Feb. 12
Opening ceremony: There's usually only one big secret leading up to the ritual kickoff, and that's which national sports icon will serve as the final torchbearer. Who else could it be in Hockey Heaven other than The Great One, Wayne Gretzky? Organizers have been coy about No. 99's possible assist, and mum about two other questions: How will the torch-lighting comply with fire codes in the first indoor opening ceremony in Olympic history, and will there be an unprecedented "second cauldron" somewhere outside BC Place for crowds to enjoy and TV crews to use as a backdrop for liveshots? Apart from that suspense, the best part of the ceremony for couch potatoes is critiquing the outfits worn by national delegations on what amounts to Oscar night for sporting apparel companies. The U.S. team will be clad in Ralph Lauren, while the host Canadians went with the Hudson Bay Trading Co. Stay tuned. -- Ford.
Feb. 13
Men's downhill: Former Olympian Scott Macartney says that to appreciate how steep and fast a typical downhill is, imagine "taking a hockey rink and standing it on its edge." The downhill at Whistler is no different. Parts of the course are named the Toilet Bowl, the Weasel and the Afterburner. Bode Miller won't be the favorite -- Switzerland's Didier Cuche and Carlo Janka are -- but Miller can repair his image by flying down the mountain to victory. (American Andrew Weibrecht has been improving dramatically this season and could surprise here.) -- Caple
Women's freestyle skiing: Moguls: Canada has yet to win a gold medal, in any event, in a home Olympics. Defending champion and current World Cup circuit leader Jennifer Heil could break that streak Saturday evening, although several top U.S. skiers will try their best to prevent her from doing that. Crews have been working around the clock to make sure there's enough snow on Cypress Mountain, and the athletes gave it a thumbs-up after training runs this week, but suffice to say it won't be powder. -- Ford
Men's speedskating, 5,000 meters: Put on your orange colors and watch Dutchman Sven Kramer continue to do his Roger Federer thing. Kramer hasn't lost in the 5,000 since 2007, and the Dutch could dominate the entire podium. -- Bryant
Feb. 14
Women's skiing, super-combined: And then, suddenly, the world slipped off its axis. If Lindsey Vonn's bruised shin doesn't heal sufficiently or keeps the U.S. skier out of the Games entirely, Austria's Michaela Dorfmeister and France's Fabienne Suter would be the favorites to walk away with the gold. Austria may even score two medals in the super-G. -- Bryant
Men's luge: When you're watching the luge, check out the unlucky 13th curve, what the athletes are calling the 50-50 curve, meaning half the sleds make it out of the curve and half wind up in a crash. -- Bryant
Women's hockey: USA versus China: The U.S. team begins what should be a routine march to the medal round with a game against China that can be classified only as a warm-up. The Chinese finished fourth in the inaugural women's Olympic tournament in 1998 but have fallen on harder times since and are 0-11 against the U.S. in major events. The U.S. has also outscored them 17-1 in two previous Olympic meetings. 'Nuff said. -- Ford.
