Who can forget the brave skater who with her beloved mothers death not a day old, rose to the occasion to perform a personal best and ultimately win a medal?  What lessons could all of us have learned from that athlete at that moment?  To bear witness to the moment of a sea of humanity acknowledging not just the spirit of the athlete but sharing if for only a moment, a transcendent emotional bond felt round the world, is a moment we should all learn from.

Yes we have our problems as individuals, as countries and as humanity. Somehow if our leaders could summon up the emotion of that moment our world would be a better place.  The Olympic games may be over, the spirit will live on.

Joannie Rochette has demonstrated what it means to be taken by the spirit of the games. And uniquely the audience on that night, both in the stadium but far away showed us all our common humanity.

And so, when Lindsey Vonn stepped into the competitors moment today, she left everything behind except the hero. And won.

It’s an Olympic moment that will be long remembered. An inspiration to all who will come later. Congratulations Lindsey. You deserve the day.

In a decisive demonstration of pose, aggressiveness and experience, Ricker won the day against some of the toughest competitors on the planet. And…she had fun!

So Maëlle let’s just say congratulations for winning. You deserved every bit of it. But also let us say congratulations for winning the right way. You were a hero before you stepped on the slope today.

Yes of course the pairs winners were great. Or amazing. Or any of a dozen other words that came to mind. But the one thing they were not, was passionate. If there was fun anywhere to be had in Vancouver that night, it was definitely not in the pairs arena. Such serious music. I was waiting for  ‘Voyage of the Damned’ as the next music.

So Johnny Weir is a ray of sunshine in this otherwise grim sporting tale, as dark and as gray as a Vancouver sky.  And ‘yes’, that quad will make or break him. But my bet is that his will be the most fun, and his will be the most memorable that evening. No one is taking Johnny’s t-bird away.

So tonight  Johnny be good.  Go Johnny go!

So tonight Team USA women goes up against the best of ‘the Bear’.  National pride is on the line for both countries. Canada is a great neutral arena, not that the Canadians are disinterested. Hockey as any Canadian worth their salt will tell you, is ‘our game’. And Canada is doubly motivated in this games. Its home territory for the Canadians and a gold at home would be the first for Team Canada. But its also ‘those guys’ (or girls in this case), the one game that has a 40 year at least tradition. Home many games can you name that have that kind of tradition. Not many is the answer.

So both Team USA and their rivals are going to playing their best. And it may well be some of the best hockey to be seen this decade. The puck drops tonight! Your thoughts welcome!

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No longer.

The opening of the 2010 games was not just an event nor spectacle both of which it was.  This ceremony signaled Canada’s coming of age. No longer an aspirant to American showmanship. No longer a weak understudy.  This event was not world class, it was beyond world class.

All the usual and more unusual effects from the stadium floor turning into a whale pod swimming in the ocean  to music to cry to, poetry to reflect on and speeches spoken just right. Meaning, celebration and joy all wrapped into an evening of warmth and shared humanity. How an event of this scale could do those things I could not say. That the event did is testimony to everyone involved and the raw resources of the Canadian spirit.

Well done Vancouver. Well done Canada. And thank you Shane Koyczan for putting into words what some of us could not for some 50 years.

Welcome to Canada.

While we are crossing our fingers that Lindsey will recover in time to compete we hope she will not risk her health to get in the game. She is a tough competitor and will be chomping at the bit to take to the course. hang in there and Best of luck Lindsey!

Tell us what you think!

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Tell us what you think!

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This games, America has one of its youngest rosters. Rachel Flatt replaces Sasha Cohen the silver medalist after Cohen fell. Elegant, technically perfect and demonstrating some of the most creative passionate competitors in decades, Flatt will be the one to watch. But somehow you just get the feeling that the experience of Cohen will be missed. Fans can post their experiences here.

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Tops on my list of unique things to do, is to go for a walk. Yep, a walk. Vancouver has one of the worlds most interesting and enjoyable walks of any place you will likely visit. The seawall is a walk around Vancouver’s famous Stanley park. The park, which is an multi climate eco system is right in the heart of the city. The path which is wide, paved, and very popular circumvents the park. And the whole affair is shaped like a finger pointing out into the ocean.

The experience will have you walk by the ocean, walk under the bridge, and walk through a lovely forest. The views are breathtaking. If you are lucky, you may find yourself walking next to an ocean liner slipping into harbor, or watching wildlife play near the shore.

Afterwords find a great coffee shop near either entrance or exit and people watch as long as you like.

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