I think everyone around the LSF knows how much I love the Olympics (please see my amazing Summer Olympic posts from 2008), and I decided that it was time to get us all ready for the upcoming winter games from a city very close to my heart, Vancouver. Before we get ready, let's take a glance at what's been happening for my squads. Then, we'll get primed up.
-Angels: We are just 8 days from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training. I'm getting tingly.
-Canucks: A shootout win against the Bruins on Saturday has the Vannies rolling again on their road trip. At 35-20-2 (72 points), the Olympic hosts still lead the Northwest by a win over the Colorado Rangers and get ready to battle Tampa Bay (25-21-11) tomorrow. Still #3 in the West, I'm proud.
-Celtics: After getting smashed up yesterday morning by the Magic, the C's are now just 32-17, and looked toward a match against the Super Bowl winning Hornets on Wednesday (27-24). The loss has us now 1 game back of #2 Orlando and 7.5 back of the runaway Cavs. Will Ray Allen stay, or will he go?
-Rams: Today is the first day that players can be cut, and rumors are swirling that Marc Bulger may be out. I'm finally excited about Rams news!
-Celtic FC: Irish stud Robbie Keane scored in his first match with the Hoops to win 4-2 over Dunfermline. We're still 10 back of Rangers with a match set for Wednesday against Hearts.
-Newcastle: A 5-1 win over Cardiff has the Toon Army buzzing. With a 3 point lead over West Brom, we have a battle with Derby County tomorrow.
-Gauchos: A win over UC Davis by 4 has Gaucho Nation pretty happy. After a .500 start, we're 13-8 and #2 in the Big West. #4 Long Beach State is scheduled to come to the Thunderdome on Saturday. PEople are going to be drunk.
-Fighting Irish: The basketball team continues to suck after a narrow win over USF. At 17-7, we're not even smelling the elite level of the Big East, but we have a game at Seton Hall on Thursday, which is nice because they're worse than us. Lots of good stuff on signing day for Notre Dame, and you can read about it here.
Onto the Olympics. I'm about to pee my pants! The world's games get underway on Friday with the opening ceremonies, and I want to get you ready for what I'm most excited to enjoy:
-Bobsleigh: This fun event brings back memories of "Cool Runnings," despite the fact that the Jamaicans didn't make the cut this year. The sport gets underway 2/20 with the two man heats and concludes on 2/27 with the medal event in the four man. In Torino, it was Germany walking away with 3 golds, while the US finished with just a silver. Canada, equaling the US, earned a silver, at Torino. Can we end German domination? Our last Gold was in 2002 in Salt Lake, and hopefully we can bring the close to home feeling up to British Columbia. Steve Holcomb, Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler, and Curt Tomasevicz are ready to bring it home for us.
-Curling: You might think I'm crazy, but curling is one of my favorite Winter Olympic sports. I'm not joking, I completely love it. The battles start on 2/16. Following the US, we go against Germany in the Men's Round Robin to open and battle Japan in the Women's Round Robin. We also battle Norway, the Swiss in the Men's battle, while the women also go against Germany in the Round Robin matches. Last Olympics, Canada regained glory with the gold (along with Sweden), while the US surprised by getting a bronze. It is our only medal in the sport. Can John Benton and Jeff Isaacson lead the US men to glory?
-Figure Skating: Everyone loves figure skating, don't deny it. When it gets serious, it gets so damned exciting. This year, we already have controversy getting it on. The favorites to win the gold in the pairs, the Russians (Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin), have raised eyebrows with a dance referencing Australian Aboriginal culture. The pair wear dark skin toned outfits and loin cloths. The Australian Olympic committee are saying, "It looks more like they were trying to emulate the token savage cave man. That's insulting to Aboriginal people." That's why I'm launching my "Anyone To Beat The Russians" campaign. We have to beat these Reds. Look to be stunned by American skating studs Rachael Flatt, Johnny Weir, Charlie White, and Amanda Evora. Should be a blast.
-Ice Hockey: Where can I start with this one? Obviously, you root for the Americans, but you wouldn't mind seeing Canada or Sweden take it, right? I don't know. I used to think that, but when I was watching the World Juniors, I grew to hate Canada's hockey team so much. And, with the fact that they're sitting Roberto Luongo in favor of that bum from New Jersey makes me even more frustrated. The Men open things up on 2/16 as the US battles the Swiss and Canada battles Norway. We face Norway on 2/18, and have the biggest match on 2/21 as the US and Canada go head to head. That's going to be a knock down drag out fight. Ryan Kesler better get some ice time. Of course, my favorite hockey playing twins will try and propel their Swedish squad on the up and up against Germany first, then against Latvia, and Finland before the "playoffs" get underway. Don't forget that I said in an earlier post that Slovakia is the most underrated squad in Vancouver.
-Short Track: Equivalent of the short races around the track in the Summer Games, short track is a fast paced and exciting sport that always delivers. It starts on day 1 with the 1500 meter race, and continues on from there. The US got a gold and a 2 bronzes in the 2006 Torino games, and have our largest competition from the Asians. The Koreans came away with 10 medals in '06 (6 golds, 3 silvers, and a bronze) and the Chinese walked away with 5 (a gold, a silver, and 3 bronzes). Even Canada big upped us with 3 silvers and a bronze. We are going to have to make some serious headway to get up in the tops of this get you out of your seat sport. Would you believe that Apolo Anton Ohno is only 27 years old? He leads a core of solid skaters like Travis Jayner, Jordan Malone, JR Celski, and Simon Cho. Don't forget about the women, with Allison Baver leading the squad. Let's get us some.
Now surely there are other sports that you may like, I'm just scratching the surface of the sports that really have been nerding out. If you love alpine skiing, that's fine. If you're a fan of biathlon, I really respect you (I actually think I might want to try and get into that this time around). Cross country isn't my cup of tea. Freestyle skiing, much like snowboarding, is especially not interesting to me. The luge is pretty cool, but it certainly doesn't compare to the bobsleigh. Again, nordic combined isn't my cup of tea. Then you have skeleton (a little too crazy), ski jumping (I'll admit I enjoy watching it, but it's not what I'm waiting 4 years for), and speed skating (I'm impressed with the distance skaters, but my passion is for short track).
So, maybe this post inspired you to get as pumped up as I am for the Winter Games. Maybe you'll try out a new sport, which I always advise. Maybe I just bored the crap out of you, and you are wishing this was one of those posts with a bunch of funny links in it. Either way, walk over to your DVR and set a ton of recordings, because the Winter Olympics from Vancouver are going to be very, very fun. Don't forget to also keep up with the LSF as we post on the games.
Have a nice afternoon, and apologies for the lack of proofreading.
0 comments:
Post a Comment