Sgt. Ryan Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 Miller: 'If things went well, I could be sitting on four medals' By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP Sports Writer SESTRIERE, Italy (AP) -- All those Olympic medals Bode Miller insists he can live without? Turns out he also believes they could just as easily be his. Instead, they're going to other skiers -- and other countries. Miller is down to one final chance at the Turin Games after tying for sixth in the giant slalom Monday, when Benjamin Raich ended his own string of Olympic disappointments by leading a gold-bronze Austrian finish. Through four of five men's Alpine races, Miller has finished no better than fifth place in the downhill. He was leading the combined when he was disqualified; he didn't finish the super-G after slamming into a gate. "If things went well," he told The Associated Press, "I could be sitting on four medals, maybe all of them gold." Asked if a common thread could tie together his results at these games, Miller offered a race-by-race assessment. In the downhill, he said, "the other guys just found more speed." He accepted "pilot error" as reasons for his problems in the combined and super-G. In the giant slalom, Miller said, he had "a little bit of bad luck" in the first run, when he hit a rock early, then made a trio of errors in the second. After each run Monday, the 28-year-old from Franconia, N.H., doubled over, hands on knees, gasping for air. "Against those guys right now," he acknowledged as he walked away from the hill and toward his private RV, "that won't do." Twelfth after the opening giant slalom leg, Miller did ski a strong second leg. For several skiers, he even watched from the leader's perch at the bottom of the mountain, mugging for the camera, sticking his tongue out, chatting with another skier. Then, one by one, Miller's rivals bested his time. Raich had the fastest second run and finished with a total time of 2 minutes, 35 seconds on a course drenched in sun following two days of heavy snowfall. Joel Chenal was 0.07 back for France's second medal of the Olympics, and Austria's Hermann Maier boosted his personal take to two medals with the bronze, 0.16 off the pace. Until Monday, Raich was having his own problems at Sestriere. He wasn't picked for Austria's downhill squad, straddled a gate when he was seconds from gold in the combined and was 21st in the super-G. Still, he said he felt no extra pressure. "I do not have to prove to anybody anymore that I know ski racing," said Raich, who won two bronzes at Salt Lake City four years ago. About an hour after he and Maier won gold and bronze, Austria raised its Alpine haul to nine medals when Michaela Dorfmeister and Alexandra Meissnitzer finished 1-3 in the women's super-G, a few mountains away. The United States, meanwhile, is stuck on one medal: Ted Ligety's gold in the men's combined. He'll be among the favorites in Saturday's slalom, the last Alpine event and Miller's last medal hope. Ligety missed a gate in the giant slalom's first leg, as did Miller's co-headliner on the U.S. Ski Team, lower-key Daron Rahlves. Owner of 12 World Cup wins and a 2001 world title, Rahlves was thought to be a serious medal contender at his final Olympics. Yet the 32-year-old Californian will retire with nothing better than a seventh-place finish from seven races over three Winter Games. "I really felt like we had a chance, where we could bring medals back down in every event. I'm just shaking my head at it right now," Rahlves said. "If you get a gold medal in the Olympics, it doesn't matter what else you've done." Miller, one of the few stars from any nation entered in all five Alpine races, leaves little doubt he doesn't share that philosophy. Over and over, he's said it's more important whether he feels good about a race than whether he was good enough to beat everybody else. He calls satisfying "my subjective criteria" his biggest concern -- rather than the "objective result" measured by the clock. It's more true to the Olympic spirit, he's said. "He's of the mind-set he wants to inspire with great skiing," U.S. Alpine director Jesse Hunt said, "and he's not really focused on the results." His father, Woody, had a different take, saying Miller's attitude is more like "What am I going to do with a gold medal?" "He has this ambivalence with succeeding," the elder Miller said, sitting in the stands at Monday's race. "It's part of who he is." As a double silver medalist at the 2002 Olympics, and the reigning overall World Cup champion, Miller was burdened by outsized expectations. That, despite the way his 2005-06 season had gone before arriving in Sestriere: 27 races, 17 finished, one victory. "He's still not as good as he was last year," said Italian Alberto Tomba, a two-time Olympic champion in giant slalom and one of Alpine skiing's greats. "It's not easy to get back to winning after going through a bit of a rough period." How far has Miller's stock fallen? After he finished his first run Monday, the PA announcer's voice boomed: "Great time, with all the mistakes. Congratulations! We'll see you in the second run." Talk about setting the bar low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Ryan Posted February 21, 2006 Author Share Posted February 21, 2006 what a tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Like Soup Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 A total tool. If things had gone well, I could have won four gold medals? If I hit every golf shot perfect, I'd be the next Tiger Woods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh 0ne Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 If my Aunt had a dick she'd be my Uncle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chargerz Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 A true "Ugly American"!