Olympics - Beijing 2022 - Day 17

Day 17 - February 20, 2022

The last day of the entire competition, and then it is on to Milan-Cortina, Italy in 2026 (via the Summer Games in Paris 2024)!!!

Not much actual action on fields, mountains, rinks, venues, etc., today, but there was one medal event, the women's 30km cross-country race.  On a course that was incredibly cold and with a wind that was gusting terribly throughout the course, a breakaway group of 4 that included Norway's Therese Johaug, Jesse Diggins of the United States and Sweden's Ebba Andersson took control of the race early, with Johaug eventually dropping the other skiers and won gold, Norway's Olympics-leading 16th gold medal (and leading 37th overall) of these games.  Johaug herself finished with 3 of those golds!  Diggins skied strong to win silver - her second medal of these games after winning the bronze in the spring free - whereas Andersson was caught by the chase pack with 2 kilometers or so to go.  Kerttu Niskanen of Finland rallied for silver, with American Rosie Brennan finishing 6th.  Andersson came in 8th.  On top of it all, Jesse Diggins contracted food poisoning the day before the race!!!

In one of the more entertaining events of every Olympics, is the free skate, in which notable skaters - women, men, pairs, and dancers, all perform without judges, ratings, and medals on the line.  This tradition allows for more interesting/fun outfits, fun music, and more risky jumps and tricks that are purely for the skaters' - and the audience's - entertainment.

Then, we had the Closing Ceremonies, the snuffing of the Olympic torch, and the traditional "passing" of the games to Italy. 

The final medal count is (using my system of 5 points for gold, 3 points for silver, 1 point for bronze): 

A tiebreaker is most golds/then silvers/then bronzes:

1.  Norway - 117

2.  Germany - 95

3.  Russian Olympic Committee - 80

4.  United States - 77

5.  Sweden - 60

6.  Austria - 60

7.  China - 59

8.  Netherlands - 59

9.  Canada - 58

10.  France - 48

11.  Switzerland - 46

12. Japan - 42

13.  Italy - 39

14.  South Korea - 27

15.  Slovenia - 21

16.  Finland - 20

17.  New Zealand - 13

18.  Australia - 12

19.  Great Britain - 8

20.  Hungary - 7

21.  Belgium - 6

21.  Czech Republic - 6

21.  Slovakia - 6

24.  Belarus - 6

25.  Spain - 3

25.  Ukraine - 3

27.  Estonia - 1

27.  Latvia - 1

27.  Poland - 1 

Athletes of the Day: Therese Johaug, Netherlands, Cross-Country Skiing

She won the gold medal in the only event competed on this final day - the women's 30km cross-country skiing mass start.

Teamwork/Sportsmanship Moment of the Day: Vladimir Putin, President of Russia

He didn't invade another country - in this case the Ukraine - unlike in 2008 when the Summer Olympics were held in Beijing and Putin ordered the invasion of Georgia.  (I am being sarcastic, this isn't sportsmanship, but also with only 1 event contested today, I had to come up with something!) 

Olympic Term of the Day: Classic Skiing.  In cross-country skiing, it is the technique characterized by opposite-leg and opposite-arm motion in a straight-ahead direction.  Also called kick-and-glide, this is the technique primarily associated with cross-country skiing.

Olympic Events Watched: Closing Ceremonies, Cross-Country Skiing, Figure Skating

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer(s):  Nick Baumgartner, Nathan Chen, Jesse Diggins, Kaillie Humphries, Erin Jackson, Lindsey Jacobellis, Chloe Kim, ELANA MEYERS-TAYLOR 

Olympics - Beijing 2022 - Day 16

Day 16 - February 19, 2022

This is basically the last day of the Olympics, with the Closing Ceremonies tomorrow, and with the time difference, by the time you read this the Olympics will actually be over.  But, a lot of events on this last full day of action!

The host country China won the bronze medal in the men's 4x100 meter relay in Track and Field from Tokyo 2020 (competed in 2021).  What does that have to do with the Winter Olympics?  Well, it occurred today.  Great Britain was stripped of their silver medal due to the conclusion of appeals after one of its runners tested positive for a banned substance.  Japan, which finished third, rises to the bronze medal and China, which finished fourth, is now officially the silver medalist. 

In bobsled, the 2-woman race completed its final two runs, and the German teams dominated.  The team of Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi won gold, and their teammates Mariama Jamanka and Alexandra Burghardt won silver.  Germany's third team finished fourth, just edged out by Americans Elana Meyers Taylor and Sylvia Hoffman, who won bronze - Meyers Taylor's second medal of these Olympics.

In the men's 4-man bobsled, the Germans also finished 1-2, with the sleigh piloted by Francesco Friedrich winning gold and the one piloted by Johannes Lochner winning silver.  This was the same finish for these pilots as in the 2-man bobsled.  The Canadian sled led by Justin Kripps won the bronze.

In all of the sliding sports - bobsled (4-man, 2-woman, 2-man, monobob), luge (men, women, 2-man, mixed-team relay), and skeleton (men, women), Germany won 16 of the total 30 medals awarded.  Not to take anything away from the German athletes, who are certainly among the best in the world, but the sleds themselves are just that much better than those of any other country.  How do we know?  Because, in the monobob, the sleds are identically made by the same manufacturer, and in that event, the American women went 1-2 and the Canadian pilot won bronze. Laura Nolte of Germany did finish fourth, by Mariama Jamanka finished 13th.  This was the best test of the quality of the driver. In the rest of the sliding competitions, the teams have to keep their sleds within certain parameters, but just like a Nascar race, can be made and adjusted within those parameters.  So the German sleds are definitely the highest quality, as the country dominated!

In men's cross-country, the 50km mass start is one of the focal events.  Alexander Bolshunov of the Russian Olympic Committee won gold, his third gold - and fifth overall medal - of these Olympic games.  Bolshunov finished just ahead of compatriot Ivan Yakimushkin who won silver and Norway's Simen Hegstad Krueger, who won bronze.

Staying on skis, the Alpine Mixed-Team parallel was held. In the mixed-team parallel, teams of four skiers, two men and two women, pair off and go head-to-head with an opponent.  In the four races, the team that wins the most races advances.  If the match ends up 2-2, the tiebreaker is the combined fastest time of the fastest man and fastest woman.  Austria won gold, Germany won silver, and Norway earned silver.  Norway defeated the US 2-2 via tiebreaker in the bronze medal match, in what was Mikaela Shiffrin's last chance to win a medal in Beijing.  Interestingly, in each match, one man and one woman from each team races the red course, and one races the blue course.  Throughout the medal rounds, in the 16 races the skier on the red course NEVER won.  Something seems weird, there.

