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Oooooh, tonight's going to be a deciding factor! Canada vs. America, men's hockey. If they lose, they've still got a shot at the gold but I'm still pretty nervous... I hate being a hockey fan, by the time I'm thirty my stomach is going to be one big ulcer.
man i wish we got coverage down here
ill have to watch it online or something
Watching hockey. Rooting for Canada because JuniperWoolf told me to. You happy now? :p
Miller owned us. Period.
bah! we actually did get some of the coverage down here
unfortunately
pretty poor effort. seemed like the yanks were skating circles around us, we were falling over and making stupid moves the entire game
I've really enjoyed the alpine sking. Terrific, both the mens and the womens.
Mmhmm, out shot the Americans by a large margin. Miller was on his game and Brodeur made one huge mistake in the first period when he decided to bat that puck out of the air.Quote:
Originally Posted by *Classic*Charm*
On a happier note, Virtue and Moir took first place in the ice dance, they have a 4 point gap over the Americans going into the free skate tomorrow.
I thought that Virtue and Moir were impressive in the ice dancing, but I found the couple who did the "aboriginal" dance inauthentic and a bit offensive. Funny thing -- there is one more element tonight to determine the medal standings, but a headline in the sports pages of our local
paper said "Canadian Couple Takes Gold." A little premature, don't cha think?
I tell you something, though, as soon as the Olympics finish, there has to be something really, really special on before I watch network prime time again. I'll go to my grave before I spend one minute watching "Parenthood"or the two inane game shows. The commercials were quite oppressive in frequency as well as their length-- one minute of Olympic action followed by 5 minutes of ads?
By the bye, Julia Mancuso has an online business, but she had to take her website down temporarily because of an Olympic rule forbidding participants from using their name, likeness, photos for commercial purposes. If that's the case, how can NBC run ads featuring a U.S. female figure
skater (some cell phone provider), a female snowboarder (AT&T and Chap Stick), and other Olympic participants in commercial ads? Orwellian aspects in the Olympics: Every athlete is equal, but some athletes are more equal than others.
Post script to the last reply above:
I guess I'm not alone in my intense disdain for NBC's oppressive commercials during the Olympics. Norm Chad's funny column yesterday (it may have been in the Washington Post, perhaps) and an article on AOL's welcome screen says pretty much the same thing. NBC's slavish devotion to the bottom line is going to end up biting them you-know-where.
And I guess the sports article I mentioned re: the ice dancing was a good prognosticator-- The Canadian team of Virtue and Moir did in fact win the Gold Medal. And man, did they ever deserve it! Their free-style dance was elegant, delicate, and emotionally moving without being cloying. Both ice dancers were physically appealling with
a boy-next-door, girl-next-door accessibility.
I think Tanith Belbin the American girl who ,with her partner Ben Agosto, won 4th place is absolutely gorgeous, like Julia Roberts, for instance. Hollywood should sign her up.
The American team who won Silver Davis and White were absolutely charming. I loved the Indian folk dance they did the other night, and apparently the folks in India do as well, as they've been downloading the video by the thousands. I loved their costumes last night, but the music? Ugh. What was it Phantom of the Opera by Andrew
Dice Webber? Andrew Lloyd Clay? Something like that.
The Bronze winners--that Russian team -- might be strong and as far as we know they could be as personable as the North Americans, the Israelis, the French, and the Italian teams, who as far as we know, are all "good skates." But just like their "aboriginal" dance, I thought Douminina and
Shabalin of Russia relied too much on gimmicks. What was up with those ropey things last night?
I really enjoyed the ice dancing events but I really miss seeing a team as electrifying as Torville and Dean. (Most of you are probably too young to remember them.)
On the topic of figure skating, Joannie Rochette will be skating her short program tonight only three days following the sudden death of her mother. She's not expected to medal, but I hope she has the skate of her life tonight.
What do you all think of Plushenko's bizarre claim (as Yahoo refers to it as)?
I didn't hear what his claim was, was it about Lysacek winning without the quad?Quote:
Originally Posted by BienvenuJDC
Plushenko's a sore loser, Lysacek deserved that gold. Doing a quad is really difficult, and it should justly be highly rewarded, but doing a quad doesn't mean you can ignore your transitions, footwork, speed, and skate a slow plodding routine like Plushenko's to win gold.
I'm with you. I've basically only watched the alpine sking events, and it's ridiculous. They have two skiers come down, which must take around five minutes of time, and then they go to a series of commercials lasting about five minutes. The commercial time must equal the show time. I'm sure it has to do with the cost of these games, but it certainly doesn't make for a pleasant watching experience.Quote:
Originally Posted by AuntShecky
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/van...urn=oly,221408Quote:
Originally Posted by OrphanPip
This is the story that I saw on Yahoo...
Oh geez, Plushenko is probably the biggest douche ever to compete in an Olympic sport.
I had thought his attitude and comments were extremely arrogant at the end of the short performance, but after losing the gold, his attitude was a complete embarrassment (even though it seemed that Russia stands with him).
Russia still stands by their 2002 pairs gold, even after it was revealed the French skating organization cut a deal with them to score up each others skaters.Quote:
Originally Posted by BienvenuJDC
They have a controlled media that is going to spin it in their favor no matter what.
