Category Archives: Snowboarding

Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Curling, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup, FIS Cross-Country World Cup, FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup, FIS Snowboard World Cup, Freestyle Skiing, Snowboarding, The Melting Pot, World Championships

The Melting Pot: Mikaela Shiffrin and Ted Ligety Both Win Gold and Season Titles In Alpine Skiing World Cup

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World Women’s Curling Championships – Montreal, Canada

The World Women’s Curling Championships start on Saturday and the US is one of 12 nations represented. The US team is not the same one that competed in the Olympics which may or may not be a good thing. This team is skipped by Allison Pottinger (the alternate on the Olympic team who was never used) with Nicole Joraanstad as third, Natalie Nicholson as second and Tabitha Peterson as lead. Tara Peterson is their alternate.

They start play with China on Saturday. China won the 2013 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships and were 11th at the 2012 World Women’s Championships and 7th in the Olympics.

Schedule:

  • March 15th
    • 6:30 PM ET – USA vs. China

Snowboard World Cup – La Molina, Spain

The Snowboard World Cup wrapped up the 2013-14 season on Saturday in La Molina, Spain with the finals of snowboard cross. Lindsey Jacobellis was the only US woman competing and she won both her quarterfinal and semifinal heats to advance to the big final. In the big final she placed second to grab silver in her final event of the season. She also finished second in the season standings. In the men’s event Mick Dierdorff, Nick Baumgartner, and Hagen Kearney all advanced from the 1/8 finals while Jonathan Cheever was fourth in his heat and didn’t advance. In the quarterfinals Dierdorff and Kearney were in the same heat with only Dierdorff moving on after he finished second and Kearney fourth in the heat. Baumgartner was also eliminated after placing fourth. Dierdorff missed out on spot in the big final after finishing third in his semifinal heat but did win the small final to secure a fifth place finish to wrap up the year. Baumgartner was the top finisher for the US in the season standings as he placed 14th.

Alpine Skiing World Cup – Lenzerheide, Switzerland

The Alpine Skiing World Cup is at its final stop in Lenzerheide, Switzerland and the US has as good a day as you can on Saturday. Ted Ligety took first in the men’s giant slalom edging out the second place finisher by 0.03 seconds. The US also placed Tim Jitloff in 14th and Bode Miller in 15th. In the women’s slalom event Mikaela Shiffrin was the only one representing the US but they didn’t need anyone else. Shiffrin smoked the field on run one by over one and a half seconds and even a tenth best run on the second was enough to win her the title by 1.44 seconds.

Ligety’s win, his fifth of the year in the giant slalom, gave him the season long title on a tiebreaker of most wins. Ligety would have wrapped up the title a while ago but only competed in six of the eight events this year. Shiffrin also won her fifth event of the year but she had clinched the season title last week.

Sunday will be the men’s slalom and the women’s giant slalom events. I’ll have an update on who will start those events for the US later today.

Schedule:

  • March 16th
    • 4 AM ET – Men’s Slalom Run 1
    • 5 AM ET – Women’s Giant Slalom Run 1
    • 6:30 AM ET – Men’s Slalom Run 2
    • 7:30 AM ET – Women’s Giant Slalom Run 2

Cross-Country Skiing World Cup Finals – Falun, Sweden

The second day of the Cross-Country Skiing World Cup Finals featured the skiathlon events. On the women’s side Elizabeth Stephen was the top finisher for the US in 15th about two minutes behind the winner. Kikkan Randall followed her in 20th with Sadie Bjornsen right behind her in 21st. The US also had Jessica Diggins in 36th, Ida Sargent in 37th, Caitlin Gregg in 40th, and Sophie Caldwell 41st.

In the men’s sprint event Noah Hoffman was the top American as he finished 18th. Reese Hanneman was 38th and Andrew Newell 39th to round out the field for the US.

The 2013-14 World Cup season wraps up with the pursuit events on Sunday. I’ll have more info on who will represent the US when the start lists are published.

