Author Topic: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views  (Read 112224 times)

Offline Sheriff Roland

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Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« on: February 15, 2010, 12:37:54 pm »
Keep up to date with the latest stories of the XXI st Winter Olympics from Vancouver right here!

« Last Edit: February 15, 2010, 06:03:52 pm by Sheriff Roland »
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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #1 on: February 15, 2010, 12:45:35 pm »
Google doodles, so far:


Opening night

Day 2


luge


snowboarding

Day 3


figure skating

Day 4


cross country skiing
« Last Edit: February 15, 2010, 06:02:58 pm by Sheriff Roland »
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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #2 on: February 15, 2010, 01:01:30 pm »
medal standing, early day 4:
                          gold  silver  bronze  total
1  United States       1      2       3         6
2  Germany             1      3       0         4
3  France                2      0       1         3
3  Canada               1      1       1         3
5  South Korea         1      1      0          2
5  Italy                     0     0       2         2
7  Netherlands          1      0      0         1
7  Switzerland          1      0      0         1
7  Slovakia               1      0      0         1
7  Czech Republic      1      0      0         1
7  Australia               0      1      0         1
7  Norway                 0      1      0         1
7  Poland                  0      1       0        1
7  Russia                  0      0       1        1
7  Austria                 0      0       1         1
7  Croatia                 0      0       1         1
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Offline Penthesilea

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #3 on: February 15, 2010, 02:22:31 pm »
Keep up to date with the up to date stories of the XXI st Winter Olympics from Vancouver right here!


Roland, I'm not sure whether my question fits this thread. Feel free to take it (and hopefully your answer) to the other Olympics thread.


What's up with the sculpture in this pic? Is it something famous? Any meaning behind it? Your avatar pic is a snow version of it. Or is it some kind of archetype, with several different versions (like medicine wheels, or menhir formations like in stonehenge and other places)?

Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #4 on: February 15, 2010, 04:16:33 pm »
Great question.

The Inukshuk was chosen as the 2010 Olympic logo way back in 2005  

Vancouver 2010 logo unveiled

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2005/04/23/2010_vancouver050423.html

The 2010 Winter Olympics will feature a unique design of an inukshuk, a traditional stone sculpture used by Canada's Inuit people, as its official logo.


http://www.inukshukgallery.com/inukshuk.html

The mysterious stone figures known as inuksuit can be found throughout the circumpolar world. Inukshuk, the singular of inuksuit, means "in the likeness of a human" in the Inuit language. They are monuments made of unworked stones that are used by the Inuit for communication and survival. The traditional meaning of the inukshuk is "Someone was here" or "You are on the right path."

...
« Last Edit: February 15, 2010, 06:05:19 pm by Sheriff Roland »
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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #5 on: February 15, 2010, 05:58:05 pm »
medal standing, mid day 4:            (updated at 2:00 pm, Pacific Time)
                          gold  silver  bronze  total
1  United States       1      2       4         7
2  Germany             1      3       0         4
3  France                2      0       1         3
3  Canada               1      1       1         3
3  Norway                0      2      1         3
6  Switzerland          2      0      0         2
6  South Korea         1      1      0          2
6  Italy                     0     0       2         2
9  Netherlands          1      0      0         1
9  Slovakia               1       0      0        1
9  Sweden                1      0      0         1
9  Czech Republic      1      0      0         1
9  Australia               0      1      0         1
9  Estonia                 0      1      0         1
9  Poland                  0      1       0        1
9  Russia                  0      0       1        1
9  Austria                  0      0      1         1
9  Croatia                  0      0      1         1
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Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2010, 11:51:08 pm »


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/bureau-blog/romney-threatened-by-air-canada-passenger/article1469196/




Monday, February 15, 2010 9:42 PM
Romney threatened on flight out of Vancouver
 
By Jane Taber

Republican politician Mitt Romney was physically threatened by a violent passenger on an Air Canada flight leaving Vancouver this morning.


Mr. Romney, who has been in Vancouver since Friday for the Olympic Winter Games, did not respond to the attack. Instead, he allowed the airline crew to deal with the incident, according to his spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom.

Mr. Romney, 62, and his wife, Ann, were sitting in Row 15 of the economy section of the Embrarer 190 airplane, waiting for the plane to take off when the incident happened.

The man sitting in front of Mr. Romney’s wife dropped his seat back and when Mr. Romney asked him to move it upright for takeoff, the man became “physically violent.” Another report said that the man tried to strike Mr. Romney.

“Gov. Romney did not retaliate,” said Mr. Fehrnstrom.

Mr. Romney was not injured. The pilot returned to the gate and the passenger and his bags were removed by the RCMP.

Mr. Romney ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. He also served as governor of Massachusetts. There is much speculation that he is preparing for another bid for the Republican nomination in 2012.

He and his wife were in Vancouver for the opening of the Olympic Winter Games. As the former president and CEO of the 2002 Salt Lake Games, the Romneys were guests of honour at these games.

They attended Friday’s opening ceremony and had always been scheduled to leave today.

About his Olympic experience in Vancouver, Mr. Romney wrote on his website: “An Olympic update from Mitt and Ann Romney shows they’re having fun in Vancouver as they take in the action at the speed skating venue. As you can see, it’s a great place to wear some great USA Olympic gear of one’s own.”
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Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #7 on: February 16, 2010, 12:49:38 am »

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/sports/olympics/16lefty.html?hp



It’s Not Political, but More Canadians Are Lefties

Sidney Crosby, left, who will play for Canada in the Olympics, shoots left-handed, while Alex Ovechkin
(Russia) shoots right.


By JEFF Z. KLEIN
Published: February 15, 2010
 
VANCOUVER, British Columbia
— What is the difference between a Canadian and an American? The old question is coming up again here at the Olympics, with answers involving eagerness for war, ketchup, the pronunciation of toque or the ability to identify poutine and the Tragically Hip.

But none may be so simple as how one holds a hockey stick. According to sales figures from stick manufacturers, a majority of Canadian hockey players shoot left-handed, and a majority of American players shoot right-handed. No reason is known for this disparity, which cuts across all age groups and has persisted for decades.

Most Canadians, like most Americans, are naturally right-handed, so the discrepancy has nothing to do with national brain-wiring. And how you hold a pencil, say, has little or no bearing on how you hold a stick. A left-handed shooter puts his right hand on top; a right-hander puts the left hand there.

For years, how a hockey player picked up his stick was of little importance. The blades were straight and a player could swing the sticks from either side. Two Hockey Hall of Famers from the mid-20th century — wing Gordie Howe and goalie Bill Dunham — actually played ambidextrously.

But the advent of curved blades in the ’60s not only spelled the end of the classic backhand shot, it also meant that manufacturers had to label sticks L and R, and inventory personnel had to ship more left-handed sticks (with the blade curving to the right) to Canada and more right-handed ones to the United States.

“I have no idea why this is so,” said Mike Mountain, who is in charge of hockey sticks for Easton, a sporting goods manufacturer based in Van Nuys, Calif. “But it has been true for years, and it doesn’t change; it stays consistent over time.”

Roughly 60 percent of the Easton hockey sticks sold in Canada are for left-handed shots, Mountain said. In the United States, he said, about 60 percent of sticks sold are for right-handed shots. Figures over the years from other manufacturers have put the ratio discrepancy between the two countries as high as 70 to 30.

The difference even trickles over into golf, where the swing is not unlike that of a slap shot. According to the Professional Golfers Association, 7 percent of Canadian golfers play left-handed, which is proportionally more than any other nationality. The reason is probably that Canadians pick up a hockey stick first and are therefore imprinted by the time they take up golf. Especially if they are from Quebec, where hockey players are even more left-handed than players in the rest of Canada.

Oddly, British Columbia — sometimes said to be the most American-like of the Canadian provinces — skews the other way. “The rest of the country goes 2 to 1 in favor of left sticks, but it’s reversed in B.C.,” said Marc Poirier, a customer service representative who handles Canadian orders for Warrior Sticks.

Europeans also tend to be left-handed shooters. The International Ice Hockey Federation does not keep figures by European nationality, the communications director Szymon Szemberg said. But, he said, lefty shooters have predominated. “For long spells, the great Soviet teams of the ’80s never had a player who shot right,” Szemberg said.

The Canadian journalist and author Bruce Dowbiggin noted the Canadian-American handedness split in his 2001 book, “The Stick: A History, a Celebration, an Elegy.” On Dowbiggin’s Web site, a reader named Kent Mayhew suggested the difference may have to do with how old a player is when he first picks up a hockey stick.

“The top hand on a hockey stick has to be able to handle the torques of a stick while the bottom hand just has to handle the weight with no torques,” he wrote. He theorized that American children, who tend to take up hockey when they are older and bigger, can afford to put the stronger hand, generally the right, on the lower part of the shaft for more precision.

A lot of experts would argue, however, that having the dominant hand on top makes for better control and stick-handling.

The United States Olympic women’s hockey coach, Mark Johnson, is in that camp, but he said: “Whether you’re living in a hotbed hockey community or you live in a naïve place where you don’t really know hockey, and you’re a mother or a father taking your daughter to a hockey shop, you’ll ask, ‘Which way do you write?’ If she says right-handed, well, she’s going to be right-handed.

“That’s generally not the way you want to do it. You want your dominant hand on top of your stick. But you look around and there’s a lot of right-handed female players, more so than with men.”

On the women’s 2010 Olympic teams, which feature 21-player rosters, 15 members of Team Canada shoot left-handed compared with 10 on Team U.S.A. On the men’s rosters, the difference is less pronounced, with 15 left-handers on Team Canada and 13 on Team U.S.A. out of 23 players on the roster.

A 2006 study found that 60 percent of all National Hockey League forwards were left-handed, as were 70 percent of all N.H.L. defensemen, but those statistics were not sorted by nationality.

Three players with Team U.S.A. said they had not noticed the discrepancy until it was brought to their attention Monday.

“I noticed a lot of righties when I was growing up, but now I see a lot of lefties,” said Ryan Suter, who plays for the Nashville Predators and shoots left-handed.

There are oddities, too. For example, all the regulars on the New Jersey Devils’ defense corps — three Americans, four Canadians and a Finn — shoot left-handed. For every left-handed-shooting Wayne Gretzky, there is a right-handed-shooting Mario Lemieux. The career top-scoring American, Mike Modano, shoots left. His predecessor as the Americans’ top career scorer, Joe Mullen, shot right.

“It’s probably a cultural quirk,” offered Brian Tran, a hockey-playing sales clerk at Cyclone Taylor Sports, a Vancouver hockey store. “Everybody’s doing it one way, so you follow along.”

He sought out Toby Higo, the only righty working at the store Monday morning, to find out how he had gone so terribly wrong.

“It’s something that comes the first time you pick up a stick when you’re a kid,” Higo said.

Parents regularly arrive at the shop uncertain about what kind of stick to buy their children. Higo said Cyclone Taylor employees apply a simple test: “We give the kid a stick and see what they do.”

Ian Austen contributed reporting.
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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2010, 07:00:07 am »
medal standing, after 16 events; early day 5  
          
                          gold  silver  bronze  total
1  United States       2      2       4         8
2  Germany             1      3       1         5
3  France                2      0       2         4
3  Canada               1      2       1         4
5  Switzerland         3      0       0         3
5  South Korea        2      1       0         3
5  Norway               0      2       1         3
5  Italy                    0      1       2         3
9  China                  1      1       0         2
9  Czech Republic     1      0      1         2
9  Japan                  0      1      1         2
12 Netherlands         1      0      0         1
12 Slovakia              1       0      0        1
12 Sweden               1      0      0         1
12 Australia              0      1      0         1
12 Estonia                0      1      0         1
12 Poland                 0      1      0         1
12 Russia                 0      0      1         1
12 Austria                0      0      1         1
12 Croatia                0      0      1         1
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Offline CellarDweller

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2010, 11:53:36 am »

A 1-2 finish for China

By John Powers

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Every time they’d come to Olympus, the Chinese found themselves the outsiders at their neighbors’ victory party. The Russians had owned pairs skating since the days of Comrade Khrushchev, winning the last 12 gold medals.

