Milan Cortina Winter Games Update - Curling, USA Hockey, Eileen Gu and more

Summary

Sharp or Square – Milan Cortina Winter Games Update

Podcast: Sharp or Square (iHeartPodcasts and The Volume)
Episode Title: Milan Cortina Winter Games Update - Curling, USA Hockey, Eileen Gu and More
Date: February 19, 2026
Hosts: Chad Millman & Simon Hunter
Guest: Matt Mitchell

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Episode Overview

This special Olympic-themed episode dives into the betting angles, biggest narratives, and memorable moments from the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games. Host Chad Millman, pro gambler Simon Hunter, and frequent guest Matt Mitchell go beyond the odds to discuss the most exciting, controversial, and even bizarre stories from these Olympics, including USA Hockey's performances, a curling scandal, Eileen Gu’s representation of China, and the colorful off-ice/field drama capturing global attention.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Olympics Are Not Traditionally a Betting Hotspot

• Simon Hunter: "The truth is, Olympics is not a big betting sport...Winter Olympics especially is not a big betting sport. But I will say that these Olympics have captured people's attention because there are so many freaking narratives." (04:38)
• The trio agrees that compelling storylines, not lines, are making these Games a must-watch—even for seasoned bettors.

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2. Olympic Hockey Betting: Women's & Men's Stories

• Matt Mitchell: Raves about the endless action of Olympic hockey, especially the women’s tournament. The US women's team is dominant and stacked with talent, making them favorites, but such heavily favored lines are tricky for betting.
  • "These American ladies are a collection of complete savages and I really look forward to watching them in the gold medal match..." (05:52)
• Simon Hunter: The unpredictability of men's hockey (team chemistry, “hockey bros” vibe) provides interesting betting angles, with USA men showing surprising cohesion.
  • "You could tell this USA team gels... You're looking for that stuff as someone that's betting, looking for angles and it’s shown up." (09:39)

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3. Off-Ice Olympic Village Shenanigans: Condom “Shortage”

• Olympic narrative: News broke that 10,000 Olympic condoms had "run out."
• Simon Hunter & Chad Millman: Point out that many athletes grabbed them as souvenirs, for resale, not just for fun.
  • "They put the...condom with the Olympic symbol on" (11:14, Chad Millman)
  • "That's a money maker." (11:21, Chad Millman)

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4. Curling Controversy: "Cheating" Canadians & Swedish Sting

• Chad Millman & Simon Hunter: Canada, usually seen as polite, is in the hot seat after Swedes set up their own camera to prove a suspected foul (illegal “double touch” past the hog line) in curling.
• Matt Mitchell:
  • "The culture of curling is one of incredible sportsmanship and self regulation...The Swedes believed the Canadians were cheating and not calling it. So they set up their own camera." (15:39)
  • The scandal had all the elements: a sting, a villain, and high/low stakes.
  • "It's low stakes because it's curling, but it's also high stakes because it's the Olympics. 10 out of 10 scandal." (17:18)

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5. Absurd and Absorbing Athlete Drama

• A medalist admits cheating—on his girlfriend, not in sports—during his acceptance speech, generating sensational (and misleading) headlines.
  • Matt Mitchell:
    • "Athlete admits cheating in acceptance speech, which was true and misleading and made everybody click on it..." (18:58)
• Panel laughs at Euro/American culture clashes and tabloid sports narratives.

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6. Inspirational Performances: Shiffrin & the “Cross-Country GOAT”

• Simon Hunter: Celebrates Mikaela Shiffrin’s record-setting gold, noting her open discussions of pressure and setbacks.
• Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo:
  • Dominates cross-country skiing with a new, unmatched technique, moving at six-minute miles up snowy hills.
  • Matt Mitchell:
    • "It was churning like a train...doing so so quickly that it looks like he’s jogging was absolutely the most impressive part of it." (27:38)

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7. Eileen Gu, Money, and National Allegiances

