Official Sochi Olympics - Backes brings home 2 stray dogs

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WestCoastJoe
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Congratulations to Steve Yzerman and his assistants, to the players, Mike Babcock and his coaches, and to all the support staff.

Jonathan Toews is money. To me he is pretty much the most valuable all around player in hockey. Some of his skills are not the most noted. His puck control. His balance and body control. But most of all how clutch he is. Sid the Kid is right there of course, but for my money, I just might take Toews over Crosby.

Most ice time for a Canadian forward: Jonathan Toews. Shut down centre. And a thousand other things.

Great scheme by the coaching staff.

I watched the 1960 Olympics, saw the USSR take over international hockey, and it has taken this long for Canada to pretty much re-assert itself as the dominant power in hockey. Some steps along the way. 1972 Canada showdown with USSR. 1986 Canada Cup. Canada Cups 1984, 1987, 1991. World Juniors. 2002 Olympics Gold Medals. 2010 Olympics Gold Medals. 2014 Olympics Gold Medals. Not much question. We are Number 1 once again, and have been for quite a while. This dominant Olympic performance pretty much cements it.

IMO ...
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

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Robbie
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TheLionKing wrote:Can't believe that Henrik Lundquist is named the All-Star goalie over Carey Price.
Or awarding the tournament MVP to Teemu Selanne even though he was neither the points nor the goals leader. I guess the voters got too sentimental and appealed to the pity over the fact that he never struck gold in an otherwise great hockey career.
祝加拿大加式足球聯賽不列颠哥伦比亚卑詩雄獅隊今年贏格雷杯冠軍。此外祝溫哥華加人隊贏總統獎座·卡雲斯·甘保杯·史丹利盃。還每年祝溫哥華白頭浪隊贏美國足球大联盟杯。不要忘記每年祝溫哥華巨人贏西部冰球聯盟冠軍。
改建後的卑詩體育館於二十十一年九月三十日重新對外開放,首場體育活動為同日舉行的加拿大足球聯賽賽事,由主場的卑詩雄獅隊以三十三比二十四擊敗愛民頓愛斯基摩人隊。
祝你龍年行大運。
恭喜西雅图海鹰直到第四十八屆超級盃最終四十三比八大勝曾拿下兩次超級盃冠軍的丹佛野馬拿下隊史第一個超級盃冠軍。
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Coast Mountain Lion
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sj-roc wrote: I thought you were already accounting for Henrik as one of the three!
Franzen, Zetterberg and Backstrom (having flunked a drug test).
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WestCoastJoe wrote: I watched the 1960 Olympics, saw the USSR take over international hockey, and it has taken this long for Canada to pretty much re-assert itself as the dominant power in hockey. Some steps along the way. 1972 Canada showdown with USSR. 1986 Canada Cup. Canada Cups 1984, 1987, 1991. World Juniors. 2002 Olympics Gold Medals. 2010 Olympics Gold Medals. 2014 Olympics Gold Medals. Not much question. We are Number 1 once again, and have been for quite a while. This dominant Olympic performance pretty much cements it. IMO.
The big turning point, of course, was the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, a federation of about 285M people. Russia today has a population of about 141M and is slowly declining. So, fewer people to groom for the Olympic hockey team. Perhaps more importantly, though, is the chaos in Russia (and the other Soviet republics) that followed the collapse of the USSR, which probably rendered sports of lesser importance than previously, at least for a while. Although not a democratic country in any meaningful way today, Russia lacks, I think, the centralized control that the USSR exerted under Communism which enabled the Communist leaders to basically demand that they excel in international sports and fund their athletes to levels not possible today with a struggling economy.

In any case, it's nice to see Canada on top in hockey (for both the men's and women's teams) for some time now. I really hope this isn't the last Olympics in which we'll see NHLers playing for their countries.
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Regardless of the brave face that the USOC tries to put on it, this has to be considered a terrible Winter Olympics for the US. Here's a brief article on it from the San Jose Mercury News. Expect more negative analysis from the more august newspapers and other media sources in the days ahead.

http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_25 ... hi-results
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And here's another interesting article, by Richard Florida in The Atlantic, which gives a somewhat different perspective to the medal-count totals. First, the total number of medals won is a poor metric with which to quantify results. Surely, a gold medal is worth more than a silver and a bronze, and silver> bronze. Now, the weighting scheme that should be applied to reflect these differences is open to debate (is a gold worth twice as much as a silver? 1.5 times as much? etc.), but in this article the author uses a simple scheme: gold = 3; silver = 2; bronze = 1 to re-distribute the countries according to this weighted medal-count total. In this metric, Canada is 2nd only to Russia and ahead of the US, whereas using a strict unweighted medal count, Canada is 4th and behind the US, who are 2nd.

