Lindsey Vonn won't be working as NBC commentator at Winter Games: Report

First, NBC lost Lindsey Vonn's wide television appeal on the slopes, now they have lost the dazzling Olympic skier's same appeal in the booth.

The knee injury that cost Vonn a spot on the U.S. ski team is also preventing her heading to Sochi to take part in NBC's coverage of the games. 

The network had approached the gold-medal winning downhill skier about joining its team of commentators in Russia next month, but her injury has left her unable to travel, reported The Sporting News.

Jim Bell, executive producer of NBC's Olympic coverage, said the network first approached Vonn about joining the booth when they heard she was unable to compete in Sochi.

"I don’t think she is going to be able to travel," Bell said Thursday, adding that they had been "in discussions" about a possible stateside role for the 29-year-old skier.

Vonn, the first American woman to win gold in the downhill skiing, underwent major surgery to repair her anterior cruciate ligaments 11 months ago. She aggravated the same injury at the end of last year, during a training session in Colorado, and again in December in France.

"I am devastated to announce that I will not be able to compete in Sochi," Vonn, who dates golfer Tiger Woods, said in a statement earlier this month. 

"I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level."

Vonn would arguably have been the biggest star at the Games, but Bell said the network wasn't too concerned about losing the popular Olympic medalist.

"There are plenty of established stars to go round, like Shaun White," he told Deadline.

"And there are always the unknowns. No one knew [who] the gymnasts were, but they became stars," he added, talking about the U.S. gymnasts at the London 2012 Games. Bell said NBC didn't expect to match its ratings for the 2010 Vancouver Games because of the time difference between the U.S. and Russia.

And there's still Lolo Jones.

The Winter Olympics are being held from February 6th to the 23rd, with the Opening Ceremony scheduled for February 7. 

Norway’s men's curling team introduces their crazy Olympic uniforms (PHOTO)

The Norwegian curling team likes to make a fashion statement every Olympics, but they may have outdone themselves this year.

The team will compete in Sochi, clad in head-to-toe zig-zags in their national colors of red, white and blue.

It's nothing new for these guys. Norway’s men’s curling team has always had a history of crazy pants. 

The good thing about men's Olympic curling? The return of women's Olympic curling.

The Sochi Olympics Biathlon Center has bi-toilets (PHOTO)

Russia has spent $50 billion dollars on the Sochi Olympics — much of it making sure everyone is safe from the global threat of in-country terrorism and invading foreign gay athletes. But this just might be taking security and team unity to new levels.

Here’s the restroom at the Sochi Winter Olympic Biathlon Center, as photographed by BBC correspondent Steve Rosenberg and retweeted by none other than former Russian chess champion and political rabble-rouser Garry Kasparov.

On your mark ... get set ... go! 

Seeing double in the Gentlemen's Loo at the Olympic Biathlon Centre #Sochi pic.twitter.com/a1HoilU9zn
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) January 20, 2014

It is a small world after all. RT @Kasparov63:the toilets in Sochi create sense of community! http://t.co/77fxG8duSD pic.twitter.com/o883PQwb4d
— Pat Walker (@PatWalkerWX) January 20, 2014

[sportsgrid]

Gay protester detained for waving rainbow flag during Olympic torch relay in Russia: Report

A gay Russian protester was detained on Saturday for unfurling a rainbow flag during the Olympic torch relay as it passed through his hometown of Voronezh, 560 miles north of Sochi, where the games will begin Feb. 7, according to The Associated Press.

Photos uploaded by his friends show Pavel Lebedev pulling out the flag and then being held by Olympic security personnel, who wrestle him to the snow as they wait for police to arrive.

Lebedev, reached by AP on the phone, said he was still in the police station and undergoing questioning.

“Hosting the games here contradicts the basic principles of the Olympics, which is to cultivate tolerance,” Lebedev said, citing growing homophobia in Russia as the main reason for his protest.

A ban on propaganda of “nontraditional sexual relations” that was signed by President Vladimir Putin into law in June has provoked widespread international outrage from critics who believe the legislation discriminates against gays.

In the wake of that backlash, Russian authorities have put limits on the right to protest during the Sochi Olympics, which will run until Feb. 23.

