# Olympic celebrations



## RevMatt (Sep 10, 2005)

OK, can we please, please, let this be a positive thread? The political discussion is important, nay essential, but can it PLEASE stay elsewhere?

So far, we have our first medal, and it's a gold to boot.

Now we have completely destroyed the host Italians in womens hockey. Off to a roaring start!

Medal standings


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

RevMatt, once again I say Kudos to Canada's Jennifer Heil for her gold medal performance.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

The Russian team looks much better but damn it's 3 -0 for the Canucks already only 10 minutes into the first period...and one shortheanded  
This is great hockey to watch.
I like the big ice surface.
I thought the Italians had a lot of heart to keep their spirits up right to the end.....a good supportive crowd helped.


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## MACSPECTRUM (Oct 31, 2002)

good to see the women all wearing cages to protect their heads
just hope men's pro hockey will wake up one day and do the same


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## RevMatt (Sep 10, 2005)

12 - 0! 28 goals in 2 games. This is highly amusing me


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Kusos to Cindy Klassen and her bronze medal, although I think she was expecting a better finish.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Award for sheer guts has to go to the Chinese figure skating pair Chinese pair Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao for completing their program after a horrific fall in attempting a Quad throw just seconds into their final 5 minute skate.
She really hit hard and they stopped the program. 
She limped to the boards and it absolutely looked like ....all over.....not a chance to continue.

Then she hobbled back out on the ice, skated for a moment............the rest made Olympic history.

Standing ovation well deserved. ( writing this real time )

....AND they ended up with the Silver medal .......THAT will go down in as one of the gutsiest things ever :clap:










Here's how high she gets thrown.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

"Brad Gushue of St. John's began his quest for Canada's first Olympic gold medal in men's curling with a 10-5 win in nine ends over Germany's Andy Kapp on Monday evening." I have watched him curl and his team is a grand representative for our country.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Feel good story of the day.....might have cost his team a Bronze. 



> *Selfless act helps Canada win silver*
> Feb. 15, 2006. 12:38 AM
> RANDY STARKMAN
> 
> ...


http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...ageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home











> Becky Scott celebrates her silver medal finish at the Olympic Tuesday.


Canada's women's hockey finally got scored on by Sweden but it still ended up a blow - out - very enjoyable team to watch with the passing and combos around the net. :clap:

Canada is leading Britain in mens' curling just now.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

I agree, MacDoc. This is part of the true spirit of the Olympics, which has been overshadowed by commercialism and professionalism. I was actually rooting for the Italian hockey team this morning, much to the horror of my wife. Still, I told her that these were pros and would win some medal at the end. Let the host country have its moment in the sun with a victory over the professional Canadian hockey team. This said, now I hope that Canada rolls on to victory in both the men's and women's hockey. We shall see.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

By the narrowest of margins ..a Bronze.












> LeBlanc-Boucher skates to bronze
> Canadian Press and Associated Press
> Anouk LeBlanc-Boucher of Prevost, Que., captured a bronze medal in the women's 500-metre short-track speedskating event at the Winter Olympics on Wednesday.
> 
> ...


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060215.wshort-track15/BNStory/Torino2006/home


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Looks like the Women's speed skate pursuit is a for sure silver or gold. They just beat the Japanese to move to the final against Germany.

••••••

What a shame the Dutch were leading in their heat and a skater fell 
They were highly favoured.
Alright now I'm confused - that's the men's I was watching.

sigh.

Canadian men leading in their semi-final over Norway- and the Dutch collapse makes the gold that much more likely. The Canucks ARE the world record holders in this.
Canadian men in the final against Italy. Silver at minimum.

So both Canadian men and Women teams are in the finals for gold or silver 

•••










*Canadian women Silver in the first ever pursuit.* :clap:....... Germans gold.

Men's final up shortly. On now.

*Canadian men Silver in the first ever pursuit.* :clap:....... Italians gold.

Good for the host country - nice touch.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Canada's Brad Gushue, of St. John's, NL, increased his Olympic curling record to 4-1 Thursday with a 6-5 win over defending men's gold medallist Paal Trulsen of Norway.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Canadian Jeff Buttle has won the bronze medal in men's figure skating. Kudos on a fine skate.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Yeah a surprising number of castatrophe's in the men's long program. I felt soooooo bad for Emanuel Sandhu. 