Schedule:

  • March 16th
    • 8:30 AM ET – Women’s 10 km Free Pursuit
    • 11 AM ET – Men’s 15km Free Pursuit

Freestyle Skiing World Cup – Moguls – Voss-Myrkdalen, Norway

The final moguls event of the Freestyle Skiing World Cup was Saturday in Voss-Myrkdalen, Norway on Saturday. Heather McPhie, Hannah Kearney, Ali Kariotis, and Eliza Outtrim all advanced from qualifying for the US. Keaton McCargo was one spot short in 17th, 0.15 points short, while Sophie Schwartz did not start the event. Only Kearney advanced from the first round of the finals as Outtrim and McPhie just missed out in seventh and eighth both within 0.3 points of advancing in sixth. Kariotis was further back in 13th. In the final Kearney finished third in a tight battle for the top that saw her just a 0.48 points back of first and 0.15 points behind second.

On the men’s side Patrick Deneen and Troy Murphy were the only two Americans to advance from qualifying. Bradley Wilson was just outside in 17th, 0.04 points back of 16th, with Dylan Walczyk 19th, Jeremy Cota 23rd, Bryon Wilson 25th and Joseph Discoe 31st. Murphy had a rough run on his first final run and was eliminated in 15th while Deneen advanced in fifth. In the second final Deneen finished third to grab the bronze.

There will be a dual moguls event on Sunday with qualifying to start things off. I’ll have coverage of which Americans are in the field later today once the start lists are revealed.

Schedule:

  • March 16th
    • 3:15 AM ET – Women’s Dual Moguls Qualifying
    • 4:45 AM ET – Men’s Dual Moguls Qualifying
    • 7 AM ET – Women’s Dual Moguls Round of 16
    • 7:12 AM ET – Men’s Dual Moguls Round of 16
    • 7:24 AM ET – Women’s Dual Moguls Quarterfinals
    • 7:32 AM ET – Men’s Dual Moguls Quarterfinals
    • 7:40 AM ET – Women’s Dual Moguls Semifinals
    • 7:48 AM ET – Men’s Dual Moguls Semifinals
    • 7:59 AM ET – Women’s Dual Moguls Finals
    • 8:07 AM ET – Men’s Dual Moguls Finals
Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Biathlon World Cup, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup, FIS Nordic Combined World Cup, FIS Ski Flying World Championships, FIS Snowboard World Cup, Nordic Combined, Ski Jumping, Snowboarding, The Melting Pot

The Melting Pot: Americans Winning Medals in Alpine Skiing World Cup, Qualifying Well at Snowboard World Cup

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Biathlon World Cup – Kontiolahti, Finland

The Biathlon World Cup had a men’s 10km sprint race and a women’s 7.5km sprint race on Thursday. The top American man in the 10km sprint was Lowell Bailey who finished 29th, 1:29.1 behind the winner. Tim Burke was 35th in the event, 1:32.3 back, while Leif Nordgren was 55th, 2:21.5 back.

In the women’s 7.5km sprint Hannah Dreissigacker and Susan Dunklee went 28th-29th with Dreissigacker about four seconds ahead. Dunklee was 29th and within 1:39 of the winner despite missing four targets. Annelies Cook finished 75th with Sara Studebaker in 80th.

The same athletes who competed on Thursday will compete in another set of sprint races on Saturday. Same distances, 10km for the men and 7.5km for the women, and a chance to rebound quickly from any disappointment on Thursday.

Schedule:

  • March 15th
    • 6:15 AM ET – Men’s 10km Sprint
      • Lowell Bailey
      • Tim Burke
      • Leif Nordgren
    • 8:45 AM ET – Women’s 7.5km Sprint
      • Hannah Dreissigacker
      • Susan Dunklee
      • Annelies Cook
      • Sara Studebaker

Ski Flying World Championships – Harrachov, Czech Republic

The US stay at the Ski Flying World Championships was not a long one. Anders Johnson finished 33rd and Nicholas Fairall 38th in the qualifying round where only the top 30 moved on. Johnson scored a 109.8 which was still well behind the 30th place score of 129.3. Fairall scored a 73.2.

