This marked the first time since 1960 that Russians didn’t finish at the top of the pairs skating podium. Not only did they not finish first, the Russians didn’t win any medals this year.

China’s Pang Qing and Tong Jian won silver.

Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany won the bronze.

Pairs figure skating finishes up today with the free skate. No Americans are in serious contention, so the sentimental favorites are the Chinese pair of Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao. The three time World Champions and real life married couple came out of retirement to pursue Olympic gold. Keep in mind, coming out of retirement in China means the two no longer live together, residing in the official training dorms. That’s pretty serious dedication.

It looks like downhill may finally get started today after days of poor conditions. I always think of the U.S. as doing well in downhill, but it turns out we’ve only won two medals (both gold) since 1948. This year, we have Bode Miller (who will hopefully turn in a much better performance than his much-anticipated but hugely unsuccessful adventures in Turin), Steven Nyman and Marco Sullivan. Bode has made a lot of changes since the last Olympics, so hopefully he’ll see some positive changes in his results.

I was just talking about how exciting cross-country can be yesterday. Well, the event starts up today with the Women’s 10km Individual and Men’s 15km Individual. I love it when Americans are listed as hoping to break the top ten. Needless to say, the Star Spangled Banner will probably not be playing over the podium after either of these events. However, we do have some competent competitors competing. Kikkan Randall has won a world championship, so she’s the best hope for the women to medal. Other American women competing are Liz Stephen, Caitlin Compton and Morgan Arritola. Competing for the men are Kris Freeman and James Southam.

Luge moves over to the women today. Some of the female athletes have been quoted as saying that, with the new, lower start, the track is too easy, to slow and not much fun. I’m not sure what to make of the controversy. Obviously, it seems like the Olympic committee needed to make some sort of change after last week’s horrible accident. Would building the wall have been enough? Could the starts have been moved somewhat lower but not SO much lower? It’s hard to say. Certainly, the athletes’ safety needs to come first, but how much is too much? Erin Hamlin is the U.S.’s best chance for a medal, having earned a world championship gold in 2009. She would be the first American to medal in individual luge. She’s joined by Julia Clukey and Megan Sweeney, both first time Olympians.

Many will be excited to know that snowboarding starts today! I made fun of snowboarding a lot as an Olympic sport when it first came on the scene, but I have to admit— it’s one of our favorites now. Today’s event is snowboard cross which, as the name implies, resembles motorcross on snowboards. The U.S. has several contenders for medals, including defending gold medalist Seth Wescott. Other contenders are Nate Holland, Graham Watanabe and Nick Baumgartner.

And, finally, speedskating will contest the men’s 500 m race today. American Joey Cheeks won the medal in Turin, but he has retired. Several Americans hope to fill his skates: Tucker Fredricks, Shani Davis, Mitchell Whitmore and Nick Pearson.

So, that’s what’s going on today. Which events will you watch and which will you skip?

Okay, those are the facts. Now, can we discuss this scoring system again? I know that I spent a lot of time during the Torino Olympics complaining about the new scoring system. Well, it’s been four years, so do I like the scoring system better now? No, not really. I still can’t get used to, “Wow,I don’t believe it! They scored a 73!!” A 73? That’s a C, right? 73 out of…? And I still have the same complaints about what results from this new system. You can fall down, practically trip over your feet and still score higher than someone who skated a “perfect” but not so challenging program.

And if you’ll indulge me, I have one other ongoing issue with Olympics figure skating. Could the announcers please, please not talk through the entire program? You really don’t have to tell me every time you think they might possibly have hesitated on the takeoff or landing. It’s okay. Can I please just enjoy the skating?

Other than that, the skating was lovely tonight. There were some really beautiful numbers. I’m looking forward to tomorrow night’s program. Just not the announcing. Or the scoring.

Here are my favorites for the day— figure skating pairs short program and men’s moguls.

