* An American skier gliding to gold in the Nordic combined.

* NBC pre-empting the women's figure-skating finals for a best-of-curling retrospective.

* Salt Lake City getting another shot at hosting the Winter Games, possibly in 2018 or 2022.

The short answer: They are all long shots.

"There's hoop after hoop after hoop that would have to be gone through" to get the Olympics again, says Dave Johnson, former Salt Lake Organizing Committee vice president for the 2002 Games. "It's going to take decades. Having the Games is truly a once-in-lifetime opportunity."

Even so, Mayor Rocky Anderson likes his city's chances at a twofer (after all, there is some precedent).

"Landing the Olympics in Salt Lake City in the foreseeable future is a very good possibility," he says.

After schmoozing in Turin last week with members of the International Olympic and U.S. Olympic committees, Anderson, former Utah Olympic Officer Lane Beattie and Utah Sports Commission President Jeff Robbins plan to set up an exploratory committee to weigh another Olympic bid.

"We hope within the next year to put together a group to talk about what the steps [for a bid] would be," says Beattie, now president of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce.

Salt Lake City already sports an Olympic edge. Beattie points to the world-class facilities - from the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns to the Winter Sports Park in Summit County. And Anderson hypes the capital's cultural opportunities and easy access to venues.

Fact is, all three Utah Olympic boosters attest, Salt Lake City was the talk of Turin during their recent visit.

Beattie says his group dropped some hints to USOC members in Italy.

"We made people there know, in a soft way, that we were interested in hosting another Olympic Games."

Robbins says the delegation's message was clear: Utah remains eager to stage Olympic and other global sporting events.

"We've found that in the sports world, especially in the Olympics, it's easier to keep your place at the table by staying involved than to walk away."

But Salt Lake City would face some tough sledding in chasing another Winter Games.

Mike Moran, former U.S. Olympic Committee spokesman, says 2018 would be the first Winter Olympics the USOC might try to land. And that bid would be contingent on whether U.S. Olympic officials decide to pursue the 2016 Summer Games this year - and whether that effort succeeds.

"The USOC won't make concurrent bids," Moran says. "When I was at the USOC and Salt Lake was in the running for the 2002 Games, that's why we passed on competing for the 2008 Summer Olympics, which will be in Beijing."

Even if the USOC backs a U.S. city's bid for the 2018 or 2022 Winter Olympics, there's no guarantee that city would be Salt Lake City. Contingents from Denver and Lake Placid, N.Y., are in Turin now, making their case for the Games. Lake Tahoe and Anchorage, Alaska, also have expressed interest.

As for IOC members, Johnson argues they are more likely to award the Winter Games to Asia, Northern Europe or someplace where the Olympics haven't been for a while. It doesn't help that Vancouver, Canada, is staging the 2010 Winter Olympics.

"With the Games coming to Canada again, it might be eight to 12 years down the line before the IOC even considers having it come back to North America," says Dick Schultz, former USOC boss.

That said, Schultz refuses to rule out a Salt Lake City Olympic sequel.

"In my mind, Salt Lake's Games were the best ever because of the size of the city, the convenience of the venues, the organizational structure and the way it was handled," he says. "Mitt Romney and his team did a fantastic job, and the U.S. athletes performed well, which always helps."

Schultz doubts there is any lingering after-effect to the Olympic scandal leading up to the 2002 Games, saying it led the IOC to make overdue reforms.

"Some people felt that hurt New York City's bid [for the 2012 Summer Olympics, which are going to London]," he adds. "But I'm not sure that was the case. I think Salt Lake City erased a lot of that with just how well the 2002 Games came off."

Park City Mayor Dana Williams says the Olympics are still paying dividends in his resort town. Dozens of Olympic athletes now live and train there. More tourists are flocking to the Wasatch Back. And the city's new ice rink is set to open Friday.

Still, he doesn't expect an Olympic reprise - at least while he is mayor. "I'll probably be surfing on some beach in northern Mexico by then."

Winter Games sites

1924: Chamonix, France

1928: St. Moritz, Switzerland*

1932: Lake Placid, N.Y.*

1936: Garmisch- Partenkirchen, Germany

1948: St. Moritz, Switzerland*

1952: Oslo, Norway

1956: Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy

1960: Squaw Valley, Calif.

1964: Innsbruck, Austria*

1968: Grenoble, France

1972: Sapporo, Japan

1976: Innsbruck, Austria*

1980: Lake Placid, N.Y.*

1984: Sarajevo, Yugoslavia

1988: Calgary, Alberta

1992: Albertville, France

1994: Lillehammer, Norway

1998: Nagano, Japan

2002: Salt Lake City, Utah

2006: Turin, Italy

l 2010: Vancouver, Canada

* Repeat Olympic hosts