Olympics Days 7&8

Newsflash: Both the US men's and women's curling teams actually won a match. The men beat the young Swedish squad, and the women edged the very attractive Russian team. I think the Russians made a big mistake demoting Ludmila Privivkova (pic) to 3rd rock from 4th rock and leaving the match in the shaky hands of 19-year old Anna Sidorova. (There has been extensive curling coverage this year, so I thought I would throw in some lingo to make it look like I know what's going on).

Speaking of curling, it is always a good place to start the "Is it a sport?" debate that comes up every Olympics about various sports. I have also heard it asked about Bobsleigh (the official name) and Figure Skating. The beef with skating is whether it is "too artistic" and not athletic enough. In my opinion, this one is a no-brainer. The athletic ability to execute these routines is amazing, and the training and stamina necessary to get through the program is undeniable.

But I think we need a system to determine whether an event is a real sport. So I have come up with a 3-point test. If you can answer yes to all three points, the event is NOT a real sport.

1. Can you, and do participants regularly, drink beer while participating in this activity? (If bowling immediately comes to mind, this test can also apply to non-Olympic events).

2. Can a normal person complete the event in an Olympic venue without severe injury? (Any average person who thinks the can ski "slowly" through the downhill course is living in a fantasy world).

3. Are several of the sport's highest level athletes noticably overweight? (Wow, it is hard to come up with any outside of curling other than one notable bobsled driver).

Clearly, each of these is open to some stretching or interpretation, but I think we can pretty safely identify almost every Olympic event as definitely a sport using these criteria.

Curling? Its pretty obvious you can say yes to all three, but I suppose opinions will vary. So by my 3-point definition, Curling is not a sport. It is a game. But, of course, these are called the Olympic Games. I am not suggesting Curling be removed from the winter games, so maybe this exercise just gives us something to debate?

Are there high level athletes in the game of Curling? Yes, I am sure there are some. But there are many who are not high level athletes, and several others that are not in top physical condition. Can you say that about figure skating or other sports in the Olympics? I know that most can do the 100 meter dash without hurting themselves, and probably even drink beer while running, but you never see an overweight sprinter in a high level meet.

What about non-Olympic "sports" like bowling and golf? Again, pretty obvious "yes" answers to all three. I'm not trying to diminish the skill necessary to do any of these games, I just don't think they qualify as "athletic sports." Are there other examples I am overlooking? Sailing?

Olympic Shadow: Not for Tiger. His "public statement" was about the most overpublicized non-event outside of the world of reality tv. He admits to doing something wrong, he apologizes, blah blah blah. Absolutely nothing new. Why does everyone care so much? I guess the media types who didn't get the Olympic assignment were really craving a slice of limelight this week.

Cool 11: Previously mentioned Ludmila Privivkova (I like her Olympic red hair over her previous blond look). Great Britain Skelton slider Amy Williams (right). Already mentioned Simon Amman and Julia Mancuso keep adding to their medal count and Cool 11 appeal.