Hit the shlopesh

Of course it is wrong for a sports icon to seem to advocate drunken skiing, as Olympic hopeful Bode Miller did on "60 Minutes" last Sunday. But let's be honest: people ski drunk all the time. I have skied at fancy Rocky Mountain slopes, as well as at their humble Midwestern cousins, and I do not recall ever visiting a ski resort that did not have a bar, or several bars.

Indeed, one Western resort I visited -- I believe it was Keystone, in Colorado -- had a bar halfway up the mountain, accessible only by ski lift. So you're supposed to walk down? And what about products like this, the ski pole-cum-liquor flask? Har har.

Drinking has long accompanied skiing, and the reason you seldom hear any hue and cry about it is that skiing is primarily a sport of the wealthy, who look after themselves. So shame on Bode Miller for skiing wasted, and thank goodness he wasn't hurt or worse, but it's not as though he's the only one.