The gold medal match was held in men's curling, with Sweden defeating Great Britain 5-4.  Sweden, behind their skip Niklas Edin, finally wins gold after finishing 4th in Vancouver 2010, winning bronze in Sochi in 2014, silver in Pyeongchang in 2018, and finally, gold in Beijing.

Figure skating wrapped up its competition with the long program of the pairs event.  Sui Weijing and Han Cong from the host country China won the gold medal, outskating a pair of pairs from the Russian Olympic Committee in Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov (silver) and Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov (bronze).

The final speed skating events were held, the men's and women's mass start.  In the mass start, the athletes are paired into qualifying heats - then semis - then the finals.  The race is 16 full laps, but with intermediate sprint points awarded at the end of laps 4, 8, and 12, and final points awarded at the finish.  The skaters that advanced are determined by the total points earned - although the final points are so high that the first four are guaranteed to advance.  In the finals, the first three to finish win the medals, but 4th through 16th place are determined by points, with time as the tiebreaker.

In the men's mass start, Bart Swings of Belgium wins gold, with Chung Jae Won of South Korea winning silver and Lee Seung Hoon, also of South Korea, earning bronze.  Swings controlled the tempo of the semifinal and final to win Belgium's first Winter Olympics gold medal since 1948 - in pairs figure skating. 

In the women's mass start, Irene Schouten of the Netherlands, won gold over Ivanie Blondin of Canada (silver) and Italy's Francesca Lollabrigida (bronze).  Schouten, in winning the gold medal earned her third of these games, to go along with a bronze in the team pursuit.

Athletes of the Day: Alexander Bolshunov, Russian Olympic Committee, Cross-Country Skiing; Irene Schouten, The Netherlands, Speed Skating

Bolshunov won the 50km mass start in cross-country skiing, for his third gold and fifth medal of these games.  Schouten won the mass start for her third gold and fourth medal of Beijing.

Teamwork/Sportsmanship Moment of the Day: Kai Verbij, The Netherlands, Speedskating

Verbij is the reigning world champion in the 1,000 meters.  In his heat with Canada's Laurent Dubreuil, Dubreuil was flying.  In speedskating, the skaters switch lanes on the backstretch so that both skaters actual skate the same distance.  In switching the lanes, the outside lane coming in has the right-of-way, and in this race that was Verbij.  However, Dubreuil was flying, and much faster than Verbij.  Verbij noticed that, and held up to allow Dubreuil to switch lanes first.  This cost Verbij a lot of his speed, and a lot of time (he finished last).  But, it also kept him from colliding with Dubreuil during the race (and likely disqualifying himself).  Dubreuil went on the finish second and win the silver medal.  Verbij stated that he didn't have the speed to keep up, and pulling up allowed Dubreuil to keep his speed/momentum.  Good sportsmanship on Verbij's part, even though it meant he would finish in last.

Olympic Term of the Day: Chicane - In bobsled, a sequence of tight serpentine curves.

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

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer(s):  Nick Baungartner, Nathan Chen, Kaillie Humphries, Erin Jackson, Lindsey Jacobellis, Chloe Kim, ELANA MEYERS-TAYLOR 

Olympics - Beijing 2022 - Day 15

Day 15 - February 18, 2022

Starting to wrap up the Olympics, so not a lot of events, but some very important ones.

In figure skating, the pairs short program was contested.  China's Sui Wenjing and Han Cong set a phenomenally high short program score, to lend the pairs into the final program.  

In men's hockey, the Russian Olympic Committee defeated Sweden, 2-1 in 8 shootout shots, to qualify for the finals.  They will play against Finland, which defeated Slovakia 2-0.

The women's 2-man bobsled started with its first two runs, with Germany dominated.  Germany is in the first 2 positions, with the US in third and firth, and Canada fourth and Germany 6th.   Interestingly, in the monobob all sleds have to be provided by the same company, so we really find out who the best driver is.  In the two and four-man bobsleds, the countries can supply their own sleighs, so the engineering behind the sleighs are very important.  So, basically, Germany's engineers are uparalleled at this point.

In curling, the women's semi-finals were held, and Japan beat Switzerland 8-6, and Great Britain defeated Sweden 12-11.  In the 9th end Great Britain scored 4 points to take an 11-8 lead on Sweden.  But in the 10th end, Sweden scored 3 to make in 11, and send it to extra ends.  Great Britain scored 1 in the 11th end to qualify for the finals.  There is no doubt that these are the two best women's teams!

In the men's ski-cross, the overwhelming favorite Ryan Regez of Switzerland won gold, joined on the podium by his teammate Alex Fiva, who won silver.  The Russian Olympic Committee's Sergey Ridzik won bronze.

In the biathlon, the men's 15km mass start was completed, with Norway's Johannes Thingnes Boe won gold, followed by Sweden's Martin Ponsilouma (silver) and Norway's Vetjle Sjaastad Christiansen (bronze).  This was Johannes Thingnes Boe's 4th gold (and 5th medal) of these Olympics.  France's Quintin Fillon-Maillet finished fourth, unable to add to his 5 medals in these Olympics (2 golds and 3 silvers).  

Athlete of the Day:  Johannes Thinges Boe, Norway, Biathlon

He won gold in the 15km mass start, his 4th gold of these games, and 5th overall medal.

Teamwork/Sportsmanship Moment of the Day: Haralds Silovs, Latvia, Speedskating

Silovs donated his skates to American Casey Dawson who lost his skates due to lost luggage on his travels to Beijing.  Dawson had Covid, but the tests he took prior to the Olympics were disqualified as the laboratory in which he took the tests was disqualified as an appropriate lab.  By the time he had a negative test that was acceptable to the games, he rushed to Beijing, and some of his equipment was lost.  Silovs loaned Dawson his skates for the 1500 meters speedskating race.  Silovs finished 24th, and Dawson finished 28th, but the sportsmanship was remarkable.\

Olympic Term of the Day: Peel - Curling - A stone delivered with heavy take-out weight, but curls away from the takeout into another area, possibly into the scoring zone.

Olympic Events Watched: Biathlons, Bobsled, Curling, Figure Skating, Hockey, Ski-Cross, Speed Skating

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer(s):  Nick Baungartner, Nathan Chen, Kaillie Humphries, Erin Jackson, Lindsey Jacobellis, Chloe Kim, ELANA MEYERS-TAYLOR 

Olympics - Beijing 2022 - Day 14

 Day 14 - February 17, 2022

Figure skating, WOW!

