Olympics Thread

[Doc Holliday]

Who will Canada face tomorrow in the quarter finals?

Everyone expected them to face Switzerland since the Swiss were expected to run over Latvia (coached by Ted Nolan). However, i'm currently watching the game & with 5 minutes left to go in the first period, it's 2-0 for Latvia.

In the other game being played, the Slovak coach decided to send Petr Budaj to the press box & dress the Jan Laco instead. But the big surprise is that Laco (who was fantastic against the Russians) is the one who got the start & Jaroslav Halak is the backup for their game against the Czechs. The Czechs currently lead 2-0, and the coach's decision to sit Halak may come back to haunt him.

 

[Merlot]

IIHF President Rene Fassel indicated...the major reason why Canaada & the US are in a league of their own is mostly because of the incredible amount of female hockey players in those countries as compared to Scandinavian & European countries.

Hello Doc,

The key word here is "amount", which is very misleading as a criteria of skill and success prospects in everything depending on what was meant. A big indicator of that is which countries are leading the medals count, and usually do, as compared to their population and overall monetary resources. Norway with all of slightly more than 5 million people has been leading or contesting the leaders in medals this year as it does every Winter Olympics, and Switzerland and the Netherlands (Holland) have stayed almost as close.

If Fassel used the word "amount" to refer to participants in recruitment programs then that is the fault of Scandinavian and other European countries for the lack of emphasis and commitment to the sport...it would seem. Surely Norway and other small European countries have never been able to come close to the U.S. in numbers of people with an interest in skiing or skating, but still remains a powerhouse in the Olympics. Certainly those countries have shown conclusively they can compete successfully and often dominantly versus countries with a lot more money and population resources.

Even the tiniest of countries, Liechtenstein, has managed 21 total Winter Olympic medals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liechtenstein_at_the_Olympics

I doubt that the situation is a matter of general female lack of interest on the whole within those European nations who Fassel indicates are behind the U.S. and Canada. If that is the case it's shocking since there doesn't seem to be any lack of competitive interest in everything else.

Some further explanation would be interesting.

Cheers,

Merlot

 

[Doc Holliday]

Another hottie....Russian goalie Anna Prugova

 

[MG_mtl]

Yes! Yes! More hotties, less talk!!! :eyebrows:

 

[Merlot]

Hmmm,

Yes! Yes! More hotties, less talk!!!

The Great Merlot grants your wish my horny drooling one:

Lacy Schnoor - American.

Allison Baver - American Speed Skater.

Elena Hight - American Snowboard

Miesha Tate - American Mixed Martial Arts

She can kick your ass too.

:eyebrows:

Merlot

 

[MG_mtl]

Now we're talking! Some of the Russians aren't so bad either... :eyebrows:

Alexandra Saitova

Irina Avvakumova

Alena Zavarzina

 

[EagerBeaver]

Russia losing to Finland 3-1 with under 5 minutes left

 

[Doc Holliday]

Russia losing to Finland 3-1 with under 5 minutes left

I'm not surprised. I picked Finland to upset the Russians when i found out they'd be meeting one another. As i said in the past, the Russians have great offensive players, but the defense is questionable. Just the fact Alexi Emelin is a regular on defence tells me all i need to know. The goaltending duo is very strong and one of the tournament's best. However. facing a well-coached opponent such as Finland which knows how to play defensive & make the most out of their scoring chances, anything can happen. Finland also has very good role players (incl. Maple Leaf Leo Komarov) and are very strong between the pipes.

Varlamov wasn't strong in early on and was pulled in favor of Bobrovski. Talk has also been rampant that the Russian star players don't exactly enjoy following the coach's orders & pretty much do what they want, which has been the usual case since the eastern bloc collapsed two decades ago.

 

[EagerBeaver]

It's all over, Tuuka Rask has stopped 37 of 38 shots and Russia is out of the tournament with no medals. Beaten 3-1 on home ice by the Finns!

 

[Doc Holliday]

It's all over, Tuuku Raask has stopped 35 of 36 shots and Russia is out of the tournament with no medals. Beaten 3-1 on home ice

Both disappointing and embarrassing for the Russians. They haven't really done anything in the past 5 Olympics.

p.s. Maybe they should have started Anna Prugova.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Canadian curlers

This morning, Jennifer Jones' rink defeated the beautiful Eve Muirhead's Great Britain rink in a very close match. They'll face Sweden tomorrow in the finals. Jones' rink is currently undefeated at the Olympics. If there's one team out there that could have beat the Canadians, it's the Muirhead rink, who are the defending world champions. Sweden barely beat Switzerland earlier. The swiss skip had the chance to win the game with the final shot, but totally choked and blew it.

