Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
February 11, 2010, Washington Post

Winter Olympics are a chance to watch overlooked sports

The Winter Olympics, which start Friday in Vancouver, Canada, are one of my favorite sports events. That's because sports that are usually ignored are in the spotlight.

You should spend some time in the next two weeks watching the Winter Olympics.

To help you enjoy the spectacle, here's a quick viewer's guide to the 2010 Winter Games.

Must-see events

Alpine skiing: This is the most exciting two minutes in sports. It's so simple. The skiers point their skis down the hill, and the one who gets to the bottom fastest wins. Along the way these skiers will bounce over moguls, skid around corners and fly through the air at speeds faster than 70 miles per hour.

United States vs. Canada women's hockey game: The men's Olympic hockey tournament should be terrific, with five or six teams contending for the gold medal. But if I had to watch one game, it would be the United States-Canada women's game. These teams have faced each other in all 12 World Championship finals. As a rivalry, this is like the Yankees-Red Sox and Duke-North Carolina rolled into one.

Real races: One problem with the Winter Olympics is that lots of the races, including skiing, long-track speedskating and bobsled, are against the clock. I like events, such as snowboard cross, cross-country skiing (especially the relays) and short-track speedskating, where the athletes race each other. Those are much more exciting and unpredictable.

This year, the Olympics have added a new event: skicross. Four skiers race down the hill at speeds of up to 65 miles per hour -- at the same time. The races promise to have plenty of action, including crashes.

Must-miss events

Bobsledding: I know the sleds go fast and look cool. But every bobsled run looks the same to me. And the gold medalist usually wins by a hundredth of a second after four runs. For me, bobsledding is boring.

That goes double for the luge and skeleton races. As long as we are talking about the luge, I have a question: Why is there a two-man luge event -- where one racer lies on top of the other racer -- but no two-woman luge race? Shouldn't the women have a chance to look as silly as the men?

Moguls skiing: This freestyle skiing event, where the skiers bounce around the mountain like rag dolls, looks like a good way to break your leg -- or another part of your body.

Athletes to Watch

Lindsey Vonn: America's best skier may be the big star of this Olympics -- if she competes. Vonn, who has dominated the World Cup ski races leading up to the Games, is the favorite in the downhill and the super-G. But she said Wednesday that an injury to her shin might keep her out of the Games.

Kim Yu-Na: This graceful South Korean figure skater is the heavy favorite to win a gold medal. But watch out: No favorite has won the women's figure skating event since 1994.

The Capitals: Several members of the Washington Capitals hockey team will be playing in Vancouver -- just not all on the same team. Instead, they'll be playing for their home countries. Look for Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Semyon Varlamov on the Russian team, while Nicklas Backstrom will play for Sweden and Tomas Fleischmann for the Czech Republic.

Lindsey Jacobellis: This American snowboarder blew her chance for gold four years ago when she decided to show off on the last jump and fell. I bet she'll be more careful this time.

Apolo Anton Ohno: If America's short-track speedskater wins a medal, he will have the most career medals for a U.S. male Winter Olympian, with six. If Ohno wins two, he will break speedskater Bonnie Blair's medal record for any U.S. Winter Olympian.

Fred Bowen writes the KidsPost's sports opinion column and is the author of 14 books, including a football book, "Touchdown Trouble."

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