• Major media attention on Eileen Gu (San Francisco native, skiing for China), with reports she’s now the 4th highest paid female athlete in the world—her multi-million-dollar deal with China generating controversy.
  • Simon Hunter:
    • "...all the money she has gotten from China, which was a story this week that broke...she has been paid millions of dollars to ski and compete for China." (31:18)
• Chad Millman:
  • Explains that "China basically spent 40 million on just American athletes alone" for these Games (Wall Street Journal report). (32:20)
• Debate: Is it “mercenary” to compete for the highest bidder, or just taking advantage of the system?
  • Chad Millman: “I'd rather be great under the American flag than China's flag. But...the money is just that big...that's an insane, like, what they're reporting is an insane amount of money that she's being paid." (35:34)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Simon Hunter (on curling scandal):
  • “Curling has a controversy and it has turned the world against Canada for being foul mouthed and poor sports. That’s amazing to me.” (15:04)
• Matt Mitchell (on curling sportsmanship):
  • "The whole Scandinavian region is so unbelievably calm and refined and within themselves emotionally, I’m none of those things. So seeing the Canadian lose his mind and get really pissy and the Swedes look at them with the same look many executives look to me when I would be explaining something of like, how curious your anger is..." (16:23)
• Chad Millman (on the Olympics' ever-present hookup culture):
  • “So rest assured, people can have safe sex in Milan Cortina right now." (12:36)
• Matt Mitchell (on Olympic betting rituals):
  • "If one more goddamn Korean bullpen blows a seven run lead, I'm not going to live to see this girl's 10th birthday." (07:23)
• Chad Millman (Eileen Gu):
  • "No one knows how real the money is because it is China." (32:20)
• Simon Hunter (on patriotism vs. cash):
  • "At the end of the day, it's not just about being a mercenary...it's about the joy and like draping the flag and walking in the opening ceremonies." (34:17)

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• 02:38: Show opens, set-up for Olympic-themed discussion
• 05:52: Olympic hockey betting—US women’s dominance & joy of betting on games
• 11:12: Olympic Village "condom shortage" and souvenir story
• 15:03: Curling controversy: Canadians accused of cheating revealed by Swedish camera "sting"
• 18:30: Athlete admits cheating on girlfriend in acceptance speech—tabloid moment
• 25:55: Mikaela Shiffrin & Klæbo’s cross-country skiing dominance
• 31:18: Eileen Gu, China’s big-money athlete deals, and controversy over national allegiances
• 35:34: Patriotism vs. mercenary motivation: panel debates “what’s your price?”
• 36:49: Outro; reflection on Olympics being a huge conversation starter, even for non-bettors

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Tone & Style

Lively, irreverent, and conversational with plenty of humor. The trio balance sharp sports-betting insights with locker-room banter, pop culture references, and genuine awe at both human achievement and absurdity. The episode delivers both entertainment and thoughtful reflection on modern sport.

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Listener Takeaways

• Even for career bettors, storylines, scandals, and human drama—not just betting angles—make the Olympics must-watch TV.
• The US women's hockey team is historically dominant, and while they're often heavy favorites, upsets and line movement always lurk in Olympic competition.
• Curling and other niche sports provide fertile ground for drama and unexpected controversy.
• Modern Olympic athletes are often savvy, global professionals—creating new ethical, financial, and national debates.
• The Olympics spark once-in-four-year debates even among football-first sports fans.

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This episode is essential listening for sports fans who want the betting world’s take on the biggest (and weirdest) Ice Games moments, distilled with humor and in-depth perspective.

Transcript

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[Chad Millman]

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[Simon Hunter]

Come on, baby.

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[Matt Rogers]

This is Matt Rogers from Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. This is Bowen Yang from Los Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. Hey, so what if you could boost the WiFi to one of your devices when you need it most? Because Xfinity WI Fi can. And what if your wifi could fix itself before there's even really a problem? Xfinity is so reliable. It does that, too. What if your wifi had parental instincts? Xfinity WI fi is part nanny, part ninja, protecting your kids while they're online. And finally, what if your wifi was, like, the smartest wifi? Yeah, it's wif. So smart, it makes everything work better together. Bottom line, Xfinity is smart and reliable. You deserve the peace of mind of having WI fi that's got your back. Xfinity. Imagine that.

[Simon Hunter]

Welcome to Sharp or Square, presented by Hard Rock Bet. We are part of the Volume Podcast Network. This is the betting show that makes the squares sharper and makes the wise guys pay attention all year long. I am Chadoman. I am joined by my bff, my companion, my compadre, my co host, professional better Simon Hunter. Hello, Simon.

[Chad Millman]

Hello, Chad. It's, it's that time of year, buddy.

