Vancouver Blogger Sriseth

Canadian hockey superstar Sydney Crosby scored in overtime to hand Canada the victory of the Olympic hockey gold medal game against USA. The whole nation is elated and people poured in the streets to mark the greatest sporting moment of the history of Canada. The hockey gold medal put Canada clearly ahead of other countries with total 14 gold medals. No other nation has ever won this many gold medals in the history of Winter Olympics.

"I dreamed of this moment. To win a gold medal and to score the winner in overtime, it doesn't get much better than that." - Sydney Crosby

"You lose the silver you don't win it" - Jack Johnson (Team USA)

Doesn't matter who will win the final gold medal of these winter games, both Canada and USA already had fairytale performances that will go into records books. USA has already matched the highest number of total medals ever won in a winter Olympics, while Canada has matched highest number of gold medals ever won by a country. Still many wonder who should get the credit as the victor of these 2010 winter games. Two different methods of determining the winner has added to this confusion. Both USA and Canada seem to prefer Total Medals Count method, while most other countries determine the winner by Gold Medal Count. Although International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not recognize an official winner, they also publish the medal tables sorted according to Gold Medal Count (Read Wikipedia Article for more info).

It's easy to understand why USA prefer to use Overall medals against Gold medals. USA benefited from this method at 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics when China came up top with 51 golds compared to USA's 36. But USA had 10 more total medals than China. Question is why Canada is also adopting Total Medal Count Method? Are we just following our 'big' neighbours? Apparently, Canada initially assumed the best chance of topping the medal table is by overall medals. This is the concept behind Own the Podium campaign. Nobody may have expected Canadian athletes to win record number of gold medals. After-all we had to first break the home gold jinx. After an unexpected late gold rush by Canadian athletes, now it's too late to change our definition of winner. Our own Vancouver 2010 website will forever show USA has won the Olympics and Canada came in third, while rest of the World will show that Canada has comprehensively won their home Olympics with a records gold medal tally. How ironic.

"Ironically, Canada have fallen short of their own definition of success which was to win more medals - of any colour - than any other team. The vast majority of countries judge Olympic success on the basis of the number of golds won" - BBC Sports

When we approach the final day of the 2010 winter Olympics, history will be written for both the host country Canada and it's neighbour USA. Canada will secure (or match) the highest number of gold medals ever won by a country, while USA will win the highest number of total medals ever in a Winter Olympics. These are great achievements for both countries who were not considered significant powers in winter sports until last 10 years. Sports fans of both countries are already happy that their athletes overcame European superpowers in these Olympics. But they are much less satisfied until the ultimate prize of the Olympics - the men's hockey GOLD - is added to their medal hauls.

On the eve of the Canada vs USA preliminary round hockey game, I wrote the article "It's not just a hockey game as Canada's pride is on the line" to highlight the hype built up to that game. The general consensus was that the loser will be crushed by the great Russian hockey machine and the two teams will not meet again. But that didn't materialize. So the significance of that preliminary game is now blemished. But the lost to Americans awakened Team Canada to make critical changes in their lineups and most importantly to replace the starting goalie - the changes that proved to be the formula for success in next two matches. So the loss happened to be a blessing in disguise. Now that the Team Canada is stronger in both defense and offense, they go into the gold medal match against USA as clear favourites despite the loss a week ago.

The match has become a showpiece not only because it's for the ultimate prize of the Olympics, but also because of the history that leads up to it. In 2002 when USA hosted the winter Olympics at Salt Lake City, Americans were flying high with a historic medal haul before Canada spoiled the party by comprehensively beating them in men's hockey final. It was unbearable for Americans, but a redemption for Canada who had never won an Olympic gold before. Eight years later Americans have the opportunity to vindicate their pride by beating Canada on it's home soil. On the other hand, Team Canada knows the pride of the nation depends on them and they have the opportunity on their hands to make Canada most decorated nation in the history of winter Olympics. As for most Canadian fans, being at the top of the medal table wouldn't matter unless the precious men's hockey gold is won. For a country where hockey is not a pastime but an obsession, this is the ultimate moment that arrives only once in four years. For it to happen on home soil, this is the greatest sporting moment of Canada. The whole World will be watching how Luongo and his team answer the call.

