The winter olympics - Torino 2006

[adidasss]

are you at all interested? if so what sports are you going to watch?
for croatia, all eyes are on Janica Kostelic, she's a contender for gold in all of the alpine skiing disciplines....we'll see if Pärson can deny her of becoming the most succesful athlete in the history of alpine skiing....

[Piddzilla]

He he... Let's hope she does.

Will Kostelic be the most successful athlete in the history of alpine skiing? Or do you mean in the Olympics?

I will watch a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I will of course watch the hockey tournament. I hope Forsberg will heal up in time for it.

[adidasss]

He he... Let's hope she does.

Will Kostelic be the most successful athlete in the history of alpine skiing? Or do you mean in the Olympics?

I will watch a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I will of course watch the hockey tournament. I hope Forsberg will heal up in time for it.
i think it's just alpine skiing.....but she does have a bucketload of medals....i believe it's 3 golden and one silver....but last time she didn't compete in the downhill, this year she has one victory in all the disciplines, i think only petra kromberger has achieved that....hehe....i think's the rivalrly between Anja and Janica is very interesting, and even tho i'm sure Anja is a great person, i'm really not happy when she wins races....:)...crazy i know..... ( and she's in great form this year....unfortunately....;))what's the attitude of sweds towards Janica?

oh, and her brother may win something too, although he's not very good this year....

and i knew you were going to reply, i think only sweds, austrians and croatians follow alpine skiing....noone else knows it exists.....:)

[Piddzilla]

The attitude towards Janica here is quite positive. We love the competition between her and Anja and so does Anja. I believe they are pretty good friends outside the alp. I don't see any reason for not liking Janica. She's a good sport.

I guess you were talking about the most successful female alpine athlete, and that she might be. But overall I guess Stenmark, Tomba, Herman Mayer, that norwegian guy (Aamodt? Kjuus?), are more merited.

Btw, wanna bet against Tomba lighting the fire later tonight?

[tearjerker]

I am interested especially in the Skating. I go to school with Kimmie Meissner so I am hoping she does really well.

[HellboyUnleashed]

I was watching women luge races today. I didn't know they had that in any sporting events. Some of that stuff was crazy. I'm kind of upset about the American lady though, that really sucked. For those of you who don't know, she completly lost control and had a few minor concussions and a laceration under her chin. The other lady did good too. I thought she was going to atleast get bronze.

I can't find out what the general opinion of Bode Miller is. I mean I really like him, I think he's got some great ideas about stuff but I really don't know if people like him or hate him or what. Could someone please enlighten me on this subject?

I can't really figure out what the general opinion of Bode is.

[adidasss]

everybody loves bode in europe...great showman...

[Piddzilla]

Wow!! Sweden just won two gold medals in about half an hour! First the ladies won the cross-country skiing sprint event and then right after the gents did it too!

Afters the golden 1980's Sweden has had a couple of miserable olympics games and we haven't had a gold medal shipped home since Lillehammer 1994. We haven't had a gold medal on the ladies' side since 1968! Let's hope that this will set a new trend for us.

Man, it was really exciting too.... :D

[adidasss]

what?! sweden hasn't had a gold medal since lillehammer?! but you're good in so many sports!!

by the way, i should have taken that bet....;)

[Piddzilla]

No, many of the Olympics since the 80's (Lillehammer perhaps excluded) have been considered failures. We used to be on par with Norway but they've moved forward and we've moved backward. Norway's status as a winter sport nation is insane... They haven't even got 5 million people living there, for crying out loud!

[adidasss]

ok, Bode has just over 2 seconds advantage before the slalom infront of Raich and Kostelic....i wonder if he's actually going to win this one, he tends to drop out of slalom races a lot.....

[adidasss]

Ivica Kostelic won the silver medal in the combination....amazing....Bode disqualified ( of course ) but Ted Ligety was fantastic....

[Sedai]

I caught a few of the skating matches last night, watched the guy who won the gold (even he seemed surprised by his run when he was done).

Pretty exciting races, but a lot of bad starts for many of those guys...

