Olympics Anyone?......

[Coley]

Lol....the winter Olympics always seem to suffer from a few popularity issues, even with Canadians.
I haven't been tuning in too much, but given the last few days....I will try to catch a few more events before the end of the games because there is some great competition in there for sure.

More importantly tho'....the hockey stuff!!

Okay quick update on that.
Tonight...two of the world's biggest hockey rivals...the U.S and the Canadian women go for Gold tonight. One game, one chance...all out.
These two teams are seriously at each other's throat all the time (........like a lot of women when they get together on a competitive level...even socially, lol)
Regardless, it will be a damn good game and its on tonight at/near 11:00pm EST or about 8:00 pm on the west coast.

Now the Mens hockey....well, some good news and some bad news.
First off, as some may or may not know the NHL banned professional players from the Olympics this year...so no 'superstars' are in the Olympics...no Crosbys, Mcdavids, Ovechkins, Kanes, etc....which has cut the attendance to the games substantially.
Regardless, the teams are still very fast and very skilled.

Anyhow, the U.S unfortunately lost to the Czechs which bounced them out of the tournament and the medal round and 'put them on the trailer' as they say in racing circles.
It was lost in a shoot out...which is never a great way to either win or lose in my opinion.....Regardless...sorry for that bad news guys.

Canada beat the Fins early this morning to advance to the Semi-Finals against ze' Germans, who surprisingly beat Sweden who are on their way home now as well....and that was a big surprise.

Meanwhile, the other semi-final game will put the Czechs against the OAR (olympic athletes of Russia).....and you never know when the next Russian Athlete is going to get caught for doping....so might be a half bench full of players left come game time, lol.

Those games go tomorrow (early) so I will be up and watching to see if Canada can get past ze' Germans and advance to the Gold Medal game.

So.....that is at least the 'catch up' on the hockey deal for the Olympics!

All good
Coley

[truckster]

Wait... is the curling over?

What about a combined event: Hockey, curling, and figure skating all on the ice at the same time? That could be interesting.

[mongocanfly]

Olympics???..what olympics.....guess not.....

[jeffahart]

Although I'm not a hockey fan like you probably are, being you are from Canada. I used to be a big snow skier, and water too. I attempted to watch a couple times. All I got was some guy in a large room standing in front of a fireplace blabbering and lengthy runs of advertisements. I turned off when trying to watch ski jumping, figure skating and speed skating. I finally gave up, too much blabber and advertisements, not enough sport.

[Advanced Design]

We have been watching a lot of the coverage for the first time ever. We never have before. It might be because as we age, we are less mobile and are amazed at what these young athletes can do on the ice and snow. Also enjoying the effort and determination the participants put into winning.

Shoot, I even watched two curling matches on CNBC and began to appreciate the strategy and skill used to win. Had no clue what the rules were...

[Coley]

Congrats to the U.S Women on winning Gold in the Hockey!!
That was a good game and straight up, the U.S women deserved the gold.
I thought they were faster and were much tighter in their play making.
Like a few other games...this one was decided in a shoot out that went to the sixth shot (I think).
Regardless.....no regrets about that game at all.....well played and well deserved!

all good
Coley

[Grumpy old man]

When it was all amateurs It was worth watching ,When they all send professional sports paid ( tv commercials,team players ) athletes why bother ?

[harpo231]

Those girls played hard !! Congrats. to The USA and kudos to Canada[0ur warm fuzzy hat] for going to the wire with class .......

[PanelDeland]

I became a fan of curling. The only explanation I can come up with is that I used to play some shuffleboard in the bars. I'm a big Fan of Matt and Becca and hope they compete in 4 years. There's no televised curling other than the Olympics as far as I can tell. I also like watching some of the snowboarding and ski tricks. The courage it take to go that fast on your@$$ in Luge or face first in Skeleton also piques my interest. I could never have been a competitor in the WE because at that age I couldn't stand the cold.

BTW I saw a short clip where they combined Curling and Skeleton this a.m. Sweeping to start the sled and bumping other sleds at the end for score.

[harpo231]

Last part of signature is very offensive !!!

[el_fantasma]

Originally Posted by Coley

Congrats to the U.S Women on winning Gold in the Hockey!!
That was a good game and straight up, the U.S women deserved the gold.
I thought they were faster and were much tighter in their play making.
Like a few other games...this one was decided in a shoot out that went to the sixth shot (I think).
Regardless.....no regrets about that game at all.....well played and well deserved!

all good
Coley

Not a fan of the shoot out, Coley do you like it? I’d rather see four players on the ice with an open net in OT. Put a big circle around the net and no one allowed inside. Maybe it’s too dangerous?