After couple of amazing performances on the penultimate day of the Olympics, Canada secured the top position of the medals table. Canada now has 12 gold medals compared to Germany's 10 and USA's 9. Neither Germany nor USA will be able to catch Canada at the top with only 3 gold medals to go. Kevin Martin and his curling team are now pursuing the 13th gold medal for Canada to make this Saturday Canada's best day ever at an Olympics. And on Sunday, men's hockey team will try to add another gold medal- the 14th, which will break the all time record for highest number of gold medals in a single winter Olympics. For a sports loving nation who carried the burden of not wining a gold medal on home soil for 34 long years, this is a huge relief and the greatest sporting moment ever.

Canada's gold rush on day 16 started with Denny Morrison leading his speed skating team to victory in team pursuit against the Americans. Five minutes later Jasey Jay Anderson won gold in snowboard parallel giant slalom. J.J. Anderson had to come from behind under terrible weather conditions at Cypress mountain to beat the favourite Austrian snowboarder. For the veteran Canadian snowboarder, who had already won every other championship except the Olympics, it was a great redemption.

Most of Canadians have now forgotten "Own the Podium" campaign, which was aimed at winning highest total medals for Canada. With most Canadian athletes trying to go for gold and step on the top of podium, many perished and failed to win any medals while others achieved their target. This turned 'Own the Podium' into 'Top of the Podium or No Podium' kind of a result. With USA collecting record number of medals, Canada gave up their Own the Podium race mid way into the Olympics. But with only 2 more days to go and only 9 more gold medals to be given away, Canadians have found themselves closing in on a different way of winning the Olympics; by winning highest number of golds.

There is no standard way to determine the winner of an Olympics. Winner is not even officially announced. Some consider the winner as the country with total number of medals, while others only count the gold medals to decide the winner. Later is most commonly accepted so far in Olympics (eg: China won Beijing Olympics with 51 golds against USA's 36 golds, although USA had highest total medals). Until a weighed calculation is established, gold medal count is the most sensible way of deciding the winner. Which means, after a slow start on the medal hunt, Canada now has a realistic chance of winning the home Olympics.

By the end of Day 15, Canada has 10 golds compared to Germany's 9 and USA's 8. Canada has good chances of winning golds is men's curling, men's hockey and men's long track team pursuit in which Canada are favourites going into those matches. If successful, Canada can end up with 13 golds. Germany has the opportunity to add golds in ladies' team pursuit, 4 men bobsleigh and may be one of cross-country skiing races. That's going to be only 12 golds in total. But USA, though not going in as favourites in any of the remaining events, has the possibility to win most of the gold medals on offer. Americans are competing in all the events bar curling. It comes down to whether USA can spoil the party of the faourites of those 8 events. As we all know, Americans are the best at spoiling and coming up top. So I'm not going bet on Canada just as yet. By the end of Saturday we'll have a much better idea. The most interesting situation would be; men's hockey final - the last gold medal to be won - becoming the decider of gold medal race. That will add more spice to the dream finale between two fiercest competitors of the Winter Olympics.

Canadian fans had to go through some anxious moments and bear few disappointments before enjoying some of the brightest Canadian moments of this Olympics. It was a roller coaster ride that ended up with 2 golds, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals and securing the chance for gold in two other events.

During past couple of weeks I watched Cheryl Bernard and Canadian ladies curling team take down other teams one after the other. Their main weapon was Cheryl's final stone towards the end of the game. She was cool and calm during close matches and delivered perfect blows at the death. But when she needed that perfection at the peak of the tournament, she failed. Not once, but twice she had the gold medal on her hand. But she couldn't come up with accurate shots on both occasions handing the win to Swedes. It was agonizing to watch a gold medal slip away by a whisker.

Canada experienced mixed fortune in speed skating. In team pursuit, Canadian women lost to USA. It was a shocking defeat for the World no.1 Canadians. But Canadian men were able to get thorough to the finals where they will meet the Americans.
After semi-final matchup between Finland and USA in men's hockey ended up with an easy win for Americans, Slovakia proved to be a tough opponent for Canada. After scoring three unanswered goals in the first two periods, the match seemed to be heading into an easy Canada victory. But third period turned the game remarkably with resurgent Slovaks made it a one goal game in an astonishing display of offensive hockey. Goalie Roberto Luongo had to make a remarkable save with 10 seconds remaining against Pavol Demitra's shot from point blank range. Final minute of the match was the most anxious minute of the Olympics so far for Canadians.

