The Pitch

The race to determine the site of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games is tighter than anyone had ever predicted. PyeongChang, South Korea was always considered the front runner but Munich has stepped up and has given PyeongChang a run for it's money.

So at the Technical Briefing set for this week in Lausanne at the IOC Headquarters, the PyeongChang organizing committee has brought in it's top weapon; Kim Yu-na.

"I have been a member of this great bid team for many months as part of our Athletes Committee and it is special for me to be able to speak directly to the IOC about our unique vision for the Winter Games," Kim told reporters as she departed for Lausanne.

"Yu-na has been incredibly supportive as we prepared and developed our Winter Games Plan and we now look forward to presenting our bid to the IOC. She has played a key role offering advice about the sports venues plan, and we want to ensure convenience, comfort and a great setting for outstanding athletic performances in 2018," said bid chair Yang Ho Cho in a statement.

The race for the 2018 Games has gotten fierce as Munich and PyeongChang have emerged as very strong candidate cities. Munich has been backed by another figure skating super-star, Katarina Witt, who will give the pitch this week for Germany. "As a former athlete it is fantastic to be here in Lausanne - the birthplace of the modern Olympic Movement. But even more important is the chance we have here to make a real impact on the IOC members just as we enter the final stages of our candidature. After our excellent feedback from the IOC Evaluation Commission last week, we are looking forward to sharing our Festival of Friendship concept," said Witt upon arriving in Lausanne.

Who could have predicted two of figure skating's greatest athletes would go head-to-head off the ice!

Annecy, France is the third bid city for the 2018 Games but is thought by most Olympic insiders to be a long-shot given Munich and PyeongChang's candidacy.

May 18th and May 19th, all three Cities will give their technical pitch to the IOC. The IOC will decide the host city for the 2018 Winter Olympics at the 123 IOC Congress in Durban, South Africa July 6th.

Beyond Sochi...

The news today that Katarina Witt will take a more prominent role in Munich's bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics provides an opportunity to look past Sochi and look at the three cities that will vie for the Olympic Bid. The IOC will will pick a host city next year in Durban, South Africa.

First, it's weird that only three cities made it too the final selection. Second, I'm pretty sure this one is already decided.

Munich wants to be the first city to host both a Summer and Winter Olympics. That's cool. It one of few cities that could pull that off. It would be nice to erase the disaster that was 1972 also. But Munich has this problem with some farmers south of Town that don't want a big new snow park built in their back yard and it's gotten pretty ugly in the media there. Garmisch-Partenkirchen (where the farmers are) also was the site of some events during the 1936 Berlin Games. You know, the ones hosted by Nazi Germany. I don't think the IOC will want to deal with the hiccup of unhappy farmers or flashbacks to the past of swastikas, Anti-Semitism, and tiny mustaches. And while they say geography doesn't play a deciding role...well...it does. Munich is in Europe as is Sochi. I say Munich 2018 is a no go.

Annecy gets the best website award. This cute little town nestled west of Lyon and just south of Geneva would be a picturesque backdrop for the Olympics. But it's small. Olympics are big "to-do's" these days and I worry that Annecy would have trouble just accomodating the Olympics. Geneva and Lyon, both cities which support the bid, would almost certainly have to host events. Then the experience becomes very spread. Sochi, which will be the immediate past host of the Winter Olympics come 2018, has all their events within 20 minutes of each other. Spread is no good. France is also Winter Olympic heavy. Annecy would be the fourth French city to host the Winter Olympics. Share the love! And again...there is that Geography thing with back-to-back European Winter Olympics. I say Annecy is out too.

That leaves PyeongChang, which from the start has been the front runner. This city was almost selected to host the 2010 Winter Games, winning the first round of voting in that Olympic Race. But nearly all of Salzburg's votes threw their support behind Vancouver and Vanocuver won by just 3 votes. PyeongChang also bid on the 2014 Olympics and, of course, lost that bid to Sochi. But they only lost by 4 votes! PyeongChang all but announced they would bid again after losing the 2014 bid and began construction on venues, accomodations, etc almost immediately. They've got big corporate backing, a strong bid record, and more experience with an Olympic Bid than either of the other two cities. Throw in Kim Yu-Na as one of your ambassadors and the fact that PyeongChang is nowhere near Sochi and I believe you have a winner.

