Turin Winter Olympic Games 2006 News Blog

Forsberg puts stamp on gold medal victory

karl — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 19:43:16 +0000

Forsberg puts stamp on gold medal victory
When Peter Forsberg scored the goal that won Sweden their first Olympic ice hockey gold medal in 1994 the moment was immortalized forever on a postage stamp.
Full Story (Source: MSNBC)

Men’s ice hockey: Sweden 3, Finland 2
Sweden’s trio of hockey stars somehow found each other amid the joyous flag-waving and flower-tossing by their Olympic teammates, and shared one final hug. This was the last time Peter Forsberg, Mats Sundin and Nicklas Lidstrom would be together, and they knew it.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Germany top Winter Olympics medal count
With one day left in the Winter Olympics and only two medal events set for Sunday, a few things are certain: Germany will leave Turin with the most gold medals, and Bode Miller will drive his motor home out of the Italian Alps with none.
Full Story (Source: Mail & Guardian)

Germany, U.S. finish 1-2, many nations share wealth in medals
Germany and the United States again won the most medals at a share-the-wealth Turin Olympics that featured more countries winning medals and more in double figures than ever before.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Figure skating: Cohen takes fall
She squeezed her coach’s hands and then skated off toward the biggest four minutes of her life. And right then you could see it.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Fans of Winter Olympics are streaming to the Web
Despite the generally depressed TV ratings for the Winter Olympics that are ending Sunday, viewership is booming on a different screen.
Full Story (Source: Chicago Tribune)

Turin Bids Arrivederci to Winter Olympics
With a dreamlike, Fellini-style circus of clowns and acrobats — some floating magically in midair — Turin found a fitting way to bid arrivederci to a Winter Games that mixed occasional fiasco with many moments of grace and glory.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! News)

Ohno dominates to win short track gold

karl — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 08:33:59 +0000

Ohno dominates to win short track gold
A perfect start led to a perfectly satisfying finish Saturday night for Apolo Anton Ohno and the U.S. men’s short track speedskating team.
Full Story (Source: Chron)

Bode Miller: 0-for-Olympics, without regret
Bode bombed. There’s really no other way to put it. In a performance that might put him down as the biggest bust in Winter Olympics history, Bode Miller completed an 0-fer in men’s ski racing yesterday when he failed to finish the slalom. He might be the best American skier of his generation, or perhaps ever, but his time in Turin will be known more for failing to medal in the downhill, combined, slalom, giant slalom and super-G.
Full Story (Source: Newsday)

It was a faceless but successful Olympics for U.S. team
The Olympic flame will be extinguished Sunday night, leaving Americans with at least one burning question: Who will grace the cover of the Wheaties box?
Full Story (Source: Mercury News)

A big finish for Canada?
Splendiferous Saturday. Could be, even should be, for Canada. On the penultimate day of the XX Winter Olympics, Canucks are podium-potent from up on the mountain to down in the oval to ’round the rink.
Full Story (Source: Toronto Star)

Miller flops again; Raich’s second gold caps Austrian sweep
His final race at these Olympics cut short by yet another mistake, Bode Miller stood beside the course, shaking his hands and wiggling his head in mock celebration. How appropriate.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Czech Republic 3, Russia 0
Right result, wrong game for the Czech Republic. The Czechs beat Russia 3-0 in the Olympic men’s tournament Saturday night and didn’t even try to hide their disappointment.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Czech mate: Czech’s blank Russia for bronze

karl — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 08:32:52 +0000

Czech mate: Czech’s blank Russia in bronze medal game
Right result, wrong game for the Czech Republic. The Czechs beat Russia 3-0 in the Olympic men’s tournament Saturday night and didn’t even try to hide their disappointment.
Full Story (Source: Slam! Sports)

Hughes wins gold, Klassen wins record medal
Clara Hughes won gold and Cindy Klassen made history with a bronze as the Winnipeg ladies dominated the ice at the Oval Lingotto today.
Full Story (Source: Slam! Sports)

Finland vs. Sweden final: Nordic Stanley Cup
This is their game of a lifetime, and they know it. This is a Stanley Cup finals Game 7 magnified, a once unimaginable gold medal matchup of tiny bordering countries come true.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Golden Ohno: Another win for the goateed American, plus a bronze
A perfect race from start to finish for Apolo Anton Ohno. Nobody was going to get in his way this time.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

USOC officials promises athletes will be better behaved
With the whole world watching, Bode Miller earned more notice for his Olympic partying than his performance. Teammates Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick skated and squabbled. Jeret Peterson finished off a boozy night in the mountains with a street scuffle.
Full Story (Source: CBS Sportsline)

Two skiers eligible for 50k after being cleared to compete
Two cross-country skiers were cleared Saturday to compete in the final Olympic race after serving suspensions for high hemoglobin levels.
Full Story (Source: CBS Sportsline)