While hockey was underway at Canada Hockey Place, there were more than one reason for celebration at nearby Pacific Colosseum, the home to Olympic Short Track. Canadian men's Short Track team was a disappointment until today with no medals. But they flourished in the last two events. In a dramatic finish, Charles Hamelin won gold in 500m event and Francois-Louis Tremblay the bronze. But the race of the day was men's 5000m relay. In a perfectly executed performance, Canada won beating favourites Korea to win the second gold of the day. That put Canada on top of the medal table with 10 golds compared to Germany's 9 and USA's 8. With 2 more days to go and 9 more gold medals up for grabs, Canada has a realistic chance of finishing at the top. That would be a perfect ending to this sporting event that brought all of Canada together as one nation.

"To have results like that, all the planets have to be aligned. There are often unplanned things that happen in short-track. But today it was our turn and we had good races." - Canadian Short Track Team Director Yves Hamelin

When VANOC first introduced 2010 Olympic Mascots back in Nov 26th 2007, they were an instant sensation. Miga, Quatchi and Sumi became so popular among both kids and adults alike, those 3 amigos have become household names. And then there is Mukmuk; not an official mascot, just a sidekick. Vancouver games is the first to have a mascot sidekick. Introducing Mukmuk, VANOC said: "Mukmuk is a rare marmot unique to the mountains of Vancouver Island. While he’s not officially a mascot, Mukmuk is considered an honourary member of the team and enjoys surprising his friends by popping up on occasion to share in the spirit and fun of the Games. Mukmuk’s name comes from the Squamish word for food (‘muckamuck’) because he loves to eat – when he’s not playing with his mascot friends." Mukmuk is the only mascot that depicts a real animal from BC, the marmot found in high mountains of Vancouver Island and mainland BC.

While many embraced much publicized 3 official mascots- Miga, Quatchi & Sumi, a section of the fans adored the sidekick. Mukmuk being a Vancouver Islander and depicts an endangered animal attracted many. Those die hard fans wasn't happy that Mukmuk is just a sidekick and doesn't show up along with other three most of the time. Mukmuk does not introduce himself in the official 'Meet the Mascots' video.  There are also complaints the Mukmuk souvenirs are not readily available. Although VANOC later issued official 'Meet Mukmuk' video and released all kinds of souvenirs to match other mascots, Mukmuk remained as just a sidekick. Once the games started, Free Mukmuk movement got momentum and an activist group called themselves Mukmuk Mascoteers organized a rally near Vancouver Arts Gallery on Feb 23rd. About 20 people joined the rally carrying slogans of “marmots have feelings too” and “free Mukmuk now” and managed to attract crowds. (see YouTube video)

The organizer said: "We are just a group of people having a great time at the Olympics. We just wanted to get out there, add a bit more fun and make sure this doesn’t happen to sidekicks in the future.”

Within a pace of 3 days Canada's luck changed from desperation to jubilation. Canada was stunned by USA in much hyped hockey match on Sunday sending shock-waves across the host nation. But by the end of Wednesday, the chances of winning that ultimate gold medal in Men's Hockey seemed very much assured. The last few days were a wild ride for die hard Canadian fans. Not only because of hockey, but also with overall performance of Canadian athletes.

Super Weekend turned into a Super Nightmare
After Jon Montgomery won the gold in Men's Skeleton on Friday night, energized Canadian fans poured into the streets of Vancouver in celebration. The party continued into the weekend (dubbed the super weekend) with tens of thousands of fans filling up both inside and outside of the venues. Un-Vancouver like gorgeous weather continued into the weekend pulling Vancouerites out of their home into the streets in Downtown. But  Canadian athletes disappointed them by failing to get on the podium and in few occasions Canadians watched their athletes choking with the finish line in sight. The nightmare continued with the loss of men's hockey match to USA and the loss to the Chinese by ladies' curling team. Canadians went to sleep on Sunday with huge disappointment.

Weather turned Normal
With Vancouver turning into more usual Wintery weather, Canada's luck slowly started to change. May be it wasn't weather that started the change. It may be the near flawless performance by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir in Ice Dance competition that energized other Canadians to perform better. On Monday night, Tessa and Scott put on their third consecutive faultless dance to earn the gold medal, the first by a non-European pair and the youngest. On Tuesday it was Vancouver girl Ashleigh McIvor's turn to show the World how good Canadians are in winter sports. Ashleigh won the Ladies' Ski Cross in an exquisite performance.