So, for those of you living under a rock, fifteen year old Kamila Valieva of the Russian Olympic Committee, who was the first female to land a quad in Olympics history during the team portion of the figure skating competition, tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance on December 25, during Russia's Olympic trials.  The results of the sample were finalized just after the team competition ended.  The Russian Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee went through a dance that included an appeal to the Court for Arbitration in Sports, who, prior to any final decision regarding a suspension for Valieva (and/or stripping the Russian Olympic Committee of their team gold - none of the team figure skating medals have been awarded as of yet because of this) are allowing her to compete pending a final decision/resolution.  So, in the women's figure skating competition, Valieva - the overall favorite to win gold - skated superbly in the short program and sat atop the leaderboard above two of her compatriots, and was the last skater in the long program.  As the two other Russians finished their performances in the long program to sit 1-2, Valieva took the ice to perform, and fell twice and stumbled on another occasion.  She ended up finishing fourth - out of the medals - but the raw emotion from Valieva and the other 3 skaters that won medals (will be named shortly), was absolutely heart-wrenching to watch.  These girls, aged 15, 17, 17 and 21, were all put into a situation by others - all adults, in which they should never have been placed.  The extra pressure added to the already hot pressure cooker of the premier event in the Winter Olympics caused them all to break down, even the winners!!!  All the adults involved in Valieva taking the drugs, and in allowing her to compete, and placing the winners in a situation in which they all had to answer for Valieva, SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES!!!

Anyway, the winners were - Anna Shcherbakova of the Russian Olympic Committee (gold), Alexandra Trusova of the Russian Olympic Committee (silver) and Kaori Sakamoto of Japan (bronze).  Interestingly Shcherbakova's routine was devoid of the more highly athletic quads of the other skaters, but she skated eloquently and clean to win gold.

   

In the Nordic Combined relay, Norway won gold, defeating Germany by almost 55 seconds, with Japan just behind Germany for bronze.

In freestyle skiing, Eileen Gu won the gold medal in the half-pipe, her second of these Olympics to go with a silver, beating Canadians Cassie Sharpe (silver) and Rachael Karker (bronze).  Gu medaled in all three of her freestyle skiing events - with a gold in big air and a silver in slopestyle - to become the first athlete to win three freestyle skiing medals in one Olympics.

 

In curling, Sweden beat Canada and Great Britain beat the United States in the semi-finals of the men's competition, meaning the defending gold-medalist Americans would not repeat as champions.  Then, Canada beat the United States for the bronze medal - with the gold medal game pending.  The women's semi-finals are tomorrow.

In speedskating, American Brittany Bowe won the bronze medal in the 1000 meters, finishing behind only Miho Takagi of Japan, who won gold, and Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands, who earned silver.  Bowe, you might recall from earlier in the week, won the 500 meters in the US Olympic trial after favorite Erin Jackson stumbled and finished third, thus not qualifying for the Olympics.  Bowe gave up her 500 meter spot, knowing the 1000m and 1500m are her better events.  Jackson went on to win gold in the 500m, and now Bowe medaled in the 1000m.

For her sportsmanship, Bowe was named to replace Bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor as co-flagbearer, along with curler John Schuster, in the Opening Ceremonies.  Meyers-Taylor was unable to participate in the Opening Ceremonies due to the fact that she was in Covid isolation.  It has now been announced that Elana Meyers Taylor, silver medalist in the monobob and begins the two-woman bobsled competition today, will carry the US flag in the Closing ceremonies.

Athletes of the Day:  Eileen Gu, China, Freestyle Skiing, and Anna Shcherbakova, Russian Olympic Committee, Figure Skating

Two opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of their events, freestyle skiing being exactly that, wild, free, and flamboyant, with figure skating being staid, stoic and well, flamboyant.  The endings may have been fun versus serious, new school versus old school, and happy versus sad, but both of these athletes came out on top.

Teamwork/Sportsmanship Moment of the Day:  Karma, The Universe, Figure Skating

Kamila Valieva should not have been skating, and had she medaled, there would have been no medal ceremony (as it was they had the ceremony without the medals).  Nevertheless, Karma showed extreme teamwork in doing the job that the Russian Olympic Committee, the International Olympic Committee and the International Court for Arbitration in Sport would not do - keep Valieva from winning.

Olympic Term of the Day: Skating Clean - Figure Skating - An term uttered by Anna Shcherbakova in her interviews after winning gold, but it wasn't a slight to Valieva and her positive drug test.  Skating clean means skating error free, as in a clean performance.  But, the irony of Shcherbakova's statement was not lost on anyone.

Olympic Events Watched: Curling, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing, Nordic Combined 

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer(s):  Nick Baungartner, Nathan Chen, Kaillie Humphries, Erin Jackson, Lindsey Jacobellis, Chloe Kim, ELANA MEYERS-TAYLOR 

Olympics - Beijing 2022 - Day 13

Day 13 - February 16, 2022

So, the much-anticipated women's hockey gold medal game arrived, and it was exciting.  After a Canadian goal was waived off for offsides, Canada took a 3-0 lead behind 2 goals from Marie-Philip Poulin, and 1 goal and 1 assist from Sarah Nurse.  Nurse's two points gave her a tournament-leading, and Olympic record, 18 points in Beijing.  Poulin, who has scored the gold medal winning goal in three separate Olympics (2010 Vancouver, 2014 Sochi, and 2022 Beijing), finished the tournament with 17 points.  The Americans did not quit after being down 3-0, as a frantic 3rd period ended with two US goals, Hilary Knight's with 3:21 left in the game and Amanda Kessel's with 12.5 seconds left.  The US could not score the tying goal in that last ten seconds, for Canada's 5th gold medal in the last 7 Olympics, 4 coming against the United States.

On the men's side, the Canadian team had just as much success as the men's, losing in the quarterfinals by falling to Sweden.  Sweden's Lucas Wallmark scored the winning goal - Sweden ultimately won 2-0 - and has scored a goal in every game Sweden has played in this Olympics.

Staying on skates, shortrack featured two events, the women's 1500 meters and the men's 5000m relay.  In the former, Korea's Choi Mingjeong won gold, defeating multi-medalists Araianna Fontana from Italy (silver), and Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands (bronze).  In the latter, the Canadian team of Charles Hamelin, Pascal Dion, Jordan Pierre-Gilles, and Steven Dubois won gold, out-skating South Korea (silver) and Italy (bronze).  This race was even more crowded as China was advanced from the semi-finals for no actually announced reason.  No penalties were given in the semi-final, China was just advanced; only so one of its skaters fell during the race to finish 5th.

In the biathlon, the women's 4x6km relay was held, with Sweden winning gold, anchored in the 3rd and 4th legs by the Oeberg sisters, Hanna and Elvira.  The Russian Olympic Committee finished 2nd and Germany won the bronze.  With Norway's 4th place finish, its anchor Marte Olsbu Roieseland loses out on a chance of winning 6 medals in one games.  She has a chance for her fifth tomorrow in the women's 12.5 km mass start.

The Women's Alpine combined was completed as Swiss teammates Michele Gisin (gold) and Wendy Holdener (silver) finished 1-2.  Italy's Frederica Brignone finished third.  American Mikaela Shiffrin skied out early in her first slalom run to not finish.  This was the second medal in Beijing for Gisin, Holdener and Brignone.