In pairs figure skating, Americans face an uphill battle. The last figure skating pairs medal was a bronze in 1988, and the U.S. has never won a gold. The Russians have won every gold in this event since 1964. 1964, folks! So, maybe we should just cheer for anyone but the Russians. But if you want to cheer for the Americans, you have two pairs to choose from: Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett; or Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig. Caydee and Jeremy are the national champs, and Amanda and Mark were the runners up.

If the men’s moguls is anywhere as exciting as the women’s, it should be on the must see list. I don’t always watch the preliminary rounds, but I’ll definitely be tuned in to the finals. The U.S. has four men in the moguls competition: Patrick Deneen, Michael Morse, Nate Roberts, and Bryon Wilson. All of them are Olympic rookies, but Patrick is the current world champion. The Americans come in with heavy expectations on their backs. The U.S. has only failed to medal in moguls once— in 1994. You’ll definitely want to take a look, not only to see medals won this year but to see the future of the U.S. mogul team in this young group.

As I mentioned yesterday, biathlon is not always my favorite sport. Sure, there’s skiing and guns combined, but that’s a lot more exciting on paper than when actually watching. It doesn’t help that the U.S. has never medaled in this event. In fact, the highest any American biathlete has ever placed in the Olympics is 19th, and that was all the way back in 1980. But today’s event is worth a look. The U.S. has an actual contender in Tim Burke, who was the leader of the World Cup this year. Check out the 10 km sprint today to see if history is made.

Nordic Combined might be worth watching. Nordic Combined combines ski jumping with cross country skiing. (Now, if it was like biathlon, but combined ski jumping with shooting— simultaneously— THAT would be a sport definitely worth watching.) No American has ever won a medal in Nordic Combined (which has a new name and a new format in this year’s Olympics), but this year the American team boasts three World Champions: Todd Lodwick (defending World Champion), Johnny Spillane and Bill Demong. So, perhaps we’ll see history made there, as well.

Other events being contested today are Women’s Hockey, Luge and Women’s Speed Skating. Women’s Hockey is an early round with the U.S. taking on China. Luge will award its first medals, but Americans are not expected to see a medal. If the U.S. does medal, it will probably be Tony Benshoof who missed a bronze by less than a second four years ago. Women’s speed skaters will determine the medal for the 3000m race. No America has ever won gold in this race, but that’s not expected to change this year. Three Americans are competing: Catherine Raney Norman (the best hope for a medal), Nancy Swider-Peltz Jr. and Jilleanne Rookard.

So, that’s the rundown for today. What will you be watching?

The women’s team, which has only two members this year for only the second time since the 1920s, consists of Rachael Flatt, 17, and Mirai Nagasu, 16. There’s a lot of weight on those two young shoulders. If either medals, it will be considered a major upset. If neither of them medals, it will be the first time in 46 years that the women’s U.S. figure skating team has not gotten at least one medal. Oh, and case you were wondering, Sasha Cohen DID show up to Nationals, and she’s a second alternate.

Skating for the men are Jeremy Abbott, Evan Lysacek and Johnny Weir (who’s in trouble with animal rights people for adding fur to his costume— more on that in another post). Jeremy Abbott was absolutely fantastic at the U.S. Championships last weekend. Evan Lysacek is the reigning men’s world champion. Johnny Weir is, well, Johnny Weir. Any of the three could medal in Vancouver. Of course, there is reigning Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko to contend with.

Two pairs were named for the pairs competition: Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett; and Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig. Denney and Barrett are a bit of a May/December couple. She’s 16; he’s 25. They’ve only been skating together a little over 18 months, but placed second at last year’s Nationals and won this year. Oh, and did I mention that Barrett is dating Amanda Evora from the other pairs team going to Vancouver? Neither team was a particular favorite to win going into Nationals.

Ice dancing will send three pairs to represent the United States: Meryl Davis and Charlie White, winners of the 2010 nationals; Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, who were silver medalists four years ago; and Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates. The Davis/White team and the Belbin/Agosto team could both do very well at the Olympics, but the Russian team Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin enters the Olympics with the highest hopes.

So, that’s the team. Hopefully, many of them will come home with medals. What do you think of their chances?