Winter Olympics 2010

badge54fd

I hereby make a vow to smoke at least 1 cigar for every medal that our Canadian athletes will win during the winter Olympics. I love my cigars so I hope we win lots of medals

GO CANADA GO

clearlysuspect

Hoping you'll be smoking at least one!

The technical malfunction at the end of the opening ceremony was certainly disappointing. I really enjoyed the entire presentation and just thought the whole thing was inspiring. Did anyone else see the look on Wayne Gretzky's face once he realized that something was wrong?

Luko

Oh, Canada.

The Great One looked like he wanted to strangle someone.

Dustin1981

What happened at the end? Now I am pissed I fell asleep.

Sandman1am

Dustin1981:

What happened at the end? Now I am pissed I fell asleep.

Ya what happened? I fell asleep too.

badge54fd

There was a hydraulic failure on one arm for the indoor torch Cauldron. They were only able to raise 3 arms. But for almost 4 or 5 minutes, all 4 torch beareres were standing there looking at each other as if they did not know what to do if it didnt rise up.

Did anyone else notice that the pickup that carried Wayne Gretzky to the outdoor torch looks like it hit a tree or a bush before the drive? The passenger side headlight was burnt out, and a branch was hanging off the bumper on the drivers side.

Sandman1am

badge54fd:

There was a hydraulic failure on one arm for the indoor torch Cauldron. They were only able to raise 3 arms. But for almost 4 or 5 minutes, all 4 torch beareres were standing there looking at each other as if they did not know what to do if it didnt rise up.

Did anyone else notice that the pickup that carried Wayne Gretzky to the outdoor torch looks like it hit a tree or a bush before the drive? The passenger side headlight was burnt out, and a branch was hanging off the bumper on the drivers side.

Wow that is amazing! I'm going to have to see if I can't find it online.

Is anyone else getting the feeling that this is a cursed year for the Winter Olympics? One of our best female skiers was hurt before the trials, then one hurt in practice. Georgian Luge lost his life during a practice run, US skater is recieving death threats from animal rights activists for wearing fur, and the hydraulic failure during the opening ceramony. Of course the Olympics is no stranger to horrible tradgedy.....just a few that come to mind are the bombing in Atlanta & the murders in China. I'm thinking that I'm not going to the Olympics anytime soon.

d_nowell

Thought you were going to get to smoke your first one tonight, but the American stole that wonderful cigar right of your lips.... LOL here's hoping you get to smoke a couple during the games but is still all about team USA. You stand a great chance in hockey

badge54fd

At the end of day one, the medal count as follows.

US 1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze

Canada 1 silver.

Well done to all athletes.

I get one cigar this morning this afternoon when I wake up. Work is finally done for the weekend. I will let you know what I choose.

d_nowell

GOLD for the Canadiens Badge make it a good one. I smoked a Padilla Miami today for the US gold yesterday. Just may smoke one for the Canadien Gold tomorrow.

laker1963

d_nowell:

GOLD for the Canadiens Badge make it a good one. I smoked a Padilla Miami today for the US gold yesterday. Just may smoke one for the Canadien Gold tomorrow.

LMAO...isn't that kind of like toasting? "I'll toast that" or in this case I'll smoke to that!

Good reason to watch more then one sporting event a day... you get more sticks in that way

clearlysuspect

So far I have to say that this is the worst Olympics in recent history. I'm sure it's awesome being in Vancouver and I believe the Canadians are doing the very best that they can to provide all the finest facilities possible, not mention the general generosity and courtesy of the Canadian people. It's simply unforunate that they've had a significantly low snow base this year and most of the talk in the outdoor events deals more with the poor conditions of the skiing/ snowboarding surfaces and less with the athletes competing on these surfaces. Can't wait for Hockey to start though!!!

laker1963

clearlysuspect:

So far I have to say that this is the worst Olympics in recent history. I'm sure it's awesome being in Vancouver and I believe the Canadians are doing the very best that they can to provide all the finest facilities possible, not mention the general generosity and courtesy of the Canadian people. It's simply unforunate that they've had a significantly low snow base this year and most of the talk in the outdoor events deals more with the poor conditions of the skiing/ snowboarding surfaces and less with the athletes competing on these surfaces. Can't wait for Hockey to start though!!!

Yup. Picking Vancouver for the WINTER Olympics was very stupid. The weather here is way too unpredictable.

Funny, a recent poll found support for the Olympics were the lowest in BC and Vancouver in particular.

They have turned a huge section of the downtown into a virtual Police State. Causing a lot of people a LOT of grief.

At least the inside games should go off without too many hitches.