Then came Super Wednesday
Picking up on the tone set by Tessa-Scott and Ashleigh, Canadian athletes rallied up to put up some great performances on Wednesday, making it Canada's day at the Olympics. Clara Hughes on her final Olympic appearance, skated majestically to win the bronze to add to her already impressive Olympic medal tally. Ladies short track 3000m final produced another silver. Most anticipated feature of the day, men's hockey match-up between Russia and Canada brought glory to back to team Canada. But the highlight of the day was yet to come. For the first time in this Olympics, Canada's two bobsleigh teams brought a true meaning to  'Own the Podium' campaign by winning both Gold  and Silver. Withstanding the pressure put on by Germans and Americans, both bobsleigh teams (Kaillie Humphries/ Heather Moyse & Helen Upperton/Shelley-Ann Brown) ran flawless races to secure medals. At the end,  Day 13 became the luckiest day for Canada do far in the Olympics.

Looking ahead
With USA and Germany already far ahead of Canada in the medal standing, Canada's plan of earning highest number of total medals is probably out of reach now. But Canada can still end up with a decent performance to preserve the pride as the hosts. Canada has the chance to win both Curling gold medals after finishing  at top after the round robin sessions. Canada is the favorite to win gold in tomorrow's women's hockey final and men's hockey team has now become the prohibitive favourites after beating Russia. So, there are 4 gold medals up for grabs in team events. In addition, Canada can hope for medals from Steve Omischl in men's aerials, Joannie Rochette in figure skating as well as several short track and long track skating events. If Canadian athletes get inspiration from today's successes and performed at their best, Canada can end up with more than 20 medals and with the highest number of gold medals than any other country.

Martin Brodeur may arguably be the best goaltender on the planet, but for some reason GM Place (Now named Canada Hockey Place for the Olympics) has not been one of his lucky rinks during his 17 NHL seasons. It proved pivotal in the vital game against USA when Ryan Miller clearly outperformed Brodeur to win the game for Team USA. But on the other hand, backup goalie Roberto Luongo has made the GM Place one of his luckiest places. And it's the home rink for the Vancouver Canucks captain. The place where he had enormous success so far this NHL season. But Luongo was not thought to be getting a chance after that first game against Norway, since Brodeur's wealth of experience at previous Olympics made him the no.1 choice for critical games.
Canada may not be happy that they have to go with no.2 goalie in the knockout phase, but Vancouver fans won't mind. They always wanted their star goalie Luongo to be the start up goalie for their home Olympics. And it's the destiny of Luongo and Vancouver, that Canucks goalie and only Canuck in Team Canada is going get a chance at leading Team Canada to Gold medal. Now it's up to Luongo to get the job done and make Vancouver and Canada proud.

"You've got a gold standard goaltender in Marty Brodeur, a gold standard goaltender in Fleury, but I think the best goalie in the NHL over the last two years has been Roberto Luongo." - Team USA GM Brian Burke

After a disappointing Day 9 at the Olympics, the whole Canada is now looking forward to one match up on Sunday afternoon. A match that won't bring any medals, it's for pride. Hockey is Canada's game. Canada invented it and Canada has always been the best at it. And as the national pastime, hockey is not just a sport for Canadians, it's the nations pride. But previous Olympics brought forgettable memories for Team Canada (except at Salt Lake- the only Canadian hockey gold in Olympic history). Canada may not be at the top of medal table and 'Own the Podium' campaign may end up in failure, but most Canadians wouldn't mind if Canada can win the ultimate price of the Winter Olympics - the last gold medal on offer - the Mens' Hockey GOLD.

After becoming the the most decorated US winter Olympian, Apolo Ohno made fun of Canada's Own the Podium campaign; “They can own the podium, we just want to borrow it. Just for the month of February, and we’ll give it back.”. He may have joked, but it was hurtful for Canadian fans since they have now realized that their neighbours South of border are making the most of this Olympics. It is in this context, Sunday's hockey match between Canada and USA has become the centre of attention. After two heart breaking events at short track 1,000m and ski cross where final races brought worst possible outcomes for Canada, fans are looking for a last chance of redemption in this super weekend of the Olympics.

Sunday's match between USA and Canada is only a first round match and not a knockout. But the winner will get a bye to quarterfinals improving the chances of advancing into the medal round. On paper, Team Canada is clear favourites over USA. But Canada with such superstars like Sydney Crosby and Jarome Iginla was struggling against Switzerland who had only 2 NHL players in their team. Team Canada knows their biggest challenge is to get the puck past goaltender Ryan Miller, one of the best goalies and may be the most inform at the moment. Although host city fans may have liked Canucks captain Roberto Luongo to guard the Canadian net, the veteran Martin Brodeur is favoured to get the opportunity. Brodeur's wealth of experience at the biggest stage makes him the best net-minder for Canada for rest of the tournament. With whole Canada watching can Team Canada cheer up the host nation in this anxious moment of the Olympics. We will soon find out.

