Day 329: Party's Over: Olympics End Tonight.

I'm not going to lie, I'm actually glad the Olympics are ending tonight. I don't know how much more of the excitement... the disappointment... and the emotion... I could handle. Plus, it's really starting to commandeer my life and I'm sort of missing my regular scheduled programming. I've spent more time with my ass parked on the couch than any one human should over the past two weeks.

This is usually what happens to me. I start out all hot and heavy with my commitment to the games but once the end of the second week starts to approach, I find myself losing interest in some of the events. When the USA Men's hockey team was knocked out of medal contention, I stopped watching. I know... I should be rooting on some of the Bruins on other teams but I just couldn't bring myself to devote the time. And honestly, I have no plans to watch the Closing Ceremony.

Team USA, in the end, finished second to the host country in the medal count with 28—nine gold, seven silver and twelve bronze. Congratulations to all the competitors and in case you missed it, here's a list of the American gold medal winners.

• Joss Christensen, Freestyle Skiing, Men's Ski Slopestyle
• David Wise, Freestyle Skiing, Men's Ski Halfpipe
• Maddie Bowman, Freestyle Skiing, Ladies' Ski Halfpipe
• Sage Kotsenburg, Snowboard, Men's Slopestyle
• Jamie Anderson, Snowboard, Ladies' Slopestyle
• Kaitlyn Farrington, Snowboard, Ladies' Halfpipe
• Ted Ligety, Alpine Skiing, Men's Giant Slalom
• Mikaela Shiffrin, Alpine Skiing, Ladies' Slalom
• Charlie White, Meryl Davis, Figure Skating, Ice Dancing

I do have to give applause to our neighbors to the north though. The Canadians finished with 25 medals, 10 of those gold. They swept the Curling with both men and women winning gold—the women's team was actually impressively undefeated throughout the entire tournament. Team Canada also took gold in both men's and women's Ice Hockey. I'm still a little bitter about that as it was Team USA who fell victim in both cases.

See you in four years for yet another time zone nightmare in South Korea.

Day 326: If Only That Puck Went In...And Other Stuff. [SPOILER]

This post is chock full of spoilerific fun so if you're not up to date on the hours of Olympic coverage on your DVR, please come back another time.

WOMEN'S HOCKEY FAIL:

With 1:24 left in the gold medal match between the US and Canadian women's hockey teams, the puck skittered down the ice towards the empty net the Canadian goalie had just vacated to give them an extra attacker. It clanged off the post. It will be the play I most remember when people talk about this tightly played game.

I'll also remember how the US team's defense sort of fell apart in the waning moments of the game as they surrendered a two goal lead with just under four minutes to go. The game-tying goal came a mere 30 seconds after the missed empty net shot—a miss that now loomed large as the teams finished regulation tied at two. Sudden death would decide who wins the biggest prize in women's hockey.

But penalties will kill you and that's exactly what they did to Team USA. Giving Team Canada a 5-on-3 advantage is just asking for trouble. Trouble revealed itself in the form of a 3-2 loss and a second straight silver medal for the Americans. Normally I'm happy with any color medal for my country, but this second place was just downright depressing.

HOT DIGGITY, TED LIGETY:

Congratulations to Ted Ligety as the 29-year-old won his second Olympic gold medal in the Men's Giant Slalom on Wednesday. He pretty much made the rest of the field look like amateurs on the bunny hill since he had almost a full second lead after the first run. He probably could've skied down that course backwards and still won gold. Ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration—that was a seriously shitty course where one turn had Ligety almost pointing his skis back up the mountain in his second run. Evil conditions but nothing Ted couldn't handle. No big whoop.

COOL RUNNINGS, US-STYLE:

The American women have made history in the two-man bobsled by earning two medals—a silver to Elana Meyers and Lauryn Williams and a bronze to Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse. Elana Meyers also becomes the first US woman with two bobsled medals and her teammate, Lauryn Williams becomes just the fifth Olympian to medal in different events at the Summer and Winter Games. She also has a gold medal from the 4x100-meter relay in the 2012 London Olympics.

So the current medal count shows the USA in the lead... naturally... with 25 total medals. However, Norway leads the charge in the gold medal count with 10 first place finishes. Only a few more days left and then a long, four year wait for the Winter Games to return.

Day 325: Who Knew I Liked Ice Dancing? [SPOILER]

Wait... can I even discuss Ice Dancing on a sports blog? Is it actually a sport? I recently read online: "If your "sport" requires a dramatic musical score, then your "sport" is an art." Too bad. I'm still writing about it.

Of all the Olympic events, figure skating isn't high on my list of favorites. I'm not sure what it is about the event that turns me off—possibly the blindingly sparkly outfits that use all that nude-colored fabric that totally gives me the creeps. You know what I'm talking about, right? It's meant to give the illusion of half-naked skaters without them actually being half-naked. I especially hate it when the nude fabric is a darker shade than it should be, it just looks ridiculous. But I digress...