But what was by far the longest reign in the sport’s history at the Games came to a definitive halt last night, when Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo and Pang Qing and Tong Jian won gold and silver ahead of the German world champions with the Russians left out in the cold. Finally, it was the Year of the Tiger.

“We have had this dream for many, many, many years,’’ Zhao said after he and his spouse held off Pang and Tong, 216.57 to 213.31, to become the oldest Olympic champions in the event since 35-year-old Oleg and 32-year-old Lyudmila Protopopov of the Soviet Union in 1968. “Every time before when we saw our flag and heard our anthem played we were wishing it was the Olympic Games.’’

China had won four world titles and three Olympic medals, including the silver and bronze in Turin, but never the gold. Since the Chinese don’t have competitive skaters in the men’s, women’s, or dance events, last night was their only chance here.

http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/olympics/articles/2010/02/16/a_1_2_finish_for_china/






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Offline southendmd

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2010, 03:59:54 pm »
Hey, Chuck.  I actually saw the Protopopovs perform at Harvard several years ago.  They were so graceful.  Boy, have the times changed!  At the same performance, I met Dr. Tenley Albright, the 1956 Olympic champion, and now a surgeon.  She was very gracious. 


Offline southendmd

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #11 on: February 16, 2010, 04:03:00 pm »
Since I cancelled my cable about a year ago, I haven't missed TV much at all.  Except right now, though!  I miss the figure skating part of the Olympics. 

Unfortunately, the NBC website really sucks.  No live streaming, everything's a day late. I find it very difficult to maneuver, and when I find something, each little video is preceded by a 30 second commercial.  Ugh. 

I think I'll visit friends with TVs for the next week or so. 

Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #12 on: February 16, 2010, 04:17:30 pm »
I don't have cable either - gave it up over 3 years ago.

Live feed from CTV is very pro-canadian, but the I've been watching it without interference since the way-overloaded opening ceremonies. http://www.ctvolympics.ca/video/CTV/index.html

They also have comment-less videos of, among other things, the opening ceremony. I was able to (finally) watch it in it's entirety through the 3 hours + video available at the same link.

edit: I didn't find a video for the pairs finals (it may simply not be up yet), but they had one up for the pairs short program.
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Offline southendmd

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #13 on: February 16, 2010, 04:20:20 pm »
Merci, Roland.  I'll gladly check out CTV.

Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #14 on: February 16, 2010, 04:24:54 pm »
live feed right now, through the same link (TSN) ... the men's U.S.A. hockey against Switzerland. After 15 minutes of play, the score is still 0 to 0

Edit: Just before the end of the first period, The U.S.A. scored.
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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #15 on: February 16, 2010, 11:59:25 pm »
Men are skating the short program tonight...where is Anka (sp? I forgot her full name)?

Johnny Weir looks really really fey, but that's Johnny Weir.

Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #16 on: February 17, 2010, 05:04:01 am »
medal standing, after 21 events; early day 6  
          
                          gold  silver  bronze  total
1  Germany             3      4       2         9
2  United States       2      2       4         8
3  France                2      1       4         7
4  Canada               2      2       1         5
5  South Korea        3      1       0         4
5  Switzerland         3      0       1         4
7  China                  1      1       1         3
7  Norway               0      2       1         3
7  Austria                0      2       1         3
7  Italy                    0      1       2         3
11 Sweden              2      0       0         2
11 Slovakia              1      1      0          2
11 Czech Republic     1     0      1          2
11 Japan                  0      1      1         2
15 Netherlands         1      0      0         1
15 Estonia                0      1      0         1
15 Australia              0      1      0         1
15 Poland                 0      1      0         1
15 Russia                 0      0      1         1
15 Croatia                0      0      1         1
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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #17 on: February 17, 2010, 08:04:26 pm »
Hey, Chuck.  I actually saw the Protopopovs perform at Harvard several years ago.  They were so graceful.  Boy, have the times changed!  At the same performance, I met Dr. Tenley Albright, the 1956 Olympic champion, and now a surgeon.  She was very gracious. 

You know, it always just boggles me, but I suppose it shouldn't  After having dedicated their lives and pushing themselves through incredible workout routines, grueling schedules and long hours to a sport, why I am surprised that many become doctors?  Getting an MD requires the same sort of monomania and dedication.

Just heard a night or so ago that the famed speed skater Eric Heiden became a doctor.  Silver medalist ice skater Debbie Thomas also became a doctor.

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #18 on: February 17, 2010, 08:56:02 pm »
Men are skating the short program tonight...where is Anka (sp? I forgot her full name)?

Anya Angie was last here in November, but she may be visiting as a guest...you never know. Anya, dear, come out and comment!!
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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #19 on: February 17, 2010, 09:53:46 pm »
Johnny Weir looks really really fey, but that's Johnny Weir.

Yup, Johnny Weir is really, really fey.  8)
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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #20 on: February 17, 2010, 09:58:16 pm »
You know, it always just boggles me, but I suppose it shouldn't  After having dedicated their lives and pushing themselves through incredible workout routines, grueling schedules and long hours to a sport, why I am surprised that many become doctors?  Getting an MD requires the same sort of monomania and dedication.

Just heard a night or so ago that the famed speed skater Eric Heiden became a doctor.  Silver medalist ice skater Debbie Thomas also became a doctor.

That's interesting. Just the other day, as the Games were beginning and the media were focussing on Apolo Ono, I was wondering whatever became of Eric Heiden.

Incidentally, I know of at least one former ballet dancer who did the same thing, went to medical school. Ballet requires the same sort of dedication. And in both cases they'd have a ready insight into orthopaedics or sports medicine.
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Offline CellarDweller

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #21 on: February 17, 2010, 10:49:21 pm »
Yup, Johnny Weir is really, really fey.  8)

If I remember correctly, Johnny Weir wouldn't comment on his sexual orientation.  And then he skates in an outfit that looks like a black corset with hot pink laces.

really?   LOL


Tell him when l come up to him and ask to play the record, l'm gonna say: ''Voulez-vous jouer ce disque?''
'Voulez-vous, will you kiss my dick?'
Will you play my record? One-track mind!

Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - Medal Standing Update
« Reply #22 on: February 18, 2010, 05:44:57 am »
medal standing, after 28 events; early day 7
          
                          gold  silver  bronze  total
1  United States       5      3       6         14
2  Germany             3      4       3         10
3  France                2      1       4         7
4  Canada               2      3       1         6
5  South Korea        3      2       0         5
5  Norway               1      2       2         5
5  Austria                1      2       2         5
8  Switzerland         3      0       1         4
8  China                  2      1       1         4
8  Italy                    0      1       3         4
11 Russia                1      1       1         3
12 Sweden              2      0       0         2
12 Slovakia              1      1       0         2
12 Czech Republic    1      0       1         2
12 Poland                0      2       0         2
12 Japan                  0      1      1         2
17 Netherlands         1      0      0         1
17 Estonia                0      1      0         1
17 Finland                0      1      0         1
17 Australia              0      1      0         1
17 Latvia                  0      1      0         1
17 Slovania              0      0      0         1
17 Croatia                0      0      1         1
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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #23 on: February 19, 2010, 01:46:06 am »
While I'm happy for Evan Lysacek for winning the gold in men's ice skating and he is an American, I have a soft spot in my heart for Evgeni Plushenko.

I really wanted to him win the gold and make history because...because he's just a god.  A rock and roll star.  With charisma and personality to spare.  He's just an supernal skater.  No one skates like he does.  No, he's not as artistic as Weir or as lyrical as Lysacek, but he's so incredibly, naturally a prodigy.  He's one of those people you glad you lived to see skate he's such a unicorn in a herd of horses.


Offline Brokeback_Dev

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #24 on: February 19, 2010, 05:51:15 am »
I am loving the winter Olympics.  The X game sports of the women's snowboarding the half pipe was on last night They were catching some air for sure.  There were some serious wipeouts.  Those are some tough women. The US got both silver and bronze medals.  GO USA!!! 

Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #25 on: February 19, 2010, 07:01:15 am »
medal standing, after 34 events; early day 8
          
                          gold  silver  bronze  total
1  United States       6      5       7         18
2  Germany             4      4       3         11
3  Norway               3      3       2          8
4  Canada               3      3       1          7
4  France                2      1       4          7
6  South Korea        3      2       0          5
6  Austria                1      2       2          5
8  Switzerland         3      0       1          4
8  China                  2      1       1          4
8  Russia                 1      2       1          4
8  Italy                    0      1       3          4
12 Sweden              2      0       1          3
12 Netherlands         1      1      1          3
12 Japan                  0      1      2          3
15 Australia              1      1      0          2
15 Slovakia               1      1      0          2
15 Czech Republic     1      0      1          2
15 Poland                 0      2      0          2
15 Belarus                0      1      1          2
20 Estonia                0      1      0          1
20 Finland                0      1      0          1
20 Latvia                  0      1      0          1
20 Kazakhstan          0      1      0          1
20 Croatia                0      0      1          1
20 Slovenia              0      0      1          1
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Offline Meryl

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #26 on: February 19, 2010, 07:04:52 pm »
I was thrilled to see Evan Lysacek win the gold last night.  He seems like such a genuine person, and he skated beautifully, with real strength and elegance.  Plushenko was great, too, but it was encouraging to see the judges taking a really hard look at all the details that go into a performance and letting the points tell the story in the end.  In prior years, it seemed there was a palpable preference for the Russian skaters that took a toll on fairness.  Last night that was not in evidence.
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Offline southendmd

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #27 on: February 19, 2010, 10:36:59 pm »
I agree, Meryl.  Figure skating should be a combination of athleticism and art.  Lysacek certainly had both.  That Plushenko bitches about the scoring and his quad is just silly.  Sure, he can jump, but he doesn't skate, he struts.  And it's not artistic, and the new scoring combines both.  Lysacek's performance was thrilling and Plushenko's was annoying. 

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #28 on: February 19, 2010, 11:36:53 pm »
If I remember correctly, Johnny Weir wouldn't comment on his sexual orientation.  And then he skates in an outfit that looks like a black corset with hot pink laces.

I seem to remember seeing a pic of you in something in hot pink, Little Darlin'.  8)
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Offline CellarDweller

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #29 on: February 20, 2010, 01:29:38 am »
I seem to remember seeing a pic of you in something in hot pink, Little Darlin'.  8)

a pink button down and a corset with pink laces are two different things, Darlin'.

;)


Tell him when l come up to him and ask to play the record, l'm gonna say: ''Voulez-vous jouer ce disque?''
'Voulez-vous, will you kiss my dick?'
Will you play my record? One-track mind!

Offline David In Indy

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #30 on: February 20, 2010, 02:06:52 am »
I've been watching the Curling events. For some reason that sport fascinates me.

They scoot this rock ( or rather this rounded piece of granite) down an alley of ice hoping to get it into the center of the "bullseye" or as close to it as possible. Knocking your opponents' rock out of place is also considered a good thing. In the meantime, they will sweep the ice with brushes in order to "steer" the granite rock into the desired position.

It is facsinating.

I remember watching this sport during the 2006 Winter Olympics. They don't have Curling events around here. I suppose it doesn't get cold enough and the ice never gets thick. But it is a popular sport in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Also in Canada. According to Wikipedia, it was invented in Scotland many centuries ago.

Lots and lots of fun to watch!

Yesterday I watched the United States play Denmark, and today I watched Canada play Germany! :D
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Offline David In Indy

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #31 on: February 20, 2010, 02:31:42 am »
medal standing, after 34 events; early day 8
         
                          gold  silver  bronze  total
1  United States       6      5       7         18
2  Germany             4      4       3         11
3  Norway               3      3       2          8
4  Canada               3      3       1          7
4  France                2      1       4          7
6  South Korea        3      2       0          5
6  Austria                1      2       2          5
8  Switzerland         3      0       1          4
8  China                  2      1       1          4
8  Russia                 1      2       1          4
8  Italy                    0      1       3          4
12 Sweden              2      0       1          3
12 Netherlands         1      1      1          3
12 Japan                  0      1      2          3
15 Australia              1      1      0          2
15 Slovakia               1      1      0          2
15 Czech Republic     1      0      1          2
15 Poland                 0      2      0          2
15 Belarus                0      1      1          2
20 Estonia                0      1      0          1
20 Finland                0      1      0          1
20 Latvia                  0      1      0          1
20 Kazakhstan          0      1      0          1
20 Croatia                0      0      1          1
20 Slovenia              0      0      1          1


Damn! The Netherlands only has 3 so far?!! What a disgrace!! :P

They need to pick up the pace!




