You can kinda hear the soccer announcer guy - and the excitement in his voice when a team scores a goal!  You know what I am talking about, right?  Well, that’s almost exactly what happened this afternoon at…. wait for it ….the curling venue.  It was the United States versus Japan in the first round of the women’s preliminaries.  The US had blown a 3-point lead and was now 1 point behind the Japanese women.  On their last stone, the Japanese made a mistake and left the door open for the US women to get at least the one point needed to tie - and possibly come away with a clean 2-point win.  The US calls a time out so as not to rush the skip, Debbie McCormick.  They huddle up to discuss where, exactly, to place the stone, how fast, how to sweep the ice, in order to achieve at least the tie.

They come out of the timeout and Debbie got into position - and she pushed that stone down the lane, with some authority, and it hit.  It hit just where it was supposed to hit - and it moved the Japanese stone out of position.  The Japanese stone veers off the center of the tee and lands slightly off center to the left.  Only a sliver of the stone is in the center ring.  At the same time, Debbie’s stone, Team USA’s last hope to tie this prelim game, slides off the center of the tee to the right - and lands slightly off the center ring, but just a sliver.

How will this game be decided, you ask?  With a measuring device of course.  Oh, the drama.  So the wait begins - and when the measuring device is brought out on the field, they start with the US stone.  It is measured from the the center of the center ring to a point on the stone.  Then the device is removed and is placed (as it was measured on the US stone) on the Japanese stone.  And, the call is made ….

SCCCCCCCOOOOORRRREEEEE!!! JAPAN!  The US Women’s Curling Team loses its first game.  But don’t tell me curling isn’t exciting, damn it!

From the death of the Georgian Luger (and the horrible PR that followed), to the torch lighting malfunction, the problems associated with Vancouver’s weather, the fact that it’s Canada, the complete screw up of the long track speed skating, and now even more weather delays - I am left completely underwhelmed by the first few days of the event.

The competition, on the otherhand, has been exciting and fun to watch - I can’t even find a way to blame Canada for that one!

But the bigger news from Day 2 was the first Canadian home gold medal - won a freestyle skier - men’s moguls.  Fun stuff.  Yay, Canada!

The other big event was the first of three nights in a row of figure skating.  Last night was the pairs short program and tonight is the pairs free skate - and the first figure skating medals.  I will say this right off the bat - I STILL DON’T UNDERSTAND THE NEW SKATING SCORING.  Not to say that I didn’t think something needed to change - but OMG, seriously.  I don’t get it anymore.  Now, having said that, the one thing I really liked about the short program was being able to see basically the same 6-8 things done by each of the pairs.  It made it easier to compare, in my opinion, of course.

I was really impressed by the comeback of Zhao and Shen, and have to root for the old guys!  But, I have to admit, my favorite performance of the night was the over-the-top clown makeup of the Germans Savchenko and Szolkowy.  I thought it was just a beautiful performance and I was mesmerized!!!

Tonight is the finals and it will be interesting to see if Zhao and Shen can hold on to the top spot!  Stay tuned!

Disappointment, again, for the Canadians…

As previously noted, Canada holds the distinction of being one of the only host nations to not win gold during their prior hosting games - and the entire country has been on a mission to see that change.  On day one of the Vancouver games, Canadians were supposed to have at least 3 great opportunities to end that drought.  First was Men’s Downhill - postponed due to weather at the top of the mountain.  Next up was short track speed skating.  See below for a detailed explanation - but tonight’s short track medals were handed to the Americans by the South Koreans, and the Canadians were far behind.  Finally, and some say, the best chance for the Canadians in the entire games - women’s moguls.  Canada boasted the defending women’s gold medalist, Jen Heil - and a team of Americans who want nothing better than to continue the Canadian gold medal drought.  So…without further ado…

Ladies Moguls. Canada’s best chance at a gold medal on home turf.  Jen Heil, Canadian, was the defending olympic gold medalist from Torino.  Coming out of the qualifiers, Jen would go second to last in the medal round; American Hannah Kearney would go last.  Prior to these two, there was American Shannon Bahrke, who went 6th to last - and posted the best score for the final 5.  (Shannon was the Torino silver medalist).  After Jen went down the mountain, did her big airs and turns, she scored just higher than Bahrke, keeping the Canadian hopes alive.  There was only 1 more skier to go - Kearney.  It looked like a Torino redux - and the first home Canadian gold.  Until, that is, Hannah Kearney took over.  The American who placed 22nd in Torino, blew  Jen Heil off the top spot of the podium and gave the Americans a 1 - 3 finish, sandwiching the Canadian into the silver position.  Kearney was the first American gold of the Vancouver games.

