Vancouver Olympics closing ceremony: Oh, Canada!

Vancouver Olympics close, with a pretend 'glitch' to the fourth torch leg, echoing what really happened opening night. Clown pretends to fix, then Katrina de Madone, who was really left without a leg on opening night, lights the full cauldron. Cool; nicely done.

With a record 15 golds, including in hockey over the U.S. today in OT, Canada is in a partying mood tonight. We wound up with a record 37 total medals, so not too shabby, either. Some weird thing with a bunch of teens up on stage jumping up and down to a band, with snowboards in hand. Hmmm, from up top when they bounce the boards against the floor looks kindof interesting, form a pattern around the flame.

They introduce the four Indian chiefs whose territories comprise Vancouver, then the PM and IOC head. Then the kids do a poppy version of "Oh Canada." Hmmm, not sure about that, one of the Mounties just looks stone-faced.

Flagbearers all walk in, spotlight the Chilean flag. Nordic combined competitor Bill Demong carries U.S.'s, and now the athletes all come running in together, Bob tells us they'll mingle more as the evening goes on.

Canadians come out last, to huge applause. Joannie Rochette, the figure skater whose mom died carries Canada's flag. Everyone wants to get their photo taken with her. Not sure how Russia is ever going to live up to these games, they wound up just about perfect. "Thank you, Canada" reads a sign in the stands.

They hold first of two medal ceremonies tonight; Norwegian Petter Northug won the 50K cross-country race by .3 seconds, salvaging what's been a pretty bad Olympics for Norway's legendary cross-country team. German took silver,
Swede took bronze. Norway won 22 medals, just behind Canada.

Olympic flag gets passed to the mayor of Sochi, Russia. Very stolid-looking man; good luck. The impressive, primal Russian anthem is sung by a choral group from Russia. It goes on forever, this is the full version. Wow, looking forward to four years from now.

They show the Sochi presentation, all CGI and attractive models, scattershot. Like a kid's idea of what would impress people; no meat or theme to it. In-person performance is random people in bubbles, Red Square, orchestra. Ballet dancers come out; all bombastic and impersonal.
I guess they haven't had the Olympics since the 1980 games that we boycotted after they invaded Afghanistan. It's literally a different world now; maybe not for the Afghanis so much....

Canadian official says good-bye, he again tells the people of Georgia how sorry they are for their loss, it's heartfelt and leads to a standing ovation. It's a very good speech, what seemed stiff at the opening now seems appropriately formal here. Bob Costas does a running translation of Jacques Rogges' address. He calls it "excellent and very friendly games." Closes the games, to a big groan.

And then out on the floor comes Neil Young, "Long May You Run." Song's lyrics fit well. Flame is extinguished, all is blue.

Back to all-yellow, 'birds' flocking about. Now famous Canadians will tell us what it means to them to be Canadians, cause now that the torch has been passed we care. William Shattner talks of lakes, sunsets, Montreal, etc. Catherine O'Hara, some comedian I guess, comes out with a curling spoof. It's like they're using the global audience to work out some issues. All the foreign athletes are just sitting there. Ugh, her routine just gets worse, jokes about the Swiss fans, litter, saying sorry.

Michael J. Fox comes up to huuuuge applause and a standing ovation. Yeah, he can say pretty much anything. "Canada is my home, and now it's your home too."

Michael Buble comes out dressed as a Mountie, sings with some fake Mounties in skirts as backup, then strips to his white tux. This is such a parochial, low-rent production. All-white, too.

'Made in Canada' parade kicks off with more Mounties. Yeah, if I'm an overseas investor I'm just rubbing my hands. Fake hockey players fake brawl, then some kid dressed as a puck comes out. Out come maple leafs; man, if the Russians had presented this as their tribute to Canada, there'd have been a riot. Out come giant inflatable beavers and moose, led by lumberjacks. It's like a country stuck in 1950.

There's a flash at the end, people applaud, and NBC fades to black. They'd run a promo for the summer games if they're smart, but don't.

Bobsled, Bode Miller, speedskating -- and some figure fun

It's boys night at the Vancouver Winter Olympics last night of competition, with Bode Miller skiing, USA1 going for bobsled gold, the surprise mens team's speedskating pursuit, and the champions gala figure skating event.

Slalom's first run, literal Tim Ryan calling. Starting where the women did yesterday due to weather competition. Zurbriggen from Switzerland up first, men just bump the poles away. 66 gates down the course, two more than the women. Kostelic of Croatia next, his sister won 6 medals in her career. He's a natural, looks in good rhythm, like he's dancing. Into first, .4. Raich from Austria, powers his way through. Throwing a lot of snow though, bit out of control; but faster by .04. Wow.

Pranger of Austria next, looks gimpy at the start; recovers, then falls and is out. Slovakia's old man Valencic, quick feet; nice run, .11 in front. Wow, each guy keeps outdoing the others. Razzoli of Italy, he blocks the poles out of the way. Man, shredding the previous time, by .43. Amazing. Alberto Tomba likes him....

Ted Ligety next, not looking as fast; slides, and is out of the race. U.S. team does this a lot, gotta find a better line between aggressiveness and sloppiness; fact everyone does it on the team makes it seem okay, which builds upon itself. Coaches need to do something.

Next, Bode. And -- he's out right away, not even seven seconds in. Sheesh. Announcers make excuses, but it's indefensible. Team needs to get it together.

Next is snowboarding, men's parallel giant slalom. Jasey Jay Anderson of Canada, Austrian Benjamin Karl. Austrian wins the first race, .76 ahead; smooth, calm. France and Russia fight for bronze, Russian was supposed to start second, he tried to go too early, hit the gate. Frenchie coasts, takes bronze.

Karl extending his lead up top, Canadian making up time on the bottom, Karl messes up, missing a gate; and Canadian wins gold with an aggressive race.

Figure skating gala's tv part starts with Joannie Rochette in purple skating to Celine Dion's "Vole," (Fly) in French of course. Things can be cheesy yet still affecting, and this is. This is gonna be the top download in Canada tonight; maybe the U.S. too. There is power and grace in her voice in French that comes across as trite in English. You always wish we could see this type of exuberant performance in competition; we came close this year.

Yevgeny Plushenko next, "Je Suis Malade," in black. Let's see how many quads he tosses in. Was gonna do one to start, think he tripled it. Then nails another triple axel, then a third. I think it'd be funny if someone who got silvered one year did the winner's program, but better. He's literally throwing a fit out there, funny to watch, winds up crouched in a ball on the ice.

Back to bobsled, third heat, as we start 9 pm EST. U.S. up first, not a great start time though. 51.19, slower than yesterday, announcers say the track's slower. Well, we'll see. Relatively clean run.

Canada 1 next, slower up top, losing even more time; something's happened to the track; they finish in second, loses a bit of time overall. Germany 1, driver who's never lost in the Olympics. Very smooth, but stays in third. U.S. needs to not crash, and it's won gold.

Switzerland next, not a great start, losing a lot of time, finishes fourth still. Germany 2, they look and sound very smooth; and he moves up into fourth. Canada 2 moves up into fifth, Switzerland keeps getting pushed down. Wonder how come none of the Asian carmakers have gotten into bobsled, could totally change the sport. Germany 3, kindof a ragged piling into the sled. Bumpy ride, all over the place; into seventh. Steve Holcomb and his team are in position for gold, just no crashes!

Now, U.S. vs. Canada for speedskating team pursuit gold. Three skaters, eight laps, 3200M. Dan Hicks and Dan Jansen. Chad Hedrick leads the team, Brian Hansen and Jonathan Kuck. Canadians look very smooth. Hedrick not at full strength, U.S. is behind so far. U.S. just .39 behind, Chad's tongue out as always. .29 behind now. .58 now, U.S. looking pretty ragged, Hedrick in third. .35. .26 as we hit thfe final lap! Canada still looking in good synch -- and they win, by .20! Wow.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White, he's in jeans, she in a blue dress, in a slowed-down version of Billie Jean -- David Cook's version! It's a great choice, fits their style. They look exactly like what they are, two kids having the time of their lives. "I love everything they do," Scott says.

Kim Yu-Na, in a gray dress. Going home to meet her president after this. To Massine's "Meditations," she's swan-like, and flows. The difference between art and sport is the difference between this gala and the rest of the Olympics. Moves might be the same, even better in some cases -- but what's at stake and the goal are opposite, which gives it a wholly different feel. She's got the whole world in her hands; will be interesting to see what she does with it. "Truly a gift," says Scott. "She's everything a champion should be," says Sandra.

Back to men's slalom, Americans missing all the fun. Kostelic's second run, seizes the lead with an inspired run, sis and crowd go nuts. Tomba on scene, looks pretty much the same. Razzoli gets going, shredding the course, .16 in front to grab gold, bloated Tomba bellows his approval. Andre Myhrer of Sweden takes bronze.

Razzoli seems humble, "it's not possible to do like Alberto, but this is my little bit."

Evan Lysacek, in a tux, of course. "Rhapsody in Blue," which won him worlds. Scott says Evan told him he picked this routine because he felt "it was the date that brung me to the dance." So much in that one quote about Evan! Classy, traditional guy, Gregory Peck to Plushenko's James Dean. His willingness to do a hard program here is "an example of his respect for skating, his title, and the audience," Sandra says.

I'm telling you, between them Scott and Sandra are one of the greatest announcing pairs ever, they're totally appropriate and insightful and honest.

Just past 10 pm, and it's bobsleigh time. Or bobsled. Hmmm, Holcomb has an eye disease, in 2008 thought it'd force him to retire. Had an experimental surgery, essentially an artificial lens inserted in his eye. Made his driving worse for a while, he was trying too much rather than going by feel. Seems like a really interesting, thoughtful guy, not at all how I'd seen him.

Switzerland up first, they always win a medal in these 'sliding sports,' in danger of missing out here. 1964 the last time it happened. Into first, for now. Ha, U.S. and Canadians riding back up the hill inside a truck together.

Canada 2 next, doing well up top, a bit shakier in the bottom; into first, for now. Swiss looking worried, then disgusted. They show 1948, last time the U.S. won gold in this event, they all look normal. Germany 2, a bit criss-cross in the middle, .02 into first.

Germany 1, run by legend Andre Lange. Great start, four golds for him. Gaining speed, textbook run so far, blistering fast, .74 lead. Canada 1 next, as Andre soaks in the applause. Good start, but losing some time. Hmmm; into third, by .01, Germans go nuts.

Holcomb wearing a black hood over his head, hadn't seen this before. Getting the sled ready, wipes the sled with the hood. Good start, have a half second to play with; losing a bit of time, but so far, so good; cruising -- and the gold drought is over! USA! USA! 3:24:26, by .37 over Germany! Yeah! Team celebrates, crowd goes wild, Holcomb is just proud.

Afterwards he says this takes the program to the next level, whole team seems like a bunch of good guys. They get Holcomb to do the "Hokie dance," a shuffling of his feet basically, it's pretty funny.

