2010 Winter Olympics Thread
 

Didn't see one here, so I started it. The big event kicked off today, with a tragic morning as Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvili died during a trial run at a VERY fast Whistler luge track.

Gretzky lights the cauldron after a huge technical mishap strands the final torchbearers for over two minutes.




Protesters protest, as per usual in Vancouver



Any interest in the winter Olympics? I live in the 'burbs of Vancouver, so I have a pretty unique perspective on all the shenanigans if anyone wants more information.

I heard on the bus the other morning about how one of the biggest problems of this year's games is keeping the snow from melting on the slopes, including packing the hills with ice packs, straw and other insulators, and trucking snow in from Washington state. Did anyone consider the logic in having the Winter Olympics in the warmest place in Canada?

I watched the opening ceremonies last night. Good job, Canadians. The respect paid to the luger that was killed was very touching. The Canadian, and the Olympic flag brought to half-staff was a very nice touch. And the reception that the Georgian team recieved, during the Parade of Nations, was very dignified.

Too bad about about the cauldron malfunction, but, other than that, everything seemed to go off with out much of a hitch. I was very impressed.

Oh...and if it's snow that you guys are looking for, we have plenty of it down here...free for the taking. Just bring down some trucks and start loading it up, eh? ;)

I was thinking that this morning, Bill O.... Maybe North Carolina needs to bid for the Winter Games!

I wish I could go to the Olympics. They are doing a great job showing it on TV for now however.

It's an El Nino year this year, which means warmer than average temperatures and low snowfall. In a normal winter, there would be plenty of snow for the Olympics.

I love the opening ceremonies...especially the fiddler part, I could have watched that part all nite!!!

The games and the ceremony are only airing on ESPN here. I don't subscribe to any sports channels, including ESPN. I tried to watch online but couldn't connect.

A Canadian, unable to watch.

Bah.

Anyone know the general cost for a ticket to the Games? Does it depend on the event?

I watched here and there, but I've been kinda busy this weekend. Next week though my TV is basically all-olympics-all-the-time.

Edit: YES! A Canadian finally wins gold at a Canadian hosted games!

I've been watching it pretty much continuously.

I saw the opening ceremony (fantastic lighting artistry) and the mishap with the torch.
Gretzky and the others handled it well.

I was impressed by the utter silence when they called to have a moment of silence for the deceased Georgian luger.

As for the games themselves, I'm loving all that I've seen. Men and women's Biathalon, Women's hockey, Men's Nordic Combined, Men's speed-skating, Men's ski-jumping and Women's downhill mogul. (sorry, Canada, we stole your first home-game gold away from you)
We're watching Pair's figure-skating now.

All-in-all, I've enjoyed it so far.

I'm not digging the luge too much this year, but I guess that's understandable.
I'm in disbelief at how they could let such a huge flaw in the track's design go by so long without them modifying it. Everybody kept saying it was the fasted track.

Anyway, I'm bummed that the Jamaican bobsled team didn't make it this year.

Edit:
Why would anybody protest the Olympics?

Edit 2:
Canada's drought is over, Ace!
Alexandre Bilodeau from the Men's downhill mogul, won Canada's first home gold medal.

The protests are over how Vancouver is paying for the Games. This has been a problem for multiple host cities both summer and winter. Denver was awarded the games for 1976 but the voters didn't pass the bond issues on the November ballot to afford all the construction that has to go into the games. There were protests over money at the Beijing olympics as well.

I thought the whales at the opening ceremonies were fantastic! I would have loved to see up close how they did that effect.

I don't have cable either. I've watched everything streaming online at the CTV Olympics sites. Has been working superbly so far.

I was ecstatic to see Alexandre Bilodeau take gold. Not only because he is the epitome of an Olympian and the Olympic spirit, but he knocked off Dale Begg-Smith, a turncoat Canadian who renounced his citizenship to ski for Australia. Not only is he a giant douche and a turd sandwich rolled into one, but he runs an internet spam/adware/malware business that he has made millions off infecting people's computers.

And the Aussies are crying already:
Aussies claim Bilodeau's gold tainted | Vancouver 2010 News | Vancouver 2010 | Sports | Toronto Sun
Now the thing that popped out to me in this article was this:

“My own opinion is probably that Alex is not capable of a 4.8 or 4.9 for turns,’’ said Australian team high performance director Geoff Lipshut. “He’s just not capable.”

His 'opinion', which some could say is tainted as he's an Aussie team member, and well, his opinion doesn't matter, it's the opinion f the judges that matters, and the judges gave the nod to the Canadian, not the former Canadian/spam master.

