Silver oven mitts

It's started. The incessant rambling commentary by US Olympic broadcasters, that is. I watched part of the Opening Ceremonies last night and was dejected confused by how much Bob Costas seems to loooooove the sound of his own voice.

It's Olympic time and viewers need to beware: self-indulgent broadcasters will rule the airwaves for the next two weeks! Just turn the sound down and enjoy the action. And of course, that would work, except that all you'll see is American athletes in thoughtful, behind-the-headlines, feel-good, hometown story, up-close-and-personal profiles action. I'll probably be able to count on one hand the number of Canadian athletes I see over the next two weeks. Only when we win medals will we show up on the American coverage -- so I'm hopin' we pick up 20 pieces of hardware!

People complain that CBC is no better in the bias department. Puh-leeze! Having watched Olympic coverage in Australia and the US, I can honestly say that the CBC's coverage is way better than both Channel 7 and NBC. At least the CBC will commit to broadcasting events that don't even feature Canadians. Sure, we get our share of home bias, but there's a commitment to showing the whole event, or at least the relevant portions thereof, instead of just the fact that Janie Smith from Espanola, Ontario finished 12th.

But enough about that. I'll just try to enjoy the Games as best I can.

I missed Canada marching in, but I'm sure they looked resplendent in their HBC outfits. But one quick question for ya: did you see the host Italian team as they brought up the rear of the Parade of Nations? What was with their outfits? Jeepers, I've never seen an Olympic team march in wearing silver oven mitts before.