<p>I think they should have the women’s competitions in half pipe and slopeside before the men’s so we wouldn’t be disappointed. They show the men’s events in gymnastics and figure skating first because the women’s events are considered “the pinnacle” of those sports, why not do the same with these other sports?</p>
<p>I don’t snowboard or do any of these tricks (haha, thinking about it is more than enough) but I’m assuming that greater brawn makes the tricks better. Then again, there was that 5’2", 120 lb, 15-year-old Japanese half pipe snowboarder who almost flew as high as Shaun White so I don’t know…</p>
<p>I do not think it is awkward. Ask the Russians or the Dutch if they feel awkward about their team medals being predominantly in figure skating or speed skating, respectively, and they say, “Heck, no!” :D</p>
<p>Bookworm, I hope your niece’s injuries were not serious. Fingers crossed for her. </p>
<p>BB, I’d argue that those are the sports people accept to be more… something. Like, if the U.S. won gold in table tennis and ended up losing women’s team gymnastics. I hardly think people would be as happy with that gold.</p>
<p>In America outcomes in the prime time sports matter for ratings and promotional purposes. More sports in the winter Olympics are given prime time coverage compared to summer Olympic sports, though.</p>
<p>I happened to see a segment on the today show where Johnny Weir went fishing with Billy Bush. It was a silly fluffy piece and Johnny came in all his glory! The thing that was great was that it was apparent that Johnny understood the old Russian man they were talking to even if he doesn’t speak. And Johnny would tell Billy what the Russian was saying, it was pretty funny I thought</p>
<p>Weir seems to be having blast. Nice to see.</p>
<p>I’m in awe that Jason Brown delivered so well in the men’s short program (figure skating) and is still hanging on to 4th place. I’ve got my fingers crossed that he manages to stay in the final group (top 6) for the LP, but it isn’t really likely. Javier Fernandez should not have been scored a smidge higher – unfortunately the component scores for relative newcomers aren’t as high as what the established skaters seem to get. Still, he’s got to be thrilled.</p>
<p>For some reason Jason Brown reminds of Evan Lysacek. </p>
<p>I did not think Evan was the most talented, but he was consistent and he worked really hard. After his surprising 3rd place finish at the worlds in 2005, I was thinking that he would be the one to watch out for. I quickly became a fan.</p>
<p>I was really happy that he got Olympic gold in 2010 over diva Plushenko.</p>
<p>Hopefully Jason’s future is as bright as Evan’s.</p>
<p>Speaking of Plushenko. If I were Maxim Kovtun, I would be royally p…ed. Plushenko knew he was injured several days ago, he could have withdrawn in time for Maxim to replace him. But no, he had to do this at the very last moment. This kind of behavior combined with Plushenko doing nothing in last year to get Russia more than 1 spot in men’s Olympics only confirms to me, that Plushenko’s last run for the Olympics had nothing to do with his love for sport and had everything to do with his love for himself.</p>
<p>Attempting to decide whether I preferred Lysacek or Plushenko in 2010 was like deciding whether being stung by bees or wasps was more pleasant. Needless to say I’m not too sad about Plushenko dropping out.</p>
<p>I’m really enjoying Weir’s commentary during the live figure skating. Much prefer him to Scott Hamilton.</p>
<p>That Japanese kid was phenomenal. And Jason Brown held on to 6th, so he’ll be in the last group in the long program. I feel badly for the Russian skater who was left off the team so Plushenko could be on the team.</p>
<p>Thanks, BB. Cousin dislocated her shoulder. There is a lot of buzz on Snowboard Mag and others about the amount of injuries due to falls from the poor quality of the half pipe. Not fair to expose athletes to inferior equipment. I’ll admit, it was hard to see her parents rush onto the pipe to carry her off. Kelly and others came to visit her. They are a close group.</p>
<p>Also, people feel that on-lookers did not get to see the performers at their best. They couldn’t get as high as usual. Until they brought in chemicals to freeze the ice, they couldn’t practice. Anyway, that is just a smidgeon of the talk, which began before qualifying heats. </p>
<p>Admittedly, I am representing a biased point of view.</p>
When an olympic snowboarder suddenly trips over something in the snow on the flat part, you know that the conditions are poor.
It just goes to show you how precarious the career of an olympic athlete is. </p>
<p>I don’t love Hanyu’s LP, but it is his event to win if he can execute the jumps. I’m surprised Brown hung on to finish 6th and into the final warmup group – he’ll actually be the last skater to skate in the long program; hope the wait doesn’t get the best of him or cause his muscles to cool down too much. There’s about 40 minutes between the end of warm-up and Brown’s skate.</p>
<p>Thanks, Collegealum, for understanding. The kids had 30 minutes to practice, even though there 5 days prior; condition of half pipe so poor. Did you know it cost $1700 to attend Opening ceremony?</p>
<p>Cardinal, not exactly. They were split into 2 groups for final qualifiers. In one group, scores much higher, because of condition of ice. The time of day made a big difference. Some performers wonder what to expect in S Korea.</p>
<p>But isn’t that always true in the Olympics, even when the technical aspect is better? Some downhill skiers ski in a snowstorm and some in the sun, some early in the day when the snow is harder and others later when the snow has softened up? Isn’t that just what happens in outdoor winter sports?</p>
<p>Cardinal, I cannot recall a Winter Olympics when the weather was expected to be so warm, and it is. There are many venues where the snow is natural and weather cold. Slight variances, but not to extent that only way to have ice is to use chemicals.</p>
<p>Look, I am emotional. When you see your cousin and wife run onto course, and take their daughter off the course, it is upsetting. When you spend a long time on phone with their grandmother, it gets to you. When male cousin and other 3 American players were upset with the course, not being able to practice on it until day of prelims, you don’t see it as “natural”. You want to do your best, show the world all the things you can do, not have to back off because the course is so slow you cannot get speed. This was not snowboarding at its best. IMHO.</p>