Attention will turn back to the Ski Jumping World Cup where the final stop is set for Planica, Slovakia starting next Thursday. There will be two individual men’s events and a team event in Planica.

Alpine Skiing World Cup – Lenzerheide, Switzerland

The Alpine Skiing World Cup is at its final stop in Lenzerheide, Switzerland and the action has been going on for several days. The downhill events were held on Wednesday and the US grabbed a medal as Ted Lilly finished in a tie for second in the men’s downhill, just 11 hundredths of a second behind the winner. Travis Ganong followed with a strong sixth, 0.52 seconds back and Bode Miller was eighth, 0.62 seconds back. In the women’s downhill Julia Mancuso finished 10th, 1.34 seconds back, while Stacey Cook was 18th and nearly three seconds behind the winner.

The US medaled again on Thursday when the super-g events were held. It came on the men’s side as Bode Miller finished third, 0.57 seconds back. Ted Ligety did well again with a fifth place finish, 1.09 seconds back, while Travis Ganong was ninth and Andrew Weibrecht took a DNF. There were three US women in the women’s super-g and they all finished in a narrow window. Julia Mancuso led the way in tenth, 2.2 seconds back, with Stacey Cook two tenths of a second behind her in 11th and Leanne Smith about a second back in 14th.

Friday was the team event with the US represented by Julia Mancuso, David Chodounsky, Mikaela Shiffrin, and Tim Jitloff. The event involves a series of four head-to-head races between two countries with the team that wins more of the races advancing. Every matchup in the event ended tied two-to-two and went to the tiebreaker of the fastest combined time of the best men’s run and best women’s run in that series. The US won the first two tiebreakers against France (by 1.02 seconds) and against Austria (by 0.39 seconds) to advance to the final. In the final they lost to Switzerland by 0.14 seconds.

Saturday will be the men’s giant slalom and the women’s slalom events. I’ll have an update on who will start those events for the US later on Friday.

Schedule:

  • March 15th
    • 3 AM ET – Women’s Slalom Run 1
    • 4 AM ET – Men’s Giant Slalom Run 1
    • 5:30 AM ET – Women’s Slalom Run 2
    • 6:30 AM ET – Men’s Giant Slalom Run 2

Nordic Combined World Cup – Falun, Sweden

The Nordic Combined World Cup is at the final stop in Falun, Sweden and set to host a team and an individual event there this weekend. Friday was the provisional competition round with four American vying for spots in the main event. Two of them made it: Taylor Fletcher in 24th and Bryan Fletcher in 44th. Brett Denney came oh so close with a 51st place finish and missed out on the 50th spot by 0.4 points. Nick Hendrickson was further off the pace in 62nd and missed out by 7.6 points.

There aren’t any details on which teams will compete on Saturday yet but I would assume the US will be represented. I’ll have a further update on that later in the day.

Schedule:

  • March 15th
    • 6 AM ET – Team Ski Jumping Round
    • 10:45 AM ET – Team 4x5km Cross-Country Round

Snowboard World Cup – La Molina, Spain

The Snowboard World Cup is at the final stop in Lo Molina, Spain where a snowboard cross competition in underway. In the qualifying runs on Friday American Lindsey Jacobellis was the fastest and will have the #1 seed for the knockout rounds tomorrow. In the men’s event Mick Dierdorff was fourth, Nick Baumgartner tenth, Hagen Kearney 12th, and Jonathan Cheever 15th as they all qualified after the first run. Ross Andrews was the only other American in the field and he failed to qualify after finishing 40th.

Schedule:

  • March 15th
    • 5:30 AM ET – Men’s Finals
      • Nick Baumgartner
      • Jonathan Cheever
      • Hagen Kearney
      • Mick Dierdorff
    • 5:30 AM ET – Women’s Finals
      • Lindsey Jacobellis
FIS Snowboard World Cup, Snowboarding

Lindsey Jacobellis and Nick Baumgartner Headline Five Americans Advancing in Snowboard Cross at World Cup Event in Veysonnaz

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Previous Veysonnaz – FIS Snowboard World Cup Coverage

Lindsey Jacobellis got her first event on the World Cup since Sochi underway with a good first run in qualifying today that seeded her third for the finals and allowed her to skip the second run. Jacobellis will be in the third quarterfinal heat to go on Tuesday.

