Long airport waits signal end of party

SALT LAKE CITY -- Tens of thousands of travelers flying home from the Winter Olympics on Monday were greeted with lines longer than two football fields and waits of up to four hours at the city's airport.

The airport braced for about 74,000 passengers, said Barbara Gann, spokeswoman for the city Department of Airports. It's almost certainly the busiest day in the airport's history.

By midmorning, the line to check in for Delta Air Lines stretched out of the terminal and onto the sidewalk. At the end of it, an airport employee, Gary DeVaraux, said the wait was four hours.

And in the middle of the line was 1984 men's figure skating gold medalist Scott Hamilton, who said he'd never seen a longer line in an airport.

"I expected it and it's no big deal. As long as you come with an open mind, it'll be OK," Hamilton said.

The Salt Lake International Airport was virtually deserted Sunday night as airspace above the region was restricted during the Winter Games' closing ceremony.

Russians' anger continues

MOSCOW -- Though the Winter Olympics are over, resentment still runs high in Russia.

A report on state television RTR summing up the games detailed Russians' disappointment and anger over their medal tally and decisions they believe denied victory to some athletes and devalued that of others. It took some swipes at American culture as well.

"They were the most expensive Olympics for America, the most difficult for the Russian team and the most scandalous in the past 20 years," RTR's reporter said in Salt Lake City. "But Americans enjoyed the Olympics. They say it was a real show and a show doesn't have to be bad or good, it just has to be huge."

The final blow for Russia came Sunday when cross-country skier Larissa Lazutina was stripped of her gold medal in the 30-kilometer classical race after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug intended to help kidney patients avoid anemia.

Russian skier Olga Danilova was also disqualified after testing positive for the drug, darbepoetin.

Olympic ratings high

NEW YORK --The TV ratings for the Salt Lake City Olympics were comparable to those for the last Winter Games in North America.

With a 22.3 for Sunday's closing ceremony -- tying the women's figure skating short program for the third-highest rating of the 17 nights -- NBC finished with a 19.2 average.

The rating is 18 percent higher than the 1998 Nagano Olympics on CBS, the lowest-rated Winter Games in 30 years. It almost equals the 19.3 for the 1988 Calgary Games.

That's particularly impressive considering most network ratings -- not just for sports -- have fallen as cable has given viewers more choices of what to watch.

-- From wire services