[susan]

i've always loved the figure skating...now i have to get used to the new way of scoring

[Aniko]

I am interested especially in the Skating. I go to school with Kimmie Meissner so I am hoping she does really well.

i've always loved the figure skating...now i have to get used to the new way of scoring


Same here. I love to watch the figure skating and the up-close and personal segments on the athletes competing. The stories behind the top three pairs were pretty inspiring.

I feel really bad for Michele Kwan dropping out. She such a class act and a great role model for the younger girls.

[susan]

Same here. I love to watch the figure skating and the up-close and personal segments on the athletes competing. The stories behind the top three pairs were pretty inspiring.

I feel really bad for Michele Kwan dropping out. She such a class act and a great role model for the younger girls.


yes i do too, but now i'm really excited that emily hughes will be replacing her...hometown girl from great neck, long island...

looking forward to see how she'll do

last night it was wonderful to see the chinese couple finish second after falling so hard on her knee...

and even more inspiring were the russian pair who won gold...what an amazing pair...

[Piddzilla]

I just heard that Janica Kostelic is not well enough for starting in the Alpine Combination today. Sorry to hear that......

[adidasss]

oh really?......:( man....she would have won it for sure.....
EDIT: wait, it's not the combination, it's the regular downhill....still, she had a chance....

[Piddzilla]

Yeah, I just realized it was the Downhill... I misunderstood... But, still, yeah... It's a pity...

[adidasss]

Dorfmesiter won gold, bless her, she was crying...the olympics do such funny things to people, it's only one race in 4 years, but it means the world to them, just like Ivica, he's been waiting for that olympic medal since he was a kid....and now the dream has come true....
Bronze for Paerson, not bad, i wonder how Janica would have done....hope she kills in the other events....

[Piddzilla]

I'm really happy for Anja! Bronze in the downhill is really not bad for someone who used to be a giant slalom specialist. And Sweden is doing their job on the hockey rink as well....

[adidasss]

yeah i was wondering who you thought was going to win the gold in hokey, i hope someone other than canada or the us wins, and i'm really happy that the olympic tournement is finally so strong that even the hokey world has started to appreciate it as the biggest, most importaint event....

[Piddzilla]

I think that there are a couple of teams that could win the tournament but the Canadians are of course favourites. USA are always dangerous in tournaments - it doesn't even matter what the quality of their team is (remember Lake Placid 1980?). It's too soon to say how well Sweden will do here. A lot of things have to come together and we can't afford to get injuries on any key players. We're also still waiting for Forsberg to heal up - right now they say the possibility for him playing are about 50-50. I think the attitude among the Swedish player is on top though. Sometimes the NHL pros have been accused of going to the Olympics just "for fun", like some kind of vacation tournament where they hang out with their old buddies from back home. This is not the case anymore. As Adidasss said, the status of the Olympic hockey tournament has been raised considerably and now all the pros want to win it real bad. And for many of the Swedish players this might be the last chance for them to win something big together. It's probably the last time that the "Golden Generation" plays an Olympic tournament... Forsberg has said that he is really anxious to play since he hasn't played with Mats Sundin (my favourite player) for twelve years and that they will probably not be taking part in the next Olympic Games. Then we have Nicklas Lidström, perhaps the best defense player in the world. He's 36 this year, and several other players like Daniel Alfredsson for instance are eager to do their best this time, I'm sure. We're also still living in pain somewhat because of the failure in Salt Lake City where we beat Canada and Czech Republic in the group, just to lose against Belaruse in the quarter final. That is still my worst sports memory all categories.... We had an amazing team and they played like gods in the first three games, beating two of the best teams in the world - and then we lost against Belaruse!!! And the goal that gave Belaruse the victory...... Our goalie at the time, Tommy Salo, is still being talked about with disgust in people's voices here, I'm sorry to say. He was actually a very big contributer, perhaps the biggest, to Sweden's victory in the 1994 Olympic Games.

Anyway, that's history and I'm ranting.......

I think Sweden takes....... the bronze. I think Russia or Czech Republic will beat the Canadians in the final. *guessing away here* I don't even know what the tournament structure looks like.

[chicagofrog]

did you know that Turin was in Piemont?

