
ESPN.comDevin Logan said her tattoo was inspired by her time rehabbing from a serious knee injury.PARK CITY, Utah -- There are many sights, sounds and stories at the Olympic media summit.
One of our favorites from Tuesday was freeskier Devin Logan's explanation of a tattoo she has on her right arm.
Logan, who competes on both the slope and pipe circuits, said the tattoo came to be while she we rehabbing a serious knee injury last year. Logan suffered the injury just days after winning the FIS freestyle ski halfpipe World Cup event in New Zealand in 2012, forcing her to have surgery and ending her 2012-13 season.
Now, she's back and eyeing a trip to the Sochi Olympics.
But, back to the tattoo ...
"Each flake represents a member of my family," Logan said Tuesday. "'Don't fear the journey' just means to not fear what life brings you. You don't know what will happen next, from day to day."
Will she add more body art soon?
"I've thought about it, but don't know if my mom would like it too much," Logan joked.
Maybe Mom wouldn't mind an Olympic medal tattoo?
Davis, White hope Russian ties help in Sochi
AP Photo/Lionel CironneauMeryl Davis and Charlie White won the silver medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.PARK CITY, Utah -- Any edge, no pun intended, could enter into the calculation as ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White pursue the Olympic gold medal that just eluded them four years ago.
Will setting their free dance to a famous piece by a Russian composer (Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade") under the guidance of a Russian coach they unabashedly call a genius help them connect with the crowd at the Sochi Games? If they put together the complete package, they said Tuesday at the Olympic media summit.
The duo said they toyed with using the piece a few years ago, but is glad they saved it for the ideal competitive moment. The music is a way of honoring Russian influence on dance in general and coach/choreographer Marina Zoueva's tutelage specifically, they said.
"It never hurts to have the support of the crowd ... at the end of the day, it's really about moving the audience, making that emotional impact," Davis said.
But in a development no one could have foreseen a decade or two ago when the Russians dominated the discipline, Davis and White will have to try to dethrone fellow North Americans for the title: their friends and rink-mates Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada. The tandems have gone 1-2 at the past four world championships, with Davis and White prevailing in the past two editions.
Davis and White say it wouldn't be "healthy" to focus on the Olympic gold medal itself, and manage to be convincing when they talk about refining their already superlative chemistry.
"When we won worlds in 2011, one of the things that helped us [defend] is that we didn't say, 'Let's continue at this level and expect the same results,"' White said. "Our expectations go beyond any given placement ... staying in character from beginning to end, and keeping everyone enthralled."
The short program could prompt a world-wide sing-along. It will be set to music from "My Fair Lady," including, naturally, "I Could Have Danced All Night."
"It's bubbly, light, elegant, fun," Davis said.
Davis and White joked easily about their snail's progress toward undergraduate degrees at the University of Michigan -- they've crawled past the start lines of their junior years and are taking this academic year off for obvious reasons. "Each passing year is bringing us closer to the Guinness Book of World Records [for tenure as students]," White said.
The refreshing thing about them is their obvious desire to keep learning on the ice after all this time.
Ligety: FIS should stop setting ski rules
PARK CITY, Utah -- Despite his enormous success in the World Cup last season, gold medalist Ted Ligety still does not like the ski equipment regulations the International Ski Federation (FIS) imposed last year in an attempt to make the sport safer.
"I've been very vocal against the new regulations that have been put in place, for a variety of reasons," Ligety said at the Olympic media summit Monday. "The No. 1 reason is I don't think the safety question is really a valid question they were going to answer with these new skis. Also, I think it makes an unfair situation when a governing body makes rules that completely favor certain athletes and don't favor others.
"Also, it really affects the next generation of skiers coming up. This year, there will be 16-year-old skiers skiing on the same skis we did in the World Cup last year and they're hard for me to ski on a lot of times. That definitely does not help the development of the sport."

