Bode Miller Quits Ski Team

[GreenShoe]

Bode Miller quits U.S. ski team

By BOB BAUM, AP Sports Writer

May 12, 2007

Former Olympic medalist and World Cup champion Bode Miller is leaving the U.S. ski team, ending his contentious relationship with the federation that oversees the sport in this country.

The fiercely independent Miller has been at odds with the association for years, and there long had been rumblings that he would leave the team. U.S. officials have been unhappy with Miller's late-night partying and his outlandish public comments.

But he was by far the best skier on the team.

The 29-year-old Miller won two silver medals at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, but was shut out at the 2006 Turin Games despite being a favorite in nearly every Alpine discipline. He was criticized for spending too much time in local clubs.

The announcement of his departure came as the U.S. team opened its training camp in Park City, Utah, on Saturday.

Miller told U.S. men's coach Phil McNichol of his decision to leave the team following a meeting at the headquarters of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association in Park City.

"Bode is a great athlete and we hope he will continue to have athletic success," U.S. Alpine director Jesse Hunt said in a statement released Saturday by the federation. "We had a serious discussion with Bode about his responsibilities as a team member, and he later advised us he was choosing not to join the team."

Miller met Thursday with Hunt, McNichol and USSA president Bill Marolt.

The discussion never got into details of Miller's behavior, according to Tom Kelly, the association's vice president for marketing and communications.

"There have been a lot of specific issues out there -- the RV, alcohol issues and so forth," Kelly said in a telephone interview. "None of those were talking points in this meeting. This was about the philosophy of the team, what it means to be a member of the team."

Miller still could compete at the Olympics and other major international competitions, but has said it's doubtful he'll be racing at the time of the 2010 Vancouver Games -- and that, even if he is still competing, he would not take part in another Olympics.

Miller has been a part of the U.S. team for 11 years, but will have to travel and train on his own if he competes in the 2008 World Cup season as expected.

His super-giant slalom title last winter was his fourth World Cup championship. He won the overall World Cup title in 2005. Miller, who lives in Bretton Woods, N.H., has 25 World Cup victories, two shy of Phil Mahre's U.S. record.

In an interview last month, Miller said he expected to break Mahre's record next winter.

"In my mind, I'm better than any other racer," he said. "I've been racing against those guys for five, 10 years. Given equal conditions, I feel I can beat those guys any day."

He criticized the association for not coming to his defense at the Turin Olympics instead of offering a public apology for him.

"Everybody parties," Miller said. "There's too much emphasis on winning."

Miller entered the Turin Olympics as a major focus of attention, as much for his attitude as his talent after saying on CBS' "60 Minutes" program: "If you ever tried to ski wasted, it's not easy."

Although a flop on the slopes, he left the Games in an upbeat mood.

"It's been an awesome two weeks," he said at the time. "I got to party and socialize at an Olympic level."

Miller will not be the first prominent skier to leave the U.S. and race independently.

Kristina Koznick, a six-time winner on the World Cup circuit, left the team in 2001 because of her romantic relationship with then-U.S. assistant coach Dan Stripp. Stripp also left to coach her. Koznick retired from racing last fall.

Bode Miller's cousin kills officer, then is killed by passer-by

By BEVERLEY WANG, Associated Press Writer

May 12, 2007

FRANCONIA, N.H. (AP) -- A cousin of skiing star Bode Miller fatally shot and ran over a police officer, then was killed by a passer-by who grabbed the officer's gun.

Liko Kenney shot Cpl. Bruce McKay four times and ran over him after a traffic stop Friday evening, state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte said. Gregory Floyd, who was driving by with his son, grabbed McKay's gun and shot Kenney when he refused to put his gun down, Ayotte said.

The 24-year-old Kenney was convicted of assaulting McKay and resisting arrest in 2003. Ayotte had no other details of that previous incident between the men, and rejected suggestions the officer should have let someone else handle the traffic stop given his history with the driver.

Officials said McKay pulled Kenney over for speeding on Route 116. Kenney took off, and McKay pursued him for about 1 1/2 miles before pulling in front of Kenney's car and pushing it off the road.

