Bring on the halfpipe! Double corks debated

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Olympic tension ... what’s that?

The U.S. halfpipe team doesn’t second, or recognize, that emotion.

‘Picabo Street spoke to us (Wednesday) when we were getting ready and she mentioning coming and just really enjoying the experience,’ Gretchen Bleiler said. ‘That’s one thing a lot of competitors have trouble doing at the Olympics.

‘And she looked over at our halfpipe team, ‘I’m not really talking to you guys, actually. I’m talking to these guys over here because we know you’re going to have fun.’ ‘

Shaun White was asked about the furor over double corks, as some media types have suggested that they should be banned from competition.

‘Being the guy that had a big hand in inventing these tricks ... I would say that’s outrageous,’ White said, laughing. ‘Who said that? It’s tough to say. Obviously there’s been injuries that have happened that are very close to us and it’s just under a magnifying glass right now because of the Olympics.

‘When you get an injury, somebody goes down and there’s some big crashes, it really shocks people. I think I can speak for everyone saying, that’s just a part of what we do. We fall, get back up and try it again.’

-- Lisa Dillman, reporting from Vancouver, Canada