U.S. has 36 medals overall, Canada has 13 gold medals, both tying the records. U.S. will break the record tomorrow, hopefully Canada doesn't. Very serious during the national anthem, Holcomb's obviously feeling strong emotions, at the end huge grins for all of them -- and the Canadian next to them seems pretty thrilled too, the one non-white guy on the podium.

Back to skating; Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, he's wearing a Canadian hockey jersey, she's in a little black cocktail dress. Playing a hockey player mocking the figure skater. It's pretty well-done, they have good chemistry. Part two is to, "Everybody Dance Now." Fun, if somehow lacking something. "Hard to believe they're this great, this young" Scott says. Not in the league of Torvill and Dean and the Russians, in my view.

Speed skating and cross-country skiing

It's marathon Saturday at the Olympics, with women's team pursuit speed skating and women's cross-country skiing. The two top announcing tandems are in action as well -- Al Trautwig and Chad Salmela, and Dan Hicks and Dan Jansen.

U.S. women lost to Germany in the pursuit, Germans were up the whole way but their third skater got really tired, fell, and literally swam across the finish line, .2 seconds ahead of the U.S. Americans now go for bronze against Poland.

In 30K skiing, favored Polish and Norwegian skiers are 1-2, 3 miles to go. Norway's men's team has kindof flamed-out here, up to the women to pull through. 1.9 second lead for Norwegian at the moment, Bjoergen; Kowalczyk just drafting off her, both deliberate, neither all-out yet. "Out in the woods, it's just the two of them," Al says.

Seems like the bigger Pole is just biding her time. Saarnen of Finland was in a dogfight for third, stopped to change her skis, made up the time and is now pulling away.

Less than a mile away, Pole has now pulled in front, starting to sprint, she looks determined and in good shape, Norwegian looks desperate, she already has three golds and a bronze!

Total sprint at the finish, Norwegian is closing the gap, Pol still in front, Norwgian pulls past, side-by-side, total photo finish, but the Pole wins, Norwegian changed her stroke at the last moment, but wasn't enough. First ever-Polish woman to win gold! Kowalczyk, by .3! Sarrinen finishes third, about a minute behind. Wow!

American, who's a sprint specialist, finishes 24th. They show the skis of first and second crossing the line, it's starkly beautiful; white background, first one set then another set of red skis silently cross.

55 women started the marathon race; NBC stays with it, we watch the final ones power across the lines. Bjoergen totally carried the Norwegians, she had five medals, the rest of the team eight.

Hmmm, Americans both lost in snowboard parallel giant slalom, too bad.

Tom Brokaw does a long special report on the people of Gander, Newfoundland and how on 9/11 more than hundred planes were forced to land there, bringing 6,000 people to a town of under 10,000. It's an emotional, well-crafted piece; the best of people on one of the worst of days.

Back to speed skating, U.S. vs. Poland for bronze. Two huge Polish women, one small one. Poles keeping it close over the favored Americans. U.S. stretching out their lead a little, adding slightly to it each lap. Small Pole looks to be weakening; third American though falling waaaay back, Poles staying tight -- and the U.S. loses, ugh; all three Poles cross before even two Americans.

Germans vs. Japan for gold now. Japan all in gold, look like a machine, totally in synch. Germans bigger, bit more gangly. 2 laps left, Japan's lead is growing, nearly 2 seconds. Hmmmm, this would be a pretty big upset. Last lap, lead shrinking, still over a second... wow, Germans win by .03! Huge final lap.

Apolo Ohno, Lindsey Vonn and bobsled

It's gonnna be Apolo Anton Ohno and Lindsey Vonn's nights, but they start with a boastful four-man USA 1 bobsled's first heat, blue-collarish driver says they wanna go fast right away to intimidate some people. You mean the two-time gold medalist Germans? All the other teams in an Olympic sport the U.S. traditionally flops in? Sheesh, holy Olympic spirit!

Wonder if they're gonna mention the domestic violence charge against the third U.S. team....

U.S. goes down fast, sets a track record; snow starts to fall afterwards which will slow the course. Russians wind up going, crash; one of the favorites out early. Canadians in second, three German sleds after that.

Wow, real intimidated.

Lindsey Vonn, broken finger and all, ready for the slalom, they illustrate all the parjavascript:void(0)ts of her body she's injured recently. A real competitor, I like her; switches to a mitten instead of a glove for today.

First off a Czech skiier, Zahrobska; fun event to watch. Susanne Riesch, younger sis of Linsdey's friend Marie; into second. They profile the friendship, how Lindsey spends Christmas with her in Germany; pretty cool, "fierce competitors and dear friends," from juniors.

Maria next, commentator likes how she skiis like a slinky, so contained; into first, unbecoming gray pants and all.

Marlies Schild of Austria next, few years ago won 7 of 9 slaloms, then a big injury; big turns though, into third.

Vonn misses a gate early, and her Olympics are over. She says after she's happy with her gold and bronze, her personality is to go for it.....

500M men's short track
Ohno, in his own words, compares short track to being on a motorcycle with other bikes inside a rink and trying to make constant tight turns. They replay his 500 in Torino, which he calls the perfect race. Look on his face at the end is of pure joy.

Canada's Charles Hamelin up in the first quarters, with 18-year-old American Simon Cho... who fails to make it out, Canadian and the South Korean too strong. They analyze Ohno's body position, what makes him so strong; good analysis, funny it's coming on the next-to-last night.

Oooh, Ohno in last coming out of the first turn; a crash, Ohno literally jumps over it, he's just easily through but wants first, gets second. Next quarters, the South Korean makes a great pass, but the Canadian comes back to nip him.

The world-record holder in this event couldn't even quality out of his own team, another South Korean -- who's friends with an American skater and yawns before his race ala Ohno -- is up next. Man, Canada's third skater is doing well too; tight race, South Korean winds up qualifying behind the Canadian.

Women's 1000M quarterfinals short track
Dutch skater false-starts, people in the crowd keep getting shushed. South Korean gets to the front, just cruises, Canadian follows behind her.

Hmmm, they show the long-time Australian short track ref Jim Hewish in the stands, he got death threats after DQing the South Korean women's team the other day. Some South Korean fans really are amazingly ugly when it comes to short track racing, like soccer hooligans.

Next quarters, Chinese woman controls it from the get-go pretty easily, Canadian in too. American next, Katherine Reutter, from Bonnie Blair's high school. Funny how personal elite athletics can be. 5 skaters in this one, gonna be a zoo. In second behind the South Korean, announcer says she panics a bit if she's in the back. They pull away from the pack, Reutter into first easily, and wins.

Last quarter, Wang Meng of China becomes most-decorated female short tracker if she gets a medal, six. Australian in a crazy camouflage green spidey outfit; Wang and she advance.

Speed skating team pursuit, Americans are Chad Hedrick and two kids against the hugely-favored Dutch -- and Shani Davis elected not to skate. Interesting event, you race with your two teammates in a row against the other team, take turns being breaking the way.

Wow, last lap, U.S. looking ragged but going for it, lead just over half-a-second, and they upset the Dutch!!! Wow, that's insane. Wonder why Shani didn't skate, the Dutch superstar, same one whose coach cost him a medal, yelling at him afterwards.

Back to Ohno's semifinals. That was exciting. Apolo's dad says it's gonna be just like a final, tough competition from two South Koreans; he's gotta start 4th too.

Canadian Charles Hamelin in the first semi, his girlfriend won a medal earlier. He looks like a lumberjack. Two Canadians in this one, Olivier Jean too. Canada now 1-2, South Korean in third; then at the end the South Korean takes advantage of a "massive" mistake by Jean to sneak in and grab second, Canadian may have kicked a block, skated wide....

They do a feature on Apolo and the South Koreans, he says they've been at the forefront of training for many years. He's very honest and up-front about how hard they work, it's cool. Starts third off the first turn, wow, what an amazing race, skater in front of Apolo wipes out, he goes around, then at the end accelerates and wins. Has that look of glee when he's competing that the best athletes always do.

Back to women's semis, Canadian and Zhou Yong. She and South Korean are 1-2, controlling the race, and they just pull away easily, crowd response is tepid. Second semis, Reutter and Wang. Third false start, you have to be still when the gun goes off. Reutter gets in front, Wang right behind her, then gets passed, announcer keeps saying she needs to pass back but isn't able to. Weird race, never seem to be all-out, Reutter able to fight off the Canadian at the end.

Joannie Rochette interview is next; hmmm, no interview with the actual champ, Kim Yu-Na? It's a great interview though, Bob Costas gives her the time and space to speak, he's a total pro. She's authentic and it's totally touching when she talks about her dad, and how they're going to cope afterwards, together. She says at the end her mom wanted her to learn English, forced her to "watch Scooby-Doo in English." What a great interview.

They should take a tape of this and show it to every TV sports executive -- this is why you hire the Bob Costases, this is the difference between a journalist and a talking head.

Short Track 'B' finals up, the two South Korean and a Brit and a German. Whoah, the one of the Koreans might be hurt or something, not really racing. Other Korean wins; weird, first guy may have just been saving himself for the relay, in which case that's not cool.

And now... the main event we've all been waiting for tonight. I remember this being the single most exciting moment four years ago; Apolo starts in third, two Canadians in one position and four, South Korean in two. Whoah, he's by himself won 7 of the U.S.' 10 short track medals ever!

Here it is, baby, the big moment. Crowd roars, quiets down gradually. Oooh, starts fourth.... Not a great race, he's in fourth the entire time. Oh no, he might be penalized, he finishes second, but it looks like he pushed a Canadian guy down, South Korean guy goes down on his own. Canadian Hamelin wins, crowd is going crazy. What a wild finish. Oh, and the Canadian guy who won looks like he pushed the South Korean a little!

Oh no, Ohno is disqualified, Canada gets gold and bronze. Ugh. They call Ohno's, but not Hamelin's?! That's stupid.

Back to women's slalom, Schlepper up; does her trademark lion's roar, in 9th. She doesn't ski with abandon, then gets in trouble toward the bottom and is pretty much out of it. "Oh, Schlepp..." says Vonna at the bottom, it apparently was a spot her coach had specifically warned her about.

Whoo, in an interview afterwards Ohno says he didn't think he should've been DQed, says the ref was Canadian, but adds with a smile he needed to have been faster. He's really good; gets his point across without looking like a jerk.

Riesch sis the younger, just motoring down the course, and misses a gate, is out right near the end. Vonn's reaction is priceless, a shriek, and "Susieeeee." She's sobbing on the snow.

Man, Schild up, just attacking, announcer has a good line, "her legs are at a rock concert and her upper body's at the opera." Nice, into first by almost a second, a really nice race.

