Olympics - Milano-Cortina 2026 - Day 4/February 7

 

What an Opening Ceremonies!!!  And to follow it up?  Our first medals of the Olympics along with a ton of other competitions across Northern Italy!

I am going to start with the story of the day, by far ... Italy's Francesca Lollobrigida taking home the gold medal, the host country's first, in the women's 3000 Meter Speed Skating event.  She fell behind the time trial's of other athletes, but with 3 to 3 1/2 laps left, just started a spring that most athletes do not even have in their last lap - and she put up a time that Norway's Rajne Wiklund could not catch.  Wiklund with the silver, and Lollabrigida, who contemplated retirement after Beijing in 2022, took time off to have a baby, and then decided to return as her country was hosting the Olympics - won Gold.

Hers was not the first medal won by Italy, however, as her countryman Giovanni Fanzoni and Dominik Paris took home the silver and bronze respectively in the Men's Downhill, as Swiss skier Franji van Allman won gold. 

The Round Robin portion of the Mixed Doubles Curling event continued, with Great Britain winning 7-5 over Canada, and then handing Team US its first defeat 6-4.  This loss stunned the US, as they then fell to Korea 6-5.  Sweden won its two matches 17-7 over Switzerland and 9-4 over Italy, who managed to bounce back to defeat Norway.  Tomorrow's matches will likely decide the semifinalists.

In the X-Games portion of the day, Japan swept the top two spots on the Men's Snowboard Big Air, as Kira Kimora gold and Ryoma Kimata took home the silver.  

The women's normal hill competition in Ski Jumping was completed, with Norway's Anna Odine Stroem flew farther than everyone else to take home the gold.  Slovakia's Nika Prevc and Japan's Nozomi Maruyama joined Stroem on the podium.

The women's 10K x 10K skiathlon was held, and the perennial younger sibling of the cross-country skiing world, Sweden, dominated their older, more decorated older sister Norway as not only did Frida Karlsson win gold, but teammate Ebba Andersson followed her to the finish line to earn silver.

Women's hockey round robin continued as well, with Sweden defeating Italy 6-1 and Germany beating Japan 5-2.  The two favorites dominated, as Canada beat Switzerland 4-0 and the United States controlled its match against Finland, winning 5-0.  For the US, assistant captain Hilary Knight scored her 24th Olympic goal - to tie the record.  I look forward to posting about her record-breaking goal here shortly!

Besides the women's 3000 meters speed skating event, the talk of the day was the continuation of the team figure skating event with the men's short program and the ice dancing long program.  One of the shocks of the tournament to date occurred in the men's short program, as Japan's Yuma Kagiyama stunned American Ilia Malinin to win 10 points for Japan, with Malinin's 9 points giving the US a 34-33 lead heading into the long programs.

And, the long programs began immediately thereafter with the ice dancing long program.  The US team of Madison Chock and Evan Bates might as well have been the only performers in the competition, as it was them, and everyone else fighting for 2nd.  The fact that Japan came in 5th, advanced the US lead from 1 point to 44-39 with three events remaining.

Athlete of the Day - Francesca Lollobrigida, Italy, Speed Skating

Not only did she win gold, she set an Olympic record - AND - she did it on her 35th birthday!!!  Happy Birthday to you Francesca.

U.S. Athlete of the Day - Madison Chock and Evan Bates, Figure Skating

Just absolutely amazing!

Upset of the Day - Swiss alpine skier Marco Odermatt did not even medal in the Downhill, an event in which he entered the Olympics as the overwhelming gold medal favorite.

Team of the Day - Great Britan, Mixed Doubles, Curling

Just your everyday 6-0 in the round robin round, including handing the United States its first defeat.

U.S. Team of the Day - Women's Hockey

Another strong win, this time shutting out Finland 5-0!

Olympic Term of the Day:  Skiathlon - A cross-country skiing competition that combines two different skiing techniques - classical technique and freestyle (skating) techniques - within the same race.