[Piddzilla]

Meaning: The Olympic Games are not being held in Italy?

[adidasss]

did you know that Turin was in Piemont?
shame on you for not using the italian term for the city.....;)

[chicagofrog]

:D :p :p :p :p
anterdí d fumé! :D

[throwatiff]

I love the speed skating especially short track so many crashes.

[adidasss]

janica has .38 seconds over anja.....which is basically nothing....it's all down to the downhill.....

[Piddzilla]

Congratulations to Janica Kostelic, adidasss and Croatia!! There's really nothing to argue about - Janica is the best female alpine athlete right now and ever perhaps. I'm really impressed by how she went from being sick straight to defending her gold medal from Salt Lake City. She is amazing.

I was a bit surprised by Anja not taking the silver but "only" the bronze. You could also see the disappointment in her eyes when first Kostelic and then Schild beat her. She also refused to do interviews afterwards because she was so pissed off. :eek: But her goal was to get a medal in every discipline and so far so good.... I think she'll have the best shot at the gold in the giant slalom. You can do it, Anja!! :)

And how about Kjetil André Aamodt!?!?! Gold in Super G and the fourth Olympic gold medal of his career. Aamodt himself thinks Stenmark is the greatest, and considering the fact that Stenmark wasn't allowed to compete in the 1984 olympics because of his status as a professional, perhaps he is. But Aamodt is the King of the Olympics - no question about it. The man has captured 20 championship medals (World Championship and Olympics) of which 8 in the Olympics. Impressing to say the very least.

[adidasss]

http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/6386/janica12bd.png
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/1641/janica26jk.png
JANICA WON GOLD!!!

Janica gold, Ivica silver in the combination....they are not of this world....
hahaha....they kept showing Anja, i couldn't help but to laugh, her sulking face reminded me so much of my sister, i swear to god, i thought she was going to slug Janica if she came near again....hahahha...priceless....em....yeah, sorry.....

[adidasss]

Congratulations to Janica Kostelic, adidasss and Croatia!! There's really nothing to argue about - Janica is the best female alpine athlete right now and ever perhaps. I'm really impressed by how she went from being sick straight to defending her gold medal from Salt Lake City. She is amazing.

I was a bit surprised by Anja not taking the silver but "only" the bronze. You could also see the disappointment in her eyes when first Kostelic and then Schild beat her. She also refused to do interviews afterwards because she was so pissed off. :eek: But her goal was to get a medal in every discipline and so far so good.... I think she'll have the best shot at the gold in the giant slalom. You can do it, Anja!! :)

And how about Kjetil André Aamodt!?!?! Gold in Super G and his fourth Olympic gold medal in his career. Aamodt himself thinks Stenmark is the greatest, and considering the fact that Stenmark wasn't allowed to compete in the 1984 olympics because of his status as a professional, perhaps he is. But Aamodt is the King of the Olympics - no question about it. The man has captured 20 championship medals (World Championship and Olympics) of which 8 in the Olympics. Impressing to say the very least.
you can imagine how proud i am right now...and Anja is still a contender for gold in the other disciplines...i'm sure she's going to win one....i don't know what her problem is in big competitions, she can beat Janica any time, but when push comes to shove, Janica is just always a bit better.....

props to Aamodt too, fu*king amazing skier, especially considering that he was injured and didn't compete in the combo....

and another disapointment for Bode.....the man really needs to take a more serious approach to the Olympics....

btw Peter, it seems you and I are the only ones that actually follow alpine skiing....ahahaha.....em...yeah...

[chicagofrog]

http://www.33ff.com/flags/XL_flags/Croatia_flag.gif


bravo!

glad to see you glad Adi. :)

[adidasss]

hokey: finland beat canada ( it's 4 out of 4 for finland ), sweden beat the US ( i'm not sure if USA is gonna go to the next round )....this is an awsome tournament....

[adidasss]

SILVER IN THE SUPER-G!!!

She's on a good track to repeat Salt lake city, the same exact result so far, gold in the combination, silver in the super-g. She might even end up being the best skier of all times, even better than Aamodt!!!