A presidential decree initially banned all rallies in Sochi from Jan. 7 to March 21, but Putin later rescinded the ban to allow demonstrations at venues determined by the Interior Ministry.

But Putin’s comments Friday were seen as further signs of intolerance when he appeared to consider homosexuality and pedophilia to be the same thing.

“We have no ban on nontraditional sexual relations. We have a ban on propaganda of homosexuality and pedophilia. I want to underline that, on propaganda among minors,” he said.

“We aren’t rounding up anyone, we have no criminal punishment for such relations unlike many other countries,” he said. “One can feel relaxed and at ease, but please leave the children in peace.”

Ashley Wagner gets spot on Olympic team — bumping skater who finished ahead of her

In what appears to be a controversial, last-ditch effort to force a particular America's Sweetheart on the country this winter, the U.S. Figure Skating Association on Sunday rescued its highest-ranked athlete, Ashley Wagner, by naming her to the Olympic team for Sochi while dropping Mirai Nagasu.

Nagasu was left off the women's figure skating team heading for Sochi — leapfrogged by Wagner —  despite finishing ahead of Wagner at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, reported USA TODAY Sports.

Wagner finished fourth on Saturday, behind Nagasu in third, after tumbling twice in her long program and appearing badly shaken throughout her free skate.

The USFSA defended its whimsical decision by saying that it made an 'objective analysis' before making the move.

That move set a fresh precedent for the USFSA, because the federation had never before bumped a skater after he or she placed high enough at nationals to qualify for the Winter Games. In the past, qualifying skaters from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships had only been bumped by the federation when injuries prevented top-tier competitors from performing at nationals.

This new judgement call begs the question — why even hold the competition?

Ashley Wagner

"We have selection guidelines that have been put in place," Federation president Pat St. Peter said. "This competition is not the only event that USFSA considers when selecting team. It's results and participation in events over the last year plus. She's got the top credentials of any of our female athletes."

"I'm at a loss for words right now," said Wagner, who was ranked No. 2 in the world by Icenetwork.com before her meltdown. "It just wasn't my night last night. I'm happy federation was able to see beyond one bad skate. I'm on cloud nine. Everybody's been so supportive these last few days."

Nagasu did not respond to text and voice messages left by USA TODAY Sports.

Mirai Nagasu

Nagasu was the only one of the top four women who didn't make a major error Saturday, and she said afterward that she hoped her Olympic experience would work in her favor. Only a 16 year-old in 2010, she finished fourth in Vancouver and, with her sparkling personality, bright smile and stunning natural talent, appeared poised to be the next big U.S. star.

"The only thing I can brag about now is that I 'm the only person with Olympic experience. So I know how hard it can get," Nagasu said Saturday night.

Officials here had made it clear, however, early in the competition that nobody was assured of a spot any longer, regardless of a finish. For some reason, they gave no guarantee even for the winners, which made little sense.

Gracie Gold, the new national champion, and Polina Edmunds, will fill out the women's team.

"The Olympics aren't just another competition, they're the ultimate dream," Gold said on Sunday.

It looks like Nagasu's dream was stolen away.

U.S. Olympic fundraising mittens made in China

Here we go again with the red, white and boos.

Less than two years after being criticized for having the U.S. Olympic team's uniforms made in China, the U.S. Olympic Committee has another wardrobe malfunction on its hands.

The red-white-and-blue mittens the group is selling to raise funds for winter athletes were produced in China.

Yup. A tag says "Made in China" right on the inside of the "Go USA" embroidered on the outside.

The USOC is charging $14 a pair for the blue hand-warmers that have the word "Go" embroidered in red on the left mitten and "USA" on the right. Also part of that left mitten is the tag, which says the gloves are "100% acrylic," ''One Size Fits Most" and "Made in China."

USOC spokesman Patrick Sandusky said the "official" mittens being worn by the athletes at the opening ceremony are made in the USA. They're also available to the public for $98 a pair on the Ralph Lauren Team USA website, which proudly proclaims its products are "Made in America" almost everywhere you look on the page for its official Team USA collection.

The foreign-made mittens are available at the USOC's official online shop of the U.S. Olympic Team.