Short Track Speed Skating. This was the night that Apolo Ohno (when did he drop the Anton?) could tie Bonnie Blair as the most decorated US winter olympian - and he did not disappoint.  Tonight was the men’s 1500m - the event that Apolo Anton Ohno took gold in Salt Lake, but failed to make it out of the semi’s in Torino.  Also in the finals - JR Celski.  An incredible story of recovery - and he’s the up-and-coming American short track hopeful.  Well, as the race unfolded and we got to the bell lap, it looked like Apolo and JR were getting schooled by their rivals - the South Koreans.  Going into the final turn, the Koreans were 1-2-3 - but a stupid mistake on behalf of one of the Koreans caused one to take out another - and Apolo and JR skated into the silver and bronze slots.  Apolo gets his 6th Olympic medal and ties Bonnie Blair.  He still has a few more events and could easily over take her here.

Speed Skating.  Men’s long track speed skating also got started today with the men’s 5000.  Sven Kramer, the Danish speedskating king had a nation’s honor on his shoulder’s.  He was here to seek revenge on his silver medal finish in Torino to American (and hottie) Chad Hedrick.  Chad had a disappointing 12th place finish in Vancouver.  American Shani Davis also skated to an 11th place finish.  This was considered more of a warm up event for both Davis and Hedrick.  They are better middle distance skaters - and look for them in the 1000m and 1500m.  Look for Sven to come back and take the 10000m gold as well.

Ski Jumping.  The first medal of the games were awarded in Ski Jumping - the K90 Normal hill.  Not exactly sure what it means - but it’s a shorter hill than the large hill.  Excitingly enough - the gold medalist from Salt Lake - a Harry Potter look alike, Simon Ammann, made a great sports come back, and won gold again in Vancouver - giving Switzerland the first gold medal of the games.

Men’s Luge. Finally, the men’s luge event went off today.  Somewhat somber.  The other Georgian luger has pulled out of the competition.  Can you blame him?  First two runs down.  Two more tomorrow to determine gold.

Oh, Canada - there are other opportunities for gold - hockey, hockey, hockey!!!!

Upcoming on day 2 - pairs figure skating, men’s moguls and nordic combined.  I can’t wait.

United States will come in second

Germany third

if Canada beats the US by 2 medals, they will take over the #2 spot in overall Winter Olympic medals from the US - Norway leads all nations…

First and foremost, the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili in a training run definitely set a somber tone.  I am sure I will write my own commentary on the issue, but there was an amazing discussion on UHD this morning - a program called Meet the Olympics Press - and there are a lot of opinions out there about what happened and how to respond.  But note, that three major changes were made to the slide track - first, a wall was put up to protect against those metal posts, and to allow for a different take on the curve; second, they have moved all starts to the women’s start, a few hundred feet further down the track, which has lowered the average speed from 90+ to about 86mphs; and finally, they have done some, unidentified thing to the ice.  There was another training run this afternoon, and all seems well.

Now, on to the Opening Ceremonies.  As mentioned before, Canada had a lot to live up to to follow China - and honestly, I think they did a pretty good job - up to a point.  First, let’s be honest, I don’t think many people care about the cultural aspect of the first peoples.  If you didn’t have the script given to you by Matt Lauer and Bob Costas, you wouldn’t know the difference between one tribe or the other, nor would you know where they came from and what they were known for.

The one thing that the Winter Games does differently from the Summer Games is that they bring the athletes in first and allow them to appreciate the show, which is, actually, for them.  So the parade of nations came first and was fun to watch.  I have to admit, the fashions are always interesting to watch and I give Ralph Lauren a lot of credit of the US team’s outfits.  I would wear it!  And I want that hat!!!!

The brilliance behind Vancouver’s Opening Ceremony was it’s absolute opposite approach from Beijing.  What we remember so brilliantly from the Beijing Opening Ceremonies was the sure size and quantity of people working together to create visual artistry.  What Vancouver did was create a visual beauty in a very simplistic way.  I definitely would have made changes - like the casting of the lead actor? really? - but the prairies were pretty and the Canadian Rocky scene was beautiful.

But, no matter what came before it, Vancouver will always be known, in my olympic world, at least, as the country that failed on the most anticipated moment of any hosting country’s first impression - the lighting of the torch.  As I noted in my Beijing posts, the all time best torch lighting had to be the 1992 Barcelona Games when paraolympic archer Antonio Rebollo shot a lit arrow across the caldron to ignite the flame.  Beijing’s was the biggest disappointment to the Opening Ceremonies, in my opinion.  And, Vancouver?  Vancouver?

