Lillehammer

LILLEHAMMER, Norway -- In what was described as a "stupid, foolish mistake," perhaps as many as 100 American journalists peeked into figure skater Tonya Harding's private electronic mailbox at the Olympics.No one claimed to have read any of Harding's mail, or used the information in any way."It was a spur-of-the-moment thing after we got back from having pizza at 2 a.m.," said Michelle Kaufman of The Detroit Free Press. "Someone said they heard this was Tonya's code and we wondered if it would work."

The TV Repairman:Part II of Bud Greenspan's "16 Days of Glory" handling of the Lillehammer Winter Olympics plays the Disney Channel Sunday (9 p.m.), and this one's even better than the excellent first installment that ran in the fall.Key elements are the inspiring performances of Bonnie Blair, Alberto Tomba, and the too-good-to-be-true Johann Olav Koss. But even better are the stories behind the men's 4 X 10K cross-country relay and Prince Albert (Grimaldi) of Monaco competing in the bobsleigh.

See, the '60s weren't so bad; they helped produce Picabo Street.CBS' breezy personality piece -- which included her parents' hippie roots -- and Street's own free-spirited nature on camera during competition were a highlight of last night's prime-time Olympic show.Hey, CBS, give her a sitcom instead of Tom Arnold. Here's a theme song: "Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Picabo Street . . ."Sleep on itBjorn Dahlie, Norway's cross country skiing hero in Lillehammer, has insomnia. Has he tried watching Pat O'Brien on CBS' late-night show?

It wasn't too long ago that our faces were glued to our television screens as we watched the wonder of the 1994 Winter Olympics unfold in Lillehammer, Norway.Not only did we enjoy the excitement of the Olympic competitions, but we were able to view the beauty and splendor of the quaint Norwegian town and the charm of its people.Fortunately for the Rev. Ron Reaves of Westminster, NTC Lillehammer became a real-life experience this summer.Mr. Reaves, who is pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Frederick, led a 15-day Scandinavian tour that included a visit to the famous Olympic Village in Lillehammer.

DOWNTOWN LILLEHAMMER, Norway -- Disco lives on the Storgata, Lillehammer's Bourbon Street on ice.But the polyester suits have been replaced by ski pants and sweaters. Donna Summer is no longer big, but John Travolta will never be forgotten.Ah, ah, ah, ah, stayin' alive, stayin' alive. . . ."Disco is big, especially among the older men who are divorced or single," said Adelheid Wiegand, 20, of Lillehammer. "What are the best pickup lines? There have been no pickup lines since the Olympics started.

The only thing I know for sure about Tonya Harding is that I want her in Lillehammer at the Winter Olympics.You do, too. Come on, admit it. Don't go self-righteous on me now.You have to want to see Tonya and Nancy on the ice. Mano a mano. Feet to feet, anyway.I want flying sequins and triple axels and even tire irons, if they've got 'em in Norway. If not, maybe they can make do with reindeer antlers.What a concept, huh? Into the foo-foo world of figure skating step two women who plain don't like each other.

LILLEHAMMER, Norway -- Carved inside a mountain is a spare hockey rink that can double as a bomb shelter.The speed skating hall with the roof shaped like the hull of a viking ship is so large that it could accommodate two simultaneous football games.And bits of the boulders placed at the base of the ski jump are being transformed into the most valuable medals of all:Olympic gold, silver and bronze.With 100 days to go before the start of the 1994 Winter Olympics, Feb. 12-27, the residents, workers and organizers of the Lillehammer Games are ready to play host to the world's best athletes on ice and snow.

Brian Boitano is coming back. So is Katarina Witt.And 75 percent of the U.S. team may be composed of alumni from the Olympic Class of '92.Welcome to the Winter Olympics -- the sequel.In just 361 days, 1,800 of the world's best athletes on ice and snow will reassemble at the Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway, Feb. 12 to 27, 1994.The International Olympic Committee, in a move to unclutter its calendar and enhance marketing opportunities, has split the Summer and Winter Games and placed them on a new, alternate, two-year track.

LILLEHAMMER, Norway -- You saw it on television. You know who won.Nancy Kerrigan won. Even thought she didn't win a gold medal, she still got to go to Disney World and claim her fortune.Oksana Baiul won. Hopefully, her next 16 years will be as happy as her first 16 were sad.Bonnie Blair and Dan Jansen won. As usual, and finally.CBS won -- not that it deserved to. (If there is any justice, the network should not only pay Tonya Harding's legal bills, but also give her a job. She was good to them.

LILLEHAMMER, Norway -- The talking point of the Olympics yesterday was an actual, genuine sports story. Imagine that.Tommy Moe won the downhill, and there wasn't a hit man or a district judge in sight. Moe didn't comment through his attorney or plea bargain for the bronze medal. The "Inside Edition" crews were somewhere else buying big stories.Early on, it looked like the day would basically rotate around Nancy's Response (you know, to Tonya being allowed to skate), but then suddenly we were confronting -- brace yourself -- the trumpet blare of an actual athletic accomplishment.

