February 14, 1976: Dorothy Hamill Wins a Gold Medal

February 14, 1976, 50 years ago: Dorothy Hamill wins the Gold Medal in ladies' figure skating at the Winter Olympics at Innsbruck, in the Austrian Alps.

A 19-year-old native of the New York suburb of Greenwich, Connecticut, she had won the Silver Medal at the World Championships in 1974 and 1975, and the Gold Medal a few weeks earlier. Still, in spite of previous U.S. Gold Medalists Tenley Albright, Carol Heiss and Peggy Fleming, she was not considered the favorite in Innsbruck. But she won, and became "America's Sweetheart."

Hamill was credited with developing a new skating move, a "camel spin" that turned into a "sit spin," which became known as the "Hamill camel." The bobbed hairstyle that she wore during her Olympic performance was created by stylist Yusuke Suga, and started a fad, known as the "short and sassy" look, leading to a contract with Clairol hair products.

The following year, the film Star Wars premiered, starring Mark Hamill. He and Dorothy are not related, and it appears they have never even met. 

She starred in the Ice Capades, and as late as 1993, a poll showed her tied with Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton as the most popular athlete in America, ahead of Michael Jordan, Joe Montana and Wayne Gretzky.

She has married 3 times, including to singer Dean Paul Martin (son of singer-actor Dean Martin), and had a daughter with her 2nd husband. As of 2025, she still appears in skating shows.

January 6, 1994: Harding vs. Kerrigan

January 6, 1994, 30 years ago: Figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is attacked while preparing to compete in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, at Cobo Hall (now named Huntington Place) in downtown Detroit. It starts one of the greatest "soap operas" in the history of sports -- if, that is, you consider figure skating to be a "sport."

In 1989, at the U.S. Championships, Tonya Harding finished 3rd. In 1990, Kerrigan finished 4th. In 1991, Harding won, while Kerrigan finished 3rd. In 1992, Kerrigan was 2nd, Harding 3rd. In the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, Kerrigan finished 3rd for the Bronze Medal, Harding 4th. In 1993, Kerrigan won the U.S. Championship, and Harding was 4th.

In 1994, a Winter Olympic year -- the 1st time it was held in the even-numbered year between Summer Olympic years, instead of in the same year -- both Kerrigan and Harding really, really wanted to win. It could be said that Harding wanted to win in the worst way.

After a practice session, Kerrigan was hit on the right leg, right above the knee, with a police baton. The attack was not captured on video, but its aftermath was, with Kerrigan sitting on the floor holding her knee, surrounded by attendants, and crying out, "Why?" over and over. "Why?... Why?... Why?... "

The assailant was soon captured, and identified as Shane Stant. He was hired by Jeff Gillooly, Harding's ex-husband -- in other words, they were already divorced. I won't get into Harding's personal life here, but that's some dedication to an ex.

Kerrigan had to drop out of the tournament, and Harding won it, with Michelle Kwan finishing 2nd. But the other skaters petitioned the U.S. Figure Skating Association to allow Kerrigan on the team anyway. Since 2 spots were available, Kerrigan was named along with Harding, with Kwan as an alternate, with the very real possibility that Harding could be disqualified.

The media firestorm was intense, and it has since been labeled an event that, had it happened during the era of social media, would have "broken the Internet." It meant that the ladies singles figure skating competition at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway would be among the most-watched sporting events in the history of American television, right up there with the most-watched Super Bowls, watched by more people than had ever watched a baseball game or a basketball game.

Harding had her own moment of tears when she had a problem with the laces on her skates, and could be heard begging for a re-skate: "Please!" She was awarded it, but she only finished 8th.

Say what you want about Tonya, but Karma can be a real bitch.

Kerrigan gave what she thought was the best performance of her life, and the American media, obviously wanting her to win, was nearly unanimous in its belief that she should have won the Gold Medal. She didn't: In a very close decision, the Gold Medal was awarded to Oksana Baiul of Ukraine. In other words: After all that, neither Kerrigan nor Harding won the Gold. No American did.

It looks as though gymnast McKayla Maroney,

born the next year, copied Nancy Kerrigan's facial expression.

But McKayla has an Olympic Gold Medal, while Nancy doesn't.

The fact that the final result of figure skating competitions is dependent upon judges, rather than tangible results like time, distance, or runs or points scored, is the reason I believe that, however athletic and artistic it might be, figure skating is not a sport.

Kerrigan and Harding both turned professional after the Olympics, but Kerrigan was in demand on the pro skating circuit, and Harding was not. The USFSA banned her for life.

Harding denied any involvement in the planning of the attack, but later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hinder the prosecution. She served no jail time. Gilooly made a plea deal, ratting the others out, publicly apologized to Kerrigan, admitting that, "Any apology coming from me rings hollow," and served 2 years.

As of January 6, 2022, Kerrigan is 52 years old, married to her former manager, with 2 sons and a daughter. Harding, 51, is married for the 3rd time, and has a son with her 3rd husband. Baiul, 44, moved to the U.S. shortly after the Olympics, eventually settling in the suburbs of Philadelphia. She is married to her former manager, and has a daughter.

Harding competed on Celebrity Boxing, and did well; while Kerrigan, throwing all irony to the wind, competed on Dancing With the Stars, and was eliminated by the judges 7 weeks in. Baiul did ice shows until she needed to step aside due to a drinking problem, and became a fashion designer.

Although a native of the Boston area, and a Boston Red Sox fan -- she was invited to throw out the ceremonial first ball at Fenway Park for their 1994 home opener -- Nancy is not related to former Red Sox manager Joe Kerrigan. Harding is not related to 1920s President Warren Harding.

Figure skating remains the most-watched Winter Olympic sport on American television, ahead of hockey, although it has never again reached the heights of attention that it did in the Winter of 1994.

How Long It's Been: America Won the Olympic Gold Medal in Hockey

The 2014 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. Sponsored by Metamucil. Because they just couldn't seem to give a shit.

Yes, Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick probably prevented the Semifinal from being a 5-0 Canada victory. But now he knows how Cory Schneider of the Devils feels, not getting enough support from his offense.

In a previous post, I suggested that the Gold Medal we won in Lake Placid -- more specifically, the win over the Soviet Union to make the final-game win over Finland, and thus the Gold Medal, possible -- was not a "miracle," no matter how many times it gets called "the Miracle On Ice."

Regardless of whether you agree, look at what the U.S. team has done in subsequent Winter Olympics:

* 1984, Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (Bosnia): Won 1, Lost 2, Tied 2. 7th out of 12.

* 1988, Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Won 2, Lost 3. 8th out of 12.

* 1992, Albertville, France: Won 4, Tied 1, Lost 0, beating France in the Quarterfinals, losing in the Semifinals to "The Unified Team" (a last gasp for the Soviet Union, which broke up a few weeks earlier, but the team was kept together for logistical reasons, and it beat Canada for the Gold Medal). Lost the Bronze Medal to Czechoslovakia, this finishing 4th.

* 1994, Lillehammer, Norway: Won 1, Tied 3, Lost 1. Lost in the Quarterfinals to Finland. Ranked 8th out of 12.

* 1998, Nagano, Japan: Won 1, Lost 2. Lost in the Quarterfinals to the Czech Republic (after Slovakia split from them in 1993). These Games, the first in which current NHL players were allowed, were disastrous for the Canadian team, who flopped, but an uglier one for us, as our players were seriously misbehaving off the ice.

