Issue Date: February 5, 2006

2006 Olympic Field Guide
Day-by-day guide of not-to-be missed events

USA WEEKEND joins with expert NBC Olympic analysts to help you find all the must-see, can't-miss events of the Winter Games. We have the inside scoop on everything from opening day to this year's surprise hot ticket -- curling!
The journey to the Olympics often is as thrilling, agonizing and spectacular as the Games themselves.
No one knows that better than the NBC Olympic commentators, including former Olympians-turned-analysts who cover the Winter Games and the athletes who prepare for them every four years. Although analysts will tell you the 2,500-some athletes participating this year have earned the right to stand among the world's best, few contenders will leave Torino, Italy, with a medal. Just as every athlete does not make it to the podium, not every story makes it on air or in print. These are some of those behind-the-scenes stories, collected by eyewitnesses to some amazing sports moments -- and the athletes who create them. One thing to remember, says NBC analyst Jeff Hastings, is that "these athletes are absolutely human. The camera grows them, the story lines mold them, but in the end, they're the kids next door."

Below are broadcast highlights of the Games' 17 days of competition, with comments from NBC analysts, including former Olympians Scott Hamilton and Trace Worthington, plus veteran reporters Dan Hicks, Pat Parnell and Don Chevrier. This schedule is subject to change; see NBCOlympics.com for the latest information.

Opening ceremony Feb. 10
Americans hope to top their record 34 medals won four years ago in Salt Lake City, where they came in second -- by two -- to country leader Germany. At the 20th Winter Games, athletes from 80-some countries will gather. Tune in: NBC, 8 p.m.-midnight ET.

Day 2 Feb. 11
"The biathlon, though relatively unknown in America, enjoys an incredible following in Europe, along the lines of NASCAR in the United States," NBC's Chad Salmela says, "without the automobile carnage!" Tune in: men's 20km biathlon (live), USA Network, 7-9 a.m. ET n Nordic combined; men's singles luge, NBC, 3-6 p.m. ET n women's moguls skiing, NBC, 8-11:30 p.m. ET.

Day 3 Feb. 12
In men's downhill, watch Daron Rahlves, 32, and teammate Bode Miller, 28. Rahlves is considered one of America's most successful speed skiers; Miller is "original art in a velvet Elvis world and possessor of genuine athletic ability," NBC's Jeff Hastings says. Tune in: women's 3,000m speed skating, NBC, 3-6 p.m. ET n men's downhill, men's 1,500m short track speed skating, men's singles luge, men's halfpipe snowboarding, K95 ski jumping, NBC, 7-11 p.m. ET.

Day 4 Feb. 13
Curling, the "cult hit" of the 2002 Games, returns to the Olympic ice with live coverage of the U.S. men's and women's teams. The U.S. women, led by sisters Cassie, 24, and Jamie Johnson, 25, of curling hotbed Bemidji, Minn., took silver at the 2005 world championships. "It is one of the few sports that features competitors shaking hands before and after every match," NBC's Don Chevrier says. Tune in: men's and women's curling USA vs. Norway (live), women's 15km biathlon (live), USA Network, 3-11 a.m. ET n figure skating pairs, women's halfpipe snowboarding, men's 500m speed skating, NBC, 8-11:30 p.m. ET.

Day 5 Feb. 14
In luge, competitors lie face up, feet first, on sleds that reach speeds of 90 mph. "I was press chief for luge at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid," NBC's Paul Robbins recalls. "I knew 'you lie on your back on a sled, go down a track, and East Germany wins.' " In Torino, watch a wide field of top-notch lugers, including American 2002 Olympians Tony Benshoof, 30, and Courtney Zablocki, 25. Tune in: women's hockey, USA vs. Finland (live), USA Network, 2:30-5 p.m. ET n women's team sprint cross-country skiing, NBC, 4-5 p.m. ET n men's figure skating, women's singles luge, NBC, 8-11:30 p.m. ET.

Day 6 Feb. 15
Nordic combined is the two-sport sport -- ski jumping and cross-country. "It blends polar-opposite muscle groups: explosive leg thrusts and muscular power for the takeoff, and slow-twitch muscles for endurance," NBC's Robbins says. Also: Reigning World Cup moguls champ Jeremy Bloom, 23 (headed to NFL tryouts post-Olympics), leads a strong U.S. team over car-sized bumps and gravity-defying jumps. Tune in: women's downhill skiing, men's moguls skiing, women's 500m short track speed skating, men's doubles luge, Nordic combined, NBC, 8-11:30 p.m. ET.

Day 7 Feb. 16
Lying facedown, headfirst, on a sled traveling at speeds up to 90 mph takes guts, and more women are accepting the challenge of skeleton. "Women's skeleton athletes are the beach volleyball of the Winter Olympics," NBC's John Morgan says. A rule change mandating that the sport's governing body order steel for all runners will level the playing field. The rule extends to bobsled next season. Tune in: women's 7.5km sprint biathlon, men's curling USA vs. Sweden (live), USA Network, 6-11 a.m. ET; men's hockey USA vs. Kazakhstan, USA Network, 3-6 p.m. ET n women's 10km cross-country skiing, NBC, 4-5 p.m. ET n women's curling USA vs. Sweden, CNBC, 5-8 p.m. ET n men's free skate, men's and women's team pursuit speed skating, men's snowboard cross, women's skeleton, NBC, 8 p.m.-midnight ET.

