I'm not sure what will be more entertaining, the games, the politics or the security?
Still not sure how Sochi got picked. I lived in Volgograd for a stint, and just looking at where Sochi is, it does not seam like an ideal place to host the games, it is surrounded by hot zones.
The same way most locations get picked. A combination of progressive political silliness and good old fashion bribes.
As for predictions, the same as always. it's the winter olympics so expect strong competition from Scandanavia, Alpine nations, Russia, Canada, and the US. Same countries win the bulk of events every year.
1. Our women's hockey team will get thrashed badly by the US because we're still clinging to our old timers and not working nearly enough young blood into the team.
Meanwhile, as long as Price gets the #1 nod, our men's team is looking absolutely terrifying... Oh, and Stevie Stamkos is likely to play!
2. Our women's curling team will find a way to screw it up like always and thus miss out on the gold.
Our men's team's only actual stiff competition will come from Norway & Scotland.
3. The Russian hockey team will embarrass themselves and fail to win any medal again because they goaltending is laughably and their defense plainly sucks... They're forwards may be amazing, but you're not winning squat vs. the other power nations like Sweden/Canada/US/Finland/etc... when you likely need to score at least 4-5 goals per game to overcome how bad 2/3rd's of your team really is. (and is only going to be worse being on the larger ice surface, where a good transition game can really exploit those holes! If we/others can exploit Russia's back end like Canada did in the quarters in Vancouver, it's going to be a very looooooong tournament for them.
4. The Russian authorities will insert their collective foot in mouth at least twice each day!
I'm with you on the Russian hockey team. All eyes are on Ovechkin, but everyone overlooks the fact that the man is a goal magnet for the team he plays. The only saving grace is they'll have the best two way forward in the game on their team. Maybe he can cancel out the Ovechkin factor. Their defense does look spotty as well.
I wouldn't discount their goalies though. Bobrovski and Varlomov are anything but slouches.
1. No one really cares about the Winter Olympics.
2. It will mess with TV schedules, giving us 2-3 week gaps in a lot of shows. No new Archer 'til March people! That's criminal!
I reckon the Men's Hockey final will be something really unexciting like FInland v. Czech. I'd say the US and A or Canuckistan should do well, but I'm weary of their goal tending. I know Miller and Luongo are both going, but neither is exactly stellar this season, especially Miller. I'm sure the Russians will be pumped and Ovie has to win something eventually, and it won't be a Cup.
I'm already enjoying the reporting from Sochi. Apparently the accommodations are not up to snuff, I for one am shocked, shocked I say.
Here is the deal, unless you are going to Moscow or Petersburg, Russia is a third world country. When I was on my student exchange program in Volgograd, Living in the dorms we didn't have hot water until it started getting really cold, October 25th. There was no phone or internet in the dorm much less the rooms, the windows were single pane and held in place with nails and molding, sometimes my room got so cold i just put my groceries on my desk as the fridge was at that point redundant.
This is another reason I'm shocked they picked Sochi. Its not a major city and would lack serious infrastructure.
Still my 6 months spent in Russia was probably the best 6 months of my life, a total blast after a bit of adjustment.
I might actually watch them this year...well, just the figure skating. A friend of mine was a consultant to the figure skaters Meryl Davis & Charlie White. So I am hoping they place because that means more recognition for her.
I like the part where none of Sochi is prepared for the games. Construction on a lot of hotels and buildings is incomplete, and the accommodations are nearly third world.
Add to that the fact that EVERYONE with a wireless device is hacked within minutes of turning on said device, and the games so far which haven't even started yet, and the whole thing just sheds a very embarrassing light on Russia.
I'm inclined to make some joke about if they had allowed gay people to help then the place wouldn't look like ass(or they might have taken it a different direction and it would have all been asses).
Aerethan wrote: I like the part where none of Sochi is prepared for the games. Construction on a lot of hotels and buildings is incomplete, and the accommodations are nearly third world.
Add to that the fact that EVERYONE with a wireless device is hacked within minutes of turning on said device, and the games so far which haven't even started yet, and the whole thing just sheds a very embarrassing light on Russia.
I'm inclined to make some joke about if they had allowed gay people to help then the place wouldn't look like ass(or they might have taken it a different direction and it would have all been asses).
What the heck happened here? You could always count on a world power dictatorship putting on a good show. I thought the whole point of a dictatorship was that people had to do what the dictator said or heads would roll (literally).
I predict a lot of people will have problems with hotel rooms and other logistics. Some of the skiing or other courses will be deemed too unsafe for competition. We'll see video clips of angry politicians screaming into any camera about the lies of Westerners.
Also, some kids of wealthy people will win medals in a lot of events that were basically fun activities in the snow that developed when some redneck said "Hey, watch this!"
The Department of Homeland Security's warning comes ahead of the Winter Olympics' opening ceremony in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.
It said it was not aware of any specific danger to the US at this time.
Russia banned all liquids, pastes and gels from its airports and internal flights last month.
The move was part of a significant tightening of security in the country ahead of the Olympic Games, the BBC's Daniel Sandford reports from Sochi.
The Russian authorities have not yet commented on the US warning, but Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said the level of security at Sochi "is similar to that of any other safe city in the world".
Although the Games do not officially start until Friday, some qualifying events are now being held.
