venting

[Al DeFlorio]

Amen, Marty!:-/

[Melissa \'01]

OK. I know that I said I was going to shut up about this but just thought I'd let anyone who hasn't already heard know that Canada is disputing the judge's decision in light of a possible conspiracy. some kind of investingation is underway. it's unlikely that there will be a reversal of decision but just wanted to let people know. i know that it sounds VERY petty but i am very happy about the investigation and the complaint.

[judy]

They replayed both long programs this afternoon on MSNBC...just looking at both in terms of presentation, Canada was more telling a story and Russia was like the fluid movement of nature. Judging on the artistic/presentation alone, it's hard to decide since it depends on which you prefer. I couldn't help thinking....wow, it's like the whole Nancy Kerrigan/Oksana Baiul deal a decade ago...always some sort of controversy about skating.

Now back to hockey, who do you think will win the Olympics and who are you cheering for?

[ugarte]

I don't like subjective elements in any sport, and I don't like that the X-sports seem to have been added so Americans would have a reason to watch the Winter Olympics (because winners named Franz, Lars or Boris just bore the U.S.A.)

That said, Kelly Clark's run in the halfpipe was smokin' and I was really glad to see it happen in the Olympics.  The judging in freestyle skiing doesn't seem to have been corrupted yet, and the results always seem to match the athletes own opinions. And the highlights from the men's halfpipe left me slackjawed. Very cool. Still disappointed about Big Red Hannah.

Also, and important if it turns out to be true, assording to an article in USAToday:

Increasingly, this is not just looking like a bad decision, but a fixed one. After the pairs long program on Monday and the judges' controversial 5-4 vote for the Russians, French judge Marie Reine Le Gougne, who voted for the Russians, told members of the International Skating Union's prestigious technical committee, as well as a few judges, that she was forced by her federation to vote for the Russians in a deal that would deliver a vote for the French team in the ice dancing competition later in the Olympic Games. There also were very credible reports that Le Gougne is trying to become a member of the important ISU technical committee, and that it's well known that Russian votes are needed to get yourself elected to that post.

For the article, go to http://www.usatoday.com/sports/comment/brennan/2002-02-12-brennan-pairs.htm .

[ugarte]

I thought Kerrigan-Baiul was only a dispute in the Kerrigan household. Oksana deserved the gold.

[judy]

my other thought while watching the skating last night was..."Oh dear...it's like bush vs. gore again but it's in skating!"

[marty\'74]

Maybe the KGB will do the investigation. ::uhoh::

[Jim Hyla]

Hey, I don't know about you, but I ski and I would never think about doing what those boarders do. They are as much a sport as speed skaters are. In fact I'd bet the boarders would fare better as skaters than vice-versa, whatever that means. ::nut::

[rhovorka]

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one with a soapbox about the way Olympic hockey is set-up now.  The miracle isn't possible.  I hate the way the NHL has taken over the Olympics (is the NBA to blame?).  Should be amateurs out there.  The US mens team was a disgrace in Nagano.  Plus, the NHL teams aren't even letting their players play.  The Kings allowed Ziggy Palffy one game...he was in street clothes watching his team get eliminated.  The Slovak team had 12 skaters for their game vs. Austria.  Unfair.  

Yeah...I'll watch and half-heartedly cheer on the US.  I'll also root against Canada (let me explain)...Canada's last hockey gold was in 1952.  I find some comedy that a country that is so hockey crazy hasn't won in 50 years, while the US (where most still need an explanation of icing) has won 2 in that time.  Sort of a mix of US pride, and keeping that needle against my Canadian friends.  

I'll also root for whatever underdogs (Germany?) come out of this prelim round...I'd love for them to upset some team stacked with NHL talent.

[melissa]

Shouldn't the fact that Canada hasn't won in so long have you rooting for them? Just curious. I mean, its kinda sad that the birthplace of hockey has has such a bad run. God knows that as a Canadian I am embarassed in regard to our poor showing at the Olympics  .... tho I shouldn't neglect to mention that we came pretty darn close a few times, losing in a shoot out (which I have been informed the team has prepared for this time around!)

[jtwcornell91]

So is rooting against Canada kind of like rooting against Clarkson in the NCAAs?

I am pulling for Joe Nieuwendyk and Canada in the men's competition and Dana Antal and Canada in the women's.  I'll also pull for the US teams in their brackets.  I'm too bitter about the Swiss being eliminated to root for the qualifying round surviviors.

Of course, I may be bleeding from the ears after a hockey overdose from this coming weekend's telecasts of eight men's olympic games, two women's olympic games, and four college hockey games, not to mention the two Cornell radio broadcasts on the internet.
 ::nut::

[rhovorka]

Yeah, Melissa...I should be rooting for them, and I totally see your point.  Heck, I grew up near the border, and have often wished I had more of the Canadian way of life.   I own a Canadian flag and a Canadian jersey.  And I really don't want to laugh at Canada's misery about it.  But I don't want Canada to get the gold and I can't really explain it to even my own satisfaction.  Call it a really guilty pleasure that I'm ashamed of.  If the US didn't have 1960 and 1980, it would totally be different.  My unhappiness about the intrusion of the NHL into the Olympics makes it a little easier.

Good analogy with Clarkson, John.  Although at this point, I'm so desperate to get an ECAC National title that I'd throw that hang-up away in a second.  And I can't think of a better program to get it, other than Cornell of course.

[zg88]

> ...have often wished I had more of the Canadian way of life.

 ::laugh::  Sounds like a big, juicy set-up... but, alas, it's too late at night for me to come up with a killer punchline at the moment...

In case you weren't joking...

...just pop open a Molson's and stick your head in the freezer...  Am I missing something here??  :-P

[rhovorka]

:-D OK, zg88, that punchline wasn't too bad for 2 am.   ::snore::

Guess what I meant was that I just wish I had a better opportunity to learn hockey when I was younger.  I had zero chance.  And no hockey on TV until ESPN picked it up...I had to listen to the Stanley Cup Finals on the radio.  They have Hockey Night in Canada since forever, and every sports news show starts with hockey.  Canadian domestic beers are good.  Toronto is my favorite city.  And yes...I'm a freak and like cold weather.

Ever see the "I AM Canadian." commercials Molson made?  The whole series is fantastic.

Note: this isn't to say that I'm not incredibly proud to be an American, of course.

[marty\'74]

Yeah, the back bacon!