There are two Olympic sports I actually get excited about- biathalon and curling. I watched a 12.5km biathalon, and it was very exciting; I’m not kidding. The lead changed hands a bunch of times because if you miss shots you have to ski around a little penalty oval, which allows other people to catch you. If you choke and miss a bunch of shots, you’re pretty screwed. This particular race had a veteran from Norway take the lead after the last shooting stage despite starting 14th. A much younger guy from France caught him in the last 100m sprint. Great stuff.

And I like curling because it’s completely unlike any other Olympic sport- it has a very physical component, but is much more about strategy. Plus it has a whole world of jargon that is completely impenetrable to the average viewer. I spent the first hour or two just trying to figure out what the hell the announcers are saying.

I was reading Tom Benjamin’s blog, and he presented a definition of what a sport really is. I think it’s a good question, because when you think about it, most Olympic “sports” aren’t really sports.

My big thing is that a sport has to have an objective result. That is, using scientific or other measurement, the winner is determined. Tom calls it an “unambiguous result”. That means all the judging events are not sports. Figure skating, gymnastics, snowboarding, ballroom dancing- not sports. I’m not saying they aren’t worthwhile pursuits, or that they don’t take an incredible amount of skill and ability. I’m saying that when the results of the competition are determined by a judge, it ain’t a sport any more- it’s a pageant.

A sport also has to have generally physically fit or strong participants. Bass fishing is out. Bowling and pool are out. Poker is out. I think curling is on the edge here. I’m not saying all the participants have to necessarily be fit (see David Wells), but being in shape has to be considered a distinct advantage. You can be a fat guy with a strong right arm and still bowl 300.

Finally, the participants should break a sweat during the course of the activity, and not due to the elements or stress. Not sweating because it’s cold is the exception, so swimming, cross country skiing (although they sweat) and curling are in (barely). I think this means that auto racing is out, and maybe even golf.

I’m sure this will piss people off, because most of the sports that fail the first criterion are popular with women, but it is what it is. That’s why they should encourage sports where being nimble and light is a benefit, like rock climbing.

I didn’t post a single thing about Olympic hockey until now. Why? There’s no nice way to say it, so I’ll just come right out:

I don’t care.

Yep. Call me a unpatriotic anti-hockey moron, but it’s the truth. I watched precisely one game- the U.S. vs Slovakia, in which we lost 2-1. I don’t really see the point in NHL players playing in the Olympics. They arrive the day before the hockey games start, and leave the day after they’re done. They don’t walk in the opening or closing ceremonies. The players are pretty much guns for hire. And not even all the best players come- see Scott Niedermayer et al.

The idea that NHL players will bring more fans to the NHL didn’t work in 2002, and I’d be even more surprised if it worked this year, considering the Olympics got a ratings beatdown by both American Idol and Desperate Housewives.

And because they are guns for hire, the teams don’t have any flow, any continuity of play. Certain players seem to click because they play with each other in the NHL, or on past Olympic or World Cup teams, but for the most part the play is disjointed and difficult to watch. Even after watching one period of the U.S. game, I was frustrated. You see great players like Mike Modano skating around in their own little hockey system, a different system than all the other players’. After seeing that, I still thought Canada would win gold, but I could see how they could be beaten- simply by playing a team that’s all on the same page. And sure enough, they got shut out twice and didn’t medal.

Bring back the true amateur players, and coach ’em up for a few months. Maybe they won’t be the best players in the world, but at least they’ll have a vague idea as to what the other guys on the ice are trying to do. Sure, I won’t have heard of many of them, but how many non hockey fans could name more than 2 Olympians this year?

Switzerland? Finland? Slovakia? Has the world gone crazy? What happened to the Olympic powers, you may ask? Don’t worry…they’re going to show up starting tomorrow. Here’s a preview of the first round match-ups.

FINLAND vs. USA
Hmmm…I’m not sure what to make of this one. The way Finland has played stingy defense combined with the USA’s tendency to not score goals could spell doom for an upset – but I guarantee that Team Stars and Stripes is happier to see Finland than Canada in this spot. Color me crazy – but I smell an upset. USA 4 FINLAND 3

SWEDEN vs. SWITZERLAND
Three words to discribe the Swiss run to Gold. IT IS OVER. This game isn’t even worth breaking down. After two ties to Germany and Italy – Switzerland blew its load early. SWEDEN 5 SWITZERLAND 1

