What people are talking about in the Olympic world

1) American Alpiners

	Daron Rahlves (left) and Bode Miller finished one-two twice at last weekend's World Cup downhill event in Beaver Creek, Colo. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
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A pair of one-two finishes by Daron Rahlves and Bode Miller at the World Cup in Beaver Creek, Colo., highlighted an extremely impressive week for U.S. skiers (see Tim Layden's coverage on SI.com and in this week's Sports Illustrated). Rahlves and Miller finished the weekend second and third, respectively, in the overall World Cup standings, and rising 21-year-old teammate Ted Ligety showed that he, too, could be a factor at next February's Turin Olympics, finishing third in the Beaver Creek slalom.

Meanwhile, fellow American Lindsey Kildow, also 21, won a women's World Cup downhill in Canada. She will next lead the deeply talented U.S. women's team into another World Cup event in Aspen, Colo., while the men head off for the European portion of their circuit.

2) 1-900-SEE-KWAN?

This week, American Idol meets Stars on Ice. During ABC's live telecast of the Marshalls U.S. Figure Skating Challenge in Boston on Sunday afternoon, viewers will be able to call a 900 number (or send an e-mail) to vote on the winner. Barring late scratches, the field will include four of the five top contenders for the U.S. women's team: Sasha Cohen, Emily Hughes, Alissa Czisny and -- drum roll, please -- Michelle Kwan, in her first competition of the season. Aficionados are eager not only to judge Kwan's level of fitness coming off a hip injury, but also to see if she upgrades her routine to include more of the challenging elements she needs to rack up points under the new degree-of-difficulty-driven scoring system.

3) Italian Women

Remember the names Elena Fanchini and Carolina Kostner. The two young Italians will be among the most wildly cheered-for athletes at the Turin Games, where the 20-year-old Fanchini -- winner of last week's other World Cup downhill in Lake Louise, Alberta -- will be a threat to win gold in that discipline, and the 18-year-old Kostner will be a contender in figure skating. Kostner, a bronze medalist at the 2005 worlds, is expected to be the host country's flag bearer in the opening ceremonies. If her name sounds vaguely familiar, perhaps you're confusing her with her Alpine-skier cousin, Isolde, a two-time world champion and three-time Olympic medalist who, as it happens, carried the flag for Italy at the Salt Lake City Games.