And may i be so bold to notice the incredible difference in the reaction of Janica for winning a medal that is not gold and Anja's. This whole rivalry between them was no fabrication of the press. Anja just can't handle the fact that someone is better than her. She reacted poorly to her bronze, very unlike a great sportswoman that she is supposed to be. If it was Janica in her place, she would have been just as happy with the bronze as she was with the gold and she would have congratulated the better woman wholeheartedly...not be pissed off because someone beat her.....

Notice her reaction and a warm congratulation to Dorfmeister after she beat her.....now THAT'S a great lady, and a great sporstwoman....( no breaking of ski sticks, no brooding evil eye, just a smile of content ).

[Piddzilla]

And may i be so bold to notice the incredible difference in the reaction of Janica for winning a medal that is not gold and Anja's. This whole rivalry between them was no fabrication of the press. Anja just can't handle the fact that someone is better than her. She reacted poorly to her bronze, very unlike a great sportswoman that she is supposed to be. If it was Janica in her place, she would have been just as happy with the bronze as she was with the gold and she would have congratulated the better woman wholeheartedly...not be pissed off because someone beat her.....

You obviously haven't paid attention. Anja won the bronze medal in the downhill and claimed it was like winning the gold. She was very happy about it, but that you somehow missed (probably because Janica wasn't in that race). She then had her highest hopes for a gold medal in these Olympics in the combination and said that compared to the downhill, this time the bronze felt like losing. And to my knowledge Anja has not been expressing disappointment with anyone but herself - it's not like it was Janica's sticks she was breaking after her failure. And for someone racing for the gold, it is a failure to "only" grab a bronze medal. Anja's never won a gold medal while Janica has. Perhaps that might explain to you why she is so eager to win one and gets so disappointed when she doesn't. And can you mention one single malicious phrase that Anja has uttered about Janica or any of the other competitors? I would be very interested to hear it. I am actually really interested in hearing what the Croatian press and reporters are saying about Anja and Janica and the rivalry between them because your attitude seems to be colored by a very different message than the one I am receiving over here. But you have expressed very nationalist views here before so I'm actually not surprised by your posts.

Notice her reaction and a warm congratulation to Dorfmeister after she beat her.....now THAT'S a great lady, and a great sporstwoman....( no breaking of ski sticks, no brooding evil eye, just a smile of content ).

Difference = Janica was content with a silver medal, Anja felt like the bronze was equal to finish last.

Besides that, congratulations to Janica who truly are a great sportslady - unlike some of her countrymen - and the best skier right now! Congratulations also to both Janica and Anja for being able to be such good friends as they are outside competition while being rivals in the hill.

And congratulations of course to Dorfmeister who won... Let's not forget her.

[adidasss]

You obviously haven't paid attention. Anja won the bronze medal in the downhill and claimed it was like winning the gold. She was very happy about it, but that you somehow missed (probably because Janica wasn't in that race). She then had her highest hopes for a gold medal in these Olympics in the combination and said that compared to the downhill, this time the bronze felt like losing. And to my knowledge Anja has not been expressing disappointment with anyone but herself - it's not like it was Janica's sticks she was breaking after her failure. And for someone racing for the gold, it is a failure to "only" grab a bronze medal. Anja's never won a gold medal while Janica has. Perhaps that might explain to you why she is so eager to win one and gets so disappointed when she doesn't. And can you mention one single malicious phrase that Anja has uttered about Janica or any of the other competitors? I would be very interested to hear it. I am actually really interested in hearing what the Croatian press and reporters are saying about Anja and Janica and the rivalry between them because your attitude seems to be colored by a very different message than the one I am receiving over here. But you have expressed very nationalist views here before so I'm actually not surprised by your posts.



Difference = Janica was content with a silver medal, Anja felt like the bronze was equal to finish last.

Besides that, congratulations to Janica who truly are a great sportslady - unlike some of her countrymen - and the best skier right now! Congratulations also to both Janica and Anja for being able to be such good friends as they are outside competition while being rivals in the hill.