'Abundance of caution' Unnamed US security officials were quoted as saying there were fears toothpaste tubes could be used to smuggle explosives which could then be used to assemble a bomb either in flight or upon arrival at the Olympics.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that "out of an abundance of caution" it "regularly shares relevant information with domestic and international partners".
"While we are not aware of a specific threat to the homeland at this time, this routine communication is an important part of our commitment to making sure we meet that priority," it added.
The White House National Security Council said the latest threat had not altered existing travel guidelines for Sochi.
"If we should receive information in the coming days and weeks that changes our assessment of whether people should travel to Sochi, we will make that information public," spokeswoman Laura Magnuson told US media.
Air travellers are restricted to carrying liquids - which include pastes, creams, gels and drinks - in containers no larger than 100ml (3.4 oz).
Sweeping changes to airport security regulations were brought in after three Britons were arrested for plotting to bring down transatlantic airliners with home-made liquid explosives disguised as soft drinks in August 2006.
'Olympic Truce' Fears about security for the Winter Olympics in Russia were heightened following two suicide attacks in Volgograd in December, as well as numerous threats from Islamist militants in the Caucasus region.
The US has also placed two warships in the Black Sea ready to offer help in a case of a security emergency during the Games.
Security has not been the only controversy surrounding the build up to the Games.
Russia's controversial laws on homosexuality, passed last year, have provoked international criticism.
UN Secretary-General Bank Ki-moon referred to the issue in a keynote speech he gave at a session of the International Olympic Committee in Sochi on Thursday.
"Sport has an amazing power to spontaneously unite people," he said. "We must raise our voices against attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex people.
"We must oppose the arrests, imprisonments and discriminatory restrictions they face."
Mr Ban also renewed his call for all warring parties around the world to observe the 'Olympic Truce' and "lay down their weapons during the Games - and to lift their sights to the promise of peace".
The Russian foreign ministry made a similar appeal, saying its call "is primarily addressed to the sides of the blood-letting in Syria".
I just hope Rio is reconsidered as the locale for the 2016 Olympics after the debacle that Sochii has become. It really has become an embarrassment for Russia. To an extent I feel bad for Putin, talk about an epic backfire.
trexmeyer wrote: I just hope Rio is reconsidered as the locale for the 2016 Olympics after the debacle that Sochii has become.
The difference between Russia and Rio, is that Rio has the world cup of soccer the year (or two, cant remember) before the Olympics, so they should get a lot of the kinks worked out with that shoddy little event
Khornholio wrote: I reckon the Men's Hockey final will be something really unexciting like FInland v. Czech. I'd say the US and A or Canuckistan should do well, but I'm weary of their goal tending. I know Miller and Luongo are both going, but neither is exactly stellar this season, especially Miller. I'm sure the Russians will be pumped and Ovie has to win something eventually, and it won't be a Cup.
If Canada is smart, they'll give the nod to Price. He's been carrying an otherwise mediocre Habs team to the play-offs on his back, it would be exciting to see what he can do with an actual defensive core in front of him!
Luongo was scary as feth in Vancouver honestly.
In other hockey news:
- Stamkos is out as his broken tibia isn't nearly healed enough and the Lightning ain't going to risk him fething himself up completely.
So Marty St. Louis is in and hopefully will slot onto the top line with Kunitz & Sid.
- Henrik Sedin is out with bad ribs.
This really sucks for Sweden, but Russia's defense are probably getting drunk in celebration as it removes a big threat from Sweden's top line.
Quick and Howard will be the other guys for the US. Howard is the only guy whose won his last couple of games of the three, so it'll be interesting to see who gets the start.
Miller is a good goalie. Don't disparage him because he's the only good player on the worst team of the NHL. Next season he'll break his bonds with the Sabres and he'll get to spread those wings.
Khornholio wrote: I reckon the Men's Hockey final will be something really unexciting like FInland v. Czech. I'd say the US and A or Canuckistan should do well, but I'm weary of their goal tending. I know Miller and Luongo are both going, but neither is exactly stellar this season, especially Miller. I'm sure the Russians will be pumped and Ovie has to win something eventually, and it won't be a Cup.
If Canada is smart, they'll give the nod to Price. He's been carrying an otherwise mediocre Habs team to the play-offs on his back, it would be exciting to see what he can do with an actual defensive core in front of him!
Luongo was scary as feth in Vancouver honestly.
In other hockey news:
- Stamkos is out as his broken tibia isn't nearly healed enough and the Lightning ain't going to risk him fething himself up completely.
So Marty St. Louis is in and hopefully will slot onto the top line with Kunitz & Sid.
- Henrik Sedin is out with bad ribs.
This really sucks for Sweden, but Russia's defense are probably getting drunk in celebration as it removes a big threat from Sweden's top line.
Franzen bowed out for Sweden as well. So two good hits for their offense, but Nyquist was brought up and he'll be a good solid fill in.
trexmeyer wrote: I just hope Rio is reconsidered as the locale for the 2016 Olympics after the debacle that Sochii has become.
