Sunday Olympic Edition

Fans of North American hockey have to be a little worried by the events transpiring in Torino in the Olympic Hockey tournament. Both the US and Canada are struggling mightily to score goals and both teams could finish fourth in their pools. Of course, the goal of pool play is to get to the second round and it appears that the Americans and Canadians have done that, but each club could have a tough quarterfinal match-up.

Can these two clubs get it going in the next round? In order for them to do that, they’ll need to start playing with more confidence, especially the Canadians. In their game with Finland today, they were on their heels from the outset as the Finns took control of the contest early and established a 2-0 lead. Canada looked better in the second as they put a lot of shots on net, but very few of them were top quality scoring chances. In the third, the Finns regained control and Canada never really threatened in the last ten minutes of the game.

Is it possible that the Canadians miss the presence of Mario Lemieux in Torino? In 2002, Mario wasn’t a huge factor in the tournament, but his presence seemed to settle the team down. He gave them a natural leader. The 2006 version of Team Canada seems a little lost and they haven’t found their go-to guy yet. In a tournament of this format, it’s not surprising that a team takes a few games to jell together. In 2002, the Canadians lost their first tournament game to Sweden badly by a score of 5-2, yet they still managed to recover from that and win the tournament. Watching this year, one doesn’t get the sense that they can recover in the same fashion.

Team USA is having similar confidence problems, but they are also suffering from a lack of offensive creativity. The team seems to be using the same offensive patterns over and over, and that won’t work against disciplined defensive squads like Sweden. And it certainly won’t work against Finland if they become the Americans’ opponents in the quarterfinals. The US coaching staff is going to have to install some new offense soon or there will be no medal for this team in 2006.

Even with the struggles of the US and Canada, the hockey has been thrilling and the tournament is wide open. We’ve always been a fan of the European style of play and this year the creativity of the Europeans seems to be winning out over the physicality of the North Americans. Perhaps that’s because the Europeans have adapted to that style of play through their immersion in the NHL, thus negating a major part of the American and Canadian strategies.

Other Olympic Thoughts

· How about that interview Melissa Stark did with Shani Davis after he won his speed skating gold medal in the 1000m? Could he have been more belligerent? His terse and short replies were uncomfortable to watch and difficult for Stark to field. Kudos to her for asking him if he was angry? His response that he was happy made him look like a fool. Was Davis trying to make some sort of statement because of his tiff with Chad Hedrick over the Team Pursuit event? Who knows, but his interview performance wasn’t in any way a statement, yet it was a poor reflection on the man himself. He would have been better served by refusing the interview request and maintaining his silence.

· We certainly feel for Lindsey Jacobellis as she will most likely regret making a showboat move that cost her the gold medal in Snow Cross (is that what it is called?), at least until Vancouver comes along. Unlike the Half Pipe Snow Boarding women, Jacobellis comes across as articulate and a genuine athlete, and someone you feel like rooting for. While a lot of attention was paid to her last second gaffe, very little attention was paid to the condition of Canadian snow boarder Maelle Ricker who was carted off the course by the ski patrol. Shockingly, Bob Costas never gave us an update on her condition. As it turned out, she was released from a hospital a few hours after the race with a slight concussion. An example of American provincialism?

· The overall quality, or at least depth, of the figure skating in Torino seems down from past Games. While watching, we don’t get the sense that we are in the presence of greatness. Perhaps Sasha Cohen will change our minds, but she’s never skated flawlessly at a big event. Regardless, this feels like her title to lose.

· Watching Curling makes us feel like it’s never too late to be an Olympian.

· In honor of the Olympics being in Italy, we’re reading “Italian Neighbors” by Tim Parks. It’s an insight into small village life in northern Italy from an Englishman who’s lived in Italy for several years. It makes us wonder if we could adjust to a style of life that is so different to our own. You'll have to read the book to figure out the differences. Two of the funniest sports books I have ever read have also been set in Italy. One of them was by Parks entitled “A Season with Verona”. The other is “The Miracle of Castel di Sangro” by Joe McGinniss. Even if you’re not a soccer fan, these books are worth the read.