And congratulations of course to Dorfmeister who won... Let's not forget her.
Ok man, you're being a bit hostile. The information i'm getting and what i saw for myself is that her reaction when Janica beat her was one of anger. You can be dissapointed for not winning gold, but as a true sportswoman, she should have taken it with a lot more grace than she did. So someone was better ( and continually IS better ), so what? Even though she was a contender for the gold, it was clear from the start that Janica is the champion of the discipline, she hasn't lost a combination race since the last olympics, so Anja's fury was really a bit over the top, you would think that someone had cheated her from the gold. I think she has a slight inferiority complex when it comes to Janica, she wants to beat her so desperately, and i think that reflects poorly on her character ( i hear she was furious during the press confference, cursed and what not, tried to blame her result on various things, from the poor conditions on the track to the delay and her skis. That to me shows she is not sure of her own greatness, she's one of the best skiers in the world, but she will never be the best while Janica is in top form and that bothers her greatly.....yeah well, deal with it. ). Or maybe she's just a passionate and ultra competitive person ( it would explain her reaction )?. I must admit that i understand her reaction and her behaviour, i wouldn't take it so lightly myself if i was continuously beaten by someone, but i would also suggest that her anger was directed at Janica ( although not verbalised, her look said everything ), if someone else had been better, my opinion is that she would not have been so upset.

Also,I can't help but to think that her reaction is a slap in the face to all the other skiers who didn't win a medal or came 4th, i'm sure they would have reacted much better to the bronze ( which is STILL a great achievment, may i remind you that Ivica, Janica's brother cried out of pure joy for winning the silver medal, it was a dream come true, an olympic medal is still an olympic medal ). The croatian press is laughing like everyone is at her reaction ( the cameraman couldn't stop filming Anja and her reaction after the race was over, in fact i think they showed more of her than the olympic champion herself!! Correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't think the director of the transmission was croatian )and we are also getting information that the swedish press is also unhappy with her reaction and everyone admits that Janica is simply the best skier in the world right now. I think a certain swedish magazine said " what ever Anja does , Janica does better". I also think it's very indicative that noone has any problems with Dorfmeister, this is her second gold medal and everyone is really glad for her, everyone in Croatia too ( so much for your " Croatians are nationalist pigs who hate everyone" implication ). She is second in the overall standings in the world cup, yet noone is upset when she wins a race and gets close to Janica.

Anja has a bad, arrogant attitude.....that's just the impression i got. And they are NOT best buddies outside the competition, i don't know who is trying to sell you that story, that is certainly not the impression i got. Janica has the utmost respect for Anja as a sportswoman ( everyone is Croatia does ), she is her greatest rival in every event, no doubt about it, but i can tell you for certain that they don't exactly go out for drinks after a race. And i would also venture a guess that it's not Janica's fault, but rather Anja's attitude ( something she herself has said she is trying to change and be more accessible ) clearly shown in Janica's attempt to comfort Anja when she basically played it so safe on the last slalom last year that she almost lost the overall championship to her great embaressment, something Janica would never do, it's all or nothing for her, no playing it safe. And i highly doubt that Anja would have been so friendly if the shoe was on the other foot.

And lets not get into a fight over sports please, and reffrain from passing judgment on my character in the future. You know nothing about how and what i feel and why i feel the way i feel so stop being an arogant presumptuous ass ( ...you are superior to noone ).....if you don't mind of course.

[adidasss]

ok, Janica is 5th, some .68 seconds behind Paerson, i doubt that she'll beat Paerson. i have to say, i'm a little annoyed by our ski team, as soon as she doesn't do all that well, they're saying she's sick, she's got some temperature,that's she's not at her best. i mean c'mon, so she wasn't the best that perticular day, why blame anything else but her skiing?! we can't handle the fact that someone else might actually be a bit better?! i mean the woman has already won everything there was to win, i think it's only normal that she isn't going to be better than everyone ALL the time...and as a gather, a lot of the other skiers think Janica is faking it too! Dormeister also said that Janica should win an Oscar ( a bit harsh, but i think she may be right ). Maybe she just feels so pressured to be the best all the time that she actually has such a nervous reaction that it affects her body and she doesn't feel all the great....i don't know, but it's getting a bit annoying.....

best of luck to Anja, even if she doesn't win today, i hope she wins the giant slalom, she deserves it....