Olympic Events Watched:  Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Curling, Figure Skating, Hockey, Snowboarding, Speed Skating

USA Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer Possibilities (listed alphabetically):  Evan Best, Madison Chock, Korey Dobkin, Hilary Knight, Cory Thiesse

Picks of the Week - Super Bowl Sunday!

 

An absolute shambles of a season, and I do not expect this Super Bowl to be any different.  Hoping to find some really good-looking prop bets to try to salvage something for the year!

A reminder, all bets are for $100 expect for the Big Bet, which is $250.  All losses incur a vig of 10%.  On to the picks.

New England Patriots +5 1/2 V. Seattle Seahawks

Let's be honest here, Seattle is by far the better team.  But, New England does have a really good defense of its own (4th in Scoring Defense, 8th in Total Defense).  And, given that this spread moved an extra point overnight in Seattle's favor, I will take it.

 

Seattle Seahawks -235 Moneyline (Bet $235 to win $100) v. New England Patriots

New England might cover, but Seattle IS going to win this game.  Seattle has the third-highest scoring offense in the NFL this season (New England's is second, though), but Seattle did that playing a way tougher schedule.  We are well past the time to start believing in Sam Darnold, especially since he has Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

New England Patriots versus Seattle Seahawks UNDER 45 1/2

Tough - and I mean Tough defenses.  Both of their averages on the season total 36 points given up.

Charlie Puth National Anthem UNDER 119 minutes

Why not?!

Interception on Playing Starting in the Red Zone -160 (Bet $160 to win $100)

Had to take this bet given the Super Bowl history between the two teams.

Kenneth Walker OVER 70 1/2 rushing yards

With Zach Charbonnet being injured, this bet HAS to come in for Seattle to win.  Walker the Workhorse.

Kayshon Boutte OVER 2 1/2 receptions

Somebody will have to catch the ball, and I expect the Seahawks will take away Stefon Diggs as much as possible.

Cooper Kupp OVER 3 1/2 receptions

Similar storyline to Boutte above, but Kupp has been here before.

Rashid Shaheed OVER 4 1/2 rushing yards

Seattle will find ways to utilize this weapon, and a couple of jet sweeps might do it.

Rashid Shaheed OVER 32 1/2 receiving + rushing yards

See above.

Longest Field Goal Made OVER 50 1/2 yards.

Yards hard to come by on offense + quality of kickers + K Ball.

Total Field Goals Made OVER 3 1/2

See above!

Hunter Henry OVER 38 1/2 receiving yards

A lot of checkdowns today!

Trayveon Henderson OVER 4 Receiving yards

This could be just one reception!

BIG BET OF THE WEEK

Seattle Seahawks -235 Moneyline (Bet $235 to win $100) v. New England Patriots

New England might cover, but Seattle IS going to win this game.  Seattle has the third-highest scoring offense in the NFL this season (New England's is second, though), but Seattle did that playing a way tougher schedule.  We are well past the time to start believing in Sam Darnold, especially since he has Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Seattle is THE best team today, and it isn't even close.  The Patriots barely beat the Broncos with Jarrett Stidham starting at QB.

Kenneth Walker OVER 70 1/2 rushing yards

With Zach Charbonnet being injured, this bet HAS to come in for Seattle to win.  Walker the Workhorse.

Cooper Kupp OVER 3 1/2 receptions

Similar storyline to Boutte above, but Kupp has been here before.

Longest Field Goal Made OVER 50 1/2 yards.

Yards hard to come by on offense + quality of kickers + K Ball.

Last Week Record: 5-1

Last Week Big Bet: 1-1

Playoff Record: 18-18 

Playoff Big Bet:  2-4

Year-to-Date Record: 144-158-3

Year-to-Date Big Bet: 8-16

Last Week Winnings (Losses): $375

Playoff Winnings (Losses):  ($453.20)

Year-to-Date Winnings (Losses): ($4,453.20)

Olympics - Milano/Cortina 2026 - Day 4/February 6

 

Day 3 is the official start of the Olympics, with the Opening Ceremonies, and with some events scheduled during the day as well, this IS the real start of the games - with apologies to mixed doubles curling and women's ice hockey.

