Jonathan Greco is a 1997 graduate of Oneonta High who is working as part of the Big Screen Network production team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Greco is writing a daily journal of his experiences at the Games for The Daily Star.

Not many people can say they've been in the presence of royalty.

I can.

We had two very special guests at the Sweden vs. Czech Republic men's hockey game — the king and queen of Sweden. They must have ordered their tickets in advance because they had rink-side seats.

We also had the pleasure of interviewing three of the four members on the Swedish women's curling team. The well-spoken women received a lot of laughs and a nice ovation at the end. When asked about any differences in the crowds, the team said American fans are very loud and don't always cheer at the right moments.

By the way, the Swedish men's hockey team defeated the Czech Republic, which won the gold in 1998, 2-1.

Our later game was a bit of a letdown as the two worst teams in women's hockey took the ice in a last-place showdown. Kahsakstan fell to Germany in a game where both teams were making their first Olympics appearances. After an all-America Saturday with amazing performances by our home teams, these newcomers had some tough acts to follow.

• Saturday night's men's hockey game between the U.S. and Russia had the largest television audience for an entire hockey match since the Miracle on Ice in 1980, between the same teams, of course.

• By the time this Sunday's gold medal match is over, we will have worked 31 games in 16 days. That's nearly half of a hockey season, which is usually spread over six months. One-and-done hockey begins Wednesday for the men.

• My one-week countdown at the Olympics has started. Though my eyes will be wide open, an expected blur of Olympics grandeur is just around the corner.

From the land where the state insect is the honey bee, this is Jonathan Greco.