After a shaky short program he just fell apart ( tho he was not alone ) in th long program.

••

Good stuff for the Bronze :clap:


















> *Canadian Jeff Buttle wins bronze in men's figure skating*
> 
> Canadian Press and Associated Press
> Figure skater Jeff Buttle won a bronze medal at the Winter Olympics on Thursday.
> ...


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060216.wbuttle0216/BNStory/Torino2006/home

Watched it tonight - wow Buttle is an elegant skater.

The Russian certainly deserved the gold. Quite a story behind him as well. :clap:


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## JPL (Jan 21, 2005)

Having watched the Olympics for many years I have to say that this time I am truly enjoying it. Very little controversy, very little cheating and seemingly good sportsmanship all around.

BTW nice that the Italian men won a Gold in the pursuit speed skating. Nothing wrong with a silver for our guys.


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## JPL (Jan 21, 2005)

Oh crap both Canadian women fell during the finals of the snowboard race. 
fortunatley one was able to get up and finish to take the bronze, the other went to the hospital. No word yet on her condition.


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## JPL (Jan 21, 2005)

Let the hockey begin! I think women's hockey is great to watch 2 games today.


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## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

MacDoc said:


> Yeah a surprising number of castatrophe's in the men's long program. I felt soooooo bad for Emanuel Sandhu.


Man what a disaster on skates. Definitely not the same person he was in the Canadian nationals. He lost all confidence. I was almost humiliated Canada sent him. I mean everyone has their bad days, but in the long program I don't think he made even 1 jump.



MacDoc said:


> Good stuff for the Bronze :clap:
> Watched it tonight - wow Buttle is an elegant skater.


Definitely a great skater, and I think he's only going to get better. He made a good decision putting the quad in his program at the last minute. He wasn't successful in doing the quad without loosing his balance, but made more points adding it in, even with the deduction. Good plan.



MacDoc said:


> The Russian certainly deserved the gold. Quite a story behind him as well. :clap:


Yes, he definitely deserved the gold. He had his program strategically planned out and was an expert at his jumps. As Kurt Browning commented, though, he doesn't give much of a "show". He doesn't play to the audience. Compare him to Buttle, Buttle gives more of a show. Buttle gets the audience going.


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## cheshire_cat (Aug 28, 2005)

I'm proud of our Canadian athletes no matter what medal they get  

To be in the range to receive a medal is a big achievement in my book


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Amen, CC. Just to get to these Olympics is a feat that is worth celebrating.


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## duosonic (Jan 7, 2004)

Just getting to the Olympics is awesome. Watching all those athletes compete at such a high level is thrilling. My hat is off to ALL of them!!


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## MissGulch (Jul 20, 2005)

TO/LI dad father of two Olympians:

http://www.newsday.com/sports/olympics/ny-spojohn0218,0,5068193.story?coll=ny-homepage-bigpix2005

A U.S.-Canada project, winning medals on the ice.


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## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

We've got 11 medals as of Feb. 18. Good job Canada. 

Man, talk about men's skeleton. The beaver was flying down that track to a Gold and a Silver. Great job. Canada's bobsled teams put in some good runs too.


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## JPL (Jan 21, 2005)

Kosh said:


> We've got 11 medals as of Feb. 18. Good job Canada.
> 
> Man, talk about men's skeleton. The beaver was flying down that track to a Gold and a Silver. Great job. Canada's bobsled teams put in some good runs too.


You are talking about the mens team right?


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Oh what shame - mere seconds from the end of a marvelous skate the Canadian dancer took a very hard fall. 
Still in the hunt tho IF she can skate the final :clap: It was a very enjoyable performance which made the disaster all that more shocking and sudden. Another pair also took a pretty bad fall.

Enjoying getting caught up on the Olympics after a weekend of duplicate. The sizzling soap opera of men's speed skating is MOST .....errr......intriguing?? 

I guess I enjoy the back stories as much or more than the competitions some times.

••••

I see the great 4 Olympic rivalry between Norway and Italy finally reached a decisive point with Italy winning the gold and Norway out of the medals in the 4x10k relay.

