Free Republic

SALT LAKE CITY - Gather 'round, boys and girls, so your Great Auntie Blatch, down here on the great Salt Lake, can tell you the story of how she became a wanted felon. Once upon a time, in 1998, the Olympic Games were held in Nagano, a little town in Japan. Now, the Japanese were gracious hosts, and had four special mascots to make their visitors feel welcome. These were the Snowlets, and they were very cute, and came in different forms, including big furry stuffed versions about six feet square, who walked around the Olympic Park and went to ...

We Bestow Our Own Honors For Olympic Class (And Crass) Acts By JIM SHEA Courant Staff Writer February 26 2002 Quote: "Bobsled is the champagne of the sliding sports. Skeleton is the moonshine." - Jim Shea Sacrifice: John Leclair of the American hockey team, who had a tooth knocked clean out of his mouth in a game against Germany. Besides a gold medal, we also award John a gold tooth. Motherhood: To Judy Shea, for vaulting over two Secret Service agents and a handful of police officers to hug her son, Jim Shea, right, after he won the gold. You ...

SALT LAKE CITY - The conclusion of the 2002 Winter Games will leave the American Olympic movement with two legacies: 34 medals and a $1.9 billion tab. Many of the medals and memories have been linked to the emotion of having the Olympics on home soil. But with a price tag as big as some corporate mergers, the Salt Lake City Games have also raised the question of whether a fortnight of athletic excellence and international exposure is worth the money. Some answers will come in the months ahead, as four cities vie to become America's entry in the ...

After nine years on the news staff at this newspaper, it was my good fortune in late 1998 to transfer to the Sports section. Days later, the Salt Lake bid scandal erupted. So I've been coming to Salt Lake with regularity for more than three years now, and I knew that these Games--the last in the United States for at least 10 years--would be memorable. I must admit that, after all the time spent in Salt Lake, the place kind of grows on you. Not enough to move here; let's not be ridiculous. But the mountains are beautiful, the ...

<p>America will see a lot of Vonetta Flowers over the next few weeks.</p> <p>The first African American to win a gold medal in the Winter Olympics will be on Letterman and Leno this week, and there's talk of a People magazine cover.</p>

Minutes after an official Olympic event here, the actor Robert Redford sat backstage with a woman who had been forced into prostitution in Bombay. The woman, Maili Lama, said through a translator that customers as well as brothel owners are to blame for horror stories such as hers. Redford, who had presented Lama with an award for helping other women escape similar circumstances, was asked whether he favored the legalization of prostitution. He said he did and compared it to "legalizing certain drugs," a position he said he also supported. "Legalizing prostitution, given that it exists, would probably save us ...

The buildup to the 2002 Winter Olympics could be charitably described as bumpy. An embarrassing bidding scandal, sluggish ticket sales and the specter of terrorism fed a sense of foreboding about the Games. The anxiety seemed to mock a handmade sign hanging two weeks ago outside a house 40 miles from here in the tiny town of Mountain Green: "Welcome Olympics, Feel at Home." By the end of the two weeks that followed, Americans were feeling more at home than ever at a Winter Olympics, relishing their mastery in new-age sports that spawned a record haul of 33 medals through ...

Spires of the Mormon Temple rise next to a downtown Salt Lake City office building that has been wrapped in a poster promoting the Olympics. The Games, which the city spent millions to acquire, ended Sunday.For nearly three weeks, downtown streets here, normally deserted after 6 p.m., were crowded well into the night. Store signs spoke in a rainbow of languages. Public squares were filled with exhibitions and entertainment. The Winter Olympics, a jewel that cities spend millions to acquire, transformed Salt Lake City, bringing it a rich diversity of culture and languages to lift it into the league of ...

Closing Ceremonies at Winter Olympics Are Filled With Music, Celebration, Unity For 17 days, they have leapt and slid, skied and raced, cried and celebrated, watched and argued -- oh, how they've argued. But tonight, after the final protest had been lodged and the last goal scored, the athletes, delegations and hosts of the Salt Lake City Games did the most Olympic thing of all, celebrating the simple act of being together with a rousing Closing Ceremonies that at times had the feel of a hokey, well-choreographed fraternity party. Vice President Cheney came. Italian fashion houses Valentino and Versace sent ...

