pjwasz

The comeback completed for the Czech Republic! After a miss by cm in the 8th, Norway makes one of their own in the extra end, GG.

Really interesting to see the communication between the English speaking Chinese coach, the English and Chinese speaking Fan, and Chinese speaking Ling.

In the four-person game might have made it with the extra sweeping, but just short!

Week in Winter #2 - United States  
March 11th - March 25th 
 
(WIP)
Since I missed the previous week, I am covering both in this post.
 
Alpine Skiing
Going back to last week, we had the finals of the Alpine Skiing World Cup in Are, Sweden. In this, and the overall, the US fared very well on the women's side, but not as well on the men's side.
Ladies' Downhill:
 

 
Men's Downhill:

 

 
Ladies' Super G:

 
Men's Super G:
No competitors
 
Team Event:
No competitors
 
Ladies' Slalom:

 
Men's Slalom:

 

 

 
These results mean that Mikaela Shiffrin wins the Overall and Slalom Crystal Globes!
 
Biathlon
March 15th-18th there was a Biathlon WC Event in Oslo:
 
Women Sprint:
 

Men Sprint:

Women Relay:

Men Pursuit:

Women Pursuit:

Men Relay:

 
 
This was a great result for our women, especially Susan Dunklee! A podium finish for her, just her 7th career, and coming off one at the World Championships last year. 
 
This race was also significant for the US as it marked the end of the 2 top biathletes for the US, Lowell Bailey and Tim Burke. They both have had great careers and have come close to giving the US their first biathlon medal. I loved watching these gentlemen, and their absence will surely be felt. 
 
There was a Biathlon World Cup event in Tyumen, Russia that was the following week and concluded the season. This race was boycotted by the United States because of continued suspicion of Russian doping allegations.
Bobsleigh
The Bobsleigh World Cup will resume 7-9 December in Sigulda, Latvia.
 
Cross-Country Skiing
 
 
Curling
 
Figure Skating
 
 
Freestyle Skiing
 
 
Ice Hockey
 
Luge
The Luge World Cup will resume in November.
 
Nordic Combined
 
 
Short Track Speed Skating
 
Skeleton
The Skeleton World Cup will resume 7-9 December in Sigulda, Latvia.
 
Ski Jumping
 
 
Snowboarding
 
Speed Skating
 
 
 
 

Team USA 2018 - Winter Olympics Schedule 
All times in PST
Day 7 (February 16th)
 
 
Alpine Skiing
Women's Slalom: 5:00pm/8:15pm
 
Team USA
Alice Merryweather
Megan McJames
Mikaela Shiffrin
Resi Stiegler
 
Thoughts/Background Information
1 race down for Shiffin, and it was gold. Can she repeat that in her best event?
 
 
Men's Super-G: 6:00pm
 
Team USA
Ryan Cochran-Siegle
Jared Goldberg
Ted Ligety
Andrew Weibrecht
 
Thoughts/Background Information
Jansrud and Svindal are the favorites in this, although Weibrecht was a suprise silver medalist in 2014. Maybe another suprise is in the works?
 
 
Cross-Country Skiing
Men 15km Freestyle - 10:00pm
 
Team USA
Erik Bjornsen
Noah Hoffman
Tyler Kornfield
Scott Patterson
 
Thoughts/Background Information
I would be shocked if we got a top 20 in this one. 
 
 
Curling
Men's
 United States of America vs Sweden  - 4:05pm
 
Team USA
John Shuster
Tyler George
Matt Hamilton
John Landsteiner
 
Team Sweden
Niklas Edin
Oskar Eriksson
Rasmus Wranaa
Christoffer Sundgren
 
Thoughts/Background Information
Here we go again with Shuster. He's got flashes of brilliance followed by sessions of incompetence. I don't know what to think of this one.
 