Verysonnaz - Womens Snowboard Cross - Qualifying

On the men’s side Nick Baumgartner and Jonathan Cheever each needed only one run to reach the 1/8 finals on Tuesday where they are seeded 13th and 14th. Mick Dierdroff and Hagen Kearney each missed out on the top 24 on the first run but were able to qualify fairly easily on run two in 29th and 39th place. The only American to miss out on qualifying was Ross Andrews who was 50th, missing out by two spots but by over a third of a second.

Verysonnaz - Mens Snowboard Cross - Qualifying

All of the advanced riders will be competing in heats of six on Tuesday with the top three advancing in each round. The men start with 1/8 finals while the women start right away in the quarterfinals. WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of the results of the snowboard cross races.

Schedule:

  • March 11th
    • 6 AM ET – Men’s Snowboard Cross – Final
      • Nick Baumgartner
      • Jonathan Cheever
      • Hagen Kearney
      • Mick Dierdorff
    • 6 AM ET – Women’s Snowboard Cross – Final
      • Lindsey Jacobellis
FIS Snowboard World Cup, Snowboarding

Nick Baumgartner and Lindsey Jacobellis Headline First Snowboard World Cup Event For Americans Since Sochi

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It’s been a long few weeks since Sochi as we awaited the first FIS Snowboard World Cup event to feature some Americans. Last week a slopestyle event was held but no Americans were in the field due to other events in the States. Monday and Tuesday though will feature six Americans in the field of a snowboard cross event in Veysonnaz, Switzerland.

The women’s field only contains Lindsey Jacobellis for the US with all 32 of the women locked into the round of 32 and just battling for seeding The men’s field features five Americans including Nick Baumgartner in the 57 man field so this will be a battle to see who can make it into the round of 32 on Tuesday.

WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of the results of the snowboard cross qualification round later on Monday.

  • March 10th
    • 4:45 AM ET – Men’s Snowboard Cross Qualification
      • Nick Baumgartner
      • Jonathan Cheever
      • Hagen Kearney
      • Mick Dierdorff
      • Ross Andrews
    • 7:45 AM ET – Women’s Snowboard Cross Qualification
      • Lindsey Jacobellis
Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross-Country Skiing, Daily Olympic Reviews, Ice Hockey, Olympics, Snowboarding, Sochi 2014, Speed Skating

February 22nd – Sochi 2014 – Daily Review

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On Monday the US grabbed their first gold since Thursday and had a couple of historic firsts. Several events got canceled due to the weather and the US hockey team won a medal, we just won’t know which one until Thursday.

Alpine Skiing

Events:

  • Men’s Slalom Run 1
  • *Men’s Slalom Run 2

Ted Ligety was the first to go for the US in the first run and his 47.56 placed him sixth and left him in medal contention for round two. David Chodounsky was the next to go for the US but he took a DNF. The final American was Nolan Kasper who finished in 48.70 to find himself 18th after the first run.

In run two Kasper finished in 55.52, the tenth best time of the run, and his total time of 1:44.22 placed him 13th overall. Ligety had a good chance to medal but his hopes were dashed when he got off track and took a DNF.

Results Summarized:

  • David Chodounsky – Received a DNF on his first run.
  • Ted Ligety – Received a DNF on his second run. On his first run he finished in 47.56, 6th fastest, and 0.86 seconds behind the leader.
  • Nolan Kasper – Finished 13th overall in 1:44.22, 2.38 seconds behind the winner. On second run he was 10th best with a 55.52, 1.58 seconds behind the leader. On his first run he finished in 48.70, 18th fastest, and 2.00 seconds behind the leader.

