A thank you to all those who helped me do what I love: write about figure skating (and the Olympics)

And, now that I have finished posting the last few stories to this Blog, I can close the books on the 2026 Winter Olympics. (You can find all the stories here.)

I want to thank NBC Olympics & Paralympics for letting me be part of its coverage team for the second straight Olympics - and to thank in particular the tireless crew of editors and writers at the NBC Olympics web site. It was a privilege to work with you.

Special shout outs to Nick Zaccardi, who was my "ears" on the ground in Milan, and to Talia Barrington, who not only handled the editing and posting of the majority of my stories but also was doing almost non-stop (and terrific) writing herself.

And, yes, it still is a kick to get “front page display,” just as it was in my 45 years of newspapering. Above is a screenshot of the NBC Sports main page featuring my story on Alysa Liu’s triumph.

Thanks to Kristen Henneman of U.S. Figure Skating for all her help in answering my many questions - at least one a day! And to Lucia Montanarella of the International Olympic Committee for arranging the remote access I needed.

Thanks to all who read my stories (and the analytics say there were a lot of you.) I hope my passion for writing abut figure skating came across in my words.

And thanks to everyone who reacted to them or commented on them here or other social media. The interaction is always encouraging.

Thanks to the many figure skaters and coaches who took the time to talk with me in the lead-up to Milano Cortina 2026. Your courtesy is much appreciated.

This was my 13th straight Winter Olympics committing daily journalism, the first 11 Winter Games on site and the last two remotely. If it was the last, what a pleasure it has been. (I use "if" because, as my family, friends and colleagues know, I am the old man who cries wolf about stopping.)

I intend to keep writing about the sport, but, as my 80th birthday approaches, I realize more than ever how demanding 17 straight days of writing has become, even if I am doing it from home. But I love the sport, and I love writing, so who knows?

Arrivederci.