[spyderman]

I'm a fan of skiing. I appreciate great perfomances. I'm sorry, but these DQs are pathetic for someone this talented. The Olympics are the time for the great skiers to rise to the occasion.

Hermann Maier certainly performed. Andre Aamodt was more than impressive. I was shocked at Maier's performance. He almost stole the GS from Aamodt.

Regardless of what he has done on the World Cup circuit, Bode may just be a blip on the radar if he doesn't medal during these games. Great skiers rise to the occasion. The Mahre bros were always there. They may not have always been the most talented, but they always wanted to win.

If Bode's persona is that he could care less about winning a medal, then the results are certainly proof. Who ever wants it most usually wins. It's at the heart of what it means to be a champion. Thus far, all Bode has proven is that he likes to run into gates, I mean bars...

Perhaps Bode's Vancouver slot would be better utilized by someone who really wants to win?

 

[filtersweep]

Win? How about finish?

 

[carver]

that a little harsh....believe it, he wants to win

bode has won a buckletoad of races the last few years. the man not ony wants to win - he wins - dozens of races on the world cup. a superb feat. the man can turn, glide, do it all. that said, this world cup season he has had a world of trouble with the technical events. he has not found any rythym at all. imo, he is pushing too hard, yes, even the best guys in the world press. he's pinching his line. when you pinch your line, even the fastest guys in the world have trouble finding the line again. you will never hear bode mention injury or put blame on anything but his own shoulders or this case not say anything at all. rumor has it he has had a knee injury going on for some time. look how straight up his posture is - very unusual for bode.

has he been a butthead leading up to these games, probably. is he handling the "being in the moment" olympic pressure, no. (witness the straddling the gate with his inside ski on the slalom portion of the combined event. he was inches away from the gold). he still has gs and slalom. he's got to let 'em run - its what he does better than 99.99% of skiers out there.

fwiw - darron rhalves was a pre-games favorite in both dh and super-g. no medals for the man who has been one of the dominant skiers on the world cup this season. its brutal.

the fact is there are a dozen guys just one scrubbed turn away from the podium. olympic glory is reserved for a few.

cheers--

 

[magnolialover]

As others...

I'm a fan of skiing. I appreciate great perfomances. I'm sorry, but these DQs are pathetic for someone this talented. The Olympics are the time for the great skiers to rise to the occasion.

Hermann Maier certainly performed. Andre Aamodt was more than impressive. I was shocked at Maier's performance. He almost stole the GS from Aamodt.

Regardless of what he has done on the World Cup circuit, Bode may just be a blip on the radar if he doesn't medal during these games. Great skiers rise to the occasion. The Mahre bros were always there. They may not have always been the most talented, but they always wanted to win.

If Bode's persona is that he could care less about winning a medal, then the results are certainly proof. Who ever wants it most usually wins. It's at the heart of what it means to be a champion. Thus far, all Bode has proven is that he likes to run into gates, I mean bars...

Perhaps Bode's Vancouver slot would be better utilized by someone who really wants to win?

As others have said, Miller has won bucketloads of races. He is the winningest US ski racer, ever. So to say he doesn't want to win, even though his little sound bit interviews says he doesn't care, oh, he cares.

Anyway, he stunk it up on the Super-G, and that's all there is to it. He took too tight of a line in the interest of being fast, and it cost him. Little mental lapses like that, are no good, no good at all. He didn't have a mental lapse in the combined, he just simply missed a gate that he thought that he had. He did finish well in the DH, but still didn't medal. Now, we're looking at 2 more events, and well, I hope he can pull something out of this. He has medaled in the Olympics before though. The Maher brothers were a joke compared to the big wins that Bode has had (the man is overall world cup champion after all). I'll be looking for him to do something great in the GS.

 

[carver]

well put mag....

As others have said, Miller has won bucketloads of races. He is the winningest US ski racer, ever. So to say he doesn't want to win, even though his little sound bit interviews says he doesn't care, oh, he cares.

Anyway, he stunk it up on the Super-G, and that's all there is to it. He took too tight of a line in the interest of being fast, and it cost him. Little mental lapses like that, are no good, no good at all. He didn't have a mental lapse in the combined, he just simply missed a gate that he thought that he had. He did finish well in the DH, but still didn't medal. Now, we're looking at 2 more events, and well, I hope he can pull something out of this. He has medaled in the Olympics before though. The Maher brothers were a joke compared to the big wins that Bode has had (the man is overall world cup champion after all). I'll be looking for him to do something great in the GS.

I do think missing the gate with his right ski was a mental lapse (manifested in a physical error) - goes back to the pressing thing. yep, in the dh, bode and and the 2-3-4 guys ahead of him all skied well but each scrubbed a turn or two. the french guy who won the gold, he was definitely the man on that day.

sorta like being ready for the last 200 meters of a sprint and being so ready to explode on the pedals, you just miss it. but I wouldn't know about that......cough.

the super-g - well, yup, ugly.

what makes bode so incredible is he is not a one trick guy. phil mahre was a dominant guy in technical stuff but never won a speed race. steve won a few races but spent a good chunk of his career with injuries.

 

[magnolialover]

5th

Win? How about finish?

He took 5th in the downhill, that's a finish.

 

[spyderman]

He took 5th in the downhill, that's a finish.

And that gets him a brown colored medal, right?

(Just kiddin'.)

 

[snapdragen]

And that gets him a brown colored medal, right?

(Just kiddin'.)

It's a chocolate medal you moreon...with a peanut butter filling.

 

[spyderman]

It's a chocolate medal you moreon...with a peanut butter filling.

Yumm...but I think it's shaped more like a Baby Ruth than a Reeses.

 

[eyebob]

Lay off my homey Bode.

Yumm...but I think it's shaped more like a Baby Ruth than a Reeses.

Or else he'll go all Granite-State on your A$$.

BT

Seriously, Shiraz.

Ha ha Shiraz you are.

BT (obviously)

 

[spyderman]

Or else he'll go all Granite-State on your A$$.

BT

Seriously, Shiraz.

Ha ha Shiraz you are.

BT (obviously)

Hey, wtf, I just want to see the dude win.

I'm startin' to wonder if it's 'dude' or 'dud'?

 

[snapdragen]

Not fair, you sittin' there getting skunked on Shiraz....

Or else he'll go all Granite-State on your A$$.

BT

Seriously, Shiraz.

Ha ha Shiraz you are.

BT (obviously)

 

[firstrax]

Or else he'll go all Granite-State on your A$$.

BT

Seriously, Shiraz.

Ha ha Shiraz you are.

BT (obviously)

Didn't we export him to Vermont at a young age?

 

[magnolialover]

Nah...

Didn't we export him to Vermont at a young age?

He came over my way to Maine, went to CVA at Sugarloaf, as did a bunch of folks on the US ski team.