This is not a screen saver! Makalewena Beach

Hi y’all!  We’re back from our vacation in Hawaii.  What a time we had.  We stayed in an awesome little cottage.  We found it on www.vrbo.com.  Stands for vacation rentals by owner.  It was basically a guest house on someone’s property that they rent out.  It was perfect.  The bedroom and bathroom were inside “the house” and the kitchen, dining table and living room were on the lanai.  That’s basically a screened in porch.  So cool!  Everything in Hawaii is open like that.  Churches don’t have walls - only a roof.  Even the airport is like that.  Crazy.

Waipeo Valley

I’m a water sign and Arne is an air sign, so it is fitting that we love swimming and hiking respectively.  We alternated beach and hike days so that we would both be satisfied.  One day we hiked the Waipei Valley, the next we swam at Makelawena beach and so forth.  It was amazing!  And, it gave our burned shoulders a rest every second day.  (No Dad, we did not pre-tan, but we wore 50 SPF sunscreen that saved our skin - mostly.)

Lava Tube Hike

One of my favourite parts of the trip was watching the women’s and men’s hockey gold medal games.  We watched the ladies’ game at the Vancouver airport with all the other travellers.  Everyone was gathered around tv’s.  It was a pretty cool experience.  We scoped out the restaurants in Hawaii for the men’s game.  We ended up at a resort bar that looked out onto the water.   We watched the nail-biting game and the whales jumping in the background.   We weren’t the only Canadians there and there were some major high fives going around in the end.  What a game to top off the Olympics.

I want all those nay-saying reporters to eat their words.  Canada did own the podium - the top of the podium.  Most golds ever won by one country, than you very much!  And thank you very much to all those sponsors out there that helped out the athletes.  The media made it sound like we were getting so much money and the tax payers were getting gouged.  Just so you know - Own the Podium probably only met the minimum standard set by other countries - you know the ones that are always at the top of the medal count?  Ok, there’s my rant.  I just want people to be happy with all the performances of the athletes.  Trust me - even the ones getting last are trying their hearts out!

I gotta start with my friend and teammate Clara Hughes.  She was quite early in the pairs for her 3000m so she had no idea what the fastest skaters were going to do.  She had to race her own race and just try to put down the best time she could and did she ever.  She skated amazingly and ended with a track record.  Then all she could do was wait and see if anyone could beat it.  Unfortunately 2 other skaters beat it, but she clenched the bronze medal! That is a sweet bronze for sure, since it was her last race in speed skating ever.

Then there was a gold and silver in ladies bobsleigh!  Coming into the last 2 runs today, Canada was sitting first and fourth.  By the last run, Canada “owned the podium”. Gold and Silver!

Next there was the ladies short track relay.  Canada has never not won a medal at the Olympics since its’ inception.  It’s funny how a group of girls who have barely podium-ed can come together and blow every one’s socks off.  That’s what I’m talkin about!  Silver!

Finally, there was no medal in this event, yet, but man did it feel like one.  Canada’s men’s hockey team blew Russia away by a 7-3 win.  Arne and I had to go do a talk at an event and we watched the game until the last second before we had to go.  It was so hard to leave and we wondered who would actually come to this talk?  By the time we were there, it was 6-2 and we felt relieved.  I think the team finally found their groove and I hope that it continues right to the top of the podium.

Today, Arne and I are off on our Vacation to Hawaii!  So, this is where the updates end.  This has been an amazing Games for Canadian athletes, fans and citizens.  I hope that you can block out all the negative media and take the Games for what they are - the greatest sporting event in the entire world!

I can’t believe what happened yesterday!  Sven Kramer, the heavy favorite I was telling you about, got DQ’ed in the 10K yesterday.  It says in the paper that his coach looked down to write his cushion time on a piece of paper and when he looked up he thought Sven should change lanes.  Unfortunately, Sven had already changed lanes, but then was confused by his coach.  He jumped over the pucks and as soon as his foot landed inside the cups, he was all but disqualified.  Sven was so angry, but I think Kempkers, his coach, was close to just dropping dead.  I feel bad for these guys, but thankfully I think Sven has another Games in him for sure.

Let’s not let that overshadow Canada’s 6th Gold medal performance.  Ashleigh McIvor won the ski cross yesterday.  What a cool sport!  I really like this addition to the games.  It is faster than the snowboard cross and the competitors look really technically good. 

The story today in speed skating is the women’s 5000m.  Clara Hughes is the defending champion from the last Games.  Ever since I started training with Clara, I know that when it comes down to her performing - she preforms.  I never gamble, but I would bet on her being on the podium.  Wow, I hope that did not just jinx her!  Czech  skater, Martina Sablikova will likely win the gold, but Clara will put down her best and hopefully that puts her in any colour.  Kristina Groves will also have a good shot at the podium, especially with those silver medals in her pockets boosting her up.