If we prorate the medal count by population of the country, Canada is in 10th place, well ahead of Russia and the US (in 21st place). And if we prorate the medal count by GDP of the country, Canada lands in 13th spot, just one place behind Russia, and well ahead of the US (23rd).

These perspectives (population, GDP) don't tell the whole story, of course, only giving us a look at one facet of the whole. However, any way you look at it, I think Canada should consider its performance at the Sochi games very good overall.

http://www.theatlantic.com/internationa ... nt/284025/

The author's conclusion is worth repeating, I think, particularly the part about not having to compete with big-time professional sports leagues:

"The top performers, after adjusting for the size of each country's population and economy, turn out to be smaller countries in colder climates. These countries tend to specialize in winter sports, and their Olympic programs lack the competition from big-time professional sports leagues that siphon off top athletic talent."
Last edited by South Pender on Sun Feb 23, 2014 12:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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WestCoastJoe
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South Pender wrote:
WestCoastJoe wrote: I watched the 1960 Olympics, saw the USSR take over international hockey, and it has taken this long for Canada to pretty much re-assert itself as the dominant power in hockey. Some steps along the way. 1972 Canada showdown with USSR. 1986 Canada Cup. Canada Cups 1984, 1987, 1991. World Juniors. 2002 Olympics Gold Medals. 2010 Olympics Gold Medals. 2014 Olympics Gold Medals. Not much question. We are Number 1 once again, and have been for quite a while. This dominant Olympic performance pretty much cements it. IMO.
The big turning point, of course, was the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, a federation of about 285M people. Russia today has a population of about 141M and is slowly declining. So, fewer people to groom for the Olympic hockey team. Perhaps more importantly, though, is the chaos in Russia (and the other Soviet republics) that followed the collapse of the USSR, which probably rendered sports of lesser importance than previously, at least for a while. Although not a democratic country in any meaningful way today, Russia lacks, I think, the centralized control that the USSR exerted under Communism which enabled the Communist leaders to basically demand that they excel in international sports and fund their athletes to levels not possible today with a struggling economy.

In any case, it's nice to see Canada on top in hockey (for both the men's and women's teams) for some time now. I really hope this isn't the last Olympics in which we'll see NHLers playing for their countries.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Regardless of the brave face that the USOC tries to put on it, this has to be considered a terrible Winter Olympics for the US. Here's a brief article on it from the San Jose Mercury News. Expect more negative analysis from the more august newspapers and other media sources in the days ahead.

http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_25 ... hi-results
No question that the breakup of the Soviet Union spelled the end of their dominance in hockey. State support would not be the same. I recall Tretiak, as an "amateur," being questioned about his "job." He said he was an officer in the Army. And his job in the Army was to play hockey. LOL. Some advantage for the USSR in international hockey.

For a long time Canadian hockey had to eat some humble pie. But we adapted. Skill development became a focus. Schemes. Coaching advancements. And always, the one thing, IMO, that no other country can match, there was the indomitable Canadian spirit. Babcock talked about it, the choice players make to keep on going, never giving up. For me Toews personifies that spirit.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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WestCoastJoe
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http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=444523
SIEGEL: TOEWS BOLSTERS WINNING RESUME ON OLYMPIC STAGE
Jonas Siegel
2/23/2014 1:39:48 PM

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SOCHI, Russia - Jonathan Toews doesn't know where he'll keep this Olympic gold medal. His mom and dad have the other one from four years ago back home in Winnipeg.

"Maybe I'll hang 'em up together," he says.

Toews has not yet reached the age of 26. He already owns two Stanley Cups and now his second gold on the grand Olympic stage - all in the last four years. He also boasts gold from two World Juniors and another from the 2007 Worlds.

He scored the first goal in Canada's 3-0 triumph over Sweden in Sunday's gold medal match and further cemented himself as one of the defining - if not the defining - winners and crunch-time players of his generation. He was the best player on the biggest stage in Vancouver and remained right up there again this time around in Sochi.
 
That winning feeling never seems to get old.

"I think every time you get the chance," said Toews, gold medal still around his neck afterward, "there's still that feeling of nerves that you don't want to pass up the chance to win. You want to do it again. You never know how many chances you're going to get so you want to do the best you can to bring it home. I'm just lucky to be part of these teams that want to win as bad as I do."

That burning desire to win is what makes Toews such a special player and leader at a wise-beyond-his-years age of 25. It's why the Chicago Blackhawks pinned him with the captaincy at the tender age of 20, this after just a single season in the NHL. He is both willing and able to do whatever it takes to win. Score a goal. Kill a penalty. Win a faceoff. Shut down the opposition's top offensive force. Toews can and will do it all.

