The 2010 Olympics

[VOguy]

Goaltenders

• Martin Brodeur, 37 (New Jersey Devils)
• Roberto Luongo, 30 (Vancouver Canucks)
• Marc-Andre Fleury, 25 (Pittsburgh Penguins)

Defense

• Scott Niedermayer, 36 (Anaheim Ducks)
• Chris Pronger, 35 (Philadelphia Flyers)
• Shea Weber, 24 (Nashville Predators)
• Drew Doughty, 20 (Los Angeles Kings)
• Duncan Keith 26 (Chicago Blackhawks)
• Dan Boyle, 33 (San Jose Sharks)
• Brent Seabrook, 24 (Chicago Blackhawks)

Forwards

• Sidney Crosby, 21 (Pittsburgh Penguins)
• Rick Nash, 25 (Columbus Blue Jackets)
• Jarome Iginla, 32 (Calgary Flames)
• Mike Richards, 25 (Philadelphia Flyers)
• Joe Thornton, 30 (San Jose Sharks)
• Patrick Marleau, 30 (San Jose Sharks)
• Ryan Getzlaf, 24 (Anaheim Ducks)
• Brenden Morrow, 31 (Dallas Stars)
• Corey Perry, 24 (Anaheim Ducks)
• Dany Heatley, 29 (San Jose Sharks)
• Eric Staal, 25 (Carolina Hurricanes)
• Patrice Bergeron, 25 (Boston Bruins)
• Jonathan Toews, 21 (Chicago Blackhawks)

________________________________

Potential Replacement Players (in case of injury):

Defense

• Jay Bouwmeester, Flames
• Mike Green, Capitals
• Dion Phaneuf, Flames
• Robyn Regehr, Flames

Forward

• Ryan Smyth, Kings
• Shane Doan, Coyotes
• Martin St. Louis, Lightning
• Jeff Carter, Flyers
• Steven Stamkos, Lightning
• Vincent Lecavalier, Lightning
• Mike Fisher, Senators
• John Tavares, Islanders

[VOguy]

February 16, 2010

Great Britain vs Sweden
Scheduled 9:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 1

Norway vs Canada
Scheduled 9:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 1

United States vs Germany
Scheduled 9:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 1

Switzerland vs Denmark
Scheduled 9:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 1

United States vs Japan
Scheduled 14:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 1

Denmark vs Sweden
Scheduled 14:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 1

Germany vs Russian Federation
Scheduled 14:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 1

Canada vs Switzerland
Scheduled 14:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 1

Canada vs Germany
Scheduled 19:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 2

China vs France
Scheduled 19:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 2

United States vs Norway
Scheduled 19:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 2

February 17, 2010

China vs Great Britain
Scheduled 9:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 2

Germany vs United States
Scheduled 9:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 2

Switzerland vs Sweden
Scheduled 9:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 2

Japan vs Canada
Scheduled 9:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 2

Great Britain vs France
Scheduled 14:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 3

United States vs Switzerland
Scheduled 14:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 3

Denmark vs China
Scheduled 14:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 3

Germany vs Sweden
Scheduled 14:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 3

Russian Federation vs Denmark
Scheduled 19:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 3

Great Britain vs Sweden
Scheduled 19:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 3

China vs Switzerland
Scheduled 19:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 3

February 18, 2010

Denmark vs United States
Scheduled 9:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 4

Germany vs Norway
Scheduled 9:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 4

Canada vs Sweden
Scheduled 9:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 4

Great Britain vs Switzerland
Scheduled 9:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 4

Canada vs Germany
Scheduled 14:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 4

China vs Japan
Scheduled 14:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 4

Russian Federation vs Great Britain
Scheduled 14:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 4

Denmark vs United States
Scheduled 14:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 4

Sweden vs China
Scheduled 19:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 5

Great Britain vs Denmark
Scheduled 19:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 5

Norway vs Switzerland
Scheduled 19:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 5

France vs Canada
Scheduled 19:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 5

February 19, 2010

Germany vs Great Britain
Scheduled 9:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 5

Russian Federation vs United States
Scheduled 9:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 5

China vs Denmark
Scheduled 9:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 5

Germany vs Switzerland
Scheduled 14:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 6

Denmark vs Canada
Scheduled 14:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 6

France vs United States
Scheduled 14:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 6

Norway vs China
Scheduled 14:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 6

Denmark vs Canada
Scheduled 19:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 6

Sweden vs China
Scheduled 19:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 6

Great Britain vs Japan
Scheduled 19:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 6

Switzerland vs Russian Federation
Scheduled 19:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 6


February 20, 2010

Norway vs Denmark
Scheduled 9:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 7

France vs Germany
Scheduled 9:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 7

China vs Great Britain
Scheduled 9:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 7

Sweden vs United States
Scheduled 9:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 7

