No llores, mi querida

Tuesday just became a good day to be at work or in class - today's women's biathlon relay will not include my favorite biathlete Magdalena Neuner. She withdrew citing fatigue, raising concerns that this will be her last picture on the blog.
The only other medal contested before 5 PM is speed skating's Men's 10,000, one of the toughest physical tests of the Olympics and also one of the toughest to watch on TV - consisting of two guys skating around a track 25 times.

11 AM PST - Speed Skating
The men's 10,000, the longest skating event at the Olympics, should be dominated by the Netherlands (Ellis Kunka/Cornballers). Sven Kramer, the current world record holder, has won three consecutive World Championships in the 10,000 and is my pick for gold. Kramer's world record is 12 seconds ahead of the best time of any other competitor, but he finished only seventh at Turin. If he falters again, Bob De Jong, my pick for silver, should win gold for the Dutch team anyway. De Jong won gold at Turin in this event and has three career world championships.

Another strong skater is Havard Bokko of Norway (undrafted), who narrowly lost this event at the 2009 World Championships. But my pick for bronze is American Chad Hedrick (Zach Chromiak/Banker's Club), racing in what is probably the penultimate Olympic race of his career. Hedrick won silver at Turin and holds the American record in the 10,000.
11:30 AM PST - Biathlon
Rock and roll went on after the Beatles broke up, and boxing continued after Ali retired. OK, that second part was false. Anyway, the women's biathlon will go on without Magdalena Neuner.

Each of four players on a team must ski six kilometers and shoot twice, once prone and once standing. The top two teams are Germany (Adam Claus/Ice Lugers) and Russia (Joy Sadaly/Olympic Ring Worm Wood Stock Market District Attorney). Germany won the gold at Salt Lake City but settled for bronze at Turin. Russia is the defending gold medalist and current world champion, but Germany won the 2007 and 2008 championships. Also Magdalena Neuner's withdrawal brings both teams down to zero athletes I have heard of.

My pick is Russia for gold and Germany for silver. I just can't see a team winning an event without putting their best four athletes out there. France (Zach Chromiak/Banker's Club) took third at the 2008 and 2009 World Championships and is my pick to finish third again. Sweden is a good bet to take another aluminum medal for Dave Spence's Paragons.

Biathlon, Skiing Medals Sunday Afternoon

Four Fantasy Winter Olympic medals will be awarded this afternoon. With two more biathlon events, John Binz's Norwegians could put Da Nag Dynamos even farther into first.

11 AM PST - BiathlonThe Men's 15k Mass Start is the only biathlon event that Norway's Ole-Einar Bjørndalen (John Binz/Da Nang Dynamos) has never taken Olympic gold in, and it's also a bit surprising that he doesn't have a gold yet in these Games. I'm picking that streak to end today. Emil Hegle Svendsen, also of Norway, is another favorite after taking gold in the 20k. I'm picking him for silver.

For bronze I'm picking the Austrian Dominik Landertinger (Brian Schwartz/Nordique Combined) to win his first Olympic medal edging out fellow Austrian Christoph Sumann. Michael Greis of Germany (Adam Claus/Ice Lugers) won gold in this event in Turin and is of course another top competitor.

12:15 PM PST - Alpine SkiingMen's Super Combined finally takes place today five days after it was scheduled originally. This is probably the most difficult race of the game as it requires prowess in both the downhill and the slalon.

Team USA (Ellis Kunka/Cornballers) will hope to continue it's unbelievable success in alpine and has four skiers entered including Bode Miller and Andrew Weibrecht, who already have medals. I'm picking Miller for bronze.

My pick for gold is Benjamin Raich of Austria (Brittany B./Buck-Toothed Rabbit Bitches), the world's top slalom skier. If he can keep things close in the downhill he should be able to take the lead in slalom. It's about time for the Austrian skiers to start validating B's #1 pick.

Carlo Janka of Switzerland (Joy Sadaly/Olympic Ring Worm Wood Stock Market District Attorney), who won two combined World Cup events last year, is my pick for silver. Ivica Kostelic of Croatia, the 2006 silver medalist in this event, is another threat. It would be quite a redemption for Dave Spence's Paragons after the Croatia pick was ripped on this very site yesterday.

1 PM PST - BiathlonAs usual I'm picking Magdalena Neuner (Adam Claus/Ice Lugers) to win the women's biathlon. The Mass Start is the final individual biathlon event of these Games. Magdalena is the best skier in the field but needs to avoid shooting errors to win.

