Winter Olympics Preview

Quick...how many current U.S. Winter Olympians can you name? Being a big sports fan, I quickly rattle off Lindsey Vonn, Shaun White, and Apolo Anton Ohno (didn't he invent short track speed skating?). Wow, not very many! With a little more thought I came up with Shani Davis and Patrick Kane, but that was about it. I'm looking forward to getting to know more of the athletes.

There are only 15 "disciplines" in the winter games, primarily because all of them must be contested on snow or ice. I personally think they should put some of the summer games' indoor sports in the winter (e.g. basketball) to even things out, but there is that whole thing about tradition, etc. They have added "X"-ish sports recently, like snowboarding and freestyle skiing, so there are more sports than in the past.

I think it is funny they are having problems with a lack of snow in Vancouver this month when most of the non-sunbelt portion of North America has been battered with blizzards the last couple of weeks. With a foot of fresh powder, Chicago could host the games the next two weeks since it didn't get the 2016 summer games. I guess that wouldn't work since we are a little short on mountains for the skiing events. The snow problems really won't be that bad since a lot of the events are being held in Whistler where they have plenty of snow. Fog will be the issue there.

As for the medal count, don't expect the U.S. to lead the way. After putting a lot of effort into improving our winter sports the last two decades, the Americans did move up to finish 2nd in total medals the last two games. But expect the Germans and hometown Canadians to battle for the top spot. Host countries always make a huge effort to win medals, and Canada happens to be strong in the same "disciplines" as the U.S. Hence, they will win some of the medals we are hoping to grab. Conversely, we will likely block them from several medals, opening the door for the Germans to win the most.

My favorite events are the multi-sport events, and the winter games have a couple of good ones. Nordic Combined features cross country skiing and ski jumping. Those are about the most contrasting activities you can do on skis. My personal favorite is the Biathlon--cross country skiing and target shooting. It is very difficult to aim and fire a rifle with your heart racing 150 bpm.

I have always liked the Olympics, and I'm looking forward to a fun two weeks. Like the 2008 summer games, I will seek to blog about some of the happenings that don't make it into the mainstream media, along with giving a different perspective on some of the "big" stories.

Enjoy the Games!!