 
Men's
 United States of America vs Denmark   - 4:05pm
 
Team USA
John Shuster
Tyler George
Matt Hamilton
John Landsteiner
 
Team Denmark
Rasmus Stjerne
Johnny Frederiksen
Mikkel Pulsen
Oliver Dupont
 
Thoughts/Background Information
TBD
 
Figure Skating
Men's Short  - 5:00pm
 
Team USA
Nathan Chen
Adam Rippon
Vincent Zhou
 
 
Thoughts/Background Information
Well, it's time for Nathan Chen to prove how good he actually is. An easy medal favorite, he needs to recover from a bad team event to hopefully pull out another medal for the US.
 
 
Freestyle Skiing
Women's Aerials Finals - 3:00am
 
Team USA
Kiley McKinnon
Madison Olsen
 
Recap
These two qualified 5th and 6th in the second round of qualification. They have 3 final rounds, 12->9->6.
 
 
Ice Hockey
Men's
 United States of America vs Slovakia  - 7:10pm
 
[I don't want to type all of their names]
 
Thoughts/Background Information
Well, the last game was heartbreaking. An overtime loss to Slovenia makes this matchup essentially a must win. They need 2 more victories for a high seed, otherwise we could be facing a very strong team in the quarterfinals.
 
Skeleton
Men's Runs 3 & 4 - 6:30pm
 
Team USA
Matthew Antoine
John Daly
 
Thoughts/Background Information
Currently in 11th and 13th, they are outside shots for a medal.
 
 
Women's Runs 1 & 2 - 3:20am
 
Team USA
Katie Uhlaender
Kendall Wesenberg
 
Thoughts/Background Information
I don't know if we will get a medal here, but Katie can pull out some good runs.
 
 
Ski Jumping
Men's Large Hill Qualification - 4:30am
 
Team USA
Kevin Bickner
Michael Glasder
Casey Larson
Will Rhoads
 
Recap
Well, we aren't going to medal in this either. This is an experience event, hopefully we can get some to improve the team.
 
 
Snowboard
Women's Snowboard Cross - 5:00pm
 
Team USA
Faye Gulini
Lindsey Jacobellis
Meghan Tierney
 
Thoughts/Background Information
JACO!  The 5x(5-time!, 5-time!), reigning world champion has had some struggles with the olympics, going out in the semis in Vancouver and Sochi after getting a silver in Turin. Gulini was 4th in Sochi, and is an overall good snowboarder. Tierney is only 19, and is coming off a broken back. 
 
 
 
Speed Skating 
Women's 5000m - 3:00am
 
Team USA
Carlijn Schoutens
 
 
Thoughts/Background Information
Not the most likely victory for us, Schoutens is going to be going up against legends like Martina Sabikova. Claudia Pechstein and Ivanie Blondin are also medal threats, but not likely for Schoutens.

No problem. Just a thing in America that predictions about sporting events are bad luck, because then you "jinx" the athletes.
 
Sorry, didn't realize that didn't come through.
 

Team USA 2018 - Winter Olympics Schedule 
All times in PST
Day 5 (February 14th)
 
 
Alpine Skiing
Women's Slalom: 5:15pm/8:45pm
 
Team USA
Alice Merryweather
Megan McJames
Mikaela Shiffrin
Resi Stiegler
 
Thoughts/Background Information
Good news everyone! We actually skiied yesterday! Hopefully we repeat that grand feat and see Shiffrin try to defend her gold from Sochi!
 
 
Biathlon
Women's 15km Individual - 3:05am
 
Team USA
Susan Dunklee
Clare Egan
Emily Dreissigacker
Madeleine Phaneuf
Joanne Reid
 
Thoughts/Background Information
This is my absolute favorite Biathlon event, as it is the most grueling and demanding. Staggered start, best time start to finish wins. Miss a shot, 1 minute added to your time. Probably won't medal in this either, but this event can surprise.
 