'You know... Jamie Sale and David Pelletier are good skaters and good guys.But then, why don't we have three gold medals? (at the Olympics)Russian skater Elena Berezhnaya, after she and partner Anton Sikhardulidze were forced to share pairs figure skating gold.

It's in the first hockey article on the front page ('Canada's Moment of Truth'). Dont let the door it your backside on the way out Russkies..

Vice President Dick Cheney watches hockey with his family and U.S. athletes Sunday at the E Center. (Kevork Djanseziaqn/ The Associated Press) A Secret Service document detailing security arrangements for Vice President Dick Cheney at the Olympic Closing Ceremony was left at a Salt Lake City store Sunday afternoon by two agents shopping for Games souvenirs. The agents were at Traps, which sells skateboards and apparel near the University of Utah, when they apparently forgot the sensitive document titled "site post assignment log." "It had a pretty detailed description about what was going on," said Clayton Greenhalgh, the store owner ...

3 F-15's scrambling overhead in attack formation.General direction over the National Cathedral...

Associated Press labeled it an "unruly crowd" and "mayhem." Cable TV's MSNBC called it a "clash." CNN reported it as "Olympic partying turned violent" and a "beer brawl." Others just described it as a "disturbance."A man lies down in the street in front of police during a riot that broke out in downtown Salt Lake City the night before the 2002 Winter Olympics ended.Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News Whatever you call the face-off late Saturday and early Sunday between police and alcohol-fueled partygoers on Main Street, both Salt Lake Police Chief Rick Dinse and Mayor Rocky Anderson say: Don't ...

Little things that make up lasting Olympic memories The Olympics are too big to put into one box, so we divide them into bite-size pieces.In the end, there is no way to remember complete events, the sequential results, even what day they occurred. The names get fuzzier with each memory stored on top of the next one. For millions of people, the Olympics were what NBC brought to them. They were up close, sometimes in slow-motion, spliced into digestible nuggets with a backdrop of endless analysis. The lasting images may be of Sarah Hughes' squeal, or Apolo Ohno's fall, maybe ...

Can Canada erase 50 years of Hockey frustration, or will the U.S. and Brett Hull carry the day?Drop the puck and GAME ON!

SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) - Rubber bullets were fired as about 50 riot police struggled to control a rampaging crowd in central Salt Lake City, venue of the Winter Olympics, police said Sunday. The crowd of young people had broken several shop windows, Reuters eye witnesses said, and started throwing rocks and bottles at the police. They went on the rampage shortly after midnight when police tried to stop them drinking at a temporary bar set up for the Olympics. An area was cordoned off by police cars, the witnesses said. Helicopters hovered overhead with searchlights on as a series ...

The National Olympic Committee of South Korea released an official statement about the demarche. The Koreans are going to boycott the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics that is to take place February 24. This decision was made because of the fact that the Olympic officials disqualifed the South Korean speedskater Kim Dong-Sung, who had won the 1.5 kilometer race according to all rules. (Russian translation-ed.) The gold medal was re-awarded to an American athlete-yes, of course. The representatives of South Korea did not hide their emotions. As RTR television channel informed, they said it was 'uncovered plundering and a ...

The events for the day will be underway shortly. GO TEAM USA and too all freedom loving nations...GOOD LUCK. You can get live results online at this link &gt;Live Results Today's Events: Mens Slalom 12 noon est. Bobsleigh 4 men final runs 530 pm est. Cross Country 50 k mens classic 1130 pm est. Ice Hockey Mens bronze medal game Rus vs Belarus 215 pm est. Speed Skating Ladies 5000m 3 pm est. Short track Speedskating Mens 500, Ladies 1000, Mens 5000 m relay Live on NBC tonight. Saturday, Feb. 23 NBC — (Men's hockey: bronze medal; Speedskating: women's 5000), ...

SALT LAKE CITY -- A Russian protest seeking a duplicate gold medal for Irina Slutskaya in women's figure skating was rejected Friday by the International Skating Union. "The protest has been denied," ISU spokeswoman Aline Busset said. She said details would be included in an official statement released later in the day. Slutskaya appeared shocked when the gold medal went to America's Sarah Hughes on Thursday night. The Russian skating federation quickly protested, seeking a duplicate gold just as was awarded to Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier in the pairs. Slutskaya got her highest marks from judges from Russia, ...