The Globe Trot

Let's start this week with news from Canada. Patrick Chan is a busy guy these days...he's currently competing at the Liberty Open in Ashton, Pennsylvania. I'd bet he's the odds on favorite to win there. Patrick is also featured in a 2010 Olympics Cheerios Commercial. Busy times for the World Silver Medalist. Need your morning Cup o' Joe? Perhaps Craig Buntin can help. Besides being one of Canada's top Pair skaters, he's attempting to get his company, Teabean Coffee, up and running. And CTV is reporting that Todd Eldredge has a look-a-like, Canadian Ice Dancer Wendell McGrath.

In Germany, Munich has thrown it's name into the ring as a possible candidate city for the 2018 Olympics. Heading the organizing board is two-time Olympic Champion Katarina Witt.

In Russia, while President Obama was in Moscow meeting with President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin, a bevy of politicians touted requests of President including the head of the Russian Skating Federation, Valentin Piseev. His request, he wants President Obama to send all the Russian coaches and Russian Figure Skaters working/training here in the U.S. back to Russia. Really, that's your request?

Lots going on here in the U.S. What Would Brian Boitano Cook? You'll find out this fall when his show of the same name premiers on the Food Network. The reviews keep coming in for Johnny Weir's Pop Star on Ice. You can read Jumping Clapping Man's and Jenny Kirk's. Speaking of Jenny Kirk, she recently wrote of the decision skaters have to make between training and sacrificing a regular school education. Finally, one reason the IOC might be squawking so loudly about Comcast and the USOC's joint Olympic Network project...money? Who knew that NBC's Olympic Television Rights are such a cash cow for the IOC and understandably wouldn't want the USOC dipping into what NBC shows.

Quick blurb from China, Lu Chen and Denis Petrov welcome baby number two into the world...congrats! (I think I shall tout this as the Baby Skate Summer...so many skaters having babies!)

From all around the world, skaters are revealing their music choices for next season. There is really too many to keep tabs on here but check the blogs and Twitter for all the most up-to-date announcements. Speaking of Twitter, my latest follows: Brandon Mroz, Michael Weiss, and Patrick Chan.

Top 10 Most Thrilling

Sports Illustrated just put out a list of the Top 10 Most Thrilling Figure Skaters. The skaters are ranked as follows:

10. Sasha Cohen
9. Duchesnay and Duchesnay
8. Scott Hamilton
7. Torvill and Dean
6. Michelle Kwan
5. Katarina Witt
4. Gordeyeva and Grinkov
3. Gillis Grafström
2. Dick Button
1. Sonja Henie

I think I have a different definition of the word thrilling...some of these skaters don't come close to my definition. Some skaters I felt left off the list...

• Jozef Sabovcik - They didn't call him Jumpin' Joe for nothing.


• Urbanski and Marvel - One of the most athletic Pairs teams ever.


• Shen and Zhao - Speaking of Pairs teams...some of the biggest throws ever.


• Denise Bielman - I'm fairly certain she created thrilling for ladies skating.

Anywho, you can weigh in here or in the comments below. Who's on your thrilling list?

Skating's hotties!

The Roundup this week over at Lifeskate (thank you Susan) had a wonderful little gem amongst its ranks.

Apparently Sports Crunch has listed (in their opinion) the top 10 hottest female athletes ever and two skaters made the list.

Peggy Fleming came in at number 10. They cited her using her good looks to finagle a job as a commentator (No...it couldn't possibly be that she was knowledgeable about skating!) for ABC sports.

And Katarina Witt came in at number 2! They noted that only two issues of Playboy have ever sold out, the inaugural issue featuring Marilyn Monroe, and the December 1998 issue featuring Katarina...wow, I didn't know that!

Just a little fun this Wednesday! I find myself wondering how much Google traffic I'll get for having the words hot female and Playboy in this post?