It was quite an amazing story with the 2 nations over 12 years, different courses, different skiers and 75 MILES Olympic cross country competition ....*the TOTAL difference between the two competitors over THREE Olympics was less than 1/2 a ski length. 1/10 of a second total!! *.  with Norway winning two Golds and a Silver and Italy two Silvers and Gold in 3 unbelievably close finishes.


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## gastonbuffet (Sep 23, 2004)

so i get sunday's newspaper, and it reads
"swiss shock", and it say Canada is playing Finland at 3 pm to recover from the swiss upset, so I go" ok, good chance to go somewhere with a tv and watch a good hockey game, for the first time, to see what is all about .(i recall watching a few minutes when i arrived in Canada couple of years ago, along with the Bertuzzi manouver, but that' s it.

So I watched the first period and I could not believe how BAD the Cannuck team SUCKED. I was comtemplating how two different species where playing the same sport/game. I almost took off right there, thinking "these people need help", but i stayed and saw part 2. and 3. Thank GOD. and what a relief!!, ok, so bad luck "we" couldn't score, but at least "we" have talent and game. 

Just to comment what i felt like for 30 minutes or so, as i was all set to become a Cannuck fan and those fatal 20 minutes of hell did not help, but now looking forward to watch the next game. and i bet Canada gets the gold.


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## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

JPL said:


> You are talking about the mens team right?


:lmao: Yeah, I was talkin about men's.

Men's Bobsled also caught a silver! :clap: 



Macdoc said:


> Oh what shame - mere seconds from the end of a marvelous skate the Canadian dancer took a very hard fall.


She's gonna have a big bruise after that one. She was taken to hospital and luckily nothing was broken, is what I last heard. 

We're at 13 medals.


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## JPL (Jan 21, 2005)

Kosh said:


> :lmao: Yeah, I was talkin about men's.
> 
> Men's Bobsled also caught a silver! :clap:
> 
> ...


 thanks for the clarification on that 1.

Yeah "Cool Runnings" Connection  

What a shame saw the replay this AM and she lost her grip on his arm, which caused her to fall OUCH!!


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## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

JPL said:


> thanks for the clarification on that 1.


I should have clarified also that the guy who won silver in men's skeleton has a cool looking (snarling) beaver's head painted on his helmet. I should have attached the picture.










http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNe...on_060203/20060207/?s_name=torino2006&no_ads=

that may further explain my statement.

When the Winter Olympics are on, I'm a big fan of luge, skeleton, and bobsled. 4 Man bobsled starts on Feb. 24.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

> Canada's Patrice Lauzon and Marie-France Dubreuil have withdrawn from the ice dancing competition at the Turin Olympics


 

Good news is the men's curling moved into the next round with a win leaving them in second place. Bit of a close call. 

Felt bad for the Canadian GS skier Kelly VanderBeek - 4th by a tiny tiny amount of time.










VERY honourable mention :clap: - I think is was just 3/100ths of a second out of the medals and the Silver medalist was a girl many consider the best female skier of all time and the Gold by the current World Champion.  rarified company.



> It was the third fourth-place finish for a Canadian skier at these Games.
> 
> Francois Bourque of New Richmond, Que., was fourth earlier Monday in the men's giant slalom while Erik Guay of Mont-Tremblant, Que., was fourth in the men's super-G.


No shame in those finishes. Just mentally add a few more medals to the total.


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## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

Congrats to the Women's Hockey team for winning GOLD.:clap: 










Women's curling beat Denmark 9-8. It was a very close game and there were a few discussions on strategy in the last few rocks.

The Men's curling team also beat the US.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Wow Marty Brodeur is just barely keeping Canada ahead in the third period. 
3-2 Canada but 8-1 shots on goal for the Czechs with 15 minutes left and it came REAL close to being tied.........several times!!!!!


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## Hypno (Sep 27, 2003)

Team Canada is playing like a bunch of pansies, no hitting, no intensity, McCabe is..is..is?? ...i don't know for sure but he doesn't look like a hockey player. Teams are no longer scared of playing Team Canada. God Bless the women's team for showing some sort of spirit. This Team is playing Pat Quinn Hockey no shots, no hits and total confusion on the ice....I can barely watch. I say we send the Spengler Cup team next time.


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## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

Maybe now that the women's team won Gold and have no games to play, they can show the men how to play Hockey! :lmao:


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Cindy Klassen big time win in the 1500 speed skating for Gold - 4 medals in the Olympics. :clap:

Silver too!!!!!! Same event Christina Groves.


