I didn't watch the segment on sled dogs shown by NBC during its Olympic coverage last night, so I just went searching for the segment online. You can see the video here, but I was amused that my search also turned up this article from the Orange County Register, which says, in part:

"When you think about how many Olympic sports don't make the primetime broadcast, is it really necessary NBC devotes time in these medal-round days to the life lessons that can be learned from sled dogs?"

I love the Winter Olympics. I love, in particular, how much attention skiing has been receiving this year. Usually I feel like I'm constantly annoyed at how much figure skating I have to get through in order to glimpse five minutes of the downhill, but this year I haven't had to watch a minute of figure skating to see tons of skiing. 

So do I mind if NBC takes ten minutes to show a segment on sled dogs, or polar bears, or whatever? I don't know; I think it's kind of nice and I think we sort of owe it to the host country to learn a little bit about its culture. I like to think of it as an opportunity to learn a little something more than sports - as much as I love the sports. And that they did a segment on dogs, all the better. I think most people probably assume all sled dogs look the same - I was glad to see different breeds represented. 

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