2010 Winter Olympics thread...

[RICHARD]

Where have you gone Jim McKay?

Besides the bobos that are reporting the Games, I almost went bonkers over listening to the sno-board gal, Jacobellis, do an interview after her race.

Yaknow? What is it with athletes, yaknow? I saw the same thing, yaknow, after the Danica Patrick race, yaknow? Seems like they cannot put a sentence together without, yaknow, putting a few thoughts together, yaknow?

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I did try and figure out what Bode Miller was trying to say during his interviews. He and the US ski team have had a pretty asty relationship.
They both came to an agreement to ski in Vancouver because he is/has the best chance for us to medal in any downhill event. Another non story.

All the "Up CLose and Personal" stories are, at best, clips about obnoxious athletes that cause their own problems....

What happened to the feel good stuff where an athlete is run over by a truck, tossed into air where they land on a power line, get electrocuted, go into a coma, regain their senses, get an olympic dream and sell hotdogs on a stick to finance their training?

Now?

It's super rich snow boarder with the secret training site in the mountains....all financed by Red Bull Energy Drink!!!

Give me a Moldavian curler, who cut and shaped their stones with an emery board and a meat tenderizing mallet.

Now, That's an Olympic athlete that had a dream!

[slick]

I have to chime in here with my own comments/observations.

For the past year "we here locals" have been hearing time after time after time about transportation during the Olympics. Road closures, construction, skytrain running more frequently with extra cars, leave the car at home and take public transport. So I made arrangements to drive into a different office to work during these two weeks so I wouldn't have to battle traffic into town.

WTH??? Where is all the traffic???? Message must have gotten through because yesterday I had to drive into to town to my "usual" office and it only took me 20 min. vs 45 min. You could shoot a cannon down the freeway and not hit anyone. I'm liking this. It's like summertime traffic. I also heard this morning that lineups at the skytrain ranged anywhere from 30 min to an hour just to get on the sardine packed train. Gee - car vs train......duh it's a no brainer.

Vanoc - gee what can I say about that. There is a very ugly chain link fence around the flame downtown and people everywhere are complaining that it's not "picture friendly" so bright and early this morning the construction crews were down there taking down the fence and , I hear, that they are putting up perhaps a plexiglass surrounding. It's a shame but without some kind of barrier, the protesters and "riff raff" alike would be doing a number on it. Now, why didn't Vanoc think about this years ago in the planning stages????

Blunders?? There have some some major ones and apparently the British tabloids are picking up on all of them. The weather isn't doing us any favours either - it's the warmest February in the past 114 years. Go figure!!! Many spectators who purchased tickets to one of the Cypress mountain events had to get refunds - costing Vanoc over a million buckaroos.

I'm not negative about the Olympics - I love them and I admit the ambiance in the city is amazing. Everyone is hyped up and bearing ear to ear grins. I'm optimistic that tourism is going to bring in some big bucks and maybe those who visit might love it here enough to move here or at least visit again.

So, I have a sofa bed up for grabs. $300/night can get you some blankets, a soft pillow and perhaps coffee in the morning.

[JenBKR]

The Olympic hockey has been exciting so far - can't wait for the next game! Of course I am cheering for the USA, but I'm loving Canada this year. They are going to be fun to watch. Not that Norway gave them much of a fight, but it was a fun game to watch. Can't blame Norway, they're not professionals (the goalie's day job is a carpenter), although they did look really good in the first period.

[cassiesmom]

I am cheering for the Canadian hockey team (3 Blackhawks players, Keith, Seabrook and Toews ) and for the USA team -- Patrick Kane is the only Blackhawks player on the USA team. If either of them wins gold, I'm sure Chicago will celebrate. If one wins gold and the other silver, we might celebrate even more.

I was watching men's curling on CNBC ... it seems to be part skill, part strategy, and part luck. I'd like to see it again because I couldn't quite figure out how it's scored.

[Alysser]

Anyone else see the nasty spill the Italian skiier took? She went 190 feet from start to finish on that one..there were 3 falls in total in the women's downhill - none of them serious. Lindsey Vonn did get the gold despite her injuries.

[Grace]

I just came in from taking out the trash and heard "O, Canada" ... what did I miss? What medal was presented, I wonder?

That was the medal ceremony for Maelle Ricker who won last night's Snowboard Cross gold.

[Grace]

I had no idea that Shaun White was a blue baby.
He was born with Tetralogy of Fallot.

And look at him now - repeat Gold Medal winner in the halfpipe!

[sparks19]

curling is A LOT strategy.

I"m not too excited yet by the hockey tournament. no big games that turned out any differently than anyone expected.

I'm looking forward to really seeing russia play. THEY are going to be a force to be reckoned with. absolutely. At this point I don't know who if anyone will be able to best that team. If they can all leave their egos at the door and play as a TEAM... they are going to be SCARY to face. there is NO doubt about that.

So I am looking forward to that.

Otherwise most of the teams are just bumps in the road and really don't excite me at all... and I LOVE hockey. but I don't love blow out hockey. I don't love games where it seems like an AWESOME team is playing against a peewee team. it's not exciting, it's not fun... it's not sport either to me. I know the outcome to be honest so I'm not thrilled by it

[katladyd]

I had no idea that Shaun White was a blue baby.
He was born with Tetralogy of Fallot.

And look at him now - repeat Gold Medal winner in the halfpipe!

He's a local boy. When he trains in Southern California, he is right near my sister and brother's homes. The guy is just unbelievable!