Come on Holland! You can do it!!!


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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #32 on: February 20, 2010, 03:30:12 am »
I've been watching the Curling events. For some reason that sport fascinates me.

They scoot this rock ( or rather this rounded piece of granite) down an alley of ice hoping to get it into the center of the "bullseye" or as close to it as possible. Knocking your opponents' rock out of place is also considered a good thing. In the meantime, they will sweep the ice with brushes in order to "steer" the granite rock into the desired position.

It is facsinating.

I remember watching this sport during the 2006 Winter Olympics. They don't have Curling events around here. I suppose it doesn't get cold enough and the ice never gets thick. But it is a popular sport in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Also in Canada. According to Wikipedia, it was invented in Scotland many centuries ago.

Lots and lots of fun to watch!

Yesterday I watched the United States play Denmark, and today I watched Canada play Germany! :D

Is it actually a sport and not really just a skill?

Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #33 on: February 20, 2010, 07:04:17 am »
medal standing, early day 9              (bold indicates new victories in previous 24 hours)
          
                          gold  silver  bronze  total
1  United States    6      6       8         20
2  Germany            4      5       4         13
3  Norway              5      3       2         10
4  Canada              4      3       1          8
5  France                2      1       4          7
6  South Korea        3      2       0          5
6  Austria                1      2       2          5
6  Russia               1      2       2          5
9  Switzerland         3      0       1          4
9  China                  2      1       1          4
9  Sweden             2      1       1         4
9  Italy                    0      1       3          4
13 Netherlands         1      1      1          3
13 Poland                0     2       1          3
13 Japan                  0      1       2          3
16 Slovakia               1      1      0          2
16 Australia              1      1      0          2
16 Czech Republic     1      0      1          2
16 Latvia                  0      2      0          2
16 Belarus                0      1      1          2
21 Great Britain      1      0      0          1
21 Estonia                0      1      0          1
21 Finland                0      1      0          1
21 Kazakhstan          0      1      0          1
21 Croatia                0      0      1          1
21 Slovenia              0      0      1          1
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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #34 on: February 21, 2010, 07:13:11 am »
medal standing, early day 10              (bold indicates new victories in previous 24 hours)
          
                          gold  silver  bronze  total
1  United States    6      7      10         23
2  Germany            4      6       4         14
3  Norway              5      3       3         11
4  South Korea      4      4       1          9
5  Canada                4      3       1          8
6  Austria              2      2       3          7
6  France                2       1       4          7
8  Sweden             3      1       2          6
9  Switzerland       4      0       1          5
9  China                 3      1       1          5
9  Russia                 1      2       2          5
12 Netherlands      2      1       1         4
12 Poland               0      3       1         4
12 Italy                    0      1       3          4
15 Japan                  0      1       2          3
16 Australia              1      1       0          2
16 Slovakia               1      1       0          2
16 Czech Republic     1      0       1          2
16 Latvia                  0      2       0          2
16 Belarus                0      1       1          2
16 Slovenia             0      1      1          2
22 Great Britain         1      0      0           1
22 Estonia                 0      1      0          1
22 Finland                 0      1      0          1
22 Kazakhstan           0      1      0          1
22 Croatia                 0      0      1          1
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Marge_Innavera

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #35 on: February 21, 2010, 11:02:09 am »
Is it actually a sport and not really just a skill?

In terms of the description, I'd be more than comfortable calling it a sport.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #36 on: February 21, 2010, 11:07:40 am »
Is it actually a sport and not really just a skill?

I'd ask the same question about synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics, but they're also "Olympic sports."  :-\
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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #37 on: February 21, 2010, 11:58:41 am »
I'd ask the same question about synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics, but they're also "Olympic sports."  :-\

But both of those sports require physical exertion, extreme flexibility and physical endurance.  What about curling?

Offline Monika

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #38 on: February 21, 2010, 01:35:04 pm »
I don´t see why curling wouldn´t be considered a sport

"A sport is commonly defined as an organized, competitive, and skillful physical activity requiring commitment and fair play. It is governed by a set of rules or customs. In a sport the key factors are the physical capabilities and skills of the competitor when determining the outcome (winning or losing). The physical activity involves the movement of people, animals and/or a variety of objects such as balls and machines. In contrast, games such as card games and board games, though these could be called mind sports, require only mental skills. Non-competitive activities such as jogging and rock-climbing, are usually classified as recreations."



I think curling indeed demands "skillful physical activity" and it´s easy to see why chess for example, isn´t considered a sport.

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #39 on: February 21, 2010, 02:08:10 pm »
It strikes me as being a little like hockey, but without the busted teeth.   ;)

Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #40 on: February 21, 2010, 02:28:16 pm »
And I always thought it (curling) was a Canadian sport.  ;D

Or at least we OWN the sport .... much like hockey












Well we have in the recent past ...

Last night, the two (supposedly) top (men's) curling teams in the world, Canada & Great Britain met in a nail biter. Canada (who has yet to register a loss 6-0) edged out Great Britain (who now can't afford a single more loss in order to make it to the semi-finals). They (the Brits 3-3) will be playing the U.S. this afternoon.

As for the Canadian women, they too have yet to register a single loss (4-0), and are currently routing out the U.S. team (2-3).

Of course all of this is happening in a round robin situation. Anything can happen in the semis & finals. As we saw last night where 2 Canadian men (brothers, actually) in a 5 man 1 000 m speed skating final ended up 4th and 5th.
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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #41 on: February 21, 2010, 04:05:47 pm »
I don´t see why curling wouldn´t be considered a sport

"A sport is commonly defined as an organized, competitive, and skillful physical activity requiring commitment and fair play. It is governed by a set of rules or customs. In a sport the key factors are the physical capabilities and skills of the competitor when determining the outcome (winning or losing). The physical activity involves the movement of people, animals and/or a variety of objects such as balls and machines. In contrast, games such as card games and board games, though these could be called mind sports, require only mental skills. Non-competitive activities such as jogging and rock-climbing, are usually classified as recreations."



I think curling indeed demands "skillful physical activity" and it´s easy to see why chess for example, isn´t considered a sport.

Yeah, but golf and bowling and fishing are considered sports, but don't meet the criteria.  What physical exertion is there in curling?

Offline Monika

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #42 on: February 21, 2010, 04:20:11 pm »
Yeah, but golf and bowling and fishing are considered sports, but don't meet the criteria.  What physical exertion is there in curling?
I think it´s about doing anything physical that is a part of a competition. Golf is a very physical sport in that regard, cause it's all about how you move your body, how you hold the golf club etc. The same thing with bowling - and curling. They are very physical sports in the regard that the outcome of the competition to a large extent, or entirely, depends on what you do physically.
With chess, on the other hand, you have to lift your hand to make a move, but the physical aspect isn't a part of the competition itself. Nor does playing chess require any physical training or physical skills.



Offline David In Indy

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #43 on: February 21, 2010, 06:35:45 pm »
Is it actually a sport and not really just a skill?

I would consider it a sport just as much as I would consider golf and bowling sports. :)

Clearly there is a lot of strategy involved as well as teamwork and good communication skills.
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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #44 on: February 22, 2010, 06:28:48 am »
medal standing, early day 11              (bold indicates new victories in previous 24 hours)
         
                          gold  silver  bronze  total
United States    7      7      10         24
Germany            6      7       5         18
Norway              5      3       4         12
4  South Korea          4      4       1          9
Canada               4      4       1          9
Austria               2      3       3          8
Russia                 2      3       3          8
France                 2      2       4          8
Switzerland         5      0       2          7
10 Sweden                3      1       2          6
11 China                    3      1       1          5
11 Netherlands        3      1       1         5
13 Poland                  0       3       1         4
13 Italy                      0      1       3          4
15 Slovakia              1      1       1          3
15 Czech Republic   1      0       2          3
15 Japan                   0      1       2          3
18 Australia               1      1       0          2
18 Latvia                   0      2       0          2
18 Slovenia                0      1      1          2
18 Croatia                0      1      1          2
18 Belarus                 0      1       1          2
23 Great Britain          1      0      0           1
23 Estonia                  0      1      0          1
23 Finland                  0      1      0          1
23 Kazakhstan            0      1      0          1
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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #45 on: February 22, 2010, 09:51:45 am »
But both of those sports require physical exertion, extreme flexibility and physical endurance.  What about curling?

So that qualifies synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics as good exercise, but as an Olympic Sport?

What the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes do also requires physical exertion, extreme flexibility, and physical endurance, but nobody considers it a sport.
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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #46 on: February 22, 2010, 09:54:01 am »
Last night, the two (supposedly) top (men's) curling teams in the world, Canada & Great Britain met in a nail biter.

OK, I'm sure this going to sound disrespectful to someone, but I have to confess that I find the combination of curling and nail biter amusing. ...
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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #47 on: February 22, 2010, 11:32:17 am »
OK, I'm sure this going to sound disrespectful to someone, but I have to confess that I find the combination of curling and nail biter amusing. ...

You had to be there.

I'm not a big curling fan either, but ... the whole game was changing with each rock! Man, can those boys shoot!
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Offline Kelda

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #48 on: February 22, 2010, 11:45:51 am »
 
OK, I'm sure this going to sound disrespectful to someone, but I have to confess that I find the combination of curling and nail biter amusing. ...

:laugh:

I found out yesterday that my student days flatmate's fiance is one of the GB curling team.

He's the very scottish sounding one called Ewan MacDonald: http://winterolympics.external.bbc.co.uk/athletes/athlete=32689708/index.html

She has lots of pics on her facebook page of her cheering the team on around Vancouver with the rest of the curling WAGS! So I'll need to try and tune in to see if i can spot her.

Curling can be quite physical though - the brushing in itself can make you quite sweaty. It's more physical than shooting for example.



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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #49 on: February 22, 2010, 08:28:09 pm »
I dunno.  How one moves in bowling and golfing can be seen more as a technique.  The physical exertion IMO has to still be there (BTW I disagree with calling either golfing or bowling or fishing a sport.)

e.g.  discus throwing.  There is a technique to how he moves, but then he has to power the disc using all of his body.  Synch swimming and rhythmic gymnastics all have techniques AND require bodily strength and endurance.

I'm still don't see how curling qualifies.  They use their arms to sweep...what's the rest of their body doing?

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #50 on: February 22, 2010, 10:45:07 pm »
(BTW I disagree with calling either golfing or bowling or fishing a sport.)

If that's the case, no one is ever going to convince you that curling is a sport.
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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #51 on: February 22, 2010, 11:27:27 pm »
If that's the case, no one is ever going to convince you that curling is a sport.

Yep, probably.  And I picked this POV up from a friend of mine who always sniffs at the very idea

"They got the nerve to call [golf/fishing/bowling] a sport."

Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #52 on: February 23, 2010, 07:09:55 am »
medal standing, early day 12              (bold indicates new victories in previous 24 hours)
         
                            gold  silver  bronze  total
United States    7      8      10        25
Germany            7      9       5         21
Norway              6      3       5         14
Russia                2      3       6         11
Canada               5      4      1         10
6  South Korea          4      4       1          9
Austria               3      3       3          9
8  France                  2      2       4          8
9  Switzerland           5      0       2          7
10 Sweden              3      2       2         7
11 China                   3      1       1          5
11 Netherlands          3      1       1          5
13 Poland                 0       3       1         4
13 Italy                     0      1       3          4
15 Slovakia                1      1       1         3
15 Czech Republic      1      0       2         3
15 Japan                   0      1       2         3
18 Australia               1      1       0         2
18 Latvia                   0      2       0         2
18 Slovenia                0      1      1         2
18 Croatia                  0      1      1         2
18 Belarus                 0      1       1         2
23 Great Britain          1      0      0          1
23 Estonia                  0      1      0         1
23 Finland                  0      1      0         1
23 Kazakhstan            0      1      0         1
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Offline David In Indy

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #53 on: February 23, 2010, 02:28:08 pm »
Great Britain only has ONE medal? What's up with that? :o :o

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Offline Meryl

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #54 on: February 23, 2010, 07:10:22 pm »
Sheesh!  ::)


Olympian Evgeni Plushenko awards himself 'Platinum' medal?