Two racers left, Zahrobska first, Tim Ryan's partner really is very informative. Losing speed, oddly looks very slow, like she's tired. Into second, celebrates. Maria up last, Lindsey cheering her on, along with her folks. She is silky smooth, just looks better; a bit of trouble, pulls it back; and she wins! .43 seconds, fall to the ground in ecstasy, family goes nuts, and where's Lindsey?! Odd, NBC doesn't show her until well after, she's just clapping at the point. A screw-up. If you're gonna build up the friendship, you need to show that moment. No replay, either. Big, long hug between them a the end, two elite competitors sharing a great moment.

She says afterwards she normally "can't do this good" under these conditions. Then a huge hug for her crying sister afterwards; will be interesting to watch them in Sochi.

Women's 1000M short track finals, Reutter going for gold; U.S. hasn't won an individual women's medal in short track since 1994. Two great Chinese skaters; no country's ever swept all four short track events in the same Games, China trying to make history. And a South Korean. Reutter really being agressive, in fourth halfway through, then moves into second, second Chinese well back. In second, last lap, South Korean coming, Reutter finishes second! Even had a shot at the very end, but Wang Mang just too great, now most-decorated female ever. Reutter is totally in tears with flag, Chinese proud with their flag too.

And now, the men's 5000M relay final, 20 minutes after the 500M final. All the heavyweights -- U.S., South Korea, Canada, China, and then France. Extra team out there, gonna be crazy. J.R. Ceslki, Travis Jayner and Jordan Malone, with Apolo the anchor. U.S. starts last though, a million laps in this thing to move up.

Getting exciting, Koreans trying to move up, U.S. a bit farther back now, off top three. 25 laps to go. This is totally exciting. France now far back; Canada moves back out front, China, Koreans, U.S. We're consistently off the top three. Canada is really stretching it out, U.S. gap is increasing. 3 laps left, let's see what Ohno does, final 2 laps. Canada wins, Koreans second, U.S. gets bronze. 8th medal for Ohno.

Our 34th medal of the games, ties most-ever for us; Canada now has 10 golds, two more than us. We're guaranteed two more medals tomorrow, in speedskating pursuit and hockey, so we'll tie Germany's record of 36 medals in one games (Salt Lake) and with Bode Miller skiing and the bobsled guys going, could break it.

Back to bobsled to finish the night, U.S. sled #2. Still no mention of domestic violence. Oooh, sled crashes, it's over for them. Everyone seems okay.

Germany 2, decent run, second to Switzerland. Germany 1 now, sets a start record. They're so smooth, clean lines. Oooh, hits the wall a bit, recovers, decent run. Canada 1 next, currently in second. Not a great run, moving around quite a bit; Germans almost crashed though so they don't make that mistake, in first.

USA 1 finishes out the night. Good start, looks pretty clean; smoking fast, .40 ahead, with another track record. Nice; good racing by Steve Holcomb.

Bob Costas returns to talk about the medals table again, adding that the U.S. has a shot at the overall record. I forgot that the U.S. women's speedskaters also have a shot at a medal, in the team pursuit semis after a huge upset of Canada.

NBC closes with a tribute to Ohno through the years, it's awesome, holds up 8 with the relay team, then hugs his dad.

Ladies figure skating; and Nordic combined

Nordic Combined, Large Hill
Big night for NBC with the ladies figure skating long program, so they start with a Turkish skater to get us in the mood, then of course kicks to Nordic Combined. U.S. has broken its historic record of futility in this discipline at this Olympics, oddly they don't recap the Americans for us at the start.

Todd Lodwick third up, an okay jump. Bill Demong next, the wind's too much in his favor, so he's gotta wait more. Back from break, Demong did fine; weather's really playing a role, getting worse for the best in the world. Americans among top ten as we go to the 10K cross-country race, entirely due to the luck of the draw in this case.

Women's Giant Slalom NBC's playing up Julia Mancuso's drama tale, which I'm sick of already -- she had to halt her run after teammate Lindsey Vonn crashed ahead of her, which is something that happens. She was fading and losing time even before the restart.

Second of two runs, she's going after it early, dedicated the race to a friend who died last night. Commentator says she hasn't seen this kind of skiing from her in a couple of years -- yup, that's why it was no biggie that she had to restart yesterday.

Sarah Schleper of the U.S. next, 4th team, became a mother in between; pays her own way along with her kid and husband, live in Austria during the season to save costs -- what a better story, unfortunately only in fourth, Julia in first....

As the better skiers come up, Mancuso gest pushed down; Suter, Rebensburg, then Elisabeth Goergl of Austria, who like the Austrian team always does is just going all out. Trailing the German Rebensburg at the top, Tim Ryan's not a great announcer, gives us little additional information -- and she's into third, he finds out as we do. Julia's winds up 8th, they show her crying again, go over again her two runs yesterday, dance around the obvious, she wasn't fast enough to win or medal either way. I really hate these manufactured U.S. dramas NBC specializes in, there are so many genuine stories -- do a follow-up on the Dutch speedskater whose coach's cost him not just a gold, but a world record on a notoriously slow course no less!

Canadian woman beat the U.S., again, for gold in hockey, NBC tells us, as they go back to figure skating.

After a while, back to Nordic Combined. Spillane, Demong and an Austrian way out in front with less than a kilometer to go, U.S. is ready to make history and win its first gold in this thing. Demong takes off, Spillane follows, and they're just exploding, Gruber left behind. Wow! Demong is just destroying the other two, here comes Spillane though. USA! USA! Demong is gonna do it; Spillane few seconds behind, and we're gold and silver! Drought is over, Spillane's 3rd silver in the 3 Nordic events. No Norwegians in sight.

Al Trautwig is, as ever, letter-perfect with the call; partner Chad Salmela is appropriately informative, they might be my favorite announcers at the games. What a great moment, glad NBC showcased it, 10:42 pm EST.

Olympics' crowning moment: Ladies figure skatingUnbelievable storylines in this one, building on an epic short program. U.S. has a looong medals streak in this event dating back to the 60s, may be snapped tonight.

Racheal Flatts was actually up late last night doing homework; how awesome. Everyone looks good in warmups, Scott tells us; this is gonna be one of those nights where multiple people will skate gold-worthy performances, I think.

Flatts up first, in road, looks very young -- but so did Tara Lipinski.... Nails her first jump, then her next two; totally nails her triple lutz, and she's past her toughest jump Scott tells us. Big smile, looks a bit clunky still and doesn't have the speed of the top, all too clearly choreographed and telegraphed. But she's clean so far; great music choice, she's just exulting, is landing her jumps so cleanly, big and effortless; "she is really doing it" says Sandra, nails her last jump.

Man, judges are going to have to leave room, but what a great start! Crowd goes wild, she's totally gleeful, and man, this is gonna be great.... Oooh, a low score, 117.85, only into second; Scott says the judge in charge of determining whether she made full rotations and things like that is being strict.

Miki Ando of Japan, in a garish green Egyptianish outfit, being Cleopatra. Lots of arm movements and stuff; doubles a triple to start, she just looks nervous and stiff. Hitting the jumps though. Nice long lines; not crazy about her for whatever reason, a bit self-indulgent as Simon Cowell would say. Easily hitting jumps though; second part is like more Indianish, she's just mixing everything. Scott says slow, not her usual energy; Sandra says not engaged in it, just going through the motions.

I think she was just petrified, at the end it's pure relief for her, and then a huge smile. Feel bad for her.... "Didn't feel an attack," says Scott. Jumps into first, though.

Kim Yu-Na on the ice for warm-up, Scott says his heart just started beating faster. In classic blue, has a regal look to her; coached by Canadian Brian Orser. She's seductive as hell, looks right at you. Hits her opening triples, next jump, piano music in the background, nice easy jumps, big smiles, and we're off! She looks so delicate and fragile, but is totally determined and precise. Feels like she's skating for us, hits her hardest combination, then vamps it up a bit. Just cruising now, having fun; this is a gold-worthy performance.

"Oh my goodness, this is glorious, it's one of the greatest Olympic performances I have ever seen," Sandra bursts out with right before she ends. She's so seductive, is smiling and in tears, crowd goes wild. "Wonderful combination of shyness with this fire, this competitive ability," says Sandra. They play up the Orser angle a bit, as if this is his gold medal.

Still gasping over in the kiss and cry, Sandra likes how during the performance she took moments to look into the crowd, feel the music; and... 150.06, destroying the old record, as Scott had said, "they're going to be huge."

Mao Asada up next, in red top and black skirt. Building's still abuzz of course. Could be epic.... Oooooh, very martial music; nails a triple axel, making history as the first woman to hit two in one competition; then nails another, Scott's shouting. Man, what a shoot-out.... She is powerful, totally fits the music, in some ways this is even more moving than Kim's. She's totally like a warrior; crowd is just roaring. Music is stirring, slight fumble on one of the jumps, but no mater, then a couple totally random errors on easy transitions. "What she has done is extraordinary," Sandra says. Fire and ice tonight, looks like ice has won, but man, fire rocked.

Big smile for her, not a huge ovation, actually, which is odd. Into second, but pretty far behind, of course. Next, Joannie Rochette, the Canadian who skated a day after her mom died. In turquoise; she's fighting for bronze, but what a story. Nails her openings; man, none of these final women have missed a jump! Then, she does, a step out. Nails her next one then; huge applause from the crowd. Another bobble, no fairy tale here but a great skate nevertheless.

Just a huge ovation for her at the end, Scott's choking up, breaks off mid-sentence a few times. Stays in third place, pretty darn close to silver, which is a bit ridiculous, but oh well.

16-year-old Mirai Nagasu of the U.S. closes the evening, to Carmen in red and black. Gets right to it, nice and easy jumps, Scott's chuckling and off we go again, it's really been an unbelievable night already. My god, huge jumps and great landings. Hmmmm.... Looks like such a composed pro, just wiped all that other stuff away. Amaaaazing spin has the crowd into it; she is gonna be great, and tonight is already world-class. Totally elegant and fearless, a natural. Looks like she's really enjoying her night, her jumps are just effortless. Man, she's won the crowd too. This is the definition of crowd-pleasing; huge smile at the end, crowd goes wild, and man, I think she deserves bronze!!!

She was in sixth coming in, so it'd have to be quite a jump; but that was the third-best program we saw tonight. Sandra says her program wasn't as sophisticated as the Canadians', or the depth; prob true, but that she's even in the discussion... and sure enough, she finishes fourth just two points back, is thrilled, as Scott says, everybody's happy.

Yeah, not sure when we've ever seen such an excellent night of skating; everyone did great, it was totally thrilling.

Great medal ceremony even; Kim has a plastic face like Audrey Hepburn, she's effortlessly charming. Tom Hammond in particular likes to keep talking about Asian athletes as feeling pressure and relief when they win; it's just as bad as talking about the natural skills of black athletes all the time, a bit silly.

Kim does look like the queen, like it's her natural place to be at the top of the podium. Confident but also gracious, she just keeps smiling. What a huge Olympics for the South Koreans, their first-ever medal in figure skating is the most important one there is. And she's just 19.... Looks very cat-like, singing along to her anthem, tearing up at the end but fiercely proud.