The difference between Russia and Rio, is that Rio has the world cup of soccer the year (or two, cant remember) before the Olympics, so they should get a lot of the kinks worked out with that shoddy little event
djones520 wrote: I'm with you on the Russian hockey team. All eyes are on Ovechkin, but everyone overlooks the fact that the man is a goal magnet for the team he plays. The only saving grace is they'll have the best two way forward in the game on their team. Maybe he can cancel out the Ovechkin factor. Their defense does look spotty as well.
I wouldn't discount their goalies though. Bobrovski and Varlomov are anything but slouches.
Ovechkin has a career +/- of +63 with only 3 years since 2005 (include this year) where he has registered a negative +/-... yes, he currently is tied for the worst of his career at -19, but the Capitals defense is absolutely atrocious this year. Bottom line is Washington pays him to score goals and that's what he does.
Aerethan wrote: I like the part where none of Sochi is prepared for the games. Construction on a lot of hotels and buildings is incomplete, and the accommodations are nearly third world.
Add to that the fact that EVERYONE with a wireless device is hacked within minutes of turning on said device, and the games so far which haven't even started yet, and the whole thing just sheds a very embarrassing light on Russia.
I'm inclined to make some joke about if they had allowed gay people to help then the place wouldn't look like ass(or they might have taken it a different direction and it would have all been asses).
What the heck happened here? You could always count on a world power dictatorship putting on a good show. I thought the whole point of a dictatorship was that people had to do what the dictator said or heads would roll (literally).
Its not as bad as that.
Some contractors and hoteliers offering services on the fringe of the games has pocketed funds and done either next to nothing or have botched it. These get press attention.
99% of it is running smoothly, this doesn't get press attention.
Olympic bus lanes working on schedule - not a news story.
Two toilets in one cubicle - somehow a news story.
Putin cant holdy-hand of every building contractor in the province and tell them to be competent.
Two toilets in one cubicle - somehow a news story.
Well, obviously the Russian rules for Battle-gaks are different from the rules here in the US, or the Western World for that matter, so really, it should be a culture piece
Ding, ding. We already got 3 medals in one sports event. Russians got super excited they got first place, then the Dutch came in on the second half. Plus Olympic record. So it's a good beginning
The Grumpy Eldar wrote: Ding, ding. We already got 3 medals in one sports event. Russians got super excited they got first place, then the Dutch came in on the second half. Plus Olympic record. So it's a good beginning
Yes, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd places for the Netherlands on the 5km iceskating.
Epic
Big talk from Canadian snowboard slopestyle riders calling out Shawn white for not competing because he was afraid the Canadians would beat him. America still took the gold and the best the three Canadians could do was bronze.
And sadly our brit guys got pushed out of medal positions in the slopestyle, ah well. There's still a chance for us to get medals in the women's slopestyle tomorrow
Andrew1975 wrote: Big talk from Canadian snowboard slopestyle riders calling out Shawn white for not competing because he was afraid the Canadians would beat him. America still took the gold and the best the three Canadians could do was bronze.
Bronze with broken ribs is still pretty amazing.
And they were calling him out because he was the only big name to withdraw while claiming 'safety concerns'. The sport isn't exactly 'safe' to begin with... That would be akin to Crosby or Malkin pulling out of the hockey tournament and saying, "it's not safe because I could get hit in the head."
Still not the classiest thing to do, but White kinda did it to himself.
Anyways, a gold and silver in women's moguls!
And we're sitting 2nd in the figure skating team competition!
The Grumpy Eldar wrote: There should have been a limit at how many sporters could be sent to the Olympics per country.
I think there is.... Usually for the less manpower driven events, it's up to, IIRC 3 people/teams competing (so the US/Canada, etc. can have up to 3, 4-man bobsled teams, etc.) but the larger teams, such as hockey, obviously it's the one team and that's it.
So far the events have exceeded my expectations. The venues (on TV) look nice and the competition seems solid with no embarrassing hiccups in either officiating, transportation, or schedules.
The one glitch was that ring that didn't open during the opening ceremony but the rest of that event was classy and spectacular.
I'm watching everything on a German TV channel though so I have some difficulty understanding everything that is said and they hardly ever show any competitors in events where Germany is not in the medal hunt.
Well we got another sweep just now with Ice skating, gold, silver and bronze on the 500 Meters sprint.
The rankings are a bit off if I look at google but we got first place in the medal rankings now.
Your country has awesome skaters. Like Germany has great Luge and Russia has ...vodka drinkers.
I am a bit surprised that the Finns and Swiss have such a tough time. They both have a lot of winter sportsmen. Do they leave training support to the individual athletes?
Woo-hoo!
It may only last for a day, but Canada finishes the day in 1st place in the medal standings!
A gold in Speed Skating Short Track, and our second gold + silver finish in Moguls skiing!
We almost made it a clean sweep in the moguls, just barely losing out the bronze to Russia.
Not holding out much hope though of a three-peat in the men's curling though... barely beat Germany and lost to the Swiss rink - ouchie.
Still, Jones's rink should readily contend in the women's curling and end our gold medal drought in that one.
So I'm watching the free style Moguls and one of the skiiers, Alex Bilodeau had a human interest piece done on him and his brother. From what I gathered of the piece, Alex was inspired by his older brother Frederic, whom suffers from Cerebral Palsy. Frederic gained almost as much fame as Alex did when he won gold in 2010. Apparently Frederic paints and sells his art to help raise funds for CP research... well, I noticed a particular handle of brush, and looked closely... It seems the Olympian's brother also paints tiny MAN DOLLIES from the 41st Millenium, particularly the Ultramarines.