On this day against the Swedes, it was scoring the elusive first goal and eventual game-winner. Toews, who led the forwards with over 19 minutes, hadn't scored before that in these Olympics, but there he was redirecting a terrific pass from Jeff Carter and setting the tone for Canada.

"I know Johnny cares so much about hockey," said Canadian and Blackhawks teammate Duncan Keith, also a winner of two Cups and two Olympic gold medals. "He lives and breathes hockey. That's the way he is as a person. That sort of stuff doesn't surprise me at all."

In the semifinal against the Americans, he was shutting down the previously unstoppable Phil Kessel, keeping the eventual tournament scoring leader (tied with Erik Karlsson) off the board entirely in a tense 1-0 win. In fact, it was the line of Toews, Carter and Patrick Marleau that keyed in on the opposition's best throughout the entire tournament. The trio was a driving force in Canada's dominant defensive effort, one that saw them yield exactly three goals in six games and not one in either the semifinal or final.

"He's a winner," said Alex Pietrangelo, less than two years younger than Toews, but worlds apart in experience. "Resume speaks for itself. Obviously a great leader. Plays the game the right way. Plays the game hard, every practice, every game. Great guy to learn from, great guy to follow."

Toews is so respected around the league for his winning accomplishments that even Sidney Crosby, the game's top player, checked with his Chicago counterpart before accepting the captaincy for Team Canada. He wanted to make sure Toews, a winner of two Cups to just one for Crosby, was okay with it.

For first-time Olympians like Pietrangelo and Matt Duchene, Toews and Crosby were the two to watch here in Sochi, the two to follow on the difficult path to gold, the second in as many Olympics for Canada.

"Him and Sid are the two guys I probably look up most to in the league," said Duchene. "You want to follow in the footsteps of those guys."
 
Stepping into the lineup for the injured John Tavares in Friday's semifinal against the U.S., Duchene said he looked to Toews and Crosby for leadership. "...they were kind of my calming factors. I looked at them and saw how they were dealing with it and thought 'okay, that's where I want to go as an individual so this is how I have to act and how I have to deal with it'.

"I didn't have any nerves the last two games and that was pretty amazing."

For the second time in as many gold medal games it was Toews and Crosby both scoring for Canada - the latter on a breakaway against Lundqvist - both elevating their play under the most pressure-infused of situations.
 
Both knew nothing less than gold was good enough, either for the nation or themselves as individuals.

"This is old hat for them this game here," Duchene said with a growing smile. "This probably ranks in the top five biggest games ever [for them], not number one like me by a mile. It's pretty cool. Those are the guys you want to be like as you get older."
Great article about an amazing leader, Toews, and his equally amazing amazing compatriot, Crosby.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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Coast Mountain Lion wrote:
sj-roc wrote: I thought you were already accounting for Henrik as one of the three!
Franzen, Zetterberg and Backstrom (having flunked a drug test).
I see, forgot about Franzen. Hard to know if it would have helped. All four of them played in the 2010 QF loss to Slovakia.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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WestCoastJoe
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I looked high and low, left and right, and could not see Steve Yzerman in the on ice team photo. Anybody see him there? Maybe on the end? Need a wide angle for all those guys.

Stevie has done a fantastic job for two Olympics. Great representative of B.C and Canada. :thup:

If the NHL is involved next time, I would hope that Burnaby Joe Sakic might take the reins for Team Canada.

[Stevie Y announced that he is stepping down as diector of Team Canada. As far as I am concerned Yzerman can stay with the job forever, as long as he wants. He has been that good. His choice to step down.]
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
TheLionKing
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Don't mess with success. Stick with Yzerman and his management team.
TheLionKing
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TheLionKing wrote:Don't mess with success. Stick with Yzerman and his management team.
Yzerman steps down as Executive Director

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=444517

What a way to go out ! Thanks for the memories
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WestCoastJoe
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From Ed Willes in the Province ...

"Tonight is yours. Own the moment. We are proof that every minute matters. The podium is reserved for the brave. Earn every inch. Dictate the pace. Go get 'em." Letter hanging in the men's hockey locker room from Szabados, Jenner and Wickenheiser of the women's team.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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WestCoastJoe
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"Him and Sid are the two guys [Toews and Crosby] I probably look up most to in the league," said Duchene. "You want to follow in the footsteps of those guys."

Stepping into the lineup for the injured John Tavares in Friday's semifinal against the U.S., Duchene said he looked to Toews and Crosby for leadership. "...they were kind of my calming factors. I looked at them and saw how they were dealing with it and thought 'okay, that's where I want to go as an individual so this is how I have to act and how I have to deal with it'.

