The closing ceremonies are in the books ("Look at those giant inflatable beavers"), the US earned a tough to take silver in the final event, and we wrap up our second Olympic games coverage with Vancouver's tenth post.
#1: Canada wins when it counts, beats US for hockey gold. That was a helluva game. The US and Canada worked their way to a rematch after we beat the hosts in round robin play 5-3, and this time it was for the ultimate Olympic prize: the men's hockey gold medal. The main event of these games surely didn't disappoint. After getting the lead on a Jonathan Toews lucky goal in the first, the Canadians doubled their pleasure on a goal from Corey Perry. Despite being down by a pair, the American fans seemed to have an unrealistic hope in their hearts. We were playing hard, and the hosts got a couple of breaks. Five and a half minutes after the Perry goal, my Livonia, MI boy did some magic. Kesler scored on an assist from Patrick Kane (who were two pieces of my favorite US line, by far), and the game would go to the third 1-2. It was a long push, and with Bobby Lu between the pipes, things looked bleak for the US. Amazingly, though, with Ryan Miller on the bench and an extra attacker on the ice, Zach Parise scored a goal that would send our entire country into a frenzy. Word is that Silky's erupted. Andrew walked into his San Fran apartment just in time to see the magic. My seven week old son saw what had the potential to be one of the biggest American hockey goals since 1980. It didn't really turn out that way. In overtime, Jarome Iginla passed the puck to Sidney Crosby, Crosby took a shot from a bad angle, and the puck was in the net behind Ryan Miller for the Canadian gold. It was fun to see the fans going nuts, but it sure did hurt to see our boys lose. You can ask so many questions. Why didn't Ryan Miller cover the post better? Why wasn't someone there to hit Crosby or pin Iginla? Why?? Well, I think the better thing is to be proud. Be proud of the American team, and give a nice clap for the Canadians. It was a game for the ages, and we did our best. Silver is something to be very proud of. Chins up. And big ups to Ryan Miller for getting the tournament MVP.
#2: The perfect Canadian curlers go 9-0 to earn the gold. As if you couldn't have guessed it. The Canadian curlers beat the funny pants squad from Norway to earn gold with a big 6-3 win in just 9 ends. It was a welcome victory after the Canadian women lost their gold medal game against Sweden by giving up 3 points in the 10th and 11th. Marc Kennedy and the Maple Leafers earned just one 2 point end in the game, but did well enough to remain on their perfect streak and capture the gold medal in the nation's second most popular sport.
#3: China actually does pretend they had a great Olympics. Did you catch the Sports Pickle link from my last post? It was about the Chinese government reporting that their nation was having an amazing games. Well, guess what? It actually came true! The Chinese are calling their 11 medals at the games a "breakthrough." Here's the "Yahoo!" story.
#4: Did I mention Finland beat my Slovaks to win the bronze. Sami Salo's home country made sure that a Canuck player would be on each medal winning team by beating my underrated team of the games from Slovakia. The Fins rode goals from Niklas Hagman, Olli Jokinen, and Valtteri Fippula to spark a thrilling third period comeback win, 5-3. While fans of the Slovaks will say that there was a lot of penalty help for the Fins, I just say it was good ol' solid hockey. Way to go after all the medals, Canuckleheads.
#5: The final medal count is in. It's kind of a controversial debate to decide who actually won the medal count in these Olympic games. The US finished with the most overall medals, earning 37 total (9 golds, 15 silvers, and 13 bronzes). We finished tied for third in the gold medal race, which was won by Canada. The Canadians finished with an overwhelming 14 gold medals, 4 more than Germany (who came in second with 10 golds and with 30 overall medals). So, do you count the fact that the US' medal count was powered by getting 6 more bronze medals than any other country (and 2 more silvers, for that matter)? Or, do you consider the greatest of these games to be based on the fact that the host country's national anthem was played three more times than any other anthem? It is a question I will leave to my readers. In reality, though, I'm the only one reading this, so I'll say: USA all the way!
All in all, it was a completely fun time in Vancouver. Memories of the hockey games, the horrible US curling team, some fun to watch speed skating, thrilling nordic combined, and downright intense figure skating will live on in our hearts for years to come. For now, it's onward to Sochi in 2014!
LSF's "What 2 Watch 4 2night": With the Olympic games coming to an end, the what to watch for will turn our focus back to the NHL and MLB. In hockey, we return to the finish of what has been an exciting season. We get welcomed back to the season with a week long free preview of NHL Center Ice, a continuation of the Vannies road trip from hell, and a crazy rivalry match this Friday between Ryan Kesler and Patrick Kane. In baseball, we gear up for the 2010 season with the fun loving boys of Spring Training. With MLB Network dropping 30 teams in 30 days on us, and LSF bringing the heat to prepare you for the big 162 of this new year, you will be more than ready for another Angels AL West Championship run.
Welcome back.
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