Continue reading February 22nd – Sochi 2014 – Daily Review →

Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross-Country Skiing, Daily Previews, Ice Hockey, Olympics, Snowboarding, Sochi 2014, Speed Skating

February 22nd – Sochi 2014 – Daily Preview

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What’s on tap today? Seven disciplines but competition in eight events with six gold medals up for grabs.

In today: Bobsleigh and snowboarding. Out today: Short Track (done in Sochi).

All times below are ET.

Alpine Skiing

Events: Three American men are in the field of 117 for the slalom at 7:45 AM. Ted Ligety goes first for the US, 16th overall with David Chodounsky going 20th. The final American is Nolan Kasper who goes 31st. The field will have a second run at 11:15 AM.

When:

  • Men’s Slalom Run 1 – 7:45 AM
  • *Men’s Slalom Run 2 – 11:15 AM

Live Streaming: A live stream will be available on the NBC Olympics website and on the NBC Sports Live Extra app. You will probably have to authenticate a cable subscription to watch the live streams of the Olympics.

TV Coverage: The alpine skiing will be included in NBC’s evening coverage from 8-11:05 PM ET.

Continue reading February 22nd – Sochi 2014 – Daily Preview →

Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross-Country Skiing, Daily Olympic Reviews, Figure Skating, Ice Hockey, Olympics, Snowboarding, Sochi 2014, Speed Skating

February 19th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Review

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The US won gold on Monday. The US won gold on Tuesday. The US won gold AGAIN on Thursday! It’s been a nice start to the final week of the Olympics for the US.

Alpine Skiing

Events:

  • *Men’s Giant Slalom Run 1
  • *Men’s Giant Slalom Run 2

Ted Ligety was the first American to go in the first run and made his mark with a 1:21.08 that would stand as the best run and was nearly a full second faster than anyone else. Bode Miller went next but couldn’t come close to matching Ligety’s time with a 1:23.64 that placed him just 26th. Tim Jitloff was the second best American with a 21st place, 1:23.23 run. Jared Goldberg was the final American and he placed 27th in 1:23.66.

In run two Goldberg went first for the US and put up a fantastic time of 1:23.82. That ended up being the sixth fastest second run and he finished 19th in a time of 2:47.48. Miller was next for the US and wasn’t as quick as his 1:24.18 was only 13th fastest in the second runs. Miller finished in 20th for the US with a total time of 2:47.82.  Jitloff had a really nice run as well with a eight place second run of 1:23.90 that moved him into 15th overall with a 2:47.13.

When it came time for Ligety’s final run he knew he wouldn’t even need to be nearly the best as his margin gave him some breathing room. When he got to the finish he was only 14th fastest in the second runs but the 1:24.21 was fast enough as his overall time of 2:45.29 gave him the gold by a 0.48 second margin.

Results Summarized:

  • Bode Miller – Finished 20th with a time of 2:47.82. Was 26th in the first run with a 1:23.64 and 13th fastest in the second run with a 1:24.18.
  • Jared Goldberg – Finished 19th with a time of 2:45.29. Was 27th in the first run with a 1:23.66 and 6th fastest in the second run with a 1:23.82.
  • Tim Jitloff – Finished 15th with a time of 2:47.13. Was 21st in the first run with a 1:23.23 and 8th fastest in the second run with a 1:23.90.
  • Ted Ligety – Won the gold medal with a time of 2:45.29. Was fastest in the first run with a 1:21.08 and 14th fastest in the second run with a 1:24.21.


Continue reading February 19th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Review →

Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross-Country Skiing, Daily Previews, Figure Skating, Ice Hockey, Olympics, Snowboarding, Sochi 2014, Speed Skating

February 19th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Preview

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What’s on tap today? Lots of changes in what you’ll see! Eight disciplines and competition in nine events with seven gold medals up for grabs.

In today: Cross-country skiing, figure skating, and ice hockey. Out today: Freestyle skiing, nordic combined, and short track speed skating.

All times below are ET.

