Russia's worst day
...this is a test. this is only an olympic blog test. do not be alarmed. do not summon chechnyans ...
SOCHI – Russians have had bad days before. But for sports bummers, few could match Wednesday and its Olympic twin killings.
Julia Lipnitskaia's figure-skating fall was disappointing. In terms of its impact on the national psyche, however, it couldn't compare with the unexpectedly premature ouster of the Russian hockey team.
Favored for gold, the host nation didn't even make it to the medal round. The reaction, understandably, was devastating.
A Sports Express columnist said "there has been no greater shame in our ice history."
Ex-Russian national team defenseman Daniil Markov was even harsher.
"Our result is a shame," he said. " In Canada and the USA, people are already saying that we're not a hockey superpower … Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin] should give the order for a bulldozer to raze everything so that new construction can begin while we still have four years left until the next Olympics."