Vancouver had a major technical malfunction on the moment of the torch lighting.  The idea was perfect.  I loved it.  They really surprised those of us that wonder about who is going to be the last torch-bearer…the one to ultimately light the caldron.  For most host countries, they want to highlight their best athlete - or most decorated Olympian - or most revered sports personality.  Atlanta 1996 - Muhammed Ali.  Salt Lake 2002 - The 1980 US Men’s Hockey Team - NEXT AND ALL REMAINING US HOSTED OLYMPICS - MICHAEL PHELPS…you get the point.  So, who would Canada choose.  The easy money was on Wayne Gretsky - and the bets went on and on.

So, Vancouver decided to give the spotlight to 4 Canadians…Catriona LeMay Doan, Wayne Gretzky, Steve Nash and Nancy Greene.  Catriona LeMay Doan is a speed skater and the 2002 Canadian flag bearer in Salt Lake.  Wayne Gretzky is considered the best hockey player - ever.  Steve Nash is a basketball player with the Pheonix Suns and he was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s best athlete in 2005.  Finally, Nancy Greene - Canada’s female athlete of the 20th century, an alpine skier and now a public servant as Senator from British Columbia.

Fun stuff, right.  And, how do 4 people light a torch?!? Well, with 4 different spokes that lead to the caldrun, of course.  But, wait for it…yes, a technical malfunction caused one of the spokes to not rise, therefore leaving one of the flame bearers (Catriona LeMay Doan) with nothing to light.  After an awkward pause (see Gretzky’s face), the three spokes rose and the inside cauldron was lit.

In the end - nothing matters once that torch lighting malfunction, in my opinion.  Let’s just hope this is not indicative of the rest of the games!

First, yes, while the opening ceremonies of the Calgary games, were, in my humble opinion, a huge failure of entertainment, there were other, very memorable moments from the Calgary games.  Calgary brought us not just one Battle on the ice - the Battle of the Brians - but we also had the Battle of the Carmens.  The Battle of the Brians was the infamous ice duel between American Brian Boitano (what would Brian Boitano do?) and Canadian Brian Orser.  Both Brian’s had military themed routines - and Boitano edged out Orser for the Gold - Denying host country, Canada, with a gold medal during it’s hosting year.  The lesser remembered Battle of the Carmens involved the use of the same music from the opera Carmen by East German Katarina Witt (the last 2 time gold medalist) and American Debi Thomas.  The Battle of the Carmens ended in disappointment for the rivals - although Katarina did win gold - but Debi faltered into third, and Canadian Elizabeth Manley, surprisingly stole the silver.

The Jamaican bobsled team made it’s debut.  Enuf said!

Oh, and Calgary was where Curling was introduced as a demonstration sport.

Now, as to what to expect at Vancouver, well, it’s hard to tell.  Lindsay Vonn was the go-to woman of the games - but her injury makes her medal contention questionable.  Women’s skating - the gymnastics of the winter games - holds no medal hopes.  In fact, the poor performance at last year’s world’s leaves the women’s team with just 2 slots in this year’s competition.  As with pairs - no American medal hopefuls there either.  Look to men’s and ice dancing for American skating excitement (hence the focus).

As for Belbin and Agosto - I am definitely rooting for them. I feel in love in Torino and have been given no reason to ditch them now.  But White and Davis are fun to watch and I enjoy a good rivalry.  I think Belbin should celebrate her multi-national North American experience - as should we.

One last thought - I gotta root for Louie Vito in snowboarding!  He and Chelsea Hightower were so cute on Dancing With The Stars!  Gooooo Louie!!!!

So - what are the fun, interesting things to look out for in Vancouver?!?  Lots of stuff!  As we all (or should know) Lindsay Vonn comes into the games leading the women’s World Cup in Alpine Skiing.  She is poised to be the Michael Phelps of the Vancouver games - with the possibility of winning 5 gold medals.  EXCEPT - Lindsay is reporting a late injury (right shin, I believe) that could affect her amazing performance.  Watch out for her and the rest of Team USA (including the biggest douche bag in the world - Bode Miller!)

Apolo Anton Ohno!  Now, I got into a huge argument with a colleague regarding the deserved standing in sports history of one Apolo Anton Ohno.  He could end these games being the most decorated US Winter Olympian of all time.  All time!  Add to it that he won Dancing With the Stars in 2007 and he’s pretty freakin hot, and I think that earns him for a pretty special place in history.

Speaking of skating - it’s the marquee event of the games - but unfortunately the US doesn’t have a Michelle Kwan or Sarah Hughes (well, maybe we do have a Sarah Hughes, cause no one expected her to win the gold, now did they?!?).  But what we do have is an absolutely fascinating men’s competition that pitts obnoxiously outrageous and gay, gay, gay, gay Johnny Weir against “I’m so straight, I even dated Tanith Belbin” Evan Lysacek.  And don’t forget about Jeremy Abbott, who beat both of them at Nationals and leads the US in this years competition.