I know it's not related to the games themselves, but it's always cool to see our hobby(ies) in mainstream media, whether people really notice it or not
I-Pod and the Japanese riders had fantastic runs. Shaun White and Danny Davis just could not complete clean runs. I thought Danny was going to finish that second run.
JB wrote: I-Pod and the Japanese riders had fantastic runs. Shaun White and Danny Davis just could not complete clean runs. I thought Danny was going to finish that second run.
Yeah I thought exactly the same. Happy for Ayumu though, to get a silver medal that young, and he earned it!
Ayumu has been a strong competitor all year. We casual fans didn't notice but he earned a gold during a World Cup competition in New Zealand in August and a silver at the 2013 Winter X Games.
American and Canadians have some serious competition. It's become a more level playing field.
EDIT: I forgot to add the Devin Morgan's medal in women's slopestyle skiing was well earned. Each time I watch the video stream I am amazed that people do those things with skis.
Did anyone else find it surprising that even after falling in his final run Shaun was fist pumping at the crowd like he won?.. Of course that was before his scores showed that not only would he NOT be getting the gold, but wouldn't even be standing on the podium.
I was really sad to see Davis fall at the end of his run but I can't fault the top 3 spots, they were definitely the best of the runs. I think it's good to see other countries taking the sport up. It's definitely come a long way in the past 12 years.
Not a full sweep today. Merely gold and bronze on the men's 1000m skating.
It's been, what, three events, and we've got 8 out of 9 medals?
Might as well have let the Dutch national championships decide the men's skating events .
I wonder what the medal standings would look like if you take a country's overall population into account?
Well, your country had 86 medals in the Winter Olympics before Sochi and 82 of them were in speed-skating. That tells me that you are really good at producing champions in that sport.
Of the other four medals, three were in women's figure skating and one was for women's snowboarding. I sense a trend having to do with ice and skates.
If someone ever wins with skis, the world will ask "what happened?".
Bran Dawri wrote: Not a full sweep today. Merely gold and bronze on the men's 1000m skating.
It's been, what, three events, and we've got 8 out of 9 medals?
Might as well have let the Dutch national championships decide the men's skating events .
I wonder what the medal standings would look like if you take a country's overall population into account?
No kidding. The dutch speedskating is ridonkulous.
Bran Dawri wrote: Not a full sweep today. Merely gold and bronze on the men's 1000m skating.
It's been, what, three events, and we've got 8 out of 9 medals?
Might as well have let the Dutch national championships decide the men's skating events .
I wonder what the medal standings would look like if you take a country's overall population into account?
While we may have nabbed the silver from you guys, Morrison's win is a pretty awesome feel-good story!
Henrik Zetterberg, Captain of Swedens Men's Hockey Team, left the Olympics today with a recurrence of his herniated disk. Could lead to some huge impacts for their chances.
Congrats are also due to Great Britain's Lizzy Yarnold. I followed her story on BBC earlier and was hoping that she would medal. That was the first gold medal of these games for GBR.
In America, we put champions' faces on our boxes of Wheaties breakfast cereal. What do you do in England?
djones520 wrote: Henrik Zetterberg, Captain of Swedens Men's Hockey Team, left the Olympics today with a recurrence of his herniated disk. Could lead to some huge impacts for their chances.
Sweden has been decimated by key injuries.
But then how about Russia allowing 2 goals on 14 shots to what is likely the weakest team in the entire tournament?
Their next game vs. US could really show-up this team pretty badly, especially if the US can exploit that abysmal defense like we did in the quarters in Vancouver.
http://www.sochi2014.com/en/skeleton-women-s-heat-4-04 Congrats are also due to Great Britain's Lizzy Yarnold. I followed her story on BBC earlier and was hoping that she would medal. That was the first gold medal of these games for GBR.
Yes she did a great job! One thing that didn't really get much talk (and was definitely sold short by the other lady Gareth Edwards was interviewing on BBC) was the background she had come from. She didn't have any money behind her at all, working and then training in her free time, she couldn't even afford a bag for her stuff when she was getting into it (she had a collection tin for it, in the end some guy handed her an envelope with the money). Really, really a result of her hard work and commitment, and great to see!
Just watched the US v Rus hockey game which was bloody brilliant, hardly ever get ice hockey on the TV over here but I always try and watch it whenever it is on. Felt a bit sorry for the Ruskies as it must have meant so much to them, although in games that close always feel sorry for whoever loses. Is that it for the Russians now?
I believe Slovakia was eliminated today, so the teams for the quarter finals are set I believe. Now it's just about seeding. I do have to say though, I'm pleased with how the US team has turned out. I thought it would come down to a contention for Bronze, but now it looks like they've got a good chance to go all the way.
Congrats are also due to Great Britain's Lizzy Yarnold. I followed her story on BBC earlier and was hoping that she would medal. That was the first gold medal of these games for GBR.
In America, we put champions' faces on our boxes of Wheaties breakfast cereal. What do you do in England?
IDK about the Winter Games. For the 2012 Olympics the Royal Mail painted a pillar box gold in the home town of the medal winner. There's one just down my high street, where I usually post my letters.