Tora Berger of Norway (John Binz/Da Nang Dynamos), her country's first female gold medal biathlete in the 15k, is my choice for silver. German Andrea Henkel was the 2007 world champion in this event and I'm picking her for bronze.

Other contenders are Sweden's Helena Jonsson (Dave Spence/Paragons), the reigning World Cup winner, and Darya Domracheva of Belarus (undrafted), the 15k bronze medalist.

1:18 PM PST - Freestyle SkiingThe Men's Ski Cross is pretty hard to predict since this is its first appearance at the Games. Nonetheless it should be a pretty exciting event as it's rare we get to see skiers race against each other live.

I'm picking Michael Schmid of Switzerland (Joy Sadaly/Olympic Ring Worm Wood Stock Market District Attorney) to win gold. He's done well recently in the World Cup and also is among the most experienced competitors in this event.

Tomas Kraus of the Czech Republic (undrafted), a two-time former world champion in this event, is my pick for silver. Finally Christopher Del Bosco of Canada (Adam Claus/Ice Lugers), the defending X Games Champion in this event, is my pick for bronze. Andreas Matt of Austria (Brittany B./Buck-Toothed Rabbit Bitches is my choice to round out the final finishing fourth.

Wage-Slaves Toil Away During Medal Events

In what is undoubtedly one of history's great tragedies, regular business is still being conducted in the United States despite the four medals being contested today.

10:20 AM PST - BiathlonWomen's biathlon continues with the 15k. I could be making this pick with love goggles, but there's no way I'm not picking Germany's Magdalena Neuner (Adam Claus/Ice Lugers). She has a gold and silver already and quite a bit of talent which is obvious even to the casual biathlon fan.
My pick for silver is Helena Jonsson of Sweden (Dave Spence/Paragons). Despite missing out on an obvious chance to have two dots over the O in her last name, she's the reigning World Cup winner. Another Swede, Anna Carin Olofsson, is also a contender for a medal, but I'm picking Russian Svetlana Sleptsova (Joy Sadaly/Olympic Ring Worm Wood Stock Market District Attorney).

12:30 PM PST - Alpine SkiingThe Women's Super Combined will finally be contest today. The event consists of one downhill run followed by one slalom run using a shorter course, with the fastest total time determining the winner.

While we all know that American Lindsey Vonn (Ellis Kunka/Cornballers) is best in the downhill, I'm picking a couple of superior slalom skiers to upset her for the gold. With the slalom times typically more spread apart than downhill, I think that part of the competition will be the most important. I'm picking Vonn for bronze, a result that would no doubt upset her volatile manager Kunka.

Maria Riesch of Germany (undrafted, inexplicably), the 2009 world champion in slalom and the 2008 combined World Cup winner, is my choice for gold. Anja Parson of Sweden (Adam Claus/Ice Lugers), the Turin bronze medalist in this event, is my pick for silver. She is a former World Cup winnter in combined as well, and won the bronze medal in this event at Turin. Another contender is Kathrin Zettel of Austria (Brittany B./Buck-Toothed Rabbit Bitches), the defending world champion.

1 PM PST - Speed SkatingThe Women's 1000 meter should result in a win for the home team and more importantly, for Dave Spence's last place Paragons. Christine Nesbitt is a huge favorite for gold and is the world champion in this event. She's improved a lot since the Turin Games where she still took silver in the team pursuit.

The Netherlands' Annette Gerritsen (Ellis Kunka/Cornballers) finished just 23rd at Turin but is a much better skater than that. I'm picking her for silver. Another Dutch skater, Margot Boer, should make the finals.

Anne Friesinger of Germany (John Binz/Da Nang Dynamos), who won the bronze in this event at Turin, is my pick to repeat with a bronze at Vancouver. Beixing Wang of China (Joy Sadaly/Olympic Ring Worm Wood Stock Market District Attorney) is another contender, but she has never had that much success in the 1000 and I'm picking her to be off the podium.

1:20 PM PST - Biathlon
With only a silver so far in biathlon, favored Norway (John Binz/Da Nang Dynamos) hopes to get back on track in the men's 20k. I'm picking Norwegian Ole Einar Bjørndalen, the defending world champion in this event and the Salt Lake City gold medal winner in this event. He also took silver in Turin. Bjørndalen had an uncharacteristic poor shooting performance in the sprint which also doomed his chances in the pursuit, but he's a great champion and will come back strong with a gold.