Curling
Men's
 United States of America vs South Korea  - 4:05pm
 
Team USA
John Shuster
Tyler George
Matt Hamilton
John Landsteiner
 
Team South Korea
Kim Chang Min
Seong Se Hyeon
Kim Min Chan
Lee Ki Bok
 
Thoughts/Background Information
Game 1 for the Shuster rink, let's hope they get a W! They are coming into this in a pretty good spot, with some good results in major tournaments. High expectations for the now 3-time US representative.
 
 
Women's
 United States of America vs Japan  - 9:05pm
 
Team USA
Nina Roth
Tabitha Peterson
Aileen Geving
Rebecca Hamilton
 
Team Japan
Satsuki Fujisawa
Chinami Yoshida
Yumi Suzuki
Yurika Yoshida
 
Thoughts/Background Information
Well, here we go! I don't know what to think of the Roth rink. I am really interested to see how they perform.
 
Figure Skating
Pair's Short  - 5:00pm
 
Team USA
Alexa Scimeca Knierim
Chris Knierim
 
 
Thoughts/Background Information
Good results in the Team Event will hopefully lead the Knierim couple into a good spot in this Olympics. But this is easily the USA's weakest event. 
 
 
Ice Hockey
Men's
 United States of America vs Slovenia  - 4:10am
 
[I don't want to type all of their names]
 
Thoughts/Background Information
I am really interested to see how this college/AHL/ECHL roster will do. No NHL players for Team USA. Game 1 verses Slovenia will be a good test.
 
Luge
Doubles Runs 1 & 2 - 3:20am
 
Team USA
Matthew Mortensen
Jayson Terdiman
 
Justin Krewson
Andrew Sherk
 
Thoughts/Background Information
Only 2 runs for the doubles teams, and Mortensen and Terdiman are looking good after the training runs. Should be fun.
 
 
Nordic Combined
Individual Gundersen NH/10km  - 2:00am
 
Team USA
Jasper Good
Ben Loomis
Taylor Fletcher
Bryan Fletcher
 
Thoughts/Background Information
For Nordic Combined, athletes do a ski jump, and are scored accordingly. For every point your are behind the leader, you start 4 seconds behind them. USA aren't expected to medal.
 
 
Snowboard
Men's Halfpipe Final - 5:30pm
 
Team USA
Ben Ferguson
Chase Josey
Jake Pates
Shaun White
 
Thoughts/Background Information
Let's get it! Easily 4 of the favorites here, and we have Shaun White. Easy favorites for Gold.
 
 
 
Speed Skating 
Women's 1000m - 2:00am
 
Team USA
Jerica Tandiman
Brittany Bowe
Heather Bergsma
 
 
Thoughts/Background Information
Bergsma is once again the American favorite. She has won a world cup race this season, with Nao Kodaira of Japan winning 3. However, she won almost every race last year, so she is still a strong medal contender. Bowe is also a strong skater, but this is not her specialty.

Amusing interview with the Knierim pair:
Alexa: "I think the only thing could top this would be having a child on Valentine's Day."
Chris: *suddenly scared*

Amusing interview with the Knierim pair:
Alexa: "I think the only thing could top this would be having a child on Valentine's Day."
Chris: *suddenly scared*

to be true
decision on downhill is good, right, righteous
decision on ski jumping was sick, this shouldn`t take place from the 1st round...this was against all rules, those guys give their best for 4 years only to have the most important contest...like they did
no comments on olympism as whole

Team USA 2018 - Winter Olympics Schedule 
All times in PST
Day 1 (February 10th)
 
 
Biathlon
Women's 7.5km Sprint - 3:15am
 
Team USA
Susan Dunklee
Clare Egan
Emily Dreissigacker
Madeleine Phaneuf
Joanne Reid
 
Thoughts/Background Information
We have little to no chance to medal in this event. Dunklee might have a good shoot and get a little lucky. But I love Biathlon, so I'm still gonna watch.
 