[Simon Hunter]

Olympics, Olympic time. And that's why we're not just doing it, you and me today, we're having Matt Mitchell join us in his Olympic jacket because we've been talking a lot about the Olympics before our records because Matt Mitchell is betting them like a freaking maniac. And the truth is, if you look at the numbers, there's nearly 30 million people a day watching the Olympics across all of the various NBC platforms. And I'm watching too, and the coverage is phenomenal between the live during the day and then the, the recaps and sort of more narrative focused shows going on on the main network at night. It's, it's truly awesome. I'm loving it. Matt Mitchell just lost his mind because he's got a bet going on right now on some Canadian hockey game as we record this. Matt. Matt Mitchell, welcome to the show.

[Matt Mitchell]

Thanks for having me. It's really an honor. Big first time, long time, big fan, right? Big fan.

[Chad Millman]

Yeah.

[Matt Mitchell]

Especially hopefully there's some more indulgent Chad Millman focused Chad Millman stories as told by Chad Millman in this episode.

[Simon Hunter]

Yeah, I mean, I guess we can address the elephant in the room is that I've had a crazy eight weeks and in our first non real non football show, Simon asked what was going on and I had just come back from the All Star game and I had some stories. So fucking sue me.

[Matt Mitchell]

Yeah, Simon, it's so crazy that someone so handsome and funny could also be so interesting and humble at the same time. We are truly blessed.

[Chad Millman]

It's true.

[Simon Hunter]

Well, now it's like I'm at the dinner table. So listen, today guys, we are going to talk about the Olympics because there is a ton going on. And I would say even if you're not betting it. And look, the truth is, you know, there's been a lot of conversations around the prediction markets and the betting markets that they're creating around the Olympics and as well as the betting markets available for the Olympics on all of the online sports betting operators that are legal. And the truth is, Olympics is not a big betting sport. It's never been a big betting sport. Winter Olympics especially is not a big betting sport. But I will say that these Olympics have captured people's attention because there are so many freaking narratives going on that to me have been amazing. And so I want us to go through like what are. Since we all have very specific points of view, what our favorite betting Stories are so far, but I know you guys are both very invested in the hockey. So Matt Mitchell set us up for some hockey betting conversation and what that's been like for you during the Olympics.

[Matt Mitchell]

Oh, I think Olympic hockey is such an absolute joy to watch. The men's and the women's, I mean really, especially the women's. You're getting so much action. It's laid out one after the other. You've got games. I mean this morning I woke up at 6:30 in the morning with two small children and I'm great. I'm already in the third period of an Olympic hockey game. I wake up to a full lather because Slovakia and Germany are neck and neck. Like it's such a nice reprieve as someone that doesn't really like college basketball at all. To the doldrums of mid and late February to have high stakes, highly organized, elite non stop hockey action every day for basically two weeks. It has been such a joy. And these American ladies are a collection of complete savages and I really look forward to, to watching them in the, the, the gold medal match which unfortunately will be I think basically being played as this episode releases on Thursday.

[Simon Hunter]

I love the idea of you getting up your two small children who can be incredibly challenging. I mean not your son, he's a dream. But your daughter, she can give you some fits and needing to manage a full sweat while making them breakfast and getting them ready for school.

[Chad Millman]

Yeah.

[Matt Mitchell]

As usual a lot of. Deb, why are you making that face? No, I was just thinking about the weather. Yeah, it's great. I've been doing actually my daughter was born the week that sports shut down in 2020 and then I can remember holding her then, extremely small body and when kbo when the Korean baseball was coming back and that would, those games would end at like 6am and just holding her, which is I should be humiliated by this admission, but I'm not. But like I can remember holding her looking out the window and the sun's coming up, a beautiful spring morning and just being like if one more goddamn Korean bullpen blows a seven run lead, I'm not going to live to see this girl's 10th birthday. We need real sports to come back and we need to come back right away and, and this how these hockey games are a little tast have.

