good and pure as they seem. But Michelle's a great athlete, has always conducted herself with class, and did the right thing in stepping aside on her terms.

There's so much heartbreak squeezed into headlines like the Times' Michelle Kwan Pulls Out of Olympics . But the article does have its moment of levity as an emotional:

United States Olympic Committee chairman Peter Ueberroth attended Kwan‚s news conference and led several sports leaders in applauding her when she left.

"Michelle Kwan means more to the United States Olympic Committee and to the United States than [maybe] any athlete that has ever performed at the Olympics," Ueberroth said. "She has made a gracious decision."

Unless he's talking about her fund-raising prowess or something, I think Jesse Owens, Mark Spitz, Eric Heiden, Mike Eruzione, and Carl Lewis, among other Olympians, definitely meant more to the U.S.!

But it's no stretch to say very few Olympians have made so many people smile--Kwan was always a delight to watch, and since she showed all her emotions on her face you felt as she did.

Sure, the depths of disappointment, of hopes dashed, of putting on a brave face--but also the pure joy of skating fast and well across the ice, the excitement and pride of competing well against the best from all over the world.

Maybe one reason why she never won gold--apart from the Nagano judges' dumb preference for jumping bean Tara over Michelle's skating artistry--was she was always too warm for this sport. Too nice, not cold-hearted and single-minded enough.

She always talked about wanting to have the complete Olympics experience, to spend time with her fellow athletes, take in other sports, soak up the atmosphere of the Olympic Village. So in some ways it's appropriate that her choice to walk in Torino's opening ceremonies rather than hide away like others superstars do contributed to her reinjury.

NBC near the end of its broadcast tonight took a look at Michelle's Kwan's Olympic career. Jimmy Roberts started by saying she'll be 29 in four years, so this is probably it for Kwan. It's actually a very apt comment, even if he's doing it in a pro forma manner. If only....

To Puccini's opening ceremonies Turandot, they look back on Kwan's Olympic career. It's a well-done piece. If bittersweet to watch. But nice prose by Jimmy--"When did Michelle Kwan become old"--and great choice of footage. The early footage in particular is unbelievable, she was so young in 1994.

Roberts wraps the piece by quoting Peggy Fleming as saying no one will ever again win 9 national championship like Michelle did. It's maybe more apt to end with Michelle's words from her news conference:

My parents are here, they arrived last night and they always want me to be happy, for their baby to win the gold and make my dreams come true. But I have no regrets. I tried my hardest. And if I don't win the gold, it's OK. I've had a great career. I've been very lucky. This is a sport, and it's beautiful.

Photo of Michelle Kwan withdrawing by Mark Baker/ AP

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.