Day 8 Feb. 17
The 2002 Olympics was a landmark for snowboarding, NBC's Tina Dixon says: "It not only allowed the world to witness the talent of riders, but also to see the U.S. men sweep the medals in the halfpipe. The last American sweep in the Winter Olympics was in 1956!" Today, watch the debut of the snowboard cross event, where four competitors race together down a wild course. Says NBC's Pat Parnell: "These snowboarders would be there doing [what they do] with or without competition." Tune in: men's 15km cross-country skiing, NBC, 4-5 p.m. ET n ice dancing, women's snowboard cross and women's combined (downhill and slalom) skiing, men's skeleton, 8-11:30 p.m. ET.

Day 9 Feb. 18
In the 1,000m speed skating race, watch first-rate teammates Shani Davis, 23, the first black American Olympic speed skater, and Chad Hedrick, 28. Tune in: women's cross-country relay, men's biathlon pursuit, NBC, noon-6 p.m. ET n men's Super-G, men's 1,000m speed skating, men's and women's 1,000m and 1,500m short track speed skating, K125 ski jumping, NBC, 8-11:30 p.m. ET.

Day 10 Feb. 19
Bobsledding has come a long way since the unknown Jamaican bobsled team stole the spotlight at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary by capturing the hearts of the crowd, despite a last-place finish. In 2002, Americans won gold, silver and bronze medals. "The sport now attracts from 1 million to 5 million viewers for each heat of coverage," NBC's Morgan says. In the two-man competition, American Todd Hays, 36, hopes to add to the four-man silver he won in 2002. Tune in: men's hockey USA vs. Sweden (live), NBC, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. ET n women's Super-G, women's 1,000m speed skating, men's two-man bobsled, NBC, 7-11 p.m. ET.

Day 11 Feb. 20
Surprisingly, ski jumpers are rarely more than 15 feet above the ground, but they travel up to 55 mph and fall about 200 feet from takeoff, NBC's Hastings says. "Skis are 8 feet long and 4 inches wide!" Tune in: women's hockey final (live), NBC, 1-6 p.m. ET n ice dancing, men's giant slalom and K125 ski jumping, NBC, 8-11:30 p.m. ET.

Day 12 Feb. 21
When women's bobsled made its Olympic debut in 2002, Vonetta Flowers, now 32, made history as the first black American athlete to win Winter Olympic gold. This year, she's back. Tune in: men's relay biathlon, USA Network, 6-8 a.m. ET n women's bobsled, men's 1,500m speed skating, NBC, 8-11:30 p.m. ET.

Day 13 Feb. 22
In freestyle aerials, athletes build the jumps on the course, says NBC analyst and former Olympian Trace Worthington, who has 43 World Cup victories and 13 national titles in his own skiing career. When flying through the air, competitors listen to their coaches yelling signals. "Kind of like air traffic control," he says. Tune in: men's snowboarding parallel giant slalom and cross-country sprint, NBC, 4-5 p.m. ET n women's 1,500m speed skating, slalom, aerials, NBC, 8-11:30 p.m. ET.

Day 14 Feb. 23
The ladies take the ice tonight to skate for gold. Look for big changes in the scoring system. Skaters collect points instead of getting an overall score, former gold medalist Scott Hamilton says. "The sport has evolved from drawing designs on the ice to being more technical/athletic." Tune in: women's curling (live), USA Network, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. ET n ladies' free skate, men's aerials, women's snowboarding parallel giant slalom, NBC, 8 p.m.-midnight ET.

Day 15 Feb. 24
Male and female figure skaters showcase their skills in a spectacular encore performance. Tune in: women's 30km cross-country skiing, NBC, 4-5 p.m. ET n men's curling, CNBC, 5-8 p.m. ET n figure skating gala, women's giant slalom, men's four-man bobsled, men's 10,000m speed skating, NBC, 8 p.m.-midnight ET.

Day 16 Feb. 25
It's a double dose of Apolo Anton Ohno, 23, in the 500m and men's relay. Ohno's controversial gold medal win following the disqualification of South Korean star Kim Dong-Sung at the 2002 Salt Lake Games resulted in threats for the remainder of his stay. During this fall's competition in Seoul, NBC's Ted Robinson says, "he needed [bodyguard] protection." Another little-known tidbit: "Many speed skaters skate without socks for a better feel of the ice," NBC's Dan Hicks says. Tune in: women's 5,000m speed skating, 12.5km biathlon, NBC, 1-6 p.m. ET n men's slalom, 15km biathlon, four-man bobsled, men's 500m and 5,000m short track speed skating, women's 1,000m short track speed skating, NBC, 8-11:30 p.m. ET.

Day 17 Feb. 26
Before tonight's closing ceremonies, hockey fans get a down-to-the-wire thrill when the two best men's teams face off for gold. For Americans, two years in Olympic history stand out, NBC's Robinson says: 1980, when the U.S. men beat the front-running Soviets in the "Miracle on Ice," and 1998, when the U.S. women beat the Canadian favorites. Tune in: men's hockey (live), NBC, 8-11 a.m. ET n men's 50km cross-country, NBC, 4-6 p.m. ET n closing ceremony, NBC, 7-11 p.m. ET.

This schedule is subject to change; see NBCOlympics.com for the latest information.