The Winter Olympics Virus, Day -2, The First Day of Competition

• Ah, there we go.  Almost put my foot in my mouth.  Canada didn't participate in the first round of the Curling Mixed Doubles this morning.  It was their bye turn in the ten-team, two-group field.  Italy also had their bye in match 1.  USA, Australia, China, Switzerland, Great Britain, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, and Norway started this morning.
• A shock in the USA-Australia match.  After going up 5-2 in the sixth end, and then giving up a three-point seventh end to the Americans, Australia had the hammer (the final throw) in the final (eighth) end -- and looked to have a pretty easy take-out of the one rock the USA had at the center of the house.  Only to completely miss it, and the USA wins 6-5 by breaking serve!
• The hosts and Switzerland went to an extra end.  China had the hammer, and broke the tie and won 7-6 by smashing a pile of rocks near the center of the house (scoring area -- one point is scored for each rock closer to the center of the house than any rock of the opposing side) with it.
• The Czech Republic defeated Norway 7-6 in an extra end, and did so by breaking serve (scoring without the hammer) due to misplays by the Czech pair.
• Great Britain defeated Sweden 9-5 in the most decisive victory of the first session.
• An interesting part of today's festivities was a Chinese bagpipe band which welcomed the teams.
• Action Thursday starts the women's hockey tournament and two more rounds of the Mixed Doubles Curling.
• COVID news is not good.  As of about 10 AM Pacific this morning (pretty much midnight Thursday morning), 11 people have been hospitalized from the Olympic contingent after catching COVID.
• It appears as if the COVID situation keeping the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee head from Beijing is a French outbreak.  The national sports committee president and the Chef de Mission are also positive.
• As has the Italian National Olympic Committee president.
• The pandemic has cancelled the Observer Programme, a chance for future cities to observe the workings in China to implement for their Games.
• The United States has replaced their flag-bearer for Friday due to Elena Meyers Taylor being COVID-positive.  Brittany Bowe, a speed-skater joins defending men's curling champion captain John Shuster.
• IOC President Thomas Bach is officially attempting to invoke The Olympic Truce over tensions in the Ukraine.  Good...  freaking...  luck.
• Gracenote has given their final projections for the medal table.  Norway to top it again, with 44 medals (28 in various cross-country skiing disciplines).  Germany and the illegal Russian team are tied for second in the total with 30.  A logjam between the USA, Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden, France and Japan between 19 and 22 total is next.
• Norway projected to win 21 gold, the same as the next two nations combined (Germany 11, ROC 10).  The USA is projected to win seven.  And I don't like their chances, given what usually happens in Asian Games...   Six nations, including the hosts with six, are projected to win between six and eight golds.
• Record medal hauls are expected for Norway (44), Switzerland (21), Sweden, France, Japan (all 19), and China (13).
• Spit-balling, because it's very hard to predict anything with COVID at the top of the medal table.  My predictions:  USA struggles to get even into that 18 range, and may not even be in one of the top TEN total nations.  Norway will not get to 44 because COVID will take some of those cross-country medals.  Depending on how deep COVID cuts the Norwegian cross-country haul, a battle with the Russians and Germans is not completely out of the question for the top of the table.
• The United States has taken a significant hit in recent Winter Games after 37 medals in Vancouver.  Only 28 in Russia, 23 in Korea.  Gracenote projects 22 with 7 golds, numbers not that low since Nagano.