Kurt comments prove refreshing

Six days into the XX Winter Olympics, you could be forgiven for thinking you've seen it all before, like an old TV rerun that just won't stop: The homegrown athletes performing below pre-Games expectations; the insane pre-Games hype on the CBC National news that has suddenly fallen silent; the awkward post-event interviews as crestfallen CBC-types bend over backwards to avoid asking the What Went Wrong question.

That's why, on the eve of the expected coronation of Russia's Evgeni Plushenko in the figure skating men's free skate final, it was so refreshing to see Kurt Browning inject candour and some much-needed perspective in his sit-down session with Olympic Primetime host Brian Williams following Tuesday's short program.

Browning will return tonight with the free-skate post-mortem at some point during the five hour Primetime broadcast, though exactly when isn't entirely clear.

Barrie, Ont., skater Jeff Buttle, yet another Canadian athlete who hasn't lived up to his world ranking -- he won silver at the 2005 world championship in Moscow -- stumbled twice during Tuesday's short program, where he finished sixth.

Toronto's Emanuel Sandhu, subject of a long and adoring profile on the CBC National prior to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, popped an Axel, as they say, and is in seventh heading into today's free skate.

Plushenko, by comparison, is the runaway front-runner; the gold medal, virtually everyone concedes, is his to lose.

Browning could have made excuses for Buttle and Sandhu -- and he did. That's his prerogative. He learned a thing or two about dashed expectations during his Olympic skating career.

He did more, however. He explained his reasoning. He compared artistry with competition. Plushenko, he said, is a pure competitor, but only a so-so performer. Everything about his performance on the ice is calculated to win points from the judges. Buttle and Sandhu, on the other hand, and Edmundston, N.B.'s Shawn Sawyer -- a new Toller Cranston in the making -- perform to the crowd, and take more chances.

Sandhu has talent to burn, Browning said. "You fall out of bed harder than that," he said of Sandu's signature soft landings. He then went on to explain Sandu's weaknesses -- "His problem is edge jumps" -- patiently going through the tape frame by frame. "To basically sum it up, unless it's perfect, it's not going to happen."

For the casual viewer, it was a clinic in what separates a seasoned professional from the amateur.

Browning also provided stark insight into what goes into winning an Olympic gold medal.

"I just really feel that the Olympic champion should encompass everything," Browning said, returning to Plushenko. "I just feel that, even though he dominates the building -- when you're sitting there watching Plushenko skate, you're going, 'this guy has me' -- he doesn't quite have everything."

Bottom line: It's a sport. And sport is about winning, Browning said. And Plushenko does what it takes to win.

"When you go to the arena and you pay some money to see somebody skate, I'd rather see Jeff Buttle skate. I'd rather see Emanuel Sandhu skate. But when you're in a competition, man, there's nothing more electric than watching some guy come out, lay it down and dominate the way Plushenko does."

Yes, Browning made excuses for another poor performance.