February 23rd, 2018 at 10:49 AM ^
Woe Canada
come on man
February 23rd, 2018 at 10:50 AM ^
edited from "poor" to "woe"
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:48 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 10:49 AM ^
2010 and effing Sidney Crosby still hurt to this day. I don't feel bad for them.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:15 PM ^
Yeah. That and their stupid lucky loony in Salt Lake City.
The Canadian women were completely devastated to lose gold this year and while I get that a lot of their reaction was in-the-moment and understandably emotional, they also came off hella spoiled.
February 23rd, 2018 at 3:37 PM ^
and their goal song is "Hey Baby". I don't know why, but it's terrible
February 23rd, 2018 at 5:18 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 10:50 AM ^
I woke up midway through the 2nd, put the game on to see how bad Germany was losing and low and behold, they were up 2-0! What? How? Canada through everything they could at Germany in the 3rd, pulled within one but couldn't get the equalizer.
Amazing performance by Germany, beating both the Swedes and Canadians to get to the Gold Medal Game, the highest finish ever for a Germany team, one that didn't even qualify for Sochi was amazing to watch. I don't think they have a chance against OAR but then again, I didn't think they had a chance against Sweden and I certainly didn't think they had a chance against Canada.
Hope I go 0 for 3 on this!
February 23rd, 2018 at 10:52 AM ^
Glaubst Du an Wunder? Ja!!!
February 23rd, 2018 at 11:02 AM ^
Canada also managed to get shut out of the medals in both men's and women's curling.
I assume there will be a full Parliamentary inquiry in Ottawa.
February 23rd, 2018 at 11:06 AM ^
Lot's of Canadians pouring out Molson's & Labatt's today.
February 23rd, 2018 at 11:13 AM ^
The recent MI hockey and basketball success, the 4 star OL commit, and the news of Drevno combined with all the bad things happening to team Canada, maybe the black cloud over UM has moved to Canada.
February 23rd, 2018 at 11:17 AM ^
Apart from curling and hockey this Olympics has been the most successful Canada has ever had. 27 medals is the most by Canada at a winter Olympics
February 23rd, 2018 at 11:50 AM ^
A more ironic statement has probably never been made on this site.
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:07 PM ^
They kicked butt in figure skating.
February 23rd, 2018 at 9:56 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 11:20 AM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 6:02 PM ^
Hockey, at least, offers an excuse: The best players aren't playing, the rest is just a toss-up.
But the curling results are absolutely flabbergasting.
Not that I'm upset, mind you.
February 23rd, 2018 at 11:13 AM ^
One more thing to blame Gary Bettman for
February 23rd, 2018 at 11:16 AM ^
Despite the fact that the Russians will probably win the Gold, this tournament has been great, mostly due to the Germans.
February 23rd, 2018 at 11:22 AM ^
Really a Sophies Choice situation cheering wise in the final
February 23rd, 2018 at 11:48 AM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:16 PM ^
Nope! Deutschland uber alles!
February 23rd, 2018 at 2:31 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 10:02 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 11:16 AM ^
Suck it Tr(udeau)!
February 23rd, 2018 at 11:27 AM ^
NHL better be back in 2022. This isn't the early 90's anymore -- most of the top youth is also inelligible re. NHL contracts. I want to see the best against the best -- and USA would have been amazing this year.
February 23rd, 2018 at 11:43 AM ^
they are being held in China, so NHL may not participate
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:22 PM ^
I have a little bit of a conspiracy theory on this, which is that the IOC (and possibly IIHF) discouraged NHL participation so as to allow the host nation not to be thoroughly embarrassed.
South Korea has scratched out a marginally respectable hockey team, mainly by importing talent from the US and Canada and naturalizing them. The IIHF allows this, with a limit on the number of players, if you play for a pro team in that country. But they'd still have been a total disaster against NHL talent.
China will be a train wreck and thus if I'm right, there's no way the NHL is going there, either. South Korea, at least, has professional hockey teams capable of attracting failed NHL talent. China does not and their hockey team plays in the far-bottom nether realms of the IIHF's championship tiers. They can't import anyone because there isn't a team to play for. An NHL-loaded roster would beat the Chinese national team 25-0. China will probably push the IOC not to allow the NHL in the tournament, and the IOC will do whatever they ask.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:44 PM ^
(1) Speaking of what "The IOC" wants is like speaking of what "The NCAA" wants. It's just a group of guys, you know? Some of them think one thing, some think something else, and they are all motivated more by their National Olympic Committee's best interest than the IOC's best interest. Same with the IIHF.
(2) The NHL cares even less about what the IOC or IIHF wants than they care about what the players, the fans, or the TV networks want.
(3) "The IOC" hasn't cared one whit about blowouts suffered by the Greek baseball & softball teams, the USA or UK Team Handball team, the French hockey team, etc.
