The Winter Olympic Virus: Day Zero (Opening Ceremony, Etc.)

• Starting with an interesting story.  Great Britain's Dave Ryding may be one of the first of his country's medal contenders in slalom skiing since Alain Baxter won bronze in Salt Lake City 20 years ago.
• The problem:  Baxter had his medal stripped for an apparently banned substance in a Vicks over-the-counter inhaler medication common at the time.
• Hence, if Ryding medals in Beijing, he will cut the medal in half and give half to Baxter.
• And, once again, NBCFail:  If you want to watch the Opening Ceremony, even live, it's through NBC, no World Feed or ambient.  Which means "USA, rah rah rah..."  (Read: Defeating the entire point of doing the streams.)
• Not watching as a result, at least not making a point of it.
• But did note one thing from Inside the Games:  Entry of Greece to Entry of China:  The 91-nation Parade of Nations clocked at a fairly brisk 65 minutes.
• Nancy Pelosi:  "We don't wanna make the Chinese angry, so don't protest!"  WE.  SHOULDN'T.  EVEN.  BE.  THERE.  Start acting like a goddamn Democrat, Nancy!!   
• In a move almost designed to flip off the rest of the world, China chose, as one of the two athletes to light the Cauldron at the Ceremony, cross-country skier Dinigeer Yilamujiang.  Of Uyghur descent, he is part of an aggrieved culture in China at the head of the calls for the world to boycott these Games completely -- a move no one, not even the United States (which had spoken of it!), took seriously enough.
• Yilamujiang was joined at the Cauldron lighting by Nordic Combined athlete Zhao Jiawen.

In other news:

• It appears that COVID WILL, in fact, impact the cross-country medal count in Beijing for Norway.  Jarl Magnus Riiber, the reigning World Champion in Nordic Combined, has tested positive and is out of the normal-hill ski jumping event.
• Several other Norwegian athletes and at least one Estonian athlete are also being quarantined as close contacts.
• Germany and the Ukraine were both forced to field teams with vacancies for the opening team figure-skating competition which kicked off before the Opening Ceremony.  COVID.
• Four Polish speed skaters, their coach, and the head of the team's medical mission, all positive for COVID.
• Over 300 cases now in the Beijing Olympic circle.
• It appears as if the "do not cheer to release aerosols from your mouth and respiratory system into the air" edict which Japan has had in force for any number of events during the pandemic will also apply here for the Olympic Winter Games and whatever spectators may eventually attend them.