Finally, a sunny day. At last, through soggy eyes, I see Vancouver's natural beauty. Snow-capped mountains rim downtown. Sun glistening on the bay. Crisp, clean air. Smiling people. I feel like I'm in a Coors commercial.

 Perhaps the change in weather will improve the general outlook on these Games. They've been cursed by rain, warmth, ticket refunds, the tragic death of a competitor, a technical malfunction at the opening ceremonies, criticism from the Quebecois and the British, outrage over the ratty chain-link fence surrounding the waterfront cauldron, ice-making machine breakdowns, and curling. It doesn't take much for journalists to sniff a trend story and the overwhelming theme so far is that these Vancouver Games have been troubled from the start.

 The truth of the matter is that it's impossible to manage an enterprise as massive as an Olympic Games without foul-ups, faux pas and fickle weather -- though fatalities ought to be avoided at all costs.

 Imagine if Philly had won its serio-comic bid to host the 2016 Games? Think there might have been traffic woes on the Schuylkill? Muggings? Bureaucratic nightmares. Rowdy fans? Stale pretzels? Do you think the internatioanl media would have made fun of our accents? Our airport? Our parochialism?

 I think Vancouver is doing just fine. And I'll continue to feel that way until the moment the bus taking me to an alpine event is late.