Feb. 18
Men's figure skating, free skate: Tuesday's short program will have left a handful of skaters in contention. Will Plushenko extend Russia's gold-medal streak to five Olympics and become the first back-to-back champ since Dick Button (1948-52)? Or can Lysacek, Abbott or Weir knock him off to win America's first gold in this event since Brian Boitano in 1988? And if so, will they wind up with a song about them in the next "South Park" movie? -- Caple
Women's snowboarding/halfpipe: The fragmented competition format in this sport means that quite a few of the world's best haven't met head-to-head much, if at all, this season, but there's one certainty: 2002 gold medalist Kelly Clark, defending Olympic champion Hannah Teter and 2006 silver medalist and reigning X Games champ Gretchen Bleiler of the U.S. will be formidable competition for the rest of the world, especially the Chinese. -- Ford
Feb. 19
Men's skiing, super-G: America's best hopes here? Ligety (ranked ninth in the world standings) and Bode (12th), of course. But if you're placing bets here, you'll want to go with the Europeans. Austria's Michael Walchhofer is ranked No. 1, Norwegian superstar Aksel Lund Svindal is No. 2 and Austria's Benjamin Rauch is No. 3. And while the Swiss grand old man Didier Cuche is 35 years old and dealing with a broken thumb, he is ranked fourth. Yes, there are non-Americans in the Olympics! Who knew? -- Caple
Men's skeleton, medal night: If you've never seen skeleton before, just check it out before designating yourself a tough guy. Face-first, chin an inch off the ice and no brakes on what is considered the fastest course in the world. With that in mind, does it really matter which country is racing? -- Bryant
Feb. 20
Women's skiing, super-G: Will the "Vonntourage" be loud or silent? -- Bryant
Men's speedskating, 1,500 meters: If Shani Davis -- one of the best skaters in U.S. history -- wins this as expected (he has dominated the 1,000 and 1,500 during the World Cup season) will he break his code of silence with American reporters? More importantly for cable viewers (and aren't we all), will he grant an interview to Stephen Colbert, whom Davis whipped in a 500-meter race despite sporting the comedian a 13-minute head start in a sprint that usually takes about 35 seconds? -- Caple
Short-track speedskating, men's 1,000 and women's 1,500: This is another opportunity for Apolo Ohno to add to his medal haul, while fellow American Katherine Reutter goes for gold, as well. Which will be a relief. Reutter says for the past month or so, "People I don't even know keep telling me, 'You're racing in 24 days!' Thanks, it's not like I'm stressed or anything." -- Caple
Cross-country, 30K pursuit: Split between 15 kilometers of classical skiing and 15 kilometers of free skiing, this probably will be American Kris Freeman's best shot at a medal (his strength is classical skiing). Norway's Petter Northug, the Ochocinco of cross-country skiing, can say outrageous things immediately after winning a race, so listen in. Though, of course, he may be speaking Norwegian, so listen very carefully. -- Caple
Feb. 21
Men's skiing, giant slalom: The men had their Vonn equivalent in Bode four years ago; but with all the eyes and pressure on Vonn in Vancouver, Ligety can concentrate with relatively few distractions. -- Bryant
Men's hockey, rivalry day: The Olympic gods must have had a hand in this schedule. Hockey fans will be treated to three heated matchups in one day: Russia-Czech Republic, Canada-USA and Sweden-Finland. The crowds will be rowdy and the action will be intense, even on the NHL-sized rink. -- Russo.
Feb. 22
Ice dancing, free dance: The last of three nights of dance competition could be the best reality dance show of all time. A North American medals sweep is possible if the U.S. teams of Meryl Davis and Charlie White and 2006 silver medalists Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto as well as Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir skate the way they've been skating all season. We'll also know by now whether Russians Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin were burned by their choice of Aboriginal music and tribal costumes in an original dance program some Australian critics found offensive. -- Ford
Women's hockey, semifinals: If the draw and seedings go true to form, two Scandinavian teams will stand in the way of a U.S.-Canada final, and the U.S. will play Sweden, which pulled off the 2006 upset that forced the Americans to settle for bronze -- the only time the Americans have lost to the Swedes in 18 games in major events. That also remains the only occasion in which the U.S. or Canada has lost to any team other than each other in top-level competition. -- Ford
Feb. 23