* 2002, Salt Lake City, Utah: Lost in the Gold Medal Game to Canada. We hung with them for 2 periods, but ran out of gas in the 3rd.

* 2006, Turin, Italy: Won 1, Lost 3, Tied 1. Lost to Finland in the Quarterfinals. 8th out of 12.

* 2010, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Again, lost to Canada in the Gold Medal Game, this time in overtime. Zach Parise -- then of the Devils -- tied it in the last minute of regulation, and it was very possible that we would do to Canada what they did to us 8 years earlier: Beat them on home soil, and what was a disappointment to us would have been a disgrace to them. But Sidney Crosby scored the Golden Goal.

* 2014, Sochi, Russia: Lost in the Semifinals to Canada, 1-0, and it never looked like we were going to score.

So the last Gold Medal for the U.S. hockey team remains the 4-2 win over Finland, in Lake Placid, on February 24, 1980.

As of this coming Monday, it will have been 34 years. How long has it been?

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Coach Herb Brooks has died, but all 20 players are still alive. One, Bob Suter, is the father of current U.S. player Ryan Suter, who plays his club hockey with the Nashville Predators. (UPDATE: Suter turned out to be the first to go, of a heart attack at age 54, on September 9, 2014.)

The Predators did not exist in 1980. Nor did the San Jose Sharks, the revived Ottawa Senators, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Florida Panthers, the Anaheim Ducks, the Columbus Blue Jackets or the Minnesota Wild.

The Dallas Stars were still the Minnesota North Stars. The Atlanta Flames were about to sign U.S. goalie Jim Craig, and then, in the next off-season, they moved to Calgary. And the New Jersey Devils were still the Colorado Rockies -- a name that now belongs to a Major League Baseball team.

The NHL was still in its 1st season with the 4 surviving teams from the World Hockey Association. Of those, only 1 is still in the same metro area, the Edmonton Oilers. The Hartford Whalers have become the Carolina Hurricanes. The Quebec Nordiques have become the Colorado Avalanche. And the old Winnipeg Jets became the Phoenix Coyotes, and will change their name to the Arizona Coyotes in the coming off-season. (The Atlanta Thrashers have since begun play, and have also since become the new Winnipeg Jets.)

At that point, the Oilers, the Flames, the Rockies/Devils, the Nords/Avs (unless you count the 1977 WHA title), the Lightning, the Whalers/Canes (unless you count the 1973 WHA title), the Ducks, the New York Islanders, the Los Angeles Kings, the Houston Rockets, the Detroit Pistons, the Chicago Bulls, the San Antonio Spurs, the Miami Heat, the Dallas Mavericks, the San Francisco 49ers, the Denver Broncos, the New England Patriots, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the New Orleans Saints, the Seattle Seahawks, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Kansas City Royals, the Minnesota Twins, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Braves since they moved to Atlanta, the Florida/Miami Marlins, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the team now known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and the Giants since they moved to San Francisco, had never won a World Championship.

The Isles, the Oilers, the Flames, the Pens, the Devils, the Lightning, the Canes, the Ducks, the Kings, the Rockets, the Pistons, the Bulls, the Spurs, the Heat, the Mavs, the Seahawks, the Niners, the Pats, the Bucs, the Saints, the Orlando Magic, the Utah Jazz, the Indiana Pacers (unless you count their 3 ABA titles), the New Jersey (now Brooklyn) Nets (unless you count the 1974 and '76 ABA titles), the Buffalo Bills (unless you count the 1964 and '65 AFL titles), the San Diego Chargers (unless you count the 1963 AFL title), the Atlanta Falcons, the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise (unless you count the 1960 and '61 AFL titles), the Carolina Panthers, the Royals, the Braves since they moved to Atlanta, the Jays, the Marlins, the D-backs, the Angels, the Milwaukee Brewers, the San Diego Padres, the Houston Astros, the Colorado Rockies, the Tampa Bay Rays, the Texas Rangers, the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise, the Vancouver Canucks, the Florida Panthers, the Washington Capitals and the new Ottawa Senators had never reached their sports' finals.

And (aside from the previously-mentioned NHL teams), the Magic, the Mavs, the Heat, the Marlins, the Rockies, the D-backs, the Rays, the old Charlotte Hornets (now the New Orleans Pelicans), the new Charlotte Hornets (formerly the Bobcats), the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Toronto Raptors, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Carolina Panthers, the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans didn't even exist yet.

As of Super Bowl XLVIII, those facts are no longer true.

The NHL of 1980 was in transition between the Montreal Canadiens dynasty that had won the last 4 Stanley Cups, and 10 of the last 15, and the Islander dynasty that would win the next 4, led by Denis Potvin, Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy and Billy Smith. Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, and their Oiler teammates were just stepping onto the stage, but by no means were they ready yet.

Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull and Dave Keon were wrapping up legendary careers. Bobby Orr should still have been in his prime, but his knees had forced him to retire a year earlier. His Bruins teammate Phil Esposito was then the biggest star on the New York Rangers. Canadiens Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson and Bob Gainey, Bobby Clarke of the Philadelphia Flyers' 1974 and '75 Cup winners, Darryl Sittler of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Gilbert Perrault of the Buffalo Sabres and Marcel Dionne of the Los Angeles Kings were the biggest players in the League.

In the NBA, the Los Angeles Clippers were still playing down the coast in San Diego, the Kings in Kansas City, and the New Jersey Nets were playing on the Rutgers campus, as the Meadowlands arena was just beginning construction. In the NFL, the Colts were still in Baltimore, the Cardinals were still in St. Louis, the Rams were still in Los Angeles, the Titans were still the Houston Oilers. In MLB, the Brewers were still in the AL, the Astros still in the National League, and the Washington Nationals were still the Montreal Expos.

The ideas of the NBA using international players, MLB using Asian natives, and the best players from Eastern Europe being allowed to leave for the NHL (unless they successfully defected, like the Stastny brothers of Slovakia and the Nordiques) were far-fetched.

Not one player on the current U.S. team, including current Ranger Captain Ryan Callahan, had yet been born.

Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller was born 5 months later; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik, 7 months later. For the current Canada team, which will play Sweden on Sunday for the Gold Medal, Martin St. Louis, Roberto Luongo, Patrick Marleau and Chris Kunitz had been born, but current Islander Captain John Tavares had not. Devils legends Scott Stevens, John MacLean, Ken Daneyko, Bruce Driver and Claude Lemieux were in high school. Martin Brodeur and Scott Niedermayer were in elementary school. Patrik Elias was about to turn 4.

Only the New York Rangers and Islanders, the Edmonton Oilers and the Detroit Red Wings are using the same arenas they were using in February 1980. In the NBA, only the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors are. The only MLB stadiums still in use are Fenway Park in Boston, Wrigley Field in Chicago, the Oakland Coliseum, Kauffman (then Royals) Stadium in Kansas City, and the Los Angeles area stadiums, Dodger Stadium and Angel (then Anaheim) Stadium. Now that the San Francisco 49ers have left Candlestick Park, the only NFL stadiums still in use are the Oakland Coliseum, Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Qualcomm (then San Diego) Stadium, Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Ralph Wilson (then Rich) Stadium outside Buffalo, and the Superdome in New Orleans.

In addition to the Canadiens, the defending World Champions were the Yankees, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle SuperSonics -- who are now the Oklahoma City Thunder. Muhammad Ali had retired as Heavyweight Champion of the World, the WBC and the WBA were recognizing Larry Holmes as Champion, while the IBF didn't exist yet.

