Zagitova tops Medvedeva for skating gold

February 23, 2018

Well, it’s official: Alina Zagitova has Tara Lipinski-ed Evgenia Medvedeva.

It was at the Nagano Games in 1998 that Lipinski landed seven triple jumps in the long program, or free skate, to overtake Michelle Kwan and become the youngest Olympic gold medalist in the individual ladies’ figure skating event.

On Thursday night, with Lipinski calling the competition with Johnny Weir and Terry Gannon for NBC, another 15-year-old overtook her celebrated countrywoman for gold as Russia’s Alina Zagitova bested Evgenia Medvedeva. ...

She, Tonya

February 22, 2018

On the eve of the ladies’ figure skating free skate, my thoughts turn not to Evgenia Medvedeva – who may lose the gold to her younger spitfire of a rival, Alina Zagitova – or Canada’s Kaetlyn Osmond, who wowed her way into bronze medal position with a sassy skate to Edith Piaf; or even to why the Japanese women did so much better than the Americans, who haven’t won a medal in this event since Sasha Cohen in 2006. No, today my thoughts turn to Tonya Harding.

Of course, they do. Her knee-whacking rivalry with Nancy Kerrigan, complete with a broken skate lace, made this night in 1994 at the Lillehammer Games appointment TV.

Harding has had quite a year ...

We’re number one…oops

February 21, 2018

We’re in the home stretch of the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, and one thing is certain: The United States is number one…in mediocrity.

At this writing, we are tied with France for fifth place in the medal count with 13, behind Norway (30), Germany (23), Canada (19) and The Netherlands (14). This is a far cry from the U.S.’ record-setting 37 medals in Vancouver in 2010. ...