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## JPL (Jan 21, 2005)

Kosh said:


> Maybe now that the women's team won Gold and have no games to play, they can show the men how to play Hockey! :lmao:


Not so far in the Canada Russia game 00 3 minutes left second period


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## med8or (Jan 18, 2002)

Heard that Canadian Men's Curling Won their game and advances to the gold medal game!?


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Mens hockey- it's all over -  Good game tho.


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## med8or (Jan 18, 2002)

Canada Men's Hockey is out. Lost 2-0. :-(


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## JPL (Jan 21, 2005)

They need lessons from the womens team for sure, man they looked awful. US and Canada OUT!!!!!!!


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## JPL (Jan 21, 2005)

Well both Canada and the US are gone from the hockey scenario. who would have thought?


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

:-(


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Looks good for the women's curling team for Bronze - up a ton of points half way through after TWO 4 point ends and the Men's curling team are a Silver at least tomorrow so that's 20 medals even without the Men's hockey  :clap:

••


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## ErnstNL (Apr 12, 2003)

*Olympic spirit alive in Newfoundland*

In anticipation of Brad Gushue's Olympic curling final tomorrow, our Minister of Education, Joan Burke, announced this morning that all schools in NL will close at 12 noon tomorrow Feb 24. Students will be able to watch the full contest at home. :clap: 
Teachers will be expected to use annual leave if they go home to watch, they won't get any time off :-( 
I would predict that the teachers will enjoy a half day of NO STUDENTS.:heybaby:


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

That final stone of Switzerland versus Sweden was incredible drama.
Overtime end tied 6-6
Switzerland with two stones in house Sweden with last rock- double and stick for the Gold.
The Swedish skip nailed it perfectly......:clap:
••••

*Bronze for the Canadian women* as they buried Norway 11-5 - Norway bowed out in the 8th end.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

This afternoon, starting at 1PM NST, all eyes shall be on Brad Gushue's rink in curling. The rink also includes third Mark Nichols, lead Jamie Korab and Russ Howard. Gushue's home rink, the St. John's Curling Club, will be the place to be late this afternoon. Carpe diem. Excelsior.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Dr.G. said:


> This afternoon, starting at 1PM NST, all eyes shall be on Brad Gushue's rink in curling. The rink also includes third Mark Nichols, lead Jamie Korab and Russ Howard. Gushue's home rink, the St. John's Curling Club, will be the place to be late this afternoon. Carpe diem. Excelsior.


This is one event I will be watching. Go Gushue!


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

What a haul 



> Canadian women rule Olympics
> Medal tally exceeds any other country
> Timing, equal funding get some credit
> Feb. 24, 2006. 01:00 AM
> ...


•••

I can't beleive I missed the woman's figure skating final  Fell asleep last night then missed it this morning.


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## Vandave (Feb 26, 2005)

MacDoc said:


> Looks good for the women's curling team for Bronze - up a ton of points half way through after TWO 4 point ends and the Men's curling team are a Silver at least tomorrow so that's 20 medals even without the Men's hockey  :clap:


The coach for the woman's team works at my company.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

JPL said:


> They need lessons from the womens team for sure, man they looked awful. US and Canada OUT!!!!!!!


Ironic, considering people were talking about how there isn't enough world-class competition for Women's Hockey... now they need to teach the men to play hockey?


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Gold for Gushue. :clap: and good for him showing the emotion.

Incredible team. Well deserved win. Mark Nichols 97%


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

I agree, MacDoc. St.John's went nuts this afternoon. I flew the Canadian flag outside, placing my flagpole in the 7 foot mound of snow at the foot of my driveway.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Good for Canada, and good for Newfoundland and good for St. John's.

Great idea to fly the flag!


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

A great many people flew the NL flag here in St.John's and around the country along with the Canadian flag. I have only one flagpole so I had to go with the Canadian flag.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

What a sweet picture with the women's 30k pursuit today. The winner's little girl ran to hug her mom. What a terrific picture.










Her mom was laying there exhausted and as she sat up her 4 year old toddled into her arms. What a great moment.










Made my day along with the curling win.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Interesting profile on Sasha Cohen pictured here. Sasha at 15 you can see how small framed she is.









