Best of the Best

Sorry I skipped a day, but let's be honest, Wednesday was a really nondescreipt day for the Olympics. When the biggest story is a tied hockey game, yeah, maybe I feel OK taking a one-day hiatus.

The first few Olympians of the Day were rewarded for overcoming adversity, or for being the embodiment of the athletic spirit by putting in their best effort despite having no chance at victory. Today's OotD is a little different. Evgeny Plushenko is, without any doubt or debate, the best male figure skater in the world. He proved it last night, with a performance in the men's free skate that pretty much just blew away the rest of the competition. Put it this way: 11 points separated the silver medalist and fourth-place. Twenty-seven points separated Plushenko's gold from the silver of Switzerland's Stephane Lambiel. Quite simply, Plushenko reminded us that the Olympics, in addition to being a fun diversion from the normal, everyday nature of sports, it's also a gathering of the finest athletes in the world. People who, like Plushenko last night, are just better at one thing than most of us will ever be at anything.

Besides, he skated to the theme from "The Godfather." I mean, that should have been the end of it right there. I really applaud the rest of the competitors for not just quitting there. When a Russian is doing anything with mob music in the background, you're probably lucky to wake up the next morning without any animal heads in your bed.

By the way, no, I'm not happy with having two figure skating Olympians of the Day in such a short amount of time, but I don't think there's any arguing either choice. And trust me, unless Tanith Belbin loses a leg in the middle of her routine and still wins the gold medal, there WILL BE NO OLYMPIANS OF THE DAY FROM ICE DANCING. (And no, that doesn't mean I won't consider posting pictures of Tanith Belbin.)

Honorable mention: Evan Lysacek, who skated with flu symptoms and pulled off a very good routine; and American Seth Wescott, who made a little history by being the first-ever winner of men's snowboardcross, the only extreme-sport olympic event that really feels like it belongs in the games; and finally Australian Michelle Steele, who placed 13th in the women's skeleton competition less than 18 months after the Australian skeleton team was created. Kinda cool.

Also, I just wanted to direct everyone to the NBC Olympics site. My boy Petey is doing the yeoman's work over there, getting shit posted on a regular basis and keeping the front page fresh for the rest of us Olympi-philes. So go give him a few more hits, will ya?

And keep checking out Dan Steinberg's blog from Turin. There's a particularly surreal story from fellow Postie Mike Wise in there tonight (might not be the first thing you see by the time you get to it.)

And, oh hell, why not. Y'all deserve it. Here's what to watch for today/tonight.

• The big event in terms of an American story comes in the women's combined skiing final, where Lindsey Kildow tries to bounce back from a horrific crash just a few days ago. She's got a legitimate shot to medal here, even after the accident. That'll be on NBC in primetime (8-11 p.m.)
• I'm making you all watch curling. The U.S. women have their backs against the wall, and have to win their next four matches just to have a chance at the medal round. The first of those four matches will be shown live today at 8 a.m. on USA. Thank god I have DVR. Also, CNBC will have the U.S. Men against Switzerland at 5 p.m. Pete Fenson's the man, watch and you'll see why.
  
• At 11:05, USA will have the U.S. women's hockey team in a semifinal game against Sweden. A win likely puts the Americans up against the Canadians in the final. Also, it increases the likelihood of you getting to read a neat story about U.S. goaltender Chanda Gunn.