Since the Olympics are being held in Vancouver and I live in Vancouver I'm pretty stoked for them.
So far USA has 4 medals one of them gold and the Netherlands has a gold in speed skating which isn't surprising.

Is anyone else a fan of the Olympics/even knew it was going on?
So that being said I won't be very active.

The only reason I knew was because of the Google layout.

Why have I always had the feeling you were from the UK?

Anyway, I've never been a sports guy, so meh. Though I heard there's been tons of snow over there for the past weeks.

Tons of snow over here too.

Olympic Hockey GM Burke's son killed in car accident

AP February 06, 2010

TORONTO (AP) The youngest son of Brian Burke, general manager of USA Hockey men's Olympic team and Maple Leafs general manager, was killed in a car accident in snowy Indiana on Friday.

The team issued a brief statement confirming the death of 21-year-old Brendan Burke. Brian Burke also is the general manager of the U.S. Olympic team.

"The National Hockey League grieves tonight for the family and friends of Brendan Burke, a young man of courage and character," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a release. "Words simply cannot express our sorrow over his loss. We send our deepest, most heartfelt condolences to Brendan's father, Brian; his mother, Kerry; everyone in Brendan's family and all who were inspired by his love for hockey."

Police told the Toronto Star that Burke was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee when the vehicle slid sideways into the path of a Ford truck. Burke's friend, 18-year-old Mark Reedy, also died in the accident.

U.S. Olympic Committee chairman Larry Probst said the USOC was "extremely saddened" by Burke's death.

"Our heart goes out to Brian and his family in this very difficult time," Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey, said. "We know the prayers of the entire hockey family, including our Olympic team, are with the Burke family."
http://www.teamusa.org/news/2010/02/06/ ... dent/31522

i tought i'd post it here, the right place? i don't think it needs a whole new topic.

Wow, that's sad...

I'm from the US and live in Canada...It's close.

It's quite the opposite. Of the four years I've here we've always had soo much snow. But of course the year the olympics are here there hasn't been much snow since november. We've had to make snow and bring it in from the interior. Many down hill events are being postponed.

A Georgian skeleton luge competitor was killed doing his practice run. It was a brutal death and I'm so upset that they actually showed his crash on TV. Stupid new stations love focusing on negative news. Not to make light of his death, but at least he was doing what he loved.

actually that was the article i was looking for, i knew there was something different about this one...

I figured because the article you posted wasn't as popular as the Georgian. They're both incredibly sad though.

here it is:

Georgian luge competitor dies in practice at the Winter Olympics

The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver opened under a pall last night after a Georgian athlete was killed in a training accident on a luge track said by many competitors to be too fast and too dangerous. Nodar Kumaritashvili, aged 21, died after losing control of his sled on the final turn at Whistler mountain. Officials immediately closed the track, which has been the subject of numerous complaints in recent days as well as a dozen crashes.

Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, said the thoughts of the "Olympic family" was with the family and friends of the dead competitor. "This casts a shadow over these Games,'' he said as organisers scrambled to mark Kumaritashvili's death during last night's opening ceremony. They will also be under severe pressure to make changes to the track, which is due to host the bobsleigh and skeleton events, as well as the luge.

Earlier in the day the gold-medal favourite for the men's luge event, Italy's Armin Zoeggeler, came off his sled. He slid on his back down several curves before coming to a stop and walking away. A Romanian female luge competitor was briefly knocked unconscious and at least four Americans have had serious trouble just getting down the track.

"I think they are pushing it a little too much," Australia's Hannah Campbell-Pegg said on Thursday after she nearly lost control in training. "To what extent are we just little lemmings that they just throw down a track and we're crash-test dummies? I mean, this is our lives."

The Vancouver sledding track stretches for almost a mile and has a vertical drop of 148 metres . It has long had a reputation as the fastest in the world and is generally considered to be 10mph "faster" than any other stretch. It holds the world record speed for luge, at just under 100mph and even officials at the site were reported to have voiced concerns.

"The track is too fast," said Josef Fendt, the president of the World Luge Federation. "We have planned it for a maximum speed of 137 kph but it is almost 20kph faster. We think this is planning mistake,''

Meanwhile, the Georgian team have confirmed they will compete at the Games. Nikolos Rurua, Georgia's Minister for Culture and Sport, told a news conference that the national team had "decided to be loyal to the spirit of the Olympic Games". He added that the athletes will "dedicate their performances to their fallen comrade". It was unclear whether or not the men's luge event, which was due to begin today, will start on schedule or even if it will be staged at all. Certainly the Games' organisers will have to address the safety of the track before allowing competitors back on it.

Attention will also focus on the policy of the Canadian hosts of restricting access for competitors from other nations prior to the Games – a policy that is within the rules but has attracted criticism from other nations.

Britain's Shelley Rudman, whose skeleton event will be held on the track, had complained she had been "severely hampered" by the lack of access. "The reality is, it's a different track, I haven't had that many runs there. The Canadians have had a phenomenal amount of runs there and they are very strong at the moment."

According to the British Olympic Association chief executive, Andy Hunt, the British skeleton sliders have had just 10% of the practice time on the stretch that the Canadian team has enjoyed.

Similar complaints had been voiced by the American sledders. "I think it shows a lack of sportsmanship," Ron Rossi, the executive director of USA Luge, told the New York Times.

Yesterday's death of Kumaritashvili is the fourth in the history of the winter Olympics. In 1964 in Innsbruck the Australian skier Ross Milne and British luger Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypeski died after training crashes, while in Albertville 1992, the Swiss speed skier Nicholas Bochatay was also killed in practice for the demonstration event.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/fe ... tor-killed

I love the luge, such a shame about Kumaritashvili, regret watching the video. It will be interesting to see how the investigation pans out. But still, the Luge has been fantastic and Moeller/Loch were great, the sheer speed is amazing, such control. Next fave is the speed skating, short course though really as there's more falls and more people tripping people up! Britain's lad went through to the semi's the other day aftyer the two guys in front legged eachother up and one person was disqualified for two false starts, so he went from last to second - hilarious! Tonight is what I'm waiting for, Evgeni Plushenko's return to the olympics after so many years - too long! Guy is a complete legend. Also looking forward to Stephane Lambiel as his spins are so intricate. Hmm what else am I looking forward too...Curling - the Brits are good at it

Anything that is played on the Mountain is my favorite.

Curling is so boring! Do you actually watch it?

WAIT!

I just realized! You have Boards of Canada!

say what?

I do...just find it clever for some reason lol