 
Cross Country Skiing
Women's 2 x 7.5km Skiathlon - 11:15pm PST
 
Team USA
Jessie Diggins
Sadie Bjornsen
Kikkan Randall
Rosie Brennan
 
Thoughts/Background Information
Jessie Diggins has been phenomenal this year. Wells mentioned it, it'd be a shock if she didn't win a medal. That would be huge, as the USA haven't won a Cross Country Skiing medal since Bill Koch in 1972 in Innsbruck. Which is our only medal in the sport. However, I don't think this will be her event, as she specializes in the freestyle skis, and this race mixes free and classic. But she did outski Heidi Weng in Seefeld a few weeks ago. So who knows at this point.
 
 
Curling
Mixed Doubles
 
 
 United States of America vs China  - 4:05pm PST
 
Team USA
Matt Hamilton
Rebecca Hamilton
 
Team China
Ba Dexin
Wang Rui
 
Thoughts/Background Information
This is effectively an elimination game for both teams. This is crunch time for the Cheeseheads. They need a win and some help in the draw to get back in, althought that help is very reasonable!  
 
 
 
 United States of America vs Norway  - 3:05am PST
 
Team USA
Matt Hamilton
Rebecca Hamilton
 
Team Norway
Kristin Skaslien
Magnus Nedregotten
 
Thoughts/Background Information
Yet Unknown
 
 
Luge
Men's Runs 1 & 2 - 2:10am
 
Team USA
Chris Mazdzer
Taylor Morris
Tucker West
 
Thoughts/Background Information
Luge is a fickle, fickle beast. Our sliders are good, but at the end of the day, 4 runs total will determine who will win. Germans are the favorites, but the Americans might get a surprise podium.
 
Short Track Speed Skating
Men's 1500m - Heats: 2:00am, Semis: 3:21am, Final A: 4:28am
 
Team USA
J.R. Celski
John-Henry Krueger
Aaron Tran
 
In order to qualify: Top 3 in Heats, Top 2 in Semis
 
Women's 500m - Heats: 2:44am
 
Team USA
Maame Biney
Lana Gehring
 
In order to qualify: Top 2 in Heats
 
Thoughts/Background Information
Celski and Krueger might give some people a run for their money. Celski has been off and on lately, and Krueger is able to get some good world cup results, so maybe a podium will be in his future. Our women are looking to get past the heats in the 500m, and I expect them to do so.
 
 
Ski Jumping
Men's Normal Hill - 4:35am
 
Team USA
Kevin Bickner
Michael Glasder
Casey Larson
Will Rhoads
 
Thoughts/Background Information
We almost certainly won't medal, but hopefully these guys get some good experience!
 
 
Snowboard
Men's Slopestyle Qualification - 5:00pm
 
Team USA
Red Gerard
Chris Corning
Ryan Stassel
Kyle Mack
 
In order to qualify: Top 6 from each qualifer
 
Thoughts/Background Information
This will have 2 qualifiers of 20 athletes each. Top 6 advance to the final. Great chance to medal in Red Gerard, but this is going to be a tough one. Also a super fun one to watch.
 
 
Speed Skating - 3:00am PST
Women's 3000m 
 
Team USA
Carlijn Schoutens
Mia Mangenello
 
 
Thoughts/Background Information
Carlijn Schoutens, a New Jersey-born, Dutch raised skater, might get a medal as a young 23 year old, but I'm not sure if she will.  

Congratulations!

SVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!!

SVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!!

Maybe they meant the players are indeed, live, and not dead.

So 3 of our Ski Jumpers are from the Chicago area, very close to where I grew up. In other words, we picked 3 guys from the 2nd flattest state for ski jumping. 

http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/what-mixed-doubles-curling
 
This is how I know what the differences are.

Team USA 2018 - Winter Olympics Schedule 
All times in PST
Day -2 Recap
 
Curling
Mixed Doubles
 United States of America vs Olympic Athletes from Russia 
 
Result: Win

 
Thoughts
I'm quite surprised that USA won, I was expecting a close match with OAR winning. Hopefully this win gives Matt and Rebecca confidence going into tomorrow!
 

I'm quite fond of curling if you couldn't tell.

The first curling matchup is closer than expected!