Back to back champs from Asia now; shifting of the guard, for sure. Wow, Hammond claims Joannie stole our hearts, but Kim won -- oh, really? Whose hearts? Joannie's story was great, but ultimately, I think everyone who watched tonight remember Kim and Asada.

Medals update: U.S. has 32, Germany 26, Norway 19. Most we ever had was 34 in Salt Lake; only time we ever topped the medals race was 1932!

Snowboarding, women's skiing, speedskating and short track

Big Olympics night for NBC; Shaun White, Lindsay Vaughn, Shandi Davis, Apolo Anton Ohno... one of these things doesn't belong. Unfortunately, yet another delay for speedskating due to ice conditions for Davis.

Shows his qualifying run, he's not going all out but gets 45.8 out of a possible 50, the announcers, who are not professional in any way, are stoked. Next, Louie Vito, who bobbled his first try, rips off a nice second try; he's a small guy, like Shaun seemingly addicted to texting, 41.8, announcers are shouting. Jeez. Shaun's second run, messing around, bobbles and goes down, kicks it back in.

Back with speedskating, men's 1,000M, NBC having some audio problems so it's actually a nice first minute, just nat sound as an American and a Dutch get ready to skate. Alas, goes away all too soon....

Chad Hedrick, who won big in Torino, up against Mo Tae-Bum, one of the new stars here. Man, Mo is totally powerful at the start, looks totally loose and relaxed. Told the media after his 500M win, "I like scary stuff. I like dares." So smooth, focused; has a good look to him, but his speed is dropping, Chad is making up some time; 1-2 at the moment, good race for Mo. 1:09.12 time to beat.

Canadian versus Dutch; Shani has an apartment here, apparently, part of his unorthodox training methods -- he does it all on his own. Favored to win his second straight gold, getting comfortable with the venue seems pretty smart to me.

Shani warming up, looks totally thin, not super-muscular; he apparently gave Mo some advice the other day, he's well-respected and well-liked on the circuit. "Great natural talent," says the announcer, first time I've heard that said of anyone here. Hmm, also the first black competitor I've seen.... Mun Joon, another Korean, matched with him, doesn't seem like a threat. Based on the time they're airing this, I think Shani takes silver; but based on his rep, we're expecting gold. 8:40 EST.

He's almost running out there, totaly different than everyone else; on a good pace Dan says, looks a lot bigger on the ice. And he's totally focused. Barely behind, now on pace, now we'll see -- and he wins gold! Again!!!!! Awesome! Chad Hedrick gets bronze, nice; gold/silver/bronze in Torino too! Huge smile, 18/100s faster than Mo. 1:08.94.

Shaping up to be a huge night for the U.S.; Germany went past us in the overall medals total with 4 yesterday, we've got 2 already, with 3 more events to go.

Wow, bunch of urban kids in DC skate center thrilled watching Shani, it's fun to watch.

Short track now, Travis Jayner in the first qualifying heat, born to American parents in Canada, adopted by a club in Midland Michigan. Smooth inside pass, from third to first, cruising now, the Chinese competitor right behind him. Chinese guy passes him, Travis stumbles, Jayner finishes third! Lack of concentration says the analyst, somehow the British guy advances. Ugh.

Apolo's heat, hanging out in third for a while. 1000M. passes on the outside, into second, Chinese guy ahead, moves into first, just qualifies easily. What a pro, final 16 for the Saturday night race.

J.R. Celski's heat, with the Korean who won Saturday and talked trash against Apolo Ohno. He's trapped in back, moves to third, trying to get past, does at the last minute, qualifies; wow.

Men's figure skating short program

10:30 -- Men's short program

Watched "American Idol" most of tonight, but back with the Olympics for the duration. Poor Brian Joubert of France, failed on his quad event, spiraled into a horrible program, just in 10th place now.

Daisuke Takahashi next; rocking out in patterned red top and black pants, just powering through his jumps. Somehow not quite connecting with the crowd, his facial expressions are a bit self-indulgent, as Simon would say. But well-choreographed, and well-executed.

Next, Italian who dresses up as a country boy in overalls and all, he looks ridiculous, this isn't what an Olympic champion looks like. Sure enough, wipes out early. Music's not great, a weird performance.

And now, the main event -- 19-year-old Canadian Patrick Chan, who had a great interview a bit ago with Mary Carillo (who's one of my favorite journalists), totally down-to-earth and normal, yet charming.

Huuuuuge hand from the crowd, huge smile; he looks totally self-assured on home ice, with some mischief. All black, with sparklies up top. Classical music, covers big ice; hangs on to his opening jump. Nails the next two, fierce concentration on his face. Is just opening it up, great footwork sequences says Scott, "magnificent" quality to his skating. Totally in time to the music, very lithe, whoah, screws up an easier element a bit.

"Not perfect, not his best," says Scott. And finished after the music, which Sandra says could cost him a full point.... And his scores -- decent score, into 5th place.

Johnny Weir, who really is weird, next; black with pink accents. His coach speaks to him in Russian, very intense. Is nailing his judges, Sandra says he calls this program, 'I love you, I hate you,' makes the good point that as zany as he is he's a purist on the ice, his technique is refined. Crowd is into it, he connects in a way a lot of the other skaters don't.

He might be a bit nuts, but as Scott said, "he delivered the goods on the ice." Hmm, into fifth place. Plushenko and Takahashi on top at the moment.

Kevin Van Der Perren next, representing Belgium. Uh, okay; in this crazy skeleton outfit. Again, gimmicks don't win Olympic medals. He gets all set up to jump, doesn't flow. Has good body control though, and the costume is kindof striking. "Lacks finesse," says Scott, "lack of quality" in his sequences. Unlike Patrick. Big smile at the end, as Sandra says, "he's totally pleased with it, just not in the same league as the other men we've seen tonight."

Still, he did the best he could on this night, as Dick Button likes to say.

Thomas Verner of the Czech Republic next, looks like a cocky sailor. Sandra says he has lots of character, to Zorba the Greek, doubles his quad try; falls on his triple axel after that, it's turning into an adventure.

Evan Lysacek of the U.S., reigning world champion, looks like death in black and with a grim face; nursing a left foot injury. His coach looks glum too. Very dramatic, jerky, Johnny Deppish start; Scott says just get past the first jump; nails it. Whoah, almost skates into the wall, really close. His jumps are interesting, really quick, so they don't look like much. He's quite smooth, actually; like an assassin, efficient.

Very long, thin limbs, looks a bit like a spider out there. Timing is good; music is good too. Look of triumph at the end, crowd gives him a nice hand, Sandra is gushing about how hard he's worked to get to this point, he's really happy, letting it out now. Hmmm, last time a reigning world champ won the Olympics -- Scott Hamilton. Nice program; should be a heck of a battle in the long program.

Almost Sampras-like in his quiet intensity. Just sitting there waiting for the scores, a smile sneaks across his face. Seems like a really nice guy, Scott tells all the kids to work the way he does. 90.30, into second behind Pleshenko, his best
short program ever. "That's the way it's done," Scott says. Yeah!

Jeremy Abbott, who beat Evan the last two years at U.S. Nationals, in purple; used to suffer from nerves, new coach has him calmed down. To the Beatles, "A Day in the Life," wow, totally nails his opening combination. Looks nice and relaxed and fluid, totally biffs his big combination, singles it. Doubles his lutz, he's totally fallen apart, Scott and Sandra say, "he's done."

Finishes in 14th, Scott says, "he's so much better than that, so much." Final skater is Michal Brezina of the Czech Republic, in black and white, doing the tired old "Putting on the Ritz" thing, not sure why. Big opening triple axel though.... His jumps are pretty big, but there's not much artistry; such big jumps though.... Hmmm.

He has an interesting quality, it's almost like he's skating for his own perfection, not playing to the crowd; not cold eithe,r just concerned with something different. Big smile and exultation at the end; "another of these 19-year-olds who doesn't know how tough skating is yet." I liked him. Finishes 9th.

Weir in 6th, has a shot at fourth; Plushenko, Lysacek and Takahashi are way out in front.

Pairs figure skating finals, Men's downhill, snowboard cross and speed skating

11:36 -- Chinese have arrived in figure skatingPang and Tong are up next, both in red, he's got black pants. Nail their first two jumps, and they're off and running, very profession. "To Dream The IMpossible Dream," wonder if their coach is sending a message.... First minute sees three jumps, then a nice lift; crowd is into it, wants to see someone perform well, they're just beaming -- and they're looking at each other!

Such good vibes right now. Castanets, the red fits well, speeding about together. Whoah, a nice lift/spin of her in the air, crowd oohs. Announcers totally silent, a good sign. Back to "Dream" music; coach must be thinking so many things right now. Whoah, huge throw, triple salchow; crowd roars. They're nearing the end; and it's a perfect throw triple loop, and wow, as Sandra says, "now they're savoring this performance." Crowd is roaring even before they finish, final huge lift, and the crowd stands for them, it's great!

"They've waited so long," says Scott. "They have worked so hard for this," says Sandra. Audience is still applauding, he's totally pumped. Start talking about the judges, basically the only thing that can stop them now. He kisses the ice afterwards, they're so happy sitting there. And they're into first!

And now... Shen and Zhao. 18 years together... he's 36, she's 31. They smile at each other beforehand, she's in red, he's in burgundy. Wedding celebration postponed to after the games. Nice artistry right away, they're telling a story. Nail the first jump, huge roar; and they're also looking at each other! Nails the second jumps, not bad on the third by him.

Music is powerful, so are they. Nice lifts, so high and strong. She smiles at him afterwards, now her death spiral. They're totally in synch, nice little trick of hooking each other with their feet. So fast, cover a ton of ice, and she slips on a simple lift, Sandra gasps, "huhhh!" Never seen that type of mistake before. Huge throw; this will be interesting; last throw, she holds on to the landing. Hmmm.... Some mistakes, but will overall strength of the program be enough? I was too nervous for them to really enjoy it as much as the other one; I think it's their time, though. Nice final lift and touch, and the crowd roars for them, too. "Knowing them, you want it for them," says Scott, perfectly.

Well, that's why you build a lead -- five points -- and a reputation. I think they'll win gold in their fourth Olympics. Sandra says there were lots of little errors.... Scott says they've been unbeaten all season. Yao Bin sits with them, an unimaginable moment for them. Sandra says the program was a little bit off, all the way through, loss of concentration on the basic lift. And they win gold, easily; with their best score of the season. They don't know yet, until the announcer says, "currently in first place," then they beam, hug, cry. Wow!

A storybook ending; not the most amazing performance individually, but in totality a great capper, with China going 1-2. He says "thank you" to the camera afterwards.

Not even close; Chinese 216 and 213 points, Germans 210 for bronze, Russians 194. Wow. Yao Bin has a look of "quiet compassion" about him backstage, as Dick Button says. Inside he's got to be ecstatic; to go from being laughed at, to gold and silver at the Olympics.