Old-time hockey legends Aurel Joliat, King Clancy and Eddie Shore were still alive. So was Jeff Malone, who, with his brother, "Phantom" Joe Malone, played on the 1913 Stanley Cup Champion Quebec Bulldogs.

Of the current New York Tri-State Area managers and head coaches, Terry Collins of the Mets was managing in the Pittsburgh Pirates' minor-league system. Tom Coughlin of the Giants was the offensive coordinator at Syracuse University. Mike Woodson of the Knicks was at Indiana University. Alain Vigneault of the Rangers was playing for the Trois-Rivières Draveurs in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Joe Girardi of the Yankees, Rex Ryan of the Jets were in high school. Jack Capuano of the Islanders was in junior high. Peter DeBoer of the Devils was 11. Jason Kidd of the Nets was 7.

Since Lake Placid, the Olympic Games have been held twice each in America, Canada and Russia, and once each in the former Yugoslavia, Korea, France, Spain, Norway, Japan, Australia, Greece, Italy, China and Britain.

There were 26 Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. None of the Justices then on the U.S. Supreme Court is still on it. The Equal Rights Amendment was still pending, but expired in 1982. The idea that a corporation had the rights of a person was ludicrous -- but so was the idea that people of the same gender could marry each other.

The President of the United States was Jimmy Carter, but he was being besieged by inflation and high gas prices at home, and the Iran Hostage Crisis, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and OPEC abroad. Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and, to a lesser extent, Governor Jerry Brown of California were challenging him in the Democratic Primaries.

Brown's predecessor, Ronald Reagan, would swamp Carter in the election that November, and Carter's achievements, which were interesting, soon became forgotten. George H.W. Bush was one of Reagan's competitors for the Republican nomination, and would be elected Vice President with him, and would succeed him 8 years later.

Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, their wives, and the widows of Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson were still alive. Bill Clinton was about to be dumped out of the Governorship of Arkansas, although he would regain it 2 years later. George W. Bush had recently lost his 1st run for public office, for Congressman from Texas. Barack Obama was a freshman at Occidental College in Los Angeles, and Michelle Robinson was about to graduate high school. Joe Biden was in his 2nd term in the U.S. Senate from Delaware, and John Boehner was working for Nucite Sales, apparently believing the line in the movie The Graduate about the future being "plastics."

The Governor of New York was Hugh Carey, and of New Jersey Brendan Byrne. The Mayor of New York City was Ed Koch, about to face a transit strike, and not only beat but embarrass the union.

There were still living veterans of America's Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, the Boer War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Philippine Campaign, the Russo-Japanese War and the Potemkin Mutiny. A member of the RMS Titanic crew was still alive.

The current holder of the Nobel Peace Prize was Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu -- better known as Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The Pope was John Paul II. The current Pope, Francis, then Father Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was studying English at the Jesuit Centre at the Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy in Dublin, Ireland.

The Prime Minister of Canada was Joe Clark, but his Progressive Conservative Party government was about to fall apart, leading to the return to power through election of the Liberal Party and former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. The monarch of Great Britain was Queen Elizabeth II -- that hasn't changed -- but Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. There have since been 6 Presidents of the United States, 5 Prime Ministers of Britain, and 3 Popes.

England's FA Cup would soon be won by West Ham United, of East London, on a goal by Trevor Brooking, defeating North Londoners Arsenal, who had won it the year before. The Hammers have not won a major trophy since. Liverpool would repeat as Football League Champions, and the previous season's Champions, Nottingham Forest, would repeat as winners of the European Cup, defeating German club Hamburger SV in the Final.

Major books of 1980 included Warren Adler's The War of the Roses, Jean M. Auel's The Clan of the Cave Bear, Pat Conroy's The Lords of Discipline, Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, Ken Follett's The Key to Rebecca, L. Ron Hubbard's Battlefield Earth, P.D. James' Innocent Blood, Stephen King's Firestarter, Judith Krantz' Princess Daisy, Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Identity, and Sidney Sheldon's Rage of Angels. All were made into major motion pictures or TV-movies.

Published that year, long after its author's suicide, was A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Numerous attempts have been made to film it. At various times, it has been set to star John Belushi, Harris "Divine" Milstead, John Candy and Chris Farley as lead character Ignatius J. Reilly. All died before the project could begin, and all before reaching their 44th birthday. (Say what you want about drugs, but these men were also quite fat, which is probably why they were considered, as much as for their acting ability.) Also considered, but still alive at this writing, have been John Goodman, Stephen Fry, Zach Galifianakis and (the closest thing to a thin guy thus far) Will Ferrell. Hurricane Katrina set the New Orleans-based project back as well. Steven Soderbergh, at one point scheduled to direct, remarked "I think it's cursed. I'm not prone to superstition, but that project has got bad mojo on it."

In 1980, George R.R. Martin published The Ice Dragon, a children's fantasy novella. J.K. Rowling was in high school. Stephenie Meyer was 6 years old. No one had yet heard of Hannibal Lecter, Celie Harris, Forrest Gump, Alex Cross, Robert Langdon, Lisbeth Salander or Katniss Everdeen.

New in theaters when the Miracle On Ice happened were American Gigolo, the original version of
The Fog, Roman Polanski's X-rated version of Caligula, and Hero At Large, starring John Ritter as a struggling actor hired to play a superhero, standing in for the actor playing the hero in a recent film (within the film), who, through having his costume on underneath his street clothes, is able to use the shock of "Captain Avenger" appearing before would-be store robbers to foil the robbery, and becomes a real-life hero, and then lets his fame go to his head.

Gene Roddenberry was raking in the dough from the recent release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Steven Spielberg wasn't so lucky: 1941 had just flopped, although he would go on to make much better films set in the World War II era. George Lucas was putting the finishing touches on Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. No one had yet heard of Ash Williams, John Rambo, the Terminator, the Ghostbusters, Marty McFly, Robocop, John McClane, Jay & Silent Bob or Austin Powers.

Gil Gerard was starring on TV as Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and Sam J. Jones was filming Flash Gordon. Roger Moore was preparing to film the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only, Christopher Reeve was a success as Superman, Lynda Carter had recently wrapped up playing Wonder Woman, Adam West was still the most recent live-action Batman.

Wrapping up their 1st seasons -- U.S. television seasons ended in late March in those days -- were Hart to Hart, Benson, Trapper John, M.D., Knots Landing and The Facts of Life. J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) was about to get shot on Dallas, inventing the TV end-of-season cliffhanger. Tom Baker was playing The Doctor.

The week before the Gold Medal Game (which was played on a Sunday), Match Game had the following panelists: Freeman King, Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly, Betty Kennedy, Bill Daily and Joyce Bulifant.

No one had yet heard of Christine Cagney and Mary Beth Lacey, Sam Malone, He-Man, Goku, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Thundercats, Bart Simpson, Fox Mulder, Zack Morris, The Seinfeld Four, Andy Sipowicz, Ross Geller and Rachel Greene, Xena, Ash Ketchum, Jed Bartlet, Tony Soprano, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Rick Grimes, Don Draper, Walter White or Richard Castle.

Robert and Kris Kardashian had recently become the parents of daughter Kourtney, and would soon become the parents of daughter Kim. Bruce Jenner was starring in Can't Stop the Music, roasted as one of the worst film musicals of all time. It's not clear whether he'd met Kris yet.

