Now that curling is over, I’ve noticed that there are other events being contested in Torino. Too bad this was the last night of competition, and the Olympics end tomorrow. But let me say a word in praise of a speed skater, of all people. Apolo Anton Ohno came into the Games with high expectations, from the public and from himself. He had spent the last four years living at the U.S. Olympic training center full time and preparing himself for the races he would run in the last two weeks. Even if, as was the case with most athletes at the Olympics, he had won no medals, he would be a great Olympian. He has consistently shown that he has perspective on both his results and the Olympic experience. He knows that the competition is about athletes from all over the world coming together and giving their best effort, whether they expect to win or not. And I can say from watching him that I don’t believe he ever gave less than his best, regardless of the results. (Did you see that 500 meter heats and final tonight? Wow!) He’s unlike some athletes, who seem to think that the experience is theirs alone, and that they are there by right, without the obligation to try, when many other worthy competitors are sitting home watching. I applaud the athletes like Ohno, who can soak up the experience, do their best, and never let anyone watching them feel cheated.

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One year ago: Tricks
"The wave is a side-to-side gesture at chest level, as if he’s been riding on a parade float for a couple of hours and is just a little tired of waving."

Two years ago: Vision Thing
"This time some nasty receptionist is going to give me lip. Or guff. Or maybe sass. One of those, though, lip or guff or sass."

Three years ago: Mice and Ice
"Meanwhile, there's an elephant in the back yard."

Four years ago: Right to Vote
"'I want to vote for the Republicans,' he told me. I didn't bother to tell him that since it's a primary, all the candidates on his ballot would be Republicans. If he wanted to vote for the most inflexible rightwing extremist Republican, I'd have to do some extra research."

Five years ago: Someone to Look Up To
"They were flawed, and the result of their efforts was imperfect, but they are the role models we need in an age of arrogant self-interest and drifting values."

Six years ago: Unhitch the Wagon
"The inevitable ticket of Bush and a Quaylesque figure to be named later will further marginalize the party and take a sound drubbing in November."