[adidasss]

Congratulations to Anja, well deserved ( and again, they're harping on how Janica wasn't well today.....give me a break, she's just not the best in slalom anymore )

[joshuafor]

I am just excited for Sasha Cohen...her performance was amazing yesterday and hopefully puts her in great position for the gold.

[tearjerker]

Same here. I love to watch the figure skating and the up-close and personal segments on the athletes competing. The stories behind the top three pairs were pretty inspiring.

I feel really bad for Michele Kwan dropping out. She such a class act and a great role model for the younger girls.


I am so happy for Sasha Cohen winning the silver, and Kimmie coming in 6th was great experience for her. My school is going to have pep rally for Kimmie when she returns and my town is going to have a parade.

[Twain]

I am just excited for Sasha Cohen...her performance was amazing yesterday and hopefully puts her in great position for the gold.

Well, Sasha lost the gold after her two falls early in the program. But the second half of her program...spectacular! She continues the artistry and feeling that Michelle Kwan brought to skating.

I was sort of rooting for Slutskya but I must admit, she doesn't have Cohen's artistry. The Japanese skater who won was solid. She landed the jumps and skated gracefully. Not as beautifully as Cohen but still good.

The woman announcer said it well, talking about the music from Romeo and Juliet... "The other skaters skate TO the music of Romeo and Juliet, Sasha IS Juliet."

[Revenant]

I was looking forward to the winter olympics but frankly with the British contestants performances so far I'd get more entertainment watching an episode of Charmed.

[Tacitus]

I was looking forward to the winter olympics but frankly with the British contestants performances so far I'd get more entertainment watching an episode of Charmed.

That girl did quite well in the Tea Tray Sliding and the gang of Scots blokes were good value in the Kettle Chucking... ;)

[Piddzilla]

These games have been fantastic for Sweden. Halfway in they said it was the best winter games, medalwise, since 1948, but soon it was clear that it was our best ever. 14 medals (7 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze) plus a number of "just-oustide-the-podium" results - that's almost a medal a day!

And yesterday my nerves were being put to the ultimate test during the hockey tournament final. Sweden vs. Finland. It's like La Motta vs. Sugar Ray, England vs. Germany, Borg vs. McEnroe.... It's such a classic and if one thinks it's big for us Swedes - take a trip to Finland. Ice hockey means to them what soccer means to Brazil. It's without competition their biggest sport, and everytime Finland and Sweden meet it's like a battle where previous games don't matter anymore or how good or poorly the teams have been playing. And yesterday's final was no exception. Finland has been the best team of the tournament, they've beat Canada, USA, Russia.... all of them. And they've been solid on all levels: great goalie, fantastic defensive, brutal fore-checking, rapid offensive and amazing team spirit and "sisu" (= Finnish for, like, warrior mentality or something.... to throw yourself in the heat and love every second of it). I wanted Russia to win the semi-final against them because Finland looked so good and I rather see Sweden lose vs. Russia than vs. Finland. Any day. That is how these games are for Swedes and Finns - they have to be won at any cost. And Sweden hadn't looked as good as Finland at all, but the team raised their level a few steps in every game - and then played their best game of the tournament in the final.

And we won it..... 3-2 and what a nervous breakdown I almost had. I didn't even sit down in front of the TV set during the last period.

I am so proud. Sweden has not won a big tournament since the World Championship in 1998. We haven't won the Olympic gold since 1994. This was the last chance probably for "the golden generation" (Nicklas Lidström, Mats Sundin, Peter Forsberg, Daniel Alfredsson, et al) and they took it! Man, I wonder what it will be like in the NHL dressing rooms when these guys are back at work on tuesday. :D

The Olympic Games in Torino have been incredible and the hockey gold was the crown of it all.

...and two weeks ago, who could possibly think that Sweden would be ahead of Norway in the medal race?? Sweeeet.... ;D

[adidasss]

I wanted Russia to win the semi-final against them because Finland looked so good and I rather see Sweden lose vs. Russia than vs. Finland. Any day. That is how these games are for Swedes and Finns - they have to be won at any cost.
oh ,you're such a nationalist, a big no no peter.... :D