"I didn't have any nerves the last two games and that was pretty amazing."
That is leadership, elevating the players around them. To the point of a young player, Duchene, not having nerves in the biggest game of his life. :thup:
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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Tortarella was cheering for Sweden according to todays Province. The two Canucks on Canada's team were not getting much ice time. so he was cheering Sweden on.....
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WestCoastJoe
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http://voices.suntimes.com/sports/insid ... old-medal/
Toews, Canada win second straight gold medal

Canada’s Jonathan Toews celebrates his first-period goal against Sweden in the Olympic gold-medal game in Sochi on Sunday. (Getty Images)

SOCHI, Russia — This wasn’t one of those ordinary Jonathan Toews goal celebrations — a stoic look and a mild, cool and confident fist shake. No, this was one of those howling, one-knee, ferocious fist-pump jobs. The kind of reaction Toews only busts out for the big ones — playoff goals, game-winning goals, and yes, golden goals.

Canada won its second straight Olympic gold medal on Sunday afternoon at Bolshoy Ice Dome, beating Sweden 3-0 with a ruthless and relentless style that left the depleted Swedes gasping and grasping for air. And as he did in 2010 in Vancouver, Toews got it started off with a goal just less than 13 minutes into the first period. Carey Price — who posted shutouts in the semifinal and the final — made it stand up as the game-winner.

So Toews now has two gold medals and two Stanley Cups.

And he’s 25.

“These things just keep coming at you,” he said shortly after posing on the ice for a picture with teammates Duncan Keith and Patrick Sharp, the gold medals slung around their necks. “You get these opportunities and you just try and seize every one of them.”

Keith has the same gaudy resume at age 30. And Sharp now has his first gold medal to go with his two Cups.

“This is what we play for, we play for championships and Stanley Cups and gold medals,” Keith said. “I definitely feel that we’ve got a lot of opportunity to win more.”

The Canadians were utterly dominant, a defensive machine that sent wave after wave of big, physical and supremely skilled forwards at opponents. The Swedes — like the Americans two nights earlier — quickly had the life sucked out of them by the Canadians’ hyper-aggressive forechecking and backchecking, nearly every forward a 200-foot player.

“They played unbelievable defense,” said Niklas Hjalmarsson, who took home a silver medal along with Blackhawks teammates Johnny Oduya and Marcus Kruger. “One of the best teams I’ve ever played against, for sure. I’m just disappointed that we couldn’t really give them a better go for the gold.”

Fact is, Canada didn’t let them. Sweden was clearly hurt by a devastating series of injuries and absences. Already without top center Henrik Sedin and No. 2 center and captain Henrik Zetterberg because of injuries, the Swedes lost No. 3 center Nicklas Backstrom just hours before the game when they learned he had tested positive for a banned substance, reportedly an allergy medication.

But as the Canadians showed all tournament, allowing just three goals in six games, it probably wouldn’t have made a difference.

“We’re just an amazing team to watch, the way we work together,” Toews said. “We were just all over them. It’s fun to be a part of.”

Toews and Sidney Crosby — both of whom hadn’t scored all tournament long — came through with goals in the biggest game of them all. Toews redirected a Jeff Carter centering pass past Henrik Lundqvist in the first period, and Crosby scored on a breakaway in the second. Chris Kunitz, who also was receiving plenty of flak for failing to produce, scored his first goal to seal it midway through the third period.

Canada coach Mike Babcock ended his postgame press conference with a mic-drop moment in the face of many of his team’s biggest critics.

“Does anybody know who won the scoring race?” he asked. “Does anybody care? Does anyone know who won the gold medal? See you, guys.”

And that’s just it. For this Canada team — perhaps the most impressive roster of skill players ever assembled — it was never about scoring lots of goals. It was about not giving up any. And everyone bought in, even those who rarely got to play. Toews singled out players such as Roberto Luongo (who played just one game), Martin St. Louis (who finally got his chance on Sunday) and Sharp (who played just one shift over the final two periods after playing a major role in the semifinal).

“[They’re] guys that have made sacrifices to win the gold medal,” Toews said. “You ask them, I don’t think they care. It’s an amazing feeling to be a part of a team like that, whether your role was big or small.”

But for Toews, of course, his role was big — as it always seems to be on the biggest stages, in the biggest games. And now he’s got another treasure to go along with all the other accolades, awards and championships he’s won in his brief but brilliant career.

So, does he have a spot in mind for the latest addition?

“Not yet,” he said with a smile. “I’ll have to make some room.”
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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Robbie wrote:
TheLionKing wrote:Can't believe that Henrik Lundquist is named the All-Star goalie over Carey Price.
Or awarding the tournament MVP to Teemu Selanne even though he was neither the points nor the goals leader. I guess the voters got too sentimental and appealed to the pity over the fact that he never struck gold in an otherwise great hockey career.
I don't think anyone pities Selanne.

Most points/goals is a very simple statistic. Kessel was leading point getter, and barely scared the net in the semi and the bronze game.
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