Mancuso of U.S. Wins Women’s Giant Slalom

karl — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 10:34:18 +0000

Mancuso of U.S. Wins Women’s Giant Slalom
Julia Mancuso won the women’s giant slalom at the Winter Olympics in Italy, giving the U.S. its eighth gold medal of the games. Pre-race favorite Anja Paerson of Sweden finished out of the medals.
Full Story (Source: Bloomberg)

Austrian relief at first round of drug inquiry
Drug tests on the 10 athletes at the centre of the Austrian doping inquiries were negative, the International Olympic Committee announced last night.
Full Story (Source: Telegraph)

An unflagging hero for these Olympics
If the judgment of an American Olympics performance is who gets on a Wheaties box, breakfast might have to be skipped.
Full Story (Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Canada bests Finland for curling gold
Canada won the men’s curling tournament Friday at the Winter Olympics by beating Finland, 10-4, in the gold medal match at Pinerolo Palaghiaccio.
Full Story (Source: The Sports Network)

U.S. rebounds, streaks to bronze medal
The guys on the U.S. men’s curling team will take home some vivid memories of their time at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Full Story (Source: Chicago Tribune)

An exception to the rule: Hedrick settles for second
Maybe Chad Hedrick will take things a little easier the next time. Hedrick became only the third U.S. Winter Olympian to win as many as three medals at a single games when he captured a silver in the 10,000 meters Friday, the final men’s speedskating race. He was sandwiched between a pair of Dutch skaters: winner Bob de Jong and third-place finisher Carl Verheijen.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Men’s ice hockey: Russia Finn-ished

karl — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 10:33:08 +0000

Russia Finn-ished
Saku Koivu is one win away from delivering the greatest hockey victory in his country’s history. And Finland’s captain knows even Hollywood couldn’t have scripted it better with rival Sweden standing in the way of Olympic gold Sunday (8 a.m. ET).
Full Story (Source: Slam! Sports)

Finland, Sweden stomp semifinal foes en route to all-Nordic final in hockey
Finland had plenty to celebrate: The hockey team had just completed a one-sided drubbing of a talented Russian team. And in the process, the Finns put themselves in position to capture their country’s first-ever gold medal in hockey.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Speed skater’s grandfather dies of heart attack in Turin
The grandfather of U.S. short track skater Kimberly Derrick died of an apparent heart attack Friday night while in Turin to watch her compete in her first Olympics.
Full Story (Source: CBS Sportsline)

Americans ready to bid ‘arrivederci’ to Italy — in a wild way
By Sunday, the U.S. medal count will be pretty much sealed. The only thing left for the American delegation will be a wild, somewhat-weird goodbye party.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Neumannova’s late push gets Czech Republic its first gold
Fatigued and exhilarated, Katerina Neumannova fell across the finish to win one of cross-country’s most grueling races, then found the energy to hoist her young daughter into a celebratory embrace.
Full Story (Source: CBS Sportsline)

Controversial sagas become standard Games feature
A familiar atmosphere swept through the Turin Winter Olympics this week and it was not the medals, nor the records nor cheers from the fans.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Xiaopeng claims victory in aerials

karl — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 10:39:22 +0000

Xiaopeng claims victory in aerials
Han Xiaopeng won China’s first Olympic gold medal on snow when he triumphed in the men’s freestyle skiing aerials.
Full Story (Source: CNN)

Olympics fall short of ratings gold
Why aren’t more Americans watching the Olympics? That’s the gold-medal question as the Turin Winter Games on NBC approach Sunday’s closing ceremony. Once nearly invincible in prime time, the Olympics are getting beaten as never before.
Full Story (Source: Chron)

Winter Olympics still stir patriotism
Salt Lake City, in an editorial: “This year, the Winter Olympics seem to be providing more than just the usual fare of athletic deeds and personal triumphs. They are providing a glimpse into the future of media entertainment.”
Full Story (Source: USA Today)

Canadian curlers hammer Norway, take bronze
Canada rocked Norway with four points in the first end, four more in the fifth and went on to win 11-5 Thursday, earning an Olympic bronze medal in women’s curling.
Full Story (Source: MSNBC)

Belarus denied first Winter Olympics gold
China`s Han Xiaopeng denied Belarus its first gold medal in Winter Olympics history Thursday by winning the men`s freestyle skiing aerials.
Full Story (Source: Monsters And Critics)

Ski duo optimistic after topping their rankings
New Zealand’s two women’s ski slalom representatives, Nicola Campbell and Erika McLeod, performed above their rankings in Italy yesterday.
Full Story (Source: NZ Herald)

Cohen, Slutskaya stumble and Japanese win first-ever figure skating gold
No Russian sweep, no American streak. Shizuka Arakawa put Japan, of all countries, on top of the figure skating world.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Modano skips out on final U.S. hockey meeting

karl — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 10:38:37 +0000

Modano skips out on final U.S. hockey meeting
Mike Modano packed up his stuff and left Italy on Thursday morning, skipping a final meeting with his Olympic teammates after they were eliminated a night earlier in the men’s hockey quarterfinals.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