World changes.

Final hour -- all pairs figure skating Medal count, U.S. has eight to be well out in front, but Switzerland has three golds to our two. Dick Button is talking about the Chinese skaters, he really appreciates the great skating they're giving us. He kindof rambles a bit, but he knows a lot of stuff, so always worth listening. Until it's time to go to the rink....

Yuko Kavaguti and Smirnov first, Sandra tells us they were on fire in practice today. Both Yuko and Tamara have iron wills, Sandra tells us. She's in red, he's in gray. They emote joy, classical piece. She touches down on the first throw, not sure if it was a triple or a quad. Nails the second side-by-side jump; they're pretty fast, but not heavy at all. Total unison on their spins; not much of a sense of a couple, they just need to look at each other, you okay, I'm okay, kind of thing.

He steps out on the second part's first jump, just kindof a random thing. Danube Waltz, a mistake, so trite and expected; then he throws her and she falls, takes a second to get back into it. Their run of 12 straight Olympic pairs titles is over. Sandra says "they're like in shock, not prepared for a performance like this at all." Heh, heh, wait until their coach sees them.... Big finish, just pointless at this point. "Fine line between wanting it and wanting it too much, squeezing it too hard," Sandra says, they should've just trusted in themselves. It's what happens when you know your best may not be enough to win.

Yuko looks depressed in the kiss and cry, they're in first for now but are likely to not even win a medal. "Way below what they're capable of doing, obviously," says Scott.

Savchenko/Szolkowy of Germany, he's black by the way. Rough warmup, says Scott. She's in white, he's in white and burgundy pants. Start with backs to each other, then skate together. If they don't fall, they have a shot; side-by-side is tough for them, they nail it; she doubles the second one, but it's behind them now; huuuuge throw. Hmmm... Oh, he just randomly falls on their next jump, didn't seem that hard. All the artistry and chemistry in the world won't make up for that. Their lifts are pretty great though; music is really nice as well. They finish well, Scott says this helps them shake off a horrible season, which he says "was a nightmare covered in molasses."

In first, for the moment; may finish third though.... They look pretty darn grim.

11:00 -- Top pairs skaters up, Men's snowboard crossU.S. must've done well here for them to showcase it at 11, I smell gold and silver?! Seth Wescott and Nate Holland; Seth almost messed it up in qualifiers, spun around at some point.

USA! USA! Funny how they're just wearing jeans. Canadian out early, but Holland pushing the Canadian around. Oh, Nate spins out, back in it. Seth now in second, Canadian seems pretty far out front though, Seth making his move, now totally passes him, and just waxes him -- whooo!!!!! Wins gold again, a great run. Second gold of the Games for the U.S. Teammates and coaches come out to congratulate him. Really a veteran race by Seth, came out of last. Teammate Watanabe hugs him to the ground.

They interview Lindsey Jacobellis, who showboated and fell four years ago, settling for silver. She's talked about this a million times, "this is not the face of someone who won a silver medal, this is the face of someone who lost gold." She's pretty stand-up about the whole thing, then and now.

Here's what I wrote four years ago; glad to see her back with a chance at redemption. Although, really, that's life -- when you're young you do stupid things, but if you didn't, you might not be in position to compete at the Olympics.

Like last night, they go straight into finals. Also like last night, timing bodes pretty well for American. Swiss, Canadian 1, Canadian 2, Lindsey--in the bad last position where nobody's won yet. Will announcers mention that? Nope. Pretty tense here.

Gets out a bit slower than others, totally aggressive, she's into first! So close, wow. Whoah, more contact--Lindsey's way out front, other rider; total crash! She's gonna win, easily, wow, this is a lot of fun. Only 2 riders on the course right now. Oh she falls, no way! On the home stretch, unbelievable, in sight of the finish line. Announcers are in shock, she is too. Still gets silver... Swiss rider Tanja Frieden wins. Announcers say she may have fallen on an unnecessary showboat trick. Oh well, that's sports.

Nice replay, show one Canadian climbing back onto course to get bronze; ooh, other one getting medical attention. Wow, she's being taken off on a sled, all immobilized.

She claims she tried to stabilize, but it didn't work. Seems okay in post-race interview, at least talks about it. Feel bad for her; oh well, she'll be back in Vancouver. Funny shot at end, Wescott celebrating, cause his girlfriend won.

Announcer admits he'd probably have done same stylish move, but it costs Lindsey.

9:26 -- Snowboard Cross Semis
Seth and Nate versus the Austrians. They have this cool camera on their helmets; U.S. 2nd and 3rd at the moment, Nate farther out, now the leader Austrian goes down, Americans 1-2, they're just cruising, finish 1-2. Nice!

Second semi has two Canadians, a German and a Frenchie. it's really fun watching these races, they have a good head-to-head format. German and Canadian go down, now one of the Canadians way out in front, and the Frenchie finishes second.

Meanwhile, a delay at the speedskating oval for the men's 500M, none of the three machines could do a good enough job laying down the ice. An hour delay... sheesh. Coaches are pretty irate, surface is too rough. Dan Jansen said "quite frankly it was an embarrassing situation, the athletes prepare their whole lives for this, the crews need to do the same." Shani Davis of the U.S. is shown briefly, he's not expected to do anything at this distance and didn't in the first heat; withdraws from his second heat. Hmmm, not good all around.

Second American pair, Evora and Ladwig, in turquoise (again, I think). Again, she seems to be having a ball, it makes her likeable, albeit not a contender's look. I liked the other Americans' program better, but they were enjoyable too. Great scores, by far the best they've ever gotten, into first for now....

A Russian pair up, Vera Barizova and Yuri Larionov; he's in gray, she's in red. They're really nice together; unfortunately seh falls on a throw. Ah, they're still young, going for 2014. in Russia. Doing all their jumps in the second part, get a bonus but also more tired, so.... She pats the side of her head afterwards; yesterday he was looking all Frodo after falling, today I guess it's her turn. Hmmm, into second; not bad.

Funny, backstage one of the Chinese skaters, Zhao Hongbo, and one of his coaches are throwing a football back and forth. Zhao's got decent form. Back, profiles the Chinese coach, Yao Bin; 1980, world championships, the first time they went abroad, they fell a lot, embarrassing he says. And now -- ha!

He's missed a lot of his family, breaks down crying talking about it. You need people like this to do the near-impossible. He's very patriotic; I like him a lot. Scott says he was there in 1980, we can all learn how to turn life's failures into success.

Next, Canadians, Annabelle Langlois and Cody Hay, Aaron Copland's Grand Canyon Suite; he's in blue, she has pinkish hue on top. She falls on a throw; gets right bak into it. Carrying a decent amount of speed, nice lift, she has a big smile on her face, nails the next throw; they're relaxing a bit. Side-by-side jumps, she hangs on to hers. Sandra says they were tighter here, lack of experience hurt. Looks like they mess up the ending a bit; big hand from the crowd anyway.

They show the disasterous fall in Torino for Dang Zhang/ Hao Zhang, she tore ligaments, yet they got up after a few minutes, and won silver. That was truly amazing; in fifth at the moment, in black. Sheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov, great piece of music. They're really fast. Oh, and he falls on his combination near the start; ugh. Very precise after that though, she's playing to the audience a bit. Sortof all for nought....

Amazing that they're the third-best Chinese team; much more muscle than all the other teams to this point, although there's no sense of unity between them. Nice throws late, really impressive; lacks passion or something though. Wonder why more skaters don't have the sense of this is my last time on Olympic ice, doing what I love, let me leave it all out there; they're obviously tired, though. "Lack of elegance, lack of finish," says Sandra, "lack of musicality" says Scott. They're into first with the scores for now, six pairs left, including two Chinese.

Here's what I wrote about them four years ago; note the prescient gauge of the Chinese's strength in four years:

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.

Mukhartova/Trankov, skating to "Love Story," she in red, he in white and black; she falls early, on a side-by-side. So no drama here, either. Wow, he just fliiings her on a throw; effortlessly for him, she fights for the landing. These Rooskies are tough. Cheesy music, but good to skate to. They're not bad; funny, Jami Salé and David Pelletier, who used this music two Olympics ago, are commentators for Canadian TV, they're just sitting there stone-faced afterwards. Not sure why they aren't speaking.

Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison from Canada, "The Way We Were" -- wow, holy cheesy 70s music night, she's in brown, he's in white and brown. They nail their openings, crowd is roaring. But they seem nervous or tentative at the moment, like they're tense, not feeding off the crowd. Oh, and she falls, right after Sandra says "her weakness, the triple salchow." They should loosen up and skate better now that they're out of it. Gorgeous death spiral; odd, they're performing as if they're not a couple; she falls again as he throws her. Ah, chemistry, so elusive but so crucial. They finish up well, good-night Canada; she looks like she's going to cry, Scott likes how they didn't give up this time, unlike in the short program.

Here's what I wrote about them the last time out, note Dick Button was commentating then:

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.

9:12 -- Pairs figure skating, free skate
Medal night, with Dennny and Barrett up first, in 14th place; she in purple, he in black. Phantom of the Opera... sheesh. They're doing really well, not my cup of tea, but Scott says their "meteoric rise" is because of their consistency; I like passion and risk more. Sandra says it's another personal best performance, crowd really loves it. Wow, she's just 16; he's 25. She looks older than that. 158.33 points, a good score; she seems super-sweet.

8:00 -- Men's downhill and snowboard-cross
Bode Miller's featured at the start of the night in the men's downhill, I already know the result so am watching to get to pairs figure skating. He seems to have matured; which is good, because previously he was a huge waste of talent. He does win bronze, he's happy too.

After that Mary Carillo does the mandatory report on Churchill, the town in the north where the polar bears live; and then it's the quarters of snowboard-cross. Defending champ Seth Wescott and contender Nate Holland, both Americans, win their matchup against two other pretty easily when one of them fall. It's a fun sport to watch, and in the second quarters two Austrians make it out, one of them in a photo finish.

Speed skating, Moguls -- and Pairs skating

7:00 pm -- Women's speed skating 3,000M
Big favorite Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic goes off in the first pairing they're showing. With Dan Jansen, one of my favorite commentators, not just because of his epic personal story, but because he really knows his stuff obviously and communicates it to us. Say she has the best ability to skate consistent lap times of all the females he's seen. Paired with Hozumi of Japan.

Blows into the finish, speeds it up, 32:01, Dan goes "wow... what a fantastic last lap." Weirdly, an American is currently in third, but they didn't show her. I know it's early, but why not kick off the coverage with an American?!

Canadian Kristina Groves has a good shot at a medal, paired with a German, Stephanie Beckert, who's a contender. Donald Sutherland hanging out in the stands. Home ice advantage definitely a plus here, but maybe more so in the shorter distances. Dan thinks one of these two could steal the gold. I love watching the times for these things, so far both are slightly below the Czech at the first lap. With three laps left, both have totally fallen off, can visibly see them tiring. The crowd is really carrying her as she comes toward the end, German turns it on, both are speeding it up, Groves is in bronze position.

