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vancouver 2010 olympics Archive

OUT OF WRIGHT FIELD: DEAR IOC, WHY SO SERIOUS?

By
Joe Wright
Published: 26 February 2010 1:34 PM ESTPosted in: Out of Wright Field

Vancouver Olympics 2010 on ice celebration

This morning before work, I flipped, clicked or whatevered through a bit of the New York Times and stumbled across their front and center Olympic coverage. Without coffee, I thought that possibly I was reading something incorrectly. It turns out I was entirely correct in my initial reading. The International Olympic Committee is seeking to reprimand the gold medal Canadian Women’s Hockey team. The reason is that after winning A GOLD F*CKING MEDAL they decided to celebrate after winning in their own country. It makes sense that the IOC holds some firm rules on decorum and sportsmanship, but to claim that celebration with champagne after winning is out of line simply displays how out of touch and beholden to big money the IOC really is. At times when they speak I’m shocked to remember that they aren’t even affiliated with the American congress in their inanity.

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CANADA DRY: VANCOUVER RESTRICTED BOOZE SALES

By
theOCD
Published: 22 February 2010 9:11 AM ESTPosted in: Olympic Sports

Canadians like beer. This fact was evident earlier this year at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Saskatoon and Regina. During the tournament, patrons consumed around 144,000 beers at a cost of over $1 million. The numbers aren’t in yet, but the crowd in Vancouver this weekend may have out-guzzled those lightweights.

With an estimated 200,000 fans in the streets of Vancouver, officials ordered downtown beer and liquor stores to close early on Saturday and Sunday. Here’s the statement from British Columbia’s liquor-licensing agency:

“Due to an unprecedented number of intoxicated people, we must do what we can to ensure the Games are safe for everyone. We’re taking a measured approach.”

An unprecedented number of intoxicated people in Canada? Now that’s impressive. Drinking outdoors in Canada is a ticketable offense with a $230 fine. Canadian police arrested 40 people on Saturday night for being publicly intoxicated. Don’t worry though. The people in Vancouver could still get drunk in bars when the liquor and beer ban went into effect at 7 PM each night.

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TEAM CANADA ROSTER ANNOUNCED FOR 2010 OLYMPICS

By
theOCD
Published: 31 December 2009 5:01 PM ESTPosted in: NHL

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Team Canada announced their roster for the Olympics in Saskatoon yesterday. The ridiculously talented squad is a heavy favorite to take the gold in Vancouver next year. Executive Director Steve Yzerman picked the players and now head coach Mike Babcock will lead the team the rest of the way.

Team Canada’s roster resembles an NHL All-Star team with the amount of stars they’ve collected. That’s probably why BetUS puts the odds of them winning the gold medal even with the rest of the field. Here’s a quick rundown of who made the team via The Hockey News:

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Goaltenders

Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils: The 37-year-old veteran who backstopped Canada to gold in 2002 is the NHL’s all-time leader in wins and shutouts and remains at the top of his game.

Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks: Brodeur’s rangy back-up from the 2006 Games is one of the world’s best when he gets hot.

Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins: The 25-year-old was probably out of the Olympic picture until his fine play in the Penguins’ Stanley Cup run in the spring.

Defence

Dan Boyle, San Jose Sharks: Veteran of Tampa Bay’s 2004 Stanley Cup team is a strong rushing rearguard and power-play point man.

Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings: Only turned 20 in August, but brings skill, a good shot and surprising maturity.

Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks: Steady and poised, also adept at moving the puck.

Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim Ducks: A 36-year-old leader, has Olympic gold, four Stanley Cups and remains among the NHL’s best skating defencemen.

Chris Pronger, Philadelphia Flyers: Six-foot-six with a mean streak, he brings a heavy shot and strong defensive zone play.

Brent Seabrook, Chicago: Keith’s more conservative defence partner has a strong two-way game.

Shea Weber, Nashville Predators: Big, skilled, tough and good on the point, the 24-year-old has become one of the NHL’s best all-around blue-liners.

Forwards

Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins: Strong right-hand shooting faceoff man and penalty-killer also has offensive skill and can play centre or wing.