By Andrea Reiher

February 22, 2010 1:43 PM

There's an interesting opening screen at men's figure skater Evgeni Plushenko's official website.

Apparently, Evgeni Plushenko has awarded himself a Platinum medal.

If you'll recall, Evgeni took the silver medal in men's figure skating on Thursday, Feb. 18. He finished behind Evan Lysacek of the United States and there was a bit of a controversy about who should've won the gold medal.

Plushenko does a quadruple jump. Lysacek does not. However, Lysacek skated a flawless program full of triple jumps, while Plushenko had bobbles here and there throughout his program. Plushenko also front-loads his program, which means he does his most difficult elements at the beginning. Lysacek does some of his more difficult jumps at the end of his program. Under the new scoring system, a skater is awarded more points for doing more difficult elements near the end.

Regardless of who "should have" won, it's still pretty hilarious that either Plushenko or someone in charge of his website decided to forego the Olympic judges and award Plushenko a Platinum medal.

http://blog.zap2it.com/thedishrag/2010/02/olympian-evgeni-plushenko-awards-himself-platinum-medal.html
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Offline southendmd

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #55 on: February 23, 2010, 07:29:08 pm »
I think a medal made of lead would be more appropriate.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #56 on: February 23, 2010, 07:50:40 pm »
I think a medal made of lead would be more appropriate.

Indeed. What a sorehead.
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Offline CellarDweller

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #57 on: February 23, 2010, 08:16:37 pm »
Someone should take that "platinum" medal, turn it into a rod, and ram it up his ass.


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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #58 on: February 24, 2010, 05:41:08 am »
medal standing, early day 13              (bold indicates new victories in previous 24 hours)
         
                            gold  silver  bronze  total
United States    7      9      10        26
Germany            7      9       7         23
Norway              6      5       6         17
Russia                3      4       6         13
Canada               6      4      1         11
South Korea       5      4       1        10
Austria               4      3       3        10
France                2      3       5        10
Switzerland        6      0       2          8
10 Sweden               3      2       2          7
11 Netherlands       3      1       2         6
12 China                   3      1       1         5
13 Poland                 0       3       1         4
13 Italy                     0       1       3         4
15 Slovakia               1       1       1         3
15 Czech Republic     1       0       2         3
15 Japan                  0       1       2         3
18 Australia              1       1       0         2
18 Latvia                  0       2       0         2
18 Slovenia               0      1       1         2
18 Croatia                 0      1       1         2
18 Belarus                 0      1       1         2
23 Great Britain         1       0      0          1
23 Estonia                 0       1      0          1
23 Finland                  0      1      0          1
23 Kazakhstan            0      1      0          1
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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #59 on: February 25, 2010, 05:54:09 am »
medal standing, early day 14              (bold indicates new victories in previous 24 hours)
          
                            gold  silver  bronze  total
1  United States     7      9     12        28
2  Germany             7    10       7        24
3  Norway               6      6       6        18
4  Canada               7      6       2        15
5  Russia                  3      4       6         13
6  South Korea          5      4       1         10
6  Austria                  4      3       3         10
6  France                  2      3       5         10
9  Switzerland           6      0       2          8
9  China                   4      2       2         8
Sweden               4      2       2         8
12 Netherlands          3       1       2         6
13 Czech Republic   2       0      3         5
14 Poland                  0       3       1         4
14 Italy                     0       1       3         4
16 Australia            2       1       0         3
16 Slovakia               1       1       1          3
16 Japan                   0       1       2         3
19 Latvia                   0       2       0         2
19 Slovenia               0       1       1         2
19 Croatia                 0       1       1         2
19 Belarus                 0       1       1         2
23 Great Britain          1       0      0          1
23 Estonia                 0       1       0          1
23 Finland                 0       1       0          1
23 Kazakhstan           0       1       0          1
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Offline Kelda

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #60 on: February 25, 2010, 06:06:28 am »
*sigh* medal hopes at the mens curling dashed last night.. sweden into the semifinals after beating the UK.
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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #61 on: February 25, 2010, 06:29:14 am »
And Canada's in the medal round for both women and men's curling and hockey ... the team sports.

Canada's Games.
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Offline Monika

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #62 on: February 25, 2010, 07:39:30 am »
Sheesh!  ::)


Olympian Evgeni Plushenko awards himself 'Platinum' medal?

By Andrea Reiher

February 22, 2010 1:43 PM

There's an interesting opening screen at men's figure skater Evgeni Plushenko's official website.

Apparently, Evgeni Plushenko has awarded himself a Platinum medal.

If you'll recall, Evgeni took the silver medal in men's figure skating on Thursday, Feb. 18. He finished behind Evan Lysacek of the United States and there was a bit of a controversy about who should've won the gold medal.

Plushenko does a quadruple jump. Lysacek does not. However, Lysacek skated a flawless program full of triple jumps, while Plushenko had bobbles here and there throughout his program. Plushenko also front-loads his program, which means he does his most difficult elements at the beginning. Lysacek does some of his more difficult jumps at the end of his program. Under the new scoring system, a skater is awarded more points for doing more difficult elements near the end.

Regardless of who "should have" won, it's still pretty hilarious that either Plushenko or someone in charge of his website decided to forego the Olympic judges and award Plushenko a Platinum medal.

http://blog.zap2it.com/thedishrag/2010/02/olympian-evgeni-plushenko-awards-himself-platinum-medal.html

I thought it was pretty funny. But then I´ve always had a soft spot for Plushenko ever since he put that infamous muscle shirt on

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&hl=sv_SE&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="
&hl=sv_SE&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]


Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #63 on: February 25, 2010, 09:38:49 am »
So I heard on this morning's news that Team Canada beat the Russians at hockey.

Good show!  :D
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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #64 on: February 25, 2010, 11:06:10 am »
Just warming up before meeting up with the red white and blue in the finals.  ;D

Seems the (lowly) Slovaks have 'dethrowned' the reigning Swedes for us last night. Pity.

Now we get to meet up with the Slovaks & you guys (U.S.A.) get the Finns in your semi-finals tomorrow.

In the meantime, this evening, the U.S.A. women get a gold medal workout with from our (Canadian) women.


(BTW, it had been 50 years since the Canadian men had won a game against the Russians/Soviets at the Olympics. But if you'll pardon my boasting, we didn't beat 'em, we trounced 'em.)
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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #65 on: February 25, 2010, 11:23:47 am »
Losing to the U.S.A. was a good thing for the Canadian men's team.

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/newsid=51145.html#canada+thumps+russia+advance+semifinals

For Canada, the pattern of building and improving as a team throughout the tournament is standard practice in the Olympics' NHL era - the only concern usually is if they run out of time. As it turns out, playing an extra game in the qualification round against Germany one night earlier may have done them a world of good. That was the first time they started to get comfortable as a team, following a week of changes and experiments with line combinations, some of which worked, and others that didn't.

This bit I had read before the first match up with the Americans, though this article was published after the fact. That's why I wasn't worried much by the bit of 'bad luck' in the round-robin game.
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Offline Meryl

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #66 on: February 25, 2010, 01:16:24 pm »
I thought it was pretty funny. But then I´ve always had a soft spot for Plushenko ever since he put that infamous muscle shirt on

[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="
&hl=sv_SE&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="
&hl=sv_SE&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

What a riot!  :laugh:
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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #67 on: February 25, 2010, 09:40:16 pm »
Pretty decent team results today ...

Both the Canadian men's & women's curling team won their semi-finals and are guaranteed at least a silver (or a gold).

Oh, and the Canadian Women's hockey team defeated the Americans 2-0 to garner the gold medal, for the 3rd consecutive Olympics.

Cool.

Now let's see that the men can do in the freestyle alpine aerials this evening ... and Joannie Rochette is currently standing 3rd going into the long program tonight.
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Offline David In Indy

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #68 on: February 25, 2010, 10:15:48 pm »
Just warming up before meeting up with the red white and blue in the finals.  ;D

Seems the (lowly) Slovaks have 'dethrowned' the reigning Swedes for us last night. Pity.

Now we get to meet up with the Slovaks & you guys (U.S.A.) get the Finns in your semi-finals tomorrow.

In the meantime, this evening, the U.S.A. women get a gold medal workout with from our (Canadian) women.


(BTW, it had been 50 years since the Canadian men had won a game against the Russians/Soviets at the Olympics. But if you'll pardon my boasting, we didn't beat 'em, we trounced 'em.)

We don't mind Roland. I've enjoyed reading your posts. And I have found myself often rooting for the Canadians during these Olympics. I wish you all much luck in the remaining events. :)

Having said that, I've also been rooting for my ancestral countries of France, The Netherlands and Great Britain. I'm shocked that Britain only has one medal! Well, at least it is a gold one! Still though, they should be doing much better.

And of course I've been cheering for the U.S. ;) ;D

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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #69 on: February 26, 2010, 01:05:56 am »
The little 16 year old American skater Nagasu was robbed.  She was far and away the better skater than the bronze medalist. 

But I guess being Canadian and having her mother die four days earlier earned the bronze medalist the sympathy vote.

Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #70 on: February 26, 2010, 02:51:08 am »
medal standing, early day 14              (bold indicates new victories in previous 24 hours)
          
                            gold  silver  bronze  total
1  United States     8     12     12        32
2  Germany             8     11      7         26
3  Norway               7      6       6         19
4  Canada               8      6       3         17
5  Russia                  3      4        6         13
6  Austria               4      3       5         12
7  South Korea       6      4       1         11
8  France                  2      3       5          10
9  China                   4      2       3          9
10 Switzerland           6      0       2          8
10 Sweden                4      2       2          8
12 Netherlands          3       1       2         6
13 Czech Republic      2      0        3         5
14 Poland                  0      3        1         4
14 Japan                  0      2       2         4
14 Italy                      0      1        3         4
17 Australia               2       1       0         3
17 Slovakia                1       1       1         3
17 Belarus                1       1      1         3
17 Slovenia               0      2       1        3
17 Finland                 0       1       2        3
22 Latvia                    0       2       0        2
22 Croatia                  0       1       1        2
24 Great Britain          1       0       0         1
24 Estonia                  0       1       0         1
24 Kazakhstan            0       1       0         1
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Offline CellarDweller

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #71 on: February 26, 2010, 09:23:39 am »
The little 16 year old American skater Nagasu was robbed.  She was far and away the better skater than the bronze medalist. 

But I guess being Canadian and having her mother die four days earlier earned the bronze medalist the sympathy vote.


This is nothing new in the sport of figure skating.

1995 World Championships, Michelle Kwan was at her 2nd World Championships at 14.  I believe she was the youngest competitor.

She skated cleanly, and landed 7 or 8 triple jumps.  However, the judges were not impressed with her lack of maturity or her lack of speed, and placed her 4th.

Even the commentators sounded surprised at the results.




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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #72 on: February 26, 2010, 09:45:11 am »
But I guess being Canadian and having her mother die four days earlier earned the bronze medalist the sympathy vote.

Well, that answered my question. I'm not following these things, but I thought I heard it said on the morning news that she had won a medal, but I wasn't sure I'd heard correctly, and I hadn't heard which medal.
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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #73 on: February 27, 2010, 02:10:43 am »
medal standing, early day 15              (bold indicates new victories in previous 24 hours)
         
                            gold  silver  bronze  total
United States     8     13     13        34
Germany             9     11      7         27
Canada              10      7       4         21            Leading in the gold medal category for the 1st time - ever
Norway               8      6       6         19
Austria               4      5       6         15
Russia                 3     5        7         15
South Korea       6      6       2         13
China                   5      2       4         11
9  France                  2      3       5          10
10 Sweden              5      2       2          9
11 Switzerland          6      0        2          8
12 Netherlands       4      1        2         7
13 Czech Republic   2      0        4         6
14 Poland                  0      3        1         4
14 Japan                   0       2       2         4
14 Italy                      0      1        3         4
17 Australia               2       1       0         3
17 Slovakia                1       1       1         3
17 Belarus                 1       1       1         3
17 Slovenia                0      2        1        3
17 Finland                  0       1       2        3
22 Latvia                    0       2       0        2
22 Croatia                  0       1       1        2
24 Great Britain          1       0       0         1
24 Estonia                  0       1       0         1
24 Kazakhstan            0       1       0         1
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Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #74 on: February 27, 2010, 05:58:59 am »
Awesome!!
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Offline Berit

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #75 on: February 27, 2010, 11:30:32 am »
Proud as I don't know what.......Swedish ladies curling team won!! Hurray!! ;D ;D ;D
« Last Edit: February 27, 2010, 02:32:31 pm by Berit »
Ennis.....always Ennis.....