American puts past collapses behind her to win snowboarding medal
No longer will she be remembered as the head case who couldn’t make it through qualifying without crashing. No longer will she be remembered as the snowboarder who collapsed in stunning fashion in Nagano in 1998 and Salt Lake City in 2002.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Doctor never doubted Camplin
Alisa Camplin’s surgeon Dr Julian Feller was never in any doubt the pint-sized athlete could win an Olympic aerial freestyle skiing medal.
Full Story (Source: NineMSN)

Old and slow, no-gold Canada rethinks future Olympic plans
All that talent. All that money. All that nothingness. Canada, the land that invented hockey but somehow can’t seem to win at it regularly, sent what it thought was its best-ever Olympic men’s team to Turin.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Ellis breaks back in non-Olympic sledding accident
It was supposed to be a friendly sliding competition for TV viewers. Instead, U.S. skeleton racer Kevin Ellis showed a bit of the realistic dangers of his sport.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Canadian hockey vets still eyeing 2010
Martin Brodeur will be 37 in 2010, but Team Canada’s No. 1 goaltender says he hopes to play in the next Winter Olympics. Captain Joe Sakic will be 40, but the Vancouver native wants to play in his hometown.
Full Story (Source: Slam! Sports)

Hockey heartbreaker: dream team out

karl — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 10:45:00 +0000

Hockey heartbreaker
They were defending champions with big names and big skills, but Team Canada couldn’t score. That’s why Canadian hockey’s dream team is going home early after a stunning 2-0 loss to Russia in the Olympic hockey quarter-final Wednesday. “We weren’t as good a team as we needed to be to advance,” summed up head coach Pat Quinn.
Full Story (Source: Slam! Sports)

Russia 2, Canada 0
Wayne Gretzky couldn’t stand to watch any longer, heading to the exit in the final minute. Russia’s youngsters were beating up his hand-picked old pros from Canada and, with 33 seconds left and his eyes red with tears, he bolted. No gold medal for mighty Canada, and no comfort at the Olympics for The Great One, who placed the blame for this failure squarely on himself.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Short night at short track: Ohno moves on in his quickest event
Apolo Anton Ohno had a short night at the short track. It was good enough to give him a shot at another medal. Ohno safely advanced from his heat in the 500 meters Wednesday and will go to the final night of competition with two chances to add to the bronze he has already won at these Winter Olympics.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Beijing’s watchful eye at Torino
Even before they’re over, the Winter Games in Torino are being overshadowed by Beijing, with expectations soaring that the 2008 Summer Olympics will be like none other.
Full Story (Source: CNN)

Miller to race slalom despite rolling his ankle playing basketball
Bode Miller was rehabbing his ankle Wednesday after twisting it while playing basketball with teammates but is expected to race the Olympic slalom, his fifth and final chance at a Turin Games medal.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Lack of interest in Olympics recalls Miss America
There are alibis enough to explain why the Turin Olympics simply haven’t caught on with Americans.
Full Story (Source: Sports Illustrated)

At Olympics snowboarding comes of age

karl — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 10:43:17 +0000

At Olympics snowboarding comes of age
Ashlee Brown looked resplendent in her orange checked snowboard gear as she waited by a crowded lift line at the ritzy mountain resort of Squaw Valley in the heart of northern California’s booming winter sports region.
Full Story (Source: Monsters And Critics)

Canada, Finland advance to curling’s gold medal game
The best Pete Fenson can hope for now is to leave Italy with a bronze medal and some new pizza recipes.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

One to watch: men’s aerials
Recovering from knee surgery this time last year and forced to withdraw from the circuit for several months, Kyle Nissen has returned with a vengeance this season. The Canadian is the World Cup leader, with five podium finishes from eight events, including a victory on his home snow at Mont Gabriel.
Full Story (Source: Times Online)

NZers off the pace in women’s slalom
The Swedish ski star Anja Paerson has finally won a gold medal, taking the women’s slalom title at the Turin Winter Olympics.
Full Story (Source: Radio NZ)

Who has the edge?
A new ice princess will be crowned in Turin Thursday night. But with less than one point separating first and third, figure skating’s most coveted prize — the Olympic gold medal — is up for grabs.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Drawn and quartered
His eyes still full of Finnish pride, his still lip bloodied from earning it, Teemu Selanne still had the energy to snicker a crooked grin at the silly charges centering around the implosion of USA Hockey.
Full Story (Source: Yaho! Sports)

IIHF monitors game after coach suggests loss

karl — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 09:28:21 +0000

IIHF monitors game after coach suggests loss
International hockey’s governing board closely monitored Sweden’s 3-0 loss to Slovakia in Olympic preliminary play Tuesday after Swedish coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson suggested his team might be better off losing.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Gottwald gives Austria record-high eight gold medals
Felix Gottwald used his powerful sprint ability to win the cross-country portion of the Nordic combined Tuesday — Austria’s record eighth gold medal of the Turin Olympics.
Full Story (Source: CBS Sportsline)

