Garbage Time With Gabe Leon: The Winter Olympics Redux!

Golden Moments

Here's a look at some of the most memorable moments for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver:

Apolo Anton Ohno

I'll just get this off my chest up front. I'm a hater. Have been ever since the media hype machine started pumping up this superstar weeks prior to the 2002 Salt Lake games. I'm not even sure why, really. I think I was just tired of hearing his name ... over and over again. Perhaps it was the soul patch. Or was it the bandana? Maybe it's the fact that he only spells his first name with only one "l".

Now I'm just nitpicking.

Whatever the case, here he was again, eight years later, speeding around the ice and chasing history in one of the most wild and chaotic sports of the Olympic games, short track, or NASCAR on ice. Coming in with five medals to his name, Ohno needed just one more to tie speedskater Bonnie Blair for the honor of being the most decorated American Winter Olympian of all-time. Although I wasn't a fan, he had my respect. And the sport had my attention.

The first short track final of the games, the 1,500-meters, lived up to expectations -- and that's an understatement. As the race for gold approached its final lap, Ohno was stuck in fourth place, trailing a trio of rivals from South Korea. With a South Korean sweep all but certain, two of the Koreans wiped out on the final turn just as NBC announcer Ted Robinson was in the middle of declaring a 1-2-3 finish for South Korea. Trailing only the leader, Ohno glided past the finish line safely for the silver while teammate, J.R. Celski, captured bronze.

Un-freakin-believable.

Ohno went on to win two more bronze medals, thus becoming the greatest Winter Olympian of all-time (in terms of hardware anyway). But the South Korean crash in the 1,500 is what I'll remember most.

Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso

When I was first introduced to Vonn and Mancuso, U.S. Alpine team teammates (a-hem), I wanted them to rack up as many medals as they could. By the time their events were winding down, I just wanted them to go away.

Let's begin with Vonn.

Fresh off the cover of Sports Illustrated, the media quickly dubbed her the Michael Phelps of these games with a chance to win five medals. Drinking the red, white, and blue Kool-Aid, I was ready for U.S. domination.

Then came the drama.

Just as the games were about to get underway, we learn about a leg injury and speculation begins. Will Vonn be able to ski in the downhill? Will she be able to ski at all? As nasty weather pushed the skiing events back a few days, Vonn recovered and pulled off the performance of a lifetime, winning gold in the downhill.

It was a typical Olympic moment where determination and perseverance trumps all. With such a remarkable story unfolding in front of us, I was ready for four more storybook moments such as this.

But the story got even better.

In the same event, Mancuso, who had been struggling a bit coming into Vancouver, emerges to win silver. It was a name most had forgotten until we were reminded that she was the girl who won gold while wearing a tiara in Torino, Italy four years prior. And just like that, America had another darling to root for.

Until the cat fighting began.

I'm not exactly sure when it all started. I just remember that the two didn't seem overly excited for one another at the medal ceremony. As we got to know these two, we learned that one had a good friend on the German ski team, while the other palled around with skiers other than Vonn. They were polar opposites we were told, and everybody began to see it.

In the most unique of circumstances, the personalities collided a final time during the giant slalom, Mancuso's premier event. With fog threatening to postpone the race, officials decided to speed things up by releasing two skiers on the course at the same time, about a minute or so apart. And wouldn't you know it, Mancuso was slated to follow Vonn out of the gate.

With all the drama preceding the race you knew something out of the ordinary was going to happen. And it did.

As Vonn made her way down the hill, she took a nasty spill near the halfway point and crashed hard into the netting, breaking a finger in the process. Sure enough, Mancuso had already begun making her way down the hill. With her injured teammate still sidelined on the course, officials yellow flagged Mancuso in the middle of her run, thus ending her race on the spot. It was a surreal scene to say the least.

Given a do-over, Mancuso, mentally spent and running on fumes, made her way back up the hill and tried again. The result: 18^th place. Although the event combines scores form two runs, the second coming a day later, Mancuso already knew her fate and broke down in tears.

In the days that follow, the two took not-so-nice swipes at one another via Twitter and other media outlets. It was on the verge of getting ugly. I'm not sure who said what exactly, because I stopped listening. I was tired of it all.

Looking back I'd like to remember the remarkable downhill performances by both athletes. Unfortunately I'll remember the tears, bickering, and disappointment the most.

Curling

Don't know the rules. I have no clue on how they keep score. Yet, still loved every second of it.

Lindsey Jacobellis

Even before the games began I was pulling hard for Jacobellis, the snowboarder known most for losing gold in snowboard cross in Torino after hot dogging it on the race's final jump and crashing a few short feet before the finish line. Although she managed to pick herself up and win silver, her race was forever known as 'the one that got away.'

Fast forward four years later to Vancouver, Jacobellis is once again one of the favorites to win. But similar to her story in Torino, it wasn't meant to be.

Racing in the semifinals, Jacobellis missed a gate near the top of the hill and DQ'd herself from the finals. It was a sorrowing story, but perhaps only for me, as Jacobellis ended up hot dogging it again on the final jump of the consolation race.

Here's hoping she has one more chance to win gold in Russia in four years.