The Opening Ceremonies dominate the coverage, as well as the minds of the athletes, spectators and fans, so we will open with our thoughts on the best moments of the Opening Ceremonies, which I will take in ascending order!

10.  In the middle of the fashion world in Milan, fashion was ironically missing from the Opening Ceremonies.  Czechia tried something unusual - and for that they receive kudos from me, but it was too busy and missed.  Iran's winter beanies worked - as simple as they were, with just back beanies with stark with "IRAN" on the front.  But the best of the night was Canada's coats, which contained a huge maple leaf in the front of the coat.

9.  Mariah Carey - singing in Italian!!!  Phenomenal.

8.  Nothing specific, but just the overall artistic value of the ceremonies with its tribute to art, sculpture, classical music, opera, dance, drama and everything else in the world of art, architecture, music and culture was fantastic.

7.  JD Vance's reception by the fans in attendance when the camera focused on him during the US delegation's entrance to the San Siro - which included a large amount of boos, whistles and jeers, which was telling especially given ...

6.  The amazing cheers and screams that welcomed the Ukranian delegation!

5.    IOC President Kristy Coventry's welcome speech, emphasizing the fact that all of the athletes present at the Olympics qualified, and the fact THAT in and of itself is the achievement.  She is the first female and first African to head the IOC.

4.  Charlize Theron appearing as the IOC Peace Ambassador was absolutely stunning!

Just think how great these last 3 had to be to upstage Charlize Theron!!!

3.  Milan IS fashion, and these models entering the stadium in suits to mimic the Italian flag was awesome!!!  Especially given that it doubled as a tribute to Milan native Giorgio Armani.

2.  ANDREA BOCELLI just killing his version of Nessun Dorma!

Now ordinarily, Bocelli would be number 1 on ANY Opening Ceremonies list the way her performed in Milan, but, sometimes a structural or logistical revolution really does change the way we look at things, and in this case ...

1.  Multiple Opening Ceremonies locations!  Every athlete, no matter where they were stationed to prepare their events, were able to participate as the Opening Ceremonies CAME TO THEM!!!  Usually, numerous athletes would just skip the ceremonies, but no attending is an option for EVERYBODY!  The simultaneous entries into the 4 locales was fantastic, and you could tell from teh athletes' reactions that they loved it.  This is going to stay!

Lots of training took place on day 3, but actual competition continued in women's ice hockey, mixed doubles curling, and Team figure skating.

In women's Ice Hockey, Japan defeated France 3-2, and Switzerland was victorious over Czechia 4-3.

In Mixed Doubles Curling, the host team from Italy won 2 matches, beating Switzerland 12-4 and Estonia 7-4, whereas two matches were also won by Great Britain, which was victorious over Sweden and Korea.

The American team of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin kept pace and improved to 4-0 in Round Robin play by defeating Canada 7-5 and demolishing Czechia 8-1!  The semi-finals are definitely in play for the Americans!

And, the Team Figure Skating event kicked off, with 3 of the 8 team events being held on Friday.  For those that do not know, the team event is where a country enters women, men, pairs, and ice dancing competitors in short programs (called rhythm dance in ice dancing) and a long program.  The participants in each event are ranked, with the winner receiving 10 points for their country, 9 for second place, 8 for third place, etc.   The country with the most points after 8 events wins the gold medal.

The team event kicked off with the Ice Dancing rhythm dance, and the US team of Madison Chock and Evan Bates took home first place, and a needed 10 points for Team USA.  Next was the pairs short program which was won by Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won the 10 points for their country, with the USA finishing 5th.

Japan kept the pressure on the United States - and increased its lead in the Team Event, as Kaori Sakamato took first place in the women's short program.  Alysa Liu did win a much-needed 9 points for the US by finishing second with five events remaining.

