aridog's two favourites came in 1 and 2 in today's Alpine Skiing event. The course was difficult and many top skiers fell and did not finish the run. Congratulations to Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso for winning the USA's first ever Olympic Alpine medals.
Hurray for Lindsey and Julia! They are BOTH awesome!
ReplyDeleteWe're watching the half-pipe competition right now. It's so exciting!
And speaking of awesome women in the Olympics, the Canadian women's hockey team have outscored their opponents 41 -2 in their first three games.
ReplyDeletevs Slovakia: 18 - 0
vs Switzerland: 10 - 1
vs Sweden: 13 - 1
Shani Davis wins the gold! Woo-hoo!
ReplyDeleteWow Fay, the women are kickin' some booty! Go Canada!
ReplyDeleteI just love the USA Olympic Rings hat! LOVE it!
ReplyDeletePet peeve: we're watching the women's downhill, and the announcers keep referring to the athletes as "girls".
ReplyDeleteThey don't refer to the male downhill skiers as "boys", do they?
Good job, NBC. Arseholes.
On Saturday, the weekend edition of The Vancouver Sun had a half page ad on the front page for the Ralph Lauren designed USA Olympic uniforms. I thought this a tad bizarre. Then I opened the paper and there was a full page ad on the reverse side of the front page. At the end of that section of the paper were two more full page ad's one on the last page and one on the back page.
ReplyDeleteDoes Ralph Lauren think that British Columbians want to run out and buy US Olympic apparal?
Your peeve is well deserved lady red. The Canadian commenters certainly never referred to them as girls, always women.
ReplyDeleteI just heard on a CTV "up close & personal" segment that Shaun White earns between 8 and 10 mil a year in endorsements.
ReplyDeleteHuh?
What the hell does he endorse, I never heard of him before this week.
He does adverts for Red Bull (the energy drink) and Target. I had no idea he makes that much money! Yowza.
ReplyDeleteThanks lady red. I've never had a Red Bull, but they do seem to sponsor a lot of stuff. I see their vehicles and promo materials all over the place.
ReplyDeleteRed Bull even built Shaun his own personal half-pipe to practice on. I read it was located deep in the woods, and only accessible by helicopter. I guess he needs the privacy to practice his new moves. :)
ReplyDeleteHis first run tonight was jaw-dropping amazing!
Shaun White wins the gold! Scotty Lago wins the bronze!
ReplyDeleteCTV were saying that the competition was for Silver and Bronze as the Gold really was a foregone conclusion.
ReplyDeleteFay said: " What the hell does he endorse, I never heard of him before this week. "
ReplyDeleteReason for that is he's a rock star in Europe and Japan, but not covered in the USA or Canada. Red Bull is one of the best sponsors, they are the main sponsor of Lindsey Vonn as well.
I'm not fan of "knuckle draggers," but I give White credit for excellence none the less. No his win wsn't a foregone conclusion, any one call fall, on half pipe or Downhill.
There's a whole world of sport never covered by the MSM, one fo the least covered is "Free Skiing"...that where they first must climb peaks like a goat, then ski down slopes so steep you can't stop if you fall, until you hit the rocks. Ms Mancuso is that of skilled skier & risk taker. I fully expect to see her in the Beartoohts some June in the future....and that's taking nothing away from Vonn. White wouldn't surprise me either.
Another notable thing...Vonn skis on men's Downhill skis, which are longer and firmer in the tail. Back in the Jurasic, even as a hack, I skied on Downhill Skis (aka "Abfarts) even just playing around, to be so used to them and their quirks when it counted. The mens' skis are longer and that means more stable at speed...shortest Abfarts I ever used were 215 Cm, usually 220 cm boards. The shorter Slalom or Moguls skis of today would be downright scary dangerous at any speed trying to go even slightly straight....and there are places where the rocks or trees say you must go straight.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to buy new skis today I'd by the "Free Skier" versions hand built in Jackson Hole, Wyoming....desoigned for everything from Powder to ice to crust.