A couple of freestyle skiing events were conducted on this day.  In the men's slopestyle finals, two Americans topped the podium with Alexander Hall winning gold and Nicholas Goepper earning silver.  (Jesper Tjader of Sweden finished third).  In the men's aerials, Qi Guongpu of host China won the gold, easily defeating Oleksandr Abramenko of the Ukraine (silver) and Illia Burov of the Russian Olympic Committee (bronze).

Athletes of the Day:  Marie-Philip Poulin and Sarah Nurse, Canada, Hockey

One scored the gold medal-winning goal and had 17 points in the tournament, and the other scored 18 points in the tournament and had 1 goal and 1 assist in the gold medal game.

Teamwork/Sportsmanship Moment of the Day:  Oleksandr Abramenko, Ukraine and Illia Burov, Russian Olympic Committee, Freestyle Skiing

Abramenko and Buriv, shown here hugging after their runs, shows that sports brings people together, even when one country is threatening to invade the other!

Olympic Term of the Day: Alpine Combined - An Alpine skiing event in which each athlete skis a downhill and 2 slalom runs, with the winner being the athlete with the fastest composite time.

Olympic Events Watched: Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Freestyle Skiing, Hockey, Short Track Speedskating,  

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer(s):  Nick Baungartner, Nathan Chen, Kaillie Humphries, Erin Jackson, Lindsey Jacobellis, Chloe Kim, Elana Meyers Taylor 

Olympics - Beijing 2022 - Day 12

Day 12 - February 15, 2022

For some, Valentine's Day can be disappointing.  For these Olympics, that day occurred on February 15 - the day after Valentine's Day.

On the ice, the U.S. men - who had secured the #1 overall seed for the quarterfinals - lost to Slovakia in a shootout.  The US took a 1-0 lead into the last 1:30 of the game, when Slovakia pulled goalie Patrik Rybar.  With the extra man, Slovakia tied up the game with 45 seconds remaining.  Both teams failed to score in overtime, sending the game to a shootout.  Slovakia scored on their 5th opportunity, and US captain Andy Miele's shot was saved by Rybar, advancing Slovakia to the semi-finals 1-0 in the shootout.

Even more disappointing is not only did Kamila Valieva participate in the women's short program, she finished in first place heading into the long program.  No matter what happens in women's figure skating - usually the most important single event in the Winter Olympics - the story is Valieva.

The Freestyle skiing men's aerials preliminaries took place, with all 3 Americans advancing to the 12 person semi-finals.  They will each make 2 runs until the finals are whittled down to the top 6, who will each make one run for the medals!

Germany did make history in the 2-man bobsled, sweeping all three medals.  Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis defended their 2018 gold medal from Pyeongchang by again winning gold.  Johannes Lochner and Florian Bauer finished second for silver, and Christopher Hafer and Matthias Sommer won bronze.

In the men's Nordic Combined Large Hill/10km, Norway won gold and silver, with Joergen Braabak won gold ahead of compatriot Jens Luraas Oftebro and Japan's Watabe Akito, who won silver.

Staying on skis, the 4 x 7.5 km relay finished up the men's biathlon competition, which had a lot of noteworthy performance.  Norway - whose team consisted of Sturla Homl Laegreid, Tarjei Boe, Johannes Thingnes Boe, and anchor Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen - won gold in the most important biathlon race in these games, defeating France (silver) and Russian Olympic Committee (bronze).  The Boe brothers each won their 4th medal at these games.  Definitely not to be outdone, France's Quintin Fillon-Maillet won his 5th medal in Beijing with France's second place performance.

Athletes of the Day:  Quintin Fillon-Maillet, France, Biathlon and Patrik Rybar, Slovakia, Biathlon

Rybar gave up one goal against the United States in the hockey quarterfinals, and none in overtime and in the shootout, as Slovakia advances to the semi-finals.  Fillon-Maillet won hist 5th medal of these games!!!

Teamwork/Sportsmanship Moment of the Day - Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor, United States, Bobsled

The two American teammates lobbied the IOC and the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation to add monobob to the Olympics.  Monobob is competed internationally on the bobsled circuit, but was not previously competed in the games.  Humphries - who competed for Canada at the time - and Meyers Taylor were rivals, but both wanted to see additional chances for women to compete at the Olympics.  Although the decision to add monobob was made years ago, the two rivals, and now teammates, benefited from their own lobbying winning gold and silver, and giving women an additional Olympic event in which to compete.

Olympic Term of the Day: Nordic Combined - Nordic combined is an event that has been held since the first Winter Olympics in 1924 in Chamonix, France.  It combines Cross-Country Skiing with ski jumping.  In the Olympics, the Nordic Combined is competed under the Gundersen method, where the ski jumping results determine the start times of the athletes in the ski jumping (e.g. the highest-scoring ski-jumper starts first in the cross-country portion, with the remaining athletes starting at times determined by their ski jumping scores.

Olympic Events Watched: Biathlon, Bobsled, Curling, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing, Hockey, Nordic Combined

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer(s):  Nick Baungartner, Nathan Chen, Kaillie Humphries, Erin Jackson, Lindsey Jacobellis, Chloe Kim, Hilary Knight, Elana Meyers Taylor

Olympics - Beijing 2022 - Day 11

 Day 11 - February 14, 2022

Happy Valentine's Day, and the most important Valentine for the Olympic athletes is a medal!

In hockey, we the viewers all get what we want - a Canada/US Final!!!  The Olympic hockey gods are definitely good!!!

In worse news, the Kamila Valieva positive drug test situation took an interesting turn.  Sha'Carri Richardson, the U.S. Sprinter who tested positive for THC at the US trials, went public with the question as to why Valieva - who tested positive for a performance enhancer at the ROC's Olympic trials - still gets to compete when Richardson could not - and answers the question by stating it must be because Vaileva is white.  And, Richardson isn't wrong.  Stay tuned as Valieva competes tomorrow.

Something incredible interesting is brewing in Bobsled, as the 2-man competition completed their first two runs, with German squads in first, second, and fourth, with the fourth-place sled only .05 seconds behind the Russian Olympic Committee sled.  This could be the only time one country has swept the podium in bobled.

The men's ski jumping team competition (large hill) took place, with Austria winning gold over Slovenia (silver) and Germany (bronze).

In the X-Games competitions, the women's freestyle skiing aerials and slopestyle took place.  In the aerials, the host China wins gold behind Xu Mengtao, followed by Hanna Huskova of Belarus (silver) and American Megan Nick (bronze).

 

In slopestyle, Eileen Gu of China, the gold medalist in the half-pipe, won her second medal by coming in second in slopestyle, beat only by a tremendous run by Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland who takes gold.  Kelly Sidaru of Estonia comes in third.  The Russian Olympic Committee is protesting what it believes was low scoring for fourth place Anastasia Tatalina.