Not probably. Definitely.Quote:
Originally Posted by OrphanPip
I'm really glad Joannie had a great skate. Coming in third is fantastic for her.
Yu-Na Kim from S. Korea will probably win the gold just like everyone expects, she's leagues ahead of her competition.
Oh, wow. Talk about embarrassing. Then again, this is a man who performed a strip-skate to "Sex Bomb", so I don't know how much class anyone can really expect.Quote:
Originally Posted by BienvenuJDC
I've been impressed with MOST of the skaters this year...
I can't decide if I want Switzerland or America to win... if Switzerland wins, we'll have a better chance against them if we get past Russia and also they'll keep the yanks away from the podium. If America wins and we get past Russia, we get to have an epic battle with the Americans which is always fun. Either way is good, I guess... as long as we get through Russia (oh god please let us beat Russia).
I'm more concerned about whether Canada can get pass Russia later today. I'm surprised the Americans are having so much trouble against the Swiss, it's 1-0 now though. I thought they were going to have an easy ride to the semies.Quote:
Originally Posted by JuniperWoolf
Women gold medal match against the Americans tomorrow though :p
Edit: Womens curling playing switzerland in the semi-finals tomorrow, and the men playing the UK or Sweden.
The women's figure skating short program last night had me enthralled. I know it was sentimental, but you couldn't help getting a lump in your throat after the Canadian's performance. Loved the energetic performance of Rachel Flatts and kudos to her for choosing for her music "Sing, Sing, Sing" (including the Jess Stacey piano solo!) I do think Ms. Kim will win -- sheer beauty and agility.
By the bye, please don't be offended,folks, but could we please refrain from using "to medal" as a verb? Why not say "earn (or gain or win) a medal?"
Great day for Canada.
Men's team beats Russia in hockey quarter finals.
We got a silver in women's speed skating 3000m relay.
Our flag bearer this year, 37 year old Clara Hughes, ends her career on a high note, taking home a bronze in 5000m long track speed skating. That makes it her 4th winter medal, which goes along with her 2 summer medals, to make her one of the most decorated Olympic athletes to compete in both seasons.
Best of all, Canada's women's bobsleigh two person teams take gold and silver.
Whhoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for coming out, Russia.
Haha, I thought the funniest aspect of all this hyped up game was that neither Crosby or Ovechkin got any goals.Quote:
Originally Posted by *Classic*Charm*
Luongo played great and Nabokov played terrible in the first period. The game was pretty much decided after that awful performance in the first.
Super excited Luongo got the call. He definitely deserved it (not that I'm hating on Bordeur). That was pretty uncharacteristic of Nabokov though.
It was inevitable after Brodeur's botched game against the Americans. That was out of character for Brodeur, who is such an experienced goalie.Quote:
Originally Posted by *Classic*Charm*
Goalies have off days, but it really hurts and stands out when it happens at the Olympics.
I wouldn't have thought that one game was enough to bench him against Russia. Brodeur's not really the type to have his confidence broken, nor do I think you'll see the same mistakes again.Quote:
Originally Posted by OrphanPip
I think Luongo deserved the chance in his own right.
Switzerland has some pretty attractive curlers... but did anyone else think that the redhead looked a lot like Shaun White?
Anywho... we're moving on to the gold medal game, which is cool. Bring it on, Sweden!
The women's hockey gold medal game against the U.S. is on today. If they win, I have to take another shot of Canadian whisky. Ugh, after yesterday's medal celebrations I don't know if I'll survive.
It's a third straight Olympic gold for Canada's women's hockey team.Quote:
Originally Posted by JuniperWoolf
*Sigh*
Good game, Canada...
Haha, it's funny how patriotic the games can make you feel, especially when they're in your country. A Tim Hortons commercial almost made me shed a tear earlier today. That can't be healthy.Quote:
Originally Posted by OrphanPip
Hahahaha, somehow I can imagine, you Juniper, doing that :pQuote:
Originally Posted by JuniperWoolf
Isn't that just a great commercial though? It's so Canadian!Quote:
Originally Posted by JuniperWoolf
Even better than the gold medal in hockey, Joannie Rochette takes home a well deserved bronze in the women's singles figure skating.
Under normal circumstances ending a career with an Olympic medal would be fantastic. For a skater like Rochette, who was considered by most to be pass her prime, to go out there and earn that medal is amazing. Add to that the recent death of her mother and she's probably one of the most inspiring stories of the games.
Yu-Na Kim wins with an outrageous 150+ in her free skate, to put that in perspective there was a 20 point gap between her and the silver medalist. She truly is in a league all of her own.
See what happens when I go to help a friend...I miss the performances that I wanted to see...I guess there's always youtubeQuote:
Originally Posted by OrphanPip
I agree that Yu-Na really is in a league of her own. Her triple jumps are textbook-perfect, and she has the artistry to match her technical skills. Brian Orser must have been proud to see his protege win Olympic gold, something that had eluded him twice.Quote:
Originally Posted by OrphanPip
Mao Asada deserves props, too, for landing two triple Axels. Too bad she popped her later jumps.