Vancouver Olympics

.Walt · Feb 06, 2010, 10:37 AM

QuoteThere'll be no Don Cherry and Coach's Corner at this Olympics. CBC got outbidded by CTV for these games and the next ones as well, which means TSN and CTV will be doing the hockey. This'll mean more Pierre McGuire (however, CTV pinched some of the best CBC hockey announcers years ago which includes Chris Cuthbert - probably the best play-by-play man in hockey).

That's too bad. I was looking forward to youtubing Don Cherry clips at the Olympics.

Jaimoe · Feb 06, 2010, 10:40 AM

Quote
QuoteThere'll be no Don Cherry and Coach's Corner at this Olympics. CBC got outbidded by CTV for these games and the next ones as well, which means TSN and CTV will be doing the hockey. This'll mean more Pierre McGuire (however, CTV pinched some of the best CBC hockey announcers years ago which includes Chris Cuthbert - probably the best play-by-play man in hockey).

That's too bad. I was looking forward to youtubing Don Cherry clips at the Olympics.

There's still a week or two left, including tonight's Coach's Corner. Incidently, I think Don is at his most insightful during his segments inbetween HNIC's first and second games on Saturdays.

joey_rogo · Feb 06, 2010, 10:41 AM

I really hate Pierre :(

Jaimoe · Feb 06, 2010, 01:16 PM

QuoteI really hate Pierre :(

So do I, but he's ok on radio and my friend works at TSN and says Pierre is a super nice guy. Still...

joey_rogo · Feb 06, 2010, 01:39 PM

Quote
QuoteI really hate Pierre :(

So do I, but he's ok on radio and my friend works at TSN and says Pierre is a super nice guy. Still...

I'm sure he's a nice guy, plus he is a hockey lover. I just don't understand how he doesn't realize the difference between a fighter and goon. He'll probably blah blah blah all day about how the Olympics is 'real hockey' because there isn't fighting. Also, his voice gets to me.

Jaimoe · Feb 06, 2010, 01:49 PM

Quote
Quote
QuoteI really hate Pierre :(

So do I, but he's ok on radio and my friend works at TSN and says Pierre is a super nice guy. Still...

I'm sure he's a nice guy, plus he is a hockey lover. I just don't understand how he doesn't realize the difference between a fighter and goon. He'll probably blah blah blah all day about how the Olympics is 'real hockey' because there isn't fighting. Also, his voice gets to me.

He talks waaaay too much, but he has toned-down his anti-fighting agenda. I'm glad the Olympic hockey will be played on NHL sized rinks.

Jaimoe · Feb 06, 2010, 06:52 PM

I've heard that Canada is going to suck for the first week of the Olympics, medal-wise. But look out for week 2 (our best chances are during this week)! Anyway, I'm looking forward to chatting with you all in the coming weeks. One thing is certain about these Olympics: the Canadian women's hockey team will play Team USA in the gold medal game.

capt. scotty · Feb 08, 2010, 12:51 PM

Pierre Maguire is the suck

Ruckus · Feb 15, 2010, 10:50 AM

Couple of early observations:

1. NBC was shameless in exploiting the death of the Georgian luger. The repeated video and stills they showed were exceedingly graphic and were played during prime time, family viewing hours. I understand NBC's goal of boosting ratings but repeatedly showing a 21 year old be folded into a taco going 90mph or be given CPR in a pool of blood is no good.

2. I thought that the opening ceremony was beautiful to watch. The projection screen that was the stadium floor and the fans was gorgeous. What is the next step? All 3D? Holograms?

It was uncomfortable watching The Great One and Steve Nash make faces and squirm when the cauldron/torch malfunction fiasco occurred. I'm glad they salvaged three of the 4 torches.

3. The Nordic Combine was surprisingly exciting. Looking forward to men's hockey, curling and skiing.

BH · Feb 15, 2010, 12:08 PM

Totally agree on all three of your points Ruckus. Just finally watched the opening ceremonies last night. It was almost impossible for anyone to compete with Beijing but I thought it was very well done. The wales and the blow holes was my favorite part.

.Walt · Feb 15, 2010, 03:35 PM

I agree with you on the whole showing of his death. Completely uncalled for.

I was reading the Mpls paper about curling a couple months ago, and it really got me interested in it. I was actually thinking about joining my local curling club, but since I've never done it before it might be too late for my dream.

