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The blend of youth, athleticism, excellence and Turin fuelled the remarkable life Pier Giorgio Frassati. He died in 1925, but would have been right at home with today's Olympians in the streets of his hometown and in the mountains which he loved. St. Pier Giorgio Frassati(1901-1925) A staple of Olympic television coverage is the oftmaligned personal profile, the saccharine pieces that tell the dramatic tales behind the athletes. True enough, the drama often descends to melodrama, and the search for tragedy is rather forced. But on balance they are endearing to watch. Usually, the striking thing is not whatever calamity...

STOCKHOLM, March 2 (Reuters) - Sweden could lose their Olympic gold from Turin after breaking IOC sponsorship rules during their homecoming celebration three days ago, the Swedish Olympic Committee (SOK) said on Wednesday. The Swedish hockey federation showcased their own sponsors rather than those of the Swedish Olympic Committee (SOK) during Monday's celebrations at Medborgarplatsen in south Stockholm. IOC rules state that only Olympic sponsors are allowed during the Olympic season, which officially ended on Wednesday, despite the last sporting events taking place on February 26. "SOK will do everything so that Tre Kronor (the Sweden team) don't run the...

   Not Enough Buckwheat In The Pancakes! March 2, 2006 I’m surprised that this year’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race didn’t remind HBO’s Bryant Gumbel of “a GOP convention”.  You know those sled dog teams...there simply were not enough black Labs...err...I mean...chocolate Labs...I meant...just plain old Labrador retrievers.  Well...he still has time to take a shot at the complexion of the mushers.  When Gumbel belittled the XX Olympic Winter Games, was he really postulating that Blacks are a breed apart from the rest of humanity?  Was he comparing humanity to the canine world where there are admitted genetic and behavioral...

NEW YORK, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- The 2006 Olympics Winter Games was the least-watched Winter Olympics since at least 1988, it was reported Tuesday. Nielsen Media Research said an average 20.2 million viewers watched NBC's prime time coverage, with Thursday night's women's figure skating finals drawing the biggest number, 25.7 million viewers, USA Today reported. Sunday night's closing ceremony garnered the lowest number of viewers, with 14 million people tuning in, half the number registered for ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" finale. Analysts said because of taped coverage many viewers already knew the outcome of events shown in prime time....

President Bush met today with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in the Oval Office today, commending the Prime Minister for the stability he's brought to the Italian government and to applaud Italy's recent success with the Winter Olympic Games. This afternoon, President and First Lady Laura Bush left the White House and boarded Air Force One for a five day trip to India and Pakistan, where the President will discuss nuclear proliferation in the two countries and seek to ease tensions between them. PRAY for our First Couple.......for the success of this trip, and for their safety!Enjoy your trip to...

TURIN, Italy | Bode Miller was a bust. Mike Modano proved to be a big-time whiner. Chad Hedrick was too full of himself and Shani Davis came off as a guy who thought only of himself. Then there was snowboarder Jeret Peterson, who was enough of a screw-up that the U.S. Olympic Committee packed him on a plane and sent him straight back home to Idaho. As the Olympics wind down today, you can't overlook the American athletes who didn't comport themselves well at these Winter Games. But if you watch tonight's closing ceremony, you can rid yourself of any...

NBC OLYMPICS HOME PAGE Complete Olympic Schedule TV SCHEDULES usolympicteam.com Canada's CTV Olympics website CBC.CA - Torino 2006

SESTRIERE, Italy – Unbent, unbowed and ultimately unsuccessful, Bode Miller said in an interview yesterday he is skiing away from these Olympics on his own terms — content without any medals and impressed by the local nightlife. “I just did it my way. I’m not a martyr, and I’m not a do-gooder. I just want to go out and rock. And man, I rocked here,” Miller said in an exclusive interview with the Associated Press soon after he skidded off the slalom course in his fifth and final race, completing an 0-for-the-Olympics.

