Blogcritics On XX Winter Olympic Games

A frenetic first weekend of the XX Winter Games is complete in Torino, Italy, with the Tomato flying to halfpipe gold, a Texan with Vulcan eyebrow skaking really fast, Bode a medal bust, Italy a luge winner on its $100 million track, Norwegian cross-country skier making a miraculous last-to-second run, Apolo saying “Ohno” as a semi-final risk goes bad, women playing hockey around the clock, and Michelle Kwan withdrawing, celebrated, respected, admired, but sans Olympic gold.

Blogcritics coverage:

Winter Olympics TV Coverage: A Contrived Dialogue
So, you’re pulling out the Pass Notes format for this article? Yes, I am. That’s rather lazy writing, isn’t it? Don’t proper columnists steer clear of formats like this? What are you saying, that the format has absolutely six kinds of worn out…
Posted to Sports by Cameron Archer on February 26, 2006 05:37 PM

The Winter Olympics: Courage Devalued
My city, Vancouver, has been getting some international attention lately as the next in line to be Winter Olympic hosts, and we had a tiny trickle of snow yesterday to mark the occasion. Fortunately, we can rely on co-host Whistler…
Posted to Sports by Diane Kristine on February 26, 2006 06:20 AM

The Olympics Are Boring and Disappointing This Viewer
Sorry, GE/NBC, but I’m part of the reason your ratings are down this time. Frankly, I miss Tonya Harding. Well, not her personally, but a controversy/news event of that caliber. This Winter Olympics has been, in Dawn’s words, “lame.” There was…
Posted to Sports by Scott Butki on February 25, 2006 08:42 PM

The Olympic Ramble: Sasha Cohen, Julia Mancuso and Apolo Anton Ohno
Amazing performances and terrific chokes are at opposite ends of the “performance spectrum,” but generate equal amounts of interest among the masses. The past few days at the Olympics prove this as axiomatic. Sasha Cohen. Winning a silver medal…
Posted to Sports by Sal Marinello on February 25, 2006 08:08 PM

Olympic Curling: Canada (Um, Really?) Wins Gold, USA Takes Bronze
Canada 10, Finland 4 Usually a gold medal winner will cry, but Brad Gushue’s tears meant a bit more than a decisive victory over Finland. After the game, Brad Gushue spoke to his mother Maureen, who was unable to make the trip…
Posted to Sports by Matthew T. Sussman on February 24, 2006 05:58 PM

The Winter Olympics: Send The Pros Home
I’d rather see a bunch of amateurs try their best and lose, than see so–called professionals achieve the same results and steal the spotlight.
Posted to Sports by gypsyman on February 24, 2006 12:25 PM

Chad Hedrick – Olympian: Shani Davis – Not
The truth about the publicly emotional spat beteen US speedskaters Shani Davis and team captain Chad Hedrick is now clear to everyone except (apparently) Shani Davis, who hasn’t seemed to catch on yet. This truth involves the Olympic ideals, one of…
Posted to Sports by Bird of Paradise on February 23, 2006 09:56 PM

Satire: O’Reilly on the Olympics
America-hating judges refusing to give medal-winning scores to the U.S., that’s the subject of tonight’s Talking Points Memo. Well, the U.S. is currently the recipient of eighteen medals at the Winter…
Posted to Politics by Michael J. West on February 22, 2006 10:06 PM

The Olympic Ramble: Tanith Belbin, Emotional Italians and Ice Dancing
The Winter Olympics are winding down, but the action is still hot and heavy.
Posted to Sports by Sal Marinello on February 22, 2006 06:51 PM

Olympic Curling: Does Team USA Have the Stones To Win Gold?
USA’s Team Fenson, along with Canada, Great Britain, and Finland, face off Wednesday in the medal round.
Posted to Sports by Matthew T. Sussman on February 22, 2006 03:29 AM

Why Doesn’t India Win At The Olympics?
With India’s population, it surprises many that India is not a force at the Olympics.
Posted to Sports by Pratyush Khaitan on February 21, 2006 10:58 AM

Olympic Games – All Muscle, Little Grace
I used to like the Winter Olympics because of the gracefulness of the ice skating and the sheer joy that the competitors radiated as…
Posted to Sports by Bird of Paradise on February 21, 2006 04:36 AM

I’m Immune To Olympic Fever
I’m sorry but I could really care less about the Winter Olympics this year. I’m sure that NBC is doing a great job covering the games. I just don’t care. I am not holding an Olympic boycott because those of…
Posted to Sports by Tony Figueroa on February 20, 2006 10:19 PM

Blogcritics On the Pulse: Torino Olympic Games, Face Transplants, and Janet Jones
This week in Google search.
Posted to Sci/Tech by Craig Lyndall on February 20, 2006 01:48 PM

Shall We Dance?: Understanding the Twists and Twizzles of Ice Dance
How much do you really know about the Winter Olympic sport of ice dance?
Posted to Sports by trinket on February 20, 2006 02:05 AM

Winter Olympics: Ice Dancing Spins Out of Control – More Than Once!
What a dramatic night for the dancers! I have never seen a dance competition where more than one team falls let alone the splatfest that existed during the Original Dance. It wasn’t just trips over toe picks and…
Posted to Sports by trinket on February 20, 2006 01:34 AM

The Olympic Ramble: Shani Davis, The Anti-Bode And Real Hockey
Anybody who doesn’t think that the Winter Olympics are exciting hasn’t been paying attention. And that doesn’t include the fact that Jim Lampley and his perfect hair hosted Saturday afternoon and the early Sunday proceedings. Shani Davis. This U.S….
Posted to Sports by Sal Marinello on February 19, 2006 11:11 PM