Russia 5, United States 4
Brian Rolston’s shot bounced off the goalie, struck the crossbar and sent a water bottle flying on its way into the net. Needing all that effort for one goal, who knows what it will take to lift the U.S. men’s hockey team to Olympic victory. Trouble is, the club has only one more chance to figure it out.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Canada 3, Czech Republic 2
The goals came, as Wayne Gretzky predicted they would. Martin Brodeur played like a gold-medal winning goalie, too. That doesn’t mean Canada solved all its problems during an encouraging but far-from-perfect performance one day before the Olympic men’s hockey games start to count.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Team Canada wins last round-robin game at Winter Games, bobsledders fourth
Team Canada ended its losing slide at the Winter Olympics on Tuesday while bobsledder Helen Upperton nearly slid her way onto the podium.
Full Story (Source: CJAD)

9 straight losses for curlers
Winter Sports High Performance Manager Mark Elliot has rejected suggestions of disharmony in the New Zealand Curling team at the Winter Olympics in Turin.
Full Story (Source: NZ Herald)

NBC, Costas missing the mark on TV coverage
The idea that we live in a country in which more people would rather watch bad singers embarrassing themselves than fabulous athletes competing on a world stage is disconcerting.
Full Story (Source: The Record)

U.S. will face Finland in Men’s Hockey QF

karl — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 09:27:49 +0000

U.S. Reaches Quarterfinals in Men’s Hockey, Will Face Finland
The U.S. reached the quarterfinals in men’s hockey at the Winter Olympics after Latvia lost 5-2 to Kazakhstan in its final group game today.
Full Story (Source: Bloomberg)

Kostelic’s medal run aims to add slalom gold
Back home in Croatia, Janica Kostelic’s fans are calling the Winter Olympics the “market place.”
Full Story (Source: CBS Sportsline)

Rivals Out to Snatch Gold From Slutskaya
Twenty-eight of the world’s most talented and skillful figure skaters have only one aim at the Winter Olympics — to stop Irina Slutskaya from climbing to the top of the podium.
Full Story (Source: Moscow Times)

Little time for rest for Moyse
Heather Moyse won’t get a lot of time to rest following the Winter Olympics.
Full Story (Source: Slam! Sports)

Turin lacking in spirit
The colour of the sky is a telling murky grey. The denseness of the thick air never seems to change.
Full Story (Source: Slam! Sports)

The eyes have it
It was going to be her night and she knew it. She felt strong, she felt confident, she felt like the Olympics were about to become her stage. She just needed to convey that to the judges, to put some passion into her program, to move them emotionally, not just technically.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

iPod wins Olympic Gold in Turin

karl — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 10:31:39 +0000

iPod wins Olympic Gold in Turin
Apple’s iPod is clearly in evidence across the Winter Olympics in Turin.
Full Story (Source: Macworld UK)

Austria hog limelight
The Austrian Alpine team took the honours on Day 10 of the Turin Winter Olympics on Monday.
Full Story (Source: NDTV)

S Korean claims US skier his son
A South Korean man has claimed he is the natural father of US skier Toby Dawson, who won a bronze in the Winter Olympics last week, media reports said.
Full Story (Source: BBC)

Meissner basking in aura of Olympics
Kimmie Meissner giggles when she talks and soars when she skates. She’s at the Winter Olympics, she’s 16, and she’s an underdog, which, based on recent history, means there’s a good chance she could be standing on the medals podium Thursday.
Full Story (Source: Chron)

Bellevue’s Ludlow happy just to finish Super-G
Inspiration for the aging flew faster than anyone down a mountain, as 32-year-old Michaela Dorfmeister of Austria collected her second gold medal of the Turin Games shortly before her upcoming retirement.
Full Story (Source: Seattle Times)

United States 4, Finland 0
Katie King wishes she could’ve thrown her gloves in the air like a graduation cap and jumped into a pile of her teammates on the ice.
Instead, she and the rest of the U.S. women’s hockey team had to settle for some hugs — and a bronze medal.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Canada 4, Sweden 1
Danielle Goyette wanted to skate circles around this moment forever, wearing a gold medal around her neck and waving a Canadian flag wildly over her head.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Miller: ‘I could be sitting on four medals’

karl — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 10:30:43 +0000

Miller: ‘I could be sitting on four medals’
All those Olympic medals Bode Miller insists he can live without? Turns out he also believes they could just as easily be his. Instead, they’re going to other skiers — and other countries.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

U.S. Hockey Coach: Team Will Bust Out
Peter Laviolette was all smiles as he and the U.S. hockey team lined up for a group photo on their day off at the Olympics. He says it’s just a matter of time before the team’s play on the ice has him really grinning.
Full Story (Source: Washington Post)

Everybody dance, Americans win silver medal
Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto were still on the ice long after getting their silver medals. They posed for pictures, clowned for the crowd, waved the flag and tried to thank every single fan who showed up to cheer them.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Rinks roll into playoffs
Both Canadian curling rinks needed victories in their final round-robin games Monday to qualify for the semifinals at the Winter Olympics. And both teams executed.
Full Story (Source: Slam! Sports)

