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28 Feb 2010 10:44 PM
Before the Gold medal Hockey game between Canada and the USA started they did a report on CTV showing that some people had been offered upwards of $5000 for their tickets and had opted to keep them rather than sell. This sparked a debate between my roommates and I as to whether or not we would sell the tickets had we been in that position.
I said that for $5000 I would sell my ticket in a heartbeat. I am officially an idiot.
That was one of, if not the most, exciting hockey games ever. It was a perfect storm of atmosphere, importance, participants, venue and stakes that came together to form the ultimate sporting event.
A Hollywood film writer couldn't have written a better script. It was Canada vs our arch rivals the USA. It was in our unofficial national sport. It took place on Canadian soil. And it...
28 Feb 2010 09:53 PM
Before the Olympics started I had zero interest in Curling. I thought it was an incredibly lame sport and was more of a Canadian stereotype than anything. I mean I knew who Kevin Martin was, because I had met him at a bar one night, but had little interest in watching any of the matches on TV when there were so many other cooler events going on.
I can now safely say that my feelings towards Curling have pulled a complete 180. And it all started yesterday around 2:45 in the afternoon.
I had just gotten back from the gym and was making myself something to eat when I heard my roommate Wych's phone go off (his ringtone of Wolf Like Me by TV on the Radio is a Top 5 ringtone in my books). On the phone was a former roommate of ours named Brent who was reminding Wych...
22 Feb 2010 12:45 PM
I've always known that the average sports fan is a moron but last night it was taken to a whole new level. On the heels of Canada's 5-3 loss to the USA at the Olympics people were upset and looking for someone to blame. Instead of blaming Martin Brodeur,who let in 4 goals or Chris Pronger who looked out of place and had countless giveaways or even Steve Yzerman who assembled the team people blamed Corey Perry.
"Corey Perry take your useless ass across the border and play for the Americans. Fucking wanka!!!"
"never hated Corey Perry more than he does right now"
Why all the hating on Perry? Because with the score 4-3 he lost a foot race to the puck and allowed Ryan Kesler to knock it into the empty net with a diving effort. Let's forget for a second that Kesler's play was unreal and showed pure...
20 Feb 2010 04:51 PM
While I could probably go on for hours about why I love the Olympics, most of my arguments were summed up last night when Canadian Jon Montgomery won his gold medal in skeleton. The look of pure excitement and joy on his face, when the final slider, Lativia's Martins Dukurs, posted a time that was only good enough for second place, was enough to bring a smile to the face of even the most cynical sports fan.
Even better than Montgomery's initial reaction was the reception he received when he got down the mountain, into Whistler village. Hoards of screaming Canadians were there to greet him, giving him high-fives, hugs, and even a free pitcher of beer.
That whole scene, from Montgomery's fist pump that put Tiger Woods to shame, to the spontaneous singing of Oh Canada, that erupted while TSN's Jennifer Hedger was trying to interview him, really symbolized...
19 Feb 2010 10:07 AM
Some of you may be disappointed by the hyperbolic title to this blog, as I am in no way going to say that team Canada needing a shoot-out to beat Switzerland is a tell tale sign that they'll win anything less than gold. They ran into a hot goalie and a team playing with nothing to lose, while team Canada was playing with the weight of an entire country's expectations on their shoulders, and it was closer than we all expected, that kind of thing happens all the time in sports.
However, the game against the Swiss definitely raised a couple concerns. Not necessarily concerns about this version of team Canada, specifically, but I believe this game was a microcosm of a disturbing trend that's been developing amongst the latest generation of Canadian hockey players.
It seems to me that hockey players from our fair nation are no longer the...
16 Feb 2010 10:22 PM
It was quite a relief to see the Canadian boys hand out a good old fashioned schooling of inferior opponents in tonight's 8-0 victory over Norway.
Calgary Flame Jarome Iginla led the way with a hat trick and almost everyone on the roster recorded a point on the evening.
I believe this is a good sign of the chemistry that this year's edition of Team Canada already has. If you remember in 2006, Canada struggled against even the weakest of opponents when they lost to Switzerland 2-1.
Unfortunately Canada has no real test on tap until this Sunday against the Untied States. That is where we will see if Canada is really clicking or not - and who is going to be the Canucks go-to goaltender.
Stay tuned.
16 Feb 2010 12:05 AM
After watching three games of Olympic women's hockey one word comes to mind, pity.
First, I saw Canada massacre Slovakia 18-0. Then it was the U.S dismantling China, 12-1. And most recently, it was Canada dominating Switzerland 10-1.
That, quite simply, is not hockey. I genuinely feel sorry for these teams as the Canadians and Americans dance around them time and time again, scoring goal after goal while their poor opponents can barely get the puck across the red line.
The look on Swiss goalie Florence Schelling's face said it all, after she was pulled after allowing the tenth goal, but making well over 50 saves vs Canada. You could tell she had just played her heart out, but it didn't matter, there was no way her team was ever going to come close to winning, and she and all her teammates knew that.
Now, a lot of people...
15 Feb 2010 11:56 AM
Let me start off by saying, wow, what a performance by Canada's Alexandre Bilodeau in the freestyle moguls. How great was it to see him take top spot from that pompous douche, "Australian" Dale Begg-Smith (he was born and raised in Canada, but he represent Austrialia) and hold on to win Canada's first Olympic gold on home soil?
Bilodeau will go down in history as a Canadian Olympic hero, which he fully deserves, he won the gold for our country, and he will keep Canada on top of the freestyle skiing world for the next four years.
However, I really think everyone -this means you Brian Williams- is making far too big of a deal about this being the first time a Canadian has won gold in Canada.
Like former speed skating great Catriona Le May Doan said on CTV shortly after Bilodeau won, the athletes were expecting this. Sure,...
14 Feb 2010 12:23 AM
With the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili casting an ominous shadow over the opening of the 2010 winter games, the competition got under way on Saturday afternoon and some medals were handed out.
That's right, less than 24 hours after the opening ceremonies were over, Canadians already had reason to bitch and moan about the disappointing performances of their athletes. Freestyle skier Jen Heil, who was supposed to be one of Canada's locks for gold only came away with silver, short track speed skaters Charles Hamelin and Olivier Jean both had underwhelming performances, and the Canadian women's hockey team only beat Slovakia 18-0.
Ok, so that last one was a joke. Canada seriously looked the Harlem Globetrotters of hockey, there's no use talking about that massacre any further. Let me know when they play the U.S.
But let's take a closer look at what many in Canada will surely...
11 Feb 2010 01:12 PM
There have been a number of names thrown around in attempts to answer the question, who will be the one to run the final leg of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic torch relay, and light the Olympic flame that will burn throughout the two-week games? One of those names, that is gaining significant popularity -especially here in Ontario- is Wayne Gretzky.
Personally, I think number 99 would be a terrible choice.
I don't have to go in to the fact that Gretzky had an incredible NHL career, everyone in Canada, and around the world knows that. But what does he have to with the Olympics? What does he have to do with Vancouver?
The only time Gretzky played for Canada at the Olympics was Nagano 1998, where the team was a disappointment, finishing in fourth-place. I am in no way blaming Gretzky for this lacklustre performance, he was at the tail...