After some weather delays, the women's downhill was completed, and Switzerland's Corinne Suter won gold in an incredibly fast run.  She was joined on the podium by two Italians, Sofia Goggia (silver) and Nadia Delago (bronze).

In speedskating, the team pursuit competition finished with Norway defeating the Russian Olympic Committee for gold in the final.  The United States won the third-place match over the Netherlands to take home bronze.  The U.S. team, made up of Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman, and Joey Mantia - Ethan Cepuran skated in the semi-finals) kept Sven Kramer from winning his 10th all-time Olympic medal.

Athlete of the Day:  Sofia Goggia, Italy, Alpine Skiiing

Goggia won the silver medal in the women's downhill, JUST THREE WEEKS AFTER A CRASH LEFT HER WITH A DAMAGED ACL!!!  She is in pain, and likely needs surgery, but she was not missing the Olympics.

Teamwork/Sportsmanship Moment of the Day - Everyone in the Skating world not related to Russia, Every Country Except Russia, Figure Skating

Virtually everyone in the world of figure skating, form athletes, to former athletes, to coaches, to administrators, to broadcasters, are unanimous in condemning the fact that Kamila Valieva is still performing in these Olympics.  Although, the IOC has stated that no medals will be awarded should Valieva finish first, second, or third, until its investigation is complete and all legal challenges are finished.

Olympic Term of the Day: Hammer - In curling, the team with the last stone in any given end of play holds "the hammer."  The 16th delivered, or last stone, curled in any given end.

Olympic Events Watched: Alpine Skiing, Curling, Bobsled, Freestyle Skiing, Hockey, Ski Jumping

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer(s):  Nick Baungartner, Nathan Chen, Kaillie Humphries, Erin Jackson, Lindsey Jacobellis, Chloe Kim, Hilary Knight, Elana Meyers Taylor

Olympics - Beijing 2022 - Day 10

 Day 10 - February 13, 2022

Not as much Olympic stuff today, since it was Super Bowl Sunday, but some pretty cool things happening for the U.S. squad nonetheless.

In men's hockey, the United States wins its group, going undefeated after beating Germany 3-2.  Next stop for the Americans is the quarterfinals.

In short track speedskating, the women from the Netherlands won the 3000m relay, giving Suzanne Schulting her third gold medal of the games (with 1 silver also).  In winning the gold, the team broke their own Olympic record in defeating South Korea (silver) and China (bronze).  It was an emotional win for the Netherlands, who were without the reigning 500m world champion and member of the 2018 Pyeongchang championship relay team Lara van Ruijven, who died in July 2020 after discovering an autoimmune disorder.

Hungary's Shaoang Liu won gold in the men's 500 meter, defeating an excited Konstantin Ivliev of the Russian Olympic Committee and Steven Dubois of Canada, who joined him on the podium with silver and bronze respectively.

In the figure skating arena, the ice dancing concluded with Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France easily winning gold, beating out world champions Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov from the Russian Olympic Commitee who won silver, and the American teams of Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue (bronze medalists) and Madison Chock and Evan Bates (4th place).

The bronze in ice dancing was not the only medal won by the Americans yesterday, as Erin Jackson won gold in the women's 500 meter speedskating event, becoming the first black woman to win a medal in Olympic speedskating history.  Jackson, the world number 1 ranked skater at 500 meters, and whose Olympic trial stumble caused her to finish 3rd and almost miss the Olympics if not for Brittany Bowe's decision to give up her 500 meter spot on the team, beat Japan's Takagi Miho by .08 seconds.  Miho settled for the bronze.

And the United States wasn't finished.  Over in the sliding sports, the last two runs in the monobob were completed, and the Americans dominated with a 1-2 finish.  Recently sworn-in citizen Kaillie Humphries dominated for the gold, while Elana Meyers Taylor progressed steadily each run, going for 4th after 2 runs, to 3rd after the 3rd run, and into the sliver medal after her final run!

The four medals on the day bring the United States into 4th place, behind Norway, Russian Olympic Committee and Germany.

Athlete of the Day:  Kaillie Humphries dominated, and Suzanne Schulting is putting up a performance for the ages, but this award goes to Erin Jackson.  When you can be the first of anything in 2022, you will get saluted.

Teamwork/Sportsmanship Moment of the Day - Iivo Niskanen, Finland, Cross-Country Skiing

Most of the awards for this category have involved "teamwork," but today's is definitely about sportsmanship.  Niskanen took home gold in the 15km cross-country race finishing in 37:54.08, beating Alexander Bolsunov from the Russian Olympic Committee (who won silver) by approximately 23 seconds.  However, it wasn't the difference in time between Niskanen and Bolsunov that people took note of, but rather the difference between Niskanen's time and that of Columbia's Andres Quintana.  When Quintana finished his 15 kilometers in 55:41.09 seconds - last in the entire Olympic field of 95 skiers - Niskanen was waiting to greet him.  Before leaving the track to begin his cooldown or to celebrate his victory, Niskanen waited for every last contender to finish, because "All athletes must respect each other, everyone has worked hard to be here.  You have to show this kind of respect at the Olympics towards countries that don't have much budget to get the best results, unlike the best nations."  It should be noted that the Norwegian bronze medalist Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo of Norway also waited around to congratulate Quintana on finishing.  Now THAT is the Olympic spirit.

Olympic Term of the Day: Impeding - In short track speedskating, impeding is "intentionally pushing, blocking, tripping or otherwise causing an impediment for another skater."  This results in a penalty for the offending skater, and could cause the impeded skater to advance to the next round, no matter where that skater finished in the race.

Olympic Events Watched: Bobsled, Curling, Figure Skating, Hockey, Short Track Speedskating, Speedskating

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer(s):  Nick Baungartner, Nathan Chen, Kaillie Humphries, Erin Jackson, Lindsey Jacobellis, Chloe Kim, Hilary Knight, Elana Meyers Taylor

NFL Picks Recap 2021-2022 Season

Although I lost my bet against-the-spread and the over/under, going 7-3 in my prop bets, and winning both of my big bets, made for a very successful Super Bowl, and bringing my season total painfully close to even.  Losing money is losing money, but at least it was still close, and this was for an entire season.  My overall record is good, I just need to tighten up on the Big Bets for next year.

Here is my recap!

