USA cruises in quarterfinals

Swiss slapshot! Low seats in the 3rd period gave me this amazing vantage point!

The American men's hockey team continued their strong run through the Olympic hockey tournament with an exciting 2-0 victory of Switzerland on Wednesday. I was lucky enough to secure a last minute ticket (scalper - $50) and thus caught the action live from GM Place! (Quarterfinal tickets were pre-sold without knowing who was playing in what game, so with Canada facing Russia later in the day, suddenly tickets were abundant.)

Chasing down the puck

The "upstart Americans" came into the game fresh off their 5-3 preliminary over the Canadians, and have the easiest path into the Gold Medal game. However it is the Olympics, and even the overmatched Swiss, boasting only 2 NHL players, came ready to play. There were no goals in the first two periods, despite a number of chances. Swiss goalie Jonas Hiller was spectacular, saving 42 of 43 shots on the day, and even got a little help from the horn at the end of the 2nd period when US Forward Ryan Keller's shot went into the net with 0.00 seconds remaining. A video replay confirmed the shot was after the horn, and the Americans were forced to come out strong in the 3rd and final period.

US Goalie Ryan Miller has been the player of the tournament so far.

Like the US team, my friend Dale and I looked to increase our own energy in the game during the last period - sneaking down to the 3rd row behind the US goal. This gave us the perfect vantage point to snap off action pictures and feel the energy of the game. It was an amazing atmosphere, and the Americans broke the scoreless tie with a goal from New Jersey Devil forward Zach Parise 2 minutes into the final period. The Swiss fought back hard, but in the end the US was too much and advanced 2-0 into the semi's.

Go USA!

Taking pictures of hockey was incredibly fun, and I vowed during the game that I need to be a photographer at London 2012!

Attacking the net!

~ J. Twice

Own the... Bacon?

Perhaps the reason why Canada hasn't completely "Owned the Podium." It's not just about the bacon!


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USA - Canada

Here's a running account of taking in the USA - Canada hockey game live from hockey universe headquarters, Vancouver. Or a I described it on m facebook, a battle between a country who doesn't care about hokey with the one who does more than anything.

3:45 pm - before leaving my hotel I don my team USA hat. I refrain from calling it a toque. There will be no canadian lingo today.

4:01 - I bounce through Yaletown as a sea of canadians in red and white walk past. I thank my lucky stars that this passive country shares nothing in common with my favorite soccer club, Chelsea. If so I could expect to be pummeled for my hat.

4:05 - I arrive outside Yaletown brewery, a cool hangout that resembles my local joint, The Ram, back home. They are charging a $20 cover for the bar so I sneak in. How American.

4:18 - I finish my count and realize I'm outnumbered 735 to 4. I give the other Americans a nod (a California couple and their son) and order a wheat beer for courage.

4:24 - the tv shows the finish to the women's speed skating. Canada has the favorite. The crowd goes wild. Free thundersticks create a deafening noise. Canada gets silver. The crowd sighs. Business as usual.

4:25 - hefeweizen #2

4:34 - Just minutes before the puck drops, text messages roll in. Jake wonders if my house is divided. Chris reminds me of the $100 bet we made under the influence of other hefeweizen. The tension grows.

4:39 - a non-descript 50 year old jumps on a table and reminds the crowd "6 minutes! 6 minutes!" I must be in Canada.

4:45 - You gotta love Canada. No pre-game fireworks. No lazer light shows or starting line-ups. The coverage begins just moments before the game starts with just a quick "welcome to GM Place" and the game starts. Here we go.

4:46 - Just :43 seconds into the game, the US scores!!! I laugh and remind Chris that at this rate the final will be 60 - 0. The crowd is stunned.

4:57 - Hefe #3 served. Feeling courageous.

5:00 - Canada scores! Shiezah! Maybe it won't be that easy. Randoms chest bump.

5:01 - USA answers :21 sec later! I love it!!! 2-1 USA. Now I'm chest bumping.

5:05 to 6:17 - the teams trade goals but the US continues to lead 3-2. I begin to see the canadians lose their spirit as they trade quips and talks about, "If only Gretzky was here!"

6:25 - Nervous, I switch to captain Morgan and am rewarded by a huge US goal! 4-2 red, white, and blue. The canadians play loud music (ironically about hockey) to stay motivated and say things like, "dat US goalie is standing on his head, eh."

6:48 - Crosby lucky goal... 4-3 Usa with two minutes to play. The crowd erupts as if they're offering free kokanee.

6:55 - Canada attacks furiously and pulls their goalie. I respond with chants of, "Overrated!" I feel like I'm in the duke student section. USA clinches empty goal 5-3! Woot woot!!!!!!! Let the chants begin!!!

Good times!


