The 2006 Olympic Winter Games were full of great moments.

Stories of the perserverance of some athletes making their final Olympic stand stood side-by-side on my &8220;best moments&8221; list with two bickering speed skaters and one very good skier who turned in a very lousy performance.

And while some of these moments were not &8220;great&8221; for America&8217;s image, I have to admit that they kept me glued to my TV for a good portion of 16-straight evenings at home.

Here&8217;s a list of the moments from Torino, Italy that stood out the most for me:

– No. 5

When American pairs figure skaters Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto took to the ice two weeks ago, even a hockey-lover like myself enjoyed the dancing on ice for a brief, brief moment. This attractive couple was fun to watch because of modest attitudes, excellent talent and a lot less pouting than the Italian duo.

I&8217;ve never seen athletes enjoy winning the silver medal as much as Belbin and Agosto did. Despite not earning the gold, they were proud of their performance and so was their nation.

– No. 4

When U.S. bobsledder Vonetta Flowers and teammate Jean Prahm finished sixth in the women&8217;s bobsled event, they seemed to quickly disappear of the radar in NBC&8217;s coverage of the Olympics. But looking back on what Flowers had to go through leading up to the Olympics, I find it hard not to admire her courage. Flowers&8217; deaf son went through a groundbreaking surgery months before the games began with the hope that it might allow him to hear. When it came time for her to head to Torino, she had to leave her recovering little boy at home in the U.S. because her and her husband could not afford to bring them over. It was a touching moment when Kleenex, one of Flowers&8217; sponsor, paid to fly her children over to Italy and surprise her on the Today Show.

– No. 3

U.S. Olympic skier Lindsey Kildow needs to convince no one that she

has guts.

A day after being discharged from the hospital for a horrible fall in a practice run, Kildow was back on the slopes competing in the women&8217;s downhill event. She didn&8217;t win any medals in that event, or any other at the 2006 games. But simply bouncing back from the horrific wreck

was enough to prove that she is worthy to be called an Olympian.

– No. 2

I didn&8217;t like Bode Miller before the Olympic games began, and I like him even less now that they are over.

There was only one moment that stood out me more than the five failures that Miller had on the ski slopes. With two disqualifications and three no-shows on the medal stand, Miller wound up in his trailer at the bottom of the Italian slopes talking to Dan Rather about partying and going to hit golf balls. All the hype surrounding Miller going into this year&8217;s games came crashing down with a resounding thud. I don&8217;t expect to see him endorsing many more Nike products in the year to come.

– No. 1

Speedskating has always been my favorite winter Olympic event.

The fast paced competition with a wipeout looming around every corner never ceases to peak my interest. So when Apolo Anton Ohno won the gold medal in the men&8217;s 500-meters on the final day of full competition, my satisfaction with the Olympic games was complete. I had watched Ohno battle, struggle and come up short in a number of races throughout the Olympics, making the win in the 500 that much sweeter to enjoy