Proud To Be An American Hockey Fan

Well done Canada. You got the gold. Now go clean your shorts.

I honestly didn't think the U.S. had a chance as I saw Canada destroy Russia in the early rounds of the Olympic tournament. That was supposed to be a gold medal type match and Canada wiped the floor with those Russian types.

The U.S. beat the Canucks early in the tournament and people like myself thought that loss simply woke the Canadians up. They'd come into the gold medal game with something to prove and would therefor crush the upstart Americans with a team that reads like an NHL All-Star roster.

And yet there the Americans were, pushing the Canadians into overtime before falling in the final game of the Olympics.

So why did the Americans look so glum afterward? Sure, they lost. Losing sucks. But c'mon, man! The U.S. was one of the youngest teams in the tournament! This is a team that was hoping to make some strides during this Olympics. They were playing for 2014, but there they were, pushing the heavily favored Canadians to the brink.

I know America didn't win the gold. The Canadians deserve the praise they get. And so do the Americans.

It would have been nice to see some love given by the winners to a team that beat them once and then nearly beat them a second time despite the Canadians having every motivation to win big. The only tip of the cap I heard to the U.S. players was a big ovation for goaltender Ryan Miller during the medal ceremony.

Miller deserved it for sure, he was a beast. Don't think though that he was the only reason the U.S. was in the gold medal game. That's selling this team short. The Americans went toe to toe with the best in the world and absolutely held their own. Guys like Zach Parise, Patrick Kane, and Brian Rafalski proved that they could be on any Olympic team. Yes, even Canada's.

So I applaud the Canadians for a gold medal they deserve, but as I say that, I can tell you without a doubt that I am proud to be a U.S. hockey fan today.

America! F--k Yeah!

No To The Netherlands Knee Jerk

Sven Kramer has a right to be pissed. He coach cost him the race.

When Gerard Kemkers told his star skater to switch lanes in the final part of the 10,000 meters, it destroyed any chance for a medal. Despite walloping every opponent in the race, Kramer learned that he was disqualified because his coach told him move to the inside lane. Kramer was in the outside lane...where he was supposed to be. He moved at the last second after his coach screamed at him to switch. Then he got to skate the last few laps knowing something was terribly wrong. He'd won big, yet no one was celebrating.

Kramer heard the news about his disqualification. He threw his glasses and stalked off the ice in frustration. Kemkers just buried his head in his hands.

Speed skating in the Netherlands is somewhat like hockey in Canada. It's their pride and passion. This was no simple little blunder, this was a national embarrassment.

Today, after a difficult meeting supposedly filled with less than pleasant exchanges, Kramer finally made the big decision.

He kept his coach.

Not an easy decision for sure. Imagine a football coach opting to kick a field goal as time expired in the Super Bowl when his team was down by four points. You think there might be some calls for his dismissal?

But Kramer resisted the calls for his coach's head because, despite the gigantic blunder, this was a man who helped coach Kramer up to a world class skater. He'd won several titles before the Olympics and would have won gold if not for the disqualification.

It was a terrible mistake, but it was a mistake. That's it.

Plus, Kramer probably got more attention because of this story than he ever would have if he just won the race. His coach has made Sven a speed skating celebrity.

That's probably little consolation to a man who just lost a gold medal on a technicality, but there was no need for drastic action. Sven Kramer proved that he can be one cool customer.

A Good Show

So you're not much of an Olympics fan, huh? You don't really follow the weird sports on there and therefor aren't interested in what's happening up there in warmish Vancouver (probably better for Summer Olympics wouldn't you say?)

Well human, you are missing out on some great stuff.

Right at the front of the awesome train is women's downhill skiing. Yep, women's skiing, led by hot American Lindsey Vonn. You might know Vonn from her sultry pics, which is a good way to know her.

Here is another way to know her: gold medalist of downhill skiing.

Let me tell you, the women's downhill skiing was nothing less than spectacular this year. That is coming from someone who doesn't watch it ever. The warm Vancouver weather played havoc with the downhill course. The snow was a melted slush of tightly packed snow and ice. The result? A lot of this:




Imagine getting in a wreck going 65 miles per hour. Now imagine doing it without a car around you. Doctors said the impact on some of these crashes is like being hit in the chest with a sledgehammer.

Lindsey Vonn had such a wreck earlier in her career and could do nothing but cry breathlessly has medics strapped her to a board and fly her out. She didn't miss any upcoming races.

Then, later, Vonn ended up with her wrist in a sling. Again, she fought through and competed in all the races she had.

These Olympics were supposed to be the time when she finally got healthy and showed everyone what she could do. Unfortunately, she badly bruised her shin and it looked like she may not even be able to compete. Another chance bites the dust.

Luckily for Vonn, the Vancouver weather acted up and gave her a few extra days to heal the shin before she needed to ski. The extra time allowed her to compete in the downhill race she wanted so badly to win after the flame-out in the 2006 Olympics.

This is what we saw last night

If you don't get chills from that video, then you've lost your sports heart. It ain't about the stats. It's about the sports.

Hard Feelings

Well, that was fun. For a fleeting moment, we all thought Chicago had a great chance to host the 2016 Olympics. The city was the odds on favorite to win the bid because of the well built infrastructure and a certain president who calls it home.

Yet even Barack Obama's impassioned speech couldn't save the Windy City from being the first city eliminated from the running in a stunning turn of events. Rio will be the host city for the 2016 games, the first time the games have gone to South America. Good luck keeping order in that beautiful, but crime infested city. My over/under on kidnapped tourists is four.

Looking back, maybe we shouldn't be so stunned that Chicago was quickly dispensed by the Olympic committee. After all, they don't like American venues too much.

The last summer games held in America didn't go over too well with those Olympic types. The 1996 Atlanta games were widely criticized for a bevy of things including the power play of Atlanta based Coca Cola to make itself the sole soft drink served at the Olympics, the incredible number of vendors who attempted to compete with the licensed Olympic shops, and the general over-commercialization of the entire Olympic Games.

Oh, and a bomb went off in the Olympic village. That kind of sucked too.

Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch famously stood at his podium (probably with an incarnadine face) after the games ended in Atlanta and said that the 1996 games had been "most exceptional." At all the prior Olympics he oversaw, he would proclaim that the games were "the best ever." He resumed saying that at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Point taken.

Chicago would have been a great host for the Olypmics even without the prescence of Obama. It's just a swell city and the Olympics would have at least given Cubs fans something else to do in the summer besides bitch about their team. Alas, America apparently has a sullied reuptation among the Olympic committee members. Some day though. Some day the summer games will visit the American heartland.