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Vancouver Images #1

Vancouver Skyline

Here's a few more images from yesterday!

Girls dancing on Granville Island

~ J. Twice

Vancouver Skyline

So people were bugging me that I should do some Vancouver photography, and last night was absolutely perfect, so I cruised over to Stanley Park to get this shot of the skyline. What a beautiful city!

J. Twice

Lizard on a stick

You find the darndest things in Chinatown...

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Not just in Tirol...

Skier spreads cheese on leg to heal injury

By Madison Park, CNN

February 12, 2010 6:27 p.m. EST

Skier Lindsey Vonn has said she used cheese on her leg to reduce inflammation.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Hampered by injury, Lindsey Vonn uses an Austrian cheese to reduce swelling
  
• Athletic trainer says what matters is whether the athlete truly believes in the treatment
  
• Topfen is not a popular cheese in the United States, cheese seller says

RELATED TOPICS

• Lindsey Vonn
• 2010 Winter Olympics
• Cheese

(CNN) -- Some turn to prayer. Others turn to state-of-the-art medicine. Lindsey Vonn turned to the power of fromage.

The Olympic favorite has been wrapping her injured shin in an Austrian cheese -- topfen -- to reduce inflammation.

One former Olympic trainer wasn't surprised.

"It's not bizarre at all," said Ralph Reiff, certified athletic trainer and director of Sports Medicine and Sports Performance for St. Vincent Hospital of Indianapolis, Indiana. "It's just what athletes at that level do."

While using the cheese may not be scientifically proven to soothe an injury, what matters more is what's in the athlete's mind, Reiff said.

"Regardless of whether it's a home remedy or passed down from generations or something someone thought of, if the athlete believes in it, there is significant value in that," said Reiff, who has worked as an athletic trainer in previous Olympics. "If the person who is receiving that treatment believes that it's part of the puzzle of getting better, therefore that athlete has faith. I am a firm believer that it has value."

On February 2, the skier injured her right shin while training in Austria, an injury that could keep her out of the Olympics.

Vonn spoke to Sports Illustrated about her physical therapist's unusual remedy: "He's been wrapping cheese on it, and I know that sounds funny, but it seems to work. He's been rubbing castor oil on it.''

For more Vonn's Olympic quest, see here.

Dr. C. David Geier Jr., director of sports medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina, said using cheese as a way to reduce inflammation was new to him.

"I would imagine the cold nature of food does help, just like an ice pack" said Geier, a member of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. "To be fair, I can't imagine there's good research that the salt in cheese or any kind of food would take the fluid out any faster than any bag of ice. Cheese is not the worst idea I've ever heard, it would mold right to the leg.

"I hope it's working," he said.

Andrew Hooge, a certified personal trainer at the University of North Carolina's Wellness Center and founder of FitSkiing.com, said: "The placebo effect is huge. I don't know the science of putting cheese on a bruised shin. There are athletes who use herbal remedies that may or may not help."

Athletes may work with ingredients more likely to be found in the kitchen pantry than a medicine cabinet. Reiff recalled one baseball player who constantly complained of cracking calluses and sores on his feet. From word of mouth, Reiff learned about relieving calluses by putting lard on feet and wrapping them in a plastic bag for hours. That solved the problem for the baseball player.

Whether it's cheese or cooking fat, that doesn't worry Reiff as long as athletes are being "safe and ethical. It can't put the athlete in harm's way."

The cheese Vonn has been using is derived from cows and looks like plain thick yogurt. While it doesn't have an odor initially, some people like to let it age, which makes it stink.

Norbert Wabnig, an Austrian and the founder of The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills, said the cheese is not popular with his customers.

It's a fresh cheese hard to find in the United States, he said. It can be eaten plain or used as a spread with chives. He described the consistency as something between fromage blanc and yogurt. The closest American equivalent would be cottage cheese.

Wabnig said he had never heard of the dairy product being used to heal an athletic injury.

"[Topfen] is usually eaten by mouth," he said tongue-in-cheek. "Maybe part of the benefit is that you can serve it cold. Maybe the cold can reduce the swelling. There's lots of calcium, so maybe some of that's how it's absorbed. As a cheese expert, I'd be more than delighted to put it on the legs."

So there I was - Olympic Torch Lighting!

So there we were, watching the Olympic opening ceremony at Joey Bentall One restaurant when we realized Wayne Gretzky was lighting the torch two blocks from us... So we had to go! I looked over at my friend Chris Mills, and he was already grabbing his coat and heading out the door. So I raced after him and down to the waterfront for the dramatic conclusion to the opening ceremony as Wayne Greyzky arrives and lights the cauldron!

I've seen some amazing things these last couple years but this moment has to rank right up there... LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!

