That's a wrap!
Just like that, the fortnight is over and the Olympic games are fading into history. To say it ended with a bang would be a complete understatement. The thrilling hockey game between the US men's team and the Canadian team was one for the books. I actually didn't realize the game was on so early and I missed pretty much the whole thing. It wasn't until the end of regulation that I happened to be flipping through the channels and I found it. Thankfully, I was able to catch the epic conclusion even though I missed the majority of the game.
I don't want to diminish the game at all, it was a pretty great from what I hear, but these were professionals playing a game. Yes, they were playing for their country instead of their team, so that makes a difference, but for me it didn't have the same impact as the women's game did. Perhaps that's why I subconsciously missed the majority of the game on Sunday morning. Who knows.
Either way, the US got another gold medal which brings their total to 12, still six shy of Norway who collected an amazing (if not predictable) 18 gold medals. Both the US and Norway got 12 silver medals, and then Norway snagged 11 bronze medals to the US's 9. That brings the total Norwegian medal count to 41 with the US in second place at 33. The Netherlands claimed third place with 20 total medals, and Italy collected an impressive 30 total medals. Remember, the reason the Netherlands falls above Italy in the Yahoo rankings is because while both countries received 10 gold medals, The Netherlands got 7 silver medals where Italy only got 6. Personally, I think the rankings should just follow total medals, but that's just me.
Germany filled out the top five with 26 total medals, 8 of them being gold, and ten of them being silver which is what moved them above France and Sweden who both got 8 gold medals.
If you are super sad that Curling isn't going to be proliferating your television screen anymore, apparently the world championships are right around the corner and I am sure there will be a bit of carryover hype for that from the Olympic games. They will be taking place in March in Calgary, Alberta Canada. Maybe they will broadcast it on ESPN 8 or something.
As for me, I'll be setting my sights on the NCAA basketball tournament that we are a mere six or seven games away from. In addition to that, we are on the cusp of the Real World Series, also known as the World Baseball Classic. While the traditional world series only sees North American and Canadian ball clubs facing off, for the World Baseball Classic, all the players go back to represent their home countries.
In my opinion, it's a better gauge of who is really the best.
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