Are: Notebook: No RV means sickness, Miller says

Bode Miller blames the cough he brought to the alpine skiing World Championships on the team's new policies that prevent him from sleeping in his RV.

ARE, Sweden — Bode Miller blames the cough he brought to the alpine skiing World Championships on the team's new policies that prevent him from sleeping in his RV.
    Miller, who will start his six-race campaign with Monday's super G, said sleeping in the team hotels has led to various illnesses all season.
    ''Not being able to sleep in the motor home has had a pretty negative effect on the load of training I can hold up,'' Miller said. ''But more than that, a negative effect on just my health in general. I've been sick three or four times this year.
    ''I just had a cough and I think that's just a natural side effect of being in a hotel with a ton of people in the winter time when people have colds and viruses and stuff.''
    Miller's driver, chef and childhood friend Jake Sereno arrived with Miller's RV on Friday night, after traveling from central Europe to the Baltic Sea, where he took an overnight ferry, before driving another 1,260 kilometers (783 miles) to get to Are.
    The 29-year-old Miller was listed as one of ''10 Celebrities Who Enjoy the RV Lifestyle'' by the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association on Friday, along with ''Dumb & Dumber'' actor Jeff Daniels, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, actor Matthew McConaughey and pro golfer Davis Love III.
    ''Being an RVer helps me do my job better. The RV world gives me a chance to balance things out. It allows me a sense of freedom,'' Thomas said.
    New U.S. team crackdowns — many of which seem to have been designed for Miller — include a strict alcohol policy and require that athletes stay at official team lodging at competitions.
    Athletes can still be accompanied by a vehicle, however.
    Olympic giant slalom champion Julia Mancuso, who travels around with a personal bus and driver, chose not to bring them to Are because of the cost.
    POKER FEVER: Poker fever broke out in the Austrian team's apartments after Saturday's super G was wiped out by a snowstorm.
    As a near-blizzard raged outside, Austria's Fritz Strobl explained ''Texas Hold 'Em'' rules to the younger team members.
    They then went in search of poker chips. There was none at Are's main shopping center, but the squad got their hands on a full poker suitcase set from the storage room of a local toy store.
    Hermann Maier skipped the session, preferring to relax outdoors.
    ''I didn't earn enough money this season for poker,'' said the Herminator, still winless this season. ''I'll leave poker to those with more money.''
    Poker is a popular pursuit on the World Cup. This season, at the November races in Lake Louise, Canada, several teams convened at the hotel where the entire World Cup camp is housed.
    ''In Lake Louise, everyone is in the same hotel so we have huge games there,'' said Canadian speedster Manuel Osborne-Paradis. ''We had three tables of 10 guys going.''
    GOLDEN SNOWFLAKE: The 33 podium finishers in Are will receive the classic International Ski Federation stylized snowflake medal.
    Designed in 1952 by Swiss artist Rolf Diggelmann, they have been used since as the official World Championship medal. The gold medal is composed of about 20 percent pure gold.
    The top six finishers in each discipline will also receive an honorary award created by Lappish artist Inez Rensberg of Funasdalen, who won the Are 2007 competition.
    The awards are made from a reindeer's ''bellingar,'' the pelt of its legs, following an Arctic tradition. Rensberg made 70 awards and, like snowflakes, none are identical.
    The Lappish people will themselves present the honorary awards to the skiers.

— The Associated Press