You sometimes forget that the Atlanta Braves front office has an executive who was on the 1980 U.S. Olympic speedskating team – and who now has a complicated offseason occupation.

The U.S. effort in Sochi isn't going well, and he's catching hell. From the New York Times:

"It's a lesson learned now that we should get the athletes more comfortable with new things before we use them in competition," he said.

Plant was not convinced that it was the new skin suits that had caused the team to falter. He also denied that it was a problem that the Americans trained at a high altitude before coming to Sochi. One American skater's coach decried the high-altitude training because the ice at altitude is harder and faster than the ice in Sochi, which is at sea level.

Plant said he had a better excuse: maybe the Dutch are just better. And he had a valid point.

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Angie McBrayer, ex-wife of James Aaron McBrayer, leans her head on her son Sam McBrayer as she and her three children and two grandchildren (from left) Jackson McBrayer, 3, Piper Jae McBrayer, 7, Katy Isaza, and Jordan McBrayer, visit the grave of James McBrayer, Thursday, November 20, 2025, in Tifton. He died after being restrained by Tift County sheriff's deputies on April 24, 2019. His ex-wife witnessed the arrest and said she thought the deputies were being rough but did not imagine that McBrayer would die. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC