Bloom runs an out pattern

If he does make an NFL roster, he just won't have an Olympic medal to show his new teammates.

The much-hyped star of the deep U.S. men's moguls team finished sixth under the lights on man-made snow on Wednesday night. The United States did get a medal, with the bronze going to Toby Dawson of Vail, Colo. But his was the only top-five finish for the Americans.
There certainly was the potential for more. The Americans were so deep in moguls that Nate Roberts, ranked fifth in this year's World Cup standings, didn't make the Olympic team.
"I thought I might be in there," Bloom said. "I didn't think I'd be one. I thought I'd be two or three. You can't focus your attention and goals on the result, because in a judged sport like this, it's up to a panel of people. If it was racing and just based on time, you could really focus on winning. Big props to those guys in the top three."

If Bloom was disappointed, he didn't let on. The two-sport star smiled a lot and talked more about his future in the NFL than he did about his final trip down the bumpy course behind him.
"There's a lot of happiness," Bloom said. "I did a lot of things really good today, but of course, at the end of the day, the one mistake was the one thing I didn't do well. So it's a mixed feeling."
The spotlight has been on Bloom for the last two years because he lost a fight with the NCAA over accepting skiing endorsements while playing football at Colorado. Forced to pick a sport, he walked away from football and stuck with skiing, training for Turin.

While Bloom didn't medal, Dawson found the right approach to dealing with the glare of the Olympics.

"It was nice for me because I just kind of snuck in their shadows," said Dawson, who earned a score of 26.30. "It was easier for me to just kind of follow in the shadows and not get harassed too much and hassled."

Dawson did say it will be different next year not having Bloom on the team.

Bloom said he had a moment at the top of the hill when he felt it was going to be his last ski competition. "Yeah, but never say never, you know? I never know what's going to happen."
He does know that he wants an NFL team to draft him. With the Olympics over, he'll head to Los Angeles to train for a few days, then attend the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis next week.

Bloom hasn't put on a helmet and shoulder pads in nearly 27 months, since Colorado lost to Nebraska the day after Thanksgiving in 2003.

But he has worked out with football players in the offseason, and says he expects his instincts to kick in.

Before his spat with the NCAA led him to focus solely on skiing, Bloom was a big playmaker at Colorado. He scored on his very first play, a 75-yard punt return. His first catch was good for a 94-yard touchdown.

He scored five touchdowns in two seasons, all covering at least 75 yards.

He was going to compete for a starting job as a junior. Now he hopes to make an NFL team as a fourth wide receiver, even though he's only 5-foot-9, 175 pounds. He certainly has an in as a return man.

Some observers think he could be picked in the late third round or in the fourth.

Bloom said everything he's gone through the last two years has been worth it.

"I can't even believe it," he said. "If this is the last mogul competition that I ever ski in, I still have to pinch myself, man, because I never thought in a million years I'd be able to accomplish the things I have done in the sport."

Bloom appeared in two Winter Games, won two overall World Cup titles and won six straight World Cup races last season, including one on the course used for the Olympics. He also made a lot of money.

Asked about his fight with the NCAA, he offered a qualifier.

"I don't view anything as a fight," he said. "With the NCAA stuff, that was obviously disappointing because I didn't feel I was asking for so much. I just wanted to be able to have the resources to do what I'm doing right now."

What he's doing is about to change drastically, starting next week in Indianapolis.
AP sports writer Bernie Wilson is covering the Olympics exclusively for Yahoo! Sports.