Now, look, I confess that I'm like probably 98 or 99 percent of the rest of the people who geek out for the Olympics in that I hardly ever watch these sports except for two weeks every four years. And if I saw more of Shaun White's low moments or mediocre moments, or if better understood the intricacies of what I was watching, I might feel differently. But I don't know that I have ever genuinely rooted for an athlete who delivers more consistently in high-pressure, high-profile moments than Shaun White. With his victory in men's halfpipe snowboarding Wednesday morning in South Korea/Tuesday night on Channel 6, he's three for four all-time on my radar: gold medals at Turin 2006, Vancouver 2010 and now Pyeongchang 2018 and no medal at Sochi 2014. In my world, he has never competed in anything but the Olympics, and he has come through 75 percent of the time. That's stunning.
Here are the medal standings after White's halfpipe gold got the Day 5 party started in Pyeongchang about an hour ago:
1. Germany 5 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze
2. Netherlands 4, 4, 2
3. United States 4, 1, 2
4. Norway 3, 5, 3
5. Canada 3, 4, 3
6. France 2, 1, 2
7. Sweden 2, 1, 0
8. Austria 2, 0, 0
9. Italy 1, 1, 1
10. South Korea 1, 0, 1
11. Japan 0, 2, 2
12. Czech Republic 0, 1, 1
T13. Australia 0, 1, 0
T13. China 0, 1, 0
T13. Slovakia 0, 1, 0
T13. Switzerland 0, 1, 0
T17. Finland 0, 0, 2
T17. Kazakhstan 0, 0, 2
Previous reports:
-- I Olympic Winter Games, Chamonix 1924
-- II Olympic Winter Games, Saint Moritz 1928
-- VIII Olympic Winter Games, Squaw Valley 1960
-- XII Olympic Winter Games, Innsbruck 1976
-- XVII Olympic Winter Games, Lillehammer 1994
-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014
-- XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Preface)
-- XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Introduction/Day 0)
-- XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Day 1)
-- XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Day 2)
-- XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Day 3)
2. Netherlands 4, 4, 2
3. United States 4, 1, 2
4. Norway 3, 5, 3
5. Canada 3, 4, 3
6. France 2, 1, 2
7. Sweden 2, 1, 0
8. Austria 2, 0, 0
9. Italy 1, 1, 1
10. South Korea 1, 0, 1
11. Japan 0, 2, 2
12. Czech Republic 0, 1, 1
T13. Australia 0, 1, 0
T13. China 0, 1, 0
T13. Slovakia 0, 1, 0
T13. Switzerland 0, 1, 0
T17. Finland 0, 0, 2
T17. Kazakhstan 0, 0, 2
Previous reports:
-- I Olympic Winter Games, Chamonix 1924
-- II Olympic Winter Games, Saint Moritz 1928
-- VIII Olympic Winter Games, Squaw Valley 1960
-- XII Olympic Winter Games, Innsbruck 1976
-- XVII Olympic Winter Games, Lillehammer 1994
-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014
-- XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Preface)
-- XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Introduction/Day 0)
-- XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Day 1)
-- XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Day 2)
-- XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Day 3)
Men's doubles luging on NBC Sports Network ... an American team with a guy named Andrew Sherk just moved into seventh ...
ReplyDeleteIf Dick Enberg was still alive, I feel certain he would've already texted the kids at NBC Sports to report on whether this Sherk is related to 1970s Cleveland Browns standout defensive lineman Jerry Sherk. But, of course, Mr. Enberg died a few weeks ago, so that question has not been addressed. (A quick scan of Google results does not indicate any connection, but all I know is I'm 49 years old and have ony heard of two Sherks in my entire life.) Anyway, rest in peace, Dick Enberg.
So the men's hockey tournament started today in Pyeongchang, and, in simultaneous games, Team USA and a group of players from Russia opened 2-0 leads on Slovenia and Slovakia, respectively. Both games ended up 3-2, come-from-behind victories by the underdogs. The absence of NHL players, maybe Russia's doping chaos and probably six other factors appear to have scrambled the hockey doings.
ReplyDeleteI was really rooting for Lindsey Vonn and Tiger Woods to make it.
ReplyDeleteSochi 2014 medalists in men's doubles luge: Germany gold, Austria silver and Latvia bronze.
ReplyDeleteThis time it goes Germany, Austria, Germany. It's back-to-back gold medals for "The Two Tobis," 30-year-old Tobias Arlt (a German federal police officer) and Tobias Wendl (a master seargent in the Germany army).
ReplyDelete