torino: day 1

kearney left behind after qualifying: "american hannah kearney , winner of last year's world championships and one of the favorites to win gold in moguls, failed to make it through qualifying Saturday after a mistake-filled run that left her in 22nd place."

all those dreams come crashing down.


our first golden moment: "leading up to the men's 5000m speed skating, i was struck by chad hedrick's admission of nerves in an era when no one wants to let their guard down. he cried during warm-ups, he twice went through his pre-race routine. no fronting here. the guy was a wreck.

when the race started, though, the nerves were gone and hedrick looked effortless in his mastery of the event, finishing two-hundredths shy of the olympic record. in so doing, he became the first american of these olympics to capture gold (and the first since eric heiden in 1980 to win this event)."

that's my boy!!


macartney edges sullivan for final downhill spot: "scott macartney edged marco sullivan by .26 of a second in saturday's training run to win the fourth and final spot on the U.S. men's downhill team for sunday's race."

one to watch?


fyi, if you want more info on this pic i took of ohno in 2002, click here.