The mittens are an American spin on an idea that started in Canada at the last Winter Games. The host country produced "Go Canada" mittens that turned out to be the hot item of the Olympics, raising more than $14 million for the Canadian team. Those mittens, which sold for $10 a pair, were made in China, too.

What should really outrage Americans is shelling out 98 bucks for a Ralph Lauren tag.

Thrill-seekers' 'Zorbing' stunt on Russian slope goes horribly wrong

An extreme sport thrill ride became someone's death trap after a Russian man and his friend went rolling down the side of a ski slope in a large inflatable ball and couldn't stop.

A video captured the final moments of the two men inside the giant polyurethane ball — known as Zorbing or globe-riding —as it hurtled down the slope at the Dombai ski resort, went off course and hit some rocks while rolling off the side of the mountain.

27-year-old Denis Burakov, a married father of two, was killed and his friend Vladimir Shcherbov was seriously injured after they were tossed from the out-of-control orb.



Burakov died on the way to the hospital after breaking his neck and spine while his companion was treated for cuts and bruises later released.

The operators of the sport which originated in New Zealand charge 300 rubles, or almost $10, for the chance to roll down the dangerous looking slope.  It is is done on grassy hills in warm weather areas.

Burakov's ride started innocently enough with a friend saying on the video,"Denis, you'll be like Jackie Chan in the "Armour of God" movie," according to a translator.

The ball rolled down its intended path but, after someone at the bottom tried to stop the orb, it goes off course, speeds up and hits a trail of large, jagged rocks before landing on a frozen lake.

Officials are looking into why there were no fences or walls set up at the bottom of the attraction to stop the runaway ball.

Russia plans on using the Zorb as a symbol of the Winter Olympics in Sochi next year.

14 Will Get You Bronze

By Tony Mangia

U.S. Gets Gymnastics Medal from China

Go back ten years. The summer of 2000. President Bill Clinton was still trying play happy couple with Hillary, 'Gladiator' was bloodying up theaters, and "Smooth" by Carlos Santana was unavoidable on any radio station. No George Bush, reality television or i-pods--yet. The U.S. Olympics women's gymnastics team remembers that year in Sydney and so, apparently, did the International Olympic Committee after they stripped the Chinese women's team of their bronze medal for cheating.

The committee took away China's medal because their coaches lied about the age of one of their team members--even though the IOC still has doubts about other teammates ages then and now. The grown-up eye make-up fooled officials for the past decade but not anymore. Dong Fangxiao claimed she was 17 years old in 2000 but was outed as actually being 14. In an interview, Dong stated she was born in the 'Year of the Ox', which was 1986. Oops...what? The minimum age for gymnastic competitors is 16. I still have a hard time rationalizing this policy or condemning it. Aren't the Olympics supposed to showcase the best athletes in the world? What's worse, lying about your age because you are a superior athlete or being penalized just because you are too young?

Remember Todd Marinovich?

Supporters of the age minimum, claim it prevents still-developing children from being abused and injured. Like these same kind of kids aren't filling up gymnastic 'puppy mills' all over America, never mind Russia, Romania and China. Just check out the soccer moms at Saturday morning matches or any suburban ice rink after school. They are filled with little Michelle Kwans who can skate as good as they can walk. Supporters use China--and other countries--as examples of stealing away youngsters with athletic aptitudes from their families and forcing them into tortuous sports camps. Strip malls all over the U.S. are loaded with these types of 'recreation centers.' Whether its ballet, gymnastics, soccer, figure skating, spelling bees or boy's football-- thousands of American kids are pushed to the limit by coaches or their 'helicopter parents.' Television commercials glorify moms and dads getting their little ones to the rink for 6 a.m. ice time before school and then more practice in the afternoon. What's the difference? That these exhausted kids get to plop down in their own room every night?

The IOC took away a 14 year old girl's dream for something she was probably coerced into. It's not her fault that she was better than most of the other gymnasts. Is it her fault for being that young and talented? A gymnast's life span is short. They claim a running back's career is fleeting--by 32, you're body is broken--only with a healthy bank account. Well how about being over-the-hill by 21. How many 30 year old gymnasts are sticking it off the uneven bars or competently dangling on a balance beam? Dominique Dawes, one of the benefactors of the medal switch, and a gold medal winner herself, was asked if this decision would inspire her to return to competition. Her response, half jokingly, "Oh wait, is there a maximum age?" Oh yes, in your sport, there is.

