Congratulations Shizuka

IN ONE of the more memorable Gold-medal performances (thank God they barred children--remember "bouncy" Tara Lipinski?) Shizuka Arakawa easily saw off her competition with a beautiful, inspiring performance. It was a victory for elegance, and composure and a defeat for hype and jingoistic U.S. sportswriters. I have nothing against Sasha Cohen, but that a two-fall performance rates a silver medal is simply absurd. She, at least, had the class to admit it. It's sad most writers had to run down Arakawa's performance to cover their asses after prematurely anointing Cohen as the Olympic champion. Might have been better to wait until the actual competition. Again, congratulations Shizuka.