I've come to be more of a fan of the winter games than I am the summer contests. I'm not sure why unless it's because many of the sports are alien to a lot of us in the U.S. - especially in the south. With the summer games, most of us can relate to track-and-field, basketball, swimming, diving, gymnastics, and, around here, at least, even the
rowing and canoe/kayak events.
I've always been a fan of ski jumping, bobsledding, speedskaing (not be be confused with figure skating, please), luge, and the downhill. This year, though, thanks to some innovative scheduling by NBC, I found myself watching the biathlon, cross-county skiing, and, yes, curling.
If there's a more demanding sport than the biathlon in either the summer or winter Olympics, I'm not sure what it is. The biathlon is a combination of cross-county skiing and target shooting. Competitors ski up to a shooting range three or four times during the event, after a lap or two of cross-country type skiing - and with their heart pounding and lungs gasping for air from the grueling trek are expected to hold a rifle steady enough to shoot a target a couple hundred yards away - and set off on their skis again. You can almost feel the cold air searing your lungs as you watch them struggle up hills, chests heaving as they gasp for air. And, I look forward to more of it in another four years.
What I can live without, whether its winter or summer, are the Michelle Kwans and Bode Millers. Both were black eyes on the U.S. Olympic team this winter. Kwan took advantage of the rules and backed into the games because of her reputation via a committee selection process after she was kept from qualifying on the ice because of an
injury, only to bow out after getting to Italy when it became obvious she wasn't well enough to compete. Miller's bad boy image was another black mark on the U.S. team - and despite all the hype surrounding the expectations of him - he bombed and left Italy without a medal. Good riddance.
Let's hope their names are no where to be found when the next U.S. winter team is put together.
(Ken Stanford is News Director for WDUN NEWS TALK 550, MAJIC 1029 and SPORTS RADIO 1240 THE TICKET and Editor of AccessNorthGa.com.)
http://accesswdun.com/article/2006/4/112180