Am I disappointed the Finns didn't win? Of course. But if they could have lost to anyone I would have wanted it to be the Swedes in the gold medal match. Both teams played really good, clean, fast, consistent, smart hockey throughout the tournament, and they both deserved to be there. The final match was played solidly by both teams, and it was a nail-biter down to the last second. Nothing to be ashamed of on either side.
They should all be proud of what they accomplished. I know I'm proud of them. It would have been nice to see Kipper and Kari there, too. But Nitty played so well, and can't say for sure that they would have done any better with all the players who had to skip the tournament. For a small underdog country, they put together a great team and overcame a lot of adversity to get the silver.
It's weird, as obsessed as I am with Finnish goalies, Niittymäki doesn't really do it for me. Can't put my finger on why. He plays almost exactly like Kipper, maybe even more calmly. Maybe it's because he's so much like Kipper, it's like watching a clone, which kind of creeps me out. Except Nitty doesn't have the flaming red hair, scruffy beard, and endearing facial tics. Call me a puckbunny if you want...
Oh well, back to cheering on the Flames on Tuesday against the hated Canuks. It's going to be hard to swtich back to cheering against Jarkko Ruutu. I was almost starting to like the little bastard.
Sorry all I can blog about right now is hockey, but 'tis the season, and international competition is my favorite kind, so I'm a tad obsessed right now. I'll spare you the details on the front page, but if you care...
Russia 2 - Canada 0: So that sound that you heard from up north this afternoon was the sound of several million Canadians throwing something at their televisions, followed by a bunch of whinning about what a worthless sack of shit Todd Bertuzzi is. In the aftermath, they're coming to their senses and saying it was the whole team, and the management, and the big ice, jet lag, and whatever other excuses they can come up with. But I'll still hang it on ol' Bert. Not for taking the crappy penalty that led to the game-winning goal, but for being a symbol of the overpaid, overrated, over-the-hill, and under-talented players that Team Canada (by way of the NHL) was stocked with. The Russians won because they had the next generation of great young players on their team (Ovechkin, Malkin), the Canadians lost because they thought they should do some of the guys who got them gold in 2002 a favor by naming them to the team, instead of naming players who could do it in 2006 (Phaneuf, Spezza, Staal, and though it pains me to say it, Crosby).
Finland 4 - USA 3: The Americans had the same problems as the Canadian team, and they were playing my all-time favorite international team, so it wasn't hard to root against them. And the addition of the player Aaron affectionately calls "the elephant seal" didn't make either of us like them any more. Poor Selänne's going to have to have some dental work done when he gets home, and Salo separated his shoulder. If the Finns had been playing their defensive system a little better, the score wouldn't have even been that close. I hope they can work on that before they meet the scary Russians on Friday. Especially since they'll be missing Sami Salo on the blue line. Antero Niittymaki was as solid as ever. I agree with Selänne's comment that if you don't look at the number on his jersey you'd wouldn't be able to tell it was him and not Miikka Kiprusoff (who if you don't know, is the best goalie in the world, IMHO). Maybe it's because they're from the same town, had the same coach, played on the same team... I've had the Finns picked to win for months now, even after Kipper dropped out. I've been laughed at for my opinion, but come Sunday we'll see who's laughing.
I've been playing a lot of armchair goalie scout this week. The Olympics are the only time I get to see some of my European favorites, and I was taking notes.
Canada 4 - Sweden 1 (Women's gold medal match): It's official, I have a new favorite goalie, and it's not even a Finn. Sorry Miikka, Hannu and Kari, I still love you, but Kim Martin is a chick who kicks ass. And she's only 19. She'll be the cornerstone at UM-Duluth next year, and I'll certainly be following her career. Her game against the Americans changed women's hockey forever, so she deserves all the props in the world.