Yesterday winning silver.










*Turns out this waif can leg press 400 lbs+* 


•••

Oh BTW those with Rogers can catch Olympics on demand - very nice feature to catch the missed events. Got to see the girls skate tho not in HD 

Anyone with HD should try and catch the special presentation on now of the toop skaters showcase - terrifc feed and good entertainment as they skate without the pressue of competition.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Wow -* 20 and more to come* - there could be THREE in the 5000 skating today alone. ( on right now btw )
Klassen accounts for 20% of those alone and may win another today.

I'd day it's a successful games and there were many 4th and 5th place efforts by Canadians. Good run up to Vancouver. 

10 situations where Canadians missed medals by a hair and 11 realistic opportunities today. 

Klassen has a medal for sure in the 5000 - not certain of what colour - so that makes FIVE for her alone - wow!!!!!!!!

*Sarah Hughes Gold - Klassen Bronze :clap: 22 and counting * 

23 - count - *Francois Tremblay Silver in short track *- - 
the second Canadian 4th by just a hair .............again.

*24* - Terrific race in the 5000 relay short track. Very exciting - *Silver medal for Canada *- they were the two time defending Gold medalists.


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## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

Yep, Canada has 24 medals and is in 3rd place in the overall medal count. Of those 1/5 of those were won by Cindy Klassen.

The speedskating team will leave to Holland after the Olympic Games to compete in competition there.

I guess all that money spent on the Calgary Olympic Games and venues has paid off as most of our Olympic winter athletes train there - speed skating, bobsled, ski jump, etc. Of course the money spent on those sports pales in comparison with men's hockey where we won... ummm... nothing?


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Kosh said:


> Of course the money spent on those sports pales in comparison with men's hockey where we won... ummm... nothing?


Perhaps it is time to revert to strictly amateurs in hockey again?

Sending overpaid entertainers from the NHL are a waste of time and effort.

Time for genuine hockey to be put back on the Olympic stage.


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## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

SINC said:


> Perhaps it is time to revert to strictly amateurs in hockey again?
> 
> Sending overpaid entertainers from the NHL are a waste of time and effort.
> 
> Time for genuine hockey to be put back on the Olympic stage.


YES. :clap:


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## MACSPECTRUM (Oct 31, 2002)

24 medals for Canada - Cdn. record and 3rd place in the world ! bravo !
:clap: 

16 medals for Cdn. women - #1 in the world! - double bravo !
:clap: :clap:


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

I disagree on hockey...... seeing Forsberg and Sundin playing for their national teams was a treat.
With national support how can full time athletes ever be considered "amateur".

The fact that Sweden and Finland the Czechs and Russians can put on a much better hockey show - even under a brutal schedule says more about the poor quality of the North American game - from design of the rinks to the tolerance of goons - not about Olympic Hockey.

What I saw there was the better game. I'd watch regularly - I find North American hockey boring and uninteresting in comparison.


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## iPetie (Nov 25, 2003)

MACSPECTRUM said:



> 24 medals for Canada - Cdn. record and 3rd place in the world ! bravo !
> :clap:
> 
> 16 medals for Cdn. women - #1 in the world! - double bravo !
> :clap: :clap:


Bravo is right!!!
Considering the fact that we had many very young athletes finish 4th or 5th we are in an extremely strong position to win in Vancouver. That is not to understate the significance of a third place Medal count achievement.

I for one, am extremely proud of the Canadians in this Olympics. The COC said we were going there to win 20-25 medals and our athletes rose to the challenge.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Yeah I think there were 11 or 12 4th place and some by mere 100s of a second. 

It does show what equal funding can do for the girls and I think some other nations are taking note.

Good for Alberta and the other govs involved for keeping the winter games facilities in use and up to date for training and for having real athletes at the top of the executive suite for the program.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Closing ceremonies live in one hour ( 2 pm est ).

Review of all the Canadian medal winners.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Just for Dr. G


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## BigDL (Apr 16, 2003)

Perhaps it's time to reconsider our National Winter Sport? 

Speed Skating (Long and Short Track) produced (half) 12 of 24 metals won by Canadian athletes. 