As for the 'pro Canadian crowd swaying the judges', sounds like sour grapes to me, the Aussies should just be grateful losers, and stop embarassing themselves with this display, they lost, suck it up and move on.

That's silly. I was watching, and Bilodeau's run was clearly superior. Faster, cleaner, bigger aerials. I think it's just disappointment talking. Happens any time a front-runner gets upset.

Agreed rat, it's always a coach or a director, never the athlete themselves, that's one thing I can give Begg-Smith credit for, he took his silver medal like a man, unlike his coach.

Found this as well, seems some UK papers are a bit upset with Canada's hosting of the games, and the death of the Georgian luger last week.
Now to blame the death on the Canadian organizers just seems like a cop out to me, with all due respects to Nodar Kumaritashvili his inexperience played a big part in his death, and well bad luck, those things happen in sport, especially in a sport like luge, where you're flying down and ice track with no pads, no safety equiptment, juts you, the sled and the ice.

Can't wait to see the 2012 Olympics and how the Brits handle them, I'm sure the shoe will be on the other foot then.

That British article is appalling.

Can't wait for mens' hockey... I have a feeling it's going to be quite the party. First game for Canada is Tuesday night versus Norway.

Seems even Quebec is bitter, or at least one 'reporter'(and I use the term loosely)
Now if he doesn't know the answer as to why Gretzky carried the torch to light the cauldron, he's been under a rock for the past couple of decades, or he's just a moron. I guess he doesn't know it doesn't matter where one is a resident, but where one was born that makes them a Canadian, and Gretzky is one hell of a Canadian. To say 'his expression was any indication, he didn't seem too honoured', is bullshit, I saw his face, he looked quite happy to be there, what do they expect him to do, riverdance the flame down the road to show he's happy.

As for the women's hockey team blowing out opponents, if I'm not mistaken this tournament is run on a goals for and against system, so you have no choice but to keep putting it to your opponents, no bad sportsmanship at all, if they want games to not be blowouts, put a mercy rule in like they have in kids hockey so they don't get embarassed.

But I think I found the key behind this reporters pissing and moaning, in one little paragraph:
They said things in French, what more do they want.

I was looking forward for hockey, until I saw Kypreos, Pang, and McGuire adding their two cents, fuckin bad hockey players and horrible coaches like McGuire always, always get jobs being analysts, hell Sportsnet bills Kypreos as a Stanley Cup chanpion, they neglect to tell viewers that he sat on the bench and got water for the real players, and McGuire, he just needs to be beaten I hate that bastard and his name dropping like the players actually care about him or what he thinks.

Thank god for the mute button, or else I may have to slit my own throat listening to these idiots.

Haha I hear you, Pierre McGuire is the worst commentator of all time, hands down.

How about that game though? That was some awesome hockey, you can tell everyone on the team is playing with their hearts on their sleeves. I can't wait til Sunday.

Totally agree worst of all time, when my old man used to hear me bitching about him he'd always say 'he coached in the NHL he must know what he's talking about', until I emailed him McGuires record of 23-37-7 before being canned. Also when you search his name and this is a suggestion "hate pierre maguire", it should tell his bosses to fire him. I keep hoping someone will shoot a puck into that rinkside seat he has and put him out, but no one seems to, I know if it were me playing, he would have been out with an injury years ago.
Hell he even has his own Facebook group for people who hate him http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2253701613

As for the game tonight, great show, a wee bit slow in the first, would have liked to see a nice hit to get the guys into the game earlier, they can't start out like that against the better teams or they'll be in trouble, but all in all a good effort, but I'm sure some reporter in Quebec will say they ran up the score as he said about the womens team, guess he doesn't get that goals for and against are big deals in tournament play.

Oh man... you have no idea what bad announcing is until you watch Hockey being covered by the international feed that supplies highlights to our local channel. My wife, son and I just sat with our mouth open at how bad it was. Imagine a golf announcer doing hockey play by play as though it was golf.

an oldie...but here's the gauntlet:



---------- Post added at 09:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:12 AM ----------

So, the Olympics are on. The el Nino weather isn't cooperating. There's a big-assed chain link fence segregating the Olympic flame from the masses. A poor soul loses his life in the pursuit of his dream. There seems to be a bitter-sweet pall hanging over these games. But because they are top of mind, the sharks are out to feed with some calling this the worst games ever:

Vancouver Games glitches get global attention
Games troubles mocked by international media as assertive Canadians lose niceness crown
February 17, 2010
PETTI FONG
ROBERT CRIBB

VANCOUVER–VANOC has problems and so does Sara Kneller, who is about to travel halfway around the world to get to Cypress Mountain.

