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Bode Miller Article in Chicago Sun Times



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 16th 06, 06:49 PM
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Default Bode Miller Article in Chicago Sun Times

Big-mouth Bode just a big asterisk

February 15, 2006

BY JAY MARIOTTI SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST


TURIN, Italy -- Our worst fears are being confirmed about Bode Miller,
I'm afraid. He has become the undisputed buffoon of the Winter Olympics
and is giving Dick Cheney a serious run as America's reigning doofus.
When I suggested he'd be the first skier ever to be stopped on the
slopes for a Breathalyzer test, I never thought he'd drink a few beers
the night before his major letdown in the downhill. But, oh, there's
more.



Tuesday evening, on the hills of Sestriere, Miller was in seemingly
sweet position to hush his critics and win his first gold medal in the
combined event. The race favorite, Austria's Benjamin Raich, had almost
fallen during his afternoon downhill run and was far behind. The
closest competitors didn't have Miller's talent and experience in the
slalom portion, supposedly his specialty. All Bode had to do was stay
upright, basically, and he would hand NBC exactly what it needed to
spike ratings while giving Americans something to cheer other than
slacker snowboarders with cartoonish nicknames.

So what happened? The skier who says he doesn't care about winning got
careless, that's what. Flying down the mountain with his usual fury,
Miller straddled the 42nd gate late in his first slalom run. An
asterisk was placed by his name on the scoreboard, and next thing you
knew, the so-called iconoclast who says he has been "wasted'' while
skiing was disqualified from the event. Considering he hadn't finished
five of his seven World Cup slaloms this year, should anyone be
surprised? Bode Miller, topic of magazine cover stories and more
pre-Games buzz than any U.S. winter athlete in memory, has finished
fifth in one race and no place in another with as few as two
opportunities left in these Games.

Iconoclast? Only if you emphasize the "con.'' After taking a country
for a ride with his big mouth, Miller has done nothing in the Italian
Alps to back up his bluster and is leaving a pathetic example of how an
athlete can waste considerable talent if his mind is a mess and his
focus isn't right. His only feat has been in lending a new catchphrase
to the everyday lexicon: Bodeing it.

To Bode is to screw up ... and not give a damn when you do.

Oh, I lost? When's Miller time?



"It's not the first time I've hooked a tip,'' a carefree Miller told
the gathered media. "I've straddled probably more times than most
people have finished the slalom. If it's clear, it's clear. I don't
plan to get disappointed.''

Fine. Don't be bummed out at all. Go have a few more beers and let a
more deserving and appreciative American, Ted Ligety, have the
spotlight. After Miller was sent off to the pub by race officials, the
21-year-old from Park City, Utah -- previously best known for the
Sundance Film Festival and Michael Jordan's bad pizza experience --
stormed from 86-hundredths of a second behind to win America's first
gold in men's skiing since 1994. The last came courtesy of Tommy Moe,
which makes Miller a hybrid of Larry and Curly. Unlike Miller, Ligety
seems to have a joy about him and a respect for the Olympic ideal. He
served as a slalom forerunner at the 2002 Games in his hometown and
used to tape "MOM AND DAD'' at the spot on his helmet where most skiers
wear sponsor logos.

OK, Ligety has a wild streak himself, enjoying punk rock and blasting
Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell'' before his races. But compared with Miller,
the hypocrite who decries America's overemphasis on winning yet has
taken millions in endorsement dollars, the kid is a Boy Scout. I'm sure
I'm not the only one who finds powerful, refreshing meaning in this
dramatic turn of events.

"It's incredible,'' Ligety said. "Sometimes, you've just got to get in
the starting gate and throw down whatever you've got.''

Will gold change his life? "I have no idea,'' he said. "But I'm pretty
satisfied with my life so far, so I hope it doesn't change it too
much.''