In the weeks surrounding the "Miracle On Ice," Paul McCartney was arrested in Japan for bringing marijuana into the country, and held for 11 days before being deported. Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones and his fiancée Jo Karslake were similarly busted in the Caribbean for cocaine possession. Pink Floyd opened their tour to support The Wall. David and Angela Bowie got divorced. Bon Scott of AC/DC drank himself to death.

The Pretenders, Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark, the Psychedelic Furs, Bryan Adams and Christopher Cross released their self-titled debut albums, Bob Seger released Against the Wind, and The Cure released Boys Don't Cry. The Clash had recently released London Calling. The Number 1 song in America was "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" by Queen. Michael Jackson's former Number 1 hit "Rock With You" was still high on the charts.

Frank Sinatra was about to release the album Trilogy: Past Present Future, which included his versions of Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender," ex-Beatle George Harrison's "Something," Jimmy Webb's "MacArthur Park," Neil Diamond's "Song Sung Blue," Kris Kristofferson's "For the Good Times," Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are," and "Theme from New York, New York."

Inflation was such that what $1.00 bought then, $2.98 would buy now. A U.S. postage stamp cost 15 cents, and a New York Subway ride 60 cents. The average price of a gallon of gas was $1.22, a cup of coffee 94 cents, a McDonald's meal (Big Mac, fries, shake) $1.55, a movie ticket $2.67, a new car $7,574, and a new house $73,600. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the preceding Friday, the day of the win over the Soviets, at 868.77.

There were desktop computers, but, as yet, no laptops. Mobile telephones existed, but they were as big as Army walkie-talkies. The leading home video game system was the Atari VCS (later renamed the Atari 2600). No one had yet heard of Mario or Master Chief.

AIDS was around, but not yet discovered. "Chronic fatigue syndrome" was hardly known, and even more rarely were doctors, who hate to admit that they don't know something or can't cure something, willing to diagnose it. There were heart transplants, liver transplants and lung transplants, and artificial kidneys, but no artificial hearts. The birth control pill was long-established, but there was, as yet, no Viagra. NASA was still trying and failing to get the 1st space shuttle off the ground. The tallest building in the world was the Sears Tower in Chicago.

In the late Winter of 1980, Voyager 2 reached Saturn, providing the best pictures yet of the ringed planet, and discovering a few of its moons. Andrei Sakharov, the scientist who essentially built the 1st Soviet hydrogen bomb, and then turned anti-nuclear and human rights activist, was arrested by his own government. Israel and Egypt, following their Camp David Accords, established full diplomatic relations. Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, was assassinated for speaking out against El Salvador's fascist government. A plane crash wiped out the U.S. boxing team -- not that they would have gone to the Olympics in Moscow that summer anyway, because Carter announced, in response to the invasion of Afghanistan, that the U.S. was boycotting the games.

In America, the ABSCAM investigation snared several members of the U.S. Congress, including the man who was then my Congressman, Frank Thompson, and one of my Senators, Harrison Williams; both would go to prison. Herman Tarnower, author of The Scarsdale Diet, would be shot and killed by his girlfriend, Jean Harris. Angelo Bruno, leader of the Philadelphia Mob, was rubbed out. His successor was Phil Testa, known as the Chicken Man because the front for his activities was a poultry business. A year later, he, too, would be rubbed out, as told in Bruce Springsteen's song "Atlantic City."

George Meany, and William O. Douglas, and Jimmy Durante died. So did David Janssen, star of The Fugitive, and the actor best known for playing The Lone Ranger's companion Tonto, Jay Silverheels. So did track legend Jesse Owens, and English soccer icon Dixie Dean. (Not to be confused with American baseball icon Dizzy Dean, who died in 1974.) Christina Ricci, and Chelsea Clinton, and John Ritter's actor son Jason Ritter were born. So were hockey star Simon Gagné, and football star Todd Heap, and figure skater Alexei Yagudin.

February 24, 1980. The American hockey team won the Olympic Gold Medal. They've come close since, but haven't done it again.

They will get another chance in February 2018, in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Times Countries Have Hosted the Olympics

The Winter Olympics have gotten underway in Sochi, on the Black Sea, in the Oblast (state) of Krasnodar Krai, Russia.

Yet another chance for a dictator to use a sporting event for propaganda. And President Vladimir Putin of Russia is not the kind of dictator to let this kind of opportunity slip away.

Times Countries Have Hosted the Olympics

America, 8: Summer, 1904 in St. Louis, 1932 and 1984 in Los Angeles, 1996 in Atlanta; Winter, 1932 and 1980 in Lake Placid, New York; 1960 in Squaw Valley, California; and 2002 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Denver was supposed to host the 1976 Winter Olympics, but backed out due to cost overruns.

France, 5: Summer, Paris in 1900 and 1924; Winter, Chamonix in 1924, Grenoble in 1968, Albertville in 1992.

Japan, 4: Summer, Tokyo in 1964, and scheduled to host again in 2020; Winter, Sapporo in 1972, Nagano in 1998. Tokyo was supposed to host in 1940, but those games were canceled due to World War II. It's just as well, since Japan was one of the aggressors in that war.

Britain, 3: Summer, London in 1908, 1948 and 2012. London was supposed to host in 1944, but those games were pushed back to 1948 due to World War II.

Canada, 3: Summer, Montreal in 1976; Winter, Calgary in 1988, Vancouver in 2010.

Italy, 3: Summer, Rome in 1960; Winter, Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1956, Turin in 2006.

Germany, 3: Summer, Berlin in 1936, Munich in 1972; Winter, Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936. Berlin was supposed to host in 1916, but those games were canceled due to World War I. It's just as well, since Germany was the main aggressor in that war.

Russia, 2: Summer, Moscow in 1980; Winter, Sochi in 2014. As Bob Costas pointed out last night, because of the 1980 boycott, this is the 1st Olympics in Russia in which America has participated. And we got a nice hand from the Russian crowd. I wonder what Putin thought of that.

Greece, 2: Summer, Athens in 1896 and 2004. There was a 1906 "Olympic Games" in Athens, known as the "Intercalated Games," that sometimes gets counted, because it gets credit for restoring the "Olympic Movement" after the travesties of 1900 and 1904, but the IOC does not officially count it.

Australia, 2: Summer, Melbourne in 1956, Sydney in 2000.

Norway, 2: Winter, Oslo in 1952, Lillehammer in 1994.

Austria, 2: Winter, Innsbruck in 1964 and 1976.

Switzerland, 2: Winter, St. Moritz in 1928 and 1948.

Korea, 2: Summer, Seoul in 1988; Winter, Pyeongchang is scheduled to host in 2018.

China, 1: Summer, Beijing in 2008.

Spain, 1: Summer, Barcelona in 1992.

Yugoslavia, 1: Winter, Sarajevo in 1984 (now in Bosnia).

Mexico, 1: Summer, Mexico City in 1968.

Finland, 1: Summer, Helsinki in 1952. Oddly, despite Finland's reputation as a cold-weather nation, and its success in Winter events, it has never hosted the Winter Olympics.

Netherlands, 1: Summer, Amsterdam in 1928.

Belgium, 1: Summer, Antwerp in 1920.

Sweden, 1: Summer, Stockholm in 1912. Due to Australia's animal quarantine laws, Stockholm also hosted the equestrian events in 1956.

Brazil, 1: Scheduled to host the Summer Olympics in 2016.