Gretzky: Canada needs more heart, emotion and, yes, goals
Wayne Gretzky understands the shortage of goals. What he can’t accept is the lack of passion and desperation. Gretzky ended nearly a week’s silence at the Olympics on Monday with a critical evaluation of Canada’s underperforming men’s hockey team. He wasn’t angry, but his message was clear.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Canuck skiers shut out
Canada just missed the medal podium this morning in both the men’s giant slalom and the women’s super-G as Francois Bourque and Kelly Vanderbeek wound up fourth in their respective events.
Full Story (Source: Slam! Sports)

Doping scandal hits Winter Olympics

karl — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 09:15:50 +0000

Doping scandal hits Winter Olympics
With the threat of a new doping scandal threatening to overshadow the games, Italy won its third gold and the everpresent Dutch speedskating fans cheered Marianne Timmer to a gold in the women’s 1,000 meters.
Full Story (Source: Times Of India)

Finland 2, Canada 0
All this talent on the Canadians’ men’s hockey team, and nothing to show for it. No wins in two weekend Olympic games. No chemistry. Worst of all, no goals. 0 Canada, indeed.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Winter Olympics slide into disappointment
Whatever you may think of the Winter Olympics - if you are thinking about them at all - those watching the television coverage can only be impressed by the expertise of the commentators. They’re a class act, if ever you heard one.
Full Story (Source: NZ Herald)

Timmer wins gold in the 1,000 meters
Marianne Timmer of the Netherlands won the Olympic gold medal in the women’s 1,000-meter Sunday, eight years after winning the same event at the Nagano Games.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

15 Austrians dope-tested in police raids
Italian police raided Austria’s biathlon and cross-country skiing team bases on suspicion of doping yesterday, casting a pall over the Winter Games.
Full Story (Source: NZ Herald)

Hasek, Elias out of Olympics
Dominik Hasek will be unable to compete for the remainder of the 2006 Winter Olympics because of an undisclosed leg injury he suffered in the Czech Republic’s opening game of the tournament, a win over Germany.
Full Story (Source: NHL)

Swiss can play hockey
First, the Swiss stunned the world champion Czechs. They topped that Saturday, embarrassing defending men’s Olympic gold medalist Canada 2-0 — the latest upset in only three days of men’s hockey.
Full Story (Source: Taipei Times)

Winter Olympics proves popular online

karl — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 09:15:25 +0000

Winter Olympics proves popular on the internet
The Turin Winter Olympics is proving to be more popular on the internet than the 2004 Summer Games in Athens.
Full Story (Source: Stuff)

Ice storm
If you’re ever going to be on the edge of your seat watching a speedskating race, Tuesday’s 1,500 meters will be the one. Everybody here is looking forward to what should be the premier race in this Olympics.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Lueders, Brown grab silver
The snow came down white, but the medal is silver for Canadian bobsledders Pierre Lueders and Lascelles Brown.
Full Story (Source: Slam! Sports)

Sweden 2, United States 1
Too bad Rick DiPietro can’t defend one net and shoot at the other. The American scoring woes have become so stark, something’s got to give if the U.S. is going to make any noise in the Olympic men’s hockey tournament. If only their stickhandling goaltender could provide help on offense and defense.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Problems follow Austrian ski coach across the border
Banned Austrian ski coach Walter Mayer left behind a tangled web of problems when he took off from the Winter Olympics after a doping raid. But he ran into even more trouble after he crossed the border.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Klassen skates into second, wins third medal of Games
Canada has a new Olympic star and she is shining brightly at these 20th Winter Olympics.
Full Story (Source: Slam! Sports)

Drug raid casts pall over Winter Olympics

karl — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 09:12:59 +0000

Drug raid casts pall over Winter Olympics
Italian police raided the Austrian biathlon team, casting a shadow over a super Saturday that had seen two stirring performances on the slopes and a landmark gold won by a black American skater.
Full Story (Source: Mail & Guardian)

Austrian biathlon team’s quarters raided
Italian police staged a late-night raid on the Austrian biathlon team’s Winter Olympics quarters on Saturday, an Austrian Olympic chief and investigative source told Reuters.
Full Story (Source: Sydney Morning Herald)

U.S. hopes to build on success at Olympics
Hump day of the 2006 Winter Olympics didn’t determine who will emerge as this year’s faces to remember. But on several fronts, Saturday set the agenda for what is to come in the next eight days.
Full Story (Source: Chron)

Finland 4, Czech Republic 2
Blood on the ice. Hockey’s biggest scorer being helped off with an ugly and unnecessary injury. A rivalry created. Olympics men’s hockey isn’t supposed to be this nasty, this violent, especially not so early in the games.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Herminator set for Super-G
Olympic champion, World Champion and 23 World Cup victories, “Mr Super G” Hermann Maier has won everything in his discipline. Ahead of Saturday’s showdown, the Herminator speaks to us through his press officer about his current health status and hopes for the super-G.
Full Story (Source: Eurosport)