The Canadian men are about to play China. Only a great shot by skip Brad Jacobs of Sault-Ste-Marie, Ontario got Canada past that same team just a few days ago in the round-robin. If you want to see the best fit curling team in the entire Olympics, take a look at the Canadians. They all regular work out in a gym & pump iron. Jacobs said that the added strenght gives them more stamina and durability as compared to the other teams. If you've even been a sweeper in curling, you'll know that it's very hard on the joints & especially on your back. You need very strong arms to be a good sweeper. Having a weak back will make you less durable and lead to a premature career-ending as a curler. The toll it takes on your body is not much different than a golfer's. Which is why today many of the top golfers are in very good shape (e.g. Tiger Woods). Golfers built like Craig "The Walrus" Staddler rarely get on the PGA Tour in today's times.

Which is why not only do the best strategists win in curling, but also teams with the best sweepers.

I predict a gold medal for both Canadian teams tomorrow.

 

[Doc Holliday]

As i watched the Russia/Finland game earlier, i was left very disappointed that great players such as Ilya Kovalchuk & Alexander Radulov aren't in the NHL, preferring to remain in their home country & play in the inferior KHL. Same thing with Finland's agitator Leo Komarov, who played for the Leafs last season & will likely be back with the team next year. He's one of the main reasons why the Leafs have lost some grit this season and have struggled with the penalty killing. Last season, Komarov was a beast!! He was awarded one of the game's stars today.

 

[Merlot]

Finland also has very good role players...and are very strong between the pipes.

Hello Guys,

According to ESPN the point above is the key. The super quality of Russian talent is unquestionable, but they are not as good role players. Despite Russian declarations that these Olympics were about men's hockey for them, the Russians never functioned as well as a team. There's also allegedly a greater tendency for Russian players to push for individual ice time and glory instead emphasizing team effectiveness.

Then again, when Tuukka is supported well he's very, very tough to beat. His performance speaks very well of the quality of the Finns overall game plan and team skills. This defeat is a crushing turn for the Russians, though not quite as embarrassing as 1980.

Cheers,

merlot

 

[Doc Holliday]

The super quality of Russian talent is unquestionable, but they are not as good role players.

Which is why Bobby Ryan wasn't selected to the US team. The selection committee figured they already had enough players with offensive skill and needed to create some balance by adding players with speed and whom could play both ends of the ice (offense & defence). Ryan was deemed slow and one-dimensional.

This is why Canada has the likes of Patrice Bergeron and Marc-Edouard Vlasic on the team. They are not defensive liabilities on their teams and have decent offensive skills even though their forte is the defensive side of the game. Jonathan Toews is also the perfect example of a player who plays both sides of the game extremely well and whom many prefer to Crosby. It's also why P.K. Subban hasn't been able to crack the lineup. Even though he has great offensive skills, Babcock and his assistants see him as a defensive liability and don't want to risk playing him instead of a defenceman who can play better defence. They figure they already have enough defencemen who can handle things offensively, so why dress a player who won't see much ice-time? Subban is also a right-handed shot, and their top defencemen also happen to shoot right-handed. On the bigger ice surface, Babcock prefers having defensive pairs that shoot opposite from one another.

And again, just look at the Russians. Andre Markov is 35 years old and one of Russia's top defencemen. Do the Canadians or Americans have anyone on defence 30 and over? Another regular was Alexei Emelin, who isn't even among Montreal's top 4 defencemen and has struggled most of the season. And he's at the Olympics and played a regular shift? It just shows you how thin the Russians were on the back end. P.K. Subban would have been their #1 defenceman, and he's spent the Olympics watching the game from the stands.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Recap of game:

http://scores.espn.go.com/olympics/recap?gameId=1219

It's now 3 straight Olympics in which the Russians have failed to medal in hockey, and in 2002 I believe they settled for Bronze. Something is obviously not working for them.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Barry Melrose basically said the Russians were pussies and quitters. He said they do not sacrifice their bodies to block shots like the Americans and Canadians do, and they basically pack it in when the going gets tough.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Barry Melrose basically said the Russians were pussies and quitters. He said they do not sacrifice their bodies to block shots like the Americans and Canadians do, and they basically pack it in when the going gets tough.

Other than a couple of exceptions, they are basically a team led by too many primadonas. Team Canada has one and he's been mostly watching his team's games from the stands. I'm not exaggerating.

However, Russia couldn't win with as crappy a defense such as theirs.

 

[EagerBeaver]

USA leading Czech Republic 4-1 2nd period while Canada tied 1-1 with Latvia mid 2nd

 

[Doc Holliday]

USA leading Czech Republic 4-1 2nd period while Canada tied 1-1 with Latvia mid 2nd

I predicted the USA & Canada would easily win their games. However, i failed to take account that Ted Nolan is coaching Latvia and i consider him to be a great coach. The Latvian goalie has once again been superb.

 

[EagerBeaver]

The Czechs have pulled Pavelec from goal and benched him.