bobsled

Geek bobsledder leads after day 1

WHISTLER, B.C.--American bobsled pilot Steven Holcomb, a master of sport and computers, put his four-man bobsled in strong position to win gold in Vancouver.

After two of four runs, Holcomb's USA-1 team leads by 0.4 seconds over Canada-1 and 0.44 seconds over bobsled legend Andre Lange, who is trying to be the first man to twice win the two-man and four-man events at the same Olympics.

Holcomb, who is a computer science major and Microsoft Certified Professional, has the U.S. two runs away from ending a 62-year gold medal drought in bobsled.

After the … Read more

Can IT guy deliver bobsled gold?

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--It's been 62 years since the United States claimed a gold medal in bobsled.

And this year, our best hope is piloted by a computer geek who trains by playing video games.

So our chances are pretty good. That's because, in addition to being a Microsoft Certified Professional and admitted PC nerd, Stephen Holcomb is also the reigning world champion in the four-man bobsled.

Plus, he's got this crazy "Holcy dance" that one just has to see to believe.

Holcomb hopes to dance his way on to the medal podium by the time … Read more

Olympic notebook: Photo finishes from Vancouver

VANCOUVER, B.C.--The advantage of being Omega, in addition to the branding benefit of being the official timekeeper, is you also get access to some really cool photos from the Olympic finish line.

And this year, Omega has an even more powerful 2,000-frame-per-second camera to capture those close calls. The folks at Omega were nice enough to share some of the photos from the first week of the games, which I've put into a photo gallery.

The shots include Seth Wescott narrowly winning the gold medal in snowboard cross and Apolo Anton Ohno edging out Canadian Charles … Read more

Olympic notebook: Canada vs. U.S. on Super Sunday

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--It's not the Super Bowl, or even the gold medal match-up, but it is most definitely Super Sunday in Canada.

That's because three epic ice hockey battles are on tap, topped by the U.S. and Canada, who square off at 4:30 p.m. PST. The match-up has taken on added importance with the host nation having needed a shootout to defeat Switzerland earlier in the week.

As if the pot needed any further stirring, the home page on Yahoo Canada quotes Team USA center Ryan Kesler as saying he hates the Canadian team.

I'… Read more

PC-Mac rivalry makes for crowded USA bobsled

WHISTLER, B.C.--They may be on the same world championship four-man bobsled team, but Steven Holcomb and Steve Mesler are decidedly different when it comes to that all important question: Mac or PC?

A computer science major and admitted computer nerd, Holcomb is decidedly in the PC camp, even eschewing the iPod in favor of a Creative Zen player. Mesler, a pusher on Holcomb's sled, is just as passionate about the Mac.

"I'm on the creative side," Mesler said in an interview. "He's on the technical side."

That said, the pairing pays … Read more

For those end-of-quarter, highly stressful days...

This week has been highly stressful. Actually, every end of quarter has been stressful. My company has yet to miss a quarter in eight straight quarters, but that doesn't mean it's always a pleasant experience, whatever I might say to the contrary.

I had just finished a call with a particularly difficult customer, and needed to get my negative energy out. So Bryce Roberts and I headed up to bike Dry Creek, finishing up on The Bobsled (Watch out - it will make you dizzy), one of the best rides anywhere.

I feel better. Actually, halfway through the … Read more