Ranking the Winter Olympic sports

United States' Lindsey Vonn celebrates on the podium after winning an alpine ski, women's world Cup downhill race, in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Gabriele Facciotti/AP

Key factors: drama, watchability, intensity, personalities, competition format, and fan interest.

JOHN POWERS

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/02/06/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Images/911264602[1].jpg Winter Olympics sport-by-sport preview

Where and when all your favorite events will be held ? complete with a world view of the competitors and the outlook for US athletes.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/01/24/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Images/4e48f9b1eff44e60bfd0aacde13d71a8-4e48f9b1eff44e60bfd0aacde13d71a8-0.jpg US women?s hockey team feels long overdue for a gold

The Americans have the Canadians? number in World Championships, but the Olympics are a different story.

FILE - In this Sept. 25, 2017, file photo, United States bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor poses for a portrait with her Olympic medals at the 2017 Team USA Media Summit in Park City, Utah. The progression is obvious. Bronze in 2010. Silver in 2014. That would mean Meyers Taylor has one Olympic stone left unturned, and after a very challenging year the U.S. women's bobsledder is starting her final preparations to win the gold that slipped away at the Sochi Games four years ago. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

FILE/RICK BOWMER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

How do Olympic athletes mentally prepare for their event?

Routines in the final minutes before competition can serve as an indication that it is go time.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/02/08/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Images/AFP_Z3184.jpg Live updates: The Opening Ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics

The 2018 Winter Olympics are kicking off this weekend with an Opening Ceremony that begins Friday at 6 a.m. Eastern time.

PYEONGCHANG-GUN, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 09: USOC Chairman Larry Probst addresses the media while attending press conference at the Main Press Centre during previews ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games on February 9, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. (Photo by Ker Robertson/Getty Images)

Ker Robertson/Getty Images

Tara Sullivan

When will USOC really address the Larry Nassar case?

Maybe it was always too much to expect satisfactory answers from the USOC members about the ongoing fallout of the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal.

Versus | Magazine

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/02/07/BostonGlobe.com/Magazine/Images/versus2.jpg Which is better, the Winter Olympics or Summer Olympics?

With the 2018 Games about to begin in Pyeongchang, we ask which edition of the international competitions is the best.

Perspective | Magazine

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/02/05/BostonGlobe.com/Magazine/Images/perspective0211mag.jpg Lessons on Olympic spirit from a small New England town

How Norwich, Vermont, might hold the key to changing a win-or-else culture.

Sponsored by Sunday River

We did the planning so you can do the skiing

From waking up slope-side to night skiing under the fireworks, here?s your guide to a perfect day at Sunday River.

This content was produced by Boston Globe Media in collaboration with the advertiser. The news and editorial departments of The Boston Globe had no role in its production or display.

House passes bipartisan bill to end government shutdown

The House began meeting at 4 a.m. to vote for the budget bill and end the government shutdown that began at midnight on Friday.

This year?s flu is pitting family members against each other

No one ever wants to catch the flu. But this year, the stakes feel even higher.

Governor Charlie Baker on Thursday called for a slower, two-phase rollout of the voter-approved marijuana industry.

Activists fight back as Walsh, Baker urge slower rollout of pot businesses

As powerful political players pressure marijuana regulators to slow down, activists are striking back.

Evan Horowitz | Quick Study

As the federal budget deficit rises, so do the risks

Republicans and Democrats seem to have finally found something they agree on: Deficits are no big deal.

It phoned home: Spacecraft that went dead is sending signals back to Earth

In a surprising development, a spacecraft that was believed dead for more than a decade has been sending signals back to Earth.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/02/08/BostonGlobe.com/Politics/Images/AFP_Z514H.jpg Omarosa talks President Trump on ?Celebrity Big Brother?

??It?s so bad.?? That?s Omarosa Manigault Newman?s take on the Trump administration.

Sponsored by Sunday River

We did the planning so you can do the skiing

From waking up slope-side to night skiing under the fireworks, here?s your guide to a perfect day at Sunday River.

This content was produced by Boston Globe Media in collaboration with the advertiser. The news and editorial departments of The Boston Globe had no role in its production or display.