Los Angeles Rams -4 at Cincinnati Bengals - LOSS

Los Angeles Rams -$200 at Cincinnati Bengals (Bet $200 to win $100) - WIN

Los Angeles Rams at Cincinnati Bengals OVER 49 - LOSS

Cincinnati Bengals Field Goals (OVER 1 1/2) - WIN

Evan McPherson OVER 7 1/2 points - WIN

Cooper Kupp's longest reception OVER 29 1/2 yards - LOSS

National Anthem UNDER 2:00 minutes - WIN

Matthew Stafford OVER 1 1/2 Passing Touchdowns - WIN

Los Angeles Rams -$135 OVER 3 1/2 Sacks (Bet $135 to win $100) - WIN

Aaron Donald -125 OVER 1.0 Sacks (Bet $125 to win $100) - WIN

Von Miller -200 OVER .5 Sacks (Bet $200 to win $100) - WIN

Cam Akers -$120 Receiving Yards OVER 16 1/2 (Bet $120 to win $100) - LOSS

Joe Mixon $-125 OVER 24 1/2 receiving yards (Bet 125 to win $100) - LOSS

Big Bets

Los Angeles Rams -$200 at Cincinnati Bengals (Bet $200 to win $100) - WIN

Cincinnati Bengals Field Goals (OVER 1 1/2) - WIN

Last Week's Record:  8-5

Playoff Record:  28-20-1

Last Week's Big Bet:  2-0

Playoff Big Bet:  3-2

Year-to-Date Record:  171-149-1

Big Bet Year-to-Date:  11-12
Last Week's Winnings (Losses): $550

Playoff's Winnings (Losses):  $246

Year to Date's Winnings (Losses): ($96) 

Picks of the Week - SUPER BOWL LVI

Horrible money weekend, primarily because I made my big bet Tennessee over Cincinnati in the money-line.  So, even though I went 6-0 on Sunday, still lost money for the weekend.  But what a freakin' weekend of games that it was!!!  Now, we have the conference championships.  Picks seem like they should be easy, but is that a copout?  Who knows.

For those that are new to this site, I will select every game against the spread (and money line and over/under in the playoffs).  I will be selecting one big bet at $250 per, whereas everything else will be $100.  Winners count as winners, whereas, losses will be calculated including a 10% vig to make the math that much simpler.  On to the picks.

Los Angeles Rams -4 at Cincinnati Bengals

I had the Rams winning the Super Bowl (over Kansas City) since the beginning of the year.  Their offense is settling nicely with both Cam Akers and Sony Michel, meaning the Bengals cannot just sit back and double Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham, Jr., or just rush Matthew Stafford.  Although, I have lost a lot betting against Cincinnati these playoffs.

Los Angeles Rams -$200 at Cincinnati Bengals (Bet $200 to win $100)

The Tennessee Titans sacked Joe Burrow nine times in the wild-card round.  And the Titans do not have Leonard Floyd, Von Miller, and Aaron Donald.

Los Angeles Rams at Cincinnati Bengals OVER 49

Both teams average 27.1 points per game (tied for 7th), and both give up around 22.  Should be a good scoring game, so I'll take the over.

Cincinnati Bengals Field Goals (OVER 1 1/2)

All Cincinnati has to do is to move the ball into the Rams territory to be in field goal range for Evan McPherson, and he does not miss - at least not in the playoffs.  He did set a record for most 50-yard field goals in a season (12), so 2 field goals seems like a lock.

Evan McPherson OVER 7 1/2 points

If I think he is going to kick at least two field goals, I have to go with over 7 1/2 points.

Cooper Kupp's longest reception OVER 29 1/2 yards

He leads the NLF in targets, meaning he is likely going to be thrown to a lot, and even if he does not get open deep, 846 of his 1,947 regular season yards after the catch. meaning he could take a 15 yarder for over 30.

National Anthem UNDER 2:00 minutes

My standard bet, although last year the line was 2:10.

Matthew Stafford OVER 1 1/2 Passing Touchdowns

Stafford has thrown at least 2 TDs in all but one game dating back to mid-November, and now with Odell Beckham, Jr. being comfortable in this offense, there are more weapons for Stafford to survey against Cincinnati's 26th ranked passing defense.

Los Angeles Rams -$135 OVER 3 1/2 Sacks (Bet $135 to win $100)

The Rams could challenge the Super Bowl record for most sacks in a game - which is currently 7.

Aaron Donald -125 OVER 1.0 Sacks (Bet $125 to win $100)

See above.

Von Miller -200 OVER .5 Sacks (Bet $200 to win $100)

See above.

Cam Akers -$120 Receiving Yards OVER 16 1/2 (Bet $120 to win $100)

Akers is going to be a highly utilized weapon today.

Joe Mixon $-125 OVER 24 1/2 receiving yards (Bet 125 to win $100)

Like Akers, Mixon's value is just being open in space, including wheel routes.  He has gone over this number in each of his last 5 games, and could be utilized to minimize the Rams' pass rush.

Big Bets

Los Angeles Rams -$200 at Cincinnati Bengals (Bet $200 to win $100)

The Tennessee Titans sacked Joe Burrow nine times in the wild-card round.  And the Titans do not have Leonard Floyd, Von Miller, and Aaron Donald.

Not as confident giving up points, but I just think the Rams are the much better overall team.

Cincinnati Bengals Field Goals (OVER 1 1/2)

All Cincinnati has to do is to move the ball into the Rams territory to be in field goal range for Evan McPherson, and he does not miss - at least not in the playoffs.  He did set a record for most 50-yard field goals in a season (12), so 2 field goals seems like a lock.

Two field goals seems easily doable.

Last Week's Record:  10-8

Playoff Record:  20-15-1

Last Week's Big Bet:  0-1

Playoff Big Bet:  1-2

Year-to-Date Record:  163-144-1

Big Bet Year-to-Date:  9-12
Last Week's Winnings (Losses): ($305)

Playoff's Winnings (Losses):  ($304)

Year to Date's Winnings (Losses): ($646)  

Olympics - Beijing 2022 - Day 9

Day 9 - February 12, 2022

Not a ton of finals going on today, as there are a lot of qualifying and preliminary events.  Plus Kentucky basketball was on, so I had to watch that!

In figure skating, the ice dancing competition started with its short program, otherwise entitled rhythm dance.  The Americans are poised to win medal(s) as they finished 3rd and 4th in the rhythm dance.  Finals after the Super Bowl.

Staying on skates, the Japanese women's 3000m pursuit team set the Olympic record in the quarterfinals, with Canada and the Netherlands right behind them.  This sets up a potentially amazing semi-finals and a superfast finals early next week.

Switching to skis, the Russian Olympic committee cruised to a gold in the women's 4 x 5km relay, easily outdistancing Germany and Sweden, which finished second and third.

In the women's 10km pursuit biathlon, Marte Olsbu Roeiseland from Norway won her third gold medal (and fourth overall) of these Olympics.  She won by missing only 1 of 20 shots, allowing her to win by over 1 minute and 26 seconds over silver medalist Elvira Oeberg of Sweden.

On the men's side, Johannes Thingnes Boe won his second gold of these Olympics in the men's 7.5 km sprint.  France's winner of the 20km, Quentin Fillon Maillet wins silver, and Boe's Norwegian teammate - AND BROTHER - joined him on the podium as Tarjei Boe earned bronze.

