Day 10

Day 10 was perhaps the most anticipated day of Vancouver 2010 so far. Team Canada were playing the US in Men's Hockey. This is what us Canadians (we Canadians?) were really waiting for. Those damned Americans can have all those Golds in skiing and snowboarding. No problem. Enjoy. Men's and Women's Hockey Golds is what we're after. I have to admit it was a tense night for me. I didn't sleep very well at all and when I did I had this awful nightmare that included the US miracle on ice Olympic Team, Dan Cloutier and Oggie Ogglethorpe. I'm not sure what it all meant but it was not pleasant. I woke up with a dry throat, a sore neck and tinfoil on my knuckles. To illustrate how tired I was on Day 10, the photo I have posted was of me 'watching' the Men's 2-Man Bobsleigh. It was beyond exciting.

I drifted in and out of consciousness throughout the day. I watched most of the Russia-Czech Men's Hockey Game which Russia won. It's nice to see the Hockey getting better as the tournament rolls along, but of course that is to be expected. In Men's Ski Cross American Chris Del Bosco, representing Canada for some reason, fell short of a Medal when he fell umm short in the final race. He finished fourth. Why is he skiing for Canada? I'm really not sure and I'm too tired to Google it so you're on your own. Watching Curling on tv when you are dozing off is very frustrating. I just hate being awakened by somebody yelling "HURRY HARD!!" My first thought is either there is a fire or someone is watching Porn. Anyways, I reported in my blog yesterday that last nights win for the men was their last game of the round robin. Well I was wrong. Wow. That was really difficult to say. They won today and remain undefeated and the round robin continues. The Canadian Women beat the US 9-2 today (Yay!! In your face America!) but then lost the night game 6-5 to China.

During the Original Dance Figure Skating I finished up my Cheetos and then went back to sleep. Although I did hear something about the Canadian couple skating really well though. I still think that if this is a Winter Olympic Event, then Ballroom Dancing should be in the Summer Olympics. Boring.

Canada FINALLY won another Medal, this time in Women's 1500 Metre Long Track Speed Skating. Kristina Groves took the Silver, a quarter of a second behind Irene Wust of the Netherlands. That brings our Medal total to 9, tying us with the South Koreans. Canadians finally had reason to celebrate.

I was wide awake by the time 4:30 rolled around. It was time for the big Canada-US battle. As most of you know the US won the game 5-3. It was a very entertaining game. Very fast paced. My blood pressure was shooting through the roof. I'm way too old to be watching anything more exciting than Murder, She Wrote. Anyways, Canada pretty much dominated the game in every position except the most important one of all, in goal. American Ryan Miller stood on his head. And when he wasn't standing on his head, he was doing backflips and sommersaults. In fact I swear late in that third period he did a triple lutz. For Canada's Martin Brodeur it was quite a different story. He overplayed the puck early and seemed a bit too eager to be a factor. To be a great competitor you have to respect your opponent. When he takes a full swing and bats the puck out of the air and it ends up in his own net, I think he is putting himself before the team and that's not how Champions are made. The good news is that Canada actually played a really good game and were dominant most of the night. Since Canada lost, they now have to play Germany on Tuesday while the US gets a bye to the quarterfinals. If Canada wins that they will play the Russians in what I think would likely to be the biggest and best game of the Olympics. Unfortunately there is not a very good chance that Canada will get an opportunity for some payback against the US because if the Americans don't pick up their game, they will not be around for the semifinals. Luongo will likely get the start against the Germans and then if he plays well, I think he should start against Russia, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Either way, the bottom line is, don't panic. We get an extra game to gel as a team and Luongo gets some work while Brodeur gets a rest. It's all good. (Why do I feel like Gordon Campbell trying to sell the HST to British Columbians?)

We will be Downtown Vancouver sometime tomorrow. I imagine we will be doing a lot of walking. I better bring an extra bag of chips for some energy. I wanted to bring my easy chair with me, sitting in it on Robson watching the Games on tv would be awesome, but it wouldn't fit in my truck. Oh well. I'm excited to see the Ice Rink at Robson Square and the Zip Line. I've heard the lineups can be in excess of 4 hours. I won't be waiting in those lineups. Why don't they have Fast Passes like those at the Disney Parks? That would really come in handy for the Cauldron, the Zip Line, the Canadian Mint where you can touch a Medal and the Safe Injection Site. I'm sure junkies from all over the World are swarming on that place right now and I hate to think they may have to wait for their fix.

In the final Men's Hockey Game tonight, Sweden beat the Finns 3-0. They are also looking pretty solid. I predicted Canada and Russia would win the Gold and the Silver but now that isn't possible. I also predicted the US would win the Bronze but now I'm not so sure. I'm sticking with Canada to win the Gold, very possibly with Luongo leading the way, I'll go with Sweden to win the Silver and the Czech Republic to win Bronze. Of course my picks may change daily. We'll see.

Day 11 will see the Women's Hockey semifinals. Should be pretty easy pickins for the Canadians and the US setting up a big final match on Thursday. There is also the Free Dance Figure Skating and more Curling. Does Curling ever end?

In the meantime, I will be stepping out of my easy chair, and going out on the road. It's my obligation to bring you the best, most informative blog that I can. If that means heading into the centre of the storm, the eye of the hurricane, then dammit that's what I will do. Well, actually I just have this craving for more donuts on Robson Street. They're delicious.