A memorial to late USA Hockey GM Jim Johannson was "set-up in the dressing room" at the Gangneung Hockey Centre. A Johannson jersey will "hang there before and during every American game," and signs with a “JJ” logo now "adorn the dressing room walls." Shirts with the logo were "given to players, and No. 24 has been sewn into the necks of their jerseys because that’s the number Johannson wore the last time he represented USA as a player" in '92. Johannson died unexpectedly on Jan. 21 (USATODAY.com, 2/9).
MISSED OPPORTUNITY: In Nashville, Joe Rexrode writes the worst part of the NHL’s "incredibly shortsighted decision to not participate in the Olympics" for the first time since '94 is the "lost opportunity at a lifetime moment." It is tough for players such as Predators G Pekka Rinne and LW Filip Forsberg, who would have been a "lock to play on a loaded Swedish team, to miss out on that." There is "no excuse for robbing them of that" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 2/9).
I LOVE N.Y.? No members of Team USA call N.Y. “as their hometown,” though “plenty of Olympians have been born in the five boroughs.” Among them is skeleton racer John Daly, a Queens native who “calls Smithtown on Long Island, N.Y., home.” Figure skater Maia Shibutani was “born in Manhattan,” but she and her brother, Alex, now “reside in Ann Arbor.” Meanwhile, there could be more athletes based in N.Y. "representing other nations.” Figure skater Nicole Rajicova, who was “born in the region and currently lives with her parents in Manhattan,” will represent Slovakia (WSJ.com, 2/8).
STAY SAFE: The norovirus outbreak has “threatened to undermine an otherwise watertight start" to the Games. POCOG execs on Thursday “seemed intent on carrying out a scorched-earth assault on every last germ in a 40-mile radius,” as they are “determined not to let the quadrennial Games spiral into a widespread gastrointestinal nightmare.” The “quietly growing sense of wariness” in Pyeonchang “was palpable.” Sneezes “provoked sideways looks,” while fist bumps “replaced handshakes” (N.Y. TIMES, 2/9).