Slovakia 2, United States 1
Short-handed and down by a goal in the third period, the U.S. had one shot ring off the crossbar and another thump off the goaltender’s stick.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Canada shut out by Swiss

karl — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 09:12:14 +0000

Canada shut out
Team Canada is the latest gold-medal favourite to fall to the surprising Swiss, who rode a hot goalie and a modest NHL grinder from a decade ago to their second straight shocking Olympic win.
Full Story (Source: Slam! Sports)

Both Canadian rinks suffer shocking upsets
Italian skip Joel Retornaz survived a furious Canadian rally and made a nervy draw to the button in an extra end for a 7-6 upset win over Brad Gushue at the Olympics on Saturday.
Full Story (Source: Slam! Sports)

Just another race, another record for Kostelic
It’s almost as if Janica Kostelic expects her tremendous success. On Saturday, the Croatian won the women’s combined event and became the first woman to win four Olympic gold medals in Alpine skiing. And she did it despite being sick enough that she thought she might not be able to race.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Putting the ‘fun’ in dysfunction
The Winter Olympics’ best soap opera returned to the ice here Saturday, where Shani Davis made history by taking gold in the 1,000 meters, Chad Hedrick made things more contentious by taking shots at Davis, and Joey Cheek continued to make nice with everybody, especially the refugee children of Sub-Sahara Africa.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Ahn takes second gold in 1,000
South Korea’s Ahn Hyun-soo won his second gold medal of the Turin Winter Olympics on Saturday when he nudged ahead of compatriot Lee Ho-suk to take the 1,000 meter short track skating title.
Full Story (Source: Reuters)

Shani Davis does it his way, wins gold medal
Say what you want about Shani Davis. Call him a trailblazer. Accuse him of selfishness. Snicker at him for being a momma’s boy. Just don’t forget this: He’s also an Olympic champion.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Sweden stun US at Winter Olympics

karl — Sat, 18 Feb 2006 10:26:10 +0000

Sweden stun US at Winter Olympics
In Italy, it’s Friday the 17th that’s considered bad luck — and it certainly was for US gold medal favorites, with the women’s hockey team shockingly upset by Sweden and Lindsey Jacobellis squandering an almost certain win in the new snowboardcross event.
Full Story (Source: Times Of India)

Golden goals: Canada faces Sweden in final
For once, the U.S. isn’t standing in the way of Canada’s bid for gold in women’s hockey.
Full Story (Source: Slam! Sports)

Kostelic second, Paerson fourth after slalom portion
Heavy snow, fierce winds, and race delays. Marlies Schild is the only one who didn’t seem to mind. Now comes the real fun: the downhill portion of the Alpine combined, where two of her toughest rivals — Olympic champion Janica Kostelic and Sweden’s Anja Paerson — excel.
Full Story (Source: CBS Sportsline)

So far, Games are a nightmare for U.S.
They got a hold of “Miracle” and started watching, over and over, sometimes twice, three times a day. Only, in their dreams, it was Sweden’s women’s hockey team playing the role of the underdog United States and the U.S. playing that of the indomitable, overconfident Soviet Union.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Jacobellis drew attention to her sport, but couldn’t win the race
Lindsey Jacobellis won over legions of fans and promoters to the new Olympic sport of snowboardcross. What she didn’t do was win the race. She lost it — in astonishing fashion — a jaw-dropping collapse that will go down as one of the most unforgettable moments of the 2006 Winter Games.
Full Story (Source: ESPN)

Skeleton season ends without Olympic medal for U.S. trio
It all seemed so easy four years ago. Jim Shea Jr. and Tristan Gale slid to gold at the Salt Lake City Games, Lea Ann Parsley added a silver and no skeleton team seemed more powerful than the Americans.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

U.S. beats Swiss team, finds itself in tie for second
The ice is curling, and the United States men are rolling in the first round of the Olympics. With slower and swingier ice that allowed them to take more chances, the Americans beat Switzerland 7-3 Friday and moved into a second-place tie in the Olympic curling round-robin tournament.
Full Story (Source: CBS Sportsline)

US endures fright Friday at Winter Olympics

karl — Sat, 18 Feb 2006 10:25:22 +0000

US endures fright Friday at Winter Olympics
Tiny Estonia cherished a third Olympic triumph and Canada celebrated a top-two sweep but the United States, who lead the hunt for gold medals, were giving them away in Turin on Friday.
Full Story (Source: Mail & Guardian)

Dramatic Day At Turin Winter Olympics
A derailed snowboarder, a dreadlocked Ethiopian and a Siberian biathlete facing an Italian criminal inquiry into taking drugs hogged the limelight at the Winter Olympics today.
Full Story (Source: Newswire)

