Last Wednesday, NBC's Olympic coverage accomplished a feat no other U.S. broadcast had done in six years. It defeated American Idol in the ratings.

The next Idol telecast is set to run on Tuesday, going up against Women's figure Skating, traditionally one of the most popular sports in the Winter pantheon (and, this blogger assumes, one that draws a similar audience to Idol). It's hard to imagine that the Games won't smash the Idol's face in once again.

An interesting aspect of the Idol/Games drama is how it seems to be reaffirming NBC's choice to air key events on a tape delay. The evening performance that led to Idol's defeat was that of Lindsey Vonn capturing gold in ladies downhill, an event that had happened more than five hours before they showed it. In fact, these have been the highest rated Winter Games ever for NBC, implying that all of the bad press is worth it.

Of course, Idol isn't the show it was six years ago or even last year. Paula Abdul left the show before this season started, and mastermind Simon Cowell is leaving at the end of the season, off to run rival show The X-Factor. But the story of Idol is still that of the unstoppable juggernaut, and lyrical momentum like that is difficult to oppose. But now that the once-in-four-years Games have finally given Idol a bloody nose, it may fold under the weight of its problems. I don't expect it to last long once Cowell leaves, and this has just hastened it. The Games won't be what kills Idol, but symbolically, it might seem that way.