Ireen Wust of the Netherlands, defending champ; with another German are the final two pairs. Both are ahead of her pace after the first lap, Jansen says a bit of concern for the Czech but not much. Dutch looks really smooth, now she's dying, the German sneaks ahead of her but just into fourth. So Czech, German, Canadian, crowd goes wild; Sablikova does too, goes running out with her flag, pure joy.

7:30 -- Pairs short
They feature the favorites from China, Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, who when they started were part of a bad Chinese team that's now a powerhouse, of course. He ruptured his Achilles right before Torino.

Interesting, NBC is actually playing this up as a love story on Valentine's Day. They should be past their skating prime, Tom Hammond says, but aren't. They're a great couple, he says if they won't win there are no regrets, she says, in English, "we skated with heart."

Ah, the 'real' Olympics are about to begin, with ice skating. They gotta go first; fist bump as they go out on Chinese new year. He's in grey with pink stripes, she's in reddish dress; Queen's "Who Wants to Live Forever." Beautiful opening... then he tosses her effortlessly, they just look like winners. It's a perfect program, Scott Hamilton just laughs afterwards. "So late in their career, and to skate like that -- it's a miracle," Hamilton says.

Scoring system is really unreliable though, cautions Hammond. Sandra Bezic says some of their jumps were the best she's seen; and they get a 76.66, the highest ever in an international performance!

7:47 -- Men's luge final run
Russian Demtschienko up first, moves to top of leaderboard with only three left to go with a good lower run, just ahead of a German. Armin Zoeggeler next, hasn't had a great Olympics so far. Hits the wall a couple of times, commentators are shocked; idiot commentators says he can't do it, but he does beat the Russian, a bronze at least.

German David Moeller next, big lead over Zoeggeler; maintains it to stay in line for silver, .6 seconds ahead. Felix Loch last, gold is his to grab. So quiet and still, just looks better than anyone else; dominant, .6 ahead of his teammate, "absolutely top to bottom dominating performance."

8:00 -- Pairs
Americans Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett, she's in bright red he's all black. Slight bobble on the opening move but pretty good; she turns her triple toe loop into a double. They definitely set up for their elements, not as smooth as the Chinese. So far it's a good performance, nothing to stand up and shout about though. Second part is better, like they're more relaxed now.

Big hand from the crowd at the end. Goal was top eight here, we'll see. Hamilton says he's never seen them miss an element like that, "great accomplishment to be here" -- and they're the U.S. champs! Coach is all positive to them. It really is a super-difficult sport; "first of probably many Olympics" Sandra says, they've only
been paired up since the spring of 2008.

8:15 -- Men's moguls qualifiers
They dwell on Jenn Heil's disappointing silver for Canada yesterday; oh well, it's why the Olympics are so great, the stories aren't manufactured, they're real.

From 30 to the top 20 for the finals. World champ Patrick Deneen of the U.S. up first, totally motoring, knees tight, huge jump, a bit off on the landing; 24.39 -- weird, they're not totally hyping him, I mean, they start with a look back at Heil and the promos have been about the Aussie who won last time out. 23.35 the fastest so far.

Michael Morse next, excels on the turns not the jumps; pretty good first jump. Huge second jump; didn't look as perfect as Patrick but good. 26.06. Hard to keep the upper body over the feet, Johnny Mosley says, he did it well.

Bryon Wilson, US's best jumper -- gymnastics background. Starts a bit tentative, good first jump but backed off his practiced one; an amazingly huuuge second jump, 24.01 too. Wow. "More in the bag" Johnny says. "That was a great run," still in second.

Alexandre Bilodeau of Canada, big hand of course. Not quite all-out on the middle, big last jump, nice run. 24.22; runs into second.

American Nate Roberts next, this is all about getting all the Americans into the finals, Johnny says he needs to not get too wild in the middle; he seems a
bit awkward, not a great first jump but does well in middle, and a huuuuge last jump, 24.23.

Australia Dale Begg-Smith, born in Vancouver originally. Wow, looks like a total pro, goes huuge on the second jump, sits down a bit on the bottom 24.65. Not a great performance though, Johnny tells us.

Hannah Kearney gets interviewed by Bob, she's straightforward and steely -- said she came to win, not to let Jen win on her home court. Says she feels terrible that Jen's great silver has been tainted by the pressure to win Canada's first home soil gold. She's totally honest, I really like her; talks about how crushed she was after Torino. Strong mentally. Has a bit of the drama in her, as she takes us through the run. This is really a great interview; turns out her mom was Canadian, she has "huge respect" for the country, looking forward to watching ice skating and hockey. Huge Red Sox fan, had Jacoby Ellsbury t-shirt on underneath at the Opening.


8:45 -- Pairs
Vera Barizova and Yuri Larionov from Russia, she's in pale pink, he's in black; messes up the first element, out of unision; music is great, Dr. Zhivagoish quality to it.
They're so young, could be really good -- she has a really delicate, classic quality to her, despite her struggles with jumping.
Crowd is kindof in love with them, despite their early struggle. Lines are really precise and elegant. End slightly out of synch too.

Americans Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig; like a lot of other skaters he's had to work a lot of odd jobs to make ends meet, was a volunteer at Salt Lake City. His Asian American partner, who's Filipino, is involved with another of the American pairs; in a pinkish redish dress, he's in a blue shirt, black pants. Nice piano music, again nobody tells us what it is. Nice side-by-sides; they look less like a unit than the Russians, whose scores we never got. She's really good, vibrant with a big smile. Nice performance, "as good as they could've hoped for," Sandra says -- she's just beaming at the end, big applause. Into second, Sandra says "wow," crowd goes wild. Her mom's crying, it's really cool, "oh my god" says his wife.

Annabelle Langlois and Cody Hay of Canada next, both in turquoise. Beautiful opening; they're very quiet and still on the ice. Second move is downgraded to a double. Huge throw, you can tell they're a bit nervous but gaining confidence. Scores are met with big cheers, into second; Scott goes, "wow." Everyone's waaaay behind the Chinese at the moment.

9:10 -- Men's moguls finals
Michael Morse up first, huge first jump, a few mistakes; big second too, almost sits down; 24.45 -- Johnny says you can't make these mistakes and get on the podium.

Nate Roberts next, in 7th now; looks totally normal so far, then screws up -- and is out of it, gets back in to finish, going way too fast. Oh well. Patrick Deneen next, is just motoring through the middle, a mistake, then falls, crashes into the sign, and is out. Ouch! May very well be a night without any medals for the U.S.; one guy left in moguls.

Are you kidding, NBC?! Canadian Jason Marquis does great, into first, and we missed it?! Another Canadian sitting in second right now. Third Canadian goes, not as great Johnny tells us, into 6th. Jesper Bjoernlund of Sweden, who we haven't seen yet. Very controlled but not fast, huge second jump, and he's slow at the finish.

Dale Begg-Smith, big first jump, huuuge second jump, 23.72, blistering time, "smoking fast run." Shoves into first. Bryon Wilson up, tough act to follow; nails huge first trick, announcers say it's a great jump; not as fast as the Aussie -- 24.0 at the end, 23.10 the fastest. Has a shot at silver, I'd say. Into second! big celebration from him and the crowd. Two competitors left...

Canadian Alexandre Bilodeau up, one more after him, he's going soooo fast down the middle; huge second, 23.17; totally impressive! His brother has cerebal palsy, what a great story. Nice; I think he'll be first. He's in first, crowd goes nuts.

Last one, Frenchie, Guilbaut Colas; secretly hoping he falls, although France has had a heck of a day. Doesn't have the jumps, gonna have to go faaaaast. Not looking great -- but an unbelievable 22.90 time! Well, no medal for the U.S.; let's see if Canada can hold on for gold. Misses the grab on the eggroll jump, Johnny says that could be the difference. Whoah, in 6th! Holy cow, and the drought is over for Canada, the country goes nuts.

And another medal for the U.S.! Six total now. Bilodeau is so happy afterwards, thanks everyone. Talks about his brother, he learned, "don't complain, my brother never complains, he has every right to complain."

They profile Apolo Anton Ohno; he's probably my favorite individual athlete here. 20 pounds lighter than in Torino; just seems like a great guy.

10:00 -- Pairs
Lithe Russians again, Oleg Mukhortova and Trankov and apparently they are anything but a couple off the ice, have worked with a sports psychologist on their relationship. Nice classical music; both in pastels, pinkish and brownish. He falls, that's pretty much it for them, everyone else has been perfect. It's a hard sport; either one can screw it up, and when they do, you just have to power through it, and try not to think about it -- or hate the other person. Too bad about the fall, I liked them afterwards. He's got his face in his hands, is crying; she just skates away from him, before coming back for their second bow.

Wow, they look depressed at the kiss and cry, no talking or anything. Now she hugs him, his eyes are still wide in shock like Frodo; and... they're still in 3rd! Wow, ahead of the Americans. Sandra says she's surprised, Scott quietly adds, "me too."

Volosozhar and Morozov from Ukraine, in matching electric blue outfits. Oh, he touches down; his weakest element. Hmm, sounds goes out on NBC's broadcast, that's not good. Huge throws, maybe it's not all over if you go by the Russians. Weird technoish music; they're kind of mesmerizing to watch, interesting costumes. Scott flat-out says he holds them back, not nearly as strong a skater as she is. He's dejected at the end. Sandra says not much life and energy the rest of the way. Hmm, at break, Visa already has up a commercial with Morgan Freeman, congratulating Johnny Spillane for his silver.

Kavaguti and Smirnov, with the famous short Russian coach, Tamara Moskvina, she faxed her when she was 16 saying she wanted to be coached by her. She's Japanese originally. Beautiful Dreamer, she's in white, he's in black. I like them right away. Tom says some in Japan called her a traitor, Sandra gently later says there is no figure skating legacy in Japan, she had to make this move to follow her dream. I agree, even though the reigning ladies singles champ is Japanese.... They're really classic and elegant, Hamilton sighs at the niceness of their routine so far, as they land their jumps. She's got a mouth agape elfin quality to her. Sandra says "Tamara is such a brilliant and calculating coach," everything is pre-planned. Totally in synch, it lacks something though that would make me really want to cheer, maybe we'll see it in the long. They'll be in second; Sandra says not nearly the level of Shen and Zhao.

"How many people actually defect to Russia," Hamilton says. Tamara is happy with them; she's totally tiny. "Careful and calculated performance," Sandra says. This really is the A announcing team here; Hammond does what he should, which is stay out of the way; Sandra and Scott are great together, insightful yet different.

He kisses Tamara's hand, she calls out greetings in both Russian and Japanese; and they're into second place, personal bests, just 2.5 points out of first. Americans now down in fifth. Last group comes out, crowd roars.

Costas talks about Spillane's silver, adds that it was the closest finish ever in Nordic Combined; interesting, don't remember the announcers at the time saying that.

