Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics Blog - Sure, They May Say It's "Days 10-11", But Somewhere Else In The World, It's "Days 11-12"…

 I mean, right?

Day 11? Day 10?

--Every cross-country distance ski event is an exercise in torture, plain and simple…

--Although, to be perfectly honest, I would love to see them compete in a swirling blizzard with low visibility…

--What's with the ambient music that plays during the cross-country slow-mo replays? IIRC, weren't they around at Vancouver, too?

--Some good, solid ice dancing in the short dance portion. Meryl Davis and Charlie White's (USA) excellence and the strength of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (Canada) were on par with what was expected--not that that was a bad thing. I normally don't like seeing two-team contests, but the gap in execution is that large, and these are likely the last Olympics for both. Besides that, there are some seriously good teams below them with room to grow, my favorites being the ever-game Russian duo of Elena Ilinkyh and Nikita Katsalapov.

--It's a perpetual problem for Lindsey Jacobellis (USA, snowboard cross) to have an out-of-nowhere crash with victory in sight at the Olympics. Her and the Games do not appear to mix…

--Eva Samkova (Czech Republic). With a painted-on mustache. Why not? She won the gold…

--Oh yes, this: what was with reporter Cristin Cooper being a douche in trying to wring and prod Bode Miller (USA, Super G) on something so sensitive and emotional as the death of his younger brother? The usually-unemotional Miller was trying to dissuade the first question, but Cooper didn't stop with the emotionally-manipulative inquiries once he showed signs of cracking, not caring about pushing the boundaries of discomfort. She wasn't trying be connective with his effort and his feelings, at all: she saw an opening and was actually trying to get him to cry. About his deceased brother. To make for that "good story".

One might think this act was isolated to her, but when you hear the commentators & Matt Lauer continue the message and spin the moment into the narrative they wanted to weave, it became clear that this was a product of the network's mindset. It was a shameful and disgusting display, one that was borderline unethical and clearly manipulative after the way. I never thought I would see someone or a network stoop that low to "get" the story they wanted. There is nothing wrong with asking someone a question about a sensitive subject, maybe even a follow-up, but if they do not want to go farther into their feelings, let them be. There was nothing in her questioning, manner, or delivery, nor in NBC's narrative push or M.O. that makes me think they were anything less than callous and tone-deaf.

I suppose this can only be expected in a current media/cultural climate that only sees and treats people like "characters" (their oft-chosen term) in a story than real-life people. That goes not only in the impersonal/falsely-personal treatment of them, but also in the sanitized and simplified presentation of them…(which is ironic here because…)

--Somehow, NBC managed to actually make me feel sorry for Bode Miller, but in a totally different and unfortunate way. He certainly has been a lot less abrasive following the disastrous hype job around his Turin run, and is a much more complex person than how the mainstream media portrays him. Complex also is the history between Miller and the network, so this is just the latest chapter in their cautionary tale…

--I thought I would have been in the minority concerning this, so I was taken aback to see so many people the next day contended with the way Cooper conducted the interview. Miller was supportive of her in the aftermath and downplayed it, but that does not excuse what she (and NBC) had done. It almost makes it a little sadder and more ironic in that they finally seem to have him moving to the tugs of their strings, and all it took was few tugs on his emotions…

--Oh, look: one gold, one silver, two bronze…

--For someone who had been all but disregarded, Andrew Weinbrecht (USA) still managed to follow up his 2010 Super G bronze with 2014 silver. "Warhorse" looked more like "Bulldozer" the way he was barreling down that hill with his type of build. Good for him…

--Jorien Ter Mors (The Netherlands) did fairly decent in the ladies' 1500m in short-track speedskating--if your definition of "fairly decent" was kicking the tar out of the Olympic record and watching everyone fail to come even close to you…


Day 12, or Perhaps Day 11

--The Free Dance portion of Ice Dancing turned out perhaps the best night of skating at Sochi, yet. The music choice from nearly everyone was superb, both in conjunction with their dance and by quality (the multiple Michael Jackson numbers were verging near the saturation point, though), the performances were spirited and top-notch, and everyone seemed to be having fun.

--Davis & White winning and their eternal rivals Virtue & Moir getting second were expected and deserved, but the ones I adored the most were the couples below them, such as France's Natalie Pechalat & Fabian Bourzat (their last Olympics), Spain's Sara Hurtado & Adria Diaz, the "other Americans" in Madison Chock & Evan Bates and the Shibutani siblings (big improvements from the previous night) and more.

However, the real stars for me was "my team" of Ilinykh & Katsalapov, who were so passionate and awesome dancing to Swan Lake with that balance of razor edge-level of boldness nee reckless abandon and grace. They're both young and can only go up from here. They might be the next great couple--at least, I sure hope so…

--You would think Steve Holcomb (USA) is on the heavyset side when he is wearing those winter clothes, but when you see him in his track suit, you can see he is a pretty beefy guy. No wonder he's been kicking so much butt in bobsledding (great driving included) and breaking medal droughts for the U.S.…

--I have never gotten the allure of start time record-keeping there. I can understand the importance of having a good start, but that does not always translate to record times, much less having an error-free run…

--Darya Domracheva (Belarus) has to be in consideration for "Ms. Olympics" for winning three golds in biathlon, right?

--One of the coolest guys in the Games must be bobsledding's Alexander Zubkov, who manned Russia's two-man sled to the country's first victory in the even--at age 39. He came out of retirement in 2010 for another run while still holding onto his regional "Minister of Sport" position and seems to be a pretty upstanding and respectable guy. He also was chosen to carry Russia's flag in the Opening Ceremony and as a former luger, he also gives advice to his fledgling skeleton slider daughter. He cool.

--"For every athlete who earned a gold medal, it shows the peak of his abilities." --Zubkov

--It's pretty hard not to get a kick out of ski aerials--the epitome of "go big, or go home"… I was rooting hard for USA's 18 year-old Mac Bohonnon, who was looking very impressive and like he belonged in there with such tough competition. They bested him now, but I hope to see him back again in the Olympics…

--Unsurprisingly, NBC edits flubs from the commentators for the primetime/late-night telecasts. One of the commentators for the team large hill erroneously called it for Austria and talked them up until being corrected by his partner a few moments later on it being a Germany victory. In the late-night coverage, all of the errors and corrections were removed, with only the corrected calling he made in the live broadcast being left in. NBC and WWE have so much in common…