Biathlon

I was watching the Olympics during lunch with a co-worker one day and the biathlon just happened to be on. So we parked ourselves in front of the TV for the long haul and watched as a buttload of athletes with unpronounceable names cross-country skied around the course. With nothing much happening other than snow being sloshed around by the skiers, we were patiently waiting for one of the leaders to start shooting something or ski jumping into the thin air. Turns out we were watching a cross-country skiing event the entire time.

Polar Bears

With TiVo allowing me to skip through most of the NBC filler, I took a break from the fast forward button just long enough to catch one of Mary Carillo's reports on everything Canada. Looking back, I wish I had watched more. The only one I stumbled upon was a story about this little town of 6,000 people that sits at the edge of Hudson Bay near the Arctic Circle. Canadatown, I believe. Yeah, that's it. Canadatown. To make a long story short, due to its location, polar bears roam around town during certain times of the year the way ducks conveniently walk around Oregon. However, there is one big difference between bears and ducks: polar bears might eat you if given the chance. There are air raid sirens that go off when one is spotted in the area, an 800 number to call if a bear just happens to wander in your bedroom, and of course, there are polar bear tours. It was a neat sight to see, and my little mention here can't even begin to give the report its due. All I can say is that it was good journalism, eh.

Hockey

Wow. Where to begin? I can probably write an entire column about USA vs. Canada hockey, so I'll just keep this short and say that these were three of the most entertaining hockey games I have ever watched. And when I say three, I'm including the women's game too.

The first men's game, USA 5, Canada 3, was as good as it gets -- non-stop, all-out action from beginning to end, ending with an upset victory for the visitors from the south. From that moment on you could sense a rematch was forthcoming. We needed a rematch. It just had to be.

In the gold medal game, the very last event of the entire Olympics, the eyes of the entire sports world were zeroed in on one game: USA vs. Canada II. With so much pressure and all the hype, the game lived up to expectations. There were comebacks, last-second game-tying goals, and overtime. There was a game-winning goal by a country's newest sports icon, and the host country captivating an entire nation with a 3-2 victory over a very proud American team. Hollywood couldn't write a better script. Simply amazing.

Nodar Kumaritashvili and the Republic of Georgia

Before the games even began, a dark cloud set over Vancouver the morning of the opening ceremony when news broke of a fallen athlete, Nodar Kumaritashvili from the Republic of Georgia. We all know the unfortunate story of this luger, and it saddens me to write about it now. Still, it's a story that will forever be linked to these Olympics, his winter games.

As that ill-fated day went on, there were reports that the team could possibly skip the 'Parade of Nations' during the opening ceremony. Rumors swirled that a too-distraught teammate had pulled out of his event. But as the opening ceremony carried forward, the small contingent entered the stadium as scheduled, following their country's flag with honor. The crowd gave a warm ovation; some of the Georgian athletes had the strength to wave back as to say 'thank you.' It was at that moment one could sense that it was okay to carry on. Moments later, the IOC president dedicated the games to Kumaritashvili and held a moment of silence in his honor. It was a kind tribute for a luger we will never forget.

Joannie Rochette

Similar to the Kumaritashvili story, Canadian figure skater Joanne Rochette was beset with her own personal tragedy when her mother died of a heart attack just days before her event. Still grieving, Rochette, the Canadian national champion and one of the favorites to medal, suddenly found herself standing on the middle of the ice, alone.

Then something truly amazing happened.

Inspired by the people of her home country and performing in honor of her mother, Rochette skated a nearly flawless short program. With each jump and spin, Rochette began to lift the spirit of her country as they seemingly had lifted hers. When the program ended, Rochette fought off every emotion before the camera panned to the stands, showing her father applauding proudly with a face full of tears. Even NBC analyst Scott Hamilton choked up during his initial post-skate commentary; there wasn't a dry eye in the house. I know for a fact there wasn't a dry eye in mine, as my wife got teary-eyed too, which in turn, well, you know ...

Rochette went on to skate again the next night, winning bronze, and was appropriately nominated to carry out the Canadian flag during the closing ceremony. The Rochette story was probably the Olympic moment of the 2010 winter games.

There were many other events that I'll remember, most of which will fade away in time.  But for two weeks, I was entertained, appreciative, heartbroken, and saddened for the many athletes of these games. It's memories like these that will keep me coming back four years from now.

Memories like the speedskater from the Netherlands whose coach inadvertently told him to change lanes when he was where he was supposed to be all along, thus costing him a gold medal ... the Turkish figure skater whose dad, all dressed up in red and proudly waving his country's flag, seemed so thrilled just to watch his daughter compete in the Olympic games, even though she was a long shot to win a medal ... the U.S. four-man bobsled team ending a 60-year gold medal drought on the second-to-last night ... and the U.S. nordic combined team that won the country's first-ever medals in the sport, with one team member, Bill Demong, caught in the moment so much he asked his girlfriend to marry him shortly after he won gold.

Proud of Team U.S.A. I'm sure, she said 'yes.'

Hell, I was so caught up in these games I would have said yes too.

Do you have questions or comments? Email me at gjleon@msn.com.