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #76 on: February 27, 2010, 11:47:36 am »
Canada's #1 with gold medals -- way ta go!    :D

Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #77 on: February 27, 2010, 06:41:44 pm »
And now, there are two more gold medals: one in parallel grand slam (snowboard) and another in speed skating (team pursuit).

making it 12 gold medals

And men's curling and hockey have yet to be factored in!!!

There's a good possibility for us to reach 14 gold medals - and I believe that that would be a record for any country at a single Winter Olympic!
« Last Edit: February 27, 2010, 10:07:17 pm by Sheriff Roland »
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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #78 on: February 27, 2010, 07:06:12 pm »
Not quite yet, but

http://blog.taragana.com/sports/2010/02/27/riding-a-late-surge-canada-breaks-record-for-most-gold-medals-by-any-winter-olympic-host-80049/

Riding a late surge, Canada breaks record for most gold medals by any Winter Olympic host

Triumphs by the men’s pursuit speedskating team and by slalom snowboarder Jasey-Jay Anderson gave Canada 12 golds — breaking the host-nation mark of 10 shared by the United States in Salt Lake City in 2002 and Norway in Lillehammer in 1994.

It also marks the most gold medals Canada has won at any Olympics — winter or summer. Its previous high was 10 at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles, which were boycotted by the Soviet Union and its allies.

There may be more golds to come. Both the men’s curling team and the men’s hockey team have reached the gold-medal matches in their events. Should Canada win both, it would have 14 golds — breaking the Winter Olympics mark of 13 achieved by the Soviets in 1976 and by Norway in 2002.
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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #79 on: February 27, 2010, 10:06:14 pm »
And then there was the record maker, a gold medal in Men's Curling

13 gold medals

Now onto the main event ... the Men's Hockey tomorrow, for the record breaking 14th gold medal (hopefully).
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Offline CellarDweller

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #80 on: February 27, 2010, 11:57:08 pm »
I'm relieved to see Canada do so well.

At the beginning of the games, it wasn't going so well, and there was talk that the slogan they were using "Own The Podium" could turn out to be an embarrassment.

Thankfully, the country's fortunes turned around, and they've won a great amount of gold.

;D


Tell him when l come up to him and ask to play the record, l'm gonna say: ''Voulez-vous jouer ce disque?''
'Voulez-vous, will you kiss my dick?'
Will you play my record? One-track mind!

Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #81 on: February 28, 2010, 05:07:38 am »
medal standing, early final day              (bold indicates new victories in previous 24 hours)
          
                            gold  silver  bronze  total
1  United States     9     14     13        36           Owning the podium for only the second time
2  Germany            10    12       7        29
3  Canada              13      7       5        25            Leading in the gold medal category for the 1st time - ever
4  Norway               8       8       6        22
5  Austria               4       6       6        16
6  Russia                  3       5        7        15
7  South Korea          6       6       2         14
8  China                    5       2       4         11
8  France                 2       3       6        11
10 Sweden               5      2       3        10
11 Switzerland         6      0       3          9
12 Netherlands         4      1       3         8
13 Czech Republic       2      0        4         6
13 Poland                 1      3        2         6
15 Italy                    1       1       3         5
15 Japan                  0       3       2         5
15 Finland                 0       1       4        5
18 Australia                2       1       0         3
18 Slovakia                 1       1       1         3
18 Belarus                  1       1       1         3
18 Slovenia                 0      2        1        3
18 Croatia                 0      2       1        3
23 Latvia                     0       2       0        2
24 Great Britain           1       0       0         1
24 Estonia                   0       1       0        1
24 Kazakhstan             0       1       0        1
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Offline Berit

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #82 on: February 28, 2010, 05:28:36 am »
I'm happy for all you Canadians but I'm also proud of Sweden taking 5 gold medals.....we are only 9 million people here.......
Ennis.....always Ennis.....

Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #83 on: February 28, 2010, 05:51:30 am »
When comparing population numbers, Canada is 3,5 larger than Sweden and only achieving 2,4 more gold medals, it's true.

But when comparing with nations with larger medal hauls, the United States' population is nearly 10 times larger than Canada's achieving only 0,4 more medals. As for Germany, they are a little over twice the size of Canada achiving about 0,2 more medals.

But in the gold medal count, Canada finally did own the podium.

We knew there would be more medals coming our way in the last days, seeing as we were quite competitive in both team sports (curling and hockey, women and men), and since both sport require many days of competition, they are always among the last medals awarded.

U.S.A. 310 million
Germany 82 million
Canada 33 million
Norway 5 million
Austria 8 million
Russia 142 million
South Korea 50 million
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Offline Mikaela

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #84 on: February 28, 2010, 04:15:51 pm »
Hmmm... I note that Norway wasn't included in the medals vs. population size comparison.  ;)

Anybody wanting to do the math, should note that Norway won another gold half an hour ago.  :)

That said, congratulations Canada for an amazing medal count and very well executed Games.  :)  It's been fun, and since most of the events have taken place in the evening Norwegian time, most of the country have been glued to the TV screen.  A fair share of us have actually been glued to the screen late into the night, watching curling - a sport that has about 1,000 actives in the whole country and which noone knows the first thing about, except when we're doing well in the Olympics.  ;D

Offline Sophia

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #85 on: February 28, 2010, 05:17:20 pm »
Hmmm... I note that Norway wasn't included in the medals vs. population size comparison.  ;)

Anybody wanting to do the math, should note that Norway won another gold half an hour ago.  :)

That said, congratulations Canada for an amazing medal count and very well executed Games.  :)  It's been fun, and since most of the events have taken place in the evening Norwegian time, most of the country have been glued to the TV screen.  A fair share of us have actually been glued to the screen late into the night, watching curling - a sport that has about 1,000 actives in the whole country and which noone knows the first thing about, except when we're doing well in the Olympics.  ;D

sorry, maths not my favorite thing, but I can tell you that with this last medal Norway have recieved 10 gold medals. Its the same amount of gold medals that USA have recieved. So the hat of for you guys!!!  :-* 

Offline oilgun

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #86 on: February 28, 2010, 06:15:02 pm »
I'm relieved to see Canada do so well.

At the beginning of the games, it wasn't going so well, and there was talk that the slogan they were using "Own The Podium" could turn out to be an embarrassment.

Thankfully, the country's fortunes turned around, and they've won a great amount of gold.

;D

I think the slogan is an embarrassment, period.  I've been turned off by this whole medal obsession which seems worse during these games than any others I've watched. When Silver and Bronze medalists feel they have to apologize for not getting the Gold, something isn't right. 

Anyway, is it over yet, lol!

Offline Mikaela

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #87 on: February 28, 2010, 06:21:25 pm »
sorry, maths not my favorite thing, but I can tell you that with this last medal Norway have recieved 10 gold medals. Its the same amount of gold medals that USA have recieved. So the hat of for you guys!!!  :-* 

Thank you on behalf of those who actually struggled through the slopes and ski courses and ski jumps and shooting ranges (as opposed to me, sitting on my butt in front of the TV  :P )

I suppose what both Swedes and Norwegians should wonder about, is whatever happened to Finland. They used to be right up there with us in the skiing events, and now they have been left in the dust. That must be such a downer for the nation that invented Sisu.  :-\ Hopefully they'll rally in the next Olympics - when I bet Russia will be on top of the medal statistics.

Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #88 on: February 28, 2010, 07:58:07 pm »


I suppose what both Swedes and Norwegians should wonder about, is whatever happened to Finland. They used to be right up there with us in the skiing events, and now they have been left in the dust. That must be such a downer for the nation that invented Sisu.  :-\ Hopefully they'll rally in the next Olympics - when I bet Russia will be on top of the medal statistics.



http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-02-26/who-really-won-the-olympics/#



Who Really Won the Olympics?
by The Daily Beast



Sure the U.S. leads the medal count. But if you take away our size and money, we're somewhere below Norway. The Daily Beast ranks the countries on pure talent to show who should really be bragging.

The United States has been sweeping up at these Olympic Games, with 30-plus medals and counting as of Thursday, leading all nations. The financial investment, at $53 million according to the U.S. Olympic Committee press office, is nearly as staggering. That’s a price tag of about $1.8 million per medal.

Was that a good deal? The Daily Beast decided to try to figure that out, focusing not only on total medals, but medals relative to how each country should have performed.

“There’s a mixture of two significant factors that contribute to countries like Canada and many of the northern European countries doing well in the Olympics,” says Kin Lo, associate professor at the Sauder School of Business of the University of British Columbia. “That's the first thing to note: that a matter of geography as well as economics contribute to the disparity in results.”

We measured each country's medal performance against four factors:

· Population: Five times the people means five times the potential for freakishly talented athletes.

· GDP Per Capita: Rich countries allow those athletes to indulge in sports over, say, farming. As with population, measured by the CIA World Factbook.

· Financial Resources: How much money does each country’s Olympic team receive to reach its potential? A tough number to nail down—especially because different teams within each country have different monetary sources—this was compiled with guidance from Lisa Delpy Neirotti, associate professor of tourism and sports management at George Washington University, as well as national press officials.

· Winter Resources: Measures opportunity for winter sports, including distance from the Equator, skiable mountains, seasonal snow, and general infrastructure; it was compiled with help from David Keeling, geography professor at Western Kentucky University, who has visited nearly every country competing in the Olympics.

We balanced these categories evenly, except population, which received a double weighting. We measured gold, silver, and bronze differently, of course. And while we only measured countries that won at least one medal, even the 50-plus non-winners had some interesting results. Giant Brazil has invested nearly $1 million with no alloy to show off, while its former overlord, tiny Portugal, has invested almost nothing with the same result.

America might be leading the Vancouver Games in the medal count, but in terms of achieving what we’d expect, it only gets bronze. Who’s atop this podium of efficiency? Click here.

Clark Merrefield and Tali Yahalom researched and reported this ranking.











#1, Germany
Image: Thomas Kienzle / AP Photo

Total medals: 26  (now 29)
Population: 82,329,758
GDP/Capita: $34,200
Financial Resources: Excellent
Winter Resources: Excellent

Notable Olympians: Maria Riesch, Alpine Skiing (Gold); Magdalena Neuner, Biathlon (Gold; Silver)

Roughly one-fourth the population of the U.S.—and almost as many
medals. Germany spends a lot on its athletes, but it gets a big return
on that investment.





#2, Norway
Image: Jin-man Lee / AP Photo

Total medals: 19 (now 22)
Population: 4,660,539
GDP/Capita: $59,300
Financial Resources: Very good
Winter Resources: Excellent

Notable Olympians: Petter Northug, Jr., Cross-Country (Gold; Silver; Bronze); Oeystein Pettersen, Cross-Country (Gold)

Nineteen medals for a country with only slightly more people than the
city of Los Angeles. Norway's performance—for all its wealthy and
winter-friendly advantages—is staggering—it's fashion prowess, not so much.





#3, United States
Image: Jim Young / AP Photo

Total medals: 31 (now 36)
Population: 307,212,123
GDP/Capita: $46,400
Financial Resources: Excellent
Winter Resources: Good

Notable Olympians: Bode Miller, Alpine Skiing (Gold; Silver; Bronze); Lindsey Vonn, Alpine Skiing (Gold; Bronze); Shaun White, Snowboarding (Gold)

Lindsey Vonn, the American team's skiing superstar, will face her next
heated match with yet another injury (if she's able to at all). But
perseverance and surprising victories, not to mention exorbitant
numbers of corporate sponsorships, have been the United States'
ticket to gold for about as long as the modern Winter Games have been around.