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Last Time Hosted (either one):

2014 Russia

2012 Britain

2010 Canada

2008 China

2006 Italy

2004 Greece

2002 America

2000 Australia

1998 Japan

1994 Norway

1992 Spain

1992 France

1988 Korea

1984 Yugoslavia/Bosnia

1976 Austria

1972 Germany

1968 Mexico

1964 Japan

1952 Finland

1948 Switzerland

1928 Netherlands

1920 Belgium

1912 Sweden

*

Hosted both an Olympics and a World Cup:

1. 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics, 1924 and 1968 Winter Olympics, and 1938 and 1998 World Cups: France
2. 1928 and 1948 Winter Olympics and 1954 World Cup: Switzerland
3. 1934 and 1990 World Cups, 1956 and 2006 Winter Olympics, 1960 Summer Olympics: Italy
4. 1912 Summer Olympics and 1958 World Cup: Sweden
5. 1908 Summer Olympics and 1966 World Cup: Britain
6. 1968 Summer Olympics and 1970 and 1986 World Cups: Mexico
7. 1936 Winter Olympics, 1936 and 1972 Summer Olympics, 1974 and 2006 World Cups: Germany
8. 1982 World Cup, 1992 Summer Olympics: Spain
9. 1904, 1932, 1984 and 1996 Summer Olympics; 1932, 1960, 1980 and 2002 Winter Olympics; and 1994 World Cup: America
10. 1964 Summer Olympics, 1972 and 1998 Winter Olympics, and 2002 World Cup: Japan
11. 1988 Summer Olympics and 2002 World Cup: Korea (co-hosted with Japan)

Upcoming: 1950 and again in 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics, Brazil; 1980 Summer Olympics and 2014 Winter Olympics and 2018 World Cup, Russia.

France, Italy, Germany, America and Japan are the only countries to host a Winter Olympics, a Summer Olympics, and a World Cup. Korea (Winter Olympics) and Russia (World Cup) will both join them in 2018.

*

Europe 30
North America 12
Asia 8
South America 1 (in 2016)
Africa, so far, never

*

In an English-speaking country: 16
German: 7 (both Swiss Olympics were held in the German part of the country)
French: 5 (6, if you count Quebec)
Spanish: 2
Dutch: 2 (Antwerp is on the Dutch side of Belgium)

*

Nations that, at the time, were...

Democracies: 45 (presuming Brazil stays democratic through 2016, South Korea does so through 2018, and Japan does through 2020)

Dictatorships: 8: Germany, both of 1936's Games; Mexico, 1968, they had elections but who was kidding who; Russia, 1980 and 2014, I mean Russia has elections, but who's kidding who; Yugoslavia 1984, China 2008

Why I Won't Be Watching the Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics begin in 2 days, in Sochi, Russia.

There are 2 reasons for me to watch the Winter Olympics:

1. The Parade of Nations at the Opening Ceremonies.
2. Hockey.

That's it.

Here are some reasons for me to not watch the Winter Olympics:

1. Vladimir Putin. He's acting like an old-style dictator, and these are his Olympics, just as 1936's were Hitler's, 1980's were Brezhnev's, and 2008's were the that of the old men of China. Frankly, I don't know why he's so ticked off at gay people, but even if he weren't being (if you'll pardon the choice of words) an asshole about it, he's still acting more like a dictator than President Obama is in the Republicans' wildest fantasies.

Speaking of which, Mitt Romney is so bitter about losing to Obama in 2012 that he's begun fawning over Putin, to the point where, if he's true to his antigay principles, Putin might not even want to let Romney into the country (if, that is, Mitt wants to go).

I am, however, impressed with the reaction, thus far, to Russia's antigay hysteria. But I wonder when the "Olympic flame" jokes will start.

2. NBC. They can't do the Olympics! They've proven this time and time again since 1988. ABC did them so much better. At least they've stopped screwing up the Parade of Nations: At least twice, they went to commercial and missed Poland. Now, this might not concern you, unless you happen to be someone of Polish descent. I am.

Bob Costas may be short, intelligent, and love sports, but he's no Jim McKay, who was also those things. Costas does baseball very well, but he does not do the Olympics well. And he still covers it better than anybody else at the Peacock Network. Stick to sitcoms, cop shows and medical dramas, 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

3. The Time Difference. Sochi is 9 hours ahead of us, meaning that everything that airs in North American prime time is going to be tape-delayed, giving NBC plenty of time to screw things up with spoilers. And our group stage hockey games will start at 7:30 Eastern Time. That's 7:30 in the morning. To adapt an old saying, I only recognize one 7:30 per day, and that isn't it!

4. American Representation. There's no other sport in these games, besides hockey at which America excels. None worth watching, anyway.

Figure skating? That is not a sport. Athletic, yes. A competition, certainly. A sport, no way. You might as well call dancing a sport. You might as well call calisthenics a sport.

Speed skating? Unlike figure skating, you actually do see the competitors competing alongside one another, although they can't "play defense" -- that is, there is no way, within the rules of the competition, for them to prevent their opponent from doing what he/she has to do.

But how often does an American do especially well in it? There was Eric Heiden in 1980, and there was Bonnie Blair in 1994, and the gripping story of Dan Jansen. But Apolo Anton Ohno? I'd never even heard of short-track speed skating until he came along. And it looked like roller derby on ice. It looked like a good way to get yourself killed. And his 1st Gold Medal only came because the guy who actually won the race got caught cheating. That's not an inspiring story.

Skiing? Bobsledding? Luge? Skeleton? I admit, these are fun to watch, but how many competitors in each event do you have to sit through until the American performers start their runs? Look, I have nothing against most countries in these games (although I still, as both an American and a Pole, have no love for the Germans or the Russians), but do I really want to sit through the Austrian and Swedish skiers, and the German and Swiss bobsledders?

So, no, aside from the Parade of Nations and the U.S.' hockey games -- and maybe the Gold Medal Game if Canada makes it and we don't -- I won't be watching the Winter Olympics.

It's been a long time since the Olympics were, as NBC used to put it, "Must-See TV."

*

Days until the Super Bowl returns to the New York Tri-State Area: Probably never, and if that turns out to be true, I'm fine with it. Even a Seahawks fan, who had his team's parade today, has to admit that, however thrilling the event was for them, competitively speaking, it was a horrible game.

Days until the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia: 2.

Days until the Devils play again: 2, Friday night, home to the Edmonton Oilers.

Days until Arsenal play again: 3, Saturday afternoon (7:45 AM our time), away to Liverpool.

Days until the Devils next play a local rival: 24, on Saturday afternoon, March 1, away to the New York Islanders. We play away to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night, March 11; home to the Rangers on Saturday night, March 22; away to the Islanders a week after that; and home to the Islanders on Friday night, April 11.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 28, on Wednesday, March 5, a "friendly" (exhibition game) vs. the Ukraine in Kharkiv. Just 4 weeks. I suspect that there will be another tuneup match or two between the end of the European club season in May and the start of the World Cup in June.

Days until the Red Bulls play again: 31, on Saturday, March 8, 7:30 PM, away to the Vancouver Whitecaps.  Just 1 month.

Days until the next North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham: 39, a Premier League match, on Sunday, March 16, at White Hart Lane. Under 6 weeks. It had been scheduled for Saturday, March 15, but was moved back for TV reasons.

Days until the Yankees play again: 55, on Tuesday, April 1, at 7:10 PM, away to the Houston Astros.  Just 8 weeks.

