Snow volleyball had its finest moment when IOC member Prince Albert II of Monaco "showed up at a chilly outdoor exhibition" of the sport at the Pyeongchang Games. Albert made a "30-second cameo appearance on an icy court set up amid plastic palm trees outside the Austria House." He "put down his mulled wine, walked on to the court, twirled his right arm to get warm, and put the ball into play" (AP, 2/14).
THE FROZEN TUNDRA: U.S. curler Matt Hamilton lives in Wisconsin and is a "huge Packers fan," so he tweeted at Packers QB Aaron Rodgers for a "little ... support" while he was at the Olympics. Rodgers tweeted back, "Pulling for you and your mustache this #OlympicGames bring home a medal to Wisconsin!!" (USATODAY.com, 2/14). Meanwhile, the family of U.S. slider Matt Antoine could be "easily spotted in the stands" for today's men's skeleton competition wearing Cheesehead hats. Antoine is from Prairie du Chein, Wisc., and his family has been wearing the Cheeseheads "at other events around Pyeongchang" (USATODAY.com, 2/15).
SPIN MOVES U.S. figure skater Nathan Chen is a "total NBA geek," as he keeps a "secret Twitter account so he can follow the league's melodrama without seeing gossip from his own sport." Chen also "streams games on League Pass no matter when he's training or where he's competing." He takes "inspiration from his favorite NBA players when he's on the ice" and has studied Warriors G Stephen Curry "not as a fan but as a fellow athlete" (WSJ.com, 2/14).
PAGING LADY MARMALADE: The Olympic figure skating events have "done wonders" for the soundtrack of the Baz Luhrmann-directed '01 film "Moulin Rouge!" Songs from the movie have "figured in an overwhelming number of the routines of skaters in the singles and pair categories." As a result, the soundtrack has "shot up to number 15 overall on iTunes" (DEADLINE.com, 2/14).
LOCAL FLAIR: K-pop boy band EXO and rapper CL will "take the stage" at the Closing Ceremony on Feb. 25 (YONHAP, 2/15).