As trolls and vetters pranced at the closing ceremonies of the Lillehammer Winter Olympics, as world-class athletes mugged for the cameras like kids on spring break, and as the extinguishing of a torch elicited some melancholy, like the feeling of having to return to the real world after a vacation, one might have felt a little debt to Baron Pierre de Coubertin. He was the Frenchman who revived the Olympic movement 98 years ago after a 1,500-year hiatus from the games of Ancient Greece.Yes, the modern Olympics are bloated by commercialism.

LILLEHAMMER, Norway -- You saw it on television. You know who won.Nancy Kerrigan won. Even thought she didn't win a gold medal, she still got to go to Disney World and claim her fortune.Oksana Baiul won. Hopefully, her next 16 years will be as happy as her first 16 were sad.Bonnie Blair and Dan Jansen won. As usual, and finally.CBS won -- not that it deserved to. (If there is any justice, the network should not only pay Tonya Harding's legal bills, but also give her a job. She was good to them.

OYER, Norway -- Alberto Tomba doesn't do mornings.Too little sleep. Too much to do.He does the afternoons. When the races are won and lost. When the celebrations begin.Yesterday afternoon, under a covering of snow clouds, he came roaring down a mountain, trying to make up time from the morning run, trying to reclaim victory in his final slalom race at the Winter Olympics.He nearly fell at the second gate, but he raced on. He nearly slipped in the middle, but he raced harder. And when he reached the bottom, he was in full roar, bashing down gates, riding the course, sliding through the finish and looking up to the clock, seeing the time, and finally, throwing his hands down in disgust.

LILLEHAMMER, Norway -- It was almost a fitting end to the 1994 Winter Olympic Games.One hundred thirty thousand Norwegians jammed onto the hills at Birkebeineren Ski Stadium. They grilled hot dogs and drank unknown substances from flasks. They sang songs and painted their faces. They slid down hills without sleds.They came in minus-13-degree weather to cheer their heroes, one old in Vegard Ulvang, one new in Bjorn Dahlie.But when the 50-kilometer cross country ski race was finished, they cheered a new champion: gold-medal winner Vladimir Smirnov of Kazakhstan.

LILLEHAMMER, Norway -- It ended with a battle of good vs. evil, a salute to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and a one-hour show of fireworks that left the audience standing and roaring and the athletes dancing.The 17th Winter Olympics closed last night at the base of a ski jump on a frigid Nordic evening.For Norway, this was a final triumph of a winter sporting carnival that has been hailed by athlete and spectator alike as the greatest of the modern age.International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch called the people of Norway "the real winners of these magic Games."

LILLEHAMMER, Norway -- Forward Peter Forsberg stayed out of the NHL this season so he could lead Sweden to a gold medal in the Winter Olympics.And with a fake forehand, a fake backhand and a soft one-handed shot from in front of the crease, Forsberg scored on a shootout to give Sweden a 3-2 victory and the Olympic gold medal over Canada yesterday in what will be remembered as one of the most dramatic finals in Olympic history.Forsberg, 20, scored after a 10-minute, sudden-death overtime and an initial shootout period that consisted of five shots for each team.

The U.S. will not bomb Serbs while Western European troops can be retaliated against. After Europeans remove them and genocide resumes, we will bomb Serbs.A blip in interest rates sends the stock market plummeting. Think what an interest rate increase you could notice would do.The U.S. Olympic Committee will get Tonya away from her lawyers and Portland fans, alone without a friend in Lillehammer, and then do what it will do.What if Canada loses Quebec, and gains Baltimore?

ALBERTVILLE, France -- Two years to go. Two billion dollars to spend. Enough light to spare.There is a hockey arena being created inside a cave. A 27,000-seat cross country stadium spreading along the countryside. An indoor speed skating oval soon to resemble a viking ship.And there will be light, plenty of light, even in a country that is sliced by the Arctic Circle.Today, the world of winter sports bids farewell to the Savoy region of France. But in February 1994, the athletes, bureaucrats and corporate fat cats will reassemble in Lillehammer, Norway, site of the 17th Winter Olympics.

HUNDERFOSSEN, Norway -- The U.S. bobsled team's Olympic moment concluded yesterday when USA II, the sled driven by Brian Shimer, was disqualified for having its runners heated above legal limits, and USA I, driven by Randy Will, finished behind the Jamaicans."

Peter Mueller, who was hired as U.S. Olympic team speed skating coach at the urging of gold medalists Dan Jansen and Bonnie Blair among others, said yesterday he is quitting because he's "just fed up with a lot of things."Mueller, 39, was quoted by the Milwaukee Sentinel in Oslo, Norway, as saying he decided not to wait for a new contract from U.S. Speedskating."People in positions of power aren't helping the skaters and I'm tired of dealing with them," said Mueller, whose contract expires at the end of April.