Days until the Yankees' home opener: 61, on Monday, April 7, at 1:00 PM (well, 1:07 or so), vs. the Baltimore Orioles.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 64, on Thursday, April 10, at 7:00 PM (well, 7:07 or so), at Yankee Stadium II.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 66, on Saturday, April 12, 2:30 PM, vs. D.C. United, at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.
Days until Arsenal could win the Premier League title, presuming it goes to the final game of the season: 95, on Sunday, May 11, with a 10:00 AM (our time) start, away to Norwich City, of East Anglia.

Days until the FA Cup Final, for which Arsenal is still eligible, at the new Wembley Stadium in London: 101, on Saturday, May 17.

Days until the UEFA Champions League Final, for which Arsenal is still eligible, at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon, Portugal: 108, on Saturday, May 24.

Days until the 2014 World Cup in Brazil: 127, on Thursday, June 12. A little over 4 months.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 206, on Saturday, August 30, away to Washington State, at whatever the Seattle Seahawks' stadium is going to end up being called next fall.  Under 7 months.  Why we're playing "Wazzu" in the University of Washington's territory, I don't know.  Maybe WSU, in the eastern part of the State in Pullman, wants to boost their recruiting in the Western part.  Either way, it will be Rutgers' first game since losing the 2013 Pinstripe Bowl to Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium II, finishing the season at 6-7.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown, as the schedule has yet to be released.  Most likely, it will be on the 2nd Friday night in September.  If so, that will be September 12, therefore 220 days.

Days until Rutgers makes its Big Ten Conference debut: 221 days, on Saturday, September 13, time to be determined, against old enemy Penn State.

Days until the next East Brunswick vs. Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 296, on Thursday morning, November 27, 10:00 AM. Under 10 months.

Days until the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 944, on Friday, August 5, 2016. Just 2 1/2 years.

Olympic Hockey: The Better Team Won

What else can I say? Team Canada played harder and better, and deserved to win. They outplayed the U.S. for 59 minutes, and it was only a fluky goal that put the New Jersey Devils' Zach Parise in position to score the equalizer with 24 seconds left that gave us any hope.

Still... Did it have to be Sidney Crosby? The diving little... He would have fit in perfectly on Manchester United or Chelsea. Oh well, I guess it's better than the Gold Medal-winning goal being scored by DUI-homicide driver Dany Heatley.

And give Canada credit: They beat the Russians before we had a chance to try. Good.

I can't even be happy for Martin Brodeur: While he was the starting goalie on their 2002 Gold Medal team, he was just a backup here, and it's a lot harder to cheer a 2nd win than a 1st one, anyway.

Anyway, Canada put on one of the best Olympic Games ever, showing nationalism without chauvinism, and, despite a lot of grousing, in the end, they did "own the podium." The U.S. set a record for most medals won at a Winter Olympics, and came up with several heroes: Lindsey Vonn, Hannah Kearney and Seth Westcott; Bill Demong winning our first-ever "Nordic combined" Gold Medal, and the bobsled team captained by Steven Holcomb winning our first in 62 years; repeat performances from Apolo Ohno, Shaun White and Shani Davis; and even a fully-redeemed Bode Miller.

*

Spring training is underway. Yesterday, at Port St. Lucie, Jose Reyes hit a triple in an intersquad game. His running seems to be back on track. His hitting? Take it with a grain of salt: He hit it off a Met pitcher.

Aaron Boone retired. Although he didn't get a hit after coming back, he did come back to play Major League Baseball again after open-heart surgery. And what does it say about the Mets' organization that Boone came back from open-heart surgery before Reyes came back from... whatever injury he had?

I hope Johnny Damon does well in Detroit. From April through September. But if they make it to October, I hope the Yankees beat them in the Playoffs. I'm still ticked off about that '06 Division Series.

The Nets are still on track to finish 8-74, setting a new NBA record for futility. All they have to do is win one out of every six games they play for the rest of the season, and they'll avoid it. But can they? I'm not optimistic.

*

Days until the Devils play another local rival: 8, a week from tomorrow, at home against The Scum. Three days later, a trip to The Island to play the Fish Sticks.

Days until Opening Day of the 2010 baseball season: 33, the Yankees playing the Red Sox at Fenway for the ESPN Sunday-night season-opener. A shade over a month.

Days until the next North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham: 39.

Days until the Yankees' 2010 home opener: 42. 6 weeks.

Days until the 2010 World Cup begins: 90. 3 months.

Days until the World Cup Final: 131.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 186. A shade over 6 months.

Days until the new Meadowlands Stadium (still unnamed) opens: 187.

Days until East Brunswick plays football again: 192.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving clash: 268. Less than 9 months.

Days until Derek Jeter collects his 3,000th career hit: 456.

Days until the Rutgers-Army football game at Yankee Stadium: 620.

Days until the 2012 Olympics begin in London: 878.

Tiger Woods, 1996-2009; Eldrick, 1975-?

Orenthal James Simpson killed three people. He killed Nicole Brown Simpson. He killed Ronald Goldman. And he killed "O.J. Simpson," the guy we thought we knew, the guy we liked. Born 1967 (the year "O.J." burst onto the national consciousness with USC), died 1994.

Eldrick Tont Woods only killed one person. He killed "Tiger Woods," the guy we thought we knew. Tiger Woods, born 1996, died 2009.

People who excel, at anything, have seen themselves do amazing things. Some of them get the idea that they can do anything.

Well, sometimes, they can, until they can't. Sooner or later, the public catches on.

Even Presidents. Lyndon Johnson found out he couldn't lie about Vietnam. Richard Nixon found out he couldn't like about Vietnam or the things he did to get himself re-elected. Ronald Reagan found out he couldn't lie about the things he did to combat terrorism in the Middle East or Communism in Nicaragua. (But, to the end, he got away with lying about the harm he caused the American economy.) George Bush the father found out he couldn't lie about the economy. George Bush the son found out he couldn't like about the economy, Iraq, torture, and his own apparent saintliness -- which, in the end, was apparently only to him.

More to the point, Bill Clinton found out he couldn't like about his marital transgressions. Sports stars have had this problem, too. The New York media covered up Babe Ruth's philandering and boozing, Joe DiMaggio's suspected violence toward Marilyn Monroe and suspected ties to organized crime figures, and Mickey Mantle's attempts to, uh, break the Babe's records.

But those days are over. Joe Namath may have killed such protections with his attitude of, "Yeah, I like to fool around with ladies and have a drink now and then, so what?" So what? Joe, you might have won a 2nd Super Bowl if you'd... Oh, who am I kidding: The Babe won 7 World Series (3 in Boston, 4 in New York), Joe D 9, Mickey 7.

Here in the New York area, we've seen blowups of the personal peccadilloes of Alex Rodriguez, Darryl Strawberry, Tiki Barber, Michael Strahan, Patrick Ewing, Isiah Thomas and Sean (the Slug) Avery. Frankly, I'm surprised Derek Jeter has managed to guard his private life as much as he has. Come to think of it, Reggie Jackson was a very wealthy, highly eligible bachelor (though a divorced one) in the post-Namath era, but we rarely heard anything of his love life.

But no one is immune. Not even Michael Jordan: Eventually, it came out that he had habitually cheated on his wife Juanita, and they split up.

If Jordan -- before Tiger, before Derek (still unmarried, though rumored to be engaged to actress Minka Kelly), before Peyton Manning (as far as I know, true to his wife), the original Nike-and-Gatorade man -- couldn't be protected forever, how could Tiger?