[Coley]

Originally Posted by el_fantasma

Not a fan of the shoot out, Coley do you like it? I’d rather see four players on the ice with an open net in OT. Put a big circle around the net and no one allowed inside. Maybe it’s too dangerous?

Yeah...I'm no fan of the shoot out either, at least for anything that is a key play-off or one off game like this.
In regular season play, where nothing much is at stake...they can be entertaining but they should not be used to be something this decisive.
If its an athletic competition....it should be played out to finality with all the athletes involved.
The reason this has changed is to limit the 'risk' of the game running on an interfering with the next competition.
Not much of a reason...in my opinion.

Regardless....I was actually glad to the U.S women take that medal. They wanted it ...they played very hard for it and they earned it.
They outplayed Canada in my opinion....and I say that as a Canadian who has watched a few hockey games from time to time (...and played a few, lol)

all good
Coley

[Coley]

As for the curling....yeah, I don't mind watching it but it isn't exactly exciting.
I think for the next Olympics they should amp it up....and introduce full contact curling, like they have in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
(...lol, just kidding of course)

Coley

[Coley]

Well...here is the next big Olympic update...at least on the hockey front.
Canada lost to ze' Germans in the semi-finals....ha, go figure eh?
So that means we (Canada) are headed for the illustrious bronze medal game against the Czechs....oh well.
Regardless, the Germans have really come on a lot stronger this year after many years (decade?) of almost being a 'no show'.
So....good on them, sometimes you need to change things up a bit ....and a change is as good as a rest, lol.

So the Germans are advancing (...have to be careful saying that sometimes).....to the Gold Medal game to play against the OAR (Olympic Athletes of Russia) who defeated the Czechs as well earlier today. The loser of that game gets the Silver....the winner, of course the gold.

That game is probably tomorrow but I will have to recheck the schedule to know for sure.

All good
Coley

[RedBed]

Originally Posted by harpo231

Last part of signature is very offensive !!!

Why? Are you a knight?

[harpo231]

Originally Posted by RedBed

Why? Are you a knight?

Not funny

[toms68cst]

It’s pretty amazing that the USA men’s curling team is playing for gold tonight. I will be up to watch it live.

Canada, Scotland Sweden and Norway pretty much dominate world curling competition. It will be quite an accomplishment/upset if the USA can pull it off.

Both my son and daughter have curled competitively in state/US Jr competitions. My daughter has curled internationally as a Jr curler. My wife and I have spent a lot of time “Behind the glass” over the last few years. It’s a lot more fun watching curling if you have some understanding of the strategy.

[jeffahart]

Originally Posted by toms68cst

It’s pretty amazing that the USA men’s curling team is playing for gold tonight. I will be up to watch it live.

Canada, Scotland Sweden and Norway pretty much dominate world curling competition. It will be quite an accomplishment/upset if the USA can pull it off.

Both my son and daughter have curled competitively in state/US Jr competitions. My daughter has curled internationally as a Jr curler. My wife and I have spent a lot of time “Behind the glass” over the last few years. It’s a lot more fun watching curling if you have some understanding of the strategy.

What is it about curling. I watched it last winter games. Something about is seductive. Made me keep watching. It's kind of elegant. Think I'll tune in tonight.


j

[GOPAPA]

[QUOTE=PanelDeland;8194865]I became a fan of curling. The only explanation I can come up with is that I used to play some shuffleboard in the bars.


WE Won the Gold in Curling,, Panel (i'm an old shuffle board player from the taverns years ago too ,,it is sort of the same thing as for the board and keeping it sanded and silicone spray .. except for them unlevel boards ,,that weall had

[Advanced Design]

Originally Posted by GOPAPA

WE Won the Gold in Curling,, Panel (i'm an old shuffle board player from the taverns years ago too ,,it is sort of the same thing as for the board and keeping it sanded and silicone spray .. except for them unlevel boards ,,that weall had

We recorded the men’s curling competition and watched it this afternoon. Not knowing who won, it was actually exciting to see the US men’s team victorious. Local MN guys make good....could be the title of the movie about them.

[jeffahart]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

We recorded the men’s curling competition and watched it this afternoon. Not knowing who won, it was actually exciting to see the US men’s team victorious. Local MN guys make good....could be the title of the movie about them.

I stayed up and watched. It was a good match. They even had to get out the giant calipers on one round!

[toms68cst]

It was a great game the other night for the U.S. It's almost unheard of for someone to score 5 in one end in a world championship game. Sweden was playing very aggressively, trying to set up a steal and got burned.

I've seen a lot of the politics between the US Curling Association and the USOC over the years. The USOC put a lot of pressure on the US curling association a few years ago after our poor showings in 2014 and 2010. There was a real chance of them severing their relationship. That's when the US curling association developed the high performance program. It looks to be paying off. With the USOC it's all about wining metals.