Damn, I miss it.
For a look at the world of "Free Skiing" see: http://www.tetonat.com/
ReplyDeleteNot for the faint of heart, or the old either. :-(
I got to see the medals presented to our Olympians yesterday and it was a very proud moment for both the Americans and Canadians yesterday... There was some great wins and to be part of the Victory Ceremony is priceless!
ReplyDelete~KC~....sounds like you were there. Very nice. "Priceless" is about right last time I checked the venue tickets. No matter, it's nice to know there is at least another Olympics fan out there. Yeah, I'm happy to see North Americans win, especially in the Alpine events...by dint of skills developed. Back in my hack days we weren't so well recognized, to put it nicely, with a few exceptions like Buddy Werner as well as the Crazy Canucks.
ReplyDeleteThe Olymics are different than any other competition. Just ask Mrs. Vonn, although the #1 woman ski racer this year and for the past 2 years, she broke down in grinning tears at the finish line. She won my cynical heart just for that.
Hi KC, nice to see you here!
ReplyDeleteari, KC is one half of the blog I linked to on the iProduct post.
Aridog - I actually work for VANOC, so your assessment is accurate. I am here. LOL. And trust me I don't disagree with you: the cost of some of the tickets (well most actually) is blindingly insane. I can't afford them and I don't get them for free either. At least not the Sporting tickets. I do get to go to a few of the Victory Ceremonies which you can buy tickets for at $20/tix - so I'm cool with that.
ReplyDeleteRight now I split my time between HQ and the Vancouver Athletes Village - that is until the 28th Feb when my term with VANOC ends. And then, like all 2,000++ employees of VANOC, I have to find another job. EECCK. Luckily I have two potential opportunities already in the works - non-Olympic related.
So in the meantime, I am enjoying EVERY MINUTE of this process. The good and bad. Cheering on all the athletes, not just the Canadians.
Although, thanks to NBC's arseholes, I can only see a live timing sheet, it appears Svindal (Norway) has won gold (2nd one for 2010) in Alpine Super-G (high speed, long also, but more turns), with Miller (USA)silver (2nd one for 2010) and Weibrecht (USA) bronze. Erik Guay (Canada) in 5th, again the bridesmaid, not the bride, sorry to day...he's only out of the medals by 3/100ths of one second. Dang....althgough I am glad to see Weibrecht win a medal.
ReplyDelete~KC~ ....cool job for now. At least via CTV.ca you can see live feeds of the events, which I can't here...until the World cup resumes 05 March and NBC is out of the picture again. Used to see Winter Olympic events live on CBC before the change to CTV....CBC is "Local" to me in the Detroit Area, but CTV.ca is blocked.
ReplyDeleteJust for the record, and to VANOC's credit, I presume, the Alpine course preparations have been superb, especially with Downhill & Super-G with technical skills required all the way down except for about 4 seconds midway. Flat ski skills are important, too, but at Whistler edge control is primary...as it should be IMO.
Good luck with the job hunt.
~KC~....I forgot to add: I agree with you about cheering on all the athletes...I do without reservation. I like to see skill by whomever has it and I appreciate it regardless of country. Svindal, for example, is amazing...after his crash at Birds of Prey in Beaver Creek, CO, 2 years ago, many lesser men would have just quit. He's got his reward now, for skill and courage. I respect that in his sport, paticularly, as he is a 5 event kind of guy.
ReplyDeleteOoooh, I'm so excited the pairs compulsory ice dance has started and 2/3rds of the Israeli Olympic team will be performing 15th (6th team are dancing now).
ReplyDeleteThe other 1/3rd of the Israeli team is a slolom skier who will be competing next week.
Go Israel Go!
They did really well! They are in 2nd place right now but there are 8 more couples to skate.