#4, Canada
Image: Newscom

Total medals: 16 (now 25)
Population: 33,487,208
GDP/Capita: $38,400
Financial Resources: Excellent
Winter Resources: Excellent

Notable Olympians: Christine Nesbitt, Speedskating (Gold); Alexandre Bilodeau, Freestyle Skiing (Gold)

Remember when the Canadians were sweating their first gold medal
last week? Big performance relative to population. Whether this
proves a successful Winter Olympics, however, rests solely on whether
their men's hockey team finishes Sunday with the gold around their necks.





#8, Russia
Image: Mark Baker / AP Photo

Total medals: 13 (now 15)
Population: 140,041,247
GDP/Capita: $15,200
Financial Resources: Excellent
Winter Resources: Excellent

Notable Olympians: Evgeny Ustyugov, Biathlon (Gold); Evgeni Plushenko, Figure Skating (Silver)

Once a powerhouse of Olympic medals, Russia's performance in the
Vancouver Games has proven a disappointment. "The USSR was a
sports superpower, and there was a responsibility that athletes felt
toward the people and their country," hockey fan Sergei Kalashnikov
told The Christian Science Monitor. "Things are different now. It's a shame."





#9, Sweden
Image: Andrew Medichini / AP Photo

Total medals: 8 (now 10)
Population: 9,059,651
GDP/Capita: $36,800
Financial Resources: Very good
Winter Resources: Excellent

Notable Olympians: Marcus Hellner, Cross-Country (Gold)

During the Swedish winters, cross-country isn't sport. It's transportation.
Sweden has been sweeping the men's cross-country skiing competition
this Olympics, and even the top competitors from other countries acknowledge
they're playing for second.





#10, Netherlands
Image: Elise Amendola / AP Photo

Total medals: 6 (now 8 )
Population: 16,715,999
GDP/Capita: $39,000
Financial Resources: Very good
Winter Resources: Average

Notable Olympians: Sven Kramer, Speedskating (Gold); Mark Tuitert, Speedskating (Gold); Ireen Wust, Speedskating (Gold)

Perhaps another one of the biggest upsets this season rests with
Dutch speedskater Sven Kramer, who missed out on what would have
been his second gold medal after illegally changing lanes at the behest
of his coach. "Usually, I don't want to blame anyone else, but this time
I can't do anything else," Kramer told the Associated Press. Now it's a
national disgrace: Without Kramer's disqualification, the Netherlands
would have ranked higher on our list.





#14, Australia
Image: Marcio Sanchez / AP Photo

Total medals: 3 (still 3)
Population: 21,262,641
GDP/Capita: $38,500
Financial Resources: Very good
Winter Resources: Fair

Notable Olympians: Torah Bright, Snowboarding (Gold), Lydia Lassila, Ski Aerials (Gold)

Yes, they have great skiing, but most of the population lives in temperate
climes, and one-fifth of the continent-country is covered with desert.
Still, they're resilient: Four years after re-injuring her reconstructed knee
before competition at the Torino Olympics, Australian women's freestyle
aerial skier Lydia Lassila claimed gold with a twisting, flipping jump that wowed judges.




(....)




#24, Finland
Image: Charlie Riedel / AP Photo

Total medals: 3 (now 5)
Population: 5,250,275
GDP/Capita: $34,900
Financial Resources: Very good
Winter Resources: Excellent

Notable Olympians: Peetu Piiroinen, Snowboard (Silver)

While Norway dominates and Sweden holds its own, their Scandinavian
neighbor turned in a horrific performance. Though Finland's most popular
sports include ice hockey and skiing, the country's top medal recipient came
from a pre-defeated snowboarder, Peetu Piiroinen. “I had no chance of beating
[Shaun] White. He is just too good,” Piiroinen later acknowledged in a Finnish publication.
"Tu doives entendre je t'aime."
(and you know who I am...)


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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #89 on: February 28, 2010, 09:21:52 pm »
I wonder who designed the medals?  ???

I was looking at them in the banner image. They look like Hannukah Geld that's been left in the sun too long and started to go all soft and gooey.  :P

Or some sort of melty image by Salvador Dali.  :-\

I'm sure the winners of them are proud as all get-out of their achievements--as they should be--but as far as I'm concerned, the medals themselves are ugly.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #90 on: February 28, 2010, 10:09:23 pm »
I beleive they reflect native art.

Sorry you don't approve.
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Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #91 on: February 28, 2010, 10:10:52 pm »



Hmmm. I sorta like'em!


http://www.miss604.com/2009/10/vancouver-2010-medals-unveiled.html



Vancouver 2010 Medals Unveiled
By Miss604 | October 15th, 2009 @ 11:43 am

This morning the gold, bronze, and silver medals for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games
were unveiled at the athlete’s village. The imagery is distinctly British Columbian with First Nations engravings
along the front and back.


The symbols are based upon master works by Corrine Hunt, a Vancouver, BC-based artist of Komoyue
and Tlingit heritage. The Olympic medals feature the orca while the raven graces the front of the
Paralympic medals. The shape of the round Olympic and square Paralympic medals is wavey, meaning
they wouldn’t sit flat.



Here are a few medals from past Winter Olympics to make a comparison.




At a time when the 2010 Games are being criticized for being too politically correct, I’m curious to see
the public’s reaction to the medals that will hang around the necks of the world’s best this winter.

Do you like the Vancouver 2010 Medals?

Yes (76%, 521 Votes)
No (22%, 148 Votes)
Undecided/Leave a Comment (2%, 18 Votes)
Total Voters: 688


[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkQsXls7m0o&feature[/youtube]


Update February 20, 2010 The medals are on display at the Royal Canadian Mint Pavilion.





Much more info here:

http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-news/n/news/feature-stories/meet-the-medals_170520LO.html

and

http://corrinehunt.ca/


BIO

Nugwam Gelatleg’lees – killer whale scratching her back on the beach. This is the name given to Corrine by her paternal grandmother, Abusa, in 1965.

Born in Alert Bay British Columbia in 1959, Corrine has been creating contemporary art that reflects the themes and traditions of her First Nations Komoyue and Tlingit heritage since 1985. Corrine’s works include engraved gold and silver jewelry and accessories, custom furnishings in carved stainless steel and reclaimed wood, modern totem poles and other sculptural installations. A member of the Raven Gwa’wina clan from Ts’akis, a Komoyue village on Vancouver Island, Corrine’s rich family history includes internationally renowned First Nations artists Henry, Richard and Tony Hunt, all of whom have influenced her art. Uncle Norman Brotchie was also an early teacher and mentor. Corrine too has mentored First Nations and other artists and continues to be a strong and vocal supporter of the arts in British Columbia.

From the beginning of her career engraving rings, bracelets, pendants and broaches, Corrine has searched for unique ways to bring the stories of her First Nations culture to contemporary life. “I want to show how both the First Nations people and the art have evolved,” she explains. In that process, she is continually inventing and reinventing stories from her culture, honouring her roots and cultivating a refreshing artistic expression at the same time. The results are extraordinary pieces that are both ageless and contemporary. The engravings are not overly ornate; like poetry, they convey their message using as few lines as possible. Similarly, the custom furnishings combine materials that speak to old and new, and bring the concept of living culture into contemporary homes. Corrine began designing furniture and other installed art pieces in part because in First Nations households , adorned furnishings are part of daily life. Objects in the home are not only beautiful, they are also practical and infused with cultural significance.
"Tu doives entendre je t'aime."
(and you know who I am...)


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and Pee-wee in the 1990 episode
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Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #92 on: February 28, 2010, 10:24:29 pm »


http://www.globaltvbc.com/money/story.html?id=2106729
Thursday, October 15, 2009



Photo Credit: Andy Clark, Reuters
Native artist Corrine Hunt (R) and co-designer Omar Abel hold the gold medals for the 2010
Olympic and Para-Olympic Games following their unveiling in Vancouver October 15, 2009. Omar holds
the gold medal for the Winter Olympic Games while Hunt holds the Para-Olympic Games gold medal.

"Tu doives entendre je t'aime."
(and you know who I am...)


Cowboy Curtis (Laurence Fishburne)
and Pee-wee in the 1990 episode
"Camping Out"

Offline Meryl

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #93 on: March 01, 2010, 12:12:25 am »
Hmmm... I note that Norway wasn't included in the medals vs. population size comparison.  ;)

Anybody wanting to do the math, should note that Norway won another gold half an hour ago.  :)

That said, congratulations Canada for an amazing medal count and very well executed Games.  :)  It's been fun, and since most of the events have taken place in the evening Norwegian time, most of the country have been glued to the TV screen.  A fair share of us have actually been glued to the screen late into the night, watching curling - a sport that has about 1,000 actives in the whole country and which noone knows the first thing about, except when we're doing well in the Olympics.  ;D

I was wondering if you were watching the Games.  I've been cheering for Norway all week!  They did a really great job, didn't they?  And yours was the last anthem played at the closing ceremonies because Petter Northug nipped over the line a few hundredths of a second before the German skier to win gold. 8)

Ich bin ein Brokie...

Offline David In Indy

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #94 on: March 01, 2010, 12:34:43 am »
I beleive they reflect native art.

Sorry you don't approve.

I like the medals. I think they are pretty. And now that I've found out they are inspired by Native art, I like them all the more! :D :D

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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #95 on: March 01, 2010, 07:26:39 am »
medal standing, final count              (bold indicates new victories in previous 24 hours)
         
                            gold  silver  bronze  total
United States     9     15     13        37           
Germany            10    13       7        30
Canada              14      7       5        26
Norway               9       8       6        23
5  Austria                  4       6       6        16
6  Russia                  3       5        7        15
7  South Korea          6       6       2         14
8  China                    5       2       4         11
Sweden               5       2       4        11
8  France                  2       3       6         11
11 Switzerland          6       0       3          9
12 Netherlands          4       1       3          8
13 Czech Republic      2       0       4         6
13 Poland                  1       3       2         6
15 Italy                      1       1       3         5
15 Japan                    0       3       2         5
15 Finland                  0       1       4         5
18 Australia                2       1       0         3
18 Slovakia                 1       1       1         3
18 Belarus                  1       1       1         3
18 Slovenia                 0       2       1         3
18 Croatia                   0       2       1         3
23 Latvia                     0       2       0         2
24 Great Britain           1       0       0          1
24 Estonia                   0       1       0         1
24 Kazakhstan             0       1       0         1
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Offline oilgun

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #96 on: March 01, 2010, 07:41:26 am »
Speaking of embarrassing, what did people think of the closing ceremonies?  :o  I almost choked on my maple syrup.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #97 on: March 01, 2010, 09:53:17 am »
I beleive they reflect native art.

Sorry you don't approve.

It's not a question of "approve" or "disapprove." I find them aesthetically unappealing, and being inspired by the art of indigenous peoples doesn't affect that. They don't get a "pass" just because they weren't designed by some old white guy.

To me the medals from Calgary and Lake Placid look like what Olympic medals should look like. The medal from Torino looks like a giant Lifesaver.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #98 on: March 01, 2010, 10:45:15 am »



Speaking of embarrassing, what did people think of the closing ceremonies?  :o  I almost choked on my maple syrup.


Then you may enjoy this:


http://www.salon.com/life/winter_olympics_2010/index.html?story=/mwt/feature/2010/03/01/closing_ceremonies

Monday, Mar 1, 2010 08:02 EST
Olympic torch is passed
Sarcasm! Shatner! A parade of giant beavers!
Vancouver closes the Winter Olympics in appropriate style

By Allen Barra



AP

If Leni Riefenstahl had been Canadian, polite, tasteful restrained -- she'd have directed something like the closing ceremonies of the 21st Winter Olympics. Staged in BC Place Stadium in front of 60,000 people, most of them fresh-faced Canadians who looked as if they were chosen to advertise their country's health care system, the ceremonies were opulent and extravagant, yes, but with a charmingly self-effacing quality correctly described by NBC's Bob Costas as "Walt Disney meets Busby Berkeley." And it was in French and English.

Canadians, Costas mused, have always displayed an ability to laugh at themselves -- a quality sorely lacking in some of their neighbors. At least the humor seemed intentional; why else you would ask William Shatner to speak to a worldwide audience on "What It Means to be Canadian."