Winter Olympics: Shani Davis Makes History
Chicago isn’t just the home of R. Kelly, Twista, and Kanye West. We can now add Shani Davis to the list of historic Black men coming from Chi-Town. That’s not only because he holds the world record in the 1500-meters…
Posted to Sports by Greasy Guide on February 19, 2006 04:41 PM

Lindsey Jacobellis: An Olympic Sized Blunder
What happens when you’re in the lead and then fall falt on your bottom? Just ask Silver Medal winner Lindsey Jacobellis.
Posted to Sports by Greasy Guide on February 19, 2006 12:59 AM

Winter Olympic Hopes, Dreams and Disappointments
I love the Olympics, and I love Team USA, but damn, if there hasn’t been some royal lame-assatry going on in Torino. Long before I married into the most obsessed and involved Olympic family in the world I was…
Posted to Sports by Dawn Olsen on February 18, 2006 03:27 PM

Bryant Gumbel and The Real Meaning of Racism
The true meaning of racism has been lost in our culture. One off-color comment from a black man on international TV and people are to quick to call him a racist. However, the term racist and racism is being twisted…
Posted to Sports by Greasy Guide on February 18, 2006 01:06 PM

Bryant Gumbel’s Comments Need To Be Addressed
Here’s what Bryant Gumbel – host of HBO’s Real Sports – said during the sign-off for the February 7, 2006 show: “Finally, tonight, the Winter Games. Count me among those who don’t like them and won’t watch them … Because…
Posted to Sports by Sal Marinello on February 17, 2006 03:22 PM

Winter Olympics: Gumbel’s Comments, Viewer’s Responses Out of Line
We go back to kindergarten for our lesson today. Two wrongs do not make a right. Radio stations, websites and message boards across the country are buzzing because of the recent comments made by Bryant Gumbel at the end of…
Posted to Sports by Dan McGowan on February 17, 2006 05:30 AM

What The FAQ Is Curling?
Every time the Winter Olympics roll around, all the media outlets and TV viewers scramble to find out about this weird “curling” sport. Well, it’s that time again, and while you may see ample curling coverage on Blogcritics, you may…
Posted to Sports by Matthew T. Sussman on February 17, 2006 03:52 AM

Olympic Men’s Skating: As the Russian Flies
Thing of beauty, eh? Congrats to 2006 Olympic men’s figure skating silver medalist and reigning world champion Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland, bronze medalist Jeff Buttle of Canada, the courageous American…
Posted to Sports by Natalie Davis on February 17, 2006 12:03 AM

The Olypmic Ramble: Bode Miller, Chad Hedrick, and Lampley’s Hair
In an Olympic haze, I don’t know what day it is. But I love curling. And Jim Lampley’s hair.
Posted to Sports by Sal Marinello on February 16, 2006 02:56 PM

Winter Olympics 2006 For Dummies
First, there was the time problem. Then, Susan Sarandon? Soldiering on, hats made in Canada and …curling?
Posted to Sports by Patfish on February 15, 2006 10:10 AM

Winter Olympics: U.S. Curling Splits vs. Scandinavian Squads
Draw 1: United States 11, Norway 5 Hogging a rock: In delivery, failing to release the rock before the red hogline, a violation which cancels out the thrown stone. U.S. skip Pete Fenson hogged a rock in the…
Posted to Sports by Matthew T. Sussman on February 14, 2006 05:23 AM

The Olympic Ramble: The Luge And Costas’ Hair
I’m hooked on the Winter Olympics. Sunday night after midnight I’m watching the “B” finals of the 1500-meter short track ice-skating. Someone help me please. Bob Costas’ Hair. It changes color every night. Seriously. My wife…
Posted to Sports by Sal Marinello on February 13, 2006 11:11 PM

Turin? Torino? Tortilla? Tourette’s? Torpedo? Turducken?
With no likely figure skating scandal to rock the Winter Olympics, it appears our controversy these 2006 Games is among American media outlets: What the hell do we call the city? Is it Turin or Torino? NBC has consistently referred to…
Posted to Sports by Matthew T. Sussman on February 13, 2006 04:13 AM

Olympic Ramble: Opening Ceremonies, First Two Days Of Competition
The Winter Olympics are underrated. Rather than being loved, the Winter Games are more often made fun of than they are appreciated. Perhaps because this “cold weather” competition is the home for some very obscure – bordering on…
Posted to Sports by Sal Marinello on February 12, 2006 10:15 PM

Winter Olympics: Lunar Skiing
“Giant steps are what we take/walking on the moon” (“Walking On the Moon” by the Police) The XX Winter Olympics have begun in Torino, Italy — which I always thought was called “Turin,” by the way – are we now referring…
Posted to Sports by Eric Olsen on February 11, 2006 03:12 PM

Coming Soon: The Loudest Olympics Ever
Have you seen (and heard) this commercial yet on NBC? What is this high-decibel, testosterone-drenched, CGI-laden mini-monstrosity promoting exactly? Is it a sequel to Independence Day? Some kind of Fantastic Four-on-ice extravaganza? Ice Capades in The Matrix? Lord of…
Posted to Video by Stephen V Funk on January 20, 2006 02:42 PM

Hawtin Provides “Evolving Soundscape” for Torino Olympics Opening Ceremony
I loved his spare, angular, kinetic techno workouts in the ’90s as Plastikman, which I slapped on many a perplexed club turntable at the time; but Canadian producer, DJ, remixer, electronic music innovator…
Posted to Music by Eric Olsen on January 18, 2006 01:28 PM

NBC Nets’ Copious Winter Olympic Schedule Announced
My cold-weather Olympic fever is beginning to kick in as I picture that fresh HD feed flowing through the old box with relentless, precise abandon as the world’s finest skiers, skaters, and sliders gather in Torino, Italy, in just a…
Posted to Video by Eric Olsen on January 12, 2006 02:59 PM