Face it, Eldrick: When the National Enquirer looks more credible than you do, you've got a problem.

He now acknowledges he has a problem. It's not the sex; that's a symptom, not the disease. The disease is an entitlement complex.

It's an old story: An athlete is told from the time he's a boy, "You are special. You can do anything." And he sees that he can do anything on the field. He begins to think he can do anything off the field. The next thing you know, he's caught in the VIP Room during a raid, or he's wrapped his car around a pole (I think you've had enough, Mr. Dykstra), or he's in rehab for some chemical or other (including, possibly, his own hormones), or he's kicked to the curb by the wife.

In Ball Four, Jim Bouton said that whatever an athlete's chronological age is, take off 10 years. This makes Tiger 24, not 34. (Of course, at the time Bouton wrote that, he was 30, therefore, by his own reckoning, he was 20.)

Tiger has admitted that he had this sense of entitlement, and that he took advantage of it. Point in his favor. He says he wants to make up for it. Another point in his favor. He also defended his wife against the allegation that she tried to clock him with a golf club, and that she shouldn't be dragged through the mud. Another point in his favor.

Right now, the first thing in his life should be straightening himself out. The last thing in his life should be what Nike, Gatorade, the PGA, and the people who still overlook his behavior want.

Being "Tiger Woods" is what got him into this mess. He has to be Eldrick again. That is the best thing for Eldrick, and the best punishment for "Tiger."

The next-best punishment for "Tiger" is to ignore him. Besides, it's golf. It's not even a sport.

*

Now, let's get back to the Winter Olympics, and the hashpipe. Excuse me, the halfpipe. That's not a sport, either. It's in the Olympics for one reason, and one reason only: To get the U.S. more medals. I'd rather beat the cold countries at their own games. If we do, great. If we don't, at least we're in classic Winter Olympic sports, not stuff that was made up for our benefit.

The U.S. team has beaten Switzerland and Norway. Nice. But the big game is against Canada on Sunday night. Win it, and they're in the knockout rounds. Lose it, and they'll still be in a play-in game for said rounds. So it won't be terrible if they lose it.

Besides, they may get another shot at Canada in one of said rounds, maybe even the Gold Medal Game like in 2002. I don't know if they'll win, but I hope they'll at least play the full 60 minutes; in 2002, they barely showed up for the 3rd period, and that's why Canada won: They played 60, and hard.

*

The Nets finally reached an agreement to play the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons at the Prudential Center in Newark. Maybe now, they'll get to experience a sellout with neither Kobe nor LeBron in sight. Come to think of it, maybe The Rock will get to experience one with neither the Rangers nor the Flyers in sight.

Here's an idea: Screw the Barclays Center proposal, and keep playing in Newark for the next 50 years! Be "the New Jersey Nets"! After all, they won't all be 5-49 seasons!

The Nets -- Nots? Naughts? Nuts? -- are still on a pace for 8-74, surpassing the 9-73 '73 76ers. They host Chris Bosh and the Toronto Raptors at the Meadowlands tonight. I'm not optimistic.

*

Pitchers and catchers have reported! Which means YAY! Onward and upward to Title 28!

Days until the Gold Medal hockey game: 9.

Days until the NHL's Olympic break ends (at least for the Devils): 11.

Days until the Devils play another local rival: 19, on Wednesday, March 10, at home against The Scum. Three days later, a trip to The Island to play the Fish Sticks.

Days until Opening Day of the 2010 baseball season: 44, the Yankees playing the Red Sox at Fenway for the ESPN Sunday-night season-opener. 6 weeks.

Days until the next North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham: 50. 7 weeks.

Days until the Yankees' 2010 home opener: 53. Less than 8 weeks.

Days until the 2010 World Cup begins: 101.

Days until the World Cup Final: 142.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 197.

Days until the new Meadowlands Stadium (still unnamed) opens: 198.

Days until East Brunswick plays football again: 203.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving clash: 279.

Days until Derek Jeter collects his 3,000th career hit: 467.

Days until the Rutgers-Army football game at Yankee Stadium: 631.

Too Much Snow Here, Not Enough in Vancouver

On the day of Super Bowl XXII, which was held in San Diego, it was warmer in Washington, whose Redskins beat the Denver Broncos, than it was in the host city. Well, Vancouver is at around 50 degrees and rainy, and here in Central Jersey it is snowing.

I wonder how many people heard that the tragic luge competitor was from "Georgia" and thought it was the U.S. State.

The Republic of Georgia has one of the sharpest-looking flags in the world. It's a shame it now covers the coffin of a 21-year-old athlete.

Every 4 years, the Winter Olympics makes otherwise sane people say things they would never ordinarily say, like, "Come on, U.S.A., knock some holes in that Swiss cheese!" and "I can't believe we choked in the Nordic combined! And to a French guy, no less!"

Last night, the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother took a few potshots at Canada -- one of the characters, Robin Scherbatsky, is from Vancouver, as is her portrayer, Cobie Smulders. The character played by Neil Patrick Harris (the kind of guy who would make his former character, Doogie Howser, refuse him medical treatment) made fun of Canadians' accents, their supposed lack of style in dress, their multicolored money, and their loves of hockey and curling.

I don't understand curling, and I understand the complaints about Canada's multicolored bills, which they had long before we did, and what's with that two-tone two-dollar coin, anyway? But come on. They're our friends. They fight like hell in wars (Lundy's Lane against us in 1814, when they were still with Britain; the Boer War, Vimy Ridge in WWI, Juno Beach on D-Day), they step in to keep peaces all over the world, they invented hockey, one of theirs came to our country and invented basketball, and they've produced women like Cobie Smulders, Pamela Anderson and Nelly Furtado (who looked dynamite at the Opening Ceremonies). And they've got a better National Anthem than we do.

But I reserve the right to make fun of the Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Jays because they're in the same division as the Yankees, and the Leafs because, well, even Canadians make fun of them. After all, the last time they won the Stanley Cup, or even reached the Finals, Lester Pearson was the sitting Prime Minister, not the airport.

But that beats Vancouver. The Canucks celebrate their 40th Anniversary this year, and they're 0-for-2 in the Finals, both times losing to New York: The Isles in 1982 and The Scum in 1994. The last team from that city to go all the way was the 1915 Vancouver Millionaires, led by the brothers Lester and Frank Patrick. That's 95 years. Makes the Rangers' 54-year drought seem bearable, eh?

Still, Canada should be the favorite in the Olympic hockey tournament. After all, they've got the greatest goalie on the planet. And I don't mean Roberto Luongo. How can he be the greatest: He plays for the Vancouver Canucks!

Snow Job for New Jersey's Teams

On Wednesday night, for the 2nd time in 3 nights, the Devils played the Philadelphia Flyers, the Broad Street Bullies – or, as I prefer to call them, the Broad Street Bozos. And the result was the same on Wednesday at the Prudential Center as it was on Monday night at Whatever Bank Owns This Season's Naming Rights Center in Philly: Two-nil, and the Devils fucked it up, and lost 3-2 on Simon Gagne's overtime goal. Rats!

But that's not the worst of it: The worst of it is that they played despite a 15-inch blizzard. Did they learn nothing from the January 22, 1987 game with the Calgary Flames, when only 334 people came out to the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands? (Nope, that's not a misprint: Three hundred and thirty-four. Had you been Number 335, you could have counted the rest during a single power play. The Devils won, 7-5.)

