<p>Bode!!! I am so thrilled for him! He has grown up so much. I won’t say I trashed him 4 years ago - more like was just disappointed. That is all erased now.</p>
<p>USA Hockey - what a game! Ryan Miller was unbelievable. I have such a hard time watching all those shots on goal. </p>
<p>Can anyone explain why I have this urge to reach into my TV and grab Bob Costas by the necktie and just shake him? (Honestly, I am NOT a violent person! - lol)</p>
<p>JAM I agree, Bode has matured in an amazing way. I too was very disappointed in him at Torino, especially because he thought it was a “lock” he spent his nights partying. I am glad he realized there is no such thing as a lock.</p>
<p>I might have missed this pages back, but isn’t it interesting that the skis Vonn won on were Bode’s from the 06 Olympics, or at least that was what they were insinuating. The designer is the same as Bode’s, and when asked said these are my skis, but would not acknowledge if they were Bode’s…call me cynical or reading in, but that basically says “YEP” to me.</p>
<p>On MSNBC they were talking about the success that USA has had at this Olympics and showed a headline, “Will the Americans rent the podium to us?” Thought that was very funny.</p>
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<p>Yes, that was me. Yes, after hearing the same music maybe 60 times every weekend, it’s totally burned in my brain.</p>
<p>Last night I was watching bobseld right before bed. Crotch shot of guy in spandex. What an anatomy lesson, and not in a good way.</p>
<p>I was telling my kids about Eric and Debi and the other Olympicans who are MDs. Good thing we don’t live in a society where there is genetic engineering or they’d be called on to reproduce for the State.</p>
<p>Ice dancing costumes - is there anything left to say? One is worse than the other. For some reason, I find Meryl Davis unlikable. She just doesn’t seem very gracious when interviewed.</p>
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The scary thing is that was the inoffensive version of their costume! Originally it was even more hideous. I thought the dancing seemed pretty offensive too - I felt like I was back in some 1950s jungle movie.</p>
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<p>I’ve never seen her interviewed, missy, but I’ve heard that opinion from others, too. One thing about watching her and Charlie is that my eye is drawn to him rather than to her. I’m not sure that there’s another ice dancing couple that causes that for me. I find him a much more interesting performer than she is. If Virtue and Moir continue to skate like they have been, they are going to be very difficult to beat. Their program is beautiful and difficult and they are skating with such grace and confidence. Oh, and their costumes are actually nice! :)</p>
<p>Am I hallucinating, or were there two different pairs of Michigan sophomores in the ice dancing?</p>
<p>Cardinal, Charlie and Meryl are the Michigan sophomores. Tanith and Ben are a little old to be sophomores. 
Unless there’s another couple?</p>
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<p>I don’t know if they’ll all sophomores but I did hear them say the two of the pairs are at Michigan. Meryl Davis is 23, which is a bit old to be a sophomore but maybe not if you’re an Olympic caliber skater (and are not one of those genetically superior people like Eric or Debi.)</p>
<p>I guess I’m focussed on my perception that Meryl has an “I’m great and I know it” attitude because of some girls in D’s class in HS. There are a few who are truly fantastic at what they do and they absolutely know it and let everyone else know it. Is graciousness and humilty something that parents teach? Or is it parents who create the other type?</p>
<p>OK, I looked it up. There’s a third couple, Evan Bates and Emily Samuelson. Both are undergraduates at Michigan.</p>
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<p>Yeah, the NBA cracked down big time on fighting some years ago and started handing out huge fines and suspensions. The NHL always takes the chicken way out and mumbles something about needing the fights to allow the players to blow off steam or some nonsense like that. What they are really talking about is not losing the fans who like the fights. Well getting rid of the fights hasn’t hurt the NBA’s popularity one bit.</p>
<p>Watching yesterday’s game I was amazed at the incredible speed and skill of the hockey players. You could tell they were athletes of the highest order. Why doesn’t the NHL market that instead of the prospect of a brawl? For some reason the NHL’s tacitly approved self-identity is The Jerry Springer Show on Ice.</p>