[Chad Millman]

Yeah, I was, I was gonna say the, the funny thing about Winter Olympics is especially because I'm just so into football. I honestly have no idea it's coming and when all of a sudden it's just here, like I'll see there the opening game ceremonies, whatever it is. Also you're just like, wow, four years just went by that happens to me every time. I always know the Summer Olympics is coming because like you said, it's so much bigger. You know, it's coming the Winter Olympics. It to me it's the best surprise. It's some of that grew up on the X Games. Always love the Winter X Game, snowboarding, all that stuff. And as I've gotten older, obviously, just like anyone does, especially as a gambler. You watch all the sports now. As I've gotten older and you know, for me, my first love will always still be the snowboarding stuff. Like this year or maybe they had it the last Olympics, but they do these snowboarding races I've really gotten into and they basically wear like red, yellow, blue, orange, whatever. And it's four teams and they race against each other, you know, four different countries. I really love that for betting aspect. But yeah, for I said to Matt Mitchell for betting wise, hockey has been what I've been betting on, Chad. And you know, the USA women, we've kind of hit the peak. Like I didn't want to fade them last week, but I think they were like seven and a half or eight goal favorites. I had to go against that. It was just way too much. I think they won five nothing against Sweden, who's, you know, Sweden, very talented. The US Women are just that dominant right now and I think they beat Italy 6 nothing. But the men's has been the, the really big surprise here of. It's always interesting, Chad, where they just throw these pros together and you don't know how they're going to gel. And hockey guys, I mean, I don't know. Everyone has different opinion on different sports guys. To me, when I think of my favorite personality types, I always think of the hockey guys, the hockey bros. Like even in high school I love the hockey guys. In college, I love the hockey guys. As I got older, I meet hot guys who play, you know, weekend warriors, play hockey and stuff. They're always the best characters. They're either hilarious to drink with or whatever. They're just always funny guys. And you could tell this USA team gels like these guys hang out. They actually like each other. And you're looking for that stuff as someone that's betting, looking for angles and it's shown up like they should have blown out Denmark. They won 6 3. If you go back and look at that, those three goals by Denmark, super stupid, fluky Goals where it's like, this is hockey. Crashing nets, very fluky. Germany dominated them. Germany got like a fluke one goal at the very end of the game. They beat them 5:1. So I don't know about man Mitchell. They play today. Like we're doing this on Wednesday. I play at 3:10. The women play tomorrow. If anyone wants to catch that game at 1:10 Eastern. I would definitely check out the women's obviously, but yeah, the men's, I'm looking forward. Today they play against Sweden. So obviously people here, that's the one on the result there. But I honestly think this team is legit. They have a real chance to win it all.

[Simon Hunter]

What's amazing about this Olympics, it's, it's really taken hold of the narrative and sort of for fandom, right. The, the condom story, the running out of 10,000 condoms is, you know, the story behind that.

[Chad Millman]

Why they, they disappeared.

[Simon Hunter]

Well, apparently people were taking them for souvenirs.

[Chad Millman]

Exactly. They put the, it has literally a condom with the Olympic symbol on.

[Simon Hunter]

Yeah.

[Chad Millman]

So like these guys who don't make any money, why would you not grab a thousand? I love that like a middle America was like, oh my God, the Olympics are having tons of sex. All these condoms are going. But here's the thing, it's like, dude, they are having sex but they are grabbing that stuff to sell. Let's be real, that's, that's a money maker.

[Simon Hunter]

But, but still, I remember we did this story at ESPN the Magazine, I think around the 2012 Olympics. Sam Aliport, who's a great reporter, really fun writer, does a lot of TV stuff now in la. He wrote this story about the, the Olympic Games basically being always being, not this, but massive orgies. Just like you've got good looking people

[Chad Millman]

in great shape together, young people in

[Simon Hunter]

great shape who are like hyper competitive,

[Chad Millman]

most stressful environment of their lives.

[Simon Hunter]

Yes. And like, and they stay in the village and, and they just fucking let it go. Right. And so there is a lot of sex going on in the Olympic Village, regardless of whether or not they're using all 10,000 condoms. The good news is, according to the New York Post, as of today, a new shipment of condoms has made it to the Olympic Village. So rest assured, people can have safe sex in Milan Cortina right now.

[Matt Mitchell]

I'm not just saying this because I lost all my money betting on chechy alive at 10 to 1 to beat Canada and just had to watch them lose the minute overtime started. But I, I am embarrassed. Another, the one millionth example of how I'm still poor that I didn't think to just get on a plane, go to the Olympics to grab as many condoms as I could carry to fly immediately home and sell them on the black market and make a killing. Like, I'm sure so many of the world's finest athletes and their hangers on thought of, like, what was I doing? I was just sitting here listening to Chad's NBA All Star game stories instead of doing that like, it's a shame there's a bus. There's no bus line between Milwaukee and Milan. Otherwise I probably would have thought of it.

