legaleagle53

But I'm NOT on the West Coast. I'm in Arizona, which is still on Mountain Standard time until next month.

So NOW NBC finally gets around to showing the Gala, after insisting on "reliving" in detail the last two laps of the cross-country ski marathon that I JUST got through watching in the primetime broadcast. What were you thinking, NBC?

Am I the only one who noticed that if the Russians had been truly banned from competing as they should have been after Sochi, Knierim and Frasier would have been the Bronze medalists today?

I cannot believe the results of that bronze medal run in the mixed team parallel slalom. Norway had the faster course for three of the four runs. There was no way the US was going to beat them. In what universe is that even remotely fair? 😡

I echo the sentiment regarding the Norwegians as hosts. I vividly remember when Dan Jansen won his only medal (Gold) in Speed Skating. The Norwegians practically adopted him as one of their own, and they cheered for him as loudly when he won as they would have if he had won for Norway. I've NEVER forgotten that moment!

It looks as though Salt Lake City may host in 2030, so there's that, too. But I was under the impression that SLC wanted to hold off until 2034 for some reason.

Not everyone grew up with the "cultural pride" mindset. Many immigrants decided once they came here that since they were now Americans, only English would be learned and spoken in the home. I know many people whose parents in fact strictly forbade them to learn the ancestral language for that very reason!

I wouldn't worry about this being "a harbinger of Games to come." The next three Games will all be held and broadcast from time zones that are more US-friendly (Paris 2024, Milano-Cortina 2026, and Los Angeles 2028; no word yet on who's hosting in 2030). The temporal logistics that made these Games (and the Tokyo Games last year) so problematic won't surface again until Brisbane in 2032. Hopefully, the technology will have improved by then to the point that it won't be more than a minor inconvenience for the US or any other country.

Now I'm curious. Are there any sports where you WOULDN'T just make a blanket assumption that everyone is doping? Curling, maybe?

I don't mind shelling out a few bucks a month for Peacock Plus. It's worth it to have access to all the extras anytime I want them. Not just the Olympics (and the upcoming Paralympics), but all seasons of shows like The Office and Superstore as well as original series and movies. And no, I am not employed by NBC or related to anyone who is!

She totally does, and she can play the stone-cold bitch villain, too! But back to the pairs Free Skate. How did the American teams do? I know we weren't expected to medal, but it sounds to me as though we managed some very respectable top-ten finishes, particularly K/F. And that makes me very happy indeed, if true!

I'm finally watching Biathlon for the first time, and I'm fascinated to see how the shooting component works and how the judges know when a target has been missed. It's interesting!

Something else I've noticed as I've been watching the pairs competition is how slowly so many of these pairs are skating. I'm starting to see what everyone is talking about with regard to speed as a deciding factor between the lower-tier teams and the medal contenders.

Was I the only one who gasped out loud when Gus Kenworthy hit the wall on his second run? I was certain he'd snapped his neck from he way he slammed into the lip!

That was a beautiful short program by Knierim and Frasier. This pairs competition is just the palate cleanser I needed after yesterday's drama in the women's competition!

Pairs figure skating and ice dancing are two separate and distinct disciplines within figure skating. I mean, I get what you're saying, but your example is inaccurate as an analogy to what you're proposing.

And he probably agrees with Sasha that she, not Anna, should have won gold for having the more technically difficult program. Remember his hissy fit over the fact that Evan Lysacek beat hin for Gold in 2010 without doing even a single quad?

And THAT is why it wouldn't have made sense for Kamila to deliberately throw the Free Skate in such an obvious manner. Given the way Eteri treated her immediately afterwards (and before the score had even been announced), why would she deliberately risk bringing Eteri's full wrath down upon her? She better than anyone else knows what Eteri is like and what shes capable of doing when she's pissed off. Kamila may be many things, but a fool and a masochist are not among them.

My point was very clear. If we can have 13-year-olds competing at the senior level, why stop there? Why not let 8-or 10-year-olds compete at the senior level if they're that good? Why make them wait an arbitrary number of years when they're good to go now talent-wise?

There's a difference, though. Those athletes can't rely on the "protected person" technicality to let them get away with doping in blatant disregard for the rules. If Kamila had been 18, she'd have been O-U-T, no question about it. But because she's a minor, she can't be suspended under the current rules. And how low do you want to go? Should we let 8-or 10-year-olds compete at the senior level just because they're insanely talented for their age?

I want to give Anna and Kamila both a hug and a huge plate of cookies (fuck you, Eteri!). And Sasha needs to practice her jumps more so she can get over herself.

That would never work, because artistry is still a part of the sport, and that includes the costuming, which is supposed to be coordinated with the music and the expression as part of the artistic presentation.

She reminds me of a young Michelle Kwan, except she's a little more outgoing than Michelle always seemed to be to me.

Marco Fabbri is as cute as a bug's ear. That is all.

I thought he looked a little shaky on a couple of those lifts. I'm surprised they scored ahead of the Finns, who opened with what I thought was an incredibly difficult rotational lift sequence.