I'm also picking a Norwegian for silver, the 2008 world champion Emil Hegle Svendsen. Turin gold medal winner Michael Greis of Germany (Adam Claus/Ice Lugers) is my choice for bronze. Another strong contender is Christoph Sumann of Austria (Brian Schwartz/Nordique Combined).

Women's Sports Take Center Stage

Alpine skiing's Men's Super Combined has been postponed due once again to weather issues, but three more medals will be given out this afternoon.

10:30 AM PST - BiathlonWomen's biathlon resumes with the 10k Pursuit. Biathlon is unique in that start times for the pursuit are determined by the finishes in the sprint, so the winners of that event can start with a huge advantage.

My pick once again is the six-time World Champion, German Magdalena Neuner (Adam Claus/Ice Lugers), starting second. She wom silver in the 7.5k Sprint and clearly has a lot of talent.
I think Sweden's Helena Jonsson (Dave Spence/Paragons), who failed to medal in the 7.5k, will come back to take silver despite starting 12th. Slovakia's Anastazia Kuzmina (Brittany B./Buck-Toothed Rabbit Bitches), who won the first ever gold for her country and for her fantasy team, is my pick for bronze out of the first position.

Also starting in the first five are France's Marie Dorn (Zach Chromiak/Banker's Club), Russian Anna Boulygina (Ellis Kunka/Cornballers), and Kazakhstan's Elena Khrustaleva (undrafted).

12:40 PM PST - SnowboardingWomen's snowboarding begins with the Cross Finals. The USA's Lindsey Jacobellis (Tim Lavoie/Fightin' Ovechkins), who memorably blew a sure gold in this event at Turin by trying a pointless trick, is my choice for silver again.

While an American gold would be another huge 16.7 point gold medal for Tim Lavoie, for gold I'm taking Canadian Maëlle Ricker (Joy Sadaly/Olympic Ring Worm Wood Stock Market District Attorney). How hot is that double dotted E? She leads the snowboarding World Cup and was born in Whistler, British Columbia.
My choice for bronze is Norwegian Helene Olafsen (Nordique Combined). Canada's Dominique Maltais is another contender to medal.

12:45 PM PST - BiathlonAfter running the 10k Sprint in poor conditions, competitors hope for better weather for the Men's 12.5k Pursuit. Like in the women's pursuit, start times are determined by the Sprint performance.

Norway's Emil Hegle Svendsen (John Binz/Da Nang Dynamos), starting second, is a heavy favorite for gold.

Frenchman Vincent Jay (Zach Chromiak/Banker's Club), starting first, is my pick for silver. Bronze is a tough one, especially for this prognosticator who just found out what events are in the biathlon a week ago. I'll go with the Ukraine's Andriy Deryzemlya (undrafted), starting fifth.

Norwegian Ole-Einar Bjørndalen was the favorite going into the Games, but he missed three shots in the Sprint and will start just 17th making him a longshot to medal. Still, he's the best skier in the competition and can't be counted out.

Also starting in the top five are Croatian Jakov Fak (undrafted) and Slovenia's Klemen Bauer (undrafted).

Biathlon, Nordic Combined Competitions Begin

Buck Tooth Rabbit Bitches hope to extend their lead as the Fantasy Winter Olympics continue Sunday with five medals being awarded including four in the morning/afternoon.

11:15 AM PST - BiathlonBiathlon will award it's first men's medal Sunday with the 10km Sprint. This sport is one of the most unique and challenging in the Games, combining the exertion of cross-country skiing with the precision of shooting. Here's hoping NBC devotes more than 15 minutes to this competition unlike Saturday.

The sport's all-time greatest athlete, Norway's Ole Einar Bjørndalen (John Binz/Da Nang Dynamos), is favored to take his sixth career gold medal. He won this event at Nagano and Salt Lake City as well as at the 2009 World Championships. Also I am a sucker for athletes with that crossed-out O in their names, so I guess I'll be picking a lot of Norwegians until China adopts that convention. Fellow Norwegian Emil Hegle Svendsen is my pick to take the silver. Unlike in short track skating, Da Nag Dynamos won't depend on their athletes not crashing into each other so two medals are actually possible.
While the top two Norwegians are in a tier above their competitors, there's a good group just behind them including my pick for bronze, Austrian Dominik Landertinger (undrafted). Russian Evgeny Ustyugov (Joy Sadaly/Olympic Ring...) is an upstart challenger who will look to give Joy Sadaly's squad her first medal. He hails from the great Siberian city Krasnoyarsk, heretofore known mainly for its mail order brides. And Norwegian Lars Berger, the third best biathlete from his country, could also be the third best in the world. Finally don't count out German Michael Greis (Adam Claus/Ice Lugers), but I think he's stronger in the other biathlon events than the sprint.