The officer used pepper spray on Kenney and his passenger and then turned around and was shot, Ayotte said Saturday at a news conference in Concord. Soon after, Floyd arrived and confronted Kenney while his son called for help using the officer's radio. Authorities said Floyd was justified in shooting Kenney.

The 48-year-old McKay was a 12-year veteran of the Franconia Police Department.

"It really tears at the fabric of the community and the fabric of the state," said Gov. John Lynch, who visited the town of about 900 residents Saturday as people paid their respects and brought flowers to a police station.

Bode Miller's father, Woody Miller, said there was a history of animosity between the officer and his nephew.

"They had a long relationship," said Miller, who operates an international tennis camp in nearby Easton. "There's been physical altercations between them before in the course of being arrested."

Miller said Kenney, who lived next door to him, didn't have a steady job, but often took work cutting firewood and picking fiddlehead ferns, a wild green that grows in the region and is considered a delicacy.

Bode Miller, who once bailed his cousin out of jail, was on his way home to Franconia, his father said. Miller was in Park City, Utah, this week, meeting with officials of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. At that meeting, the former Olympic medalist told officials he was cutting his ties with the U.S. team.

The shooting happened near this town in the White Mountain National Forest, popular with skiers and tourists who visited the Old Man of the Mountain, a rock formation and the state's symbol that crumbled into pieces four years ago.

Associated Press reporters Holly Ramer and Kathy McCormack contributed to this story.

[HedleyLamarr]

Why is the US Ski Team's training camp starting in May?

Don't they know skiing's a winter activity?

[NJTank]

I thought they skiied only every 4 years any way in the Olympics

[DEAD!]

Why is the US Ski Team's training camp starting in May?

Don't they know skiing's a winter activity?

You would often find winter sport athletes traing during the off-season for conditioning purposes. Whether it's mountain biking, indoor training and such. Some ski jumping teams do actually train their jumps during the summer. Also, I believe Calgary does have an indoor bobsled facility for push off start training.

[scottyvoodoo]

Why is the US Ski Team's training camp starting in May?

Don't they know skiing's a winter activity?

It would either be just the dryland portion or skiing somewhere in the southern hemisphere like NZ or Chile, or on a glacier. Canada's National team is already training on a glacier in BC. Also to cover DEAD!'s point very few athletes of that caliber would take the summer off. And Calgary does have that indoor push start training for all the sliding sports (luge, skeleton, bobsled) as well as multiple other training facilities for winter athletes.

[Hat Boy]

Bode Miller quits U.S. ski team

The chances of the US ski team earning a medal at the 2010 games just increased by a factor of 10.

[NJTank]

Bode Miller quits U.S. ski team

The chances of the US ski team earning a medal at the 2010 games just increased by a factor of 10.

All Bode Miller did in 2006 was get drunk and embarass America, with his behavior.

[HedleyLamarr]

Why is the US Ski Team's training camp starting in May?

Don't they know skiing's a winter activity?

It would either be just the dryland portion or skiing somewhere in the southern hemisphere like NZ or Chile, or on a glacier. Canada's National team is already training on a glacier in BC. Also to cover DEAD!'s point very few athletes of that caliber would take the summer off. And Calgary does have that indoor push start training for all the sliding sports (luge, skeleton, bobsled) as well as multiple other training facilities for winter athletes.

Maybe skiing's different, but when I hear "training camp", I think of it as being a month or so before the skiing season begins.

Can't they just call it "offseason training"?

[scottyvoodoo]

Why is the US Ski Team's training camp starting in May?

Don't they know skiing's a winter activity?

It would either be just the dryland portion or skiing somewhere in the southern hemisphere like NZ or Chile, or on a glacier. Canada's National team is already training on a glacier in BC. Also to cover DEAD!'s point very few athletes of that caliber would take the summer off. And Calgary does have that indoor push start training for all the sliding sports (luge, skeleton, bobsled) as well as multiple other training facilities for winter athletes.

Maybe skiing's different, but when I hear "training camp", I think of it as being a month or so before the skiing season begins.

Can't they just call it "offseason training"?

They are probably calling it a training camp because most national teams decide their teams for next season around this time of the year. So they'll have the vets up against the development team for the 10-12 spots on the world cup team.