WHAT IF ELVIS MET ELVIS?
NAGANO, Japan — What if world champion figure skater Elvis Stojko were visited tonight — on the eve of his medal-hopeful Olympic free skate — by his namesake, the real Elvis? …”Uhhuh-huhhh, wake up, son. I gotta little sumthin’ to...
O CANNABIS! WHO’LL SMOKE A MAPLE LEAF?
NAGANO, Japan — Is it just me, or are you watching these Olympic Games and wondering whether you stumbled upon “MTV’s Winter Hot Tub Party” by mistake?You have aerial skiers with blue streaks in their hair, flipping like pancakes to rock...
Nhl Players In Dreamland, Unlike Spiteful Nba Brethren
NAGANO, Japan — I have this nightmare every now and then. I close my eyes, and I am back in Barcelona, watching Charles Barkley tell a packed audience that the NBA had arrived, so the rest of the world “should just take their ass-whipping and go home.”
I wake up in a cold sweat.
Like a switch thrown by Dr. Frankenstein, the original Dream Team spawned a monster too large to subdue. Letting multimillionaire basketball stars into the Olympics was like letting Imelda Marcos into the Athlete’s Foot.
In Man’S Loss, A Telling Lesson On Olympics
HAKUBA, Japan — To appreciate the scene — one man, leaping into the sky, soaring above his flag-waving countrymen — you must first appreciate the culture. Japan is a place where you do not stand out, where conforming is good, where joining is good. Those who dare to be different risk scorn and disgrace. There is an expression taught to the very young: “The nail that stands out gets hammered down.”
THE COLD TRUTH: AMERICANS JUST WEREN’T BORN TO LUGE
NAGANO, Japan — Howard Cosell, who was never a fan of the Winter Olympics, saved some of his most biting insults for the luge. According to legend, he once watched a colleague broadcasting the event and was prompted to snort — in his nasal, staccato...
FAST TALKING NOT THAT EASY WITH A RING IN YOUR TONGUE
NAGANO, Japan — People like us, by that I mean Americans, by that I mean American sports writers, by that I mean sports writers who only drop in on winter sports once every four years, should be eased into it slowly. No shocks. No jolts.So why does this...
JAPANESE WON’T GIVE ‘NO’ FOR AN ANSWER
NAGANO, Japan — So now I am in Japan, where the answer is always “yes.” I learned this Friday night — or maybe it was Tuesday night, I’m so mixed up by this point — long after dark, when I had been traveling for 20 hours and found...
Blind Faith: Why I Love The Olympics
EN ROUTE TO NAGANO, JAPAN — I wave good-bye to the lucky ones, the ones who get to see the Winter Olympics.
“So long,” I say to my buddy with the big-screen TV, as I board the plane for Japan, “enjoy the event.”
“You, too,” he says, waving.
“Lucky stiff,” I mumble.
I should not feel envy, but I feel envy. I am jealous of their luck. I am jealous of their good fortune. Mostly, I am jealous of their seat.
“Don’t forget to tell me what happens,” I yell to my buddy who owns a sports bar. “I want details.”
PISTONS SHIFT GEARSCOLLINS’ METHODS WORKED, THEN THEY GOT TIRED
When Doug Collins called his Pistons players together, they all knew it was the last time. They knew he was fired. They knew this was good-bye. Were they sad? Sympathetic? Well, some of them sarcastically took bets as to whether he would cry.That tells you all you...Stay Connected
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