Fun and games at the Olympics

I'm not a huge Olympics fan, though there are events I watch -- speed skating, ice dancing, Super G, and some of the snowboard stuff. The things that stick with me most about these games, though . . .

-- for all the hype, Bode Miller not medaling in his first four (I think) events.

-- Shani Davis, the most ungracious gold medalist I've ever seen. I was actually rooting for the guys in the orange uniforms to knock him out of the gold and was disappointed when they didn't. (Though I'm glad Joey Cheek medaled.) In Davis's post-win interview, he came off like a petulant, spoiled child. Great role model.

-- the Canadian ice dancer, Marie France Something-or-other, taking that fall in the last move of their routine. She bruised her hip so badly that she wasn't able to compete in the final round of competetion the next night. And the routine had been so gorgeous up to then!

-- the Italian ice dancer diva, so p*ssed with her partner for dropping her on Sunday that the two of them weren't speaking to or even looking at each other before their final dance Monday. Come on, guys, you're not five years old!

-- the commentators for the ice dance. Pick, pick, pick, pointing out every single mistake -- and if they didn't make any mistakes, well, they could have done better. They actually criticized one couple for choosing the same music that Torvill and Dean skated to thirty-some years ago! You know what? Torvill and Dean don't own "Bolero" (I think that's the right one). And you know what else, guys? There are lots of people watching this competition who don't know who Torvill and Dean are and don't want to hear you whine about the dancers' nerve instead of commenting on the dance. In fact, in an ideal world, you'd be prohibited from speaking while the music's playing. You're annoying.

-- the Austrian trainer/raid/doping scandal. The carabinieri (I'm not even guessing if that's spelled right -- from here on, I'll adopt my Italy-residing son's "carbs") raids the Austrian skiers' quarters and finds all kinds of hypodermic needles and drugs, some apparently prescription, some not, and two Austrian skiers immediately flee the country. (One issued a statement that he wanted to leave before they could lock him up. Hmm . . . sounds like "guilty" to me.) Their trainer -- who had been banned from the Olympics but was there anyway -- also fled and in the process crashed into a carb or his vehicle or a carb roadblock -- details were still sketchy. He was arrested and taken to a hospital for a psych evaluation. From what I've heard about the carbs, he's lucky they didn't just shoot him. They do that sometimes. Just not during the Olympics, I guess. These guys need doping to do well on the slopes??? They're Austrians! If they didn't invent skiiing, they should have!

Oh, well . . . tonight's more speed skating and another chance to root against Shani Davis. Until he learns a little graciousness, he'll never make my list of favorites. Rachel8:11 AM