Bad News - my Tues snowboarding tickets got cancelled. One of 28,000 victims who held general admission tickets. And Canada won Gold in that event too... BUMMER! Good News - went to the medal ceremony Tues night (front row on the floor) and saw Mike Robertson receive his Silver medal. The crowd was wild. About 25,000 was crammed into BC Place configuration for these ceremonies. Best News - Right up front and centre for the concert afterwards performed by the Bare Naked Ladies. Excellent! All of us on the floor partied like crazy. I've been told by a couple of people they saw me on TV, hehe Haven't downloaded the pics yet. Coming soon
.. i saw the Double McTwist...that was so totally insane!!! btw, good to see this ever popular brand being flashed (pic taken with the 1DMkIV)..
for some reason that yonex logo looks so good onn the snowboard.big & visually noticeable.if only iit can look so good on a badminton equipment?
Hahahahaha.... SUISSE SCORES!! 2-2. God, Canada must be questioning why they have Brodeur in goal now
Yeah, what a great game it was. And fairy tale ending for Vancouver Canuck Demitra. And Babcock says Brodeur will start against the U.S.A.
.. ah..what else is new. another olympics drama in the figure skating world.. and oh yes, of course they can't leave Vancouver without the photo below..
Putin attacks Plushenko judging By Gennady Fyodorov Gennady Fyodorov 2 hrs 49 mins ago MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin climbed into the controversy surrounding Yevgeny Plushenko's surprise defeat in the Olympics figure skating by claiming on Friday that he should have been awarded gold. Plushenko, hoping to become the first man in almost six decades to win back-to-back Games titles, lost to American Evan Lysacek by 1.31 points on Thursday. It was an extremely controversial decision as Plushenko performed the highly demanding quad jump in which the skater spins four times in the air before landing while Lysacek did not. It is considered the toughest maneuver in figure skating. "I would like to sincerely congratulate you on the wonderful Olympic performance -- your silver is worth gold," Putin said in a telegram addressed to the skater. "You were able to overcome all the obstacles in your brave comeback and performed the most accomplished program on the Vancouver ice." BEEN ROBBED "All Russian figure skating fans admire your brilliance, true fighting spirit, courage and the will to win. Well done!" Plushenko put a brave face in post-competition news conferences but later told Russian media he felt he had been robbed of a landmark second gold after his triumph in the 2006 Turin Olympics. "You can't be considered a true men's champion without a quad," the 27-year-old told Russian state television RTR. Lysacek did not attempt a quadruple jump in either Tuesday's short or Thursday's free programs, instead wowing the judges with artistry and exquisite footwork. "For someone to stand on top of the podium with the gold medal around his neck by just doing triple jumps, to me it's not progress, it's a regress because we've done triples 10 or even 20 years ago," Plushenko said. "Just doing nice transitions and being artistic is not enough because figure skating is a sport, not a show," he said. "Of all the men who had competed tonight, only two -- myself and (Japan's) Takahiko Kozuka (who finished eighth) -- were able to land a clean quad. "Later, when I saw Kozuka I shook his hand and congratulated him, saying 'Well done'. I also have a lot of respect for (Japan's bronze medalist) Daisuke Takahashi for trying to attempt a quad. That's a sign of a (future) champion." DESERVED GOLD Plushenko, who came out of a 3-1/2-year retirement last month, said he was a victim of poor judging. "I did a great short program but didn't get the marks I deserved. When I asked why they told me I was skating early and they had to retain top marks for the last group," he said. "Then, in the free program I was the last to skate, did everything clean and still didn't get the marks. I thought I had done enough to get the gold but the judges gave it to someone else." Most Russian TV analysts and commentators said Plushenko was robbed of a deserved gold by the judges. When Plushenko walked into the RTR studio in Vancouver, host Alexei Popov presented him with a symbolic medal. "You already have one gold and one silver so here's a platinum medal for you," Popov told the skater. "You are the real champion." Another commentator called the decision scandalous, in the same mold as judging controversies at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. "We'd seen this before. In 2002 Irina Slutskaya unfairly was placed second in the short program so that Sarah Hughes could get a better shot at winning the gold," Alexei Vasilyev said. Russia's Slutskaya, a favorite for the women's title in Salt Lake City, finished second behind American Hughes. Incensed by what they thought was poor and biased judging, the Russians filed a protest, arguing Slutskaya had skated as well as, if not better than, Hughes. It was rejected. "So what if Slutskaya lost?" asked the commentator. "Who now remembers Hughes? Similarly, in a few years' time nobody will remember Lysacek while Plushenko would go down in history as one of the greatest of all time." (Editing by Alison Wildey in London/Jon Bramley in Vancouver)
for all i care,president pooh-teen can kish-mah-ash! he's prbobably crying in his dungeon at the fact russia will probaly not win any gold medal this time in figureskating events! imagine that for achange! but i wont be suprised if that yevgheny plushennko competes in 2014 as a 31 year old geezer in Russia just to claim another gold!
If everyone only care about jumps in figure skating, why not change the program? Just do it like Vault in gymnastics - every skater just try 4 jumps and forget the rest of the program.
Men's figure skating is a combination of athleticism and expression. At the current rate it's turning out to be more of a pantomime than an athletic endeavour. The current scoring system is encouraging skaters to play it safe and not push the limits of the sport. Did you know that a quad scores only 1 more point than a triple jump... if it's landed? That's ridiculous. At minimum there should be a higher risk-reward factor. At the rate it's going, men's figure skating will become boring and die a slow death. If you want to see triple jumps, the women already do it (and they look a hell of a lot better ). If you want artistic impression, ditto above with the emphasis on the "looks" department. That's right, keep dumbing down men's figure skating and soon you'll have guys wearing feminine looking outfits standing on the corner of Main and Hastings with a tin cup begging for change.
I didn't know that landing a quad only get 1 more point. Then what is Putin and Plushenko complaining about? They should complain about the scoring system instead of poor judging. Yes, mens' figure skating is getting boring unless the scoring is changed to more emphasized on technical. For artistic side, these guys can nowhere near lady's figure skating and Ice dancing.