Sweden vs Russian Federation
Scheduled 14:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 7

United States vs Great Britain
Scheduled 14:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 7

Denmark vs Switzerland
Scheduled 14:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 7

Germany vs China
Scheduled 14:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 7

Switzerland vs China
Scheduled 19:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 8

Sweden vs France
Scheduled 19:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 8

Canada vs Great Britain
Scheduled 19:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 8


February 21, 2010

Great Britain vs Switzerland
Scheduled 9:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 8

Germany vs Denmark
Scheduled 9:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 8

Canada vs United States
Scheduled 9:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 8

Russian Federation vs Japan
Scheduled 9:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 8

United States vs Great Britain
Scheduled 14:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 9

Norway vs Sweden
Scheduled 14:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 9

Switzerland vs Canada
Scheduled 14:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 9

Denmark vs Germany
Scheduled 14:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 9

China vs Canada
Scheduled 19:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 9

Japan vs Germany
Scheduled 19:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 9

United States vs Sweden
Scheduled 19:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 9


February 22, 2010

France vs Norway
Scheduled 9:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 10

Canada vs United States
Scheduled 9:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 10

Germany vs China
Scheduled 9:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 10

Switzerland vs Sweden
Scheduled 9:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 10

Russian Federation vs China
Scheduled 14:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 10

Japan vs Switzerland
Scheduled 14:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 10

Sweden vs Canada
Scheduled 14:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 10

Great Britain vs Denmark
Scheduled 14:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 10

Germany vs Great Britain
Scheduled 19:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 11

France vs Denmark
Scheduled 19:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 11

China vs United States
Scheduled 19:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 11


February 23, 2010

Japan vs Sweden
Scheduled 9:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 11

Switzerland vs Germany
Scheduled 9:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 11

United States vs China
Scheduled 9:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 11

Canada vs Great Britain
Scheduled 9:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 11

China vs Canada
Scheduled 14:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 12

Sweden vs Denmark
Scheduled 14:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 12

Great Britain vs Norway
Scheduled 14:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 12

Switzerland vs France
Scheduled 14:00 - Men's Round Robin Session 12

Switzerland vs United States
Scheduled 19:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 12

Canada vs Russian Federation
Scheduled 19:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 12

Japan vs Denmark
Scheduled 19:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 12

Sweden vs Germany
Scheduled 19:00 - Women's Round Robin Session 12


February 25, 2010

Scheduled 9:00 - Women's Semifinal
Scheduled 9:00 - Women's Semifinal
Scheduled 14:00 - Men's Semifinal
Scheduled 14:00 - Men's Semifinal

February 26, 2010

Medal Event Scheduled 9:00 - Women's Bronze Medal Game
Medal Event Scheduled 15:00 - Women's Gold Medal Game

February 27, 2010

Medal Event Scheduled 9:00 - Men's Bronze Medal Game
Medal Event Scheduled 15:00 - Men's Gold Medal Game


(I'm probably the only one that enjoys this sport - VO)

[Dark Skies]

February 16, 2010

(I'm probably the only one that enjoys this sport - VO)

Not so, I'll be watching as many curling games as I can.

It'll be a 3 team race for the men's gold medal, Canada, GB & Norway. David Murdoch is the best curler in the world right now so I see GB with the Gold, Canada with the Silver & Norway with the Bronze.

On the women's side things are a little more wide open as a few teams have a legit shot at gold. China will probably be the favourite going in but Canada, Sweden & America could all be there at the end while Switzerland & Germany could contend.

[VOguy]

ALRIGHT!! Nice to be in the company. Sound like the first two matches out of the box might set the standard for the rest of the matches. I can agree with the men's events, but I really think there is talent on the Canadian womens side, so unless they do something foolish, I think they will take it.

[Biker]

Although I don't quite understand the game, I've always enjoyed watching 'em curl.

Biker

[VOguy]

Although I don't quite understand the game, I've always enjoyed watching 'em curl.

Biker

A friend who lives in Tampa FL, in a retirement community, describes it as "shuffleboard on steroids".

I never really got into it until a friend in Canada invited me to a get together and try my hand with the broom and throwing. I learned quickly that it's A LOT harder than it looks, and there is some psychology to the placement.

[Dark Skies]

ALRIGHT!! Nice to be in the company. Sound like the first two matches out of the box might set the standard for the rest of the matches. I can agree with the men's events, but I really think there is talent on the Canadian womens side, so unless they do something foolish, I think they will take it.

The women's team Canada is sending is playing their best right now and they defeated the previous Olympic team, who took bronze in 2006, to qualify for 2010. I'm not so worried about the women's team as I am the men's.