The second exciting skating event is Ice Dancing.  This year see’s the return of fan favorites Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto.  Belbin and Agosto surprised the field and took the silver medal in Torino, but completely won over the crowd.  They return this year, but have found their toughest competition to be fellow Americans Charlie White and Meryl Davis.  White and Davis beat out Belbin and Agosto at nationals a month ago - so watch out for some potential revenge!  Oh, and interesting fact - Tanith Belbin gained US citizenship just days before the Torino games in 2006 - her original citizenship - Canadian!

More to come!

Have fun…

Olympic Trivia  #1 -

Who is poised to be the “Michael Phelps” of the USA’s Winter Olympic Team?

A:  Lindsay Vonn - Women’s Alpine events - could take home 5 gold medals

Olympic Trivia #2 -

He’s poised to come out of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics as the most decorated American Winter Olympian ever…..  Name that Olympian.

Hint #1 - Current Record Holder - Bonnie Blair

Hint #2 - Similar sport

(to see the answer, you can highlight the text…)

A:  Apolo Anton Ohno - Five-time Olympic medalist with three in 2006 (gold, silver, bronze) and two in 2002 (gold, bronze)… Needs two medals in Vancouver to pass Bonnie Blair as the most decorated American at the Winter Games… Won Dancing with the Stars in 2007 during a post-Torino break from skating… Has been the top American short track skater since 2001, winning

Olympic Trivia #3

The United States has failed to medal in only 2 (two) winter olympic sports.  Name those sports…

Hint1:  These are definitely two somewhat obscure winter events, especially for us, Americans.  We are looking for two events and both of the events use two distinct disciplines…

Hint 2: List of All Olympic Events

Alpine Skiing      Curling                 Luge                     Ski Jumping

Biathlon             Figure Skating      Nordic Combined    Snowboarding

Bobsled             Freestyle Skiing    Short Track           Speed Skating

Cross Country    Hockey                Skeleton

A1:  Nordic Combined  -  Nordic combined involves ski jumping and cross-country skiing in two separate events held on one day. Athletes in this sport exhibit the fearlessness of a ski jumper and the tenacity of a cross-country skier.
Check out the US chances here - http://www.nbcolympics.com/olympicpulse/blogs/blog=theinrun/postid=408201.html#confidence+high+u+s

A2:  The Biathlon - Not to be confused with Nordic combined, the two-discipline sport of biathlon challenges competitors to cross country ski quickly and efficiently and shoot accurately in a prone and standing position using .22 caliber small-bore rifles during intermittent stops at a shooting range.

So, I guess there is some lawsuit about vitamin water and how they lie about it’s nutritional facts, but I like it and it’s got to be better than coke.  Tonight, after tennis, I was hanging out and I decided to put Jethro on the couch.  I have been reading some information on birds and acting out and screaming and they all suggest that birds will act out when they are bored (and when they are not fed a healthy diet).  One way to keep a bird from getting bored is to introduce new toys on a regular basis.  So, when I put Jethro on the couch, I decided to try to find some possible toys for him to play with.  Now, my cousins told me that Jethro is a little nervous around new things, so sometimes it takes like a week for him to be okay with something new, like a toy.

My first attempted toy was a stuffed animal that is a hotdog dog.  Well, that totally freaked out Jethro.  So after a few minutes of him wanting nothing to do with the hotdog dog, I put it on the floor. I then went and got a little teddy bear and graduation barbi (that’s a whole nother story!).  I put those two on the couch, and Jethro wanted nothing to do with them either.  

So, after I removed those two items, Jethro went right after the remote control and tried to pick it up and play with it.  I started to think that maybe Jethro doesn’t like soft and furry animals, but maybe he likes plastics and bottles…which is when I introduced the vitamin water bottle, and man did he love that!  The only thing I think he liked more was 2 vitamin water bottles!!

After about a half hour of play, I decided it was time to get him back into his cage and maybe calm him down for bed, but he did not want anything to do with my plan.  He wouldn’t step up.  So I let him hang out.  I took the bottles away, but he was still kinda wired.  It took about 20 minutes but then he got up and I walked him back to his cage - and placed a vitamin water bottle in it - and man did he have fun.  He totally ripped the label off - that took about a half hour.  Then he just tried to penetrate it somehow.  A few times he got it airborn and threw it a little ways across the cage.

The excitement lasted about another half hour to hour when Jethro moved on to a little dinner and then playing with his bell.  Then after a dip of water, he’s back at the vitamin water - nope, he’s taking a little snack.  A bird with priorities!!