Rent a piece of the podium?: Much has been made about Canada's Own the Podium program that spent millions in an attempt to garner the most medals in the 2010 Olympics.
Perhaps they were a little too ambitious, and unfortunately may have set up the populace for disappointment even though the Canadians are objectively having a good Olympics.
Perhaps they were a little too ambitious, and unfortunately may have set up the populace for disappointment even though the Canadians are objectively having a good Olympics. Even I may have sipped a little too much of the maple flavored kool-aid in the pre-game hype when I picked them to finish 2nd to Germany in the medal count. It looks like the US and Germany will have the most medals, with the exact order still to be determined. Canada will likely have a tough time passing Norway and Russia for the 3rd spot.
U-S-Eh!: "Major upset in Vancouver" just doesn't have the same ring to it as "Miracle On Ice," but the USA men's 5-3 win over Canada Sunday was about as unlikely as the victory over the
USSR in '80. The last US Olympic hockey win over Canada was in 1960, where they not only used sticks made of wood, but skates also ;) The loss is resonating heavily up north, but the reality is that this only makes it a little more difficult for Canada to win the gold.
USSR in '80. The last US Olympic hockey win over Canada was in 1960, where they not only used sticks made of wood, but skates also ;) The loss is resonating heavily up north, but the reality is that this only makes it a little more difficult for Canada to win the gold.The are three reasons this USA triumph will not come close to matching "Miracle On Ice": 1) It was not young amateurs against seasoned pros; 2) It did not vault the US into a game for the gold medal; it simply gave the team a bye into the quarterfinals; and 3) There was no cold war implications in this victory. Sure, Canada is always trying to shake the shadow of their North American neighbor (and where better than their national sport?), but it hardly feels like a life and death battle over ideology.
And speaking of USA hockey, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the dominant women's team that cruised into the gold medal game with an 9-1 warmup over Sweden in the semis. The ladies have not been tested yet, and face Canada for the gold medal.
TV coverage: The daytime coverage continues to outshine the primetime version, largely because NBC condenses so many of the sports at night (except figure skating). They have more time during the day, and they are able to show good portions of the events live. The announcing also seems better, and more real compared to the voice overs on highlight tapes.
A good example of an exciting event that did not make it to the evening coverage was Monday's Team Cross Country Sprint. The US has only one cross country skiing medal ever, a men's individual silver in 1976. But both the men's and women's entry in this event made the finals and finished 9th and 6th respectively. 
The race is a two-person relay where each teammate skis one lap three separate times. The races were exciting and the background scenery breathtaking. The Belarus men were disqualified in the semi when the final skier mistakenly turned down the transition lane rather than continue to the finish line. I don't know if they would have medaled, but I'm sure it will get more media attention in EuroAsia than it will here. The German women edged the Swedes for gold, and men's XC legend Petter Northug led Norway to victory by outsprinting the Germans and Russians in the final 100 meters.
Ice Cream Angle: Freestyle skier Hannah Kearney, already a Cool 11 candidate, is a Vermont native and would love to have a Ben & Jerry's flavor named after her. So would co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, big Keraney fans, but they sold the company and no longer control those decisions. She would like it to be coffee ice cream with oreo cookies. Yuck.
Snowboard medalist Hannah Teter (also from Vermont) already has her own flavor, Hannah 
Teter's Maple Blondie. Teter, who received recent attention in the much publicized SI swimsuit edition, founded a charity years ago called Hannah's Gold to help a village in Kenya with food, water and schools. She donates her snowboard winnings and proceeds from family maple syrup sales to the charity. She also has a merchandise line called "Sweet Cheeks," and is donating $5 from the sale of each pair of underwear to Doctors Without Borders 
to help in the Haiti relief effort. http://www.sweetcheekspanties.com/.
Teter's Maple Blondie. Teter, who received recent attention in the much publicized SI swimsuit edition, founded a charity years ago called Hannah's Gold to help a village in Kenya with food, water and schools. She donates her snowboard winnings and proceeds from family maple syrup sales to the charity. She also has a merchandise line called "Sweet Cheeks," and is donating $5 from the sale of each pair of underwear to Doctors Without Borders 
to help in the Haiti relief effort. http://www.sweetcheekspanties.com/.Cool 11: USA men's goalie Ryan Miller and his 42 saves against Canada (pics below). Also a great interview. Swedish cross country star Charlotte Kalla (right & skiing above). Halfpipe silver medalist Hannah Teter.
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