VANOC's problems: wet weather; fog; concession stands breaking down; ticket cancellations; and criticism from the international media about poorly organized events.

Kneller's problem: She's one of the 20,000 ticket holders who just learned that VANOC has cancelled the spots where she can watch the competition next week.

"We're still planning to come over and we're hoping, hoping, hoping that somehow we can find a ticket," says Kneller, whose son Scott is competing in men's ski cross on Sunday for the Australian team. VANOC has cancelled all the standing-room seats for all the snowboard half-pipe, ski cross and snowboard parallel giant slalom events until the end of the Games.

And there were fresh concerns overnight, as several people were injured when a concert barrier collapsed at a free concert in Vancouver.

The barricade faltered when a crowd of Olympic partygoers surged forward during a set by Canadian band Alexisonfire. Nineteen people were injured and nine were taken to hospital. The concert and planned fireworks were cancelled, though organizers expected the venue to reopen Wednesday.

Meanwhile, construction workers used heavy machinery overnight to make modifications to the concrete barriers surrounding the plaza that hosts the Olympic cauldron. Visitors and Vancouverites have been sharply critical of the security fence that separate revelers seeking pictures from the Olympic flame, and even some IOC members have complained privately.

Earlier this week, VANOC cancelled 8,000 tickets for Monday and Tuesday snowboard cross events because warm wind and heavy rain melted the snow, leaving exposed the soggy hay bales on which spectators would have stood.

Caley Denton, the vice-president of ticketing for VANOC, says organizers could not find a way to make the area safe for thousands of spectators who paid $50 to $65 a ticket.

The tickets problems are just latest in a series of woes that have generated negative headlines around the world. "Vancouver Games continue downhill slide from disaster to calamity," wrote The Guardian's Lawrence Donegan, who mocked Canadian joy at Alexandre Bilodeau's gold by sniping: "What chance an enterprising Canadian carpenter is working on a commemorative wooden spoon?"

Okay, VANOC can't control the weather, Donegan wrote, but the transportation system goes from "sporadic" to "chaotic," the wiring on Cypress blew a fuse and there is a "growing sense that the 2010 Winter Olympics will be remembered as something substantially less than a triumph."

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail chortled about "heavy-handed security, a loss of civil liberties and traffic chaos."

During Tuesday's news conference, Olympic officials were in the unenviable position of having to defend themselves from British media suggestions that the Vancouver Games could go down in history as among the worst ever.

Take heart Canada – it's just part of the game of hosting the Games, say experts.

"Every country has been pounded like this when they hosted the Games," says Dr. Robert Hindmarch, general manager of Canada's 1964 UBC-based Olympic hockey team and former vice-president of Canadian Olympic Association. He's been to every Winter Olympics since 1960.

"Los Angeles was criticized for being too big. Mexico had too much poverty. It's been going on forever."

Canadians, long admired by the world as a quiet, polite and friendly people, also have been attracting an unusual amount of international outrage for our sudden and outspoken interest in actually winning medals and celebrating success with unabashed vigour.

"I think it is a little uncharacteristic," says Don Alper, director of the Center for Canadian-American Studies at Western Washington University in Bellingham, between Seattle and Vancouver.

"But at the same time, some of the toughest criticism is coming from within Canada. You're sensitive to the way the world is viewing you."

Dr. Harvey Schiller, former secretary-general of the United States Olympic Committee who worked on the 1996 Atlanta Games bid, says negativity is woven into Olympic hosting duties.

The Atlanta Games got rapped for security problems, including the bombing at Olympic Park, as well as for forcing the media to endure the indignity of porta potties.

But calling the Vancouver Games the worst ever?

"That's unfair. I wouldn't give it that label at all. You can't be held responsible for the weather," Schiller says.

And let's not forget the unspoken victory so far in these Games: security. "There hasn't been a single significant issue on that front and that's something that matters a great deal on this side of the border," Alper says.

And, if all of this isn't enough, it seems that American competitors have taken to mocking Canuck snowboarders for their Austin Powers-like apparel, claiming their hip-hugging aerodynamics breaches a gentleman's agreement to keep things nice and loose.

"We want to keep the cool factor in snowboarding, we don't want it to go speed suits," U.S. boarder Nick Baumgartner told one reporter.