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donutrun Jellies Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 A true "Ugly American"!!!! 1335843[/snapback] He's a poster child for this malfeasance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Men In Tights Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 He can become friends with Shani Davis and talk about all of the endorsements they lost out on because they are true a$$-clowns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chargerz Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 Well, Bode ends up with no medals (THERE'S a surprise ). Today someone asked him how he liked the Olympics, and he said he had a great two weeks of partying and socializing. MAN, what an ass!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godtomsatan Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 Well, Bode ends up with no medals (THERE'S a surprise ). Today someone asked him how he liked the Olympics, and he said he had a great two weeks of partying and socializing. MAN, what an ass!! 1341894[/snapback] What did he do "wrong"? It's not like he was favored for a medal in any events. He was a creation of crappy shoes from spammers and a personality these games needed to market to the masses during sweeps month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chargerz Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 (edited) What did he do "wrong"? It's not like he was favored for a medal in any events. He was a creation of crappy shoes from spammers and a personality these games needed to market to the masses during sweeps month. 1341910[/snapback] His "wrong" was being more interested in partying than giving his best effort during the Olympics. I contrast this guy with the Italian female figure skater that came out of retirement to compete, knew she wouldn't medal, but then cried for joy when she completed a near-flawless long program. THAT'S what the Olympics is all about!!!!! Edited February 26, 2006 by Chargerz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donutrun Jellies Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 What did he do "wrong"? 1341910[/snapback] Great SI Article on Bode's "half-assing" the olympics, compared to effort put forth by other olympians Here's an exerpt from Tim Layden's article, an SI Reporter covering the games in Italy: On the first Sunday of the Games, Miller skied his eyeballs out in the downhill. He got a little upright in the last 20 seconds, but in general, it was a hell of a run. He hit the finish line -- exhausted, because he's out of shape -- and looked up at the scoreboard. I am convinced that he expected a `"1'' on the board next to his name, indicating that his time was the fastest yet. Instead, he saw a "4.'' The "4'' meant that Miller couldn't possibly medal in the race. I'm reasonably sure that at that moment, Bode thought to himself, "I'm f-----.'' In that instant, he realized that all the training he didn't do in the summer and fall, all the time he didn't spend working with his wax techs on getting the right setup for his skis, all the nights he spent drinking bottomless beers, were too much to overcome. So he threw in the towel and decided to turn the Olympics into his own personal bacchanal. In essence, he half-assed the Olympics, precisely like he said he would not. He disrespected the biggest stage in his sport and then hid behind his worn-out "I don't care about medals" mantra. Miller has firmly cemented his hold on the title of "The TOad of skiing". All that talent -- but a destructive attitude, no concentration, and very little effort. What's that spell? Loser. Act like that on your own time -- not when you're representing the USA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godtomsatan Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 His "wrong" was being more interested in partying than giving his best effort during the Olympics. I contrast this guy with the Italian female figure skater that came out of retirement to compete, knew she wouldn't medal, but then cried for joy when she completed a near-flawless long program. THAT'S what the Olympics is all about!!!!! 