A self-absorbed self-promoter



That's clear-headed stuff compared with Bode, who started the day with
his reputation teetering as usual. America has a way of embracing
quirky athletes when they win and would have made Miller a
beer-drinking, nose-thumbing folk hero if he had ruled the Olympics.
But when he didn't win a medal after admitting to having "a couple
beers'' late Saturday night -- when he drank with his agent, cousin
and, ahem, Nike rep at a Sestriere bar called The Cavern -- even his
loyalists couldn't defend him. The U.S. men's ski coach, Phil McNichol,
wasn't happy that Miller had overslept in his RV -- he refuses to stay
in the Olympic village with other athletes -- and missed the 9:30 a.m.
pre-race inspection that serves as a concentration session for most
skiers. If you wish to argue a few beers had no bearing on Miller's
performance, understand that fifth place is fifth place and that Miller
looked tired at the end of his downhill run. He isn't in the best of
shape, in part because he doesn't take care of his body but also
because he has been too busy promoting himself in the very media he
claims to loathe.

Yep, a man who thinks winning is overblown has burned out on
overexposure. Ain't that America, for you and me? As if proving a
point, Miller tried to win brownie points last week when he said he
doesn't lavishly spend his millions. "You don't see me up here with
bling diamonds on and a fur coat wrapped around me,'' he said. "My most
expensive car is probably less than your most expensive car.''

What's his point? He still took the money, didn't he?

Hate to break it to Bode, but the Olympics are not another frat-house
retreat. It is a privilege to compete in the Games, which provide
sportsmanship lessons for children and create quadrennial benchmarks
for where the world stands in sport and life. It would have been nice
if he'd showed some emotion after the disqualification, maybe demanded
a protest or something. Nope.

"I wasn't so much conservative as just bad,'' Miller said.

U.S. ski officials weren't very interested in protesting, either. "It's
a clear straddle,'' McNichol said.

Could be they're just relieved. In the end, Bode Miller isn't a
revolutionary as much as a ding-a-ling with a platform and two skis
that didn't properly maneuver through a gate. Maybe he'll win a medal
this week, but I just hope he goes away and leaves us all alone. The
Olympics are too good for him.

"Ever skied drunk?'' someone asked Ligety.

"No, I have not skied when I was drunk,'' he said, sounding like a real
American hero and not a hazy, contrived phony.


Jay Mariotti is a regular on ''Around the Horn'' at 4 p.m. on ESPN.
Send e-mail to inbox@ suntimes.com with name, hometown and daytime
phone number (letters run Sunday).

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  #4  
Old February 16th 06, 08:23 PM
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Marty wrote:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Mariotti

Another big mouth ass-wipe that knows nothing about ski racing.

I just can not understand how these guys get to where they are in life.

Thanks for nothing Jay! Stick to NASCAR.


The Jay Mariotti would stuff up an article on The Tiddely Winks.

--
Before Heading to the Hills Head to The Wisconsin Skier:
http://www.wi-ski.com/
  #6  
Old February 16th 06, 08:38 PM
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Hey Mariotti, this one's for you dumbass:

http://www.eurosport.com/alpineskiin...to834756.shtml
--
Marty

  #7  
Old February 16th 06, 10:00 PM
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AND, I bet if anybody had said that Roberto Heras was a doper just a
year ago, you'd have called them insane.

I have lost all faith in pro cycling (and cyclists) being clean after
that, and Tyler, and Millar, and last but not least, Museeuw.

The best cheats yet to be caught!
--
Marty

  #8  
Old February 16th 06, 10:02 PM
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Marty wrote:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Mariotti

Another big mouth ass-wipe that knows nothing about ski racing.

I just can not understand how these guys get to where they are in life.

Thanks for nothing Jay! Stick to NASCAR.
--
Marty


Typical of the sporting media. I'm an SF Giants fan and they do the
same thing to Barry because he won't kiss their ass. I like men who can
think on their own and are not afraid of ruffling some feathers.

Well, AFAIC, I love Bode and they can eat sh*t!!!

Martha

  #9  
Old February 17th 06, 12:49 AM
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The Wisconsin Skier wrote:

The Jay Mariotti would stuff up an article on The Tiddely Winks.


You do know they have Tiddely Wink tournaments in the UK?
  #10  
Old February 17th 06, 01:43 AM
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Horse****.

You mean everything I've written, or just the "Bode's history is
already legendary as a ski racer" part?

Whatever the case, it may very well be as it's all just my opinion
anyway.
--
Marty

 




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