Anyone who knows me knows I am somewhat of a sports guy, and every four years comes one of my favorite sporting events. No, it is not the World Cup. It is the Winter Olympics. The first Olympics I remember watching were Sarajevo’s games in 1984. The first real games I remember, however, were Calgary ’88. In those games, I fell in love with the speed and excitement of the Winter sports. There are a few of those sports from which I cannot take my eyes. They are: Nordic skiing, Nordic combined, biathlon and ski jumping.

Who the hell knows why I became addicted to those sports, but I have fond memories of watching them as a little kid. I’d plop down in front of the television and wait for the events. My father would always help me out and make sure he told me what days the sports would be on the TV, and then, I’d wait.

Why would I wait? It was because the Olympic coverage was all night long. Maybe I am remembering it wrong, but it seems NBC’s coverage of the 2006 games is really lacking. Of course, I am biased toward my favorite sports, but I think NBC has gotten a little out of touch with the coverage.

Or have we as a country gotten out of touch? Have the Olympics become just another event? Look at the numbers; “American Idol” is killing in ratings. The Olympics are struggling. What is it that is making the ratings so low?

I guess I’ll just throw out some random theories. Tape delay in the Internet age and information society is completely stupid. There is absolutely no reason to tape-delay broadcasts. So there is no reason for people to watch the events anymore.

Maybe it is the “Ameri-centric” coverage? Hello. NBC? Do you even realize that there are other countries in the world other than the U.S.? I can’t imagine the CBC doing coverage only on Canadian athletes, or covering sports where only the Canadians have a chance at gold. And Eurosport has a built-in reason to cover more countries. And the BBC is one of the best news outlets no matter the subject. Hmmmm. BBC or NBC? You pick the better newsroom.

And speaking of Americans…I am sick of the sappy stories. I don’t care whose parents died when they were children, or who is adopted, or who blew their knee out or who crashed while training. Yes, Kildow crashed! Yes, we know she was our best chance at a medal in Women’s downhill! Now quit telling us about it and show the Austrians.

24/7 coverage of curling on USA Network. Yes. Curling. What the hell NBC? What test audience said, “Yes, more curling coverage.” OK, maybe I am out of touch, then. Is that the case? Are the ad dollars there for a ton of curling coverage but not there for live, unedited coverage of downhill skiing or ski jumping?

Too many channels available? Are there simply too many channels available to Americans? Is this why? Would we rather watch wire-to-wire coverage of “Law and Order” on TNT than watch biathlon? Perhaps.

So, why not cater to the “Tivo Crowd” when Vancouver 2010 rolls around? Show the events live all day and wire-to-wire and let people watch them on their own. Wait, wait, wait. What am I thinking? Ad dollars! THAT will never happen. I guess we can expect more of the same from NBC and the Olympics.

For a little fun, y’all should see this. It will open Real Player if you have it. It runs about 10 min.

How To Ski Jump A Mini