1342305[/snapback] On the second day of competition, when the snowboaders were finishing their runs and immediately started brandishing caps with sponsorships like they were NASCAR drivers...... Then, holding their boards up so the logo of their manufacturer was onscreen while their times went up, or the NBC/CBC interviewer did their thing...... All the while commericials featuring Bode Miller, Apolo Anton Ohno, and Lindsey Jacobelli littered our screens during the breaks in the tape-delayed/made-for-TV broadcasts..... It became very clear to me that this is not the Olympics we grew up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chargerz Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 (edited) On the second day of competition, when the snowboaders were finishing their runs and immediately started brandishing caps with sponsorships like they were NASCAR drivers...... Then, holding their boards up so the logo of their manufacturer was onscreen while their times went up, or the NBC/CBC interviewer did their thing...... All the while commericials featuring Bode Miller, Apolo Anton Ohno, and Lindsey Jacobelli littered our screens during the breaks in the tape-delayed/made-for-TV broadcasts..... It became very clear to me that this is not the Olympics we grew up with. 1344291[/snapback] The media and sponsorships have indeed changed the Olympics forever. I just hope that the Olympic athletes of the future give their very best effort instead of following in the footsteps of jerks like Bode Miller who really don't give a sh*t. Edited February 28, 2006 by Chargerz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cunning Linguist Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 On the second day of competition, when the snowboaders were finishing their runs and immediately started brandishing caps with sponsorships like they were NASCAR drivers...... Then, holding their boards up so the logo of their manufacturer was onscreen while their times went up, or the NBC/CBC interviewer did their thing...... All the while commericials featuring Bode Miller, Apolo Anton Ohno, and Lindsey Jacobelli littered our screens during the breaks in the tape-delayed/made-for-TV broadcasts..... It became very clear to me that this is not the Olympics we grew up with. 1344291[/snapback] These reasons and about 100 others are why the olympics are a joke. I could care less if its ever on again. I didn't watch any of it, and i love winter sports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Like Soup Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 What did he do "wrong"? It's not like he was favored for a medal in any events. He was a creation of crappy shoes from spammers and a personality these games needed to market to the masses during sweeps month. 1341910[/snapback] Sure, he was a crappy shoes from spammers creation...as you say. But he was also a champion several times over and showed the ability to medal in the games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donutrun Jellies Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 jerks like Bode Miller who really don't give a sh*t. 1344459[/snapback] He certainly put the BO in BOde ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chargerz Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 He certainly put the BO in BOde ... 1350022[/snapback] VERY nice.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robash Posted March 5, 2006 Share Posted March 5, 2006 (edited) On the second day of competition, when the snowboaders were finishing their runs and immediately started brandishing caps with sponsorships like they were NASCAR drivers...... Then, holding their boards up so the logo of their manufacturer was onscreen while their times went up, or the NBC/CBC interviewer did their thing...... It became very clear to me that this is not the Olympics we grew up with. 1344291[/snapback] thats what happens when pro's are alowed to compete i cant fault them for wearing a cap or making sure the logo is shown from thier boards on camera...what i want to know is if they wore the same brand of jackets and pants, but i would guess they were wearing what ever sponsored gear they had,,,just all with the same graphics...yea it takes away from the games but when big companies say no check or gear for you unless you show the world what equipment you are using, you do what they did Edited March 5, 2006 by Robash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Like Soup Posted March 5, 2006 Share Posted March 5, 2006 thats what happens when pro's are alowed to compete i cant fault them for wearing a cap or making sure the logo is shown from thier boards on camera...what i want to know is if they wore the same brand of jackets and pants, but i would guess they were wearing what ever sponsored gear they had,,,just all with the same graphics...yea it takes away from the games but when big companies say no check or gear for you unless you show the world what equipment you are using, you do what they did 1352444[/snapback] True. It isn't like training for something like this is a full time paid job. Gotta get funding somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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