Women's figure skating, short program: The Olympics is never won here, but it's often lost. South Korea's Yu-Na Kim will probably be the belle of the ball on this night for her scintillating "Bond girl" program that features music from the famous "007" films, but several skaters should be bunched at the top, including Japan's Mao Asada and Canada's sweetheart, Joanie Rochette. -- Ford
Feb. 24
Alpine skiing, women's slalom: Germany's Maria Riesch is ranked No. 1 and will be the favorite. Vonn's strength is in the speed events, not the technical events, but she is ranked 13th in the slalom, so you can't completely count her out. -- Caple
Women's freestyle skiing, aerials: It's China against the field here. Australia's Lydia Lassila is positioned best to break up a medals sweep by a talented group that has a stranglehold on World Cup competition this season and is aptly nicknamed "The Chinese Air Force." Jana Lindsey is the top-ranked American in the discipline. -- Ford
Women's bobsled: Something for everyone here: There are the Germans, Cathleen Martini and Romy Logsch, but the Canadian team expects to contend for medals, as do the Americans. -- Bryant
Feb. 25
Women's figure skating, free skate: Japan's Mao Asada could vault to gold if she hits two triple axels as she did at the Four Continents event a few weeks ago, but doing that under Olympic pressure is a long shot. If she's in form, she and compatriot Miki Ando should pose a strong challenge to world champion Kim. Rochette could win her country's first medal in the event since Elizabeth Manley in 1988. Americans Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu will need the skates of their lives to be within hailing distance. -- Ford
Women's hockey, gold-medal game: If it's U.S. versus Canada, here's a telling statistic: Through last year's world championship, over the past 20 years, the U.S. team was a combined 83-2-2 against 10 other world-class teams and 14-35-1 against its northern neighbors. Canada is riding a five-game winning streak against the Americans this season, but home-ice expectations can cut both ways, as the U.S. team found out in Salt Lake City in 2002. Either way, this rematch could be played in front of one of the largest crowds ever to see a women's hockey game. -- Ford
Men's freestyle skiing, aerials: Anton Kushner of Belarus has dominated the 2009-10 World Cup circuit and the Chinese bring a strong contingent here, as well, but Jeret "Speedy" Peterson could trump them all if he can land his signature "Hurricane" trick in the finals. A Czech skier won the gold in 2002 with a similar triple-flip, quintuple-twist maneuver, but Peterson's is sequenced differently and even harder. -- Ford
Feb. 26
Women's skiing, slalom: The favorite here is Maria Riesch, but depending on how Vonn and her shin respond up to this point, she could be doing her best Phelps impersonation. -- Bryant
Women's curling, medal night: Believe it or not, curling is one of the toughest tickets at these Olympics because it's a popular sport in Canada. The American team is led by four-time Olympian Debbie McCormick, whose father, Wally Henry, just happens to be the team's coach. -- Caple
Big night in short-track speedskating: The skating schedule comes to a close with three events -- the men's 500, the women's 1,000 and the always-entertaining men's 5,000 meter pursuit, which is two parts world-class relay race and one part multiple clown-car pileup. -- Caple
Feb. 27
Men's curling, medal night: Canada is a favorite, but will the U.S. men still be in contention (the U.S. took the bronze in 2006)? If not, it won't be for lack of chemistry. These guys bonded as teammates while sharing a two-bedroom apartment in Minnesota the past six months; Jason Smith and Jeff Isaacson shared a room with a bunk bed. -- Caple
Men's skiing, slalom: Jimmy Cochran (20th) is the highest-ranked American in the slalom, so don't expect the U.S. to close out the alpine events with a bang. The bigger question is, given how warm the winter has been in the region, will it be snowing in Whistler by the end of the Olympics, or raining, or will spectators line the course in shorts and T-shirts? -- Caple
Men's bobsled: The mantra for the U.S. team for the entire World Cup season has been that the gold belongs to them. Legend Andre Lange and the Germans expect to have a lot to say about that. -- Bryant
Feb. 28
Men's hockey, gold-medal game: There are few ways this game can go wrong. If it's Russia, you get Alex Ovechkin. If it's Canada, you get Sidney Crosby and a dream team of millionaires. If it's the United States, you get history. And don't be surprised by the Czechs. Best matchup: Canada versus Russia, Ovechkin versus Crosby, for love of country, warming up for an Eastern Conference finals clash in the NHL. -- Bryant.
Closing ceremony: Shed a tear until 2014 in Sochi, Russia, because from an American perspective, 2010 will have been the most talented and promising team the U.S. has put together for the Winter Games. Perhaps it will have been the most successful, too. -- Bryant.
Olympics
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