After Day 8 of the Olympics brought a another gold, expectations for Day 9 were high. Short track champion Charles Hamelin, long track speed skater Denny Morrison and Canada's top 2-men bobsleigh team were in action expecting podium finishes, but ended up in failure. Tens of thousands of exuberant Canadian fans poured into the streets of Vancouver on Saturday didn't get any news to be jubilant. Thankfully there was still fresh memories of Jon Montgomery's skeleton victory the previous night.

1,000m World record holder Charles Hamelin had the company of his brother in the final race for his favourite event, but sadly he could only beat his own brother. South Koreans proved once again they are the new dominant face in short track skating, while US Veteran Apolo Ohno had more energy at the finish line than Hamelins to grab the bronze. At Richmond Oval, there was still much hype about 'Denny vs Shani' contest in long track speed skating before the 1,500m event. One again it proved to be nothing as Denny Morrison failed to put up a decent performance finishing in 9th place. But the most devastating news for the Canadian fans came from Whistler sliding centre as bobsleigh duo Lyndon Rush & Lascelles Brown crashed during their second run denying a much anticipated medal.

While Canadians failed to get onto the medal podium, Americans continued their amazing run at the Olympics adding a silver and two bronzes to their already impressive medal tally. With a clear lead over favourites Germany, our neighbours South of the boarder are 'owning the podium' in Vancouver. With Canadian fans looking for restitution, Sunday's hockey match between rivals USA and Canada gets much attention both sides of the 49th parallel.

“It’s one of the toughest races I’ve ever skated. Since we’re not accustomed to raucously cheering crows, we had trouble hearing the people behind us.” -Charles Hamelin

"He worked, but working at this level isn't good enough. You have to be technically sound and the technique wasn't there." - Denny Morrison's coach Marcel Lacroix

"It's the Olympics right. That's big. Everybody tells me that it's big, but more than anything I like racing and this is a track where I'm good. I had a chance to do well, that's the most disappointing." - Lyndon Rush

“They can own the podium, we just want to borrow it. Just for the month of February, and we’ll give it back.” - Apolo Ohno

When it came to the second run of the mens' halfpipe final round, American snowboarder Shaun White had already guaranteed the gold medal. But that didn't prevent him putting up a blinder of a show that earned him even better score (48.4 out of 50) than the previous round. When most of other snowboarders failed to show their best and collapsed under pressure, Shaun was confident, daring and perfect. He showed the world once again that he is the undisputed champion in his sport. His performance summed up the 6th day of the Olympics that belonged to three American superstars. Sure, they all started as favourites in their events. But how many favourites have we seen so far who failed to deliver under pressure. Under non-ideal conditions where many other athletes failed to deliver, American trio not only defended their status as superstars, they did it in very convincing fashion.
Lindsay Vonn came into Alpine skiing womens' downhill event with a shin injury caused during training. In an extremely challenging and dangerous course, where many skiers ended up crashing, Lindsay had a nerveless near perfect run and showed the World that she is not just a media stardom.
Shani Davis, who became the first black Olympic champion (solo) four year ago at Turin,  came to mens' 1000m speed skating event as the overwhelming favourite to defend his gold medal. He was super calm under an unexpected fierce challenge from South Korean Mo Tae-Bum and won convincingly at the end.

Shaun White's gold rounded up one of the best days for USA in an Olympics with 3 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals. Although we would have preferred our own athletes to win these events, we should not hesitate to applaud the great showmanship of the Americans.

When North Vancouver`s Maelle Ricker won the gold this morning for Womens` Snowboard cross, she became the first British Columbian to be decorated at 2010 Olympics. For what people of Vancouver and elsewhere in British Columbia have gone through to make this Winter Olympics a reality, Maelle`s gold medal is a sweet treat. Her medal made Cypress mountain the luckiest venue for the Canadians with 4 of the 5 medals so far have come from there. But that`s the only good thing to say about the venue, which is the focus of much criticism. VANOC president John Furlong mentioned this morning that venue currently experiences the worst weather in 100 years. Weather troubles at Cypress is only one of may problems the organizers are facing right now. Harsh criticism from international media regarding the quality of the game is worrisome. To hear the Vancouver games are cursed (today`s Times Online UK article) after all the sacrifices made is anything but painstaking for the people of this province. It is in this context the value of local golden girl Maelle`s victory becomes even greater and sort of a redemption for the British Columbians.