I think that was a special though, because the Summer Games were in the UK.
Bran Dawri wrote: Not a full sweep today. Merely gold and bronze on the men's 1000m skating.
It's been, what, three events, and we've got 8 out of 9 medals?
Might as well have let the Dutch national championships decide the men's skating events .
I wonder what the medal standings would look like if you take a country's overall population into account?
No kidding. The dutch speedskating is ridonkulous.
I believe Slovakia was eliminated today, so the teams for the quarter finals are set I believe. Now it's just about seeding. I do have to say though, I'm pleased with how the US team has turned out. I thought it would come down to a contention for Bronze, but now it looks like they've got a good chance to go all the way.
Every team makes it through the prelim round - all it's really for is to try and grab the buy into the quarters & seeding for the elimination round.
Grabbing top spot however is critical because it means you get a day-off to prepare/rest for the true tournament to begin. Having to play an elimination game, and then your quarter-final game the very next day is killer in a competition with this caliber of talent out on the ice!
The Slovaks however aren't going anywhere fast this year. I'd be amazed if they even make it into the quarters...
Canada plays the Finns tomorrow - whoever wins will grab top spot and get the all-important buy into the quarters, while iirc, Norway & Austria will vie for the 3 & 4 spots in our pool.
Russia lost it's ice hockey game against the US! This is a national disgrace! Mother Russia demands retribution! Violent retribution! Ready the nukes!
Ice hockey means so much to the Russians. Especially when playing against the US.
Luckily it is not over yet...
Iron_Captain wrote: Russia lost it's ice hockey game against the US! This is a national disgrace! Mother Russia demands retribution! Violent retribution! Ready the nukes!
Ice hockey means so much to the Russians. Especially when playing against the US.
Luckily it is not over yet...
If only the US could get more on board with the sport...
Iron_Captain wrote: Russia lost it's ice hockey game against the US! This is a national disgrace! Mother Russia demands retribution! Violent retribution! Ready the nukes!
Ice hockey means so much to the Russians. Especially when playing against the US.
Luckily it is not over yet...
Russia's defense stinks this year, and they played far too passively and didn't punish the US nearly enough for taking those longer shifts...
Besides, the "Cold War on Ice" rivalry is absolutely NOTHING compared to the rivalry between Russia vs. Canada!
Ask any Russian hockey fan who they want to face in the gold medal game and every single one of them will say that it has to be Russia vs. Canada. (note they're still smarting over that whole '72 Summit Series bit where we came back from being down 3-1 in games to win it all... on Russian ice to boot!)
Russia will only prove they love hockey as much as we do when they effectively shut their entire country down before 'the big game' begins!
I believe Slovakia was eliminated today, so the teams for the quarter finals are set I believe. Now it's just about seeding. I do have to say though, I'm pleased with how the US team has turned out. I thought it would come down to a contention for Bronze, but now it looks like they've got a good chance to go all the way.
It still might. Canada has to be the overwhelming favorite. They could put a second team together of the guys who didn't make the Olympic team and probably have a real chance of medaling.
I believe Slovakia was eliminated today, so the teams for the quarter finals are set I believe. Now it's just about seeding. I do have to say though, I'm pleased with how the US team has turned out. I thought it would come down to a contention for Bronze, but now it looks like they've got a good chance to go all the way.
It still might. Canada has to be the overwhelming favorite. They could put a second team together of the guys who didn't make the Olympic team and probably have a real chance of medaling.
Oh I know it. My jaw dropped when I heard St. Louis had been picked for the team after Stamkos was scratched. I thought for sure he was already on the team.
I believe Slovakia was eliminated today, so the teams for the quarter finals are set I believe. Now it's just about seeding. I do have to say though, I'm pleased with how the US team has turned out. I thought it would come down to a contention for Bronze, but now it looks like they've got a good chance to go all the way.
It still might. Canada has to be the overwhelming favorite. They could put a second team together of the guys who didn't make the Olympic team and probably have a real chance of medaling.
Oh I know it. My jaw dropped when I heard St. Louis had been picked for the team after Stamkos was scratched. I thought for sure he was already on the team.
I'm not sure, but I think Canada's scratches for the first game were St. Louis and P.K. Subban. LOL
cincydooley wrote: I think canada v USA has to be the biggest international hockey rivalry now, right?
Nope, in international play the biggest rivalry has been and always will be Canada vs. Russia.
They still want payback for the whole '72 affair - and nothing would give them more satisfaction than beating us in the gold medal game on their home ice... especially after the massive embarrassment they suffered in Vancouver 4 years ago.
cincydooley wrote: I think canada v USA has to be the biggest international hockey rivalry now, right?
Nope, in international play the biggest rivalry has been and always will be Canada vs. Russia.
They still want payback for the whole '72 affair - and nothing would give them more satisfaction than beating us in the gold medal game on their home ice... especially after the massive embarrassment they suffered in Vancouver 4 years ago.
You sure about that? The Russians wanted to beat the US pretty badly.
djones520 wrote: If only the US could get more on board with the sport...
I'm pretty fine with it staying where it is, as long as it remains sustainable. Large fanbases don't always bring good things with them.
Plus, I get to be hipster about it.