In ski jumping, Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi could not follow-up his normal hill gold with a second gold, settling for the silver medal behind Marius Lindvik of Norway.  Germany's Karl Geiger, who is ranked number one in the world but only finished 15th in the normal hill, won bronze.  Two-time defending champion Kamil Stoch of Poland had to settle for fourth.

In sliding sports, the monobob made its Olympic debut.  After two heats - the halfway point, American Kaillie Humphries sits in first and fellow American Elana Meyers Taylor sits in fourth place, one-tenth of a second out of third.

Athletes of the Day - Marte Olsbu Roiselend, Norway, Biathlon

As stated above, Roiselend won her third gold of Beijing!

Teamwork/Sportsmanship Moment of the Day - Elana Meyers Taylor, United States, Bobsled

Meyers Taylor was America's number 1 bobsled driver, having won 3 Olympic medals.  Enter Kaillie Humphries, her primary Canadian rival.  Humphries, who is married to an American, sued to be able to slide for the USA due to allegations surrounding a Canadian coach that took pictures of the women sledders in various stages of undress.  When she won, Meyers Taylor accepted her into the team, knowing that her primary competitor was now her primary competitor for sledding teams.  Nevertheless, Meyers Taylor is still in medal range in the monobob, and looks to challenge for medals in the other seldding races as well.

Olympic Term of the Day: Monobob - A sled race in which only one competitor enters the bobsled, acting as sole pusher, driver and brake(wo)man.  The monobob is only competed by females.

Olympic Events Watched: Bobsled, Cross-Country Skiing, Curling, Figure Skating, Skeleton, Ski Jumping, Speed Skating

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer:  Nick Baumgartner, Nathan Chen, Chloe Kim, Hilary Knight, Lindsey Jacobellis

Olympics - Beijing 2022 - Day 8

Day 8 - February 11, 2022

The weekend starts, so of course there are several events worth watching, and some excellent results.

The women's sprint biathlon was held yesterday, with Marte Olsbu Roiseland of Norway winning gold, ahead of Sweden's Elvira Oberg and Italy's Dorothea Wierer.

The first qualification round of the men's large hill ski jumping was conducted, and based upon the jumps so far, any of 12 to 14 people could win medals!  The finals are going to be amazing!

In speed skating, Sweden's Niels Van Der Poel broke the Dutch stranglehold on gold in the men's 10,000 meters, to go along with his gold from the 5000 meters.  Van Der Poel is an interesting story, following Pyeongchang, he enlisted in the Swedish army, began running ultra-marathons and bike marathons, only to return to speed skating last year.  The cross-training worked, as not only did Van Der Poel win gold, the broke the World Record and smashed the Olympic record.  But, the surname Van Der Poel sounds suspiciously Dutch!

In the speedskating of the short track variety, In the 10 person final, Gao Tingyu of China won gold while setting a new Olympic record, just beating Cha Min-kyu of South Korea and Japan's Morishige Wataru, who finished second and third respectively.

In the men's 5000 meter relay, due to a penalty, we are set to see 5 teams that qualified for the finals, meaning 20 skaters involved in this intricate ballet/circus.  Korea, the Russian Olympic Committee, Canada and Italy qualified through the semi-finals, and stop me if you have heard this before, China advances due to a penalty - this time on Japan.  Should still be amazing to watch.

The women's 1000 meter was also raced with Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands defending her 2018 gold medal while following up her silver in the 500 meter with a gold at this distance.  South Korea's Choi Minjeong won silver and Hanne Desmet of Belgian earned bronze.  Italy's Arianna Fontana just missed out on another medal due to a penalty, which wiped out American medal hopeful Kristin Santos.   As a follow-up to yesterday's coverage of NBC's coverage of Mikaela Shiffrin, Choi stood at the side of the rink crying - in elation and relief and which NBC showed - as she finally won a medal after finishing 4th in her home country in Pyeongchang in 2018.  Incidentally, that 2018 race is the only time South Korea has missed the podium in this event.  Schulting did set a world record in this race earlier in the preliminaries.

In a different type of rink, the U.S. hockey team defeated Canada 4-2, behind a goal and an assist from captain Andy Miele.  The American's youth - almost all from the collegiate ranks and only 1 with previous Olympic experience - helped them prevail as their speed and athleticism allowed them to skate around and avoid the bruising physical play of Canada.  Brendan Brisson scored a goal early in the 2nd period to give the US a 3-1 lead, and you can tell he is excited.  As a side note, Miele won the Hobey Baker Award in 2011.

Iivo Niskanen was positively dominant in the men's 15km classic cross-country skiing, defeating the Russian Olympic Committee's Alexander Bolshunov by 23+ seconds and Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo by almost 38.

But even as dominating as Niskanen's performance was - and he is likely to have more this week - no event was as captivating as the Snowboard Cross Mixed relay.  The US team of Nick Baumgartner and Lindsey Jacobellis are a combined 76 years old - an eternity in snowboarding.  Baumgartner, who at 40 clearly shows that his time for Olympic medals is running out after finishing third in his quarterfinal race, was emotional and wondering if it was ever going to happen.  Baumgartner was clearly the slower of the two races comparatively, but staying just close enough to the lead to give Jacobellis enough time to make up the space needed to qualify the team for each subsequent round, but then the fastest men kept dropping, as Austria failed to advance, leaving Canada and two Italian teams in the finals.  Then something happened halfway down his run, Baumgartner's experience and weight - he is bigger than the other males in the competition - started carrying more speed as the snow was coming down and the track become softer and the wind picked up - and finished his run in first place!  Jacobellis briefly lost  the lead, but like Baumgartner regained it in the second half of the run and the 36 year old won her second gold of these games!

Athletes of the Day - Lindsey Jacobellis and Nick Baumgartner, United States Snowboard (Cross Mixed Relay)

Just amazing display of teamwork, experience and knowing what you need to do to qualify and saving up enough to win!

Teamwork/Sportsmanship Moment of the Day - Maame Briney, United States, Short Track Speedskating

Biley was eliminated in the semi-finals of the women's 1000 meters.  Yet, she was cheering harder than anyone when Kristen Santos won her semi-finals to advance to the finals.  And, during the final race, it seemed as if Biley was more upset and shaken at Santos being taken out by a falling Arianna Fontana than even Santos was.  That was some good teamwork.

Olympic Term of the Day: Kangaroo Start - In short track speedskating, a method of starting that involves hopping off the ice before settling into your skating motion.  It can be the fastest way to start, but it is the most difficult to master.