<p>I was asking my H about hockey fights last night. It was SO refreshing NOT to see them. Back when I was a teen, I attended a local hockey game and the crowd seemed to be more interested in the fights than the games. I was totally turned off and have had a bad impression of the sport since. I was impressed last night…those guys are amazing athletes. </p>
<p>The ice dancing seemed a bit over the top to me. The one thing I like is that they generally dont’ fall. Hate the falls with the pairs…very hard to watch!</p>
<p>Hard to watch it no matter what competition when they fall…I feel like I am their parent and my heart breaks for them.</p>
<p>One thing I found interesting when we went to the 06 Olympics, alot has to do with pysching the others out. They clean the ice often, I would say it was after 3. During the commercial breaks if you were there you would see that they all come out and do their “big” item to psych the competition out. The judges would also see this and that is why you might say “HUH, how did they get those points?” </p>
<p>Pleshenko played that game last week, complaining he landed a quad, but none of us know that during warm ups if he consistently landed it. Landing the quad in the judges mind may have been a fluke from what they saw during warm ups.</p>
<p>We saw the ladies short in 06. Sasha Cohen during the warm ups kept falling, Arakawa always landed it. IMHO, Sasha lost because of the “total” pic, Arakawa was more consistent.</p>
<p>^^That seems unfair to me, almost rigged - like scoring someone based on reputation rather than performance. Athletes should be judged on how they perform during the actual performance.</p>
<p>I’ve always believed that Olympic figure skating medals have a lot to do with reputation. I don’t think a complete unknown could ever win a medal even if their performance was the best in the history of figure skating.</p>
<p>I’m sure many of those skaters could land a quad in warm-up; it’s incorporating it into a demanding 4.5-minute program that’s the challenge.</p>
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<p>We saw her shortly after that at Smuckers Stars on Ice. She was the only one who fell, and she fell twice.</p>
<p>I enjoy all of the events, even those that clearly aren’t “sports.” Anything with music, costumes, or “judges” ain’t a sport. If something is difficult and takes strength and endurance and skill, it’s not necessasarily a sport…cleaning hotel rooms has to be one of the toughest things in the world to do well, but is it a sport? </p>
<p>Sports should involve “that” you did something, not “how” you did it. That’s why all the different strokes in swimming are a farce…first one to go the distance in water should win, regardless of if you did it on your back, front, or side. Or whether your quad jump was graceful or not. Or whether you cross-country skiied in the new or traditional style. Bring back jumping barrels on ice.</p>
<p>And when are we going to drop the overt sexism in the olympics? How about fastest HUMAN to skate 1000 meters, not separate men’s and women’s events?? Especially curling…why men’s curling and women’s curling? Or downhill skiing…what, gravity works differently on men than on women?</p>
<p>Highlight of the games so far has to be one of the female curlers being overheard to use the term “s***load” in a strategy discussion with her teammates.</p>
<p>Schmaltz…responding to your bait…I don’t think the Olympics are sexist, just like I don’t think college sports are sexist. Men are bigger and have more muscle mass than women on average. That’s a fact. And that’s a major advantage in many competitions, especially those requiring strength and speed. Bigger skiers can use longer skis effectively and achieve faster speeds. Heavier bobsledders go down the track more quickly. Yes, gravity.
Now, curling, I don’t know if there’s an advantage there. But really, who cares?</p>
<p>Based on my very casual non-knowledge of curling, I’s say it <em>might</em> be feasible for men and women to compete head to head in a single event. They certainly do in say playing Jeopardy. But for foot or ice-skate races the thought of men and women competing head to head is nonsense. Mother Nature has decreed otherwise. Women’s child-bearing adaptations have cost them too much in both biomechanics and physiology for that to ever be a fair contest. A glance at the men’s and women’s world records for a race over any distance will tell you the story.</p>
<p>Plus why would they cut the number of events in half?</p>