Bob Sledding 2026
We watch the Olympics all day so you don’t have to.
I’ve been spending a bit of time with the Alpine skiing events lately, and one reason is because NBC has added a couple of wonderful features to its coverage. The first I've mentioned, and that's its use of drones, for great overhead perspective as the skiers blast down the mountain. It adds a great depth to the race. But also, what I noticed today is that they now have a graphic on the right side of the TV screen that not only shows the map of the course and the moving position of the racer, but also shows how far ahead or behind first place the skier is at the various checkpoints of the run.
I enjoyed the Men’s downhill/slalom race – that’s a competition with two members of a race, one of whom skis the downhill, and the other skis the slalom. There was a funny moment when the Czechia downhill skier, Jan Zabystran, one of the best in the world, did his specialty for downhill portion. The announcer noted that Czechia might be favored in the competition if Zabystran had been allowed by the rules to ski both parts, because the other Czechian skier doing the slalom run was only rated #475, to which the announcer said sardonically, “And I think Zabystran can beat that.”
Yes, I actually watch curling. Hey, it’s the Olympics! And no, I don’t generally watch it at length, but I do watch for a bit. Part of this comes from the odd reality that when I grew up, curling was actually popular in Chicago, so much so that it was even broadcast on TV. It's also big in Wisconsin and Minnesota. So, it’s something I’ve always been aware of as a “sport.” (My dad, who grew up in Chicago for far longer than me, of course, always said that the reason that curling exists is that so guys can sit around and drink beer.) And in part the reason I watch curling is that it’s one of the two Winter Olympic Sports where, if I got a phone call, “Bob, we lost a member of our curling team, we need someone to help today!”, I would feel comfortable being able to rush in and participate. We’d be terrible and finish last, but I knew I could do it. I can walk on the ice and sweep it. (The other sport is the bobsled – and not because of the name, that’s just icing on the cake. More on why when the bobsled competition starts.)
I mention this because the U.S. mixed curling team, Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse (known as the "Corys" ) from Duluth, Minnesota, which I believe is the curling capital of the U.S., had an upset and defeated the defending Olympic champion team and current world champions from Italy. They next play for the Gold Medal. But they’re guaranteed a Silver.
But there's a part of their story that thrilled me. In listening to an interview with them after winning their match, it got mentioned that they first met to discuss teaming for curling at the Pickwick. "Well, hunh," I thought -- and no, it had nothing to do with the musical Pickwick and Harry Secombe -- "I've eaten at a restaurant named the Pickwick." But of course I'm sure that there are many restaurants named that in the U.S. It was a place that I'd occasionally go on a day off when I was a counselor at the oft-mentioned Camp Nebagamon. And we'd want to drive to the Big City, about 20-30 minutes away. The city closest was Superior, Wisconsin, but there wasn't much of note there, though its sister city was the Big City across the bridge over a nook of Lake Superior that took you into Duluth. And we would...hey, hold on, wait, a minute -- Duluth! The two curlers are from Duluth!! Oh, my god. I am 100% sure it's the same Pickwick restaurant, it was very popular. It wasn't fine dining -- very Midwestern, a dark interior, heavy furniture, solid food (in a video they say that their best-selling item is deep-fried hamburger with pepper cheese) -- but it was a comfort place, traditional -- "Let's go to the Pickwick." It opened in 1914 (really!), and is still around. In fact, to my amazement, it actually got a James Beard Foundation Award in 2007 in the American Classic category (that's a category for longevity of outstanding food and service for at least 45 years. The food, as a I recall, was classic and done well, but I have to believe "longevity" is core to its award. But still, the food had to be good. So, that's great.) Well, o joy. Okay, then, all the more reason to say, big congratulations. And go Team USA Curling! (And what the heck, go Pickwick and Charles Dickens and Harry Secombe.)
The U.S. women’s hockey team had another excellent game, beating Switzerland 5-0. However, they have a major game on Tuesday against their long-standing top rival, Canada.
There was an rhythmic ice dancing event. I didn't watch it. I did, however, accidentally flip to the channel where it was on -- and as I soon as I saw one of the skaters leap across the ice as part of the required tango (or whatever it was), I shuddered and quickly changed the channel.
Finally, Lindsey Von released a statement about her injury. She said she had compound fractures of the tibia, which will require multiple surgeries. Her statement was long and eloquent. Among what she said was, “I tried, I dreamt, I jumped.” And “Life is too short not to take chances on yourself.”
More to come...
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