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Gary Hall Jr.: Shaun White, Shani Davis, Lindsey Vonn and other keywords that might drive traffic to my blog

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Shaun White wins!
Judging wasn’t a factor. There’s nobody in the world that even comes close to being as good as Shaun White on a snowboard. No contest, just gravity-defying, mind-boggling aerial maneuvers.

Shani Davis does it again:
He may talk like “Perfessor” Nerd but he skates like King Cool. Shani turned down the chance to appear on Oprah because he needed to stay focused on his training. Turning down the Oprah show has its rewards, like an Olympic gold medal. Shani, your commitment is inspiring.

Lindsey Vonn, profile victim:
First, allow me to say, “Great job, Lindsey!” There was a lot of pressure to live up to and you delivered, making us all proud.

There’s much ado about the injuries that have plagued Vonn, but how much of that is NBC’s profiling efforts?

NBC covered her bruised shin so much I was beginning to believe that she was truly physically challenged. We’ve all had bruises before, and sometimes they do hurt, some, but … it’s a bruise.

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Come on, NBC! Lindsey is your selection for the predetermined “overcoming obstacles” profile piece? It’s a bruise! It’s slightly less disabling than minor constipation. With all the winter athletes in Vancouver, you couldn’t find someone with a more serious injury to fit the “overcame injury” bill?

Don’t get me wrong, Lindsey Vonn definitely deserves an NBC profile piece. I just think NBC got the wrong profile focus. Bruised shin, noted. Move on.

Congratulations to the U.S. team!
The U.S. team is performing incredibly well in all sports and there are so many athletes we can take pride in having represent us. With 18 medals (six of them gold) the U.S. is the medal leader. It is coming off the single most productive day (six medals) in United States Winter Olympic history. Go, team!

Did anyone else catch that?
England almost didn’t send a team to the Vancouver Olympics for lack of funding. Aren’t they hosting the 2012 Games? That’s two years away. It’s not a good sign.

New event for 2010:
Ski cross will take place for the first time at the Vancouver Winter Games. Snowboard cross has continued its rise in popularity among Olympic aficionados (way to go, Seth Wescott!). Do you remember when skiers across the world scowled when snowboarding was included in the Olympic lineup? I do. Now skiing is copying snowboarding, and it would serve skiers well to continue that trend.

This just in! The IPF (International Procrastinator Federation) has just submitted its bid to include procrastinating as an Olympic event for the 2006 Winter Olympics, to be held in Torino.

-- Gary Hall Jr.

The Times is pleased to have Gary Hall Jr. blogging for us during the Olympics. Hall has represented the United States in international swimming competition for 16 years, racing in three Olympics and earning 10 medals. This experience built a global network of media, corporate and political contacts that came to his support when he was diagnosed with Type 1, or insulin-dependent, diabetes. Gary has served as a diabetes advocate and consultant to some of the largest companies in the diabetes industry, including Johnson & Johnson’s LifeScan division, Novo Nordisk, BD Medical and Eli Lilly & Co. He has testified before Congress on healthcare issues, campaigned for diabetes awareness and headed patient outreach programming, education initiatives and fundraising efforts for important diabetes research. Hall currently serves as the director of business development for B2d Marketing, a leader in business-to-doctor marketing and business development.

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