Alpine Skiing

Events: Four American men are in the field of 109 for the first run of the giant slalom at 2 AM. Ted Ligety goes first for the US, seventh overall with Bode Miller going 16th. The final two Americans are Tim Jitloff who goes 22nd and Jared Goldberg who goes 40th. The second run will be held at 5:30 AM with the two times combined for the final standings. In the second run the top 30 times will go first in reverse order of the standings, so we’ll know the winner before the final 70+ skiers have gone.

When:

  • Men’s Giant Slalom Run 1 – 2 AM
  • *Men’s Giant Slalom Run 2 – 5:30 AM

Live Streaming: A live stream will be available on the NBC Olympics website and on the NBC Sports Live Extra app. You will probably have to authenticate a cable subscription to watch the live streams of the Olympics.

TV Coverage: The alpine skiing will be included in NBC’s evening coverage from 8-11:30 PM ET.

Continue reading February 19th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Preview →

Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Daily Olympic Reviews, Freestyle Skiing, Nordic Combined, Olympics, Short Track Speed Skating, Snowboarding, Sochi 2014, Speed Skating

February 18th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Review

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Tuesday saw another gold medal for the US as the US had a number of really good performances. Disciplines are wrapping up as we head into the final few days of the Olympics and people make their final appearance in Sochi.

Alpine Skiing

Events:

  • Women’s Giant Slalom Run 1
  • *Women’s Giant Slalom Run 2

The first competitor up for the US was Mikaela Shiffrin and she put up a great run of 1:18.79 that was only fourth best at the time. It would have staying power though and ended up fifth best in run one. Julia Mancuso was next and after chasing the pace in the first half of the hill she got off course and missed a gate to take a DNF. Later on Megan McJames finished in 1:22.77, 32nd, and Resi Stiegler finished in 1:22.69, 31st. 

The second run began with the first 30 in reverse order so Shiffrin was the first one to go for the US after 25 skiers. Shiffirn put up a good 1:18.58 run, sixth best of the second runs, and stayed in fifth with a 2:37.37, half a second off the lead. After the top 30 had gone McJames finished in 1:21.60, 30th best of the second heats, and her total time of 2:44.37 was 30th best. Stiegler went 29th best in run two with a 1:21.38 and she finished 29th overall with a 2:44.07.

Results Summarized:

  • Julia Mancuso – DNF on run one.
  • Megan McJames – Finished 30th with a time of 2:44.37. Was 32nd in run one with a 1:22.77 and 30th in run two with a 1:21.60.
  • Resi Stiegler – Finished 29th with a time of 2:44.07. Was 31st in run one with a 1:22.69 and 29th in run two with a 1:21.38.
  • Mikaela Shiffrin – Finished 5th with a time of 2:37.37. Was 5th in run one with a 1:18.79 and 6th in run two with a 1:18.58.

Continue reading February 18th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Review →

Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Daily Previews, Freestyle Skiing, Nordic Combined, Olympics, Short Track Speed Skating, Snowboarding, Sochi 2014, Speed Skating

February 18th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Preview

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What’s on tap today? Lots of changes in what you’ll see! Eight disciplines and competition in nine events with six gold medals up for grabs. Of course that is all assuming there are no weather issues today…

In today: Alpine skiing, nordic combined, short track speed skating, and speed skating. Out today: curling (done at the Olympics for the US), figure skating, ice hockey, and ski jumping (done at the Olympics).

All times below are ET.

Alpine Skiing

Events: Four American women are in the field of 90 for the giant slalom at 12:30 AM. Mikaela Shiffrin goes first for the US, sixth overall with Julia Mancuso going 17th. The final two Americans are Megan McJames who goes 33rd and Resi Stiegler who goes 41st. The second run will be held at 4 AM with the two times combined for the final standings.

When:

  • Women’s Giant Slalom Run 1 – 12:30 AM
  • *Women’s Giant Slalom Run 2 – 4 AM

Live Streaming: A live stream will be available on the NBC Olympics website and on the NBC Sports Live Extra app. You will probably have to authenticate a cable subscription to watch the live streams of the Olympics.

TV Coverage: The alpine skiing will be included in NBC’s evening coverage from 8-11:30 PM ET.

Continue reading February 18th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Preview →