File it all under the tempest-in-teapot category, says Guy Napert-Frenette, spokesperson for the Canadian Snowboard Federation.

"We win a gold medal yesterday and you want to talk about pants? There are no rules about that. They're high performance pants that keep us warm at all times and we're pleased to have them."

With files from Lesley Ciarula Taylor


Source:Toronto Star




Vancouver Games glitches get global attention - Vancouver 2010 Olympics - thestar.com

this one's just funny if you feel like linking:

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2...852/story.html

And Quebec is still pissing and moaning, wasting more money by investigtaing if there was enough french in the opening ceremonies. Now how is it they can complain about this, yet if the anglophones complain about the lack of english signs in Quebec we're trying to get rid of their language? I heard french in the opening anytime english was spoken, it was also said in french, what the fuck do they want, big assed french writing everywhere?
That would be some interesting announcing Charlatan, too bad you have to listen to the games that way, we should swing a deal and send Mcgurire over there.

You know, I've wondered this for a while, so I think I finally have to ask of all our Canadian friends out there: Is Quebec really worth it? :lol:

Short answer: yes

Agreed Charlatan Rue Sainte-Catherine is enough to keep them around in itself haha.

OK, Lindsey Vonn is smoking hot and everything, but her interviews are so annoying. She can't go more than a sentence or two without saying "umm" or "you know". If I had done a shot every time she said umm tonight I'd probably be in a coma by now. Julia Mancuso was so much more enjoyable to watch since she actually sounds coherent in her interviews.

2-2 with 13 minutes left in the third against the Swiss, fuckin Canada's going to have to pull their heads out of their asses and play hockey pretty bloody soon.

Is this another Torino?

Almost looks that way Charlatan, pathetic performance on Canada's part, they should be embarassed with the 'talent' they have. Babcock better bust some heads before the next game against the USA, or else it'll be a bad result for us. I swear Mcguire would blow Crosby if given the chance, he's absolutely in love with the kid, he bats a puck out of mid air and he acts like he walked on water.

Edit: Well they won, although I don't know why the fans are cheering a shootout win over the Swiss.

Hiller was solid, but it's true it was an all around bad game by Canada. Lot's of blatantly stupid mistakes that these guys shouldn't be making. And just out of curiousity why weren't Heatley and Iginla in the shootout? I can see Crosby, and I love Toews, but why Getzlaf? Even though he had a decent game I still think I would have thrown one of the two leading goal scorers in the tourny into the shootout.

Didn't get any coverage of the game here, probably because everyone was sure it was going to be a blowout.

Here's hoping you Canucks play like that against the US. :D

A nice bit of athleticism here with the women's 1,000-metre speed skating.

Not only did Christine Nesbitt win gold, but she did so despite lagging 8 metres and 6 skaters at the 600-metre mark. Incredible.

My brother and his family was in attendance.

Watch her finish her run here:

Iginla didn't see much ice in the third at all. I just hope it's not an injury.

Let's hope not, he got laid out pretty hard with that interference hit sometime in the second or third. And now that I've had a chance to read some post-game remarks, it looks like Babcock selected the order for the shootout based on who on the team had the best shootout percentages during the regular season, which is fair enough.

Anyone see Russia lose to Slovakia? Glad to see we're not the only one with problems.

I caught that Russiak/Slovak game as well, Russia didn't look so hot either, they're lucky it isn't the old Red Army days, or they'd be running until their next game.

That was a great run BG, speed skating has always impressed me, they have some of the biggest thighs I've even seen, wonder how speed skating would translate into hockey, I mean get a kid to take speed skating lessons, may help the speed and technique in hockey.

personally, I think it is hard to move past the shadow of the Luge guy who was killed by the course they set.

Yes, its a dangerous sport and everyone who does it know's the risk. But if you can afford a multi million dollar opening ceremony I think people feel like maybe you should be able to afford some crash barriers and padding on concrete struts on the fastest luge course ever built. I dont know enough about the sport to know if that really would have saved the guys life,but I think thats how people will feel.

Other than that,just reall want the American girl who fell over showing off on the last jump of the snowboard race last time out to take a gold this time. (Lindsey something?)...

I think an English Gold is too much to hope for, although I think there is a chance in the womens skeleton bobsleigh.

It was a freak accident, inexperience and just well an accident, really doubt padding would have done that much flying out of there at 144KM/h. He told his father prior that the track scared him, and his father (a former luger himself) told him to use his feet to slow himself down, he didn't want to because he wanted to win or at least make a good showing, to let one tragic event overshadow and entire games is just foolish.