Skating is an excellent recreational pass time as well.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

MacDoc, in that 2 of the 4 regulars were from Labrador, it seems strange to rename our fine province by his name. Still, we are ALL proud of our team and what they did for Canada.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Captain's perogative.


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## Oakbridge (Mar 8, 2005)

iMatt said:


> It's all in the writing. Gordon lounging on the polar bear's head: "I'm seeing the same ads over and over again...I'm starting to get sick of myself." Brilliant line, IMO.


Okay at times I've been told that I should live in the U.S. because I prefer watching TV programs, especially the Super Bowl on a U.S. station whenever possible. I hate the fact that most programs are cut so the Canadian broadcasters can insert more commercials per hour, Canadian commercials can be incredibly dull and... 

my biggest pet peeve watching the Super Bowl is Global's total lack of respect for it's audience, showing the same commercials over and over again.

So when I saw the Frank and Gordon ad where Gordon is complaining about the same commercials over and over again, I was laughing so hard.

I give credit to the CBC and it's advertisers. The first few days I was worried about seeing the same ads running too often, especially the first few Bell ads. I realize that it is tough for their advertisers to come up with too many different ads but I think they have been trying. 

I thought the Rona ads with the 'passing the torch' idea was great. I loved the GMC ad with the assembly line and I think that they have two versions, the second version which is running now shows them putting a Vancouver 2010 bumper sticker on the bobsled, classy touch. And the team Visa ads talking about the support for athletes in between games ties in nicely with the 'Own the Podium' plan that the COC has.

The McDonalds are hit and miss. The Ronald McDonald ads are terrible but they might be U.S. ads, I love the Gretsky ad, and I just saw one where the customers and staff just start clapping with a caption thanking the athletes which I thought was nice. 

I wish that the Royal Bank had done more ads. The 1948 Hockey ad has been run way too often. I like the Petro Canada ads with the athletes thanking everyday Canadians. The Samsung ads were also played too often. The only truly embarrassing ads have been the Yoplait ads.

Now there is a Frank and Gordon ad showing a slow motion montage of the other ads with orchestral music in the background with an end caption that mentions 'we cheered you on from afar, now let's bring it home' promoting Vancouver 2010. Of course Bell/CTV has the broadcasting rights, along with Rogers for those games. It's still an impressive wrap up to what has surprisingly (after the first ad) become a great series of ads.

And the CBC coverage itself has been fantastic! Although I said earlier that for most events I prefer watching a U.S. feed, anytime the CBC is providing it's own coverage of something I'll watch it instead. Having said that, I've been impressed with NBC. They seem to be listening to the complaints about only broadcasting the 'U.S. Olympics'. I saw them interviewing Sale and Pelletier for the figure skating. They even showed the entire gold medal hockey game this morning live. My biggest beef with NBC is that most of their stuff has been on tape delay. Most weekend afternoons when I was looking for some variety, both Buffalo and Seattle (I have time-shifting) were showing those paid promotional programs even though the listings were showing they should have been showing Olympic events. 

It's upsetting that CBC won't be doing the 2010 games. I'm sorry but there are certain things that are traditional. Don Whitman calling curling in the winter and track in the summer. Steve Armitage calling the speed skating, Ron McLean doing the mid-day show, Brian Williams doing the prime time show. And the new colour people, former athletes themselves like Catrina LaMay Doan have impressed me.

I'm sick of hearing about how disappointing the games were because of the hockey. The women won again and against a new competitor which is great for their game. In the past it was "so and so from Canada placed 44th, which was a personal best", yada yada yada in cross country skiing or luge or this or that. We'd rarely be on or near the podium. Such a "way to go Canada" to hear that we've had 45 top 5 finishes many from younger athletes who have good shots at being in Vancouver. Our 24 medals came in 10 of the 15 sports, better than Germany and the U.S. did so we are doing well across the board. I hope it's not too much pressure for the athletes that compete in 2010 but it does look very promising. 

To those who say bring back the amateurs: have you forgotten that most of the rest of the world were not amateurs when we were sending our amateurs. The Russians, Czechs, etc. were mostly paid athletes. At least this way all nations are on equal footing. 

Besides, it will be so cool for the Canadian men's hockey team to be the 'comeback team' in 2010! I went to Montreal as a 17 year old spectator in 1976, and always regretted not getting tickets for Calgary, I'm thinking seriously of going to Vancouver for 2010. 