[Simon Hunter]

Would you say that my All Star game stories are better, worse or the same than say, the story about penis flapgate at the Olympics over the past two weeks?

[Matt Mitchell]

I mean, that's really a question for like, I don't know, like Jimmy Goldstein or Demi Moore. I mean, that's a question you'd ask like somebody list celebrity.

[Simon Hunter]

Matt, it's. It's Demi. Like, you're showing your Milwaukee.

[Matt Mitchell]

I. She's always been Mrs. Bruce Willis to me as the world's number one Bruce Willis fan.

[Chad Millman]

And people are being too hard on Shady. I, I said to multiple people that were making fun of you were picking on you. Chad. I said, at least he didn't tell us what his son's college roommate thinks because that to me was peak level Chad just missing the plot. I never want to hear ever again about Chad's son's roommate in college. What that kid thinks literally could care less. But Chad, he cares. And that's why we love Chad.

[Simon Hunter]

I don't even remember what that story,

[Chad Millman]

whatever it was. I just remember when you went there, I was just like, my God, Indiana football.

[Matt Mitchell]

Yeah, sorry. Indiana probably just lost his mind. He was in like a state of psychosis.

[Simon Hunter]

Yeah. Oh my God.

[Matt Mitchell]

When Hulk Hogan would say he was entering a state of Hulkamania, like Chad's Hulkamania was Indiana football for like a hundred days. That was quite a time to be alive.

[Chad Millman]

Now what are we gonna do, boys? Are we gonna. Are we gonna. Are we gonna make fun of Canada for being cheaters in the lamest game ever? Are we going to talk about this? The controversy?

[Matt Mitchell]

The curling.

[Chad Millman]

Curling.

[Simon Hunter]

The Canadian curling. This is what, this is what. Why the Olympics is so great this year is curling has a controversy and it has turned the world against Canada for being foul mouthed and poor sports. That's amazing to me. I still can't tell if they're cheating, if they're doing the tubl touch. But now all of a sudden, there's got to be intensive video reviews of all of it. They could be getting away with it. I don't think Canadians cheat. I love Canadians. Very kind people. Matt Mitchell, where do we stand on the Canadians cheating?

[Matt Mitchell]

I really appreciated that. My understanding of the controversy is that there's no. The culture of curling is one of incredible sportsmanship and self regulation. The athletes call their own fouls on one another. It's very sporting in that sense. Very old. So as part of that, there's not traditionally a down the line view of what's called the hog line, which would result in a double touch if you're touching the stone when it touches that line. The Swedes believed the Canadians were cheating and not calling it. So they set up their own camera

[Chad Millman]

angle, which again, favorite part, Matt, they set up their own.

[Matt Mitchell]

A sting. They set up an Olympic sting. Which is why the Canadian, Mark Kennedy, was so apoplectic and profane about defending himself, because he thought, well, there's no way. There's no footage of it. That's like, that's our whole thing as former, all of us as former employees of a, of a Danish owned company. The whole Scandinavian region is so unbelievably calm and refined and within themselves emotionally, I'm none of those things. So seeing the Canadian lose his mind and get really pissy and the Swedes look at them with the same look many executives look to me when I would be explaining something of like, how curious your anger is. Very curious to me. Not. Not sure it calls for this histrionics. And they nailed him, Nailed him perfectly. It was a perfect scandal. It was. There's a good guy, there's bad guys, there's a sting. It's low stakes because it's curling, but it's also high stakes because it's the Olympics 10 out of 10 scandal.

[Chad Millman]

And it's my favorite part too. It's like I don't watch him anymore because now I mess with my head about driving. I used to always watch those dash cam videos of accidents. And it's when the people get like reverse ended people and they get out the blame on them and then they see the dash camera. That's what the Canadian guy felt like, where he was so sure, so confident. And the Swedish guy, like Matt said, he's just so relaxed. Letting him just air it out and then simply being like, we brought our own camera and here I'm going to show the footage to the referees. That was just icing on the cake.

[Matt Mitchell]

Great comparison. Great comparison.

[Simon Hunter]

Yeah. Very, very well done. Simon. It's also a little bit. It's that they pre planned that. Right. They must have seen some kind of footage or in competition.

[Chad Millman]

Some other team told on them apparently.

[Simon Hunter]

Okay.

