Seattle Times
"Figure skating: Four share moment of golden glory"
By Jayda Evans
SALT LAKE CITY ? With necks draped in gold, Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier wore a necklace of closure last night, six days after their controversial pairs skating competition.
Dressed in team uniforms, Sale briefly held hands with Russian Elena Berezhnaya as the co-champions walked out to the podium before 15,165 fans in the Salt Lake Ice Center. First the Russian national anthem played, then the Canadian anthem followed as International Skating Union President Ottavio Cinquanta presented the Canadians with their gold medals and both couples with yellow bouquets. At one point, Pelletier put his arm around Russian skater Anton Sikharulidze.
"This was a proud moment for us," said Sale, who returned her silver medal over the weekend. "Both of us (couples) had a hard time with this, and it's not fair to the athletes. It's the most bizarre thing that has ever happened." . . .
The Idaho Statesman
Utah night life from A to Z
By Greg Hahn
An oxymoron: Utah night life.
Bring a stash of liquor, but leave it in your hotel room ? most of the big bars frisk.
Carry a lot of cash. It can cost $5 or $10 or much more just to get in one of these places.
Don't expect much. A drink in Utah means one ounce of liquor ? it's the law.
Eat at the Squatter's Brew Pub downtown. They're one of the few places that haven't doubled their prices. (And you can tell your friends you drank the infamous Polygamy Porter.) . . .
Denver Post
"It takes a village to keep an Olympian entertained"
By Allison Sherry
INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC VILLAGE ? It has been called Utopia, the United Nations and a great place to meet your future spouse.
Here in the village some arise at 6 and hit the gym after a strawberry shake; others get up at 10 and have cheesy scrambled eggs and sausage. Some spend hours in the fitness center, some spend hours on the Internet. Some madly trade pins, some madly drink coffee.
"It's a microcosm of an ideal world," said Canadian hockey player 25-year-old Sami Jo Small. "Here I am, walking next to a Mongolian. We have such different life experiences, but we're at the same place right now." . . .
The Los Angeles Times
"Aussies Discover a New Favorite Son"
By Gerard Wright
Brisbane's Steven Bradbury was a gallant fifth in his last race in Olympic competition, so far off the pace he was barely in the same camera frame; his parents got to see him in the country's colors with the five interlocking rings for the first time, and everyone would have gone home content, nonexistent expectations happily unfulfilled.
And suddenly, everything turns upside-down on the final curve, with the front-runners sliding every direction except forward. The last man standing crosses the line first. If you ever want a pictorial definition of the word "abashed," study the expression on Steven Bradbury's face in that instant.
At that moment, too, far away at the other end of the Pacific Ocean, in the waning days of summer, a transformation takes place. In the eyes of the rest of the country, he is no longer theirs, which is to say, Brisbane's, but ours ? Australia's Steven Bradbury, the unlikeliest Olympic gold medalist in any season since Anthony Nesty of Surinam touched out Matt Biondi of the U.S. in the 100-meter butterfly at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. . . .