TheShaun

Hey guys. I live right downtown and in the heart of it all. I can tell you it's a madhouse all day and night, and not necessarily in a bad way. I live right across the street from BC Place and had a front row seat for the fireworks, and I could see Wayne Gretzky being driven away from my balcony. There is some sort of show happening at BC Place right now and I can hear the thumping of the music. I'm not totally happy that the Olympics are here, but it's not as bad as I thought it would be.

laker1963

TheShaun:

Hey guys. I live right downtown and in the heart of it all. I can tell you it's a madhouse all day and night, and not necessarily in a bad way. I live right across the street from BC Place and had a front row seat for the fireworks, and I could see Wayne Gretzky being driven away from my balcony. There is some sort of show happening at BC Place right now and I can hear the thumping of the music. I'm not totally happy that the Olympics are here, but it's not as bad as I thought it would be.

I forgot, you live front row central, eh Shaun?

How is it getting in and out of your apartment and area?

TheShaun

laker1963:

TheShaun:

Hey guys. I live right downtown and in the heart of it all. I can tell you it's a madhouse all day and night, and not necessarily in a bad way. I live right across the street from BC Place and had a front row seat for the fireworks, and I could see Wayne Gretzky being driven away from my balcony. There is some sort of show happening at BC Place right now and I can hear the thumping of the music. I'm not totally happy that the Olympics are here, but it's not as bad as I thought it would be.

I forgot, you live front row central, eh Shaun?

How is it getting in and out of your apartment and area?

No problem for me. I walk to and from work. Not even thinking about taking the car out until the games are over. Tomorrow will be crazy with Canada's first men's hockey game. Will be leaving the office a bit early, to make sure I'm home in time. Some of the lineups to get into various pavilions and activities are insane. I have a hard enough time waiting 5 min to checkout at the grocery store. They have a zip line that goes over Robson Square, takes about 12-15 seconds, and people are waiting in line for 6+ hours!!!! My time is far more valuable than that. The rooftop across the street from me had snipers on all four corners during the opening ceremonies. Thought that was cool....

clearlysuspect

That has to be awesome being right across the street from BC Place. I remember what it was like living in Jacksonville, FL during the Super Bowl a few years ago. It was party central 24 hours a day in downtown. I can only image what the night life must be like in Vancouver right now.

What time does the Canadian Hockey team play? Who are they playing??? With Sid The Kid playing this year, I like your chances.

Sandman1am

clearlysuspect:

That has to be awesome being right across the street from BC Place. I remember what it was like living in Jacksonville, FL during the Super Bowl a few years ago. It was party central 24 hours a day in downtown. I can only image what the night life must be like in Vancouver right now.

What time does the Canadian Hockey team play? Who are they playing??? With Sid The Kid playing this year, I like your chances.

Phil here is the line up for today's hockey. Oh I think that it is Vancouver time so add 3 hrs for EST would be my guess??? I know I will be watching tonight.

12:00 PM – United States VS Switzerland (Men’s) 02:30 PM – Russia VS United States (Women’s) 04:30 PM – Canada VS Norway (Men’s) 07:00 PM – Finland VS China (Women’s) 09:00 PM – Russia VS Latvia (Men’s)

clearlysuspect

Lindsay Jacobellis, victim number.... I lost count.... one of a whole lot of Olympians fallen victim to the horrible conditions on Whistler right now. I feel so bad for these competitors. They dedicate their entire lives to get to this point and they end up losing because of the aggressive nature that got them to this point, that is utterly neccessary to compete in events like snowboard cross and alpine downhill. I hate watching this too. Not to take anything away from the Canadian snowboarder at all as he's a hell of an athlete, but I thought it was interesting watching him actually have to race in the final yesterday. He cruised through the quarterfinal and semifinal because he was pretty much the only person to remain standing the entire race. I thought he handled it really well but it was interesting because it was the first time he'd been challenged the entire time. Racers should fall in snowboard cross because they're fighting their @sses off for position, not because they attacked the course with everything they have. I definately noticed a lot of reservation in the Mens Alpine Downhill this weekend as well. There were a lot of chattering skis, a lot of sliding off course, and two guys completely slid out (one of which I was glad to see get back up).

Watching the women in luge right now start from the "juniors" starting point. They're wobbling through the first few turns because they don't even have enough speed to carry them through the turn. Absolutely horrible!

clearlysuspect

OK.... I'll correct myself. After watching the replay of Jacobellis fall, I realize that it was not the surface condition but her making contact with another snowboarders board that caused her to fall. Everything else I said still stands true.

laker1963

clearlysuspect:

OK.... I'll correct myself. After watching the replay of Jacobellis fall, I realize that it was not the surface condition but her making contact with another snowboarders board that caused her to fall. Everything else I said still stands true.

Yeah the outside conditions have been terrible. They have had to cancel thousands of standing tickets because the course sides were to unstable and unsafe to allow people to stand there. Too bad.

