U.S. Olympic Dreams Dashed; Bay Area Doldrums; Moving Up; Good Bunny

The U.S. Olympic team went to Milan Cortina expecting to bring in an impressive haul of gold medals.

But something happened on the way to the medal platform.

One after another, heavily favored Americans fell, crashed or underperformed. In fact, virtually all of the big names on the U.S. team those highlighted in NBC promos, have gone down to defeat.

It's been a startling display.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment was skater Ilia Malinin, the famous "Quad God," who was heavily favored in the men's competition, but crashed and burned in his final routine, finishing eighth.

Skier Lindsay Vonn, courageously attempting to compete after tearing her ACL a week earlier, crashed 13 seconds into her race, suffering a broken tibia in the process. Since the fall, she's had four surgeries to repair the damage.

Chloe Kim, the favorite to win her third straight snowboarding halfpipe gold, fell down during her final run and finished second. She tore the labrum in her shoulder in December and was limited in her training regimen.

American ice dancing favorites Madison Chock and Evan Bates lost by one point to a French team when the French judge had his country's duo on top by eight points.

Struggling skier Mikaela Shiffrin cost the U.S. team the downhill gold by crossing the finish line in 15th place and then placed 11th in the Giant Slalom, a race she had won eight years ago.

Many of the European nations who are doing well at the games, especially host Italy and Norway, seem to be enjoying team USA's misfortune.

According to a YouGov survey released on the eve of the games, more than 60% of Italians have an unfavorable view of the U.S., which is in line with other European countries.

Indeed, many in the crowd booed the U.S. team when it marched in for the opening ceremonies, with Vice-President JD Vance earning a particularly loud (and well-earned) show of contempt.

There have been a few pleasant surprises. Skier Breezy Johnson was the winner of the downhill on the day of Vonn's crash. Unheralded freestyler Elizabeth Lemley won the women's moguls, and the U.S. women's hockey team is crushing everyone. 

Speed skating phenom Jordan Stolz is the lone American headliner who hasn't disappointed, winning both the 1000 and 500 in Olympic record time.

With a week to go, let's hope the U.S. will rebound and finish strong.

Bay Area Malaise: Sports fans in the San Francisco Bay Area have been spoiled.

Consider:

• 5 Super Bowl Championships won by the 49ers in the 1980s and 90s.

• 4 NBA titles won by the Warriors in 2015, '17, '18 and '22

• 3 World Series won by the Giants in 2010, '12 and '14.

• 3 NCAA women's basketball championships won by Stanford in 1990, '92 and 2021

• 3 Rose Bowl appearances by Stanford (two wins) in 2013, '14 and '16

Not to mention tons of individual Olympic champions from the Bay Area and dozens of Olympic sports NCAA team championships at Stanford and Cal.

Heck, the 49ers only lost the Super Bowl in overtime two years ago.

But there's definitely a feeling of dissatisfaction, if not depression, about the sad state of affairs in Bay Area sports. You see it in the local media, on the streets, at the water cooler, in the sports bars and inside the stadiums. 

The complaints come fast and furious:

• The aging Warriors are struggling to make the playoffs. You constantly read or hear that "the dynasty is over" and Steph Curry's window is closing.

• The injury-plagued 49ers were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, suffering a 41-6 humiliation by the eventual Super Bowl champion Seahawks.

• The Giants haven't qualified for the post-season since 2021, and that was their only winning season in the last nine years.

• Stanford and Cal are struggling in football and are at best mediocre in men's and women's basketball

Fact is, we haven't won a pro sports championship in four long years! 

So have we become so jaded by success that we can't stand some down years?

All I can say is, cheer up, folks. Get some perspective. We've had it better than any other area in the country for the last 40 years, and things will turn around.

 Supportive owners and good coaches are in place in the pro ranks, and enthusiastic new coaches with promise have taken over at Stanford and Cal.

It's only a matter of time.

Moving Up: Sacramento State is paying the Mid-American Conference an entry fee of $18 million to move up to the FBS level (Football Bowl Subdivision) in football, plus a $5 million fee to the NCAA.

The University president, Dr. Luke Wood, is a sports enthusiast and believes the school's athletic program will build his brand nationally.

He's got a shot.

The Hornets should be able to hold their own against many of the teams in the MAC, including Massachusetts, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Ball State, Kent State, Northern Illinois, Buffalo and Akron.

A week earlier, North Dakota State paid $12.5M to join the Mountain West, plus the NCAA's $5M fee. The Bison, winner of 18 small college football championships, will do well in the Mountain West.

Sac State and NDSU join several other FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) teams who've made the jump in the last dozen years, including Liberty, James Madison, Jacksonville State, Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Sam Houston and Kennesaw State.

Some, like James Madison, have done well. Others have struggled. Don't be surprised if other schools move up in an attempt not only to compete against the bigger boys, but also grab a piece of bigger media rights fees.

Good Bunny: In the wake of Bad Bunny's halftime performance at the Super Bowl, which attracted 128 million viewers and overwhelmingly positive reviews, several Republican lawmakers and President Donald Trump demanded an FCC investigation into baseless claims that the Latin superstar used explicit language that was not censured during his performance.

The FCC looked into the matter and found....nothing.

What they discovered was that the three songs that contain references to sexual acts had those references removed for the versions performed at the Super Bowl.

Republican Congressman Randy Fine of Florida claimed Bunny's performance was "disgusting" and "illegal," citing lyrics to songs that weren't even sung at the Super Bowl.

On this President's Day, wouldn't it be wonderful if, just once, we were celebrating the fact that Trump and his minions told the truth?