Russian Olympic performance issues

In thought I'd give the whole Tiger Woods thing a rest. There's another international issue.

It seems that the poor showing thus far from the Russian Olympians has raised many an eyebrow in Moscow. In fact, some members of the Russian parliament are calling on the head of the Russian Olympic Committee to step down. Kind of harsh, isn't it?

Not really considering Russia will be hosting the next Winter Olympiad in 2014. A strong Vancouver showing would lend a bit more credibility for the host nation. It also brings up a valid point that since the "dismantling" of the former Soviet Union, Russia has had its struggles in the sports arena.

As of now, Russia has claimed five total medals (1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze). Contrast that with the overall medal leader, the United States which has amassed 20 (6 gold, 6 silver, 8 bronze). It has been reported that anything less than a fourth place finish in the overall medal count will be deemed a failure.

You know it really hits home with the Russian Federation that the U.S. is the overall medal leader. And let's not even get started on the whole Evan Lysacek/Evgeni Plushenko debate, but I will add this. This typically happens when you have multiple people judging an event. Even though judges are "taught" one way, they can (and will) always add their own personal preferences into their overall impression of how a performance goes.

But the Russian Federation isn't lagging too far behind in the overall medal count and there are some events that can propel them to that desired fourth place finish. They currently sit three medals behind host nation Canada for that coveted fourth place in the medal standings. Canada has a total of eight (4 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze).

There's the men's hockey team that is a solid medal contender. How can it not be when you consider they have the best player in the world on their roster in Alex Ovechkin. But the road will be tough as they face the Czech Republic next. A Russian win gets them to the top of their pool and a bye into the next round.

Defending ice dancing world champs Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin sit on top after the compulsory dance portion of the competition. They will most likely grab no less than a silver here.

The biggest disappointment is the biathlon team. In a sport where the Russians can dominate, the biathlon team has not won a single medal. There is time to make amends, though. Four more events in the biathlon could easily net them four more medals.

There's more cross country skiing medals up for grabs, too. Russia has already snagged a couple medals here. They tend to do well in this arena.

All is not lost for the Russians.

Well, just got to learn how to not win the gold and do it with a bit of grace instead of pointing fingers.

Uh huh. I went there.