The attendance on Wednesday night, for an opponent with a nasty rivalry and a fan base that, despite being almost as evolved as the Geico Cavemen, travels well, was 5,580. I’ve been to high school basketball games with bigger crowds. (Not many, a couple of Middlesex County Tournament "final four" games at the Rutgers Athletic Center, but it has happened.) The Devils would have been better off postponing the game, and trying to get a sellout of 17,625 at another time.

Speaking of high school basketball games, that's what the Nets said it felt like, playing at home the same night against the Milwaukee Bucks. At the Byrne… no, Continental… no, Izod Center… it is still the "Izod Center," right? Or is that "IZOD Center"?... they lost 97-77, and the attendance was 1,016.

I have seen quite a few games at East Brunswick High School's gym with bigger crowds than that. (It can hold about 1,800.) Long-time lame-duck franchise (as contradictory as that sounds) + historically bad season (still on pace to surpass the 1973 Philadelphia 76ers' 9-73 as the worst record in NBA history) + bad building + no rivalry with opposing team + no marquee star on opposing team + opposing team not having a lot of traveling fans + economy still in the early stages of recovery from a dreadful recession = pathetic attendance. One thousand and sixteen. I've been on New Jersey Transit trains with more people than that on them!

So New Jersey's 2 major league sports teams (remember, it's the New York Giants and the New York Jets, regardless of their inability to pass a geography class) both played at home at the same time (impossible until the Devils' 2007 move from East Rutherford to Newark), and got a combined 6,596 fans.

Oy vey. Sounds like a serious underbid in the Showcase segment of The Price Is Right. Twenty years ago, when Bob Barker was not only still the host, but still dying his hair. (Speaking of which, yesterday morning, in anticipation of this Sunday's NBA All-Star Game, NBA legends Bill Walton and James Worthy guest-starred in the Showcase segment, offering a trip to said All-Star Game, although the woman bidding on it lost.)

The same night: The Rangers (who suck), home to the Nashville Predators (who?), did not sell out Madison Square Garden, filling only 13,128 of 18,200 seats; the Montreal Canadiens, no strangers to cold and snow, sold out the Bell Centre with 21,273 seats in defeating the Washington Capitals (who, to be fair, are leading the Eastern Conference and do have Alexander Ovechkin); and the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins, also within range of the blizzard, got a sellout of 16,980 at the Civic Arena (excuse me, the Mellon Arena) in a win over the Islanders. There were 3 other games that night, none of them hit by the blizzard.

The NBA the same night? Only 1 other game was played anywhere near the blizzard, and it was in Toronto, where the Raptors hosted the Philadelphia 76ers, and won in front of 16,651, not a bad crowd considering the Raptors are the city's 4th team (behind the NHL's Maple Leafs, the CFL's Argonauts and MLB's Blue Jays – maybe even the 5th behind MLS' Toronto FC).

Ranger and Flyer fans, drunken animals that they both are, like to joke about the Devils' attendance. This has to stop. And we, the fans, can do some things about it.

One way that Devils management can help it to stop is that they can pay attention to weather reports, and acknowledge the fact that playing in the winter does, sometimes, mean you have to postpone games due to snow and icy roads. If you have the Black & Orange Bastards scheduled, and you're told to expect a foot and a half of snow (we got 15 inches in East Brunswick, they may have gotten 18 in Newark, and they got at least that much in Philly, Baltimore and D.C.), don't wait to see how bad the snow actually turns out to be: Lou Lamoriello, get Ed Snider and Gary Bettman on a conference call and reschedule the damn thing!

*

Tonight, the Winter Olympics begin in Vancouver, and the NHL goes on a break. Hopefully, it'll be less stressful than Ross and Rachel’s infamous "break" on Friends.

But I wouldn't bet on it: Paul Martin of the Devils is already off the U.S. team due to an injury, and Zach Parise may also be hurt.

It' in Canada, so Team Canada will play like they don't just want the Gold Medal, but as if they have to have it. I wouldn't mind if they did, but I want it for the U.S.

At least we don’t have a situation like we had in 1998 and 2002. Remember? There, in blue, were Brian Leetch and Mike Richter. There, in red, were Scott Stevens and Martin Brodeur. So far, so good. Except, on those occasions, Leetch and Richter, both of them Ranger Scum, were playing for the U.S., while Scottso and Marty, the 2 greatest and most important players in Devils history, were playing for the team that stood in the way of us winning the Gold, and I had to root for Leetch and Richter, and against Stevens and Brodeur.

Canada won, so Scottso and Marty got their Gold Medals. In all honesty, the Canadians worked harder to win that game, and deserved to win. It remains the only Olympic hockey game the U.S. has ever lost on home soil. (We didn't enter a team in Lake Placid in 1932, we won the Gold at Squaw Valley in 1960 and at Lake Placid in 1980, and we got all the way to the Gold Medal Game at Salt Lake in 2002.)

On the U.S. team: 5 from Michigan, 4 from Minnesota, 3 from New York State (but none further east or south than Ithaca), 2 from Connecticut (Chris Drury of Trumbull and Jonathan Quick of Hamden, both closer to Boston than to New York), and one each from Massachusetts (Ryan Whitney of Anaheim, from Scituate, smallest Bruin State total ever, I think), California (Brooks Orpik of Pittsburgh, from San Francisco), Missouri (Paul Stastny of Colorado, born when Slovakian-born father Peter played for St. Louis), Pennsylvania (Ryan Malone of Tampa Bay, from Pittsburgh), and, for the first time ever that I know of, New Jersey (Bobby Ryan of Anaheim, from Cherry Hill, outside Philly).

On Team Canada: 8 from Ontario, 4 from Quebec (including all 3 goaltenders: Brodeur, Roberto Luongo and Marc-Andre Fleury), 3 from Saskatchewan, 2 from Manitoba, 2 from Alberta (Jarome Iginla and ex-Devil Scott Niedermayer, like Iginla born in Edmonton, but raised in Cranbrook, British Columbia), 2 from British Columbia (they, along with Nieder, are thus playing in their home Province, not just their home country), 1 from the Maritime Provinces (Cindy, excuse me, Sidney Crosby from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia), and Dany Heatley, born in Germany when his Calgary-born father was playing there and married a German woman, so that sort of makes 2 from Alberta and 3 from B.C., if you put Niedermayer where he grew up rather than where he was born.

When we get to February 22, the 30th Anniversary of the 1980 victory over the Soviets, I'm going to show you why it was not a "miracle." No, seriously, it wasn't a miracle. Stay tuned.

*

Hours until the 2010 Winter Olympics begin in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, right here on this continent, if not in this country: 4.

Days until the NHL's Olympic break ends (at least for the Devils): 18.

Days until the Devils play another local rival: 26, Wednesday, March 10, at home against the Rangers (a.k.a. The Scum).

Days until Opening Day of the 2010 baseball season: 51, the Yankees playing the Red Sox at Fenway for the ESPN Sunday-night season-opener. Just over 7 weeks.

Days until the next North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham: 57.

Days until the Yankees' 2010 home opener: 60. Two months.

Days until the 2010 World Cup begins: 118. Less than 4 months.

Days until the World Cup Final: 149.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 204. Less than 7 months.

Days until the new Meadowlands Stadium (still unnamed) opens: 205.

Days until East Brunswick plays football again: 210.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving clash: 286.

Days until Derek Jeter collects his 3,000th career hit: 474.

Days until the Rutgers-Army football game at Yankee Stadium: 638.