1:00 PM PST - Speed SkatingThe first women's speed skating event will be the long distance 3000 meter. The Czech Republic's Martina Sáblíková (Tim Lavoie/Fightin' Ovechkins), silver medalist at last year's World Championships, is the most consistent skater and is my pick for the gold medal.

The other medals are basically a toss-up between Canadians Kristina Groves and Cindy Klassen (Dave Spence/Paragons), German Stephanie Beckert (John Binz/Da Nang Dynamos), and Turin gold medalist Ireen Wüst of the Netherlands (Ellis Kunka/Cornballers).

1:00 PM PST - LugeThe men's singles luge competition, which began Saturday, will award its medals Sunday afternoon. The third run is scheduled for 1:00 PM PST and the fourth and final run starts at 3:10 PM PST.

The leaders after two runs are Germans Felix Loch and David Moeller (Brian Schwartz/Nordique Combined). Italy's Armin Zoeggeler (Zach Chromiak/Banker's Club) is third. German Albert Demtschenko, Austrian Daniel Pfister (Ellis Kunka/Cornballers) and Russian Albert Demtschenko (Adam Claus/Ice Lugers) are close behind in this sport where a tenth of a second means everything. I have to think the Germans hold onto their lead with Italy taking the bronze, which was basically the expected result before the first two rounds began.

The Canadian coach has been whining about moving the start of the course for safety because, umm, somebody DIED. With no Canadian finishing better than 10th in either run, hsi words sound like sour grapes to me and are insensitive as well.

1:45 PM PST - Nordic CombinedThis event which combines ski jumping and cross country skiing kicks off with the Individual Normal Hill/10 kilometer Cross Country event at 1:45. You have to love these events which combine two totally different sports. Imagine if ice hockey was like that. Hockey Combined, combining Offensive Hockey and Defensive Hockey. Alex Ovechkin would be terrible at that.

This is a wide open event. Norway's Magnus Moan (Brian Schwartz/Nordique Combined), ranked fourth in the world, is one of the best cross country skiiers but a weaker jumper. I think he'll hunt down his competitors and take the gold.
Frenchman Jason Larny Chappuis (Ellis Kunka/Cornballers) is the current World Cup leader and the favorite in this event, solid in both portions. He's my pick for silver. He's said he feels a lot of pressure from the French media, but I don't really believe in the psychological angles.

Finland's Hannu Manninen (Adam Claus/Ice Lugers) earned team medals at the last three Olympics. He's stronger on the cross country skiing side, but I think he'll take the bronze for his first individual Olympic medal.

Austria's Felix Gottwald (Zach Chromiak/Banker's Club), who already has six Olympic medals including two gold, returned from retirement just for these Olympics and is another favorite. American veterans Todd Lodwick, Bill Demong and Johnny Spillane (Brittany B./Buck-Toothed Rabbit Bitches) all have a shot to medal as well.

Of course, check back later for a preview of the evening events and other updates.

Day 2 Preview: Medal Rounds Begin

The Games begin in earnest Saturday with six medals at stake. Four of those will be up for grabs Saturday afternoon on the East Coast, although at this blog I list times in PST to make it seem like there's some chance I'm at Vancouver.

9:45 AM PST - Ski Jumping
The medal rounds of normal hill ski jumping kick off tomorrow's action. Favorite Austria is expected to give Brittany B.'s Buck-Toothed Rabbit Bitches an early lead in the fantasy points. Ski jumping was extensively covered here in the qualifying round preview. Unlike Alpine Skiing, this event is sure to go off as it's on an artificial slope.

11:45 AM PST - Alpine Skiing
Alpine skiing is scheduled to begin with the men's downhill. But the weather at Whistler has been terrible, with rain resulting in slushy conditions which cancelled training runs Friday. "If the slope remains the same as it is right now, there will certainly be no downhill," said race director Gunther Hujara.
The men's downhill is one of the marquee events of the Winter Olympics. It consists of a single high-speed run down a slope with a huge vertical drop of over 2500 feet. The event is meant to take place on basically a sheet of ice with minimal powder on top. I doubt they would run it in slushy conditions.

