Category: Olympics

Cohen Didn’t Act the Part, so of Course She Didn’t Get the Part

From Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times on silver-medalist Sasha Cohen:

“I think I was not nervous, but apprehensive, knowing that I missed a lutz and flip in the warmup,” she said. “You know, when you go out there and have all the people watching — and you know that your practice hasn’t gone completely right, it’s hard to feel like you’re getting churros at Disneyland.”

Hard for silver medalists, perhaps, but easy for champions.

When their team is trailing by a basket in the final seconds, champions want the ball. Just ask Michael Jordan.

When their team trails by two runs in the bottom of the ninth, champions want the bat. Just ask Derek Jeter.

When the going gets tough, for champions, that is Disneyland.

The legacy of Sasha Cohen is that she sees it differently, and thus America will see her differently.

Once thought to be Tim Duncan, she is instead Chris Webber.

Once destined to be Joe Montana, she is instead Peyton Manning.

Looks great in everything but sweat.

It’s an interesting column.

Two exceptional films

The past two evenings NewMexiKen has been ignoring the Winter Olympics (and American Idol, if it’s even on) to watch DVDs. I’ve made some good choices, choosing two complex but rewarding films.

Last night it was 21 Grams with Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Naomi Watts. This movie has perhaps the most convulted chronology of any film I’ve ever seen (The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind nothwithstanding.) The dramatic story and the extraordinary acting of all three — and others — is, I think, greatly harmed as a result of this shuffling of time. It’s not that it’s so difficult to figure out what happens (happened); rather one simply asks why not just tell the story that way. The filmmaker’s art is important, but it should not be more important than the film itself. Still, the performances are remarkable, and the film is provocative.

The Constant Gardener stars Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz (nominated for the best supporting actress Oscar). Last September when I first saw this film I wrote that it, “is a gripping, harrowing film adapted from John le Carre’s novel of corporate greed and political corruption set in Kenya. Fiennes is superb as the too timid British diplomat and Rachel Weisz brilliant as his radical wife Tessa.” I stand by that assessment, and if anything I liked this film better the second time through. I haven’t seen the Oscar-nominated performances for best actor, but Fiennes surely deserved to be included. Excellent.

So now I’ll go watch the women figure skaters (preferably with the commentary off). NewMexiKen was able to view the 1994 Winter Olympics women’s skating finals on Russian TV. (The Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding year.) It was wonderful. The single commentator (speaking in Russian, of course) was low key and generally quiet, but the ambient noises of the crowd, the music and skates on ice could be heard well. Every performance was shown in its entirety, one after the other. It was incredible, almost like being there.

Update: Actually NBC did a nice job in its coverage, especially of the last six skaters.

Wouldn’t it be cool

… if the Olympic figure skating judges gave their opinions like Simon, Paula and Randy on American Idol?

This and some other ideas via Sideline Chatter:

SI.com’s Pete McEntegart says NBC could spice up its Winter Olympics ratings just by borrowing some other sure-fire TV tricks, such as:

• “More [events with] guns: If there’s anything to be learned from the vice president’s hunting accident, it’s that firearms are a ratings bonanza.

• “Allow competitors to vote each other out: We’re guessing that Bode Miller would be sent packing to his personal RV in less time than it takes him to chug a beer.

• “Don’t run from ‘American Idol’ — learn from it: Figure-skating judges [should] start giving their critiques out loud and on camera. Then we’ll really see some tears in the kiss-and-cry room.”

Winter Olympics thoughts

Amazing victory for speedskater Shani Davis. I don’t know how anyone can skate so fast with such a heavy chip on his shoulder.

Love the technological ability of NBC to match two skiers or ski jumpers (from individual runs) in one picture. I walked in while they were superimposing two ski jumpers and thought the Olympics had been moved to Brokeback Mountain.

Apolo Anton Ohno seemed gracious about winning just a bronze medal, but Bob Costas was awfully disappointed. If Ohno didn’t win, surely it most have been those nasty Korean tactics that denied him his due.

How do you say, ‘Do you believe in miracles?’ in Switzerland

The Swiss called their Olympic upset of the Czechs the biggest victory in their country’s history.

How wrong they turned out to be.

Switzerland stunned defending Olympic champion Canada on Saturday with a 2-0 victory that shook up the men’s hockey tournament at the Turin Games.

AP via The New York Times

Answer: Galuben Sie an Wunder? or Croyez-vous aux miracles?

(There are four official languages in Switzerland. About two-thirds speak German, 20% French, 8% Italian and less than one percent Romansch.)

It May Be Flighty, But This Sport Is Truly a Guy Thing

Ski jumping — in its pure form and paired with cross-country skiing in the Nordic combined — is the only Winter Olympic event in which women do not compete. There just aren’t that many at the top level. Maybe it’s because they have the good sense not to zoom down a ramp up to 70 mph, fly the length of a football field without wings, then land and come to a stop without brakes.
…

Ski jumping isn’t just a male thing. It’s an oddball male thing. You have to be a little bit different to get into this sport, which explains why among the competitors gathered at these Games you’ll find a Slovenian who owns a two-foot boa constrictor (Rok Benkovic), an Italian who kept his ski-jumping activities a secret from his parents until they read about it in the newspaper (Alessio Bolognani) and an Austrian soldier whose motto is “Only dead fish swim with the current” (Martin Koch).

J.D. Adande in the Los Angeles Times