Maelle Ricker got her own redemption after failing to complete 2006 Turin Olympics medal round finishing at 4th place. History would have repeated for her if the bad weather continued this morning denying her the second run at the preliminary round. But foggy condition improved just in time and she didn`t make a single mistake in her next 4 runs. In a sport where so much unpredictable can happen, and with adverse conditions making things worse it is a great achievement we all should applaud her for.

When all of Canada watched Alex Bilodeau step into the top of the podium to accept the gold medal and listened to O Canada been played for the first time at home, the man next to him who accepted the silver medal managed to get much attention just due to his grumpiness. He not only didn't celebrate his medal, didn't show any emotion, didn't greet the 22,000 fans present at the stadium, didn't talk to other two athletes on the podium and even hesitated to get on the top of the podium with the other two for the customary photo shoot moment at he end. It was the weirdest performance I ever saw by an athlete on a medal podium. And if someone thought he was grumpy on the podium today, he was ten times grumpier yesterday after the end of moguls event. This made me curious to find out more about this person.
End of the second day of the games approached with Canadian fans still anxiously waiting for the first gold. Several gold medal hopefuls had already ended up in failure further continuing Canadian home gold jinx. But there was a Canadian native, reigning Olympic champion, World champion and clear favourite to win the final event of the day - Freestyle Skiing Mens' Moguls. He was getting ready to ski at his native hometown West Vancouver at all too familiar Cypress mountain. Still it would not have cheered up Canadian fans, rather it was going to be a great embarrassment. The first Canadian native to win a gold on home soil was going an Australian. But the host nation with great sporting spirits deserved better. The rest is history.

Dale Begg-Smith was born in Vancouver in 1985 and grew up in West Vancouver few kms away from Cypress Mountain. He skied for Canada as a teenager while also building a business of his own. This made his ski training clash with his business interests creating tension with coaches who accused him for not spending enough time on training. In 2001 he decided to leave Canada and settle down in Australia, where he could pursue both skiing and business interests. With the success of his online marketing business making him a multimillionaire, he also improved himself into a world class skier. 2006 Turin Olympics made him only the third Australian to win a Winter Olympic gold. He had achieved everything he expected by leaving his native land. Only one ambition left. He wanted to show off his success in front of home crowd when Olympics come to his birthplace and thereby becoming the first Australian to win two Winter Olympic golds (and first Olympian to defend Olympic Moguls title). It seemed he didn't want to hide his disappointment after failing to achieve it.

It's also interesting to find out the odd personality of the man. After the gold medal achievement at Turin, he came under media scrutiny as Australian media went after his business affairs. His business was accused of producing internet malware and distributing malicious software. Dale said the reason for starting a business (at age 13)  was that his parents couldn't afford his skiing expenses. For his credit, we should applause his remarkable achievement in both business and sports at the same time. As a person who highly regarded his privacy, he always tried to downplay his business success and wanted to keep his personal matters to himself. But the media came after him hard. Aussie media nicknamed him Ice Man or Mr. Mysterious. After realizing he is going be a major threat to Canadian skiers at the Olympics, Canadian media joined in the bandwagon with hostile remarks. This intensified after Dale shunned Canadian media upon arrival at Vancouver for the Olympics. I believe Canadian fans should not be carried away with the vilifying image created by media. Dale being a quit man, we don't know what exactly went through his mind when he was standing emotionless on the podium. If you look at his win at Torino, you'll see that he's not the kind of person who would go into wild celebration. What we know for sure is that he has achieved enormous success as both a businessman and an athlete - a rare feat. To win an Olympic medal just an year after a major knee surgery is a proof of his dedication to the sport.  For these achievements alone he should be respected and applauded. Those few fans who booed Dale at today's medal ceremony did not do any good to Canada`s  reputation has as truly spirited sports loving nation.

Quite celebration may not the Australian way, but Aussie media calling their first Olympic medalist 'Mr.Miserable' should be denounced. Media should not be unfair to an athlete based on his off-field dealings.

''I never really come into competitions worrying about placings and so forth. I just try to ski my best. That's what I did. I can't control how anybody else skies or anything like that.'' - Dale Begg-Smith 

Many believed in Canadian Olympians that they will end the gold medal drought at home this time at Vancouver 2010. But most didn't expect Alexandre Bilodeau to be the man to do it. Because it would have meant many other gold medal expectations before his event have to end up in failure. It was the last event of the second day of Olympics - Mens' Moguls at Cypress mountain - and as gold jinx continued Canadian fans were getting anxious. With other Canadian athletes of the event already out of medal contention, it was Alex Bilodeau's moment to make history. A masterful performance lasted 23.17 seconds transformed him into a national hero. 22 year old from Montreal may be the most deserved Canadian to get the honour. Always cheerful and humble personality who gained inspiration from his handicapped (celebral palsy) brother is a perfect role model. Here we are after 12,000 odd days (since 1976 Montreal Olympics) of wait, Canadians can finally hear "O Canada" from a Canadian Olympic podium.