Athlete of the Day - Kaori Sakamato, Japan, Figure Skating

An amazing performance in the short program to put Japan in the lead of the team event, and putting herself into the conversation for gold in the individual event as well.

U.S. Athlete of the Day - Korey Dropkin, Curling

The team is 4-0, and Dropkin has been throwing beautifully so far.

Team of the Day - Italy, Mixed Doubles, Curling

The host team - and reigning Olympic champions - Amos Mosaner and Stefania Constantini dominated their opponents to virtually secure a spot in the Semi-Finals.

U.S. Team of the Day - Mixed Doubles, Curling

The Mixed Doubles Curling team secured another 2 victories, and Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin have legitimate sights on a medal!

Olympic Term of the Day:  End - A division of a game in curling, similar to an inning in baseball, where both teams have the opportunity to throw eight stones each (five in mixed doubles), alternating with the opponent.

Olympic Events Watched:  Curling, Figure Skating, Opening Ceremonies

USA Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer Possibilities (listed alphabetically):  Evan Best, Madison Chock, Korey Dobkin, Hilary Knight, Hayley Scamurra, Cory Thiesse

Olympics - Milano Cortina 2026 - Day 2/February 5

 

Day 2 is in the books, with round robin sessions in Mixed Doubles Curling and Women's Ice Hockey, which both contained the American debuts!

In curling, Great Britain had the most dominating win in the opener, defeating Estonia 10-5, but then came back later in the day to win a nailbiter over Czechia 8-7.

The United States team with Korey Dropkin (pictured below) and Cory Thiesse (pictured above) throwing the stones, defeated Norway after falling behind 6-4 after sixth end.  In the seventh end, holding the hammer, Cory Thiesse threw a remarkable counter-clockwise take-out, to knock out the shot rock of Norway and to score 2 points to tie the match, and then she came back to throw a beautiful draw with the 9th stone, to protect Dropkin's shot rock to end the match, 8-6.  Team USA cruised to victory over Switzerland 7-4, after taking a 5-2 lead after the 4th end to go 2-0 and in the round robin tournament.

In women's ice hockey, The United States came out strong to defeat Czechia 5-1, in the largest victory of the day.  The United States was paced by a brace from Hayley Scamurra (pictured below), with other goals scored by Alex Carpenter, Joy Dunne, and Ms. America, Hilary Knight!

In other matchups, Sweden defeated Germany 4-1 and host Italy defeated France 4-1.

Athlete of the Day - Jennifer Dodds, Great Britain, Curling

Threw shot rock in the decisive 7th - and last - end, in which Great Britain picked up 4 points in the match against Estonia, and then came back against Czechia in the 7th and penultimate end to score the winning point - without holding shot rock!

U.S. Athlete of the Day - Hayley Scamurra, Hockey

Scored 2 goals in the United State's opener.

Team of the Day - Italy, Women's Ice Hockey

The host team winning its debut 4-1 against France is a great start for Italy.

U.S. Team of the Day - Mixed Doubles, Curling

It could have been the women's hockey team, but the Mixed Doubles Curling team secured 2 victories!

Olympic Term of the Day:  End - A division of a game in curling, similar to an inning in baseball, where both teams have the opportunity to throw eight stones each (five in mixed doubles), alternating with the opponent.

Olympic Events Watched:  Curling, Ice Hockey

USA Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer Possibilities (listed alphabetically):  Korey Dobkin, Hilary Knight, Hayley Scamurra, Cory Thiesse

Olympics - Milano Cortina 2026 - Day 1/February 4

 

The first day of competition kicked-off with Mixed Doubles Curling, the only action (besides training sessions, to take place on the first day of competition.  Given that the quantity of the contests was so small, I will update the entirety of the day.

Sweden 10-3 over Korea

Great Britain 8-6 over Norway

Canada 10-5 over Czechia

Switzerland 9-7 over Estonia

In the opener, Seden did not have the hammer, but behind the shot of Isabella Wranaa, managed to secure 4 points in the 4th end, to turn a 5-3 close match into a 9-3 route.