Yeah, it's pretty hard to grow hockey in the US much larger than it already is... It's something of a wealthy family sport. The cost for most/all of the gear is quite out of my own reach (and my wife/I combined make good money).
I'd rather see other sports, like Rugby grow and compete with the Big 4 in the US.
cincydooley wrote: I think canada v USA has to be the biggest international hockey rivalry now, right?
Nope, in international play the biggest rivalry has been and always will be Canada vs. Russia.
They still want payback for the whole '72 affair - and nothing would give them more satisfaction than beating us in the gold medal game on their home ice... especially after the massive embarrassment they suffered in Vancouver 4 years ago.
You sure about that? The Russians wanted to beat the US pretty badly.
The Russians love to beat the US no doubt as there's that whole Cold War mentality still at play among them... But then everyone loves to beat the US because they love to toot their own horn so much!
But seriously, you go ask any Russian hockey fan the only way for any international tournament to end, and it's always got to be a Russia/Canada final with Russia coming out on top of course! (though I tend to agree that it should be Canada taking top spot!)
cincydooley wrote: I think canada v USA has to be the biggest international hockey rivalry now, right?
Nope, in international play the biggest rivalry has been and always will be Canada vs. Russia.
They still want payback for the whole '72 affair - and nothing would give them more satisfaction than beating us in the gold medal game on their home ice... especially after the massive embarrassment they suffered in Vancouver 4 years ago.
You sure about that? The Russians wanted to beat the US pretty badly.
The Russians love to beat the US no doubt as there's that whole Cold War mentality still at play among them... But then everyone loves to beat the US because they love to toot their own horn so much!
But seriously, you go ask any Russian hockey fan the only way for any international tournament to end, and it's always got to be a Russia/Canada final with Russia coming out on top of course! (though I tend to agree that it should be Canada taking top spot!)
Of course the final has to be Russia-Canada. Nothing is more glorious than beating Canada in a finale. Canada is (unfortunately) still the strongest ice hockey nation.
I hope so much that Russia is going to win this year. We are playing on our own ice, we just have to win!
In ice skating news: The Netherlands once again did a clean sweep. This time on the 1500 meter for women.
I'm guessing that he saw the goalie turn away from him and didn't expect a hit from the "rear". So he probably didn't brace for it at all and it took him by surprise which made it even more effective.
When I see one country utterly dominate a program like the Dutch have.....well, I begin to think about East German Swim teams. Just putting it out there.
Sadly Sven Kramer couldn't get gold on the 10km, due to his back injury acting up again. So he couldn't fix the herpty derpty his coach pulled on him last winter Olympics.
When I see one country utterly dominate a program like the Dutch have.....well, I begin to think about East German Swim teams. Just putting it out there.
They get checked enough on doping and all those stuff. We have the best ice skaters for a long time now.
Sadly Sven Kramer couldn't get gold on the 10km, due to his back injury acting up again. So he couldn't fix the herpty derpty his coach pulled on him last winter Olympics.
When I see one country utterly dominate a program like the Dutch have.....well, I begin to think about East German Swim teams. Just putting it out there.
They get checked enough on doping and all those stuff. We have the best ice skaters for a long time now.
OH, I'm sure they get tested. Lance Armstrong used to get tested all the time too. When a whole program just dominates one sport it raises red flags is all I'm saying. I hope they did it the right way, it would be one hell of a victory.
Sadly Sven Kramer couldn't get gold on the 10km, due to his back injury acting up again. So he couldn't fix the herpty derpty his coach pulled on him last winter Olympics.
To be fair, borgmans final 2000m were insane. Just insane.
What is the deal with Curling? Its shuffleboard on Ice, right, like old ladies on cruise ships. Seams like the equivalent of adding bowling or batche to the Summer Olympics. Am I missing something?
Andrew1975 wrote: What is the deal with Curling? Its shuffleboard on Ice, right, like old ladies on cruise ships. Seams like the equivalent of adding bowling or batche to the Summer Olympics. Am I missing something?
Andrew1975 wrote: What is the deal with Curling? Its shuffleboard on Ice, right, like old ladies on cruise ships. Seams like the equivalent of adding bowling or batche to the Summer Olympics. Am I missing something?
Yes. Yes you are.
But what? I've tried to watch it. The only redeeming value I saw was when some of the hotter girls on the female teams were all bent over. I don't see how this is an Olympic event. Might as well make darts an event.
Is it the strategy aspect, I kind of get that, like a pitchers duel in baseball. But even then?
The NBA is nothing but a bunch of overgrown tall blokes jumping about with an inflated bladder, to look at it one way.
I can agree with that. But I can also see how basketball is a sport. Its got all the classic elements of a sport, regardless of how you feel about the actual players (pampered millionaire thug crybabies). Curling seams to have all the classic elements of a church bazaar or afternoon at the fair. Its a game meant to be played by old people while they drink cocktails.
Andrew1975 wrote: What is the deal with Curling? Its shuffleboard on Ice, right, like old ladies on cruise ships. Seams like the equivalent of adding bowling or batche to the Summer Olympics. Am I missing something?
But in seriousness, I had a similar conversion the other day when a friend was staying table tennis wasn't a sport.