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:00 PM ^
Asian countries care a tremendous amount about "face", and the Chinese would surely lose a hell of a lot of it competing against NHLers. Besides, none of the teams you mentioned got blown out all that badly as hosts. Most won at least a game or two. There's a difference between just not being in medal contention and being insanely, brutally outclassed. Chinese hockey players against NHLers from Russia, Canada, Sweden, et. al. would be the latter.
Yes, they're a bunch of guys motivated by their national committee's best interest - or more descriptively, a bunch of cronies motivated in large part by greed and sometimes corruption. The Chinese OC will not want the NHL in town. It won't take much for the IOC to decide they agree with their host country. They (probably) can't bar the NHL's participation outright, but they have plenty of tools at their disposal to discourage it. The NHL might just show up anyway, but if the IOC sends the message they're not wanted, it's not like the owners will push very hard for it.
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:08 PM ^
The owners don't want the players in the Olympics. Nothing else matters, except maybe money.
The money in question would come from their TV partner NBC, who is coincidentally the Olympic broadcaster, and might want to pay the NHL for the use of their players in the Olympics for 2 weeks. More likely than not, NBC either doesn't care enough or they can't afford what the owners would demand, so no NHLers ever again is the unfortunate probable outcome, no matter where the Olympics are.
Also, if I were a hockey administrator in China, there's nothing I would want more than NHLers playing in China. What better way to get the government to pump money into training programs? What better way to get some of your 1.3 billion to care about your sport than to showcase the sport at its best? Remember--the impetus for NBA players in the Olympics came from Europe, not from the United States. The USA voted against using basketball professionals!
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:31 PM ^
Hockey administrator in China, maybe. Sure. Actual people in charge of the Olympics, not so much. And to tell the truth, I don't think the average, non-hockey-knowing Chinese knows the difference between top-level hockey and mid-level hockey any more than I know what elite cricket looks like. What they do know is the difference between a competitive loss and a humiliating one. Basketball in Europe is different - the Europeans are quite familiar with the sport.
I will stipulate that nothing spurs the Chinese into action quite like humiliation, so maybe that hypothetical hockey administrator would be secretly hoping to get blown the F out so he can pitch the need for investment.
Remember, though, that part of the reason the owners pulled the plug was because the IOC itself stopped paying travel and insurance costs. If the owners could get their costs paid for, it'd help. And I don't completely fault them, either - I can't think of another major sport that goes to the Olympics or other high-level international competition in the middle of the season. Remember how up in arms UEFA clubs got when the Qatar WC got moved from the offseason to accommodate the desert weather.
February 23rd, 2018 at 10:05 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 11:43 AM ^
for gold.
February 23rd, 2018 at 11:43 AM ^
Mo will be pumped ! the Fighting Wagners make it to the gold medal game!!!
February 23rd, 2018 at 11:45 AM ^
will their athletes immediately remove the medals like the woman player did when awarded the silver?
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:21 PM ^
social media in 1972 when the American Olympic basketball team skipped the ceremony entirely and to this day haven't picked up their silver medals.
Poor sportsmanship then or it's OK if you're American and think you got cheated?
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:44 PM ^
We didn't lose fair and square in that instance.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:57 PM ^
We didn't lose fair and square is one way to put it. Another is the 1972 Men's Basketball Team got royally fucked over in the Munich Games.
Regardless, your point is taken. Canadian women could've shown more sportsmanship.
February 23rd, 2018 at 5:22 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 11:47 AM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:16 PM ^
If Germany wins the gold it will be an even bigger underdog story than that low-rated Czech snowboarder winning the women's super G.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:16 PM ^
If Germany wins the gold it will be an even bigger underdog story than that low-rated Czech snowboarder winning the women's super G.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:17 PM ^
For a country not known for a hockey, they're making some waves knocking out Sweden in the quarters and now Canada in the semis
February 23rd, 2018 at 2:02 PM ^
Use the NHL rinks for Women's Hockey and Curlling.....
Hire Tonya Harding as NHL Director of Promotions.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:25 PM ^
For some further prospective on what Germany has done thus far.
Most people know, regardless of the Medal, this is their highest showing in the Olympics, ever, and didn't even qualify for Sochi. But also, in the World Championships, they have finished no better than 4th since 1953, finishing 12th, 9th, 14th, 10th, 7th and 8th in the last seven and they have never finished better than 5th (1981) in the World Juniors, no better than 9th in the last 7.
Incredible performances the last two games!
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:41 PM ^
Try not to kick them too hard while they are down
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:46 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 2:17 PM ^
I expect a long drawn out game of attrition until the shootout. Ultimately, the German's Gatorade supply can't be sustained. They say screw it and retreat to their locker room.