The regulations for giant slalom increased the minimum length of the skis (from 185 to 195 cm), as well as their minimum turn radius (from 27 meters to 35 meters). Ironically, Ligety said those modifications favor his style of skiing, but he said he is upset because they hurt skiers with different styles.
"In giant slalom, they definitely favor me. The style of skier they favor is someone who arcs more of the turn and takes the turn deeper, and that's definitely something I do," Ligety said. "But you look at someone like Massimiliano Blardone. He was third in the GS standings the year before and he was way out there this year [13th]. He was a guy that would take a straighter line and chop off the top of his turn, then hit it hard and get some acceleration out of his turn. And that technique just doesn't work anymore.
"There are definitely guys who have had their careers hurt by the new skis."
Ligety blasted the FIS on his website, calling the governing body a "dictatorship" and insisting the rules will ruin the sport. Asked Monday what changes he would have made instead, Ligety said he would prefer there be no regulations.
"FIS has proven themselves to be wrong every time they make new ski regulations," he said. "Before they made the skis wider and that made the skis more aggressive and created more injuries and now they're making them narrower. They keep having all these ideas that they test very mildly and they don't work, and then a couple years later they go back. I think it would be better if they just stayed out of it and let the ski companies make the regulations. ...
"I don't think it's made it any safer. In a lot of ways, it's made it more dangerous because you have to really muscle the ski around and manipulate and twist on the ski."
Bode ready for latest Olympic campaign
AP Photo/Rick BowmerBode Miller is attempting to qualify for his fifth Winter Olympics. His first was in 1998.PARK CITY, Utah -- Though he hasn't competed in more than a year and is the oldest male on the U.S. alpine ski team, Bode Miller didn't exactly mince words when asked Monday about his plans for the upcoming season.
"I'm going to kick ass," Miller said. "That's the gist of it."
The statement was greeted with chuckles from the assembled media at the Olympic media summit, but this was no joke. The man who hasn't competed since microfracture surgery on his left knee in spring of 2012 finds himself refreshed, refocused and reenergized entering what is his fifth and likely last Olympic campaign of his decorated career.
The 35-year-old Miller said Monday that he left his decision to retire entirely to the results of the surgery. If things went well, he planned on skiing again. If they didn't, then that was going to be it. With the surgery a success, he's back for what he said is likely his last competitive season.
"It's perishable being a ski racer," he said. "Until you're rotten and shriveled up, you keep going. I'm pretty shriveled up, but I'm not all the way rotten ... at least not yet."
During his recovery, he spent much of his time on the beaches of Southern California with his wife, Morgan Beck, a professional volleyball player, doing plyometric exercises designed to help slim and strengthen his 6-foot-2 frame. He said he's now 20 pounds lighter than when he last competed, allowing him to be even quicker than he once was.
And, most important, his repaired knee is finally pain-free. Despite being relatively conservative during a recent training session in Portillo, Chile, the early results were promising.
"I didn't take a lot of risk," he said. "One thing during an Olympic season is risk management. It's easy to make stupid mistakes in summer training. But in terms of structure, the knee is perfect. The ligaments are in great shape. The last few days were demanding on the body and I was ready."
He added, "My fitness will be a huge asset for me. It's something that was neglected the past few years, so my plan is to kick ass."
And while doing so, help those who are less fortunate. On Monday, the USOC announced that Miller will be the first athlete ambassador for a new "Gateway to Gold" program designed to introduce people with physical and visual disabilities to Paralympic sports and identify those with the possibility of competing for the U.S. Paralympic Team. It was Miller who sought out USOC CEO Scott Blackmun last year with the goal of improving opportunities in the Paralympic space. The new program will essentially take the core principles of Miller's Turtle Ridge Foundation to a broader audience.
"It's a philosophy that needs a broader audience. It needs more exposure," Miller said. "People get inspiration from watching people deal with these situations and do the incredible. I would not still be racing today had I not gone through that process. It really is something I benefitted from and is really important. I'm thrilled to be part of it and ready to help out."
AP Photo/Rick BowmerLolo Jones is vying for a spot on the U.S. women's bobsledding team for the Sochi Olympics.PARK CITY, Utah -- For all the changes Lolo Jones has endured in her transformation from Olympic hurdler to bobsledder, perhaps nothing has proven more challenging than her quest to build a bigger, stronger, heavier body.
Last year, during her inaugural bobsled season, the 31-year-old struggled to put on weight. So you can imagine her excitement during a recent commercial shoot when she slipped into her Team USA bobsled suit only to have it rip down the middle of her torso. While many would have reacted with horror, Jones smiled.
"Yeah, that hasn't happened to me before," Jones admitted Monday at the U.S. Olympic media summit. "They had to sew me back in. It was crazy. I was like, 'Get me a scale.' I was happy."
Happy because the wardrobe malfunction meant Jones was inching closer to her target weight of 162 pounds that she hopes to reach in the lead-up to the Sochi Olympics. Jones, who weighed 135 pounds when she finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles in the 2012 London Games, struggled to eclipse 150 pounds last season.
After dropping down to 138 to run hurdles this past spring and summer, she's ecstatic that she's already up to 158.5 pounds before the 2013 bobsled season has even begun. (Her diet included plenty of bacon double cheeseburgers and consuming 9,000 calories per day.)
"As a track athlete, you're more like a greyhound dog," Jones said. "With bobsled, you're more Rottweiler or pit bull. At first, my legs were so thick. I felt like I had pregnant legs."
It's all in the name of Jones' longtime goal: winning an Olympic medal.
"When you're wearing that Team USA, it doesn't feel any different if you're in a bobsled uniform or a track uniform," she said. "You get the same chills. Well, maybe it's a bit colder [for bobsled]."
Jones is one of several American women who will be vying for a spot on the U.S. bobsled team. She finished second in her first career World Cup competition last November and was part of the U.S. team that won gold at last year's World Championships.
The U.S. team trials begin Oct. 12. Regardless of what happens there and whether or not she's selected for the U.S. team, the Iowa native said she has every intention of returning to track and field to hopefully compete in Rio in 2016. And, on Monday, she hinted that the bobsled might not be the end of her Winter Olympics dream.
"When I went out to bobsled, the skeleton coach said, 'You should really be a skelly athlete,'" Jones said. "'You wouldn't have to gain all the weight. You could go back and forth easier,' So, I hate to say this, but after the Winter Olympics, I kind of want to try skelly. Not serious. But I just want to go down and see what it's like."

