2/20    What's up with weird sports like skeleton and luge? Where do people
        actually do that in the US? Also, they should just combine the two
        events. I mean, let them choose head first or not, whatever is
        fastest should win.
        \_ Thats pretty simplistic.  Its not like the guys decide whether they
           will go head first of feet first as they are starting thier run,
           you train differently for either.  Also, the luge would beat like
           every skeleton guy (except ones that don't finish), so its really
           not right to compare the two side by side time wise.
           Apples vs Oranges?
           \_ I haven't watched the Olympics this year (no TV), what is
              the deal with skeleton?  Why is it slower than luge?  Wind
              resistence?
           \_ Well, they'd train for whatever they want and do that.
              Of course, one has running start and the other doesn't.
              Maybe get rid of that. Basically I don't see why there should
              be both of these similar events. The basic skills seem the
              same. Also they might as well have watersliding as a summer
              event.
        \_ The Olympics is chock full of weird sports.  What's one more?  It
           gives everyone another chance at upping their medal counts which
           makes everyone happy.  I stopped watching years ago when they
           stopped pretending they were anything other than paid professionals
           in most of the big events and every score was a 9.9998 or higher
           in gymnastics.  "Oh look!  She blinked at the wrong moment, her
           chances at gold are over forever!  9.999999997!"
        \_ What makes these sports any weirder than a bunch of dudes
           smacking a piece of plastic around the ice or strapping some
           planks to your feet and jumping off a hill?  -John
           \_ Where can you even attempt to do these sports, assuming
              you were so inclined? I've never heard of anyone doing
              skeleton. Upate: ok I read http://www.newsliders.com/faq.htm
              So: there are 13 tracks in the world, 3 in North America.
              So I could go do it in Utah.
              \_ Yeah so?  There are a bunch of luge schools, and while it's
                 more of a specialized sport than, say, skiing, a lot of
                 people enjoy watching it (and there seems to be a large
                 enough pool of people engaging in it.)  And before you say
                 "same for ice sailing", there's no reason that couldn't be
                 a discipline (think Jamaican bobsled team.)  -John
              \_ The majority of US athletes training for luge, bobsled,
                 skeleton and the like do so at Lake Placid.  Also, wrt your
                 numbers, while there are probably of hundreds of ice rinks in
                 the US, only a handful make up the elite training centers
                 that actually produce Olympic class figure skaters, those
                 being the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club, The Detroit Figure
                 Skating Club, Lake Placid (though most of the athletes
                 actually train in Monsey, New York), and one or two in
                 Colorado and Delaware. -dans
           \_ For the record, hockey pucks are made of rubber.  A plastic puck
              would be an abomination. -dans
              \_ Rubber is technically a type of plastic.
                 \_ Really?  I thought rubber was organic (i.e. comes from
                    rubber plants), and plastic was synthetic (produced from
                    Oil).  Of course, I'm not a chem major and don't know what
                    officially qualifies something as a plastic.  Please
                    correct me if I'm wrong. -dans