In the next match, Great Britain took a7-6 lead but with the hammer into the 8th end.  Bruce Mouat managed to secure 1 point in the 8th to secure the win.

Canada, holding onto a 7-4 lead entering the 6th end, managed to open the game wide open on a stunning clockwise raise by Joceyln Peterman to take 3 points from the end and to expand their lead to 10-4.

The last match was absolutely remarkable, as the Swiss held a 5-1 lead after 5 ends.  The Estonian team of Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill managed to close the gap to 5-3 in the 6th end, but the Swiss stormed back in the 7th to score 2 more of their own.  But, the Estonian duo score four in the 8th end to send the match into an extra end, where the Swiss team of Yannick Schwaller and Briar Schwaller-Huerlimann edged the Estonians by 2.

Athlete of the Day - Yannick Schwaller, Switzerland, Curling

He threw stones 4, 6, and 8 in the extra end to secure victory.

U.S. Athlete of the Day - N/A

Team of the Day - Sweden Mixed, SWE, Curling

The most dominating of the four matches played yesterday.

U.S. Team of the Day - N/A

Olympic Term of the Day:  Bonspiel - A tournament in which curlers compete.

Olympic Events Watched:  Curling

USA Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer Possibilities (listed alphabetically): N/A to date

Olympic Kick-Off - Opening Ceremonies Flag Bearers

 

The Winter Olympics starts today - yes today - in Milano Cortina!  I know the Opening Ceremonies are Friday, but the events actually start today.  So let's kickoff our Olympic coverage by getting to know your Opening Ceremonies flag-bearers:  Erin Jackson and Frank Del Duca!!!

Erin Jackson - a 33-year old speed skater from Ocala, Florida - was truly the only correct selection from the women's team to be the US Flag bearer (with major apologies to Jessie Diggins!)  Jackson qualified for her first Olympics in Pyeongchang in 2018, after having speed-skated on ice for only 4 months after transitioning from inline skating.  She finished 24th in the 500 meters, but just skyrocketed from there.  In 2021, she won her first 500-meter world cup event in Poland, breaking the track record not once, but twice.  She qualified for Beijing in 2022, where she won gold, becoming the first black woman to win a Winter Olympic gold in a solo sport.  

Heading into Milaon-Cortina, Jackson finished first in the U.S. Olympic trials in both the 500 meters, where she looks to defend her title, and the 1,000 meters.

Frank Del Duca is also from Florida, having been born in Broward County, Florida, but was raised and lives in Bethel, Maine, where he trains as the best U.S. Bobsled driver in both the two-man and four-man sleds.  He led his sled to fourth-place finishes in both races in the 2025 World Cup, making him a solid contender to become the first US medalist in the events since 2014 in Sochi, where Steve Holcomb silvered in both disciplines, and the first to win gold since 1932 in Lake Placid (4-man; William Fiske) and 1936 in Garmish-Partenkirchen (2-man; Ivan Brown).

Congratulations Erin and Frank, and lead us well!!!

Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics Preview

 

So for everybody that knows me, they know that I absolutely LOVE the Olympics!!!  Always have, ever since I was a kid.  I used to read books and watch video series just on the Olympics.  The book Rome 1960 by David Maraniss is one the best sports books ever written.  (And he has written some GREAT ones!).  So, be prepared for daily recaps from all the competitions as we start the quadrennial soiree this week.

But, for starters, I am going to kick-off the Milano-Cortina games.  This is Mialno's first time hosting the games; Cortina d'Ampezzo hosted the Games in 1956.  This kick-off is going to highlight the best bets to win medals in the games.  Since some events - like hockey - have so much talent, any given country isn't likely to actually medal compared to some of the individual events, so this list is heavily focused on individuals (or small teams).  Let's kick it off ...

