Nagano. It's in your living room now and for the next fortnight or so. I happen to be more into the summer games with track and field events and hoops, but I feel a certain need to be in the loop on what's shakin' during any Olympic games. Therefore, I've checked out women's hockey, I've scoped out the skiing, and I've even quietly looked forward to the luge. It has all led me back to the question I pose myself every four years. This may end up sounding like bad stand-up, but I'll take that risk: What's up with ice skating?

Seriously! Have you ever seen a set of scores like this: 5.1, 5.1, 4.9, 5.9, 5.1, 5.1.....? You can bet the 5.9 came from the native land from where the skater(s) came. I'm focusing on ice skating because it's happening now, but it's true of any sport that gives awards based on judgment: it's not fair!! Skiing - get down the hill as fast as you can within the rules. The top 3 skiers get medals. Luge- sit down on this awkward thing, and hang on until the end. Best 3 times get medals. Track - run from here to there as fast as you can on the track...... you get the idea. But, with ice skating or gymnastics, it's a whole different ballgame. No, check that, it's not a ballgame, and therein lies the problem!

Let's first clear this up - I tremendously appreciate skaters' talents. In fact, they should all get bonus points since they don't have to hang on the rink during their routine. However, we've got to come up with a way to avoid personal opinion being the only factor in how results are tallied. The same problem arises in any sport from time to time (a poorly-called foul during a close hoops game, or a penalty call late in a football game, etc.), but it's rare enough not to interfere overall with how the sport is perceived. In skating, the athletes are at the mercy of what kind of mood each judge is in - or how they feel about the competitor's country!

Unlike others that may complain for the sake of complaining, I am now ready to offer some suggestions. First, do away with the 6.0 point system. 5.3 vs 5.2 doesn't allow for enough room for differences. Crank that up to 100. Then novices like me who don't know what a triple lutz is (or how to spell it) will learn quicker about what makes skater A better than skater B. In no time, I'll make comments like: "Oh, she's like a C+ skater; 78, maybe, but I doubt she'll crack 80. Now, that German skater, she's......"

The second suggestion (my wife gave me this last night) is to remove the skater's country representative from the panel when they skate. If we have to judge, let's make it as fair as possible.

And, hey, what is up with luge, anyway? It's like...