Despite my dislike of figure skating, I still watch it. I can't help myself. It's the Olympics. I feel un-American if I don't. So I suffer through the horrible outfits to support my country. I think maybe I should get a medal for that. And why on earth did the idiots in charge of the Olympics decide to add even more ice skating to the program? Team figure skating? Was that really necessary?

Then something really weird happened. The other night, as I was in and out of consciousness on the couch, I happened to see something that I found interesting. Something that made me smile. I discovered that I sort of love ice dancing. It's like Dancing with the Stars, but without the stars and on ice. Way more impressive and way more dangerous.

Plus, who doesn't love an event that has a move called the Twizzle? No, not Twizzler... there's no licorice candy involved in ice dancing. The Twizzle is simply defined as a multi-rotational, one-foot turn that when performed in ice dancing, must be perfectly synchronized. The closer the partners are and the more in synch the spin is, the more difficult the technique becomes and the higher the score will be. Evidently, Twizzles are hard and when they're not done correctly, it's really obvious and really ugly.

American ice dancers, Meryl Davis and Charlie White are sort of awesome at Twizzles. Actually, they're sort of awesome at every aspect of ice dancing. Probably why they won the gold medal—the first gold medal ever earned by the US in this event, by the way. Oh and with a World Record score. That's pretty cool and they totally made me a fan. It's too bad there has to be talk about the scores being fixed to ensure the Americans won. Why can't the losers just lose with dignity?

Not to worry though... my love of ice dancing does not have me planning to turn in my sweatpants and comfy couch for a rigorous training regimen and almost certain broken bones. Me in nude nylon outfits would not be pretty. Plus, my Olympic dreams would definitely lean more towards the curling sheet...

Day 323: Olympic Interviewer Makes Bode Cry. Twitter Explodes. [SPOILER]

I'm not going to lie... the Olympics make me emotional. Normally sports in general don't make me cry (except for when the Red Sox win the World Series) but there's just something about the athletes competing for their country and the stories of how they got there that get me all choked up. Or maybe it's because those competing often get so emotional too. And forget a medal ceremony when an American wins gold, that just wrecks me.

But last night after the Men's Super G final I wasn't really emotional—more pissed off.

Bode Miller skied early in the competition and posted the fastest time so he had to stand there an watch skier after skier hurtle down the mountain attempting to knock him from the top of the podium. It wasn't until the last half dozen competitors that he finally fell in the standings. Skiers that were favorites for medals skied off the course or finished just hundredths slower than Miller. It was nerve wracking for me... I can only imagine what poor Bode was feeling.

When all was said and done, Bode Miller managed to hold on for the bronze medal becoming the oldest Alpine medalist in Olympic history at 36 year 127 days. It was fantastic to watch. What wasn't fantastic to watch was the post race interview done by former World Cup and Olympic alpine ski racer, Christin Cooper. This is what pissed me off.

Ten months ago, Bode's 29-year-old brother Chelone, an Olympic hopeful himself, died of a seizure in his van while in California. Bode was clearly emotional about his bronze medal win and interviewer Cooper just had to keep pushing the envelope with her line of questioning about his late brother. The interview ended quickly as Bode broke down in tears while the camera remained trained on the grieving skier. You can see the interview here but trust me, you're just going to smack Cooper.

The interview was uncomfortable to watch. She continued to ask what seemed to be the same question worded differently until she made Bode cry. And then Twitter exploded. Needless to say, the internet immediately jumped to @MillerBode's defense calling for Cooper's head on a platter. I was one of those tweeters and I may or may not have called her a bad word. But Bode came to her defense saying she was just doing her job. Well if that was my job, I would've quit.

Congratulations to Bode Miller for his bronze medal in the Super G and for being a bigger person than me when it comes to tolerating stupid people.

Day 321: Now THAT Was Some Hockey! [SPOILER]

I was 10 when a group of college and amateur hockey players stunned the mighty Soviets in the 1980 Winter Olympics. I was old enough to know it was a huge win, but too young to understand what the hell just happened and what it meant for the USA. That Miracle on Ice will always be my first vivid memory of the Olympics and it was probably the moment when I fell in love with winter games.

This year, the American and Russian teams are both favorites for gold and if/when they meet in the medal round, it won't be nearly as lopsided as it was in 1980. The Soviet National team from the 80's was a serious force and came into Lake Placid having won gold in six of the seven previous winter games. They rolled through exhibition games beating several NHL teams, routing the NHL All-star team and crushing the USA team just days before the Olympics began. Am I the only one who pictures a team consisting of 20 Ivan Dragos in hockey pads?