Finland 2 - Germany 0: This was a game that didn't matter at all, Finland was already assured top seed in their pool, and Germany was already eliminated, and that meant I got to see my favorite German goalie play. Robert Müller was their third-string goalie, the other two had played already, so the German coach threw him in just to give him a chance to play in the Olympics. It was a nice gesture, and Müller was just as impressive as he was the first time I saw him in the World Cup two years ago. I really hope some of the NHL scouts were watching. He's property of the Washington Capitals, and with the supposed goalie shortage in the NHL, I think he would be great trade-bait. Though I'm sure he's a valued asset on the Krefeld Penguins. Oh, and Fredrik Norrena was in net for the Finns, and I never get to see him play, either, so that was a treat. Boy, can he handle the puck! Maybe Miikka should try to pick up some tips...
No games tomorrow, which is probably good. I need to get a lot of work done.
Suomi! Suomi! Soumi!
I was mad enough about the coverage of the game today that I even wrote to NBC about it. I'm still mad enough that I have to post my letter. And I'm not even mad about Finland losing, my ire at the commentary far surpassed any other emotion about the game.
Dear NBC Olympics -
I am writing to say that I am extremely disappointed, and a little disgusted, at the coverage of today's Women's Ice Hockey bronze medal game. Your commentators spent about 5% of the game actually calling the game, the other 95% of the time spouting inane chit-chat and utterly irrelevant information about the American players. This type of treatment is not only a disservice to the sport, it's also dead boring.
How do you expect to generate any interest in the sport being played out on the screen (that's your ratings, by the way) when all the viewers get to hear about is the colleges that the players go to, the populations of their home towns, and the names of the rinks where they train? The Olympics are the ONLY time most people get to see women's ice hockey. Your commentators have been using their soap boxes all week to complain about how women's hockey hasn't been growing. Do they realize that they are a big part of the problem?
When I watch a hockey game I'd like to have a little bit of insight into what's going on on the ice, not about a player's feeling about being married. I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE PLAYERS' PERSONAL LIVES, I CARE ABOUT THE SPORT. It's also an insult to the players that your commentators seem to care more about their personal lives than the sport that they are playing right in front of them. I turned the sound off in the game today about 20 minutes into it because I was so frustrated with the commentary, and every time I'd turn it back on, it was the same drivel. I know enough about hockey to be able to follow the play without commentary, but you should know that much of your audience may not. And if anyone was watching this morning who didn't know the sport, and perhaps wanted to see what it was all about, I'm sure they tuned out after the first period.
Next time (if there is even a next time for women's hockey in the Olympics, thanks to the media's poor coverage and insulting assumptions about the state of the sport) do the world a favor and hire radio commentators to do the play-by-play. They at least know how to generate excitement from an audience, instead of boring us to tears with endless pointless personal anecdotes.
Sincerely, Celeste Ramsay
Portland, Oregon
In an electrifying, shoot-out win, the Swedes just beat out the Americans for a chance at Gold in women's hockey! This after three days of the media (and certain American players) complaining about how the games are pointless because of North American dominance. Who's complaining now?
The Finnish women kept ahead of the Americans in two periods when they played earlier this week, too. Could we see another major upset this afternoon against Canada? I'm already starting to chant "Suomi! Suomi!" under my breath.
I must object to Micheal Farber's article that argues women's hockey is a farce because there are only two teams in contention for gold and silver, and hence should be dropped from the Olympic events. And he's not the only one saying this. Of course the only people complaining are male, and NHL fans.
For one, the Olympics are the only time 99.99% of the world ever gets to see women playing hockey. How can the sport expect to attract any new players, or any media attention, if the one major international competition gets eliminated? Sure the Canadians and Americans, Finns and Swedes will probably still play against each other from time to time, but what's going to really motivate the other nations' teams to recruit, train and compete if the Olympic tournament is cut?
Point #2: just because the top two teams drastically outscore other teams, that doesn't mean there isn't real competition between the rest. Finland and Sweden are pretty evenly matched, and bitter rivals. As are Switzerland and Germany. Those games are up for grabs, and mean a lot to the players and their supporters. I always thought the Olympics were supposed to be about inclusion. Every nation that can, should be sending teams to the games, just to show what they can do. I thought that was the point.