[Chad Millman]

And they denied it again at that time. And again, the Swedes. I love it. They're like, we'll set up our own camera and literally zoom in on this guy.

[Simon Hunter]

This is a juicy, soapy, dishy Olympics. We had the dude who won a. Won a gold medal, I think, and while being interviewed, admitted to cheating on

[Chad Millman]

his girlfriend or might have been a bronze, but still, even. Even, yeah, it was bronze.

[Simon Hunter]

Bronze.

[Matt Mitchell]

Incredible.

[Simon Hunter]

Yeah, well, that's just. That just shows how dumb you are.

[Chad Millman]

He knew what he was doing, though. That was a good move by him because it's like, yeah, he knew that would be a big story because I think it was like day two. And yeah, they ran. They immediately ate it up. Right away they're like, oh, did. It was like the next day. They're like, did she take you back? And it's like, no, I'm still blocked.

[Matt Mitchell]

Yeah, I, I think my favorite part of that, by the way, was that the initial headlines were essentially, athlete admits cheating in acceptance speech, which was true and misleading and made everybody click on it. And then I read it. It was like, oh, outstanding work. Perfect execution because it was even more hilarious. And then admitting actual cheating at the event. Wait, cheating on a girlfriend?

[Simon Hunter]

Oh, perfect. You think he did this to manipulate the story and get more action? Like, this would put him on the market and give him opportunities.

[Chad Millman]

Well, he's already a narcissist because he cheated on a girl after whatever it was, two, three months. So that just adds it up. I honestly, I first saw the headline like, you. I thought it was like that. I think it was like South American soccer player that basically thanked his wife and then his girlfriend in his acceptance speech. Like, wasn't thinking clearly because he was so excited. He's like, I want to thank my wife and my girlfriend. And then like, had to retract and be like, yeah, I cheated on my wife. I thought he did that moment. It was like, no, this guy openly admitted to it. He's like, yeah, I, my, I told my girlfriend before I came here and she dumped me and she's the love of my life, even though we've only been together for three months. And it's like, oh, my God, this man is a head case. Or six months, whatever it was. But yeah, that again, like you said, I love these Olympic stories because you get stuff like that where it's just these crazy Europeans. As much as they think we're crazy Americans, there's nothing better than a crazy European.

[Simon Hunter]

There's two more stories I want to talk about, but let's take a quick break and hear from our sponsors at Hard Rock bet. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock bet, Florida's Sportsbook. I know it's tough with no football, but like the sports song says, I bet I will survive. With Hard Rock Bet, there's always something to bet on every night. Hoops, hockey and so much more. Plus all the great same game parlay, live betting and player prop options you're used to. And did you know Hard Rock Bet is the official sports betting partner of the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic? Incredible. So if you haven't signed up with Hard Rock Bet Bet yet, there's never been a better time. New signups can double their winnings on their first 10 bets max 50 bucks? That's right. If you would have won a hundred bucks on your bet, make that $200. The Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook app is the only legal sports book for whenever you're in Florida, and it's also live in Arizona, Ohio, New Jersey, Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois, Colorado and Michigan. Coming soon to more states, too. Plus, Hard Rock Bet offers new promos daily, so whenever you're listening, just open the app and check out what you've got. Any day of the week, download the Hard Rock Bet and make your first deposit. Offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida. Offered by Seminole hard Rock Digital LLC in all other states. Must be 21 or over and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia. TUPAC Play Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida? Call 1833-playwise in Indiana. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-9 with it in Ohio, call 1-800-my reset gambling problem. Call 1-800- gambler in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Tennessee and Virginia this

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[Daniel Cormier]

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[Simon Hunter]

All right, so to me, the contrast here between the American expectations and the quad God falling and openly admitting sort of the pressure getting to him, which I think is wonderful, that he's. That he's present and open and talking about it. Mikayla Shifrin has done the same thing, and until her last attempt, she had not won a gold medal. She now won a gold medal in the slalom. She's actually, I think, the winningest skier for gold in American history now with three. She's only the second person to win the slalom in two different Olympics. No taking away from Michaela Schiffrin, who's obviously the greatest skier, downhill skier in history, man or woman. But meanwhile, Norway, talk about like Scandinavian, Nordic countries that just keep moving forward. Their cross country skier who now has, I think, 10 overall gold medals. Johan Husflaat Klebo, who basically runs uphill during cross country skiing. And he's doing six minute miles on skis in the snow. That is to me, bar none, the best story of the Games. He has created a new technique that makes him so dominant, people can't see him when they are like in second place. He's so far ahead, the best.