ReplyDeleteDamn I had to say NO to the pairs figure skating event tonight when offered a ticket!!! AAGGHH!
ReplyDeleteThe Olympics isn't about winning really. Sounds crazy to say that but I put up on an earlier post of mine from last week part of the Olympic motto, which I will share here - and its truly significant in all areas of our lives if you stop to think about it: “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”
So many athletes who don't win medals examplify that and they deserve our applause and cheering.
But... hey, can't help it... Canada just won another Gold medal today in Skeleton ... woohoo! I know I know... pales in comparison to the number of medals the US are taking home... but to us Canadians... HUGE accomplishment!
Aridog... cross the border to Windsor and have a few Canadian brews at a pubs somewhere... and watch it the proper way!!!!
ReplyDeleteSo yours was one of the many *empty* seats I saw tonight KC :)
ReplyDeleteYes Canada, one more Gold yippee!
Actually Fay... the ticket offered was one that was actually PAID for!! I can't believe I couldn't go! I don't get to go to many of the sporting events because of work. I tend to be able to get to the Victory Ceremonies. So it was heart wrenching for me to say, No.
ReplyDeleteBut, hey, Gold for Canada... makes up for that!
~KC~ Re: Going to Windsor to watch Olympics.
ReplyDeleteNot a bad idea, one I might just try today if time permitted. However, to do so for all the events I'd like to watch would require getting a room at a nice hotel...with either live feeds via CTV.ca or live TV coverage, and not driving much....I have a long standing love affair with "Canadian Brews" begum early (as in 1960's) and refined while competing in horse shows and other equine events in Toronto. While it was still afloat, I was a regular at a pub/restaurant on a tug boat anchored on the river over there, as well as the Tunnel BBQ and old Erie Street Italian restaurants.
oooohh... yes. Tunnel BBQ. Well it had started to decline by the time I planted roots in Windsor. I was never truly a fan but I always heard from everyone how amazing it once was. Didn't serve me well but hey - there was/is always Erie St for some GREAT food. My favorite was always O Sole Mio but I think it has since sold the business. Another great one was/is Spago's and the Trattoria right next door to it (Westward). Mind you its been a wee bit since I've been back so not sure how it is now. I left Windsor and moved to London, ON where I was for over 10 yrs, often returning back to Windsor. But I'm on the West Coast for now... time will tell me where I shall lay my hat and call home.
ReplyDeleteWhen in Windsor, I would often cross the border to the US of A... and spend very formative early twenties in what was once a well known but somewhat seedy club called the 'Rhino' - where Greektown was supposed to end up, but never did. Oh what a fun amazing place that was! I have seen, heard, did things that can only be seen in movies at The Rhino. I miss those days!!! Such fun!
Wow, Canada and Norway are doing very well in the medal count!
ReplyDeleteI mean, consider Canada is what - like, 10% the US population? And Norway is less than 2%? Ratio-wise both countries are whooping everyone! ;O)
I see Russia made it on the board finally...
p.s. Go Norskies! Woohoo! :OD
Whoo Hoo....Austrians can finally beath again, as Fischbacher wins gold in Alpine Super-G by a significant margin in a race clustered around a few hundredths otherwise. Vonn earns bronze, and quite happy with it I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteCinderella story (not really, she's a phenomenal skier) is the silver for Tina Maze of Slovenia....like Mancuso, she rose to the Olympic ocassion...normally a very precise technician, this time she let it go. Mz Maze may very well win gold in Giant Slalom, her best event of the 5.
Note I tend to like the 5 event skiers the most....it's really hard to do them all.
The US is kicking Germany's bum! Hahaha! I've really enjoyed this Olympics. We've watched a lot more coverage than we have in many years. Vancouver has done a fine job, and all those medals for the US and Canada are icing on the five-ring cake!
ReplyDeleteI'm happy that Ohno won seven medals. He's such a cutie, and so talented. The skiing events have been simply awesome. :)