10.  Chloe Kim - Snowboarding - USA 

Kim is the two-time defending gold medalist in the half-pipe, having secured the gold in Pyeongchang in 2018 and repeated in Beijing in 2022.  Her main competitors are her teammate Maddie Mastro, New Zealand's Zoe Sadowski-Synott, and Murase Kokomo from Japan.

9.  Marielle Thompson/BandonMackay - Freestyle Skiing - CAN

Two of Canada's most likely individual medalist as Thompson returns to the Olympics having won gold in 2014 in Sochi, and silver in Beijing in 2022 in Ski-Cross.  MacKay enters his second Olympics looking for his first medal, but his is the reigning world champ in the half-pipe. 

8.  Hwang Dae-heon- Short Track Speedskating - KOR

Arguably the best of a very talented South Korean short track speedskating team, he gets the nod here even though youngster Rim Jong-un won the national team trials.  This team might be unbeatable in the relays, except the variables in this sport (one slip, bump or another falling skater) are higher than any other!

7.  Ilia Malinin - Figure Skating - USA

The "Quad God" is the overwhelming favorite for men's gold (as he should be) having just recently won the World Championships by landing seven - YES 7!!! - quads.

6.  Eileen Gu - Freestyle Skiiing - CHN

The extremely talented American-born 22-year old has already made her mark in the sport, having won 2 golds (Big Air/Halfpipe) and 1 silver (Slopestyle) in Beijing in 2022 and several World Championships, Winter X Games, and World Cup podiums!

5.  Stefan Kraft - AUT/Ryoyu Kobayashi - JAP - Ski Jumping

Kraft is one of the most successful ski jumpers of all time, having won 45 times and placed on the podium 127 in individual starts, and 17 wins with 46 podiums in 65 team starts.  The only thing missing is major Olympic success with just 1 team gold in 7 total events across the last two Olympics.  Kobayashi has 37 wins and 77 podiums in 245 starts, with 1 team win, and 10 podium in 53 team starts.  He is the reigning gold medalist in the normal hill and reigning silver medalist in the large hill.

4.  Scotty James - AUS/Ayumu Hirano - JAP - Snowboarding

You should expect nothing but medals from these two, as James has previously won silver (2022) and bronze (2018) in the Olympic halfpipe, but 8 golds, 2 silvers and 2 bronzes in the Winter X Games, and 4 golds and 1 silver in the World Championships.  Hirano is the reigning gold medalist in the halfpipe, having won 2 previous silvers in the same event in 2014 and 2018.  He has also won 2 golds and 2 silvers in teh Winter X Games.

3.  Mikaela Shiffrin - Alpine Skiing - USA

Lindsay Vonn receives all of the hype, but even before her recent ACL tear Shiffrin was the surer bet.  The greatest female alpine skier is the hands-down favorite to win the slalom, and among the favorites in the giant slalom and combined.

2.  Johanes Hosflot-Klaebo - Cross-Country Skiing/Jarl Magnus Riiber - Nordic Combined/Johanes Thingnes Bo - Biathlon - NOR

These three giants are among the reason that the overwhelming favorite to win the most medals and most golds is Norway.

1.    Francesco Friedrich/Johannes Lochner - Bobsled - GER

These two bobnsledding legends are likely to finish 1-2 in both the 2-man and 4-man bobsledding events.  The only question is who will best whom?  Friedrich won gold driver both the 2-man and 4-man sleds in Pyeongchang (2018) and Beijing (2022) and Lochner won silver in both events in Beijing.  This year Lochner has 6 firsts and 1 second in 7 2-man events, and 3 firsts and 4 seconds in 7 4-man events.  Friedrich has 1 first, 4 seconds and 2 thirds in the 7 2-man events and 2 first, 2 seconds and 2 thirds in the 4-man.  One site even ranks Friedrich as the 30th greatest German athlete of all time, and no doubt, both of these men will rise on that list with expected performances in Milano-Cortina.  Here is the link to that list of the Best German Athletes