[Matt Mitchell]

I read a fabulous piece and I can't find it. I can't credit the person, but the person was in Nordic Games and said the most impressive part of that isn't that he's acting like they cut out Secretariat's heart and put it inside his body. It was that he Was doing that in concert with this incredible support team that these Scandinavian teams have for these games because they're the best at it. That you have to wax your skis and you have to use two different kinds, one to help you slide and one that helps you stick. And so it requires mastery to apply. But if you screw it up, for example, if you try running up the hill like that and you're using it wrong, you'll slide backwards. It'll be totally self defeating. So that the way to do that, to execute it as he did, was to stomp your feet straight down really hard. And the fact that he was running at like over 11 miles an hour at one point and looked like he was just. It was churning like a train. But he was actually having to stomp each step straight down into the snow. But doing so so quickly that it looks like he's. He's jogging was absolutely the most impressive part of it because he had to do it in such a precise way. And if you, if you messed up, that would. Because you got tired or whatever, you would ruin your whole advantage. Remarkable. This guy's an absolute, like, animal. It was unbelievable to watch.

[Chad Millman]

Yeah, I never heard of him. And I, I feel it was NBC or someone did a storyline on the first day and it was like, this is the Michael Phelps of this cross country ski. And it's like, all right, I got to check out this guy's event. The first one I watched, I was joking with you, Chad there. The announcers were like. And this is his worst event, so this should be a real challenge for him. And then it cuts to, you know, an hour later, he's got like a 10 second lead on another guy from Norway because Norway is just dominant at this cross country skiing stuff. And he blows him out. He wins. And he's like laying down there. All these guys, they collapse at the end of it, right? They're just so exhausted. They lay there for a minute. And this guy is such a good dude. He doesn't get up and go do like interviews and stuff like that. He waits for his teammates who come and collapse and then takes off all their skis for them. And it's like the humbleness of this guy and the fact that he is just. Everyone says he is a psycho, like you said. His training apparently is just insane. The same thing you saw about Michael Phelps. Michael Phelps did not miss a day in the pool for 10 years. Every day, seven days a week. And apparently this guy's the same thing. It's middle of July. He's going to the highest Nordic pines, Alps, you know, of the top, the Arctic Circle of Norway, just to go uphill on snow. Like, this guy is just a full on psycho. So. Yeah, he's what, 24, you said? So we're gonna get another two, possibly three more Olympics of this guy. We'll see how he. How he heads into his 30s. But pretty incredible what he's accomplished at such a young age.

[Simon Hunter]

I think you guys know from having worked with me for so long, and now our audience knows I am that kind of selfless, unselfish person.

[Chad Millman]

You are.

[Simon Hunter]

I would. I would not celebrate before helping you guys take off your skis.

[Matt Mitchell]

Oh, thanks, Chad.

[Chad Millman]

I would. I would have a beer before. I'd have at least a beer while waiting. I mean.

[Simon Hunter]

Well, I would have won by so much that I could. I could do that.

[Chad Millman]

Go get your nuts. Go enjoy yourself.

[Simon Hunter]

Yeah, you have some.

[Matt Mitchell]

Some exotic oils and nuts from trees we don't even have access to.

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[Simon Hunter]

They're the ones at Jimmy Goldstein's house.

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Yeah.

[Matt Mitchell]

Yeah. You and Demi, you went to me sharing a macadamia.

[Simon Hunter]

You can't get those nuts on the flip side of this, and this is the last story. Sorry to end it on a downer,

[Chad Millman]

but no, I'm glad you put this one. Is this gonna be the China stuff?

[Simon Hunter]

Yeah. For all the glory of NBC's mastery of the Olympics and how great the stories are. The number of times I have heard announcers say Eileen Gu, who's from San Francisco, is skiing for China to honor her mother. I have heard it so many times that if I got a dollar, I would be as rich as Eileen Gu for all the money she has gotten from China, which was a story this week that broke. That she has been paid millions of dollars to ski and compete for China. To put it in context, she is the fourth highest paid female athlete in the world behind Coco Groff, Sabalenka, and Swiatech. That how I say her name, the tennis player. So apparently just competing for China was another money grab sign.

