Winter Olympics a pleasure to see this time on TV!

I wasn't prepared to be impressed.

Ho hum. Another Winter Olympics, I thought.

Wow, was I ever wrong.

The last two weeks of NBC telecasts from Vancouver, B.C., Whistler, Cypress Mountain Resort and other venues in and around Vancouver have proven to be absolutely spell-binding.

I guess that I was dreading hours of curling matches, long drawn-out features on Vancouver's restaurants or night life and whatever sundry sins network television has previously foisted on us during past Olympics.

Instead, I found thoughtful, well-researched features on many of the athletes, both foreign and domestic, who would be taking center stage during the competitions. Often, these were the same athletes who stood on the award podium later in the week.

However, there were a few surprises in store, not only for viewers but also for the network sportscasters.

The worst surprise of all was the death of luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, 21, of Georgia, who died following a horrific crash during a practice run prior to the games' opening ceremony on Friday, Feb. 12.

Also heartbreaking was the death just before the games of the mother of one of Canada's figure skaters, Joannie Rochette, who went on to compete despite her loss and earned a bronze medal against a very tough field.

But who can forget the thrill of watching Steve Holcomb and his teammates take us all on those thrilling four-man bobsled rides to win America's first gold medal in 62 years. And to think he overcame a serious degenerative eye disease to pilot his 500-pound sled around hairpin curves - one he even nicknamed "50-50" because the typical sled only survived it half the time - on the world's fastest track at well over 90 miles per hour.

Apolo Anton Ohno's eight Olympic medals certainly added to his treasure trove and his humble responses when interviewed elevated him greatly in my eyes.

American figure skater Evan Lysacek's gold medal-winning presentations were each superb, far outclassing in pure artistry the incredible athleticism of Russia's Evgeni Plushenko's quadruple-quad combination jumps. But Plushenko's obvious disgust at his lower-than-expected score and the tantrum he threw afterwards were inexcusable displays of infantile behavior unbecoming of a world-class athlete, even from a Russian.

I celebrated when Canada won its first gold medal and I cheered when the 50 kilometer Cross Country race ended.

Finally, who could not have fallen head-over-heels in love with South Korea's reigning queen of figure skating, 19-year-old Kim Yu-Na, with six thrilling triple jumps in her long program on Thursday and a sassy James Bond girl that she portrayed in the short program, yet with artistry and poise.

Coming off her injury, it was painful to see Lindsey Vonn's Olympic dreams dashed in the women's slalom.

There was a lot to love projected in the prime time telecasts. I even found myself caught up in the U.S. vs Canada hockey match for the gold medal on Sunday afternoon, a sport I rarely watch. Bravo NBC!