WinterSports2002.com, Saturday, February 23, 2002
Media Watch
The Washington Post
Salt Lake Snippets: It's All in the Timing
By Bill Grant
Cutups: Australian comics Roy and HG, who developed quite a cult following with their satirical look at the Sydney Olympics, are doing a show from here, "The Ice Dream," and have made an appearance on NBC and other networks. They had IOC president Jacques Rogge on this week and asked Rogge, an orthopedic surgeon, when the last time he "cut someone up." Rogge didn't flinch and quickly replied: "This morning. I had an executive board meeting." . . .
Quote of the Day, I: "I wonder if Las Vegas will ever bid for the Olympics." — MSNBC studio host Jim Lampley, after showing footage of the ice dancing competition, in which competitors often wear outlandish costumes and makeup.
Quote of the Day, II: "Now that I've won the gold medal, I can honestly say that it's not the gold medal that's important to me. The important thing is taking part in the Olympics and the friendships I've made." — American Jim Shea, who won the men's skeleton Wednesday. . . .
The Los Angeles Times
"In This Chess Game, Next Move is Russia's"
By Mike Penner, Times Staff Writer
SALT LAKE CITY — How's this for a double-headline doubleheader? Russians Threaten To Take Their Olympics And Go Home. Humankind's Faith In Figure Skating Judges Restored. Suddenly, Belarus over Sweden in men's hockey is looking like a routine day at the office.
Who'd have expected the Russians, pushed around from pairs skating to cross-country skiing for two weeks, to reach into their moth-eaten bag of old Cold War tricks and threaten to boycott the last three days of the 2002 Winter Olympics and possibly the entire 2004 Summer Olympics as well?
The Salt Lake Winter Games were still shaking their heads over that one when, a few hours later, the women's figure skating long program commenced — and the long-assumed coronation of Michelle Kwan got waylaid by an unexpected outbreak of judicial common sense and fair play.
Kwan and her family aren't going to feel any better hearing this, but Thursday night at the Salt Lake Ice Center, five judges very well may have saved the sport of Olympic figure skating. . . .
The Miami Herald
"Skeleton? That's how competitors usually end up"
By Dave Barry
PARK CITY, Utah — I came to watch the skeleton event, which involves sliding through icy turns at death-defying speeds approaching 80 miles per hour. And that was driving here in my rental car. The actual skeleton event was even scarier.
Skeleton is a sport wherein competitors hurtle face-first down a twisting ice track, lying on what appears to be either a small sled or a large belt buckle. The sled has no brakes and no steering (although it does have a CD player). The competitors steer by screaming.
The skeleton event has appeared in two previous Winter Olympics, in 1928 and 1948. The reason for the lengthy gaps between appearances was that none of the competitors survived. They had no problems going down the track, but experienced major difficulties when they encountered what was known in those days as the "stopping wall." Today, however, there's an uphill ramp at the bottom of the track to slow down the sleds, so despite its scary appearance, modern skeleton is really no more dangerous than any other "extreme" sport, such as volcano snorkeling, chainsaw lacrosse, or dating Mike Tyson. . . .
© 2002 Deseret News Publishing Company