CANADA vs. RUSSIA
Oh man. I had picked this to be the Gold Medal game and in a way, I still think it’s true. Whoever wins this game could march all the way to gold. All signs point to Russia winning a wild one here – Nabby has been hot, Brodeur is banged up, Canada has been pushed around and the power play has been mortal. But….I think Team Canada will finally become interested and will not allow themselves to go home early. They looked bored and now with Gold on the line – they show up.
CANADA 5 RUSSIA 3

SLOVKIA vs. CZECH REPUBLIC
Great match-up. Slovakia is another team that surprised many in running the table in Round One. Will Vokoun get a chance to redeem himself or will the Czechs make a big mistake and play the rookie. I think they play the rookie….and they lose.
SLOVIA 6 CZECH REP 3

That would mean USA vs. SWEDEN and SLOVAKIA vs. CANADA in the Semis…

The 2006 Olympics are here and the men’s hockey is off and running. Easy wins this morning for Finland, Sweden and Canada. Italy put up a decent fight and played with lots of passion in front of the home crowd – but Canada’s power play is going to be unbeatable in 2006. Canada can come at you with four amazing lines filled with size, speed and skill. Now that Hasek is down for team Czech, there’s only two teams that can cut them down. Team Sweden and, I’m saying this now….beware of Team Russia. This team has the ability to skate in and stun the big boys. Nabby is well rested and is more than capable of going on a major run. Here’s how I see the medal round playing out.

ROUND 1 – Canada over Kazakhstan. USA over Czechs (in an upset). Sweden over Germany. Russia over Finland.

ROUND 2 – Canada over USA (close one 7-5 Canada). Russia over Sweden.

GOLD MEDAL GAME – Canada vs. Russa. Canada wins 6-5.
Sweden takes the bronze.

You heard it here…from someone who has cash on Team Canada. They are just too good and too deep to lose.

The Sharks had a strong first and blockbuster second periods tonight in beating Dallas 6-3. Cheechoo had two goals, and even more promising, the power play looked very good. They had a 5-3 power play that immediately preceded Joe Thornton’s goal- he scored just a second or two after the 2 man advantage expired. And in other power plays, the puck movement was very good, shots came from the point through screens, and they cycled well.

The only down moments came in the 3rd when Dallas scored two goals in quick succession to make it 5-3 after the Sharks led 5-1 after two. I could sense the crowd reeling at the Tank, hoping the Sharks wouldn’t find a way to lose or tie, the same way they’ve done too many times this season. But Toskala had a couple of strong saves right after the third Dallas goal, the defense started clamping down, and the offense was actually trying to manufacture chances, as opposed to waiting in the neutral zone, and dumping it in every time they got possession.

The Sharks have to be shopping Toskala at this point. He’s played the last two games, despite Nabokov being re-signed to a 5 year deal. There’s no doubt in my mind that management is playing Toskala so other teams can see what he can do. I think trading Toskala is a good idea at point, provided two things- 1) that we get real long term value in return and 2) he goes to a team in the East. The Kiprosoff deal is still hurting the Sharks, witness the Sharks loss to them on Monday when he made 28 saves.

First, a photo I took at last nights game. I tried to post it from my Treo by attaching it to the email I sent in, but that didn’t work. Oh well.

Second, my Columbus pick was so good (they won 7-4 last night) that I thought I might retire from picking more games, but it’s too much fun. I think I will try to make it a little tougher on myself and pick mostly even games or underdogs.

Doug or I will post something on the breaking NHL gambling scandal soon… I need to do some more reading about it, and new information seems to come out every day.

Despite the Sharks playing prevent defense the entire third period, they manage to win 2-1. The first 5 minutes were bad, and the next 15 were worse. Niko Dimitrakos managed to take a dumb penalty with about 5 minutes left. Once we killed the penalty (barely) Niko comes out of the box and prompty missed a lead pass that was right on his tape. We need to send him to Cleveland. I hope the Sharks can retool before Dallas comes to town o Friday.

Kyle Calder had a pretty nice goal from a bad angle to put Chicago back within 1. The Sharks still dictated play- they’ve outshot the Hawks 30 to 16. It’s unnerving that SJ is only up by one considering the general beatdown.

End of the first, the Sharks lead 2-0. Marleau had a beautiful goal. The uck squirted out to one side while there was a scrum in front. Marleau turned around, and literally with one foot on the goal line, roofed it. Only a few inches of space, and he hit it.

The other goal was a little Joe Thornton tip from a Preissing point shot. The Sharks were clearly much faster than the Hawks the whole period, it’s easy to see why they suck so much.

I’m going to mobile blog from the Sharks game. Updates to follow…