Also today:

Canada is poised to win the 2 man ladies bobsled

After the decisive win against Germany, Canada is in another must win this time against Russia

Check out this move!

If you didn’t see ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir compete the past three days, let me tell you that they were spectacular!  They were totally flawless and so poised.  Now they handled the pressure no problem.  It was the first gold ever in ice dance at the Olympics for a North American. On top of it all, they are both very good looking people :)  A little tidbit of info for all Canadians to be proud of - Canada is often voted best looking team at the Games.  Yay Us!

Today in speed skating is the men’s 10,000m.  Unfortunately Canada did not garner any spots in this event.  That hurts my heart because my husband was 9th and a constant in the top 10 at World Cups.  To the less knowledgeable speed skating fan, this event is sooo boring.  But if you have a real appreciation for the sport, it can be the most exciting!  It is the culmination of endurance, power, mental strength, focus and pure guts.  If you are going to check it out (depending on if CTV shows the whole race or just snippets) watch the lap time counter at the bottom of the screen.  The best skaters will hone in on one lap time and try to repeat it over and over for the 25 lap race.  It is incredible to see a competitor hit the exact lap time to the hundredth.  Now that is an amazing feat!  The Dutch are dominant in this event so watch for the likes of Sven Kramer and Bob de Jong. 

Going today:

Men’s hockey Canada vs Germany - this is a must win to move forward

Ladies figure skating short program - Joannie Rochette just lost her mother to a heart attack 2 days ago.

Ladies ski cross - Ashleigh McIvor is the one to watch

Congrats Kristina!  Another silver to add to the already big collection.  When it comes down to laying down a solid performance you can always count on Groves.  She is able to preform consistently in all competitions, even ones like this where she is under a crazy amount of pressure.  Unfortunately it was not gold, but Ireen Wust of the Netherlands had an amazing race!  She hasn’t raced like that since the last Olympics when she won the gold in the 3ooom.  Good thing she won because the orange team was liable to forget about her altogether.  I guess it all happens for a reason…

I’m not a huge know-it-all in hockey like I am in speed skating, so I asked my bro for his insight on the game last night.  He says that Canada killed US in the game, but it came down to the goalies and the US goalie stood on his head.  What I think is that an extra game can only make this team stronger.  Let’s hope for that!

Wrapping up yesterday was the figure skating dance couple Moir and Virtue.  That last name is just awesome, by the by.  They topped the ranks after yesterday’s program.  They have one to go and hopefully they will pull out the big win.  Who really cares though because looks like they can be on the podium with any colour.  Good for them and Canada!

Today:

Steve Omischl in the aerials

A rematch of Canada and US but on the men’s curling ice

Canada vs Sweden in women’s curling

Both men’s and women’s cross country

Women’s hockey semi-finals (Canada is undefeated so far!!)

Ice Dance - Go Moir and Virtue!

Speed skating takes another break and begins the long distances and team pursuits in the following days.

Hopefully everyone is having a good weekend and watching lots of Olympics on TV.  Can I just say that this is probably the best coverage of the Games I have ever seen!  Last Games, CBC didn’t even show my race and I was 21st.  Now they are showing every Canadian even if you are last place.   Like I’m talking 38th, 50th, etc. That is so awesome because family and friends are sitting at home just waiting to see their athlete’s race.  Just because you finish low in the ranks does not mean you have worked or tried any less than those at the top.  THanks CTV, TSN, Sportsnet and OLN.

Today is the ladies 1500m in speed skating.  Canada has heavy favourites Kristina Groves and Christine Nesbitt in the mix.  I wouldn’t be surprised if we had two on the podium.  Also, not far behind are Cindy Klassen and Brittany Schussler.  Both have won medals in this distance making this the most stacked race for Canadian speed skating.  Especially because last Games in 2006 Cindy Klassen won the gold and Kristina Groves won the silver.

Yesterday was a crap day at the Games - if I could be so blunt.  Of course there were great performances, but also there were some close misses.  Doesn’t getting 4th hurt the most?!  It’s such an awesome placing but everyone just cares about the medal… And that fall in the bobsled - yowza!  Scary.  Hopefully the speed skating ladies can turn everyone’s frown upside down.

Oh yeah, and hockey.  Hopefully they will pull out the win against the Americans.  Mostly because of something I heard on NBC.  The interviewer asked the American Gold Medal figure skater Evan Lysecek if Russian skater Yevgeny Plushenko is being a poor loser because he wants to get America back for “the miracle on ice”?  What?!  Who cares about the miracle on ice.  What a stupid question.