The Aussie who won the silver in the same event was not in any celebratory mood. He was no other than reining Olympic champion and favourite Dale Begg-Smith - a Vancouver born internet business mogul who ditched Canada few years ago and moved down under for pursuing both his business and skiing (something Canada didn't want him to do) is more famously known for snubbing Canadian media. Dale's loss avoided him becoming the first Canadian born athlete to win gold on home soil - but not for Canada. Bilodeau not only won the gold but avoided another embarrassment for Canada.

With a huge burden relieved, rest of the Canadian athletes can now focus on putting on their best performance. Winter sports are dangerous and risky in nature. A slightest of mistakes can ruin your day. With athletes pushing themselves to the limits the chances that their dreams been shattered are very likely. We should be cheering for all who perform at their very best whether they win medals or not. I am hopeful medals of all colour will start flowing in for Canada from now on.

After 5 events completed in country's third Olympics, Canada still remains the only host nation not to win an Olympic gold on home soil. Host countries have often come out with better than usual performance. Norway in 1994 Lillehammer and South Korea in 1992 Seoul are good examples. 2010 games should break this bad spell for Canada given the world class athletes competing. But until that moment comes, everybody will be anxious.
Two opportunities missed today. Charles Hamelin choked in 1,500m short track and Jennifer Heil failed to defend her Olympic crown in ladies' moguls. Americans were the spoilers in both occations adding to the agony of Canadian fans. To her credit, Jen Heil gave a great performance in the medal round. It's just that the American Kearney Hannah came up with a run of her life to grab the gold at the end. Both Hamelin and Heil seemed to be under added pressure of winning the gold. Soon after the event, Jen Heil wasn't celebrating her silver medal (Canada's first medal) and did not even carry a Canadian flag while the two American were waving their flags on her sides. It's important to ensure that Canadians completing in rest of the events are not under additional pressure. As spirited Canadians we should appreciate every time a Canadian gives their best performance and cheer for every medal despite its colour. Otherwise Canada may find themselves continue to carry the curse at the end of the Olympics.

Swiss ski jump superstar Simon Ammann pulled off a flawless final jump in men's Ski Jumping NH individual to win the first gold medal of the 2010 Olympics. His 108m (new hill record) jump clearly separated him from his competitors. There was no competitive Canadian athlete for that event. Slovakia's Anastazia Kuzmina won the second gold on offer in women's biathlon 7.5km sprint event by knocking out favourites. Again no Canadians. Third gold (and first indoors) went to the Dutch when speed skater Sven Kramer won the 5,000m event. Two Canadians in top 20.

 Charles Hamelin is trying to become first Canadian Olympic gold medalist in Canadian soil when he competes in 1,500m short track speed skating event. Jennifer Heil will also be trying to go for gold later in the day in freestyle skiing ladies' moguls. Hope Canadians will break the long time curse of not winning an Olympic event (Summer or Winter) on Canadian soil.

Canada gave a spectacular show to open the Olympics. It was a fantastic showcase of Canadian talent. Shania Twain and Celine Dion were missed, but I am with the organizers for giving British Columbians the priority. Sarah McLachlan, Bryan Adams and Nelly Furtado all did well. But why Steve Nash? He's got nothing to do with Winter Sports to be selected as one of the torch bearers to light the cauldron. Marc Gagnon, Gaétan Boucher or Gordie Howe could have been selected. 
My favourite moments were 'Canadian Spring' with fiddler and tap dancers performing, k.d. lang singing Leonard Cohen's hallelujah and Rick Hansen bringing the Olympic torch to the stadium in his wheel chair.
Flawless show came to a embarrassing finish due to a technical glitch preventing one of the 4 torch pillar coming of of the ground. Too bad it was Catriona Le May Doan who couldn't use her torch light the cauldron. Sure, mistakes can happen anywhere, but for a $40 million dollar show it's inexcusable. How can your blame Nodar Kumaritashvili for his mistake in getting killed. Truth is both these could have been prevented with little more vigilance.