Table tennis seams to me more of a sport that curling. Who Curls? Really! Had anyone heard of this sport before the Olympics? This is a game you play with your friends while drinking in a frozen pond in the winter. The second you take this game seriously enough to rent ice time and buy special brooms, its just too much. It's like professional broom-ball. Yeah Broom-ball is fun...when you are drunk, playing with your friends and have petty rivalries. Its not to be taken seriously.
The attitude is that this is more of a social game, it was never meant to be competitive.
How the hell does Curling become an Olympic sport before Lacrosse? Or hell even bowling? The pool of great Curlers must be in the ten of.......tens. There are probably less people that Curl than there are that play warhammer fantasy.
d-usa wrote: People who think curling isn't a sporting competition haven't curled!
Look, I'm sure its fun. I bet its great to go out and play, drinking with your buddies. But its not anywhere on the same level as say....Hockey or skiing.
Still a little sketched on the disallowed goal. I know it didn't fully cross the line, but reaching in to cover it up and pull it back leaves me with a bit of a sour taste.
Still a little sketched on the disallowed goal. I know it didn't fully cross the line, but reaching in to cover it up and pull it back leaves me with a bit of a sour taste.
Either way, some great hockey!
Should have been a penalty shot for sure. I've never understood why they have so many "non-reviewable" plays. Shouldn't getting it right come before worrying about embarrassing the referee?
mega_bassist wrote: Jeezus. I'm positive Quick couldn't stop that many goals, especially against the Canadians.
Yeah, we tend to have a lot of nightmare about European goaltenders... still smarting about the whole 2006 thing and losing to the Swiss thanks only to their goaltending.
Alfndrate wrote: So... I might be a little behind, but did I hear correctly that Latvia beat Canada in Men's Hockey? Ouch.
I did not hear correctly, they haven't played yet.
No but Russia got eliminated by Finland. Which was a huge surprise to me.
Kinda glad, Datsyuk can give that knee of his another week of rest now.
I called this one before the games even started.
The Russians had a tonne of offensive potential, but their defense was abysmal (being almost exactly the same as it was 4 years ago when we utterly destroyed them 7-3 in quarters) and their goaltending sucked.
Why the feth they didn't start Bobrovsky I'll never know, as he was pretty much their only hope of ever advancing. Their coach is a grade-A dumba$$ for making that call.
Add to this that the Russians, even during their glory days of the Soviet Red Army never have played it as a proper team game, instead just giving specific jobs to every player and coaching them to only do that singular job. (hell, the '72 summit series wouldn't have been nearly so close if it wasn't for Tretiak's absolute brilliance in goal.)
The only reason they dominated for so long from the 50's through to the early 90's was simply because the tournament was heavily skewed in their favour, as Canada, US, Sweden & even the Finns to an extent were never able to send our best players since they were all in the NHL and thus ineligible to compete! (especially Canada/US)
The current hockey powers are still Canada, US, Sweden & Finland. Russia can pretend, but until they learn to play a proper team game they'll just be second fiddle to the big 4.
Mind you, Canada needs to stop putting all the European kids ahead of our own at the Junior levels, (namely at goaltending & defense), otherwise in another 8-10 years we're going to be a complete laughing stock...
djones520 wrote: Latvia's goalie stopped 55 of 57 shots. Give that man a damn medal.
He plays for the Syracuse Crunch, he's a minor leaguer... someone bring him up to tjr NHL.
I think they mentioned the Lightning drafted him.
Yup, the crunch are their minor league team.
Tampa already has Ben Bishop, who has been lights out this year, after his performance here, I bet there might be a team or two looking at Tampa willing to make some off season deals.
We got away with a scare in the men's hockey, though in all honesty outside of the scoreboard the game was a complete farce as we simply dominated the play.
Losing Jonny T for the rest of the tournament sure sucks the big one though...
Both our men's & women's rinks advanced to the gold medal final in curling!!!
And in the women's 2-man bobsled we repeated as gold medal winners, also setting a new Olympic record as the first nation to have a team successfully defend their gold medal!
Here's hoping Jennifer Jones can work her magic tomorrow in the curling final! Go(ld) Canada!
I'll be honest, not a figure skating fan. But, a good old 'OMG WTF just happened there' with the women's figure skating finals. Think all of the commentators were pretty much stunned into silence by the result of Kim Yuna being 2nd, the young Russian being given the gold.
Shows what a difference the home-field advantage can make I suppose.
The Russian Men's hockey team getting bounced out of the tournament to Finland.
or
The US Womens' Hockey team blowing a 2-0 lead with 3 minutes left and losing in OT?
The Russian's men's team, simply because their head coach was such a massive dumba$$, wanting to showcase the KHL players over the NHL'ers in order to prove that Russian hockey is superior to our North American game, AND, because he didn't start Bobrovsky in goal which even TSN's hockey panel is still struggling to try and explain...
The US may have been a better team skill-wise, but Canada has the experience of being in those do-or-die situations. The youth of the US team showed through there as their nerves got to them, while Canada was able to weather the early storm thanks to some amazing goaltending, and then settle the nerves down afterwards.
What's going to be interesting heading forwards is that a lot of our premier players are now retiring... We'll have some vets left, but a good chunk of the veteran leadership, (or rather all of it if Apps retires as well), will be gone.
