Carp's Observations

A few random thoughts from the Winter Olympics…

I wonder how many medals Canada has in synchronized swimming? I‘m guessing none. I figure if they can’t synchronize traffic lights, they’ve got no shot at getting 6 or 8 people in a pool doing the same thing at the same time. Traffic lights here are insane! You can make one, maybe two, but in the two weeks we’ve been here, we’ve never hit three green lights in a row. Come on man! You’re telling me there’s not some 8th grader living here with an X-box and an aptitude for math that can’t get these stops lights in order? It’s killing my photographer, Mike Nederbrock. He’s doing all the driving (God bless him!) and every time we hit a red light, he gets so frustrated I think he’s going to stroke out.

Here’s a shout out to the imbeciles at NBC (yeah, I said it!)… Our mother network held us, and every NBC affiliate hostage for credentials to these games. They demanded $85,000 for a credential. Ouch! If KTUU were an affiliate of FOX, ABC or CBS, we could have been credentialed by either the International Olympic Committee, or the United States Olympic Committee, for free (zero, zip, nada!). But because we were an NBC affiliate, we had to pay through the nose. The reason? The network bozos told us they had to recoup some of their costs for what they paid for the rights to these games. After the whole Conan/Leno debacle, I can understand how NBC might need some cash. Just for the record, they wouldn’t have to pay me $40-million not to work at NBC. I’d only charge them $1-million not to work for that dysfunctional group of wahoos. As much as it pains me to say this, here’s hoping someone other than NBC gets the rights to the Sochi games in 2014!

Finally, I must say, I am so proud of the athletes Alaska has sent to these Winter Games.
Every single one of them is a great human being. They’re all humble, they’re nice, they’re hardworking, and they’re all so easy to cheer for. There’s not a “Bode Miller prima donna” in the bunch. I’m not saying this just because they’ve made time to talk to us (which they very graciously have). In fact they seem genuinely happy to talk to us so they can share a piece of their Olympic experience with their fellow Alaskans back home. They’re all class acts. They’re the kind of role models Alaskans can, and should, be proud of. Very Impressive!

-Carp