Three Cheers for the USA

When the Winter Olympics kick off tomorrow in Vancouver, you won't have to worry about missing the prime-time action on TV, buying a newspaper for the latest medal count or being tied to a computer all day to follow the action. You just need the inside scoop, direct from the Games. And Team USA wants to give it to you.

Sign up with your name, e-mail and phone number--if you'd like to receive text updates--at teamusa.org, and you'll be able to track all of your favorite athletes during the Games. We're talking exclusive updates, athlete bios, photos and video highlights--information often privy to media only--that you can access. Shop for Team USA gear, make a donation to help fund our team, interact with other fans. You'll even find a few athlete blogs, like one of my favorites from skeleton athlete Katie Uhlaender, to read in the off hours. Or if you want to show your support even more--share it on your website, blog, phone and more--check out the widgets listed at this interactive release.

Now there's really no excuse not to support Team USA throughout the 18 days of competition even if you can't be in Vancouver. Photo of Mirai Nagasu who will be competing, from Team USA. Posted by Kate

The Daily Feed: Sites We're Searching 2/10

I can't believe it's already Wednesday this week. I should be relieved since it means the weekend is quickly approaching, but I'm still feeling a little sluggish from yesterday's snowfall. And I know I still have plenty to cross off my to-do list before the week is out. But I didn't let that stop me from some online reading. Get through your hump day with a few of my faves:

• Biggest Loser alum Tara Costa recaps last night's visit to the Olympic Training Center on the latest season of the show.
• Noooo! Lindsey Vonn reveals a shin injury that may keep her from a top-notch Olympic performance.
• This 12-year-old makes me want to get out and run--even if the ground is covered in snow. I wish I thought like that at her age.
  
• The East Coast shuts down again thanks to more snow and blizzard-like conditions. The same weather crossed Chicago--as did an earthquake although I slept through it--but no snow day for us.
• Use these tips to run through the snow rather than let the latest blizzard put a damper on your running.
• Need a race for the weekends ahead? Equinox members can participate in these upcoming indoor triathlons for a chance to earn a spot at the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon in San Francisco.
• The clock is counting down to the start of Self's Challenge Countdown. The exercise and eating plan kicks off on February 18.
  

Photo by Thomas Vonn and grabbed from Lindsey Is Epic at flickr. Posted by Kate

Fit-Q: What Winter Olympics Sports Feed Your Fancy?

We're in the final stretch before the 2010 Winter Olympics open in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on February 12. NBC has been reminding us for months of the number of days left before the 21st Olympiad kicks off. If you search Olympics on Twitter, you'll find several feeds, some of which provide enough daily updates to make you dizzy (but you can't complain when it helps you feel like you're there learning the inside scoop). And the Olympians are twittering their arrivals to the Olympic city.

While it's obvious fever over the Games is in the air, we all have our favorite moments to watch live, catch on TV or follow online. With all of the snow and ice action happening from the time the Olympic torch is lit Friday night until it's extinguished on February 28, the world tunes in to the competitions on snow and ice, what sports are you most looking forward to watching? Take our poll:

poll by twiigs.com

Who Should Be on the Cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition?

Maybe I'm missing something, but with the timing of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition being just days before the Winter Olympics start in Vancouver, it almost seems more fitting for an Olympian to be on the cover over Brooklyn Decker. I totally understand that the Swimsuit edition audience varies from the Olympic crowd, but still it'd be cool to see one of the beauties that landed inside the magazine--Lindsey Vonn, Hannah Teter, Clair Bidez and Lacey Schnoor--on the outside.

True, Vonn landed the February 8 cover of Sports Illustrated--a salute to the best female downhill skier--but isn't the swimsuit edition a diverse enough crowd where she could be featured again (a little like the week in 1975 where Time and Newsweek ran Bruce Springsteen on their covers)? Or what about another Olympian like snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler who circuited magazines--covers, features and ads--following her silver-medal win in 2006? I'm just saying...

Where do you weigh in? Would you rather see any Olympian on the cover? Please share in the comments. Photos grabbed from thebiglead.com and newsroom.mtv.com. Posted by Kate

The Biggest Loser Goes for Gold

When it was the week of the Super Bowl, The Biggest Loser organized a football challenge (season 7). When it was the Oscars, the contestants received red-carpet-worthy makeovers (season 7). Now with the Olympics quickly approaching, it comes as no surprise that the preview for the February 9 episode features an Olympic spin. The Biggest Losers travel to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to not only get worked by some of the best trainers and coaches in sport but also to get motivated by some Olympians. Check out the above video from NBC to see more of the preview.

It's a dream opportunity for any sports nut (me included) even if it does include a gut-busting workout. I say this because I got a sampling of the training rigors of an Olympian back in October thanks to Nike. It was only an hour training with a yoga mat, weights and body strength but I was sore for the next two days! I'm jealous that the contestants can partake and as a sidenote, hope it motivates me to finish up a post about said Olympic workout sooner rather than later.

Yes, the coaches are world-class--they'd have to be with all the medal winners that have come through the Training Center--but my eye will also be on the Olympians who surprise the Losers. Skier and Torino gold medalist Julia Mancuso is one of them--catch her in the preview above. One look at some of Mancuso's training exercises, like Mancuso balancing on the stability ball to strengthen her turns, and you know why she won gold.

Who's in for watching with me? Video grabbed from NBC. Posted by Kate