"You have to dream big," he said solemnly, "in a land that is the final frontier."

Canadians are not big on sarcasm -- as a Canadian actor on "30 Rock" recently explained it, "We have a small Jewish population" -- but there's a limit to even Canadian politeness. It's the first time I've ever heard 60,000 people guffaw.

That changed the mood, observed Costas's co-anchor Al Michaels. So did Catherine O'Hara, who cheerfully warned visitors that, "When you pee your name in the snow, we know who you are."

Then came a parade of what Costas called "the always enjoyable giant inflated beavers." The beavers were followed by a colossal inflatable moose. Back in New York, the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade Committee must have been green.

Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, told everyone, "To the athletes of these games, we say you have made us proud. These were excellent and very friendly games." He was right, and you could see it in the faces of the athletes. Ryan Miller, the star goalie of the U.S. hockey team, had, a little more than two hours earlier, looked distraught when Team USA lost to Canada in overtime. Now, as the athletes paraded around the stadium, he was beaming as he snapped photos on his cell phone.

"This is what the Olympics are about," said Michaels, and the comment wasn't mere sentiment. The whole atmosphere was so friendly and goofy that when the athletes formed a giant June Taylor dancer-like formation it didn't seem to matter that no one could quite understand what letters they were trying to make. Neither, apparently, could Costas, who paused and said, "As we bid fond farewell to Vancouver ..."

Accompanied by his own acoustic guitar, Neil Young made the evening complete by singing "Long May You Run" as the Olympic flame was extinguished. It would have been a great place to end things, but unfortunately, Michael Buble then did an ersatz Broadway-like musical number I couldn't identify backed by oversized Mounties, hockey players and what looked like models wearing giant maple leafs. It was everything the ceremony had not been up to that point -- Canada imagined by Baz Luhrmann.

Oh, Canada: Just one minute of Leonard Cohen would have made it all right.
"Tu doives entendre je t'aime."
(and you know who I am...)


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Offline Meryl

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #99 on: March 01, 2010, 10:45:53 am »
Speaking of embarrassing, what did people think of the closing ceremonies?  :o  I almost choked on my maple syrup.

LOL at the maple syrup.  ;D

I thought they were a bit lame, especially when they dragged out any and every Canadian celebrity they could find to narrate that marginally funny video.  At that point, I left the arena.  :P

And as to the hockey game, I guess it's good that Canada didn't have to go into full mourning, but I'm glad the USA scared the living sh** out of them before they managed to pull it off.  ;)

ETA:  Giant beavers and Michael Buble?  Save us!  :o
Ich bin ein Brokie...

Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #100 on: March 01, 2010, 11:37:01 am »
And it was in French and English. (according to Allen Barra)

Only an American (or a no-clue Canadian) would suggest that this was in French & English. Had there been as much French as English and as little English as French, would the statement still be valid?

I rest my case.
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Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #101 on: March 01, 2010, 11:53:49 am »


ETA:  Giant beavers and Michael Buble?  Save us!  :o


http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/03/01/sports/olympics/0228-CLOSING_index.html


Vancouver Brings Down Curtain on Winter Games

The "Maple Leaf Forever," performed by Michael Bublé once competed with "O Canada" to replace "God
Save The Queen" as the Canadian national anthem.




Giant cutouts of Mounties, tabletop hockey players and maple leaves made an appearance toward the end
of the ceremony. The hockey players were wearing gold medals.




Vancouver youths helped kick off the closing ceremony on as they performed with snowboards around the
Olympic caldron.



The Canadian born singer and songwriter Neil Young performed "Long May You Run."



The actor Michael J. Fox was part of the "I am Canadian" segment with William Shatner and Catherine O'Hara.




Russian ballet dancers performing.




In a news conference Saturday, the president of Sochi 2014, Dmitry Chernyshenko, unveiled shiny globes
called zorbs and announced that they represent the transparency of the new Russia, the interconnectedness
of sports fans everywhere and the dot in the Sochi.ru logo.




ALSO:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/sports/olympics/01ceremony.html?hp

Olympic Flame Burns Brighter on Last Day of the Games

Vancouver youth danced around the Olympic caldron at B.C. Place Stadium on Sunday night.
By JULIET MACUR
Published: February 28, 2010
"Tu doives entendre je t'aime."
(and you know who I am...)


Cowboy Curtis (Laurence Fishburne)
and Pee-wee in the 1990 episode
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Offline Meryl

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #102 on: March 01, 2010, 12:42:05 pm »
Ack!  Maybe they figured they could never compete with Beijing, so they went in the opposite direction?  :P  :-\
Ich bin ein Brokie...

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #103 on: March 01, 2010, 02:59:47 pm »
Ack!  Maybe they figured they could never compete with Beijing, so they went in the opposite direction?  :P  :-\

Before the opening show I heard some official say something quite similar to that, except that the intent was to go in another direction, rather than the opposite direction.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Mikaela

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #104 on: March 01, 2010, 03:52:31 pm »
I was wondering if you were watching the Games.  I've been cheering for Norway all week!  They did a really great job, didn't they?  And yours was the last anthem played at the closing ceremonies because Petter Northug nipped over the line a few hundredths of a second before the German skier to win gold. 8)


Great to hear you've been cheering for us. I bet that made all the difference!  :-*

Yes, I wouldn't be Norwegian if I wasn't watching. We're totally, utterly nuts about the winter olympics. (Especially the skiing, which has the longest traditions.) Petter Northug is a bit of a conceited and spoiled brat, but he's gonna be hailed like a minor god nevertheless when he returns here. For all his medals, but especially those last 100 meters of the 50-kilometer.

And the Swedish ladies here will have to forgive me when I tell the truth; that the major thing for Norway is always to beat Sweden, so in that respect the games were especially successful this year....  :P

But as for the Nations overview that John posted, I'm a little bit peeved at whoever wrote it. They say;

Quote
Notable Olympians: Petter Northug, Jr., Cross-Country (Gold; Silver; Bronze); Oeystein Pettersen, Cross-Country (Gold)

...and I would draw their attention to the most notable Norwegian Olympian of them all; the positive, spirited, wonderful and enthusiastic skier Marit Bjørgen. This link shows a picture of her with the medals she won in Vancouver: 3 gold (2 of them individuals), one silver, one bronze. She beats all the Norwegian boys and she doesn't get a mention!  (The pic is too big or I would have posted it).

Go Marit!!!


http://www.dagbladet.no/2010/02/28/sport/ol_i_vancouver/ol_2010/10633569/

Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #105 on: March 01, 2010, 05:59:35 pm »
I turned on the closing ceremonies to watch Neil Young perform, and it was exactly perfect, the song, the acoustic guitar and even his black outfit which seemed to pay homage to Johnny Cash. But after that, the mounties, chorus girls, cardboard cutouts, giant inflatable beavers, giant inflatable moose, and giant inflatable William Shatner just left me speechless!! And people who know me know that doesn't happen too often!! I was relieved when Michael J. Fox entered the screen, although he looked a little traumatized too!! It seemed kind of like a bad dream or a Coen Brothers movie...hey, are they Canadian, by chance?? I know James Cameron is, and I wonder why they didn't have some giant inflatable Na'vi as well!!
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Offline Sophia

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #106 on: March 01, 2010, 06:22:26 pm »
And I most comment on the Norway, Swedish thing. We were so happy that we beat Norway on mens relay race and won the goldmedal. And got the chance to beat Peter Nortug, is something we have been looking forward to do in a long time. So I think it has become a Swedish major thing as well, to try to beat Norway.

Because every winther olympics its always someone who says I wish Norway still were a part of Sweden, then we would have so many gold medals!!

Great to hear you've been cheering for us. I bet that made all the difference!  :-*

Yes, I wouldn't be Norwegian if I wasn't watching. We're totally, utterly nuts about the winter olympics. (Especially the skiing, which has the longest traditions.) Petter Northug is a bit of a conceited and spoiled brat, but he's gonna be hailed like a minor god nevertheless when he returns here. For all his medals, but especially those last 100 meters of the 50-kilometer.

And the Swedish ladies here will have to forgive me when I tell the truth; that the major thing for Norway is always to beat Sweden, so in that respect the games were especially successful this year....  :P

But as for the Nations overview that John posted, I'm a little bit peeved at whoever wrote it. They say;

...and I would draw their attention to the most notable Norwegian Olympian of them all; the positive, spirited, wonderful and enthusiastic skier Marit Bjørgen. This link shows a picture of her with the medals she won in Vancouver: 3 gold (2 of them individuals), one silver, one bronze. She beats all the Norwegian boys and she doesn't get a mention!  (The pic is too big or I would have posted it).

Go Marit!!!


http://www.dagbladet.no/2010/02/28/sport/ol_i_vancouver/ol_2010/10633569/


Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #107 on: March 01, 2010, 06:25:18 pm »



But as for the Nations overview that John posted, I'm a little bit peeved at whoever wrote it. They say:

Quote
Notable Olympians: Petter Northug, Jr., Cross-Country (Gold; Silver; Bronze); Oeystein Pettersen, Cross-Country (Gold)

...and I would draw their attention to the most notable Norwegian Olympian of them all; the positive, spirited, wonderful and enthusiastic skier Marit Bjørgen. This link shows a picture of her with the medals she won in Vancouver: 3 gold (2 of them individuals), one silver, one bronze. She beats all the Norwegian boys and she doesn't get a mention!  (The pic is too big or I would have posted it).

Go Marit!!!


Sorry, Mikaela! Somebody (bodies) named "Clark Merrefield and Tali Yahalom researched and reported this ranking" at The Daily Beast. Beat them with blunt sticks! Hah--that should do it! (But maybe we should relent--they DID say: "Nineteen (now 23?) medals for a country with only slightly more people than the city of Los Angeles. Norway's performance—for all its wealthy and winter-friendly advantages—is staggering—" Ok, they did  also mention in passing that they thought the Norwegian athletes were not as chic as they might have been, so beat them, but, as they are slightly stupid, gently.)

I ALSO say that your pic of Marit isn't too big at all, and it is absolutely fabulous, CHIC even (something about the layering  of the MULTIPLES of those ripply, Corrine Hunt-designed, Orca embellished, goldy, bronzy, silvery medals makes the outfit shine, don't you think?), so--

Go Mikaela! Go Marit!!!



DRAR HJEM MED FEM MEDALJER: Marit Bjørgen har all grunn til å være stolt av sin egen medaljefangst i OL, med tre gull (stafett, skiathlon, sprint), sølv på
30 km og bronse på 10 km. Men kanskje kunne gårsdagens sølv vært byttet ut med enda et gull om hun hadde fulgt taktikken langrennsledelsen la opp til.
Foto: Heiko Junge / Scanpix

http://www.dagbladet.no/2010/02/28/sport/ol_i_vancouver/ol_2010/10633569/
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Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #108 on: March 02, 2010, 12:13:54 am »



ETA:  Giant beavers and Michael Buble?  Save us!  :o


Got it! I got one of the giant inflatable beavers (cheerful yet apparently enchained )!   :D




Anybody find the inflatable moose?? Let us know!
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Offline Meryl

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #109 on: March 02, 2010, 12:51:42 am »
That has to be the tackiest Olympic closing ceremony I can ever remember seeing.  It would be like the USA having giant Uncle Sams and Statues of Liberty herded on by Minutemen eating apple pie or something.  What were they smoking thinking?  :P
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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #110 on: March 02, 2010, 01:51:15 am »


And the Swedish ladies here will have to forgive me when I tell the truth; that the major thing for Norway is always to beat Sweden, so in that respect the games were especially successful this year....  :P

Lol, well it´s the same thing here in Sweden. As long as we beat Norway, we´re happy :laugh:


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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #111 on: March 02, 2010, 10:45:26 am »
Here's a Canadian reprospective look at the games. I'm just quoting the last few paragraphs. Use the link for a complete read.

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/2010+heartwarming+Olympic+odyssey/2630814/story.html

2010: A heartwarming Olympic odyssey

Tens of thousands of people poured into downtown streets Sunday, as they had each night of the Olympics, to celebrate and cheer not only Canada's hockey win but merely being Canadian and part of these Games. And as usual, it wasn't just a young crowd spilling from bars.

