This is the 2002 figure skating controversy all over again in a considerably lessened form. There definitely was a cultural divide four years ago when NBC and CBC did a lousy job explaining the overall marks that placed the Russians (Anton Sikharulidze and Elena Berezhnaya) in first place and the Canadians (David Pelletier and Jamie Sale) second. At that event, most of the European judges and a Chinese one had placed the Russians ahead of the Canadians in what was a close competition. NBC and CBC de-emphasized the bias of the Canadian judge's marks which were disproportionately higher for the Canadian pair when compared to how other judges graded skaters from their respective country relative to others (i.e. a German judge scoring Germans versus non-Germans, a Russian judge grading Russians versus non-Russians, etc.).

The "case" of the "Russian mob" orchestrating a "fixing" of the Olympic event was thrown out of an Italian court. After having trumped up a corruption story, the North American mass media was awfully quiet about the court's action. The accused mobster (Alimzhan Tokhtakhnounov) had been under surveillance for quite some time. Wire tap transcripts of his conversations did not support any case. Had the Russians come up with such a conspiracy theory based on flimsy evidence, you can be sure that the English language commentariat would be enhancing the stereotype of paranoid off the wall "Russkies".

The French judge (Marie-Reine Gougne) targeted for her supposed pro-Russian bias has a good claim that there was a smear campaign conducted against her. I get the impression that she was pressured by those feeling the heat from the North American protesters favoring Sale and Pelletier.

Besides the nationality factor, many North Americans favored the Canadian duo because their performance was to an American pop culture musical theme, whereas the Russians skated to a 19th century European classical piece. NBC and CBC downplayed how the Russians had the more difficult program in addition to being in first place after the short program.

Going into the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic figure skating pairs competition, NBC's regional bias was clearly stated. The NBC promo leading in to that event was: Can the Canadian pair win gold for North America?

There were a few North American dissident voices on the media manipulated mayhem (the "story that just won't go away", as it was commonly dubbed). A respected American figure skating judge (Roger Glenn, who wasn't part of the panel scoring that event) and actor (Kelsey Grammer) voiced support for the original marks that were changed due to the overbearing North American "regionalism". My referencing an actor on this topic isn't so off base given how the editorials of major American newspapers supported the Canadians. I see how those editorial boards generally spin Russian news. The CBC is much the same. Depending on the topic, the CBC can range from being objectively good to subjectively partisan. I reference how the CBC covered Ukraine's so called "Orange revolution." The coverage was heavily accented with an overly propagandistic West Ukrainian bias (a reflection of Canada's ethnic demography).

An unprecedented North American lobbying campaign at Salt Lake City resulted in a double gold medal ceremony (having the Canadians share gold in the event with the Russians). The bronze medallist Chinese (Zhao Hongbo and Xue Shen) boycotted that ceremony as a farce.

Shortly thereafter, Russian figure skater Irina Slutskaya finished second to American Sarah Hughes. Hughes was in fourth place going into the long program. No one disputed Hughes' long program and the first place result. However, the Russians felt that the overall score was unfair because Slutskaya's long program wasn't a disaster. Slutskaya was a close second to Michelle Kwan after the short program. Slutskaya's long program was superior to Kwan's. At the time, under the existing scoring system (since changed), it was nearly impossible for a fourth place short program performer to win gold. The Russian petition for a double gold in that event was rejected. NBC and CBC showed zero sympathy for the Russian request. In 2006, the Russian Olympic Committee arrived to Turin with legal representation. Such is the world of sports today.

Yeah, there's bias from other parties. I live in America though, where some very influential biases aren't discouraged by the governing media elites. Christine Brennan of USA Today is to international sports journalism what Paul Goble is to the coverage of Russia. Both of them are granted frequent appearance time minus any sound opposition.

Running contrary to the voices of Brennan and Goble was a New York Times article on the upbeat Russian Olympic Village at Turin. Personal contact remains the best way to offset jingoistic and misinformed prejudices.

There was no significant controversy at the 2006 figure skating competition. For many in Europe and North America, the women's figure skating event was a disappointment. Along with Irina Slutskaya (bronze), it was tough luck for Americans Sasha Cohen (silver) and Michelle Kwan (withdrawal due to injury). With numerous European, Russian and American championship first place finishes among themselves, all three of these superstar athletes might end up never winning an Olympic gold medal. The sports world is stacked with great athletes not achieving the penultimate. Congratulations are in order for gold medallist Shizuka Arakawa of Japan. On the men's side of the figure skating competition, Russian Yevgeni Plushenko was superior to his peers.

There has been a lot of garbage written about the alleged decline of the Russian ice hockey program. Since the Soviet breakup, no other country has won more medals as Russia in Olympic men's ice hockey (in 1992, the post Soviet Russian ice hockey gold medal Olympic team officially participated as the "Unified Team"). If not victorious, post Soviet Russia has often been among the top finishers at numerous world and world junior ice hockey championships.

Soviet national ice hockey teams overwhelmingly consisted of players from Russia. This contrasts differently from the Soviet national basketball program, which was well represented by Lithuanians. The Soviet national ice hockey team frequently trained together as a unit. In post Soviet times, this is no longer possible because Russia's best ice hockey players are now contracted to play for club teams outside of Russia for eight months or so out of the year. After the North American situated National Hockey League, the Russian Super League is considered the best in the world. The elite Russian ice hockey league features many non-Russian players from outside the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Post Soviet Russian ice hockey success is especially impressive when considering these variables:

- More Americans play ice hockey than Canadians and as has always been the case, more Canadians play the sport than Russians.
- In Finland and Slovakia, ice hockey is a common elective at the grade school level. It's no small wonder why those two small countries excel at the game.
- Globally, many perennial sports powers have seen a decline. In football (soccer) - Germany, England and Italy haven't won a World Cup in quite some time. American basketball prowess has been successfully challenged at the last summer Olympics and world championships.

Despite not winning a gold medal at Turin, the future of the Russian men's ice hockey team looks good. Its roster has some very talented young players who take pride in representing Russia.

Overall, the Russian Olympic performance at Turin was impressive (especially when compared to the last winter Olympics). Russia finished among the leaders in medals won. The combined medal tally of former Soviet republics tied Germany for most medals (during the Soviet era, the USSR didn't always finish a winter Olympiad with the most medals). My point is that post Soviet Russia hasn't retarded Russia's Olympic performance (upon making this point at other venues, I was erroneously accused of being nostalgiac for the USSR).

While rejecting the Soviet legacy, I know that many from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus still feel a sense of togetherness. The Ukrainian mechanic up the block from me enthusiastically followed the performances of Russians and Ukrainians. Likewise, many Russians will be rooting for Ukraine at the upcoming World Cup in Germany (Russia failed to qualify).

Michael Averko is a New York based independent foreign policy analyst whose commentary has appeared in Eurasian Home, Johnson's Russia List, Intelligent.Ru, The Moscow Times, New York Times and Newsday.