[VOguy]

The opening ceremony is TONIGHT at 9:00PM Eastern on NBC

[MuseNoir]

Does anyone know how I can stream the Opening Ceremony online? I am having the worst time finding a link... I really thought about getting TV again for the Olympics, but didnt do it... kind of sorry tonight that I didnt. I've always loved the Winter Olympics.

[Divinorumus]

Does anyone know how I can stream the Opening Ceremony online? I am having the worst time finding a link... I really thought about getting TV again for the Olympics, but didnt do it... kind of sorry tonight that I didnt. I've always loved the Winter Olympics.

Have you tried: Video - Exclusive Coverage | 2010 Winter Olympics | NBC Olympics

[MuseNoir]

I cant see how to stream it -- lots of videos though. I guess I will try to find the opening ceremonies a little later, maybe there will be a video up!

[VOguy]

Does anyone know how I can stream the Opening Ceremony online? I am having the worst time finding a link... I really thought about getting TV again for the Olympics, but didnt do it... kind of sorry tonight that I didnt. I've always loved the Winter Olympics.

Damn, I wish I would have known you couldn't see it. I would have recorded it and sent it out to you on DVD. In retrospect I should have recorded it. I thought it was one of the BEST openings I have seen. The Indian nation's participation was awesome! And what about the drama at the lighting?

[VOguy]

Hamelin among Canada's 1st big hopes for gold: The last time Canada hosted an Olympics, Charles Hamelin was 3 years old. The home team was shut out, failing to win a single gold medal in 1988 in Calgary. Now, Hamelin will have a chance to show how much has changed since then. He'll compete in front of the home fans Saturday night in 1,500-meter short-track speedskating, one of at least two events the Canadians are expected to contend in on the first day of medals at the Vancouver Olympics.

Lysacek ditches quad, fears injury: World champion Evan Lysacek likely won't do a quadruple jump at the Vancouver Olympics, not wanting to re-injure his left foot. Lysacek said Thursday he feared he had another stress fracture after feeling pain in his foot following the U.S. championships. Two days at the doctor's office assured him he didn't, and his foot feels fine now. But after the stress fracture he had last spring, he doesn't want to take any chances by doing a quadruple toe loop.

Will Canada get Curled by the U.S?: Bob Costas said last night, "The U.K. invented Curling, but Canada perfected it. Will Debbie McCormick deny Canada the gold? She nearly quit the family business of curling, but U.S. Olympic skip and captain, Debbie McCormick, said she got her groove back with equal measures of training and bonding with her team. Over the past year, McCormick's squad has gone back to basics on the rink, taking it, as they say, one rock at a time, and one end at a time. They have also gotten in touch with each other's feelings, with the help of a psychologist. In fact, the women are so close they finish each other's sentences and frequently trade inside jokes.

Another Crash: American Stacey Cook added to the US women's ski team woes when she crashed in an Olympic downhill training run here on Thursday. Cook, wearing bib number two, crashed heavily into the side netting at speed and despite getting up she was later airlifted to hospital for further checks. A US Ski team spokesman said more details on Cook's injuries would be released later. Before Cook, only one other woman, Italian Lucia Recchia, made it down Franz's Downhill run as the weather continued to play havoc with the training sessions for the Olympic alpine events. After several delays, snowfall and poor visibility forced the cancellation of the women's downhill training run for Sunday's super-combined.

BTW, the Men's alpine skiing downhill competition at Whistler Creekside originally scheduled for 11:45 am Pacific Time on Saturday, February 13 has been postponed to February 15 due to adverse weather. The new start time for the event will be determined and announced later today.

Joint VANOC - FIL Statement on Men’s Luge Competition

Feb 12, 2010

The International Luge Federation is deeply saddened by the death of the Georgian athlete, Nodar Kumaritashvili, member of our Luge Family, who was fatally injured during the final training session in the last corner of the track at the Whistler Sliding Centre on Friday morning.

The Coroners Service of British Columbia, responsible for the investigation of all sudden deaths, together with the RCMP, concluded their on-scene investigations on the track and transferred the decision to FIL when the track can be re-opened. The FIL, through its technical officials, further investigated into the cause of this tragic incident. Based on a physical inspection of the track and a thorough review of the tapes they have concluded the following:

It appears after a routine run, the athlete came late out of curve 15 and did not compensate properly to make correct entrance into curve 16. This resulted in a late entrance into curve 16 and although the athlete worked to correct the problem he eventually lost control of the sled resulting in the tragic accident. The technical officials of the FIL were able to retrace the path of the athlete and concluded there was no indication that the accident was caused by deficiencies in the track.

Based on these findings the race director, in consultation with the FIL, made the decision to reopen the track following a raising of the walls at the exit of curve 16 and a change in the ice profile. This was done as a preventative measure, in order to avoid that such an extremely exceptional accident could occur again.

The FIL will resume men´s training Saturday morning with two full training runs prior to the competition taking place as scheduled at 1700 (5PM).