Farber claims that "despite some American universities expanding their recruiting base into Europe ... the worthy exposure the five rings have given to the sport has not yet lifted third-world women's hockey nations in a truly tangible way." You have only to look at the performance of Swiss goalie Patricia Elsmore-Sautter, who played for Minnesota-Duluth, to counter that argument. She held the supposed "powerhouse" Americans to 5 goals, on 56 shots. That's a .91 save percentage, which would put her in the top tier of NHL goalies. I'd have her on my team any day.
I can't help but think that Farber's arguments are hinged on the idea that we shouldn't let the girls lose, just because they're girls. You don't hear him complaining that the Latvians and Kazaks should be left out of the men's competition just because they only have a few "NHL-caliber" players, which is basically what he's saying about the women. It's exactly this type of chauvanism that's kept women's hockey down for so long.
I don't care what this guy thinks, all the women playing in this tournament are winners in my book. That said - I'm really looking forward to Sweden V. Canada and Finland V. USA tomorrow. Let's hope the Scandanavians can put a few pucks past the the North Americans and show the world that the competition is not as lopsided as they think.
Nigh-on fifteen years of internet presence, and I've never really wanted to be part of any on-line "community." Over the years I've lurked (and occasionally posted) in particular Usenet groups, subscribed to five or six mailing lists (but rarely contributed), regularly read a number of blogs, and browsed the occasional forum. I even joined Frienster and Orkut, but the only people on my contacts lists are old friends from college that I was trying to stay in touch with. And I have never really felt like engaging on a personal level with anyone I didn't actually know in person.
So when hockey season started, I started reading the official Flames forum just to keep abrest of what was happening with the team. As the months rolled on, I started actually feeling familiar with some of the regular posters, and started posting some myself. I actually started to feel at home with a group of folks I'd never met, but have something in common with. It was nice.
Then a couple of days ago the forum disappeared. Turns out some jackass thought he/she was doing the world a favor by posting the controversial Mohammed cartoons in the forum, and the management responded by shutting down the whole forum indefinitely. There is another non-official forum, which is somewhat better in terms of content, but it's really, really slow, not as well organized, and graphics and layout are much worse. And now it's become the home of hundreds of refugees from the other board, so it's getting even slower. Some of the usernames are the same, but it's going to take a while to figure out who's who, who's an idiot, and who's not.
I hope the forum comes back. I'm actually feeling lonely without it. I hope my Finnish friends know their way to Calgary Puck so we can talk about the Olympics. Only 5 days until Suomi v. Switzerland.
It's taken me well over a year, but last night I finally finished Neil Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. All 2,600 pages of it, all three volumes straight through. And it was awesome, every last word of it.
It's not that I'm not a fast reader, it's just that I only read about 10 pages a day, before going to bed. Sometimes more, sometimes none at all. A few times I read for an hour or so during the day, but with all my distractions (i.e., PlayStation), I tend not to read much anymore. But in a way, I think it's worth it to spend that much time with a book. I find I retain more when I read one thing over a long period of time, especially right before going to sleep.
I've got a large pile of books that have been waiting in the wings. Gotta start with Brian Greene's Fabric of the Cosmos first, then onto some China Mieville. Of course, by the time I'm done with those Stephenson will have his next one out, but I'll wait for the paperback.
I don't care what the marmot had to say about his shadow, it's looking more and more like spring in my garden. We've had some warm (albeit very, very wet) weather, which has prompted a few blooms. It's nice to see some color to distract from the pervasive mudpit that is Portland in February.
First up this year:
Some of the early daffodils are starting to bud up. The quince has lots of buds, and I cut a couple branches to force them indoors. I'm getting pretty close to having year-round interest in the garden. There's still a couple of late fall gaps to fill. Any suggestions?