U.S. speedskater Baver wears a bronze after career of mixed moments

You think about who you owe. How Penske, the truck company, stuck by you through rehab and sent a marketing rep to Vancouver for Wednesday's races.

"Had I broken my leg and had to worry about how I was going to make my mortgage payment and my car payment and come back from this injury?" Her voice cracked. "Seriously? No way."

You appreciate how Proctor & Gamble gave your mom (and the other moms) $3,000 to travel to the Olympics, then gave your family a sweet spot to watch the games, the P&G House, where Brad's baby gets Olympic Pampers and everybody snacks in the Pringles room. How you love their Pantene line and their Cover Girl mascara, and you wear it, flaunt it, because "It's part of who I am. It makes me feel confident. Really girly."

And, yes, you appreciate Colbert, but you wanted that leg he signed to be yours: "Yeah. Maybe. The leg? Maybe. I do have a nicer leg, though."

She has a plan, too.

She will launch a foundation, Off the Ice, aimed at giving American kids a shot at speedskating the way First Tee helps kids learn golf. She'll publish a series of children's books about a character called Bubbles the Dragon, a not-so-ferocious reptile whose challenges include overcoming a broken tail, learning to fly and, of course, turning those bubbles to flames.

She will attend tonight's races, because she's got an ex (Apolo Anton Ohno) and teammates skating. She's 29, but she will skate again, too. Maybe until the next Olympics. Maybe long track; maybe not.

"I'm a racer. I don't know if I could do that - race the clock," she said. "I have to race people."

But she will race.

"You analyze these things, and you realize, you just love to skate," Baver said. "Is it really about winning medals? Or is it about the journey?"

Sometimes, on the way to Nebraska, it's about both.

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