Dick Button talks about the pairs, says the Chinese were "superb," and "stunningly marvelous," decries that they were first and the audience was still coming in. Ha, idiots who came late really missed out. Button says pairs is the hardest of the skating event, you have to master it as well as the skating; mentions the tough factor of hoping your partner maintains his/her interest, he's obviously talking about in years of competing not during the actual competition itself, Costas says, "let's hope they maintain it, it's the Olympics after all."

Canadians next, Jessica Dubé and Bryce Davison; very dramatic music, he's in black and silver, she too; they almost hit the camera along the side, and she falls on a jump. Sandra says sometimes it's like the ice becomes heavy, Scott says "when you make a mistake, sometimes it takes the will out." Holy cow, they still get third place; Scott and Sandra are both speechless, the two skaters are as well.

Chinese Pang and Tong in blue, "truly special" when the music starts Scott says, "most improved pair" says Sandra as she praises their program; perfect jumps during a lull in the music, very dramatic. I like them a lot. Strong, effortless so far. Nice, huge throw; audience is totally watching, very quiet. They're miles ahead of the other recent competitors; you just have to keep watching them; applause starts even before they're totally finished. "Seemless, beautifully delivered," says Scott; "free and joyful," says Sandra. Into third, awesome.

Final Chinese pairs, Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao, silver in Torino despite the fall Visa just showed us. In white and black, not great costumes. Very fast though, "tend to make sloppy mistakes, but they have huge throws," says Sandra. They're good, not magical like the others. Should be in fourth; they're good, not electric. Sandra makes a good point, they get the job done, but "they don't present their work as if it were special." Scott echoes, not the passion you see with the others. Indeed, into fourth.

Final pair are the Germans, dressed like clowns, she in white he in black, Savchenko and Szolkowy; "Send in the Clowns." Very theatrical, huge triple flip throw opens, they nail their jumps; wow, this could be magical, pleasing music, they've struggled all year, may be back. I like watching them, good timing, audience loving it, they stop their rotations on a dime. Sandra points out the footwork is really slow, doesn't cover much ice; audience really likes it though. Third, I predict.

Wow, and they jump into second; top three are so bunched up, Russian coach has gotta be furious. The graphic NBC shows for the standings has all the flags screwed up; whoops!

11:00 -- Medal ceremony for Hannah Kearney
Chris Collinsworth is totally excited for Hannah to get her moguls medal; this is pretty cool. Her teammate Shannon is totally crying as the anthem starts, she got bronze. Huge smiles from both of them as the anthem ends, it's a great moment. And that's it for tonight.... what a great day of Olympics watching.

Nordic combined, biathlon at the Olympics

4:45 pm -- Nordic combined, cross-country skiing
Two American in top four, three in top ten -- here comes our shot to end the medal drought. Todd Lodwick starts 34 seconds behind the Finnish leader who's not a great skier, Spillane 44 seconds. It's straight pursuit; first person at the end wins. Bill Demong about 1 minute 20 seconds behind.

They talk about the importance of having the right wax on your skis. Todd's gained 10 seconds already; then Spillane and everyone else, as the coaches bark out instructions. Group is catching up to Lodwick, with Spillane leading that group. Oh, Finn leader falls down on the turn, 20 seconds at least announcer says. Lodwick going very careful, group is right behind him.

15 skiers within 26 seconds of the leader, Lodwick's been caught by the pack which is now the leader; Demong making a charge, now just 17 seconds back after being more than a minute back, announcers very impressed with him.

Easy race to follow, bib numbers are the order in which they started. Halfway through, U.S. is 1-2, Italy, then the Frenchie who's really an American. And now Demong comes in by himself at the top of a group of three, three Americans in the top eight. Announcers points out the Frenchie is really an American.

Less than three miles to determine the winners. Back from commercial, this is live so it's just a mile left. Lodwick still leads, Spillane close, Demong just 8.5 seconds off. About 18 minutes in; Demong about to join the lead pack. This bodes really well for the team race; "phenomenal" what Demong has done -- his bib of 24 is ridiculous, everyoe else up front is in single digits. They're coming up on the final lap. This is totally exciting. Demong is like 10 yards off the lead, 8 skiers in all to decide the medals, nobody else anywhere close.

"Pins and needles moment now." Chappuis from France in third, ugh. Announcer thinks Lodwick is either cruising, or not having a great day. Waiting for someone to make a move. Kobayashi makig his move, out front, and he's really opening up a bit of distance, Americans are second and third, Spillane moves up, Lodwick may be tired; now it's Spillane and Kobayashi out front, Spillane caches him, passes, in the lead!

And he opens his own gap! Pulling away, keeps looking back. Spillane! Spillane! Final climb, then the final turn, he's really going all out. He's exhausted, but is just cruising. 20 yards up, a bit to go; Chappius is closing, Lodwick is coming in too; man, this is amazing; Spillane is being caught by the Frenchie; he's passed.

Chappius first, ranked tops in the world, mom is American, moved to France. Spillane silver, Italian third, Lodwick just barely fourth by 7/10ths of a second, Demong sixth. An amazing race. Good day for France, two golds.

But "a breakthrough day for the United States," Al signs off with. Five U.S. medals already.

Al comes back, talks to J.R. Celski, he's a really nice guy, soft-spoken, calls Al "sir." Later Spillane talks, total down-to-earth guy, "amazing" how the U.S. finished, "we've worked really, really hard for many years."

They're wasting time at luge, showing the guys ranked way down.

4:00 pm -- Men's single luge, 3rd heat

German machine stars with our leader, 20-year-old Felix Loch, whose father coaches the team, another start record. He's just so perfect, good run, his dad's happy. Teammate David Moeller next, finishes second.

Armin Zoeggeler next, not a great start, a bit rocky up top and he's off-line, not a good run at all, 1 second behind. Legend falling.... "Terrible Olympic run" one of the announcers says. Russian Albert Demtschenko, bad start but an aggressive slider; he's way back too, stays in 4th. Cool camera technology shows him superimposed on Loch, they should use that more. Andi Langenhan, another German, next. A little wild, stays in fifth.

Daniel Pfister from Austria is next, not as far back as some of the others at the top, losing time near the bottom, but the announcers are talking about the track, not him at all. One of my pet peeves; don't ignore the Olympian in front of you.

Tony Benshoof of the U.S. up next. Same story every Olympics for the Americans -- good enough to stick around, but barring a perfect run, always out of medal contention. Way back up top; finishes with 7th-best time, stays exactly where he is.

Manuel Pfister of Austria, whose brother already wet; way back at the start, like everyone else, okay run. Canadian Sam Edney, currently in 10th. Nobody's start has been within like a second of Loch. Good run, moves up to 8th. Marins Rubenis of Latvia, as we get to the people with no chance of medaling; won a bronze in Torino, but nothing since then. Analyst says this team does more with less than anyone. Not great run, his wife or someone is shaking her head. Viktor Kneib of Russia next, mediocre run.

Chris Mazdzer, fans have his letters painted on their stomachs. Looks very slow up top, 1.33 back already; 12th best time, ranks 13. Announcers are impressed with his driving, think his sled setup may have hurt him. Huge smile on his face afterwards, as his fans keep screaming and blowing horns. Jeff Christie from Canada next; bad start, too over to one side. "Attention to detail is where the Germans have the edge," one of the announcers says.

Ben Walden of the U.S., not a great run, in 14th place.

Men's Biathlon sprint

Norwegians top, then Russians, Germans and Americans the strongest teams Al Trautwig and his partner Chad Salmela tells us, they leave at 10 second intervals. Some of the skiers say the course is too easy, Chad says maybe, but there's no place to rest. Emil Hegle Svendson first from Norway, huge roar from the crowd, the "prince" of biathlon, ski a few weeks ago. The king, of course, is Ole Einar Bjørndalen; who Al tells us can become the most-decorated winter Olympian ever.

They ski for 3.5 kilometers before stopping to shoot. 25-seconds or so penalty loop if you miss, Chad says you can't miss with this fast course. Two of the favorites have already missed, and are out as Chad says. Canadian Leguellec makes all of his, crowd roars, and he's in first -- with a bunch of favorites surprisingly missing.

NBC needs to do a better job of identifying skiers when they're on the screen, why not just put their name under them? Tim Burke of the U.S. starts, has a real shot at the medals. 62.5% of all Olympic gold medalists didn't miss, Chad says; most-ever misses to win was two.

Fourcade of France, one of the favorites, takes a while to set up with his rifle; taking his time and totally misses on the last. "A nightmare for France." Second shooting range is standing, ecstatic guy, not sure of the name.

Bjørndalen shooting now, just looks deadly, oh and he misses three times, crowd roars; Chad says, "this is unbelievable, never have I seen him miss three penalties at the Olympic games." Maybe the course is so easy that they're pushing themselves too much? Wow.

Weather is getting worse, Svnedsen of Norway nails the standing, announcer says he can move into first. Burke has to go clean, Chad says, one miss, puts him out of the running for now. Greis nails all but the last one. It's just chaos out here, favorites missing left and right.

Snow beginning to really come down, big advantage for the people who started earlier. Ustyugov of Russia misses two standig, another favorite falters. Jay of France in first, "amazing," Chad says. Svendsen coming in, won't beat Jay but into second right now, Fak of Croatia in third. Burke misses twice standing, so his day's over; and hurts his chances in the upcoming pursuit event, too.

All the big names have faltered today, Chad tells us. Bjørndalen in at 13th for now, Eder of Austria goes clean but way behind because he started so late. Top 3 all started in the top 10.

Top American is Jeremy Tella, in ninth at the finish, would be the U.S.'s best finish ever in this sport. Hmmm, France has never won a medal in this event either. Tella does finish ninth; after that, a bunch of features as we wait for the skiing part of Nordic Combined.


1:00 p.m. -- Nordic combined

Watching the 'worst' of the Nordic combined jumpers, the announcers tell us they go first. Nevertheless, the daytime weekend coverage of combined and the biathalon are some of my favorite Olympic moments, particularly looking forward to Al Trautwig announcing biathalon, he always brings out the epic nature of the event.

Schmid brothers, both born in Norway to Swiss parents -- oddly, announcer said the older one "defected" to compete for Norway; it seems to me the younger one is the one who defected, I guess the color analyst, Jeff Hastings, is going by the racist European notion of it's not who you are that matters but the blood of your parents.

U.S. jumper Brett Camerota is sitting in first, has had the longest jump for a while -- ironically, there's been very little coverage of him, three of his teammates have been getting all the pub. He must not be a great skier; not that the announcers would tell us.

The U.S. has never won a medal in this event, but pundits are touting the Americans as having a strong shot this time.

Hastings is actually a pretty good announcer, just has difficulty finishing -- for example, tells us that you can become a good jumper pretty quickly, but it takes longer to become a good cross-country skier; no explanation why, or which athletes this would apply to, aside from the Frenchie who just pushed the American back.

