Banks Winter Olympics Blog - February 14, 2018

Banks2/14/2018 1:39 PM

The US is starting to chip away at the deficit, picking up a gold medal yesterday (no secret there). Norway stayed pat at 11 medals and the Netherlands joined them with 11 as well. The Dutch just absolutely smoke the competition in long-track speedskating, and there’s a lot of medals being given out there. They may be the country to chase until the very end…

On to today’s hero. This one is so easy. Shaun White put on a performance for the ages, winning the snowboard halfpipe on the final run of the competition. He landed back-to-back 1440’s to open his run and nailed his signature double Mctwist as well. Just an unreal run that scored a gold-medal winning 97.75. No idea how this wasn’t a 100 because it was flawless…

When Shaun won golds in ’06 and ’10, he was on another planet from the rest of the competition. He ~~got~~ EARNS so much air that it just wasn’t even a fair contest back then. It’s kinda like Tiger Woods bombing balls off the tee early in his career and turning golf courses into amusement parks. He set the bar so high and revolutionized the game in such a way that the next era of competitors had no choice but to match his strength and power. The same happened with Shaun White, and it caught up with him in Sochi where he finished 4th. So you can imagine how redeeming a triumph this was for him, especially after he suffered a brutal training accident in New Zealand a year ago. He certainly showed that emotion afterward, and he EARNED it

In other American news, the US women’s hockey team got their start yesterday morning, destroying “Russia” 5-0 and clinching a bye into the semifinals. They got off to a slow start, with only a 1-0 lead halfway through the 2nd period. This close call is a perfect example of how that game was going

Then suddenly the floodgates opened, as Jocelyn Lamoureux scored TWO goals in 6 seconds, setting an Olympic record. The 2nd goal was just silly. Get dangled!

The men’s hockey team is off to a good start as this blog is being written, 2-0 lead after 2 periods. They got a big help from a ridiculous save by defenseman Noah Welch to preserve a scoreless game

The US men’s curling team also got off to a solid start with an 11-7 win over Korea. Fashion, particularly the pants, was the big talk in curling at Sochi and the talk is starting to heat up again. The Americans kicked it off with these fresh clean whites. Claaaasic look that never fails.

Norway is bringing the heat with these festive pants today

Your daily Johnny Weir ‘do. This guy has so many looks in his arsenal I just can’t stand it.

If you were watching the men’s halfpipe event, you probably saw the Japanese fella get completely crumpled when he landed on the lip of the halfpipe. It was pretty tough to watch, and the kid’s only 16. He was stretchered off and taken to the hospital, but I’m glad to hear early reports are that there are no serious injuries. Just a lot of bruising. I believe it.

Make sure you check out my guy Donnie holding down the fort over in Pyeongchang. Here’s episode 2 with him snatchin some trout.

Donnie Does Olympics Episode 2: Trout Fest

Today I’m watching the women’s Giant slalom. Alpine skiing has been marred by multiple delays and postponements, so hopefully there’s no delay here. As I mentioned a few days ago, Mikaela Shiffrin had her coming out party in Sochi, and this is the Olympics where she cements herself as a great American Olympian. Not bad to look at either…