Speaking of stupid questions - don’t you dare ask speed skater and 5K winner Sven Kramer if he will say his name and sport into the microphone.  He will bite your head off because he is the Gold medalist, World Champion, blah, blah, blah.  Here’s a hint Sven - the interviewer asks everyone to do that to organize her tape and to make sure that the mike is working. Granted English isn’t his first language, but come on, that was rude. Check it out here Are you stupid?

That’s her nickname.  Way to go Nez!  Arne and I were screaming at the TV again last night.  Sorry neighbors, but that was a nail-biter.   Christine was second last pair and a couple Dutch girls had already posted some good times.  Nez was giving it her all, but you could tell it wasn’t as good as I’ve seen her before.  Don’t get me wrong, she had a great one, but she’s been so dominate and to only win by .02 was as close as anyone’s come this year.  I am soooo happy that she pulled out the win.  And that big smooch with her Dutch beau was a nice cherry on top too (wink wink!). 

Too bad for Krinstina Groves.  She is always nipping at the podium in this distance and she just missed by .06!  That is the nature of speed sports - you can win by 2 hundreths or lose by 6.  She shouldn’t be too disappointed, though, since she had a great race and is poised to kill in the 1500m coming up soon. 

As for today, speed skating fans can get an evenings rest from their stomachs doing flip-flops.  Today is a rest day for the skaters and it all resumes tomorrow with the men’s 1500m. 

Some other highlights:

Patrick Chan making a huge comeback and finishing 5th.  Placing that high at your first Games when you are 19 is an amazing feat.  He is a brilliant skater and is set for a great career.

Lindsey Vohn falling in the combined downhill.  She killed in the downhill but caught a gate in the slalom.  Not that bad since she already has a gold!

Men’s hockey.  Who caught that overtime and then the shootout?  Hopefully this team got closer because a tight game like this can truly bond a team.  Crosby’s winner looked like the goalie wasn’t even in net.  Let’s go for that win against USA on Sunday.

OK - signing off.  Have a good weekend and watch some sports for gosh sakes

Ok, the men’s 1000m was not great.  Denny skated too tight and the rest of the guys did not have spectacular ones.  One intersting thing is that the times were really close.  The field was very tight and all the guys could have finished a lot higher with just a difference of 0.1 seconds.  The placings were as bad as it looks. 

In short track speed skating there was craziness as usual.  Kalyna Roberge should have made the final, but didn’t quite do it.  Canada had 2 girls in the final and I was screaming at the tv during the final.  I felt so bad for Jessica Gregg who got shoved out of the race in the first corner.  She trains in Calgary so I was really pulling for her.  Arg!!!!  I resolved that that is the precise reason why I decided to go into long track instead of short track.  All those “unfair” moves make me so mad.  Ok that was a rant….but on a better note - ok an ecellent note! - Marianne St. Gelais won the silver!  So, Canada pulled out another medal.

Today in long track speed skating is the ladies 1000m.  We have some major medal potential in this distance.  Christine Nesbitt is the undefeated champion in this distance this season.  Shannon Remple and Kristina Groves are regulars on the podium as well.  The Canadian girls team is so strong we could have more than one on the podium.  Go Girls!

Yesterday was a bit of a poor showing in the ladies 500m.  Christine Nesbitt was the highest ranking with a 10th place.  More importantly she had a really good second race and therefore is looking really good going in to the 1000m tomorrow.  She is the undefeated champion in the 1000m this season. 

Today in speed skating is the men’s 1000m.  Canada has 4 men racing.  Mostly the Canadian competitors have an outside shot, but this is one where I think there could be a unexpected medal.  Denny Morrison is leading the way, with Jer Wotherspoon, Kyle Parrott and Fraco Roberge close behind.

Yesterday evening was riddled with ice problems at the Richmond Olympic Oval.  Between 2 sets of races, the zamboni broke and dumped hot water onto the ice and it turned to slush.  Unfortunately, that caused a 90 minute delay.  What a nail biter for the athletes who’s warm-up got thrown out.  They had to change what they were doing and try to re-focus and forget about the major problems.  The Canadians did well in keeping their heads in the game. 

Although, no men won a medal in the 500m, 2 finished in the top 10.  I want to give a shout out to Jeremy Wotherspoon.  He is a competing legend in our sport.  He inspires so many younger skaters and even those he is competing against.  His hopes of a medal are still not over, though.  He has the men’s 1000m still and he has another shot. 

Yesterday another silver was added to the medal count.  Mike Robertson of Edmonton won the silver in men’s snowboard cross.  Woop Woop! 

Today is the ladies 500m in speed skating.  This is the event I raced in at the 2006 Games.  I’m excited for the Canadian competing.  It is 2 of the girls first Games and they are young and bright-eyed with tons of potential.  Go Girls!