Really excited for some olympic hockey. I don't really care who's playing, it's all good hockey. But you know I'll be glued to the TV when the US is playing. Patrick Kane, baby!

TEO · Feb 15, 2010, 04:07 PM

REALLY enjoying it, the DVR is helping with this. Can't wait to watch the ski cross...

Ruckus · Feb 15, 2010, 11:04 PM

Glad you guys (BH and Walts) agree. I didn't want to come across as overly conservative but even just considering the family of the luger, who would ever want the death of their son splashed all over the TV over and over again? Well enough of that I guess.

Walts, you should join your local curling club and tell me all about it! It's awesome that you have one. I've always enjoyed the game on TV. What I find intriguing is how so many Western nations have some variation of it. When I was in Scotland, I played lawn bowls. The Italians have Bocce and we play shuffleboard among other things. All of them are derivatives of some original version which I have no idea what it is.

On a side note, if you've ever played curling on the Wii, it's rather disturbing to watch a bunch of drunk dudes replicating the brushing motion as fast as possible with their remotes. :-/ The controller needs a handle extension ;D

capt. scotty · Feb 16, 2010, 11:59 AM

I dont think NBC should have show the luger's death, but I did hear that they prefaced it by saying what theyre showing, and dont watch it if you dont want to.

What I find most disturbing is that the Luge federation or whatever is blaming the death on the Luger and saying he made a mistake. However, for numerous days before the death occurred, everyone was saying it was the fastest track they had ever seen. I also heard a quote from one saying he/she felt like they were lemmings being used as crash test dummies, another one saying she thought the speeds they were going were unsafe, and then there was the actual guy who died telling he father (who I believe is also a world renowned luger) he feared the course and this turn he died on. Ridiculous the are blaming the athlete in this case when all kinds of warning signs were there in the first place and it couldve been prevented

ALady · Feb 16, 2010, 01:10 PM

My five year old niece saw the luging accident and keeps talking about it. :-/ Not cool, NBC.

.Walt · Feb 17, 2010, 06:21 PM

It was nice to get the dub yesterday (Hockey), but I would've liked a more convincing win. Canada and Russia did. I thought Norway came out way more physical then us. The check on Bobby Ryan was big. And I kept waiting for him to do something about it. He's from the burbs of Philly, where's the Philly attitude?

capt. scotty · Feb 17, 2010, 07:40 PM

QuoteIt was nice to get the dub yesterday (Hockey), but I would've liked a more convincing win. Canada and Russia did. I thought Norway came out way more physical then us. The check on Bobby Ryan was big. And I kept waiting for him to do something about it. He's from the burbs of Philly, where's the Philly attitude?

He's from Philly? Yeah, that all makes sense then.

I liked that the US won as well, but like you said I think the Ruski's and Canadia both won like 13-1...not sure US is quite on that level ;D :(

.Walt · Feb 18, 2010, 03:11 PM

Oops, I forgot we played Sweden the first, not Norway. I see my boy Phil "The Thrill" Kessel already scored for us!

capt. scotty · Feb 22, 2010, 12:29 PM

Damn...no one has talked about the great USA-Canada hockey game last night yet?! No wonder it was on MSNBC and not regular NBC! I cant believe they had those fairies dancing on ice on NBC over this.

What a game! I didnt think we'd pull it out by the way Canadia was dominating for 30 minutes from the last half of the 1st thru the 2nd, but we played great in the 3rd. Miller was outstanding, and as Im sure most will agree, if the US is to make it to the final, and win, he'll probably be a big reason. Never really saw Erik Johnson play before, but that guy impresses me, especially considering his limited experience.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyX7dHmaRlA[/media]

.Walt · Feb 22, 2010, 01:48 PM

Yeah, that was a great game. I wasn't surprised by the outcome. I never understood why people sell the USA players short. They are NHL'ers, so it not like they suck. Sure other teams look better on paper, but that doesn't mean they gel. I loved seeing the Canadians lose with all the body paint, flags waved, banners, costumes, chants, and their self proclaimed "ownership" of the game. Sure it's not even the medal round, but the win is huge for the road to the gold.

I also questioned the move of NBC showing figure skating or ice dancing? over the hockey game. This game was just little more than your average game, win or lose. I also can't believe that no one else commented on this game. I thought for sure there would be a casual fan or two popping in and saying that they enjoyed the game last night. I guess we can just talk Olympic hockey, in the hockey thread. Seem like nobody else cares.