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Location:Granville St,Vancouver,Canada

Olympic fever: day 1

With the opening ceremony just hours away, the streets of 'van city' are abuzz. Here's some images:



Everyone is getting in the spirit!


Torch bearers make news...



On Robson



CTV broadcasting live.



Is this Italy? Nutella crepe!



Me, C, and torch



Me too...



The ultimate rivalry...



Christie's office - the International Broadcast Center!


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Location:Canada

Rick Reilly on Canada

Oh, Canada

A guide to thriving in Vancouver, one smile at a time

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By Rick Reilly
ESPN The Magazine
Archive

Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty ImagesCrazy Canadians need to be treated kindly, too.

It's always so cute when Canada hosts an Olympics. Canadians try so hard. This comes from living next to America and having an inferiority complex worse than Tito Jackson's.

For instance, it's rained every day I've been in Vancouver, athletes are starting to withdrawal because of pruny fingers, and Canadians feel terrible. They're always saying "Gee, sore-ee about the rain, eh?" Do you realize they've been helicoptering snow up to the mountain venues? Who does that?

These people are nice. Preposterously nice. Aunt Bee in mukluks nice. This is a country that has human-chomping grizzlies on every corner and yet chose the furry beaver for its national animal.

Here's how nice: Twice already, Canadian mogul star Jenn Heil's bus has broken down on the drive up from Vancouver to Cypress Mountain. And both buses were from California! Peter Judge of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association was quoted as saying after the second time: "It was a bit of a concern." A "bit of a concern"? If it had happened to an American star, they'd have made everybody responsible stand against a wall in front of a running 2010 Prius.

Anyway, I think Americans who come to these Winter Olympics should try to be nice back. You can't be nicer than Canadians, but you can try. Here's how:

• Do not talk about hockey. A Canadian team has not won the Stanley Cup in 17 years. This is possibly because there are no more Canadian hockey teams left. OK, that's not true. Still, if Canada doesn't win the gold in men's hockey this time -- something it's only done once since 1952 -- fans here might all throw themselves under stampeding moose.

If your birthday is August 9, always look at the ground, shake your head and add, "The day Wayne was traded."

• Use the "organics" recycling container in your hotel room. This is one of 14 recycling containers you'll find there. The mind recoils as to what you're supposed to put in the "organics" can in a hotel room, but the little sign says to put "meat, poultry, fish, plants and flowers." That's weird. I always leave my poultry in a gift bag for the maid.

• Speak Canadian. ATMs are ABMs. Street hockey is "shinny." Butt is "arse." Beer is "brew." Stuff is "whatnot." Newfoundlanders are "Newfies." Never say the "g" in "ing." And yay is not a cheer, it's a measurement, as in: "I'm lookin' for my malamute, about yay big and yay long?"

• Call Vancouver "Van City" or even "The Van" but do not call it the name it hates: "No Fun City." It IS a fun city, except that a lot of the bars close at 11. In the morning.

• And it apparently NEVER STOPS RAINING.

• Use abbreviated words whenever possible. For instance, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police becomes the "RCMP," which becomes "the Armsee," as in the sentence: "I sure hope Bode Miller doesn't get pinched by the Armsees this Olympics. I got 10 Loonies on him."

• Abbreviate your new friends' names, too. Hamilton becomes "Hams." If your friend's name is already short, add "er" to it. This is how you get a sentence like, "Let's go play some shinny, eh? You be Gretz and I'll be Nasher."

• Compliment their national anthem. It's way better than ours.

• Pretend that you have to plug in your engine block at night to keep it from freezing, too. Makes them feel better.

• Go to Tim's (short for "Tim Hortons") and have a double-double (two creams, two sugars) and some Timbits (donut holes) and stand around and talk about curling. This will be a welcome topic. The Canadians are still great at curling.
You: The boys oughta do priddy good, eh?
Him: Oh, sure. The sweeps are beauties.
You: You thinkin' they might be winnin' and whatnot, eh?
Him: Boy, would that ever be neat!

• When referring to Elvis, be sure its Stojko not Presley. If you're talking about acting, don't forget the god of all Canadian thespians -- Lorne Greene from "Bonanza." If your birthday is August 9, always look at the ground, shake your head and add, "The day Wayne was traded."

• Never say "said." Say "goes," as in: "So Lindsey goes, 'I'm freezin' way up here in just a bikini.' And I go, 'Linds, it's a bitchin' career move!' And she goes, 'K, but it's colder 'n a Newfie's arse up here!'"

• If you're a snowboarder and you snap your neck in three places doing your Double Fakie Ollie Grab and they're putting you in the ambulance, smile and go, "It's fine! Canada's got free health care!"

But if those bastards say anything about their dollar being worth more than ours, slam them in the nose with your organics can.