EMBARRASSMENT, AND HYPOCRISY – AT 6:50 P.M. ET:  Some people do dumb things, and others do fatal things.  From the New York Daily News:

A snowboard bronze medalist from New Hampshire is kissing the Olympics goodbye after risque photos emerged of a girl kissing his medal hello.

Halfpipe boarder Scotty Lago volunteered to leave the Vancouver Games amidst the sneers of Olympic officials reacting to photos of a girl kissing his medal - which was affixed to his pants and covering his crotch.

There was a second photo of Lago holding the medal in his hand as the attractive young woman bit down on it as if to prove the authenticity of the bronze, while teammate Greg Bretz looked on.

Dressed in a "Team USA" T-shirt, Lago was photographed at a party following his award ceremony Thursday night.

He apologized Friday to the U.S. Olympic Committee and U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, and decided it was best to pack his bags before the closing ceremonies.

COMMENT:  Clearly inappropriate behavior, and leaving the games was the right thing to do.

Meanwhile, a louger from Georgia was killed in a training accident on a course that had drawn repeated complaints over safety for months.  Anyone punished? 

The Olympics are like the mainstream media.  They'll correct a small mistake, but rarely a big one.  When there's a full, satisfactory investigation of the louger's death, and why the Olympics ignored all the warnings, then we'll talk about racy pictures.

February 20, 2010