Just saw the Vancouver portion of the closing ceremonies which I thought was nicely done! And as much as I respect older performers like Anne Murray, it is so nice that we have great young musical talent like Avril Lavigne. The way the Mayor took the flag was so unique!

Thank you to all of our athletes!

Now... who will bring the torch into the stadium in 2010?????

And what good luck charm will be buried in the ice?


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## sdm688 (Dec 12, 2004)

*Way to go Clara*

I was watching Clara Hughes' race. What an inspirational athelete. I actually checked out www.righttoplay.com because of her extraordinary gesture of donating her own money. What a classy individual! I think more people should think like her! Proud to be a Canadian!


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

I shall only strongly echo sdm688's praise of Clara Hughes. She is an inspiration and makes us all proud to be Canadian.


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## JPL (Jan 21, 2005)

Dr.G. said:


> I shall only strongly echo sdm688's praise of Clara Hughes. She is an inspiration and makes us all proud to be Canadian.


Here here! All the Canadian athletes were inspiring. They have done us proud once again. Training constantly, living with pain and a lifestyle most of us wouldn't even consider in order to further their goals and our pride. I sure hope the COC decides to financially reward them for their efforts.

THANKS ladies and gentlemen you did a hell of a job!


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## JPL (Jan 21, 2005)

Oh ya, thank whatever, we don't have a Bodie Miller on our team, his antics in Turino were less than inspirational. It's a shame that someone that talented doesn't have the head to go with it.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

JPL, Bodie M is his own worst enemy. 

Personally, I would like to see the money that we spend on the Canadian hockey team spent on non-professional athletes.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Oakbridge said:


> To those who say bring back the amateurs: have you forgotten that most of the rest of the world were not amateurs when we were sending our amateurs. The Russians, Czechs, etc. were mostly paid athletes. At least this way all nations are on equal footing.


Yeah right. If the men's hockey team performance is the result of paid athletes playing level, give me amateurs every time. 

More technically NHLers should be called paid "entertainers" as they demonstrated they don't know how to play real hockey.


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## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

SINC said:


> More technically NHLers should be called paid "entertainers" as they demonstrated they don't know how to play real hockey.


:clap:  

Prefectly said.


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## Oakbridge (Mar 8, 2005)

Okay, how did they demonstrate that they don't know how to play real hockey?


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Oakbridge said:


> Okay, how did they demonstrate that they don't know how to play real hockey?


Three games, no goals give you a hint?


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## Oakbridge (Mar 8, 2005)

SINC said:


> Three games, no goals give you a hint?


Hmmm, it couldn't have been the level of competition, could it? I guess I know how you felt after the first few games of the 1972 series.

Based on your comments, every game played must have been terrible. I believe all but Italy had NHL members on their rosters, most were 100% NHL so how does that follow your logic. The gold medal game was an excellent hockey game.

I suppose that if it had been our girls who had lost in the semi-finals instead of the U.S. team you would have been complaining about them too. I loved watching the Swedish women's team because they had an awesome goalie. Not because they beat the U.S.

I'm sorry if I sound harsh but I'm sick of people who don't know good hockey. The past few Olympics hockey tournaments have been very entertaining. We aren't going to win the hockey gold every year. I coached AAA hockey for 10 years. I played myself for another 10 years as a kid although not at the AAA level. Tournament play is extremely difficult. You have a higher number of games in a very short period of time. It is tougher when you are bringing players in who don't normally play together all year. Talent is easy in a team sport. Teamwork is much tougher to accomplish. Sometimes the best talent can't find that thread to be able to work together. In Sault Lake, we had it. This year we didn't, at least not in men's hockey. And something else, we were defending champions. Much harder to defend because you are the team to knock down. You're the team that the other teams get up for.

This was a FANTASTIC Olympic games for Canada. We should be proud of EVERY single athlete, coach, manager, trainer, support staff member for their participation. This is another result of the 1988 games in Calgary. We've always had some of the best winter athletes, we now have some of the best training facilities, best coaches, best of whatever it takes to produce quality athletes. 

Stop whining about what didn't happen and be proud of what did!!!!


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## Oakbridge (Mar 8, 2005)

Dr.G. said:


> JPL, Bodie M is his own worst enemy.
> 
> Personally, I would like to see the money that we spend on the Canadian hockey team spent on non-professional athletes.