There were seniors, babies in strollers, kids holding glow-sticks and middle-aged men and women waving flags tied to hockey sticks. And at the intersection of Smithe and Howe, at 9:30 p.m., there was a full-on street hockey game, complete with nets.

Five hundred people stood and watched and cheered every goal,
no matter which team scored.
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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #112 on: March 02, 2010, 12:43:57 pm »
I'm sure the winners of them are proud as all get-out of their achievements--as they should be--but as far as I'm concerned, the medals themselves are ugly.

I really like the look of the medals......very different.


Tell him when l come up to him and ask to play the record, l'm gonna say: ''Voulez-vous jouer ce disque?''
'Voulez-vous, will you kiss my dick?'
Will you play my record? One-track mind!

Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #113 on: March 03, 2010, 07:53:55 pm »


Hmmmm. The analysis and the journalism seems--might be--a bit partisan, no?


http://www.slate.com/id/2246514/

America's Joy, Austria's Sorrow
Why the economic model predicting Olympic medal counts drastically underestimated the U.S. haul.
By Daniel Gross
Posted Tuesday, March 2, 2010, at 3:40 PM ET




At the outset of the Olympics, I checked in with Colorado College economist Daniel Johnson, the Canadian-born curling enthusiast who has developed a model that generates pretty accurate predictions about countries' medal performance. The model, you'll recall, is simple. The economist studies only five variables: population, income per capita, climate, political structure, and host-nation advantage. Johnson's predictions for 2010, which include only those nations expected to win 10 medals or more, can be seen here (PDF). Now that the Olympics have ended, Johnson and I conducted a postmortem to see which sporting nations outperformed and which disappointed. Here's the full 2010 medal count table.

Conclusion: The United States was the Shaun White of medals, exceeding even very high expectations. Canada did about as expected, and Russia pulled the equivalent of skiing off the slalom course after the first gate. Germany was also a medaling champion. The model projected Germany's medal haul would fall from 29 in 2006 to 20 in 2010. And yet Germany came in second with 30 medals—50 percent more than projected.

Canada, which typically does well in the Winter Olympics, was expected to ride the host-nation status to a world-leading 27-medal haul, though only five were expected to be gold. Johnson notes that the home-snow advantage generally adds about three medals to the total a host nation would be expected to win. In fact, though Canada won 26 medals, 14 of them were gold. "They covered their home advantage," said Johnson. "They did exactly as expected."

The model projected that the United States would tie for second with 26 medals. But Americans took home a whopping 37. "Not only did they win the most of any nation ever, but they outperformed the model by the biggest margin ever," Johnson said. (At this point in the interview I interrupted Johnson's discourse with aggressive chants of "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!") Was it possible that the United States had something of a home-snow advantage? After all, Vancouver is just over the border, American athletes traveling to Vancouver didn't have to make much of an adjustment to time or cultural differences, and there were large numbers of American supporters at several events. "Many of the U.S. athletes in Vancouver were closer to their homes than Canadian athletes who live in the eastern part of Canada," Johnson notes.

Other surprises: Austria, expected to win 25 medals, won just 16, in large measure because its ski team schussed like sheiss.  The Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, and Norway) were expected to increase their medal haul substantially from 2006, with Finland expected to win 14. But instead, while Norway won 23 of its projected 26 medals, Sweden and Finland both disappointed. Finland won just five medals, and no golds. And Russia, which was projected to win 23 medals, the same as in 2006, performed disastrously, winning just 15, including a measly three golds.

As always, individual performances and hair-thin margins played a role. Take out the great performances of Apolo Anton Ohno, Lindsey Vonn, and Julia Mancuso, and the U.S. performance wouldn't be as impressive. I've got a couple of other theories for some of the variation from the model. Russia's athletic performance is in relative decline because the whole country is in relative decline. In the post-Soviet era, Russia's health, life expectancy, and population have declined. In the past two decades, many of its most ambitious citizens, including world-class athletes and their families, have emigrated. "Emigration probably has some impact," said Johnson. "For any nation where quality of life is diminishing, people with world-class opportunities leave." In Beijing, for example, gymnast Nastia Liukin, a Moscow native, won medals for the United States, not Russia. Italy, another country in economic and demographic decline, similar fell on its face in Vancouver. The model, which perhaps gave too much weight to Italy's impressive 2006 Turin performance, projected the Italians would win 19 medals. They took home only five.

As it was for the Austrian skiers, the Vancouver Olympics were a little chastening for Prof. Johnson and his model. Over the past few Olympics, the model has a 94 percent correlation with the actual medal count per country and about an 88 percent correlation with the actual gold medal haul per country. But this year, not so much. "The predictions were less accurate this year than in any previous Olympics for which we've run numbers," Johnson said. "That suggests to me that something changed and these games were unusual."

The big difference was that the giant traditional powerhouses Germany and the United States won so many more medals than expected—at the expense of smaller Scandinavian and central European nations. And this may simply be a case of the rich getting richer. "There is a general sense that Germany and the United States provided athletes with a lot of financial support," Johnson said. Observers of the U.S. economy will identify in these Olympics a familiar phenomenon: an increasing concentration of asset-based wealth (in this case: gold, silver, and bronze) among those with the most money. And they're willing to spend cash to protect their elite status.

See you in Sochi.
« Last Edit: March 03, 2010, 11:39:20 pm by jmmgallagher »
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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #114 on: March 03, 2010, 08:28:39 pm »
I just can't relate to this at all. Medals are won by athletes, not countries.
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Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #115 on: March 04, 2010, 09:37:05 pm »

I just can't relate to this at all. Medals are won by athletes, not countries.


Unfortunately, some people have a very unsportsmanlike attitude!

(And--see the photo: which fellow looks nervous  and which one does not!)


http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/35687205/ns/sports-olympic_sports/

Russian Olympic boss quits after worst showing
Tyagachev steps down after nation won only 15 medals in Vancouver



A picture taken on November 4, 2004 shows then
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and
Leonid Tyagachev, left


By David Nowak

updated 9:30 a.m. ET, Thurs., March. 4, 2010

MOSCOW - The head of the Russian Olympic Committee says he resigned in the wake of Russia's worst performance at the Winter Games.

Leonid Tyagachev said in televised remarks Thursday that his decision followed the "unexpectedly" poor results of the team at Vancouver.

Russian news agencies reported his resignation Wednesday, but the Olympic Committee denied it.

Russia placed 11th with three golds and sixth in the overall medal count with just 15 medals. That total was two fewer than its previous low in Salt Lake City in 2002.

The results proved particularly embarrassing as the country takes the torch for the next Winter Olympics in its Black Sea resort of Sochi in 2014.
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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #116 on: March 04, 2010, 10:13:59 pm »
One of the biggest blows to Russia's medal count was the figure skating results.

Russian pairs have dominated this sport, and these past games, their pairs didn't even medal.

No Russian women were even considered a threat these games.

Evgeni Plushenko was favored for gold, and got silver.

Russian's have almost always won Ice dancing, except for when Torvill & Dean (UK) and Anissina & Peizerat (France) won.  This Olympics, the best they could do was bronze.


Tell him when l come up to him and ask to play the record, l'm gonna say: ''Voulez-vous jouer ce disque?''
'Voulez-vous, will you kiss my dick?'
Will you play my record? One-track mind!

Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #117 on: March 12, 2010, 01:00:00 pm »
For those who don't know, hockey is big in Canada. They say that 80% of the country (man, woman and child) watched the gold medal game between Canada & the U.S. (the States had beaten the home team in the round robin match up).

BTW, Canada ended up with the gold medal, even though the U.S. tied up the match with only 24 seconds remain to play. The game was won in overtime when Sydney Crosby scored.

Anyways, back to the fact that Canadians are crazy for hockey.

The city of Edmonton (Alberta) has released a graph indicating water usage (ie, toilet flushing) during the game, compared to the previous day's water usage.


BTW, if you're going to watch just one paralympics event, make sure it's a sledge hockey match.
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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #118 on: March 12, 2010, 02:17:01 pm »
That graph is very funny and telling, friend!! I wonder what it would look like if Labatt's issued a graph of beer consumption that could be overlaid on it!

I finally got to see k.d. laing's performance of Hallelujah, my friend Chuck had taped it. Wow, can that woman sing!!
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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #119 on: March 15, 2010, 01:41:28 pm »
CTV hasn't allow the live feed of k. d. lang's performance of 'Hallelujah' be released onto youtube, but someone's managed to post an audio of the performance ... for the time being anyways.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPJkiB2o0sw[/youtube]

Today, (13-03-04) I found this slightly trunkated, but live version of the original performance from the Vancouver games. Still worth it.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKrkEOlyJo8[/youtube]
« Last Edit: March 05, 2013, 10:39:34 pm by Sheriff Roland »
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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #120 on: March 18, 2010, 05:00:09 pm »
U.K. will copy (Canada's) Own the Podium, after country's media savaged it

http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/story.html?id=2698525    bold = mine

Britain is officially eating crow just a month after its sportswriters' unrestrained trashing of the Vancouver Games and Canada's controversial Own the Podium program for Olympic athletes.

The head of UK Sport - the funding body for elite British athletes and a key player in preparing for the 2012 Summer Games in London - says his country will emulate Own the Podium in a bid to match Canada's record-setting, host-nation performance at Vancouver.

"At first a lot of people were critical of Canada's Own the Podium program, saying that it wasn't very sporting, and it had some bad press," UK Sport chief executive John Steele told a media briefing last week as Britain unveiled its medal projections for the 2012 Games.

"But as soon as it started to do well, then everyone thought it was a great idea and were a lot less critical," he noted. "We will probably use a different strap line but the idea for 2012 will be very similar, and it is something we definitely want to use as a tool for success."

Steele added: "Medals are the aim of our funding, as we have a responsibility to the British public."

The comments, UK Sport spokesman Russell Langley told Canwest News Service on Thursday, mainly indicate the agency is "just continuing what we started last year with Team 2012" - and that, like Own the Podium, "a private investment stream is key in funding our athletes to supplement the public funding we already get."

But Steele's praise for Canada's medal-winning strategy for Vancouver 2010 - which ultimately yielded a best-ever total of 26 medals for this country, including a Winter Olympics record 14 golds - is sure to redden some faces in the British press corps.

Caustic columns by several U.K. journalists - including one early in the Winter Games that claimed Own the Podium had offended all visiting athletes from around the world - became one of the main storylines in the days following the opening ceremony at the Vancouver Olympics.

Canada's "highly unpleasant Own the Podium program, in which they seek to exploit home advantage to the last nanosecond," wrote Times of London correspondent Simon Barnes, "has alienated the world they are supposed to play host to."

He added: "Home athletes always have an advantage: getting ugly about it is neither necessary nor appropriate."

Daily Mail columnist Martin Samuel provoked outrage when he used the tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili to skewer Canada's blueprint for victory and the Vancouver Olympics in general.

"Canada wanted to Own The Podium," Samuel wrote under a headline lambasting "Canada's lust for glory" at the Games. "This morning they can put their Maple Leaf stamp on something more instantly tangible: the nondescript little box carrying the lifeless body of Nodar Kumaritashvili back to his home in Bakuriani, Georgia."

The Guardian's Laurence Donegan also slagged Own the Podium and opined that Canadians, "in pursuit of their own Olympic dream, appear to have forgotten that national characteristic for which they are best known: politeness."


British sports officials, however, declined to join the Fleet Street bandwagon.

Sebastian Coe, the legendary middle-distance runner and head of the London Olympics organizing committee, applauded Canada's "very, very successful" hosting of the Games and expressed gratitude to Vancouver organizers for offering advice and an example ahead of London 2012.

"Our Games will be better for the help we have had here," he said last month.

Own the Podium had come under fire even before the Vancouver Games, largely as a result of complaints from American athletes that they were getting less access than their Canadian rivals to Olympic venues for training.

Britain's curling team had also objected to restrictions on positions for cameras - used for video analysis during the competition - at the sport's Olympic venue.

But in his comments last week, reported by the British media service Sportsbeat, Steele stated bluntly that "it is crucial to get as many athletes on the podium as possible. Having a home Olympics is an amazing opportunity for all sports and we must make sure we make the most of it during the Games and in the years that follow."
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