The two teams met early this morning in the preliminary round and considering the score was tied after regulation, I'm guessing they're pretty even in the talent category. These days, things are a little different with Olympic hockey with many countries staffing their teams with mainly NHL players—something they didn't do in the 80's. The game wasn't without its controversy... I mean really, how can you not have just a little when these teams battle each other. Many Russia supporters feel that the winning goal was wrongly waived off giving the USA a chance to come back. But the net was clearly off its supports and the referees were right to say no goal. (Of course I say they were right, I bleed stars and stripes!)

So the game went to overtime. Five minutes of sudden death overtime is enough to send your heart directly to your throat. There's not much in sports that makes me wring my hands like hockey sudden death. The teams went back and forth and the overtime period ended with the game still tied. And now we go to a shootout. International rules are a bit different in that the teams are allowed to use the same shooter after the first three rounds and the US team put their trust in young TJ Oshie who not only scored the first goal of the shootout round, but also three more times, including the game winning goal.

Final Score: USA 3 : Russia 2

My palms were sweaty, my heart was in my throat... if this is how the prelim rounds are going to be for me, I'm scared for the medal rounds. If USA faces Russia for a medal, I swear I won't it through the game. This morning's match took years off my life. USA-USA-USA!!

Day 283: Bruins Represent in Sochi Olympics

The official Olympic rosters for all Men's Hockey teams have been named and the Boston Bruins will be well represented in Russia next month. In the end, five guys have been named to five different teams—which just goes to show you the international flair of the game. Hockey is one of the marquis events of the Olympics and it's always fun to watch a group of teammates fight so fiercely for their home country, even if it means squashing your line mate to get ahead.

Patrice Bergeron will play for Team Canada for the second time. He was a member of the gold medal winning Canadian team in Vancouver in 2010. Team Canada has also named Bruins' head coach, Claude Julien, as assistant coach. And Milan Lucic was invited to attend the orientation camp, but wasn't chosen as part of the final roster.

Bruins' captain, Zdeno Chara, will play in his third Olympics and head the Slovakia team. Tuukka Rask will tend the net for Finland, David Krejci will play for the Czech Republic and Loui Erikkson was named to Sweden's team. No one was named to the US team.

Each player was humbled by the appointment and felt honored to be playing for their home country. Teams Canada, Russia and Sweden are all favorites to win the gold medal. USA doesn't quite measure up to the top teams, but they have a strong team and could be in the hunt for a medal of some color, just probably not gold. But who knows with the Americans... they always seem to surprise us on the big stage.

Here's my prediction for the podium in Men's Hockey:

GOLD:  Russia (Duh... because they're the home team.)
SILVER:  Canada (Unable to defend their gold, they'll lose to Russia in a real nail biter.)
BRONZE:  USA (They're going to beat Sweden to squeeze onto the media podium.)

The Olympic hockey tournament begins on Wednesday, February 12th. Can you tell I'm excited?

Day 254: Sochi Olympics—Good News and Bad News for US

The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics are officially less than two months away and that makes me ridiculously happy. I love the winter games so much more than the summer games and one huge reason is the timing. After the Super Bowl is over, other than hockey, February is a virtual sporting wasteland for me. But for two plus weeks in February, I'll be wrapped up in my fuzzy blanket, obsessed with everything Olympics.

There have been a few recent events that I think deserve to be mentioned. A couple good, one not so good. Bad news first?

US Figure Skating champion, Evan Lysacek, announced Tuesday that he would not be able to compete in the Sochi Games. Lysacek, who hasn't competed since winning the gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Games, has been battling a nagging torn labrum in his left hip since August. After months of recovery and rehab, the pain in his hip has not subsided and he now may need surgery to repair the injury. So even eight more weeks of practice won't do him any good and doctors have told him if he competes, he'll risk permanent damage to his hip. Bummer... he was so much fun to watch in Vancouver.

The good news is on the slopes. Lindsey Vonn suffered a catastrophic ACL/MCL injury back in February. I saw that gruesome tumble and I thought there was no way she would compete in Sochi. I guess I was wrong. Vonn has proven she's possibly super human. Less than six months after her surgery, she was cleared to get back on skis. It was exactly 176 days—beating both Robert Griffin III (195 days) and Adrian Peterson (226 days) who had similar injuries, back to her sport. Pretty amazing... Check out this infographic documenting her recovery. This is a determined athlete that is poised to kick some major ass in Sochi.

More good news for us Mainers. Seth Wescott, who also suffered an injury earlier this year in April, is also planning to be ready for Sochi. The 37-year-old two-time Olympic Gold Medalist in Boardercross has just released the first of a four part video series titled "Surgery to Sochi" which documents his recovery and rehab as he pursues his third gold medal in February. The first part of the video series can be seen here. Three more episodes will be posted on December 24, January 15 and February 5, just days before the Games start.

I'll be counting down the days until the Opening Ceremonies. And is it just me or are the Winter Olympics a lot easier to justify watching than the Summer Games? It's cold and dark out—what better way to pass the winter days.