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh: Skilled and intense centre, rivals Alex Ovechkin as the world’s best player.

Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim: Six-foot-four centre scores and is a physical presence in the attacking zone.

Dany Heatley, San Jose: Rangy right-winger uses a long reach to be a top goal-scorer.

Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames: Tough, intense right winger can score and bang in the corners.

Patrick Marleau, San Jose: Quietly skilled two-way left-winger fits in subtly on the Sharks’ top line.

Brendan Morrow, Dallas Stars: Very strong winger on the boards and also has a scoring touch.

Rick Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets: Big left-winger is among hockey’s best goal-scorers.

Corey Perry, Anaheim: Six-foot-three play-making winger meshes well with Gezlaf.

Mike Richards, Philadelphia: Hard-nosed centre is strong on penalty killing, skating and can score.

Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes: Multi-skilled centre brings a large body and soft hands.

Joe Thornton, San Jose: Big, dominating centre has been an NHL playoff bust, but excels at international hockey.

Jonathan Toews, Chicago: A skilled play-making centre or winger who does many little things well, particularly faceoffs.

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VIDEO: RYAN MILLER’S SICK POST-TO-POST DIVING SAVE

By
theOCD
Published: 30 November 2009 1:49 PM ESTPosted in: NHL

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People don’t care about the hockey, so we occasionally attempt to drum up interest in the sport. The NHL still creates some of the most jaw-dropping highlights around. Except they don’t have a TV deal with ESPN and, as a result, get zero coverage.

This highlight comes our way thanks to Ryan Miller. It may be news to you that Mr. Miller may very well be Team USA’s #1 goalie in the Olympics in a couple months. In this clip, he proves exactly why he’s under consideration. First, he makes a key save on a shot from a bad angle. Miller is hugging the post and the rebound kicks out into the slot off of his leg pads or stick. Then the American goalie makes an all-out post-to-post dive to deny a rebound chance by Rod Brind’Amour. The ageless Brind’Amour thought he was shooting on an empty net until Miller shuts the door with his glove. Hopefully Miller saves some of his magic for Vancouver 2010.

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GOLDEN TICKET: VANCOUVER 2010′S TICKET MONOPOLY

By
theOCD
Published: 18 November 2009 7:15 AM ESTPosted in: Olympic Sports

Vancouver Torch Relay Olympics

It’s no secret that tickets to the Olympics are hard to come by. Much like other super major huge sporting events, the secondary ticket market AKA scalpers are your best bet. But how do the scalpers get the tickets if they’re not yet on sale to the general public? Well, that’s what has the Vancouver Organizing Committee so peeved.

Unsurprisingly, many of the scalped tickets come from insiders and corporate sponsors. That has Dave Cobb, deputy CEO of the VANOC, making idle threats. Cobb says that they have the power to cancel all of the scalped tickets “with the push of a button.” That seems more like a threat than a solution as it could also punish those who purchase the tickets. Those in the secondary market are unfazed. One owner of a sports travel company said this about Cobb’s threats:

“It’s always been a joke. They put threats out there and everyone in the event world says, ‘Whatever.’ “

There’s only one ticket dealer in the United States that’s sanctioned to sell Olympic tickets. So it’s clear that Cobb has every right to attempt to control the secondary market. However, it seems counterintuitive to punish end consumers, who are paying well above face value to see the games, just to preserve the monopoly they’ve created. CoSports, the official ticket provider in the United States, and owner Sead Dizdarevic stand to make tens of millions of dollars off of ticket sales. Except CoSports paid the VANOC to slap consumers with a markup.

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The other issue at hand is the family of those in the Olympic Games. One third of the tickets sold go to Olympic Family buyers at face value. The VANOC is trying to avoid “family” scalpers by flagging suspicious orders. In an ironic twist, they’ll also have to buy tickets from the ticket brokers in order to figure out who sold them into the secondary market in the first place.

It’s doubtful that the VANOC will be able to put a big dent in the scalping business. Rules and regulations do very little as the secondary market is fueled by supply and demand. The VANOC would probably be better off with a more sophisticated pricing and ticketing program rather than passing it off to a random slimy dude. Thanks for screwing over your neighbors, douchebags.

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