FIL and VANOC will conduct a joint press conference on Saturday, 13 February, at 0830 (8:30AM) at the Whistler Media Center with Josef Fendt, FIL President, Svein Romstad, FIL Secretary General and Tim Gayda, VANOC Vice-President, Sport. Media in Vancouver will be able to follow the press conference and post questions at the Main Press Center (MPC).

BEST MOMENTS
Yahoo Canada

The 2010 Winter Olympics opened Friday night at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a rousing Opening Ceremony that didn't quite match the pageantry of Beijing, but did a fine job of capturing the essence of Canada. Fourth-Place Medal lists the 10 most memorable moments of the festivities:

1. The gaffe heard 'round the world ... Vancouver organizers had planned for four Olympic cauldrons to be lit by Canada's most famous athletes, but a mechanical error prevented one of the massive torches from rising from the floor of BC Place. Former hockey star Wayne Gretzky, two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash and Alpine skiing legend Nancy Green were able to light their cauldrons, but speedskater Catriona Lemay Doan was left with her flame when the fourth torch failed to emerge from underneath the stadium. It was an embarrassing end to an otherwise flawless Opening Ceremony. Instead of the indelible memory of four cauldron-lighters, this ceremony will be most remembered for the cauldron that wouldn't rise.

2. Honoring Nodar Kumaritashvili ... The tributes to Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died Friday morning during a practice run at Whistler, were understated at best. In the IOC's defense, it's hard to add a last-minute homage to a ceremony that has been scripted down to the second, but organizers still could have done more than a moment of silence that lasted a few seconds and some perfunctory remarks from Rogge before his address to the gathered 60,000 and the billions watching on television. This isn't to say that the Opening Ceremony should have turned into a somber affair, but there were better ways to address the tragedy than a few hastily-gathered addendums.

3. "Peaks of endeavor" ... In the highlight of the performances at the Opening Ceremony, snowboarders and skiers descended from the roof of BC Place on wires in a stirring tribute to Western Canada and the Rocky Mountains. The performance featured a draped mountain circled by lighted speedskaters that was reminiscent of the lighted drummers from Beijing.

4. An early parade of nations ... Usually the parade of nations takes place in the latter half of the Opening Ceremony, after the numerous performance and set pieces. (This could be because of logistics; thousands of athletes take up a lot of room standing on the floor of a stadium.) But Friday night in Vancouver, the parade took place at the beginning of the ceremony. Unlike in previous Games, though, the 2,500-plus athletes were able to sit in the stands and enjoy the show.

5. Honoring native Canadians ... The opening five-minute celebration of aboriginal culture was a fitting tribute to the native people of Canada, but it felt a bit forced and more than a little hokey. When the tribes were introducing themselves, a large totem pole in the middle of the floor of BC Place raised its arms. When each of the four statues had raised their arms, it resembled a quartet of sleepwalkers. After the parade there were some higher-tech performances, but it seemed like ceremony directors borrowed much of the special effects from "Highlander."

6. The virtual floor ... A terrain of ice virtually broke apart and turned the floor of BC Place into virtual oceans in which whales and salmon swam across. The section combined two-dimension reality with third-dimension effects to make for the most technologically impressive moment of the ceremony. It may not have been the splendor of Beijing, but on a diminished budget, it was an amazing feat.

7. Warm reception for the United States delegation ... The U.S. athletes received one of the warmest welcomes while entering BC Place. Only Georgia (home country of Nodar Kumaritashvili) and Canada were greeted with bigger cheers.

8. Cold weather gear in a climate-controlled stadium ... Though each delegation (with the exception of Bermuda) looked like it was bundled up for a trip into the Canadian tundra, the temperature inside BC Place was actually a balmy 72 degrees.

9. Lindsey Vonn's no-show ... The potential star of the Winter Olympics was in Whistler during the festivities, recovering from her shin injury ahead of her ambitious five-race schedule. Though the athletes were able to sit during the performances of the Games, each had to stand for at least an hour before the march. Thus, it made little sense for Vonn to join the U.S. delegation at the risk of aggravating her injury.

10. The lip-synching singers ... Lip-synching is a given when it comes to performances in huge venues. The risk of technical difficulties, the lack of monitors and trouble with acoustics necessitate recording a back-up track. But usually when this happens, the performers who are going about the lip-synching do a decent job of hiding the fact that they're not really singing. That didn't happen Friday night in Vancouver. From "O Canada" singer Nikki Yanofsky to Nelly Furtado to Bryan Adams to a tap dancer whose tapping sounds were obviously pre-recorded, every performer at the Opening Ceremony had difficulty keeping up with the track. Nobody expects live singing anymore, but at least make a good attempt to fool us, you know? At least the slam poetry guy was on a live mic. (On second thought, maybe that wasn't the best thing.)