My opinions of the sports haven’t really changed all that much since the last time, so you can go with that for starters.
I’d like to say something about figure skating, because it’s the sport where my interest has really shot up in recent years, due to the combined effects of being freed from the iron grip of Communism and many more events being available to me every year thanks to modern-day DVR sports coverage. (Honestly, for the longest time I didn’t even know there was a Four Continents Championship!) For a long time I a little put off about hardline gender roles, but eventually I not only learned to accept them, I actually think they make the sport more entertaining. Nowhere is this more obvious than in pairs, where confining the men and women to specific roles means they get to specialize in them, which helps to improve the overall product. The man doesn’t have to worry about difficult leg stretches or looking elegant, and the woman doesn’t have to worry about carrying another human being’s weight other than her own. By far the best test of any pair’s cohesion is the side-by-side jumps, because it has to be a jump both of them can do (and coordinated!), meaning that they can’t just toss out quads or triple-triples. Pairs has a ton of stuff to watch out for and is always fun to watch. Ladies is an expression of sheer beauty, some of the lithest, nimblest athletes on the planet in some of the loveliest athletic wear on the planet; absolutely can’t miss. Ice dance is simply a blast! Wild and fun and free, and no two routines or ensenbles are the same. It’s what Dancing With The Stars pretends to be. Men’s is my least favorite discipline precisely because they have to the same things as the ladies, and… while some of them are really good!.. it’s just not going to measure up. I don’t care that they can do quad jumps. I don’t watch figure skating for beeeg joommpzz. I do occasionally see attempts to liven things up… rock and roll, theater, that one Minions fan (oh, that was delightful 
), which I always appreciate.
It looks like we have a pretty strong lineup going into Milan. The only major question mark seems to be pairs. It didn’t help that two of our best pairs are out due to one member not having citizenship (luck of the draw; no one to blame). I know that Kam and O’Shea are seasoned veterans, but from what I saw in US Championships, I don’t trust them to beat any real competition. The ladies’ side has three worthy contenders: the power and grit of Amber Glenn, the effortless precision of Alysa Liu, and the flowing grace of Isabeau Levito. I’m not certain they’re going to make the podium, but they’ll certainly make a strong run at it. The men, of course, are led by Ilia Malinin, and here’s hoping that he rockets straight to the top and shoves an entire kiss and cry booth down the throats of his detractors. Not since Usain Bolt have I seen such a rampaging juggernaut primed to blow the doors off of absolutely everyone at the Olympics, and I’ve seen no reason to believe he won’t do just that. Our ice dance squad is led by Madison Chock and Evan Bates. I’m not even sure what to say about them; they’re just the complete package. Speed, strength, elegance, coordination, control, fun, energy, they have it all.
Oh, just getting this out of the way right now: NBC, when you inevitably get around to the Jamaican Bobsled Team, please, pretty pretty please, remember that THIS HAPPENED. So from here on out, just treat them like any other successful team, and no matter what, do not bring up an ancient movie that a lot of us didn’t even think was any good. Things change. Move on. Okay? Okay.