Winter Olympic games are marred by a tragic incident at the Whistler Sliding Centre hours before the games were officially opened. 21 year old Georgian Luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili died during training after crashing into a steel column at the end of the final curve. The incident was clearly captured by cameras and posted on the internet. I don't know much about designing high speed sliding tracks, but anyone with common sense can realize those unpadded steel roof supporting columns are a catastrophe waiting to happen. No matter now professional these athletes are, there can also be mistakes and all protected measures should be taken for their safety. Whistler track is regarded as one of the fastest and having those columns near the end of the track where athletes travel at about 130 km/h is plain ridiculous. Hope officials will take immediate precautions to prevent using this track (to be used for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton events) as it is. There should at least a protective barrier separating those columns and the track. Let's hope rest of the games will be safer for everyone participating.

Live TV technology has improved so much that you can watch almost every moment of Winter Olympics in your big screen HDTV sitting in your comfy couches at home. Most around the World can enjoy the same. But only us Vancouverites have the opportunity to travel few kms to the venues and see the live actions. Most of us won't get such an opportunity during the rest of our lifetime. So why shouldn't we. Not everybody may think the same way. Tickets of major events already sold out; expensive ticket prices; traffic problems; rainy weather....excuses are not hard to find. But I believe we should show the World the sport loving spirit of Canadians while encouraging Canadian athletes to perform at their best.

If ticket availability or the prices are a problem, there are a number of free events you can attend without tickets. Free Olympic Events Guide
Venues Guide: Major Venues

Alternative commuting options: Getting around Vancouver

Traffic Conditions Map: Traffic & Transit Alerts

Where ever you go, don't forget your umbrella !

Olympic TV Schedule: TV Viewer's Guide

The Bollywood movie "My Name is Khan" premiers today. Why I want to write about an Indian movie? I haven't seen the movie, don't know what the story is or how good it is. But I heard that the movie is about a person with Asperger's Syndrome - a mild form of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I have a son with Autism. So, I am closely associated with Autism community. One of the major obstacles persons with ASD and their parents face is the lack of knowledge about it among general public. I didn't know anything about Autism until my son was diagnosed about a year ago. So I'm not blaming anyone. There are so many health conditions, physical/mental disorders, diseases around that we won't know much about until we come across an affected person. Movies have been one of the major means of raising awareness about various subjects. Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man is regarded by many as Autistic. It increased Autism awareness. But we know that most autistic people are not Savants (having extraordinary abilities) like the Rain Man. So, in a way Rain Man created misconception about the abilities (or the disability) of Autistic people. Hollywood has failed to produce a major movie to help increase true awareness of ASD, despite the fact that research has shown ASD is growing in epidemic proportions and affecting every 1 in 100 or more children and still remains a mysterious syndrome with no clear cause or cure established.

This is why I am so excited to hear about 'My Name is Khan'. The star of the movie is Shahrukh Khan - the most popular Bollywood actor. With his presence and having Fox on board for distribution, I hope this movie will become popular among Bollywood fans around the World. Though Asperger doesn't indicate the true hardships of having Autism, it will at least open the eyes of people and increase the general awareness of ASD. My gratitude to the writer, director, producers and everyone else who contributed to make this movie. Please go see it.

Official website: http://www.mynameiskhanthefilm.com
Wikipedia Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Name_Is_Khan
Vancouver Showtimes: Cinema Clock

Today Cities of Vancouver and Whistler welcome the World for 2010 Winter Olympics. During next couple of weeks we will enjoy the best athletes in the World fighting for Olympic glory. Olympic torch relay has successfully managed to energize the Canadians during last few weeks, who were thought to be less interested than they should be. Well, when you think of how hard many other countries battle each other get the chance to host an Olympic game (Summer or Winter), it's a shame not to be pumped up when you have one on your backyard.

I have been a fan of Winter Olympics for many years and been looking forward to this ever since Vancouver won to be the host.

I'm still in the process of setting up this blog site. After reviewing many templates, selected this 'mayumi' created initially for wordpress by padsolutions and converted to a blogger template by Anshul. Did a little bit of customization. Need more work to get to a status I'm happy with. I like the modern elegant look of this template and integration to Twitter, FB etc. Thanks guys for doing this amazing work and more importantly making it available free.

For many years it has been one of my dreams to start a blog of my own. Never got the time to do it until now since I spent more time reading other blogs and commenting on them. And what better moment to start my first blog than the day Vancouver welcomes the World for 2010 Winter Olympics.

Here we goooooooooooooooo