4) Doughnut Medals

They're denser than Krispy Kremes, but similar in size and shape. The newly unveiled Turin Olympic medals are fat rings of glory, with empty space in the middle that represents (choose one) the open piazzas found throughout the city or the vast majority of '06 Winter Olympians who will go home from Turin having won nothing (or, shall we say, having bageled). These odd but creative awards make past Olympic medals look like mere doughnut holes.

5) Todd Lodwick

This good-natured 29-year-old from Steamboat Springs, Colo., would be the first to admit that no Nordic combined skier belongs on a "hot" list. He jokes that, to attract more attention, his sport -- a combination of ski jumping and cross-country skiing -- would have to be "amped up" by blaring Metallica through the loudspeakers or changing rules to make ski jumping even more extreme. He would, however, like to make Nordic combined, if not hot, at least mildly warm in his home country by winning America's first-ever Olympic medal in the sport. And don't rule the three-time Olympian out: On Sunday in Lillehammer, Norway, he finished second in a Nordic combined sprint event behind gold-medal favorite Hannu Manninen of Finland.

6) Award Season

Governing bodies have begun the annual ritual of recognizing their best and brightest. This week's winners:

• Vincent Hancock. Among 16-year-olds, not even Michelle Wie made more great shots in '05 than this high school junior from Eatonton, Ga. Hancock was named USA Shooting's male athlete of the year after an extraordinary season in which he broke every major men's world record in skeet and won the world skeet championship. Given the competitive life span of a shooter -- which resembles that of a golfer -- Hancock could still be firing for medals at the 2032 Olympics.

• Bobby Kersee. The husband and coach of heptathlete-long jumper Jackie Joyner-Kersee drifted out of the spotlight for several years after his Olympic-champion wife retired. He has now returned to it, as USA Track & Field's coach of the year. Kersee guided Michelle Perry, a converted heptathlete, to the world championship in the 100-meter hurdles and Allyson Felix to the world 200-meter title and an award of her own: USATF's female athlete of the year.

• Hall of Famers. It's not exactly Cooperstown -- it has no plaques, no memorabilia, not even a building -- but the 22-year-old U.S. Olympic Hall is still a big deal. The group to be inducted this week includes athletes who enriched the sports world with both their talent and their class: sprinter Evelyn Ashford, swimmer Rowdy Gaines, gymnast Shannon Miller, figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, bobsledder Jack Shea, the '84 men's gymnastics team and Paralympic skier Diana Golden-Brosnihan. Three other inductees merely gave the U.S. its most stirring Olympic victory ('80 hockey coach Herb Brooks), its most dominating 100-meter triumph (Bob Hayes) and its very window on the Games (NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol).

7) Richest Olympian

Forget the wealthy yachtsmen or tennis' Williams sisters. The honor now goes to Brazilian equestrian rider Alvaro Afonso de Miranda -- known to friends and fans as Doda -- who last Saturday married Athina Roussel Onassis, granddaughter of Aristole Onassis and heir to a fortune estimated at $2.7 billion. Doda, who has competed in the last three Summer Games, now can afford to host an Olympics.