(See broadcast update below.)

Thanksgiving weekend marks the kicking-into-gear of many Winter Olympic sports, and NBC's Universal Sports venture is making it easier than ever before for Americans to track the action.

Alas, the cable network, in some 30 million U.S. homes, is not available in the Seattle area (something might be brewing; stay tuned). But some action will make its way to parent network NBC, and online simulcasts at Universalsports.com will bring skiing action to Northwest winter sports fans.

Universal's FIS World Cup alpine ski coverage kicks off with live online and cable broadcast of the men's downhill and Super-G Saturday and Sunday from Lake Louise, Alberta. See the Web site for broadcast times.

NBC's TV skiing coverage kicks off with the Aspen Winternational women's giant slalom at 11 a.m. PT Sunday, and the Beaver Creek men's downhill at 11 a.m. PT on Dec. 7.

At the NBC microphone is host Tim Ryan, former Canadian Ski Team member Todd Brooker and former U.S. Ski Team members Steve Porino and Kristina Koznick. Former men's head coach (and Bode Miller handler)Phil McNichol joins Porino and Steve Schlanger for Universal Sports' cable and online coverage.

All of this should be a natural for NBC and Universal. One winter out from the Vancouver 2010 Games, the U.S. alpine team is perhaps at its all-time strongest, with Miller, Ted Ligety, Lindsey Vonn, Julia Mancuso and other stars looming as constant medal threats. Miller and Vonn won the coveted World Cup all-around titles last year, the first U.S. sweep since Phil Mahre and Tamara McKinney 25 years ago. And the full slate of races will give U.S. fans a rare chance to follow skiers through a full World Cup season.

Here's the near-term schedule. See Universal Sports for broadcast times:

UPCOMING ALPINE WORLD CUP SKIING ON UNIVERSAL SPORTS:

Nov. 29 - 30 Women - Aspen, Colorado
Nov. 29 - 30 Men - Lake Louise, Alberta
Dec. 4 - 7 Men - Beaver Creek, Colorado
Dec. 5 - 7 Women - Lake Louise, Alberta
Dec. 13 - 14 Women - La Molina, Spain
Dec. 13 - 14 Men - Val d'Isere, France
Dec. 19 - 20 Women - St. Moritz, Switzerland
Dec. 19 - 20 Men - Val Gardena, Italy
Dec. 28 - 29 Women - Semmering, Austria
Dec. 28 - 29 Men - Bormio, Italy

Both NBC and Universal also will broadcast the 2009 Alpine World Championships February 2-15 from Val d'Isere, France.

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Other winter sports this weekend, courtesy of the USOC:

Figure Skating: A delegation of U.S. figure skaters, including Johnny Weir (Quarryville, Pa.) and Mirai Nagasu (Arcadia, Calif.), will compete in the NHK Trophy Grand Prix competition in Tokyo, Japan, Thursay through Sunday.

Luge: The team travels to Igls, Austria, for the World Cup #1 event Saturday and Sunday. See broadcast update, below.

Speedskating: Short track skaters, including Seattle's Apolo Anton Ohno, will compete in the World Cup #3 event in Beijing, China, Friday through Sunday.

Bobsled: 22 U.S. skelton and bobsled sliders kick off their World Cup tour Friday through Sunday at Winterberg, Germany. See broadcast update, below.
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Broadcast update, 2:15 p.m.: Universal reports that it also will provide coverage of the luge and bobsled/skeleton World Cup events listed above.

Bobsled/skeleton coverage will be same-day, on-demand at universalsports.com, with daily recap shows on the Universal Sports broadcast cable channel.

Luge coverage of the World Cup opener from Igls, Austria will be some live and on-demand video, free of charge, with one-hour highlight shows on the broadcast network. See the Web site for scheduling.

Upcoming World Cup Bobsled/Skeleton coverage on Universal Sports:

Nov. 28 - 30: World Cup, Winterberg, Germany
Dec. 5 - 7: World Cup, Altenburg, Germany
Dec. 12 - 14: World Cup, Igls, Austria
Dec. 19 - 21: World Cup, Cesana, Italy
Jan. 9 - 11: World Cup, Koenigssee, Germany
Jan. 16 - 18: World Cup & European Championship, St. Moritz, Switzerland
Feb. 5 - 7: World Cup, Whistler, Canada
Feb. 12 - 14: World Cup, Park City, Utah
Feb. 20 - Mar. 1: World Championship, Lake Placid, NY

Upcoming World Cup Luge coverage on Universal Sports:

Nov. 29 - 30 World Cup #1 Igls, Austria
Dec. 6 - 7 World Cup #2 Sigulda, Latvia
Dec. 13 - 14 World Cup #3 Winterberg, Germany
Jan. 3 - 4 World Cup #4 Koenigssee, Germany
Jan. 10 - 11 World Cup #5 Cesana Pariol, Italy
Jan. 23 - 25 World Cup #6 Oberhof, Germany
Jan. 24 - 25 World Cup #7 Altenberg, Germany
Feb. 6 - 8 World Championship Lake Placid, NY
Feb. 13 - 14 World Cup #8 Calgary, Alberta
Feb. 20 - 21 Olympic Test/World Cup #9 Whistler, B.C.

And there's more: Universal says it also will offer coverage this winter of freestyle skiing, ski jumping, nordic combined, biathlon, cross country, short and long track speed skating and ice hockey.