Which brings me to the Olympic men's (boy's?) competition. There's a 14 year old British kid on the Olympic diving team. Even Freddy Adu was signed to a pro soccer contract at 15. Olympic boxing participants cannot be pros--a good idea--but hockey and basketball players can earn a living from their sports and still compete. Fourteen year-old boys play basketball and box in the AAUs and don't forget about junior hockey leagues? Where's the continuity in the Olympics? Do minimum-age proponents think the kids they are 'protecting' still don't compete outside the four year event? Cheating is using HGH or head-butting--not training, practicing and competing while at your peak. How can you call someone world champion if the real champ's only infraction was being too young?

Curls, Lutzes and Sweethearts

The 2010 Winter Olympics began with the tragic death of a Georgian luger and continued with a stone faced Wayne Gretzky, torch in hand, waiting for the centerpiece symbol of the Olympics to lift it's malfunctioning fourth leg. They were lucky The Great One's teeth weren't chattering as well since this is the first winter ceremony to be held indoors. Good thing too, since there was more snow in Hoboken. The follies continued with host country Canada trying to upstage the magnificent ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Games in China. It is mind-boggling that the country that has turned Cirque De Soleil into franchise-style entertainment couldn't muster the theatrics to make this occasion memorable. A few skiers hanging from wires and a skateboarder sailing through giant Olympic rings followed the predictable entertainment. Who knew there were that many fiddlers and tap dancers in the Great White North. I would have gone with comedy--Canada's greatest contribution to the world. Bring out comedian Dan Ackroyd and character Ed Grimley, show reruns of SCTV's MacKenzie Brothers or even an Ace Ventura movie clip. Okay, maybe not Jim Carrey. They had to truck out K.D. Lang (remember her?) for the big show. Wow!
Who knew Curling would become one of the most watched televised sports of the first week. Granted, they were broadcast every day before Oprah and the only other thing to watch are reruns of Law & Order this and thats. Whiling away February afternoons with the gentle sport of giant rocks sliding on ice is both soothing and addicting to most stay at homes. If you watched, you are either unemployed or lazy so the idea of playing a giant shuffle board game is not a challenge. Think of playing it at your local tavern while chilling your mug of beer on the ice. How difficult is it to sweep a broom. Women who play it look like you average soccer mom or bar girl. Some one you could actually talk to and maybe get a date. Try that with any of the figure skating divas. The Japanese team and a few of the Brits were actually hot. Especially when they a screaming 'hard!' and 'harder!,harder!' One problem I had was the announcer's use of the telestrater. If any sport could use it and has the time during play, curling is it. It was barely used. How difficult would it to explain and show newbies the strategies of the game by drawing lines. Everyone stands around for five minutes so do a John Madden. Exploit it!
The best sports are the Ski Cross and the Short Track Skating. Ohno rules--except for the Koreans. Gotta love the rough and tumble aspects of those events but I never knew that Olympic hockey could be so good. I never watch NHL games but I think the players have the best names in sports--Gump, Satan, LeFluer--except when Canadian players give cute nicknames to each other. Shawn becomes Shawnsie and Burns becomes Burnsie. Take off the sequin outfits, quit the triple lutzes and talk like grown ups. Speaking of lutzes, who would have thought a quadruple jump controversy in men's figure skating would lead Russia's President Putin to almost start World War III. Olympic hockey action seems faster than the NHL and, just short of fistfights (not allowed), the hits are brutal. You think when a Czech Republic player slams a Russian into the boards he not thinking "that one's for my grandpa".
All and all I'm glad the United States isn't dominating everything. The 'USA! USA!' chant is tired. We're winning and NBC's biased and smug--lose the comfy turtlenecks and cozy fireplace already-- announcers never let us forget it. The downhill skiing is great but I don't want the next 'America's Sweetheart" shoved down my throat. Lindsey Vonn is great and seeing her bikini magazine spread is cool but any sweetheart of mine is not on a Wheaties box, she's lying in bed next to me.