Vancouver IS a BEAUTIFUL city, and really would have put on a world class Olympics if they had of gone for and been granted the Summer Games.

I never did understand the thinking behind risking the Winter Games on the unpredictable weather here on the West Coast.

Oh well, like always, we''ll just make the best of it and move on. Canadians aren't too hung up on their image. It's not like we don't care, it's just that we don't allow it to dictate who we are.

badge54fd

Current Medal Count

US 6 Gold, 5 Silver, 7 Bronze

Canada 3 Gold, 3 Silver and 1 Bronze

clearlysuspect

laker1963:

clearlysuspect:

OK.... I'll correct myself. After watching the replay of Jacobellis fall, I realize that it was not the surface condition but her making contact with another snowboarders board that caused her to fall. Everything else I said still stands true.

Yeah the outside conditions have been terrible. They have had to cancel thousands of standing tickets because the course sides were to unstable and unsafe to allow people to stand there. Too bad.

Vancouver IS a BEAUTIFUL city, and really would have put on a world class Olympics if they had of gone for and been granted the Summer Games.

I never did understand the thinking behind risking the Winter Games on the unpredictable weather here on the West Coast.

Oh well, like always, we''ll just make the best of it and move on. Canadians aren't too hung up on their image. It's not like we don't care, it's just that we don't allow it to dictate who we are.

I apologize if I appear to be bashing Canada or Vancouver in some way. It is certainly not my intention to do either. I believe that the things that the host nation can control, they have done very well. No one controls the weather, the conditions of the courses are not their fault. Vancouver appears to be an awesome city. My wife and I never knew it is as large as it is and both of us have expressed interest in visiting there since the Olympics began.

laker1963

clearlysuspect:

laker1963:

clearlysuspect:

OK.... I'll correct myself. After watching the replay of Jacobellis fall, I realize that it was not the surface condition but her making contact with another snowboarders board that caused her to fall. Everything else I said still stands true.

Yeah the outside conditions have been terrible. They have had to cancel thousands of standing tickets because the course sides were to unstable and unsafe to allow people to stand there. Too bad.

Vancouver IS a BEAUTIFUL city, and really would have put on a world class Olympics if they had of gone for and been granted the Summer Games.

I never did understand the thinking behind risking the Winter Games on the unpredictable weather here on the West Coast.

Oh well, like always, we''ll just make the best of it and move on. Canadians aren't too hung up on their image. It's not like we don't care, it's just that we don't allow it to dictate who we are.

I apologize if I appear to be bashing Canada or Vancouver in some way. It is certainly not my intention to do either. I believe that the things that the host nation can control, they have done very well. No one controls the weather, the conditions of the courses are not their fault. Vancouver appears to be an awesome city. My wife and I never knew it is as large as it is and both of us have expressed interest in visiting there since the Olympics began.

No apology needed suspect. It is what it is. If the officials responsible for the games coming to Vancouver at this time of year had of been thinking they would have gone for the Summer Games instead.

The showcasing of Vancouver to the world is not going as well as the officialdom had suggested it would. That is too bad, because it is a FANTASTIC and BEAUTIFUL city, as far as cities go

Goldy

badge54fd:

Current Medal Count

US 6 Gold, 5 Silver, 7 Bronze

Canada 3 Gold, 3 Silver and 1 Bronze

So what have you been smoking?

badge54fd

Goldy:

badge54fd:

Current Medal Count

US 6 Gold, 5 Silver, 7 Bronze

Canada 3 Gold, 3 Silver and 1 Bronze

So what have you been smoking?

I bought a box of 5 Vegas Miami Robusto's to celebrate. They have been my go to cigar for the preliminary celebrations so far. I am heading to my B&M tonight to pick up a couple of ISOM's for the big celebration

TatuajeVI

Sean White is frickin amazing. I love the half-pipe event! Man I wish I could do cool *** like that, lol.

I hear Sandman1 really loves watching male figure skating. Especially the guy from the US who wears the pink tassels.

badge54fd

US 6 Gold, 6 Silver, 8 Bronze

Canada 4 Gold, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze.

I think I need to order another box of cigars.

Congrats to All Athletes

Sandman1am

TatuajeVI:

Sean White is frickin amazing. I love the half-pipe event! Man I wish I could do cool *** like that, lol.

I hear Sandman1 really loves watching male figure skating. Especially the guy from the US who wears the pink tassels.

Now Tat you know we watched that together while painting each others toe nails.

clearlysuspect

Russia vs Czech game has been pretty good so far. Can't wait for the USA vs Canada game tonight! I think this game will definately let the USA team know where they stand.

Luko

clearlysuspect:

Russia vs Czech game has been pretty good so far. Can't wait for the USA vs Canada game tonight! I think this game will definately let the USA team know where they stand.

It's third period, so far so good. I'm surprised we got three past brodeur, to be honest.