Alcoholics and Gold Medal Winners Anonymous

Star U.S. skier Bode Miller has confessed to skiing while hungover, and the coach of the men's squad is worried about what effect his statements will have on the team's ability to raise money. Aren't beer manufacturers frequent sponsors of things, particularly sporting events? And wouldn't they love a piece of this action? Maybe they could give the U.S. ski team a truckload of money on one condition: each skier has to chug a can on camera before each run. From today's Times:

Miller is expected to give a public statement this week before the three World Cup races here at Wengen. According to McNichol, the skier will have to express regret about his words or stand behind them, and will face the possibility of exclusion from the team if he chooses the latter.

The press-conference culture is out of control. He has to express regret about his words? Don't they mean his actions? The bizarre thing is, I don't think they do. Instead of "I shouldn't have skied hungover," they're looking for, "I shouldn't have said that I skied hungover." Great.