[Chad Millman]

Yeah, I saw. It was basically like, her incentives were wild, too. Like, and no one knows how real the money is because it is China. But she. I believe she did get silver. Apparently she had gotten gold. It was like, insane. What they're going to give her part of her contract. But, yeah, I think the story you saw, the same one I did, Chad, was that China basically spent 40 million on just American athletes alone, Wall Street Journal, to compete in the Olympics, which is. You know, a lot of people might be like, stick Their nose up, nose up at it. But we talk all the time. America's advantage, especially on the women's side, from your youth to your adulthood, of just support in sports. It's not like these other countries. It's just America is just so much more committed to sports in these other countries. So to me, China, I feel like this is a smart little cheat code for them if they, if they can keep getting away with this because you're using all the institutions that America has, all the great coaching, everything like that, and you're just paying the back end of it and you can get reap the rewards of it. So because we know China's Winter Olympics is not good like that. You know, there's the ice, the fast skating and stuff like that is stuff they've always been good at, the synchronized skating. But yeah, this was, I was shocked to read this because once again, I didn't know any of this was happening. So, yeah, good breakdown by you.

[Matt Mitchell]

I mean, I don't want to get overly serious or overly political, but I do want to address right to camera, the People's Republic of China. Right now, it's just you and me. China, listen to me. Only you can help defeat the capitalist dogs of the Indiana Hoosier football program. Together with your tens of millions of dollars, you, me, and my University of Missouri Tiger football program can overthrow them and begin a new glorious revolution within the sec. My phone lines are open. I can help bridge this gap. And it will only cost you several hundred million dollars. We can do this. I support you.

[Simon Hunter]

I actually wonder. I really thought you were going to make a plea for them to sponsor your daughter as a future Olympian in whatever sport she chooses. This is a serious question, which is how much would it take for you to decide to compete for another country in the Olympics? Because to me isn't part of the joy of being in the Olympics is like competing for your country and I don't know, like, you want to make money. I'm not, I'm not blind to the idea that a lot of these athletes are professionals. They make a lot of money. You get bonuses for being the Olympics, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But like, at the end of the day, it's not just about being a mercenary. Competing for the most money is about the joy and like draping the flag and walking in the opening ceremonies and walking in the closing ceremonies and being part of a team of countrymen that like, is supposed to be inherent in the experience. So what would. I can't even Think of a number that it would take for me to want to go compete for somebody else.

[Chad Millman]

You've had a very good, comfortable life, Chad, so that makes total sense. I'm right there with you. I could never. I don't know what the dollar amount would have to be, but if I was great at sport, I'm right there with you. I'd rather be great under the American flag than China's flag. But these other people, I get it. Like, if you have some sort of ties to it, especially if you're a West Coaster and the money is just that big like that, that's an insane. Like, what they're reporting is an insane amount of money that she's being paid. So I get your perspective. I share it, but I can't hold it against her. That's just so much money to turn down. And like you said, I think they're trying to use the loop of she's doing it for her mom, whatever, whatever gets her to sleep at night. But we all know, we all know. So you know, you got to live with that, right?

[Simon Hunter]

Simon is always the voice of, like, the cold hard truth, whereas I'd like to believe in sort of the best of people. Simon doesn't see that. Matt Mitchell.

[Chad Millman]

Yeah.

[Matt Mitchell]

The idea of two countries, including America competing for my athletic services on the world stage is as insane a hypothetical as if I had wings, would I still be allowed to compete in the Olympics? I'm not even really sure how to engage with this hypothetical.

[Simon Hunter]

I think we can all agree on one thing. This Olympics has been a conversation starter because I don't think we've ever talked about the Olympics on this podcast, either in its previous iteration or obviously in this one. In our seven years together, that's how big the Olympics have been. Thirty million people a day watching these things. And now we're talking about it. We are off next week. We're back the week of March 2nd. That's kind of when football season kicks off. We have some football conversations lined up for that week already. A lot of conversations that are going to impact player movement futures. How we're digesting handicapping and thinking about the NFL season to come. This has been Sharper Square, part of the Volume Podcast network. Watch or listen on YouTube at Sharper Squiddy or Sharper Square. Like this video. Subscribe to the channel. Download us on Spotify, Apple Pods, wherever you get your pods. Rate Review. Subscribe. Leave us 5 stars. Say whatever you want. Feedback is a gift. Until next time. Love you.

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