What exactly do we 'spend' on the Canadian hockey team? 

And who are these supposed non-professional athletes that we have? I don't have the specifics on who does or does not get paid but I believe most of our athletes are now professional to some extent. I would be very surprised if any of them would qualify for the amateur status of the 60's and 70's. This puts us and the U.S. on an even playing field so to speak with the former Communist Block countries. 

I'm amazed at the whining and complaining because one of our teams in one of the olympic events failed to win a medal. 

It was a great Olympics for Canada and a great Olympics period. Other than that one doping investigation, the stories from these games were about gutsy performances, surprise upsets, etc. There were no extra medals awarded because of corrupt judges.

They were POSTITIVE stories about some excellent athletic competition.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Good post :clap: Echoes my thoughts.

I just wish we'd get the big ice surface and better rules for NA hockey.

Leave the Pro/Am discussion to the associations themselves ( think Figure Skating ) and leave the Olympics to the best that can or will compete.

Sure would like to see Euro teams compete across the Atlantic - not much diff than going NY to California.


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Oakbridge, we spent $93 million on something for the Canadian Olympic hockey team. The CBC commentators kept repeating this figure over and over again like a mantra.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Oakbridge said:


> Hmmm, it couldn't have been the level of competition, could it? I guess I know how you felt after the first few games of the 1972 series.


Really? That IS a surprise. A mind reader are you? But for the record it WASN'T the Olympics. They were exhibition games.



Oakbridge said:


> Based on your comments, every game played must have been terrible.


Nope, just the ones with no goals scored by Canada.



Oakbridge said:


> I'm sorry if I sound harsh but I'm sick of people who don't know good hockey.


Me too. Your opinion versus mine.


Oakbridge said:


> It is tougher when you are bringing players in who don't normally play together all year. Talent is easy in a team sport. Teamwork is much tougher to accomplish. Sometimes the best talent can't find that thread to be able to work together.


Agreed. Just one more reason to use amateurs who DO play together all year. "Entertainers" will never accomplish that.


Oakbridge said:


> And something else, we were defending champions.


You would never know it from the performance.



Oakbridge said:


> This was a FANTASTIC Olympic games for Canada. We should be proud of EVERY single athlete, coach, manager, trainer, support staff member for their participation.


With the exception of the NHL "entertainers" team, I agree.



Oakbridge said:


> Stop whining about what didn't happen and be proud of what did!!!!


Or stop defending those NHL "entertainers" as they should be called.


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## Oakbridge (Mar 8, 2005)

Dr.G. said:


> Oakbridge, we spent $93 million on something for the Canadian Olympic hockey team. The CBC commentators kept repeating this figure over and over again like a mantra.


That answered my first question, although I haven't been able to find any kind of article that mentions anything spent.

What about my second question, which non-professional athletes should we spend this money on?

One thing you might want to consider. Companies like Esso are sponsors of the National teams, men's, women's and juniors. Do you think that they would spend the same amount in sponsorships if the NHL players weren't involved?


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## Oakbridge (Mar 8, 2005)

You keep referring to the NHL Entertainers and you say that the tournament should be made up of only amateurs. Every team with the exception of Italy had NHL players on their rosters. So who exactly are you referring to? 

I'm not sure what you do for a living, but are you willing to give up a year (or more) of earning income to represent your country? Adding the risk that you might become injured, potentially jeopardizing your future income? 

And if you really believe that the 1972 series were simply 'exhibition' games you are sadly mistaken. Athletes who participate in the Olympics are representing their countries. Both the Canadian and Russian teams in 1972 were representing their countries with as much if not more national pride than any Olympic contest.

Why do we have to look for a negative in the past two weeks. Why can't we focus and be proud of all of the positive accomplishments that our athletes acheived? I repeat what I said in my earlier posts, these games had probably the lowest amount of 'controversy' in my lifetime and I'm 46. No terrorist attacks, no serious doping problems, no bombs going off, no white elephant stadiums, no threat of boycotts, no judging scandals. 

I don't care what anyone else says. I'm proud to be a Canadian and I'm grateful to EVERY member of our Olympic team who represented our country these past two weeks.

Thank you to each and every one of you!


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