I left the Women's gold medal game halfway through the second at 2-0, thinking we were done. Came back after some work to find we won! I'm kind of sad I missed it, sounds like a great game.
mega_bassist wrote: I have a friend who's originally from Ontario, and she made sure to text me as soon as the game was over. Rabble rabble rabble.
/shakesfist
But in all seriousness, great game! You Canucks simply outplayed us this year!
Well... we can console ourselves with the fact that the Stanley Cup has been in America for the last 20 years. That's something at least.
Except that typically at least half of each winning team are Canadian players...
Edit: I find it rather interesting actually that the US has had 0 success vs. either the men's or women's teams at the Olympics ever since the flag incident in Salt Lake City back in '02...
Point of note at about 2:12
The hockey gods haven't forgotten it seems...
1. Our women's hockey team will get thrashed badly by the US because we're still clinging to our old timers and not working nearly enough young blood into the team.
Meanwhile, as long as Price gets the #1 nod, our men's team is looking absolutely terrifying... Oh, and Stevie Stamkos is likely to play!
2. Our women's curling team will find a way to screw it up like always and thus miss out on the gold.
Our men's team's only actual stiff competition will come from Norway & Scotland.
I love the slightly misogynist tone in these predictions, and take some sort of satisfaction in finding them very wrong.
1. Our women's hockey team will get thrashed badly by the US because we're still clinging to our old timers and not working nearly enough young blood into the team.
Meanwhile, as long as Price gets the #1 nod, our men's team is looking absolutely terrifying... Oh, and Stevie Stamkos is likely to play!
2. Our women's curling team will find a way to screw it up like always and thus miss out on the gold.
Our men's team's only actual stiff competition will come from Norway & Scotland.
I love the slightly misogynist tone in these predictions, and take some sort of satisfaction in finding them very wrong.
I'm a pessimist at heart, and I'm overjoyed to be proven wrong!
Still, props to the US women's team, as they were the faster and more skilled team and were beaten more by their inexperience and Canada's 'never give in' attitude + veteran leadership + coaching & conditioning. Our goaltending honestly stole that game as the first period really could have easily ended 3-0 for the US.
But for the first 55 minutes, we were mostly definitely not the better team out there.
Jennifer Jones actually almost blew it. She had to make some amazing saves as her 2nd & 3rd were really struggling all game. A timely mistake by the Swedes gave Jones all the opening she needed.
Had Canada been playing against the Brits in the final, we would have almost certainly ended up with the silver medal instead of going double gold.
1. Our women's hockey team will get thrashed badly by the US because we're still clinging to our old timers and not working nearly enough young blood into the team.
Meanwhile, as long as Price gets the #1 nod, our men's team is looking absolutely terrifying... Oh, and Stevie Stamkos is likely to play!
2. Our women's curling team will find a way to screw it up like always and thus miss out on the gold.
Our men's team's only actual stiff competition will come from Norway & Scotland.
I love the slightly misogynist tone in these predictions, and take some sort of satisfaction in finding them very wrong.
I'm a pessimist at heart, and I'm overjoyed to be proven wrong!
Still, props to the US women's team, as they were the faster and more skilled team and were beaten more by their inexperience and Canada's 'never give in' attitude + veteran leadership + coaching & conditioning. Our goaltending honestly stole that game as the first period really could have easily ended 3-0 for the US.
But for the first 55 minutes, we were mostly definitely not the better team out there.
Jennifer Jones actually almost blew it. She had to make some amazing saves as her 2nd & 3rd were really struggling all game. A timely mistake by the Swedes gave Jones all the opening she needed.
Had Canada been playing against the Brits in the final, we would have almost certainly ended up with the silver medal instead of going double gold.
You're a champ sir, and also very right; the games were very close in some cases!
GOOOOOOOOOOOALD!!!
Epic finish to Team Canada's 2014 campaign, for the third time the boys came through and the only anthem being played in the hockey events is Canada's!
If ever there was any doubt, hockey is our game! 3 of 5 gold medals in the NHL era of the games proves we are the greatest hockey nation
Experiment 626 wrote: GOOOOOOOOOOOALD!!!
Epic finish to Team Canada's 2014 campaign, for the third time the boys came through and the only anthem being played in the hockey events is Canada's!
If ever there was any doubt, hockey is our game! 3 of 5 gold medals in the NHL era of the games proves we are the greatest hockey nation
Congrats!
However, the St. Louis Blues is taking Lord Stanley's Cup this year.
I can quibble with the reportedly uncompleted accommodations and lack of enough cold weather but the actual running of the games and ceremonies was pretty darn good. The visuals during both ceremonies were fairly stunning.
Were there any flag or national name snafus this Olympics? I haven't heard of any issues.
Experiment 626 wrote: GOOOOOOOOOOOALD!!!
Epic finish to Team Canada's 2014 campaign, for the third time the boys came through and the only anthem being played in the hockey events is Canada's!
If ever there was any doubt, hockey is our game! 3 of 5 gold medals in the NHL era of the games proves we are the greatest hockey nation
Congrats!
However, the St. Louis Blues is taking Lord Stanley's Cup this year.
Much as I loath their silly team name, the Ducks will represent the west this year, and they'll bring it home in 6 as a fitting send-off & capping of Selane's career.