Each extra jumping point gives you a 4-second advantage when it comes to the skiiig part. 26 of the 48 medals given out in this sport have been won by the Norwegians; unfortunately for play-by-play announcer Matt Vasgersian, he brings that up thinking a Czech athlete is Norwegian; Hastings corrects him.

Hasting tells us the Japanese have only taken part in 8 of the 16 events this season in a different strategy, to try and rest up. Seems kindof dumb; Hastings says they seem to be a bit off the mark so far. Then Vasgersian says many of the top skiers have tried to do the same, undercutting Hastings; who agrees.

Older brother Jan Schmid up, again, Hastings calls him a Swiss skier who made the Norwegian team. Famed Hannu Manninen, out of retirement, the legend; "gentle giant" calls Hastings, a great cross-country skier. Only into 12th at this point.

Todd Lodwick the first of the strong Americans up, lays down a great jump, into secod to Janie Rynaemen, 101.5 M; 34 seconds head start. Anssi Koivurata from Finland, medaled at Torino at 17, Hastings tells us he's not a great skier. Alessandro Pittin of Italy, with the flag painted on his helmet, good-looking form; into 4th.

Hastings says there's a pack strategy now in the cross-country now, like the Tour de France. Bill Demong of the U.S., fractured his skull diving into a shallow pool in Germany, not a great jump, Hastings says he got a bit mixed up in the air, got off the jump late. Googling, not the announcers, reveals what their 'Bibgate' reference was about -- he misplaced his bib at the World Championships, which lead to his DQ; later it was found in the leg of his jumping suit, it had just fallen down after he put it inside the chest part to keep it dry (why didn't he take off his suit?)

Johnny Spillane of the U.S. next, not great jump at first but Hastings says he "found the air," his arm is moving around though. Into 4th, "in the hunt." Pavel Churavy of the Czech Republic next, after waiting for the wind; yellow light, then red, he gets pulled off the bar. At the moment three Americans are in the top ten.

Magnus Moan of Norway, one of the favorites; a really short jump, just 91.5M. They never tell us what happens with the Czechie; Hastings says Moan ca't make this deficit up. Erik Frenzel, good jump from the German. Felix Gottwald of Austria, most-decorated in this event, 6 medals in his last 6 Olympic events; not a great jump either, "no chance" says Hastings.

Jason Lamy Chappuis, born in the U.S. but competing for France, boo, dominant this year. Great technique, not his greatest ever says Hastings but given the conditions, air moving around, a good one. And that's it....

Hmmm, some random NBC analyst says Americans are in position for two medals in cross-country. Weird that it wasn't Hastings talking to Al Michaels, who by the way suddenly seems ancient and bloated.

Olympics night two: Apolo Anton Ohno goes for broke, J.R. Celski too

11:50 -- Apolo Anton Ohno and J.R. Celski

Andrea Kramer asks Ohno if he thought he'd been interfered with, he says, "yeah." As J.R. is beig interviewed Anton grabs him, whoops, then goes off. Kindof an odd interview, I don't like Kramer much so I pin it on her disjointed style.

Back with Hannah Kearney, who said her trainer gave her a card this morning showing how many practice jumps and runs she's done, gave her a ton of confidence; great idea. She's really good, like her. "If I can set the tone for team USA, that is a dream come true."

And that's it for a great first night, where the U.S. exceeded expectations and Canada fell flat.

11:35: Men's luge singles, 2nd run
Andi Langenham is in first as Russian Albert Demtschenko starts the televised part of the second run. He finishes the heat first. Italian Armin Zoeggeler next, ot the legend of old the announcer tell us; into first for now.

David Moeller of Germany next, like a machine, of course, into first. One of the luge announcers isn't very good, not sure of his name yet -- keeps interjecting odd and uneven thoughts. Duncan Kennedy is really good though. Tony Benshoof of the U.S. is up next, way behind halfway through, moving around a lot, is in 6th now -- idiot announcer says he moves up to 6th, he started 7th. Uh, actually, there are more lugers to come, so actually he moved down to 6th.

Felix Loch next, they keep saying they're going from the women's start -- well, actually, now that they're going from there, doesn't that make it the men's start? German, goes into first; then Stefan Hoehner of Switzerland, wipes out.... Somehow holds onto his sled, finishes. "There is no way you practice for what he just did," the bad announcer says.

Chris Mazdzer next, Duncan says he's a star of the future. He really does move up to ninth.

10:44: Women's moguls finals

Snow and rain coming down, Tae Satoya of Japan up first; fog becoming an issue the announcers say -- it looks pretty bad. Wow, a wild, dark night, bright evergreen against the gray sky. Oh, totally biffs off the second jump, then falls again after the finish line. Nikola Sudova of the Czech Republic, Weird, camera stays fixed on the start after she's already left. Nearly sits down on the second jump.

Arisa Murata of Japan debuting at 19. Screws up early, odd first jump but maybe that's on purpose, recovers nicely. Ekaterina Stolyarova, Russian from near Siberia, with pigtails hanging down, totally smooth off the first jump, relaxed off the second too, just has a good vibe to her for some reason. Eight competitors left; Chloe Dufour-Lapointe of Canada, big roar, 18, doing some warm-ups. Nice big first jump, a big herky jerky, huge second run, crowd goes nuts. 29.87 down the hill, in first of course. She could be Canada's new sweetheart....

Funny, competitors have huge, comfy chairs to wait in afterwards. Michelle Roark of the U.S. next, in white polka dots on blue outfit. Ooooh, and she wipes out.... Keeps going though. Good announcer, said she tried to do a big trick to make it to the medals, finished it but just caught an edge. Ranked 13th out of 20.

Shannon Bahrke, next American; to be married on 10/10/10, will be Mrs. Happy. Big first jump, she's motoring. Huge second jump, iron cross, and 27.90, blistering. Jumps into first, goes nuts. Aiko Uemura of Japan next, not bad first jump, leaning a bit back; nice second jump, 28.88; her fourth Olympics. 30 is a perfect score, in second. Funny, I wonder if they sit at the bottom in the order of finish. Kristi Richards of Canada, a bit awkward I think, goes down.... Gets up eventually, finishes the route.

Heather McPhee, the third American; is just zooming down the course; oooh, and she wipes out too! Well, Shannon's guaranteed a medal, but no U.S. sweep.... Big hug from her teammate though. Jenn Heil, defending gold medalist and Canadian, suppose to be the first ever to win gold on home soil. Looks good so far, is speeding; 27.91, great run. I think judges will give her first, home court advantage.

And yeah, she's in first, big smile from her. Again, Hannah Kearney I think is gonna have to be clearly better to win. Huge jump, just speeding, 27.86, and the announcers keep talking about her tight hands, celebrates with her teammate.

Two more medals for the U.S., bronze and -- gooooooooooooooooold! First of the games for us, she's ecstatic, hugs from everyoe else, gets the flag out, hugs her peeps.

U.S. atop the medal table at this point, 4 to 2 for South Korea. 1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze. U.S.A.!


10:26: Men's short track 1500 finals
B Final up first in short track; why is there one? Just six skaters in the final, this one gets you two others, since the Olympics like to award up to eighth place. Just in case there's a, you know, huge doping scandal or something. Charles Amlin takes the lead to huge applause, winds up winning to a standing ovation.

13 1/2 laps to gold for Apolo Anton Ohno. J.R. Celski the other American; three South Koreans with them, and the Chinese skater too. Oh, Canadian Olivier Jean advanced into the finals, refs decided he was blocked in a semi. Let's go Ohno! And Celski! Goes from near the end to first in one amazingingly smooth pass. Wow, Koreans were 1-2-3, but then two of them crash, and Ohno and Celski finish second and third. Lee Jun Sook of South Korea won the gold.

Sixth Olympic medal for Ohno, ties Bonnie Blair. Wow, medals in three Olympics... Picks up his teammate.



10:00 pm: Men's luge singles, first run
Men's luge... day after the Georgian competitor died. Cowardly official report blamed him, but as the president of Georgia said, "the price of an athletic mistake shouldn't be death," and as Bob Costas points out, the world's best luger crashed on his first run. And they build a wood wall, men start from the women's spot and the women even lower, part of the fatal turn was shaved down and they wrapped the steel pole that took his life -- any other questions?

Chris Mazdzer up first for the U.S., first of four runs; no hope of a medal of course, U.S. traditionally has trouble in the individual part of luge. Really good run, though. Without acknowledgment they fast forward to Felix Loch of Germany, skipping over the Swiss guy who's in the lead. Talk about how the Germans are focused on foot position, he destroys the Swiss guy, over 91 mph at the finish. The best Olympic moments are when someone comes out of nowhere, don't think we're gonna have that here.

Tony Benshoff of the U.S., nursing an injured back. Not a great start, moving around. Finishes in second, but like half a second behind. David Moeller of Germany next, goes into second. And now, Armin Zoeggeler, the Italian who's a legend; very Zen sled position. Kindof a ragged run, in third. Albert Demtschenko of Russia, won silver last time, bigger than everyone else seems like; into fifth.

Andi Langenham of Germany, starting to snow more, later in the run; slower track; finishes in sixth. Bengt Walden, from Sweden, now an American. A lot of movement at the start, peeking with his head too. Whoah, totally skids, very ragged; hits the curve, way back; head coach shaking his head. Sam Edney of Calgary gets a huge roar; like his look, think he'll be good. Seems a bit nervous, tentative, but very still; in 10th. Another Canadian, Jeff Christie, looks all bug-eyed; into 13th.



9:00 pm -- Men's short track, 1500 semis

Four American women qualify in the top seven for the moguls finals as we hit 9 pm on the East Coast, first full night of Olympic competition. Big event tonight is in short track speed skating, Apolo Anton Ohno trying to tie speed skater Bonnie Blair for most medals by an American in the winter games, six. He's got two golds, one in Salt Lake City, one in Torino.

He tells Cris Collinsworth, "symbolism is very important to me," from Seattle, started his career in Vancouver, is ending it here.

Apolo's in the first semi of the 1500s, first two of seven make the finals. He's wearig a glove with gold tips on his left hand, made by a knife maker in Salt Lake City. Wow, Ohno was in last at the beginning, then towards the end makes his way to the front, passes the Canadian guy, wins up in second, qualifying. He slightly bumps the South Korean that won tying an Olympic record, but no biggie. Ah, what a great, exciting sport!

Second semi, Lee Ho-Suk of South Korea the favorite. He wins with a super pass lateish that the announcer calls a "patented Korean move," Chinese skater in too, another Canadian fails to advance.

Third semi, with J.R. Celski of the U.S., who fell at the U.S. trials and was cut by his skate blade; his mom's Asian. Gotta root for him. Another Korean favorite in this one, Sung Si-Bak. Wow, and in a great race J.R. stays out front, holds off some late charges, and finishes second! He eases up at the second, almost gets passed actually....

Exciting race; hope it's Ohno 1, Celski 2....