Is Shaun White the only reason to watch the Winter Olympics?
By Tim Peterson
I don’t hate the Winter Olympics. In fact sometimes I think they get a bad rap. The downhill skiing is cool and the speed skating featuring American Anton Apollo Ohno keeps me tuned in. The Ohno story is actually pretty remarkable. It’s his third Olympics and he’s now the most decorated winter Olympian of all time surpassing former women’s speed skater Bonnie Blair.
Anytime the U.S. Hockey team wins it’s great however it seems like the victories have been few and far between since the Miracle on Ice team of 1980. The Americans 5-3 win over Canada on Sunday night didn’t really bring back memories of that team but it did put the United States in prime position for a medal. A gold medal in the 30th anniversary of “Do you believe in miracles?” would be kind of cool.
Then there’s Shaun White. How can you not enjoy watching this guy? The long red hair, the ear to ear smile and the incredible acrobatic moves he performs on a snowboard are unbelievable. White almost single handedly, to me anyway, has made the Olympics worth watching.
NBC has done a good job overall. They’ve taken their share of criticism but their coverage has been solid for the most part. Bob Costas is better than the average host and an experienced announcing team led by Al Michaels has performed well.
Some of the hard core hockey fans have complained that most of the games, including the USA – Canada contest, have been on MSNBC. But let’s face it. NBC is not going to spend three hours of programming on a single hockey game when they can jump around to several different events during that same time frame.
The ratings have been huge for events like downhill skiing, speed skating and even figure skating. They received a 16 share during one span while hockey got a 7 at the same time. You and I may like hockey but our moms are partial to the other events.
Of course the Winter Olympics does have a down side. Who invented ice dancing? There are no real difficult or athletic moves. It’s basically a couple dancing…on ice…and not very well.
There are no triple toe loops or double axels, (that’s weird that I know those skating terms), but just a couple of people doing a tango on skates. And that same dreadful music that plays over and over again. Ice dancing should be replaced with broom ball. You know, that game where all the players take the rink armed with brooms and try to put the ball in the net. And high sticking is allowed. Now that’s a winter sport.
When I wasn’t watching the Olympics, I got out to see some CIF basketball. Although the Montebello Oilers Andrew Torres, went down, they went down swinging. They gave Upland all it wanted and were still in the game until late in the fourth quarter.
Andrew Torres did everything for Montebello and then some. The senior scored 30 points and personally did not allow Upland to put it away. Every time it looked like the Oilers were done, Torres would do something spectacular. Torres and junior Michael Carabes combined for 50 of Montebello’s 65 points in a 5 point loss.
Montebello finished the season with a record of 28-2 and a perfect 10-0 in the Almont League. Congratulations to Coach Marino Angulo and the Oilers on a memorable year. Antonio Worthy, who stands 6’11’’ and tips the scales at 295 pounds, is only a junior. That’s good news for Angulo and football coach Pete Gonzalez who still has time to convince him to play the line.
The only local teams still left are Burbank, La Canada, Baldwin Park, Keppel, Pasadena and La Salle. Keep an eye on Division 2A. Pasadena travels to Mira Costa for a showdown Tuesday night. If the Bulldogs win they play the winner of Baldwin Park at Keppel on Friday night. That would be better than anything the Winter Olympics has to offer.
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at tspeterson@yahoo.com
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