Winter Olympics Day 12-The Flame

Winter Olympics Day 8-Saxony House

Winter Olympics Day 7-Curling

Winter Olympics Day 6-Short Track Speed Skating

Winter Olympics Day 4-German Fan Fest

Winter Olympics Day 3-Maison du Québec

Winter Olympics Day 2-Luge

Olympics Report-Day 6

Random thoughts and observations from Day 6...

-Cultural Sensitivity Update: The Spanish Basketball team has appeared in a newspaper ad all pulling their eyes back to make them slanted. What can I say? At least they're not pretending to be mentally disabled...
-Still no Canadian medals. I'm actually kind of on the cusp of hoping we get zero medals, but it's probably too early for that to last. Not my hope, the zero medals thing I mean.
-Apparently I'm not very patriotic.
-Go C-A-N-A-D-A!
-Is that better?
-It's funny that when that Hungarian weightlifter dislocated his elbow and was writhing on the ground in agony while receiving medical attention, a small group of stewards with little white cards came and shielded him so that the audience couldn't see him. And by funny, I mean strange.
-Gymanstics, Softball, and a couple other things I don't feel like watching are on now. Of course, my live feeds work today, when I don't want to watch anything.
-Arsenal won the opening leg of their Champion's League qualifier today 2-0 against FC Twente Enschede. What does that have to do with the Olympics you ask? Don't ask me such idiotic questions.

Olympics Report-Day 5

Random thoughts and observations on Day 5...

-For some reason, none of the CBC video feeds are currently available in my area.
-Hmmm...how can I comment if I can't watch anything?
-Some 2 or 3 year old kid hucked a frisbee at me as I was cycling home. He didn't hit me, but his dad was pretty embarrassed.
-Togo joined the ever-growing list of countries ahead of us in the medal standings.
-Damn, Kyrgyzstan has a medal too. We're really not very good at these summer game things, are we?
-Apparently the kid that was singing at the opening ceremonies was lip syncing...she was chosen because she was cuter than the girl that actually sang the song. I never saw the opening ceremonies.
-Newsflash: I found a non CBC feed of questionable legality. Unfortunately it's a feed from Go-Go-U-S-A!
-Can somebody please beat Michael Phelps?
-Apparently not in this race....Damn.
-I read an article earlier today about how the design of the pool along with advancements in the technology of swimwear have lead to so many records falling. Is that fair? Discuss.
-Enough of this...I'm going for a run.

Olympics Report -Day 4

Some random thoughts and observations from Day 4...

-Canada sucks at water polo. I'm watching Montenegro hand us a whoopin' in the pool.
-Apparently they have yellow cards in water polo, as the Canadian coach (?) just got one.
-Canada is also not very good at field hockey. At least the Canadian men aren't. They lost in that today as well.
-Field hockey is a girl's sport.
-Apparently the fireworks in the broadcast of the opening ceremonies were visual effects.
-CBC is a showing lots of the Olympics live on their website which is very cool (how else would I get to see Canada blow at water polo?) but it is strange to watch these sports with no commentary.
-Canada is currently behind, among many other powerhouses of world sport, Azerbaijan, North Korea, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe.

Cool Runnings???

Spare a thought for the Jamaican bobsleigh team.

They came to world attention in the 1988 Calgary Olympics where they quickly became crowd and media favourites due to their novelty value and in spite of, or maybe because of, their poor performances. In 1993 they were the inspiration for the Disney film "Cool Runnings."

Since then they have improved dramatically, though not gone on to win any Olympic medals. Despite failing to qualify for the Turin Olympics they remain a testament to the importance of determination and willpower.

And yet, particularly to those of us who live in more northern climes, there is something inherently comical about a team from the Caribbean competing in the Winter Olympics. No one can think of the Jamaican Bobsleigh team without a chuckle.

And now this. Canada, pesky young upstart of a nation that it is, took their best brakeman from them, a man who set a push-start record at the Salt Lake City Olympics, a man considered to be one of the best brakemen in the world, and used him as a ringer in order to win a silver medal in the two-man bobsleigh.

Welcome to Canada, Mr. Brown. And thanks for the medal.

Crazy carpet gold medal goes to...

I’m a big fan of the Olympics, both summer and winter. That does not, however, mean that I like all the Olympics have to offer. Trampoline anyone?

Last week some friends and I were trying to figure out what the most useless event in the Winter Olympics is. My initial response was the biathlon. I enjoy cross-country skiing, both to watch and do. And though I’m not a hunter or a target shooter, I see that it takes a great deal of skill to be a marksman. But why did anyone feel the need to combine the two and make an Olympic event out of it?

But that is neither here nor there, because now, after watching a few runs, I have a new contender for most useless event. At the risk of offending any enthusiasts of the sport, all eight of them, I’m going to have to go with the Doubles Luge. The luge itself is somewhat impressive. Racing down ice at speeds up to 150km/hour takes a great deal of strength, co-ordination and nerve. But what of the doubles luge? It is much like the singles luge though with a slightly larger sled and what is in effect a really big cushion. The stronger of the two lies on top and is in charge of controlling the sled, which seems to me then that the other person is just lying there. Sure, they’re going really quickly down the ice, but they’re just lying there. With someone bigger and stronger lying on top of them, steering their sled. Are they actually any more than a part of the sled? What type of athlete aspires to this position? How is an innate ability for this spotted? Someone had a really good nap on the couch?

Anyhow, this could all change. I haven’t watched the 4-Man Bobsleigh or the Individual Gunderson yet.