Brockton, MA- February 08, 2018: Community members gathered for a vigil in memory of 8-year-old Edson Brito and 5-year-old Lason Brito outside their home in Brockton, MA on February 08, 2018. Members of the community are gathered to remember the lives of the two children who were fatally stabbed and found in a Prospect Street home in Brockton on Monday. One of the last times anyone saw Latarsha L. Sanders' two little boys alive,she allegedly vowed to kill someone so that she could obtain a human heart to give to her dying father. The 43-year-old allegedly showed up ranting at her mother?s home on Saturday afternoon with two of her sons, 8-year-old Edson ?Marlon? Brito and 5-year-old Lason Brito, in tow. She was rambling about human sacrifice, her mother later told police. Sanders said her boys were sick, and she was taking them to the hospital. She left, and she stopped answering her mother?s phone calls. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff) section: metro reporter:

Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff

Murder of Brockton boys is an ?unspeakable tragedy,? mayor says

The town gathered Thursday night for a vigil outside the Prospect Street home where a mother allegedly stabbed her two young boys to death earlier this week.

Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving (11) drives around Washington Wizards forward Tomas Satoransky (31), from the Czech Republic, during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

CELTICS 110, WIZARDS 104 (OT)

Celtics show togetherness in OT win over Wizards

Kyrie Irving led Boston with 28 points and hit three clutch free throws late in regulation.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/04/28/BostonGlobe.com/Travel/Images/2325a20fee544b23a2c88289a395d98c-2325a20fee544b23a2c88289a395d98c-0.jpg Fla. woman says she flushed her hamster after suggestion from airline

A Florida woman says an airline told her to flush her hamster down a toilet at the airport because the emotional support rodent wasn?t allowed to fly with her.

Pope Francis waves at the faithful from the Popemobile in Santiago, on January 15, 2018. Pope Francis is visiting Chile from January 15 to 18, before heading to Peru from January 18 to 21. / AFP PHOTO / EITAN ABRAMOVICHEITAN ABRAMOVICH/AFP/Getty Images

KEVIN CULLEN

Maybe someday the scales will fall from their eyes

I still deeply admire the good, ordinary priests and nuns who work with the poor, visit the sick, and try to emulate Jesus. As for those self-regarding bureaucrats at corporate headquarters in Vatican City, well, I couldn?t care less.

CAPITAL SOURCE

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2016/11/09/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/davis_two1_met.jpg The group behind Question 2 (yes, from 2016) has been shuttered

Its board of directors made the decision after investigating a complaint of ?inappropriate behavior? by its executive director.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/02/07/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/BEDFORD_20180207_AIRPORT_WORKERS_STRIKE_002.jpg Airport contract workers call off Logan strike

Contract workers at Logan Airport abruptly called off their strike Thursday after two days, but picked up support from local officials who vowed to assist their efforts to unionize.

Talking points

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/01/10/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/lee_121117_menorah3_met-13054.jpg Baker?s big-money play for MassMutual

There goes Governor Charlie Baker, flexing his muscles again.

Things that Work

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/02/08/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/CourtesyLaservision_01storrow_01_met-U84885439741LdH--90x90@BostonGlobe.com.jpg Here?s one idea to make ?Storrowing? a thing of the past

In Australia, a sheet of water pours from the ceiling of the tunnel entrance, with a holographic image of a massive, red stop sign.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/WebGraphics/Sports/BostonGlobe.com/2016/01/20moresports/seasonticket_90.jpg The Season Ticket podcast

Dan Shaughnessy joins host Chris Gasper to discuss the ramifications of Josh McDaniels backing out of the Colts head coaching job.

Follow:   iTunes   |   Stitcher   |   RSS

 

Opinion & Ideas

Editorial

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/12/05/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/Boghosian_05rosenberg3_MET.jpg The state Senate?s path forward

With the naming of Harriette Chandler as full president, the body has a chance to move forward in a thoughtful and deliberative way.

Newsletters

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/02/04/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/olympicshp.jpg 2018 Winter Olympics

From stunning images to smart analysis to athlete profiles, get the story behind the headlines with this free daily newsletter. Sign up today.

Special reports

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/02/02/BostonGlobe.com/BigPicture/Images/2-128983.jpg The best Blizzard of ?78 stories you could dig out

The Globe?s call last week for reminiscences about the Blizzard of ?78 resulted in a veritable flurry of stories from our readers. Here are some highlights.

Breaking News Alerts

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/10/10/BostonGlobe.com/Lifestyle/Images/DKu5zGDUEAI5bSf.jpg Sign up for breaking news alerts from the Globe

Get the latest news ? from weather to Trump to local happenings ? delivered via Facebook messenger.

STAT

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/02/08/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/Anthony%20Bellotti.jpg He calls animal testing ?taxpayer-funded torture.? The FDA listened

Anthony Bellotti has taken a novel approach to animal rights advocacy, branding animal testing as government waste.