Trav's Thoughts

Mr Tucker loves Pam. He has since they first met. When we relax on the sofa in the evenings, he usually settles in between us and leans mostly on her. Sometimes he'll put his back against her leg and settle his feet against me. Or he'll get as much into her lap as he can...he's a pretty big cat.

There have been times when he has completely ignored me and refused to have anything to do with me, preferring Pam to get him his food and play with him.

But recently, he's giving her the eye. The last few nights, he's shoved himself between me and the arm of the sofa instead of between us for snuggle time. If I get up for any reason, he won't stay on the sofa. Sometimes he follows me and sometimes he just lays on the floor and waits for me to come back.

Maybe he's just getting fed up with all the construction and has decided it's Pam's fault? He doesn't seem ill. Or maybe it's just a phase.

Cats!

We watched curling on Saturday. It's an oddly compelling sport. And yes, I say sport. It takes a great amount of skill to put those stones where you want them. And the guys/gals who sweep the ice in front of the throws need to have balance and strength and stamina. It's more than bowling on ice. There's all kinds of strategy involved in setting up your own shot while anticipating what your opponent will do with the pattern you leave.

The focus is mostly on the slider, the person who shoots or delivers the stone down the ice. Matches are often billed with the main slider's name vs the other team's slider. But curling is considered a team game because of the importance of the sweepers to help the direction and speed that the stones curl. Those sweepers aren't just muscle either...they have to understand the strategy of the shot so they can help the stone get to the most advantageous position.

It's quite fascinating. The pronouncers discussed a bit of controversy with crowd noise. Evidently etiquette calls for quiet during matches so the players can focus and communicate. Some of the teams have complained about what they say is excessive cheering at inappropriate moments. Curling is incredibly popular around the world, and the fans have come out in the thousands and have been quite vocal.

Imagine that...controversy at an Olympic games. HA!

Short track speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno still has some work left in his Olympic experience, but he has already become the most decorated American Winter Olympian with a total of 7 medals. He's got 2 gold, 2 silver, and 3 bronze in a career that has spanned the games from Salt Lake City to Torino to Vancouver. He has two more events to skate in 2010, the 500m and the 5000m relay. (photo credit to David J Phillip, AP)

And if I may, perhaps now the Koreans can celebrate the success of their brilliant short track athletes instead of constantly whining about how Ohno is such a cheat. After all, it was a Korean skater who made a bad pass to take out himself and a teammate in the 1500m final when the Korean men were on their way to a sweep of the medals in that event. It's not Ohno's fault, or JR Celski's fault, that the two Americans glided past the wipe out to take silver and bronze.

Even with that mistake, the Korean men have still skated away with 3 of the 6 medals awarded in the sport so far. Presumably they are favored to medal in the last two events.

I don't know what happens during the other competitions in a short track speed skating season. The sport just isn't that widely covered. I know of Ohno from his performance in the Olympics and his winning appearance on Dancing with the Stars. I do know that fouls happen in short track speed skating. Ohno gets fouled as much as he fouls. In fact, he got shoved by a Canadian skater in the 1000m final that forced him wide and caused him to trip on his skates and lose speed. He somehow kept his feet, gathered himself, and skated back into bronze medal position. And I didn't hear him whine about that in his post race interviews.

I don't understand all the rules and infractions in the sport, but I can say from the evidence of my eyes that it's one of the most exciting events to watch. Anything can happen, and often does. The Korean men are the best in the world, and Ohno is a fantastic individual athlete.

By the way, you know those 3 medals the Korean men haven't won? Ohno has 2 of them.

Figure skating, and all it's permutations from singles to pairs to ice dancing, is a sport. It takes stamina, strength, balance, and coordination. (photo credit to Gary Hershorn of Reuters)

A man lifts a woman into the air over his head and spins with her suspended 10 feet off the surface of the ice. A man tosses a woman into the air, and she spins and lands 15 feet away on one skate blade. Men and women perform jumps with 2-4 rotations in them 8-10 times during a 4.5 minute program. Spins, twists, twirls, jumps...all on thin skate blades in 2.5 minute short programs and 4.5 minute long programs.

Not to mention all the training that goes into those programs, both on and off the ice.

Yes, the competitions are based on judging. Yes, artistry is a large part of the competition. Yes, each time the skaters take to the ice it is called a performance. Yes, the competitors wear costumes and make up. Sequins and tassels are often prominently featured.

It doesn't have whistles. It's not a race. Participants are not on the ice at the same time directly competing. There's no ball. There's no puck. There's no contact. There are no goals, no bases, no end zone.

But it's a sport. Participants train for it. They tear ACLs. They sprain ankles. They break bones and suffer concussions.

It might not be a sport you enjoy, but it's a sport.