Even ailing, Maier leads talented men’s super-G field
It was a rare sight: Hermann Maier utterly defeated, flopped over his poles, his barrel chest heaving with exhaustion. Blaming a persistent cold for his failure to medal in the Olympic downhill, the Austrian ski star hardly looked in shape for his sovereign event, the super-G.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Race of the games: Speedskating stars align for 1,000 meters
The Olympic oval was quiet and pristine on the first off day for speedskating. The stands were barren. The distinctive clicks of the skates — normally drowned out by the crowds — were easily heard as two Americans got in some last-minute training.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Winter Olympics Ratings Giving NBC the Chills
Skier Bode Miller isn’t the only one suffering through a tough Winter Olympics. NBC Universal, which is covering the Turin events on its broadcast and cable networks, is struggling with some of the lowest ratings in the history of the Games.
Full Story (Source: LA Times)

Another heartbreaker for Kiwi curlers
New Zealand’s heartbreaking run of narrow defeats continued at the Olympic Winter Games curling competition in Pinerolo today when the team lost 6-5 to Italy in a thrilling match that went to an extra end.
Full Story (Source: NZ Herald)

Kleibrink beats Olympic champ
Canadian Shannon Kleibrink whipped defending Olympic champion Rhona Martin and her British rink 9-3 on Friday to maintain a share of second place in the women’s curling tournament.
Full Story (Source: Slam! Sports)

Davis, Hedrick, Cheek, Miller, Ohno all in action Saturday
Shani Davis may have a speedskating world record, but his three American teammates already know what it takes to win gold medals.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Dominant Plushenko skates to gold; Weir fifth

karl — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 09:28:25 +0000

Dominant Plushenko skates to gold; Weir fifth
The Olympic gold medal and everything that went into winning it felt so good to Evgeni Plushenko that he wants to do it again.
Full Story (Source: CBS Sportsline)

Two for Turin: Canada downs Germany 5-1
Tired, jet-lagged and in unfamiliar surroundings, Team Canada probably needed to ease its way into the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Full Story (Source: Slam! Sports)

Americans bounce back with 4-1 victory over Kazakhstan
Rick DiPietro reached for the water bottle after one save and less than 30 seconds of action. It didn’t take long for the pressure to ease on the U.S. goalie and his teammates in a 4-1 victory Thursday night over Kazakhstan.
Full Story (Source: CBS Sportsline)

Wescott wins a wild one, brings home gold for America
Suspended in midair, Seth Wescott’s biggest worry was making sure he didn’t land on top of his opponent and crush him. Not exactly a typical Olympic moment. Then again, snowboardcross isn’t a typical Olympic sport.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Stetcher’s late run nets Austria gold; U.S. bickers
Carl Van Loan watched the Austrians rally for their first Nordic combined gold medal Thursday and criticized the Germans for putting their weakest skier last.
Full Story (Source: CBS Sportsline)

Gretzky, wife won’t be charged criminally, lawyers say
Wayne Gretzky will not face criminal charges in connection with a multimillion-dollar sports betting ring busted in New Jersey last week, and he is unlikely to be called to testify against others in the case, his lawyer said Thursday.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Better late than never, Hughes arrives in Turin

karl — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 09:28:00 +0000

Better late than never, Hughes arrives in Turin
Emily Hughes didn’t waste any time beginning her Olympic experience. The last-minute replacement for Michelle Kwan arrived in Turin on Thursday with her father and coach, and was spotted at the men’s final a few hours later. She’ll do her first practice Friday, and hold a news conference.
Full Story (Source: CBS Sportsline)

Gushue edges Norway, Women lose to Switzerland
Brad Gushue and the Canadian men are tied for first in Olympic curling thanks to a big win over Norway while Shannon Kleibrink kept the Canadian women in the hunt with a key evening victory that followed a morning loss Thursday.
Full Story (Source: Slam! Sports)

Switzerland 3, Czech Republic 2
David Aebischer got stronger with each Czech shot that smacked against his pads. He turned aside 40 shots — including 20 in the second period — and carried Switzerland to one of its greatest hockey victories, a 3-2 win Thursday over the world champion Czechs.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Beware the Russians
Russia finally arrived in Turin in spirit after hanging around in body for a few days, turning the Olympic tournament into an intriguing roundelay.
Full Story (Source: Sports Illustrated)

Knee injury decks U.S. snowboarder
The rough-and-tumble sport of snowboardcross claimed its first Olympic victim before the opening race was even run when American Jayson Hale tore up his knee during a practice session Tuesday in Sauze d’Oulx, Italy.
Full Story (Source: Beacon Journal)

How To Watch the Winter Olympics
Last night’s prime-time lineup left me cold. Try as I might, I can’t seem to work up much excitement for freestyle moguls skiing.
Full Story (Source: Slate)

Leg injury could sideline Hasek for rest of Olympics

karl — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 09:27:26 +0000

Leg injury could sideline Hasek for rest of Olympics
Dominik Hasek is still iffy for a return to the Olympics. Pavel Kolar, physical therapist for the Czech Republic’s hockey team, said Thursday that the 41-year-old goalie had a tense muscle in his left leg - an injury sustained Wednesday in the Czech Republic’s opening 4-1 victory over Germany.
Full Story (Source: CBS Sportsline)