TORINO (AP) — Germany and the United States again won the most medals at a share-the-wealth Torino Olympics that featured more countries winning medals and more in double figures than ever before. Canada and Austria, among others, had their best all-time showing. Twenty-six countries — including first-time winners Slovakia and Latvia — earned at least one medal, up from a high of 24 in 1998 and 2002. And 11 countries won at least 10 medals — the previous mark was 10 countries at Nagano in 1998. (Related item: Medal count by country) The Germans and Americans repeated their one-two finish...

I'm happy the Olympics are ending this weekend. Little girls on skates and middle-class punks on skis and snowboards aren't my style of sports folk. Generally, if there's no ball involved, I'm not into it. Another thing I won't miss is this pretentious Torino thing. Very much in the snooty vein of all that Starbucks java jive - ventis, grandes, canticos and the like - the practice of using the Italian pronunciation of the host city seems gimmicky and phony in the extreme. Olympics broadcaster NBC does it, as do USA Today and several other media outlets. They're holding the...

TURIN, Italy -- Know this: Apolo Anton Ohno would like to go out and party now, and then soak up the admiration from fans at the Olympics and -- hey, who knows? -- maybe even get his photo taken with a Playmate. You know why he doesn't? He wants to win. He wants to represent this country with pride. He makes sacrifices so he can stand alone with that gold medal around his neck and hear "The Star-Spangled Banner" play. "I'm 23 years old," Ohno said. "I'd like to have a social life, but that's pretty much out the window...

NEW YORK - Halfpipe star Shaun White showed up for an interview with NBC's Bob Costas as an Olympic champion, the pressure lifted from his shoulders and clearly juiced by his new jewelry. So "The Flying Tomato" decided to test the power of a gold medal by trolling for a date with skater Sasha Cohen. Hey, what's the worst that could happen? Chicks dig a little bling, right? White's interview shortly after his gyrating ride to gold was a memorable television moment precisely because it was everything that NBC's prime-time Olympics coverage mostly wasn't — fun, spontaneous and infused with...

Streaker Runs Across Ice in Curling Match Feb 24 7:07 PM US/Eastern PINEROLO, Italy The men's bronze medal match Friday was interrupted by a streaker. Midway through the United States' 8-6 win over Britain, a man wearing what appeared to be a strategically placed rubber chicken ran onto one of the covered sheets of ice not being used in that session. He danced around for a bit but never tried to approach any of the players. Curlers probably feel a little safer than most athletes _ it's hard for intruders to run across ice, especially if they're naked. John Shuster...

Today, Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan accepts the Olympic Flag during the Torino 2006 Closing Ceremony at Stadio Olimpico. These are exciting times for all of us over the coming several years, because the next Winter Olympics will be in Vancouver, Canada in 2010! The Olympic Flag will be handed over to the beautiful city of Vancouver, B.C., which hosting many of the indoor events, and the Alpine events will be in the Winter wonderland of Whistler just a few miles away. Canada is a neighbor just next door, and this is an opportunity for the United States to show a...

1. Drinking and partying and competing don't mix.2.

Feb. 23, 2006 - Four months ago, Bode Miller sat across from me in the bar of a New York City hotel and shared his idea of what a perfect two weeks in Torino would look like. “For me,” he said, “the ideal Olympics would be to go in with all that pressure, all that attention and have performances that are literally tear-jerking, that make people put their heads down because they’re embarrassed at how emotional they’re getting, that make people want to try sports, talk to their kids, call their f---ing ex-wives—and come away with no medals. I think...

NBC OLYMPICS HOME PAGE Complete Olympic Schedule TV SCHEDULES usolympicteam.com

NBC OLYMPICS HOME PAGE Complete Olympic Schedule TV SCHEDULES usolympicteam.com

NBC OLYMPICS HOME PAGE Complete Olympic Schedule TV SCHEDULES usolympicteam.com Canada's CTV Olympics website CBC.CA - Torino 2006

NBC OLYMPICS HOME PAGE Complete Olympic Schedule TV SCHEDULES usolympicteam.com