Olympic Events Watched:  Biathlon, Cross-Country Skiing, Hockey, Short Track Speedskating, Ski jumping, Snowboard, Speedskating 

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer:  Nick Baumgartner, Nathan Chen, Chloe Kim, Hilary Knight, Lindsey Jacobellis 

Olympics - Beijing 2022 - Day 7

Day 7 - February 10, 2022

7

To be honest, I didn't have the opportunity to watch much of the Olympics for this day, but that doesn't mean that I couldn't keep up with the happenings!

The United States Hockey team started off slow in its opener against China but rode a Sean Farrell hat trick - along with 2 assists - to win 8-0.  Farrell, most recently of Harvard, is one of the collegiate/non-NHL professionals suiting up for the Americans given that the NHL is not participating in these Olympics.  The US should have beaten China, but to do so in this style could be significant moving forward.

As the men are just getting started, the women are in the medal round, and defeated the Czech Republic 4-1 in a tough matchup.  After a scoreless first period, the Czechs tool the led 5 minutes into the second period, but that lead lasted all of 48 seconds.  Hilary Knight gathered a rebound from between from a Coyne Schofield shot between two Czech defenders to equalize.  The US then killed a five-minute major penalty to end the second, and scored 2 even strength goals and an empty-netter in the third for the final margin of victory.  The US advance to the semi-finals against an as yet determined team, with the game on Monday.

In the Women's Super-G, Mikaela Shiffrin finished 9th, which is a good showing given that her best events are the more technical slalom and giant slalom.  Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland continues her standout Olympics with the gold.

In the men's skeleton, Germany's Christopher Grotheer and Axel Jungk finished 1-2 to take the gold and silver medals, with Yan Wengang of China earning bronze.  And in a super-surprise (is there any other kind?) Australia's Jaclyn Narracott is the leader halfway through the women's skeleton, with two runs remaining.  Behind her are a plethora of Olympic and World Championship medalists, including Germans Hannah Niese and Tina Hermann, who currently sit second and third.

The men's snowboard cross was exciting, with the gold medal determined by a photo finish, with Austria's Alessandro Haemmerle (left below) narrowly winning gold over Canada's Eliot Grondin (right below) by .02 seconds.  

Kamila Valieva of the Russian Olympic Committee still has yet to be disqualified from the team competition despite two positive doping tests.  Those tests were administered on December 25, meaning she should have been ineligible for the Olympics.  However, she wasn't because the lab just reported the results on Tuesday - February 8!  She tested positive for trimetazidine, which "improves myocardial glucose utilization through inhibition of fatty acid metabolism."  I may not know what that means, but science!  The Russian Anti-Doping Agency has provisionally suspended, and then reinstated Valieva.  The legal complexities of this case are amazing, as the IOC has appealed the RUADA's reinstatement, but nothing else is technically appealable at this time, including the original positive test, and Valieva - who is 15 - is a minor so additional legal protections have kicked in.  None of the teams involved - the Russian Olympic Committee, the United States, Japan, and Canada, have received any medals for the team event yet.

The mixed freestyle aerials made its Olympic debut, and the Americans made it memorable.  The team of Ashley Caldwell, Christopher Lillis, and Justin Schoenefeld win gold over the host Chinese team, who came home in second with Canada winning bronze.  Lillis, whose jump was scored the highest of all competitors, shares the gold with his teammates Caldwell and Schoenefeld, who have been dating for 3 years.

Shaun White wrapped up his remarkable career in snowboard's half-pipe just off the podium finishing fourth behind Japan's Ayumu Hirano, who won gold after two consecutive silver medals in the event.  Scotty James of Australia claimed silver and Jan Scherrer of Switzerland earned bronze.  Hirano fell on his first run, but it was clear that he was going all out, losing on a 1440-1260 combination.  (See below for a report on his second run.)  Hirano then just went out a set a world record on his third round.  But, all eyes were on Shaun White, whose interview was absolutely emotional - but in a good way.  If you haven't seen the interview, you really need to CHECK IT OUT!

Athlete of the Day - Ayumu Hirano, Japan, Snowboard (Half-Pipe)

Although the moment was White's, the event was Hirano's, his world-record setting performance the most incredible collection of tricks ever attempted in the half-pipe, according to NBC's Todd Richards - a former snowboarder himself.  Richards even called out the judge's after Hirano was in second place after his second run, in which he landed a 1440!  Richards tweeted, "WTF you judges just grenade'd all credibility.  Now I will certainly be using grenade'd as a verb!

And here is the figurative "Passing of the Torch".

Teamwork/Sportsmanship Moment of the Day - Molly Soloman, NBC, Executive Producer of Olympics Coverage

Huh?  That is what you are asking.  What is this?  Well, after Mikaela Shiffrin skied-out of an early gate on the slalom, after skiing-out of an early gate in the giant slalom, Shiffrin sat on the course (near the netting not between gates) for about 20 minutes.  Of course she was upset - and she wasn't hurt - but her sitting on the course held up the remainder of the competition by about that 20 minutes.  NBC kept showing her on camera, and then when she did arise, aired her interview in which Shiffrin was incredibly forlorn and upset - understandably.  NBC took a huge social media hit for portraying Shiffrin in her emotional state, including many references to her deceased father, whose death played(s) a huge role in Shiffrin's current state.  NBC's Ted Ligety, himself a four-time Olympic medalists (2 gold) critiqued Shiffrin's run, calling it "almost a rookie mistake."  Well, Soloman was approached to answer for NBC's treatment of Shiffrin, and responded by supporting her journalists.  Soloman said, "We have an obligation in that moment, as the broadcaster of the Olympic games, to cover the moment. ... There is no script when there's a wipeout on the slopes or a fall in figure skating.  We're watching real people with real emotions in real time and we did everything we were supposed to do. ... Shiffrin's performance was huge news - the biggest story of the Games so far. ... I've thought a lot about this, and if Joe Burrow or Matthew Stafford sit on the sidelines 22 minutes after the Super Bowl on Sunda, and you can bet the cameras are going to stay on them.  ... Here we are in 2022 and we have a double standard in coverage of women's sports.  Women's sports should be analyzed through the same lens as the men.  The most famous skier in the world did not finish her two best events.  So are we going tos how her sitting on the hill and analyze what went wrong?  You bet we are!"  Kudos to you Molly Soloman, and to support you standing behind your team, I will post that picture of her sitting on the hill.

Olympic Term of the Day: Skeleton - A sliding sport in which a person rides a small sled, known as a skeleton bobsled, down a frozen track while lying face down and head-first.  The skeleton sled is thinner and heavier than the luge sled, giving the athlete more control.  It is also the slowest of the 3 sliding sports bobsled, luge being the others), as the face down, head-first position is less aerodynamic that the feet first, face up luging position.

Olympic Events Watched:  Alpine SkiingCurling, Hockey, Skeleton, Snowboard 

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer:  Nathan Chen, Chloe Kim, Hilary Knight, Lindsay Jacobellis