Fenson’s double-takeout helps U.S. knock off Sweden
Shannon Kleibrink led Canada past Norway on Thursday night, drawing her stone into the house for a third point in the eighth end as the Canadians opened a four-point lead and held on to win 10-8.
Full Story (Source: CBS Sportsline)

Downhill triumph a dream fulfilled
Sobbing in triumph, Austrian skier Michaela Dorfmeister knelt to kiss the Olympic Alpine snow yesterday.
Full Story (Source: NZ Herald)

Tuning out the Olympics
It was a mismatch of Olympian proportions, one that left NBC as flattened as a figure skater who lands on his tush. “American Idol,” Fox’s ratings juggernaut, squashed the Winter Olympics on NBC Tuesday in every important measure from 8 to 9 p.m., especially among the younger viewers favored by advertisers.
Full Story (Source: Newsday)

Absentee roll call
List of athletes not competing in Turin is impressive.
Full Story (Source: Sports Illustrated)

Time to pull plug on hockey pros
After Latvia and the United States tied in men’s hockey Wednesday, after the passionate Latvian fans waved flags and danced in the aisles, after the vast majority of remote controls in the U.S. tuned into American Idol, Arturs Irbe summed up the entire thing.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Moore trouble for Bertuzzi

karl — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 09:58:50 +0000

Moore trouble for Bertuzzi
Former NHLer Steve Moore has filed another lawsuit against the Todd Bertuzzi, placing a new legal hurdle in front of the Vancouver Canucks star while adding to Team Canada’s distractions at the Winter Olympics.
Full Story (Source: Slam! Sports)

Germans Win Biathlon Again; Ole Falters
Ole Einar Bjoerndalen’s trigger finger is a bit shaky. His composure remains rock-steady. “I’m not going to give up. There’s still competition to come and I have confidence I’ll be able to win gold medals,” Bjoerndalen said after his 12th place finish in the 10km sprint allowed Sven Fischer to win Germany’s second straight Olympic gold medal in the men’s biathlon Tuesday.
Full Story (Source: Washington Post)

Begg-Smith wins first Aussie gold at Turin Winter Olympics
Australia’s first gold medal winner at the Turin Winter Olympics is not only an outstanding moguls skier but a hugely successful entrepreneur as well. And he’s only 21.
Full Story (Source: ABC Australia)

Sluggish start for Canada
With Wayne Gretzky looking on from a box high above the ice, Team Canada opened defence of its 2002 Olympic championship with a 7-2 victory over Italy today at the Palasport Olimpico arena.
Full Story (Source: Slam! Sports)

Olympics Notebook: ‘Idol’ worship overtakes Games
The Winter Olympics proved no match for television’s gold medal winner, “American Idol.”
Full Story (Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Ohno advances in short track; leads U.S. into relay final
polo Anton Ohno managed to stay out of trouble. With no medals on the line, that’s all he needed to do.
Full Story (Source: CBS Sportsline)

Swagger back, U.S. skips past Denmark 8-3
Out went the individual iPods. In came the stereo speakers. And instead of struggling to function as a team, the U.S. women danced and curled together to earn their first Olympic victory.
Full Story (Source: CBS Sportsline)

Gambling Scandal Overshadows Men’s Ice Hockey

karl — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 09:57:30 +0000

Gambling Scandal Overshadows Men’s Olympic Ice Hockey
As the men’s 2006 Winter Olympics hockey tournament began Wednesday, much of the focus has been on former star Wayne Gretzky, the executive director of the Canadian Olympic ice hockey team. That is because of a gambling scandal.
Full Story (Source: VOA News)

Bloom runs an out pattern
Jeremy Bloom can go play football now. If he does make an NFL roster, he just won’t have an Olympic medal to show his new teammates.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Czechs defeat Germany, but lose Hasek to injury
Dominik Hasek went down with an injured hamstring only a few minutes into the Czech Republic’s Olympic opener. Goodbye gold medal, right?
Full Story (Source: CBS Sportsline)

Bloom heads back to gridiron without an Olympic medal
A bobble through the bumps and a small splash of snow hit Jeremy Bloom harder than any linebacker could. Might have made him wish he’d stuck to football, too.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)

Whitney Houston and Duran Duran play at Winter Olympics
Whitney Houston and Duran Duran are set to be amongst the performers at this year’s ongoing Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy.
Full Story (Source: Star Online eCentral)

Pain and perseverance
Thomas Vonn packed their bags.
His girlfriend, U.S. skier Lindsey Kildow, had just crashed in a spectacular, wicked mess during a training run here and was in the process of being airlifted to a Turin hospital. The early word was she had a shattered pelvis and massive head trauma. He suspected a knee or two was blown out, also.
Full Story (Source: Yahoo! Sports)