The Olympics On TV
| BOSTON
Friday, Feb. 6
8-11 p.m.
* Opening Ceremony Live
* Alpine skiing Downhill training
Saturday, Feb. 7
4-6 p.m.
* Alpine skiing Men's downhill
* Ice hockey Women's preview
8-11 p.m.
* Alpine skiing Men's downhill, live
Freestyle skiing Men's and women's moguls
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m.
The Olympic Late Night Show Wrap-up of the day's events
Sunday, Feb. 8
3-6 p.m.
* Luge Men's singles
* Speed skating Men's
* Ice hockey Women's: United States versus China
8-11 p.m.
* Figure skating Pairs
* Alpine skiing Men's combined downhill
* Snowboarding Men's
Cross-country skiing Men's
11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m.
The Olympic Late Night Show
Monday, Feb. 9
8 a.m.-
* Alpine skiing Women's Super G
11 p.m.
* Speed skating Men's
* Luge Men's singles
Cross-country skiing Men's
* Snowboarding Women's
12:35-1:35 a.m.
The Olympic Late Night Show
Tuesday, Feb. 10
8-11:30 p.m
* Figure skating Pairs
Ski jumping Individual
* Speed skating Men's
* Luge Women's
Cross-country skiing Women's
1:05-2:05 a.m.
The Olympic Late Night Show
Wednesday, Feb. 11
8-11 p.m. Freestyle skiing Men's and women's moguls, finals
* Alpine skiing Men's combined slalom
* Luge Women's
* Speed skating Women's 3,000 meter
* Men's figure skating Preview
12:35-1:35 a.m.
The Olympic Late Night Show
Thursday, Feb. 12
8-11 p.m.
* Figure skating Men's
* Alpine skiing Men's Super G
* Speed skating Men's
Cross-country skiing Men's and women's
* Snowboarding Men's and women's halfpipe
12:35-3 a.m.
* Ice hockey Men: US versus Sweden, live
Friday, Feb. 13
8-11 p.m.
* Alpine skiing Women's downhill, live
* Figure skating Ice dancing
* Speed skating Women's
* Luge Doubles
12:35-3 a.m.
* Ice Hockey Men's: US versus qualifier, live
* Opening Ceremony
Details are a tightly held secret, but festivities aimed at drawing East and West together will emphasize the "simple, dignified, spiritual." Along with rituals reflecting Japanese culture and the traditional torch lighting, Boston Symphony conductor Seiji Ozawa will conduct Beethoven's Ninth Symphony ("Ode to Joy") involving 2,000 singers in Nagano and another 1,000 singers participating from five continents.
* Alpine Skiing
Look for the Austrians to do well. Hermann Maier, a World Cup leader, is a favorite in the giant slalom and Super G (super-giant slalom), as is Andreas Schifferer. And don't count out Italy's Alberto Tomba, winner of three golds and two silvers in the last three Olympics. Slim US hopes focus on Tommy Moe, who won the gold in the men's downhill and silver in the Super G in the 1994 Lillehammer Games, and Picabo Street, the women's downhill silver medalist at Lillehammer.
* Snowboarding
The youth-oriented "extreme" sport makes its Olympic debut. The United States is expected to win several medals. In the giant slalom event, men and women compete separately, each competitor takes one run; in the halfpipe, athletes perform a series of eight to 10 tricks. American Sondra Van Ert, a former World Cup skiing competitor, is one of the favorites in the giant slalom. In the men's slalom, the leading contenders are Americans Mike Jacoby and Italian world champion Thomas Prugger. American Todd Richards is a leading contender in the halfpipe.
* Speed Skating
The controversial clap skate is at the center of this year's speed-skating competition (see Sports 101, Page 17). But controversy aside, Christine Witty of West Allis, Wis., is the athlete to watch. She's been called "the next Bonnie Blair" (she beat Blair's best times in the 1,000 meter). Metal contenders outside of the US include Canada's Catriona LeMay-Doan, the world's top sprinter, Sabine Volker of Germany, and Gianni Romme of Holland.
* Figure Skating
For once, Elvis spottings will be for real. That's Canada's Elvis Stojko, the favorite to win the men's figure skating gold. The event could come down to one jump in a skater's repertoire: the quadruple. Only a handful of skaters are capable of performing it: Stojko, Russians Ilia Kulik and Alexei Yagudin, and Americans Michael Weiss and world champion Todd Eldredge. Stojko, however, has done quad-triple combos that no one has ever matched. Weiss, meanwhile, might try a quad lutz, the most difficult four-revolution jump currently being attempted.
* Luge
A tiny sled at breakneck speeds: That's luge. A mild twitch, and a major luger could become a major loser. The decade-old rivalry between Germany's Georg Hackl and Austria's Markus Prock will again take center stage. After four runs at Lillehammer, Hackl beat Prock by 13/1000ths of a second - the closest finish in the sport's history.
* Ice Hockey
It's a borderline call between the US and Canada in both men's and women's competition. The US has never won an Olympic gold except on US soil, but that might not matter this time. What does matter is that for the first time, National Hockey League pros will fill many rosters. Brett Hull and Mike Richter play for the US. Canada has the "great one," Wayne Gretzky, and Eric Lindros.
* Schedule for the second half of the Olympics will appear in next week's Arts & Leisure section.
