2010 Olympics (potential spoilers if you can't watch live)

[halplm]

Congrats to Apolo Ohno for becoming the most decorated US winter athelete of all time with 7 medals!

I still think Bonnie Blair's 5 golds is more impressive

[Nin]

And I still think that Eric Heiden who won all five gold medals in speed skating in Lake Placid is one of the greatest athletes of all times.

Vison, really glad for the Swiss "kid" too - he is now 28... and still acting like a child, I really like him.

One thing I like better about the Winter than about the Summer olympics is that many of the athletes are not super-rich, even if they are the best in their sports. Of course, there are exceptions like the NHL and Shaun White, but a "kid" like Simon Amman can just live on his sport despite four gold medals...

[Lhaewin]

Nin, I'm also lacking patriotism and I'd also prefer to watch Eurosport instead of the German channels. Last night we saw the cross-skiing competition and I found myself rooting for the brave Swedish athlet who ended up third (the German guy won silver) - and the presenter was talking loads of blah...*rollseyes*

Because of all those soppy gestures etc. I avoid watching the award ceremonies. For once I'm grateful for the time zones because the time difference of 9 hours makes it very easy this year. I prefer seeing the athlets being happy directly after their success, like Simon Amman, because (hopefully) no-one has instructed them by then how to behave.

[Elentári]

Ouch....bad crashes in the two-man Bob for both GB and Canada...luckily all seemed okay. Nasty ice burns down the back of the GB brakeman who followed the sled down the track...

[vison]

Yes, I got to see the curling. Kevin Martin is a very good curler and you can never count him out. I think the Brits were a bit overconfident since they've beaten the Martin rink in the past. Not the best game from either team, though.

I hate the awards ceremonies, too. And the blah blah about everyone. Most of the athletes have a story and I'm sure they're all interesting in their way, but I just want to see them do their sport.

But they have to fill all that air time, don't they?

[Primula Baggins]

Yes, since heaven forbid they just show us sports besides the ratings toppers to use up the time.

Another NBC thing I'm tired of is "That's coming up! But first...." where they tease what you actually most want to see until three minutes to midnight.
T
his kind of teasing is part of the reason a lot of people have quit watching commercial television news. If I want to find something out, I go to the Internet where I can find the story and read it now. And probably watch any relevant video, too. NBC might want to think about that.

And, if we don't get to watch the events we want to watch live anyway (no one on the West Coast does), why not wait until the next morning and cherrypick the events you most want to see from the NBC online video feed? On my husband's new iMac we can watch full-screen video in HD; it's no sacrifice.

[halplm]

ARGH... Bode Miller winning Gold, and I'm watching ski-cross qualifying... which has to be the most boring thing ever. On the plus side, I can watch live hockey... online...

[Nin]

Ski-cross is fascinating! Do you ski? It's the closest to the real situation on a real ski-piste and my kids huting each other while complaining... fascinating how they avoid to fall... But maybe I see all this, because I ski myself.

[Lhaewin]

I saw ski-cross for the first time and was astonished. One athlet fell because of the other's mistake - and there were some guys kind of attacking one another.

[Nin]

I say it's like my boys on the ski pists... sometimes I feel like getting a heart-attack when skiing with them...

Oh, and Lhaewin, I think the lack of patriotism is quite typical for Germans of "our" generation (pre-reunification). I'm glad, I'm not the only one

[Padme]

So whats up with Hockey? Didn't see that coming.

[vison]

If I was the coach of the Canadian team I would have pulled Brodeur and put Luongo in. Brodeur seemed to think he was playing baseball or something. Or, if he wants to play forward, take off the goalie mask and pads and do it, you dork.

Ryan Miller was fantastic in goal for the US. He stopped 42 shots. Brodeur stopped 18.

The other thing is, the Canadians seemed to be waiting to make "the perfect shot" instead of just firing whenever they had a chance. Still, they had more than twice as many shots on goal as the Americans, so Miller really does deserve the Star of the Game award.

Well, now they gotta fight for it and I do care a little bit. I guess I have to be honest, here. If the Canadians are knocked out, I'll cheer for the Swedes, meaning The Sedin Twins.

Hey, GO, Kevin Martin, GO!!!!


Yes, it was nice to see Bode Miller win that race. Good for him.

And good for the Canadian ice dancers, Virtue and Moir. I didn't see them skate, but I heard all about it this morning.

[Lhaewin]

Oh, and Lhaewin, I think the lack of patriotism is quite typical for Germans of "our" generation (pre-reunification). I'm glad, I'm not the only one

In my case it's also because I never felt "at home" in Germany, but neither in France. Missing roots...

[vison]

The ice dancing was terrific. The Canadian kids who won did so with such a pretty program. Simple, elegant dress for Tessa Virtue, and plain white shirt and black pants for Scott Moir. And they danced beautifully. It's supposed to be dancing, which the other couples seem to have forgotten.

And I hear Luongo is in goal tomorrow. About bloody time.

Mind you, if they can't beat the Germans, they should die of shame.

[Lhaewin]

No worries, it would be a true miracle, if the Canadians couldn't beat the Germans. I felt sorry for the Canadians, when I just read about their defeat in the newspaper. So much pressure, when the silver medal isn't good enough.

It's so much better when the athlets are surprised at their own success, like the German girls who won the team sprint yesterday.

[halplm]

Looks like they have nothing to worry about.

The US won a silver today in the nordic combined relay, which is somewhat like the Cubs winning the World Series... you know... if baseball was played on skies...


We do get Canada/US in Women's Hockey, so that should be fun. I'm a bit disappointed that none of the US women are contenders in figure skating... that just seems wrong for some reason...

[vison]

It does seem odd that there are no high-ranked women skaters from the US in this.

But poor Joannie Rochette (sp?), her Mum came to Vancouver to see Joannie skate and had a heart attack and died. That poor kid. She's going to skate anyway.

[River]

Of course she is. She took the silver at the 2009 Worlds. She's a huge contender. Her mother would probably come back from the grave and slap her if she pulled out.

US women's skating is having a bit of a dry spell right now. It's all about Kim, Asada, and Rochette at these games. But the US has been such a power in women's figure skating for so long I suppose we're due for a dry spell. And the top contenders are so amazing I really don't care who they're skating for...I just want to see how it sorts out.

[Padme]

Kim did an amazing job as did Asada. Rochettes performance was beautiful and filled me with warm fuzzies.

As for the American's I think Rachael is just barely coming into her own, she should be 'on the podium' in London.

[samaranth]

Lovely performances in the women's figure skating, and Joannie Rochette's -well, so sad for her.

I'd like to mention Cheltzie Lee, a 16 year old from the outer western suburbs of Sydney, who has made it in to the finals. She was only included in the Australian squad 3 weeks ago when a spot unexpectedly became free. Naturally we're all very proud of how well she's done.