- usskiteam usskiteam
It's 11:11 p.m. EST and have you entered to win a VIP trip to @CopperMtn for @NatureValley #FirstTracks13? https://t.co/o0tZhYEzxi
27 minutes ago
- usskiteam usskiteam

- USSpeedskating US Speedskating
RT @GettySport: USOC #MediaSummit highlights featuring @travisjayner, @stevecash34, and @tedligety: http://t.co/5FPI9joLVQ #Sochi2014 @USOl…
43 minutes ago
- USSpeedskating US Speedskating
- marionjones Marion Jones
"@UNCWBBCoach: "Movement is the enemy of Defense---> DRIVE!" #PracticeQuote #UNCWBB" @SpartansHoops
44 minutes ago
- marionjones Marion Jones

- USA_Volleyball USA Volleyball
RT @michaelianblack: With the shutdown, does anybody know the status of women's Olympic beach volleyball practice?
about an hour ago
- USA_Volleyball USA Volleyball

- USA_Volleyball USA Volleyball
RT @michaelianblack: I will sponsor you. RT @usavolleyball @USAVBeach Our beach teams continue to train. Like all Olympic sports, we do not…
about an hour ago
- USA_Volleyball USA Volleyball

- USSpeedskating US Speedskating
The Short Track team getting in some dryland training before World Cup 2 tomorrow. #SpeedtoSochi… http://t.co/AhvwSm7WlJ
about an hour ago
- USSpeedskating US Speedskating

- usrowing usrowing
RT @The_HoSR: Race day is almost here, only one week left to register on @RegattaCentral. Don’t miss out!
about 2 hours ago
- usrowing usrowing

- kerrileewalsh Kerri Walsh
RT @Caitlin_OConnor: Skype Call w/me! New auction items from @ConanOBrien @BrittneyAlger @Caitlin_OConnor @kerrileewalsh @VansWarpedTour ht…
about 2 hours ago
- kerrileewalsh Kerri Walsh

- USOlympic US Olympic Team
Wondering what it's really like to be at the #TeamUSA #MediaSummit? @MaxTAaron takes us on his journey: http://t.co/U5u9q4U03G
about 2 hours ago
- USOlympic US Olympic Team

- ShaniDavis Shani Davis
Home sweet second home #milwaukee! Made time for some Q & A on the road to #Sochi2014 http://t.co/OejwXRM7jV
about 2 hours ago
- ShaniDavis Shani Davis

- ShaniDavis Shani Davis
Home sweet second home #milwaukee! Made time for a little Q & A on the road to #Sochi2014 http://t.co/59ABNCPEnJ
about 2 hours ago
- ShaniDavis Shani Davis

- usskiteam usskiteam
Ever tried stacking cups in mittens? Doesn't look like it turned out too well for @mikaelashiffrin at… http://t.co/bupUUzLe7o
about 2 hours ago
- usskiteam usskiteam

- USAWP USA Water Polo
Olympic gold medalist @JessSteffens will be at the @RunRocknRoll Marathon this Saturday in San Jose with @JambaJuice http://t.co/wOCUL2Iasg
about 3 hours ago
- USAWP USA Water Polo

- USAWP USA Water Polo
Happy 15th birthday to the Positive Coaching Alliance! @PositiveCoachUS
about 3 hours ago
- USAWP USA Water Polo

- BillyDemong Billy Demong
It's not #FF but time to follow the @USOlympic Teams newest partner @usgcorp Welcome 2 our family! @alananichols21 @RicoSled23 @JoeyCheek
about 3 hours ago
- BillyDemong Billy Demong

- BillyDemong Billy Demong
Fun to be the frontpage of @NBCOlympics for a day! https://t.co/K0HltWaFXJ
about 3 hours ago
- BillyDemong Billy Demong

- USSpeedskating US Speedskating
Short Trackers @alydudek @jrcelski @eddyalvarez90 @tophcrev video interviewing with media.… http://t.co/NGDIdqmYNl
about 3 hours ago
- USSpeedskating US Speedskating

- USFencing US Fencing
Dinner time in Bulgaria with Sean Ameli and Heik Hambarzumian. http://t.co/9Ndpa8dljP
about 3 hours ago
- USFencing US Fencing

- USOlympic US Olympic Team
Starting shortly! http://t.co/z4xTAOuvst RT @USParalympics LIVE @Google+ #Hangout with #TeamUSA's @AmyPurdyGurl and @strong_evan
about 3 hours ago
- USOlympic US Olympic Team

- USAWP USA Water Polo
RT @CalWWPolo: Four Bears Selected For Futures 50 Classic. http://t.co/WGBZcNnv3h
about 3 hours ago
- USAWP USA Water Polo





FOLLOW OLYMPIC SPORTS ON TWITTER