Another live blog

Well, I did enjoy live blogging a sporting event last week, and I thought I'd repeat it today.

The sporting event is of course the winter olympics, and particularly the pairs figure skating.

8:07
The first pair to compete were the Chinese. I thought their performance looked very solid, but not dazzling. I guess that might just be a symptom of this being the short program. They ended up with the highest score since the current system was introduced, so they were obviously more than just solid. Their story is kind of cute: they've been skating together for 18 years, since they were 18 and 13. They were hoping to win gold in Torino, but he cut his achilles tendon, and they only just managed to get together and win bronze. After that, they retired, and got married! They've come back, hoping to fill the last hole in their resume.

8:11
The American pair Denney and Barrett has just finished. She made a fairly serious mistake on a jump - only completing a double (whatever it was) instead of a triple. Even though they recovered well, it was a big mistake and they scored around 53, compared with the 76 or so from the Chinese.

8:25
We've moved onto the men's luge now. I don't know whether the figure skating is moving so slowly, or whether they're only showing highlights. It's funny how the coverage follows American athletes instead of Australian! Bryon Wilson just moved into second place so far. Dale Begg-Smith, from Australia, is the favourite, but he hasn't skied yet.

8:30
Guilbaut Colas from France moves into first place.

8:31
Nate Roberts from the US scores 23.22, moving into 10th.

8:32
Dale Begg-Smith from Australia is at the top of the hill.

8:33
His score of 25.03 puts him in 4th.

8:35
I must say, I prefer scores that are out of something like 10 or 100. I look at that score of 25, or the Chinese score of 76 in the figure skating, and it doesn't mean anything! It's nice to be able to tell how well someone has gone. It certainly helps build an understanding of what is a good achievement and what is important in the event.

8:46
Evora and Ladwig from the US are heading to the ice. Currently it's Bazarova and Lariyov from Russia.

8:50
Before giving their score, they've decided to cut to an ad for... well, something. An upcoming movie, I think.

8:51
Actually, it's an entire ad break. It appears that the American coverage is just as biased as the Australian: almost ignoring competitors from other countries.

8:53
The American pair is on, so naturally they come back and pay attention now!

8:56
I was extremely impressed with the performance. Extremely unimpressed that they once again cut to an ad without waiting for the score!

8:57
Regarding the score being out of something: I remember watching the men's vault at the 2004 Olympics. Gervasio Deferr performed extremely well scoring 9.7 and 9.8 , then Marian Dragulescu came out and completely nailed his first vault.

I seem to have been hypocritical here: not waiting for the Americans' score! They scored 57.86, putting them in second place at the moment.

Anyway, I knew straight away that Dragulescu had done even better, so I immediately said to Mum "9.9". That was indeed his score, so I instantly felt like an expert gymnastics judge! That just isn't possible in an event where 77 is a fabulous score and 58 is a very good score. What kind of scale is that?

9:01
The current pair is in tasteful turquoise, and seem to be doing well, although perhaps not as exciting as the Americans. I'm afraid I missed who they were, while recounting the story of Games past, but I will get back to you!

9:02
Oh: they're a Canadian pair! Obviously the cheering is louder than it has been for anyone else.

9:05
The Canadian pair of Langlois and Hay score 64.2, putting them in second.

9:12
They have a profile of Begg-Smith, "international man of mystery". Competition is now beginning, with Michael Morse of the US.

9:13
A score of 23.38 puts him in second, still very early in the competition.

9:17
Nate Roberts from the US is up.

9:19
He completely loses it halfway down, and ends up on the side of the course. Although he did get back on the course and finish, he wasn't awarded a score.

9:20
The next competitor, Patrick Deneen, did even worse, falling down and crashing into a flag after a jump. I assume he won't be getting a score either!

9:24
Vincent Marquis has taken the lead, but they didn't bother showing it, because he's Canadian, not American. Maxime Gingras (also Canadian) now.

9:25
Gringas earns sixth with a 24.13. Jesper Bjoernlund is up.

9:27
A slightly slow run leaves Bjoernlund in fourth place with 25.12.

9:28
Begg-Smith is ready to start: time for an ad break!

9:31
Begg-Smith needs to ski faster if he's to repeat his gold medal performance. He does indeed do very well and should score highly.

9:32
26.58: first place at the moment. The commentators claim that's currently 1-2-3 for Canada, but that's rubbish: he's competing for Australia, so he's Australian. Bryan Wilson (US) also completes a very good run, so he'll be right up there.

9:34
26.08: second, but Begg-Smith is still on top with two competitors left, so a definite medal for Australia.

9:38
Alexandre Bilodeau from Canada.

9:39
Bilodeau does very well: faster than Begg-Smith, and with more difficult tricks. He'll probably move into first position. Indeed, 26.75 is enough for him to do just that.

9:42
An extremely fast run from Colas, but he doesn't score particularly highly due to a mistake on the landing of his second jump. He ends up in sixth, leaving Bilodeau with gold, Begg-Smith silver and Wilson bronze.

9:51
Bilodeau's win was Canada's first gold medal on home soil.

10:00
It's getting close to my bedtime, so I'll just watch one or two more figure skating pairs and then say good night to you all (all!).

10:01
Two Russian and a Ukrainian pairs coming up: there's no way I'm going to get all six names down before they disappear!

10:02
Mukhortova and Trankov from Russia. Trankov seems to be Orthodox: he made a sign of the cross just before heading into the middle to begin. This pair is well known for not getting along so well off the ice.

10:03
Rule number 1 of figure skating: don't fall over! Trankov just broke that rule, but they seem to be recovering ok.

10:05
The figure skating scoring system seems to be deliberately incomprehensible! I am pleased to note, though, that someone has already updated the world record achieved by the Chinese pair.

10:07
63.44 - not a terrible score, leaving them in third. Surprisingly good given the fall.

10:08
Now it's the Ukrainian pair of Volosozhar and Morozov. They're wearing extremely blue bodysuits.

10:09
Morozov puts a hand down. I assume that's bad, but not as bad as a fall.

10:12
This pair has excellent lifts, but I think the early slip really cost them. The second Russian pair is just taking the ice, so I will watch them as well and then call it a night.

10:14
Kavaguti (formerly Yuko Kawaguchi, from Japan!) and Smirnov begin their routine.

10:18
An excellent performance - with no falls! Perhaps second place?

10:19
The little girl assisting goes and picks up a flower or something thrown on - but doesn't give it to the competitors (she skates back in the opposite direction to where she belongs).

10:20
74.16, so second place.

Well, that's it for tonight. If there's a special request, I might be back later in the week. Good night!