Obligatory Olympic Post

So based on the fact that other networks were not backing down in the face of this year's Winter Olympics in Torino on NBC, I really didn't think I'd be watching much of the televised action (come on, "24" vs. Ice Dancing? No contest). Not to mention the Internet spoilers didn't help the cause. But now and again I've actually managed to tune in to catch some of the more exciting headlines of this year's games. By the time you read this, it'll all be old news, but I guess with the whole time delay anyway, it's already old by the time it's on TV.

To start, check out this amazing photo of a long hill ski jumper:

If you didn't see the U.S. lowlight of Lindsay Jacobelli's late-run tumble in the Women's Snowboarding Cross (one of the coolest events ever, by the way), you've probably heard about it since. The same girl who was so calm after her Visa check card had been stolen (worst Olympic athlete commercial?) clearly couldn't maintain her composure enough to win a race that was hers and claim the gold medal that was only one easy jump within her reach. Yikes.. there's some irony for you. Sometimes I don't know how these athletes do it. I kick myself over a near-win in text-twist (what's that last 3 letter word?? I didn't even know 'daw' was a word!), so I can't imagine coming so close to being the world's best and then blowing it. And then having to hear everyone talk about how you failed. And of course knowing randomite bloggers like myself are still talking about it. Now that's a guaranteed meltdown.

In other random Olympic excitement, I was at the gym watching some Saturday morning coverage when I was initially bummed to find the men's 12.5km biathlon pursuit on the little screen. Little did I know, this event is actually incredibly exciting to watch, and it even kept me on the dreadmill for nearly an hour so I could watch the race in full! You see, the biathlon involves a cross country skiing course (at a ridiculously high altitude, and mostly uphill, mind you) with intermittent stops where athletes have to shoot targets that are 50 yards away and sometimes as small as a silver dollar. It's pretty freakin' amazing when you stop and think about it. Anyway, the race that I happened to catch was extremely exciting from start to finish, with the Frenchman Vincent Defrasne barely edging out the favorite 5-time Olympic gold medalist Ole Einar Bjoerndalen from Norway. He even overcame a slip and near-fall with the finish line in sight!

Last thoughts: I'm not too crazy about the medals this year. The big hole in the middle of the medal makes it look kinda cheap, like what a little kid would make in kindergarten class and bring home for his mom. Oh well, I suppose it's still pretty special. I wouldn't complain if you gave me one. And at least there's a story behind the design.