If the race does go off, Swiss skier Didier Cuche (Joy Sadaly/Olympic Ring Worm Wood Stock Market District Attorney) is the favorite in a deep field. The Nagano silver medalist is a seasoned veteran who is used to all conditions. He finished first in the World Cup in 2007 and 2008, and also took silver at last year's World Championships. I like him to take his first Olympic gold medal in the downhill.

Austrian Michael Walchhofer (Brittany B./Buck-Toothed Rabbit Bitches) won Wednesday's training run and is another veteran, a former slalom skiier who switched to downhill. He finished first in the 2009 World Cup and also won silver in the downhill at Turin. I think he'll repeat that performance and take silver.

If the race does begin in less than ideal conditions, this could favor Canadians Manuel Osborne-Paradis, Erik Guay and Robbie Dixon (Brian Schwartz/Nordique Combined). The Canadians have all had experience skiing Whistler in many different conditions. I think one of the trio will take the bronze.

Of course, the USA's Bode Miller (Ellis Kunka/Cornballers) is another threat. I think he was unfairly maligned for his performance at Turin, and will certainly finish in the top ten with a chance to medal.

Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal (John Binz/Da Nang Dynamos) is a name to watch throughout the skiing events, but I think the two-time overall World Cup winner is a better bet for the combined gold medal than downhill. Switzerland's talented contingent of Ambrosi Hoffman, Didier Defago and Carlo Janka are all threats to medal as well.

Remember, if you need to stop at the bottom, snowplow.

Noon PST - Ice Hockey
Sweden faces off against Switzerland in the first women's hockey game of the Vancouver Games.
Sweden (John Binz/Da Nang Dynamos) took silver at Turin in a huge surprise, on the way becoming the first team other than Canada to beat the USA. Sweden and Finland are expected to battle for the bronze this time around.

Switzerland (Zach Chromiak/Bankers Club), meanwhile, is basically a long shot despite being sixth best in the world. Although the Swiss finished 4th at the 2008 World Championships, there's an extreme lack of parity in the sport meaning basically the top four countries win all the medals. It's mainly an issue of popularity as Sweden has 2,888 women's hockey players while Switzerland has 735. I'm taking Sweden to win this game, 5-0.

Noon PST - Speed Skating
In an event which you probably won't see unless the men's downhill is cancelled, the Netherlands' Sven Kramer (Ellis Kunka/Cornballers) is a decided favorite in the men's 5000 Meter speed skating race.

How much of a favorite is he? If you bet a dollar on him to win, and he wins, you will win 20 cents. I will not go against odds like that. Sven Kramer is the reigning world champion, the world record holder, and the pick to win gold. He won silver at Turin but has improved a lot since.

Norway's Håvard Bøkko (undrafted) has a circle over the A in his first name, but I bet his girlfriend writes it as a heart. With a crossed out O in his last name as well, and a silver medal in the 5000 at last year's World Championships, that's good for a silver medal at Vancouver.

Italy's Enrico Fabris (Brian Schwartz/Nordique Combined) took the bronze in this event at Turin and also is a former world record holder, a record he held for a week before Sven Kramer broke it. I think he gets bronze again though it's really a toss-up over Bob De Jong of the Netherlands. De Jong is always a threat in any long race, but he's better at even longer races so I think he won't medal until the 10,000.

American Chad Hedrick (Zach Chromiak/Bankers Club) won gold at Turin and is a great champion who can't be discounted, but I'm guessing he's lost a step by age 32 and finishes no better than fourth. Also a threat is Russia's Ivan Skobrev (Adam Claus/Ice Lugers), the rare skater who's good at every event.

1 PM PST - Biathlon
It is 3 a.m. and I am not even going to pretend to know anything about the Women's 7.5km Sprint. I can report that the two skills involved in biathlon are cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.

Nonetheless, betting sites tell me that the favorite is Germany's Magdalena Neuner (Adam Claus/Ice Lugers). This chick looks super talented to me. Romance in Durango, indeed.
Keep checking back like I know you will. All rosters will be posted Saturday afternoon as well as previews of the evening's action. Results and the first standings will be posted Saturday night.