2010 Winter Olympics TV Schedule: What To Watch on Feb. 17

After failing to win a medal yesterday, the United States has three strong chances at a gold medal today. That alone is enough to keep eyes on the television, but is just a small sampling of Wednesday's action. Seven medals will be awarded today while curling and men's hockey continues to take center stage. Here is a preview of today's headlining events.

Snowboard - Men's Halfpipe

Much like the snowboard cross, the men's halfpipe will all be settled today. From the qualification round that begins at roughly 1:00 p.m. local time through the finals set for 7:15 p.m. local time, the event should draw a great deal of broadcast attention.

Shaun White is the clear favorite to defend his gold medal from Torino. It is not just about the chance at gold that will attract the broadcast to White. Rumors of a new showstopping trick has many wondering what exactly White will pull out of his bag.

Curling - Men's and Women's Round Robin Sessions

Curling takes much of the attention today with both the Women's Round Robin Sessions 2 and 3, and Men's Round Robin Session 3. The United States teams are not off to the starts they wished. The U.S. Men's team dropped both of its contests yesterday, falling to Germany and Japan. They take on Switzerland today. The Women's team squares off against Germany after losing to Japan as well yesterday.

Women's curling begins at 9:00 a.m. local time with the second session of the day starting at 7:00 p.m. local time. Men's curling gets underway at 2:00 p.m. local time.

Speed Skating - Men's 1000 m

Defending gold medalist Shani Davis is the overwhelming favorite to once again take home gold in the Men's 1000-meter Speed Skating which starts at 3:00 p.m. If not Davis, one cannot look passed Korean Lee Kyou Hyuk. The Koreans have reached speed skating podiums like clockwork during the Olympics. Canadian Jeremy Wotherspoon is another likely medal winner.

Men's Ice Hockey - Preliminary Round

The three most attractive teams all played yesterday with the United States, Canada, and Russia all walking away victorious in their first preliminary games. Today, the three medalists from the 2006 Games all take the ice.

Defending gold medalist Sweden takes on Germany at 4:30 p.m. local time. Torino silver medal winner Finland takes on Belarus at noon local time, and defending bronze medal winner Czech Republic, led by Jaromir Jagr, take on neighboring Slovakia at 9:00 p.m. local time.

Women's Downhill

It finally appears that for once and for all, the women's downhill will take place after numerous postponements. That means that favorite Lindsey Vonn will finally have her shot at a medal.

The postponements were favorable to Vonn who is still nursing a shin injury. Vonn posted the fastest downhill time during the first training run. Is that a sign of things to come or a guarantee at a medal? We won't have to wait long to find out as the event goes off at 11:00 a.m. local time.