2010 Winter Olympics thread...

[RICHARD]

Next Thursday, 10/22/2009 the Olympic flame will be lit in Athens, given to a rep for the Vancouver games and flown to Canada where it will travel around the country for the 100+ days before the official start in February.

The ceremony to light the flame is pretty nifty and if you get a chance to watch.....

I can hardly wait.....

[DJFyrewolf36]

I love watching bobsled and luge competitions, and speed skating is always fascinating too!

Yay for the winter games! I'm going to have to figure out how to get some format of cable before then...

[Nomilynn]

It's nice to hear that others are excited about it. I can't wait until the stupid things are over!

[smokey the elder]

I like the figure skating but don't know who's good since I haven't been following it like I used to. (The meets keep conflicting with football!)

[Grace]

Richard, are you checking out that blog I sent you? Did you see the bit about the Olympic Torch and the surfboard?


Surfer Raph Bruhwiler, right, lights his Olympic Torch from Ruth Sadler while surfing with the flame along the shores of Pacific Rim National Park outside Tofino, British Columbia, on Sunday.

November 2, 2009, 1:08 pm
Hardy Canadians Give Torch a Ride

By Lynn Zinser

The Olympic torch has been in Canada only since Friday and already it has traveled by skateboard, canoe, wheelchair, float plane and mountain bike. And on Sunday, it got on a surfboard. The air temperatures were in the 40s, meaning the water was bone-chilling.

And yet, the people of Tofino, British Columbia, turned out with smiles and some waded right in and surfed.

Ahead, the torch is headed for a dog sled (of course), an Inuit kayak and a single dog pulling a polar bear skin.

This will not be popular among polar bears.

[RICHARD]

Richard, are you checking out that blog I sent you? Did you see the bit about the Olympic Torch and the surfboard?


Surfer Raph Bruhwiler, right, lights his Olympic Torch from Ruth Sadler while surfing with the flame along the shores of Pacific Rim National Park outside Tofino, British Columbia, on Sunday.

I have been a little distracted for the last few days, I saw it was lit and made it to Canukia!

Next week I'll start in ernest.

[RICHARD]

I had to smile about the Iraqi skeleton athlete-

Wow, I hope he makes it to the Games.

[RICHARD]

The last two weeks have been great. Speed and short track skating, bobsled and skeleton comps.

A little hawkey tossed in for color?

I can hardly wait for the other 'fringe' sports that do not get the exposure in between the Games.

[fsderek09]

I'm so excited that the Winter Olympics are almost here! I can't believe it's been 4 years since Turin. Thanks so much for the other posts guys, I had no idea of the diversity of transportation methods they were using for the torch's route to Vancouver! For winter sports fanatics like myself (and those who like to watch them in the comfort of a ski lodge), Hilton is sponsoring a contest in which three friends will be chosen as the official guests of Team USA from Hilton and get to hang with the team. The info is available at http://hiltonhhonors.com/officialguest - I'm helping them to spread the word, so let me know if you have any questions!

[Grace]

This does not sound good -

Snowboarder Kevin Pearce

[Puckstop31]

Of course... My main focus is on the hockey tourney...


Canada had a FANTASTIC team. 100% super duper firepower from front to back. Maybe too good. Maybe too good to come together as a team?

My picks... Russia wins gold vs. Canada in OT. USA wins Bronze vs. Slovakia. Slovakia is a surprise 3-1 in the prelims...

[Grace]

Update on Kevin Pearce, from the NY Times -

January 2, 2010, 7:39 pm
Snowboarder Pearce Has ‘Long Recovery Ahead of Him’
By JOHN BRANCH

The snowboarder Kevin Pearce remained in intensive care, in critical but stable condition, at a Salt Lake City hospital two days after sustaining a severe head injury while training in the halfpipe at Utah’s Park City Mountain Resort.

Dr. Holly Ledyard of the University of Utah hospital said in a statement that Pearce had a “severe traumatic brain injury.” She added: “He is intubated and being kept sedated. The focus over the next week will be watching for any swelling in his brain and keeping his brain pressure normal. Kevin has a long recovery ahead of him.”

Pearce, a 22-year-old from Norwich, Vt., was a favorite to make the ultra-competitive United States Olympic team. On Thursday, while practicing a difficult trick (a cab double cork, a sort of twisting double back flip, that Pearce has landed before), he struck his forehead on the icy wall of the halfpipe. Despite wearing a helmet, he was knocked unconscious and evacuated by helicopter to Salt Lake City.

Pearce is one of the few riders to have beaten 2006 Olympic gold medalist Shaun White in head-to-head competition the past couple of years. His father, Simon Pearce, is a well-known glass maker and retailer.

[Grace]

Another update on Kevin Pearce. From the Kansas City Star -

American snowboarder Kevin Pearce remains in critical but stable condition at a Utah hospital with a brain injury he sustained in a fall while training.

Danielle Burch, a spokeswoman for Pearce's family, said Monday that Pearce's condition hadn't changed since doctors sedated him over the weekend to monitor the pressure on his brain.

Pearce was injured Thursday in Park City while training on a halfpipe. He was preparing for this week's Olympic qualifying events in California.

The 22-year-old from Norwich, Vt., is a top-ranked halfpipe rider. He remains in the intensive care unit at the University of Utah Hospital.

[RICHARD]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...end-gaffe.html


I lol'd at this.

Warning, no nudity.....but a little risque'?

http://www.teamminichiello.co.uk/gillian-cooke.phtml

The other 'side' of Ms. Cooke?

[slick]

The torch is coming to New West on Feb 9th but unfortunately I have to work. We've been told "no time off in Feb". It would have been so wonderful to line the route to take a peek at history in the making. There are other events happening in my community that day as well. Last I heard our community is expecting 30,000 to attend an event in one of our parks.

As for my work, well, I'm gong to be working offsite for the month of Feb - not at home, but at a remote site that's a little closer to home so hopefully the traffic won't be so bad.

I hesitate to say I'm not looking forward to all this - just because of the congestion.