Bode Miller Back With Americans, But Underdog In Winter Games

Sports News - February 12th, 2010 - Written By John Ritter

Bode Miller may have been invisible to the skiing world for almost two years, and sure, he may get a little drunk when he skis now and then, but don't tell him he's a longshot in the men's downhill when the Winter Olympics begin on Saturday.

"That's a completely ridiculous idea at the Olympics. Everyone is on the radar," Miller told the Associated Press. "I'm prepared and fired up. Hopefully it pops up on the radar here and there."

Miller is, in fact, an underdog to win the event he used to dominate, according to Bodog. The Winter Olympic Betting Lines have him slated with 7/1 odds to win the overall downhill, which is third behind Canada's Manuel Osborne-Paradis (5/1) and Switzerland's Didier Cuche.

He is set to race in five events and will be an underdog in all. But his track record makes him an intriguing candidate to at least medal after a one-year sabbatical and a brief skirmish with the United States ski team. He was considered the finest skier of the decade after winning the giant slalom and combined world championships in 2003, then took the downhill and Super-G in 2005.

His successes only created trouble, though, as Miller began partying and drinking more, and practicing less. In a 2006 interview with "60 Minutes", Miller admitted to skiing drunk, saying, "Talk about a hard challenge right there...If you ever tried to ski when you’re wasted, it's not easy. Try and ski a slalom when...you hit a gate less than every one second, so it's risky. You’re putting your life at risk...It's like driving drunk, only there are no rules about it in ski racing."

Ruffled over it's strict guidelines, Miller left the U.S. team in 2007 and formed his own ski team "Team America" in 2008. But he only managed to reach the podium twice in 2009, both silver finishes, and hasn't been relevant since winning a World Cup championship in '08.

After the miserable '09 season, Miller was able to win a Super G event in January's World Cup despite a ligament tear in December and he is now a darkhorse to hold a medal in the Vancouver games.

Aside from Osborne-Paradis, who is third in the current world cup rankings, and Cuche, Miller will also have to outpace Austria's former world champion Michael Walchhofer.

Osborne-Paradis is the local hero in Vancouver, and said he is finally getting feeling the nerves.

"It hit me when I first arrived in Vancouver," he said. "But my nerves have really settled down. It feels like just another race."