This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Rio de Janeiro – In the Winter Olympics, hockey is my gift to myself. Whenever I see a gap in the schedule of covering Utahns on the ski slopes or sliding tracks, I look for opportunities to watch men's or women's hockey mostly for fun. Baseball and softball fit that description for me in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008, but those sports are not in the 2016 Games – although they'll return for 2020 in Tokyo. So I planned to use golf as my reward in Rio, blocking out a three-hour slot Friday morning to walk all 18 holes and catch all 60 players, at one point or another. The weather is not cooperating, though. They're still playing, but the pleasant stroll I was picturing is not materializing, due to the steady rain. I sometimes forget that it is winter in Brazil. But I'm here, and I'll get out there for a few holes in the rain. And there's always the women's golf tournament next week. – Kurt Kragthorpe