Hey, Bryant!

Bryant Gumbel has been taking some heat in the New Media for his generally derogatory comments about the Winter Olympics. It wasn't enough for Gumbel to trash the athletes; he did further damage by making racist remarks as well.

I hope Gumbel tortured himself and tuned in to today's coverage from Torino.

There was a historic race.

Shani Davis, the first African American to make a U.S. speed skating team, won the gold medal in the Men's 1000m.

Shani Davis profile

Some tidbits that might interest Gumbel:

Born and raised in Chicago, Shani Davis didn't aim to become the next Michael Jordan or Walter Payton. Instead he wanted to emulate a legendary speed skater like Illinois native Bonnie Blair.

"Every once in a while, if it was cold out, I would wear a Bonnie Blair sweatshirt and everyone else would kind of make fun of it, because it was out of the norm," Davis, 23, says. "No one had ever seen a Bonnie Blair sweatshirt before, so they were like, 'Why are you wearing that white girl on your shirt, what's wrong with you?'"

...Now, the Chicago South Sider is hoping his achievements will draw more young athletes to his sport.

"I just want to be around for the kids at my club and other kids that are interested in speed skating, show them that it's OK to go out and do something different, and it's OK if people make fun of you at first. But as long as you are doing something that you love, if I can show them that, then I'll be happy with it," Davis says.

I wonder if Gumbel would like to retract the remarks he made on HBO's Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel.

"Finally, tonight, the Winter Games. Count me among those who don’t like them and won’t watch them ... Because they’re so trying, maybe over the next three weeks we should all try too. Like, try not to be incredulous when someone attempts to link these games to those of the ancient Greeks who never heard of skating or skiing. So try not to laugh when someone says these are the world’s greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention. Try not to point out that something’s not really a sport if a pseudo-athlete waits in what’s called a kiss-and-cry area, while some panel of subjective judges decides who won ... So if only to hasten the arrival of the day they’re done, when we can move on to March Madness — for God’s sake, let the games begin."

Don't you think it would be fitting for Gumbel to have Shani Davis on his HBO show?

I'd love to see that.




Congratulations, Shani, for not being afraid to follow your dreams to Olympic gold!