Lugers, Yes: Wieners, No

Despite the presence of halfpipe snowboarders and freestyle skiers, there aren’t enough hot dogs in Salt Lake City.

Six days into the Winter Games, spectators had already eaten more than 400,000 hot dogs--the entire allotment planned for the 17 days of competition. The Salt Lake Organizing Committee has ordered another shipment, but until they arrive, SLOC has given fans permission to bring their own food into the following outdoor venues: Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain Resort, Utah Olympic Park, Soldier Hollow and Snowbasin.

To alleviate delays through security checkpoints, SLOC is asking spectators to bring food and beverages in clear plastic bags so security can visually inspect the packages. Thermoses, cans and glass containers are off-limits.

He Didn’t Make Cut

There’s a saying in baseball that sometimes the best trades are the ones you don’t make.

Well, we might end up crediting Bode Miller’s skiing success in these Olympics to a surgery that wasn’t performed.

After Miller tore left knee ligaments in a downhill crash at last year’s world championships at St. Anton, Austria, he flew home to consult with Dr. Richard Steadman, the famed Vail-based orthopedic surgeon.

Because Miller’s anterior cruciate ligament was not completely ruptured, Steadman opted not to do a reconstruction. Instead, Steadman removed damaged cartilage and performed a less invasive procedure that allowed the ACL to heal on its own.

The decision shortened Miller’ recovery time by months and probably allowed him to ski in these Olympics.

“This was the best surgery I’ve never done,” Steadman joked after Miller won the silver medal Wednesday in Alpine combined.

Steadman had another season to smile.

Four years ago, he repaired the knee of Norway’s Kjetil Andre Aamodt, who beat Miller by 0.28 of a second to win the Alpine gold.

More Bode

Miller’s spectacular recovery from potential disaster in Wednesday’s downhill portion of the Alpine combined event has the ski racing world buzzing.

Austrian superstar Stephan Eberharter, the World Cup overall leader and bronze medalist in Sunday’s Olympic downhill, said Thursday he would not have been able to rescue himself from that predicament.

“If it happened to me, I’d rip the ligaments in my knee,” Eberharter said. “I think his knees must be made of rubber.”

Going for Three

Could Miller’s silver medal mark a new era in U.S. skiing?

Miller has a good chance to become the first American Alpine skier to win three medals in the same Olympics. He’ll be a medal contender next week in the giant slalom at Park City and the odds-on favorite to take the gold in slalom at Deer Valley.

Eight American Alpine skiers have won two Olympic medals: Andrea Mead Lawrence, Diann Roffe, Tommy Moe, Picabo Street, Phil Mahre, Penny Pitou, Jean Saubert and Gretchen Fraser.

Fraser (gold and silver in 1948), Mead Lawrence (double gold in 1952), Pitou (two silvers in 1960), Saubert (silver and bronze in 1964) and Moe (gold and silver in 1994) are the only Americans to win more than one medal in the same Winter Games.

U.S. Ski Team President Bill Marolt had predicted 10 Olympic skiing medals for the U.S., but he was beginning to wonder if his Alpine program was going to contribute to that total.

Until Miller’s silver, the ski program had scored six medals, four in snowboarding and two in freestyle.

“To hit our 10, we need Alpine,” Marolt said.

Just to Clarify

Swiss hockey players Marcel Jenni and Reto Von Arx were suspended hours before Switzerland was to play Belarus in a qualification-round game Wednesday.

Swiss Coach Ralph Krueger said the players were suspended because they missed curfew.

They were not suspended, Krueger pointed out, for their poor play in the tournament.

Switzerland defeated Belarus, 2-1.

Speak Slowly to Her,

She Carries a Big Stick

U.S. women’s hockey forward Julie Chu’s father was born in Hong Kong and her grandparents were born in China. Although her Chinese was good enough to help a teammate purchase some wooden spoons when the team traveled to China in September, she wasn’t quite able to keep up with and translate the opponents’ conversations when the U.S. played China on Thursday.

“I can speak it with my grandmother,” Chu said. “She usually speaks a little more slowly.”

This Is Not Really Salt Lake City Anymore Dept.

A SLOC bus carrying spectators to the ski-jumping venue early Saturday arrived before security was ready, so passengers were shown a movie while they waited.

The film, “The Long Riders,” featured a brothel and female nudity.

Bobsled Cookies Anyone?

Jill Bakken, veteran U.S. women’s bobsledder, was talking about crude beginnings of the sport here in 1994.

“When we were trying to raise money for sleds, they told us to go to Times Square and sell bumper stickers,” she recalled.

Lost in Translation

Alexander Penna, a cross-country skier from Brazil, was asked about Wednesday’s beginning of Lent.

“Lent? What? You want me to give you something?” he said.

*

Times staff writers J.A. Adande, Chris Dufresne, Mike Penner and Bill Plaschke contributed to this report.