Open thread: US vs Canada for hockey gold; Update: Canada wins in OT
posted at 2:00 pm on February 28, 2010 by Ed Morrissey
The US hasn’t won Olympic hockey gold since the Miracle on Ice in 1980. Canada last won the gold in 2002 — by defeating the United States in the final. Canada has lost once in the Olympics, to this same US squad, while the Americans have gone undefeated. This may well be the most dramatic competitive moment in the games, at least for television viewers. Who will win — the commanding Americans or the Olympic hosts?
When Team Canada faltered in the first round of the Olympic hockey tournament, the nation that prides itself on having invented the game held its collective breath. Not to worry: a romp over Germany and a rout of Russia put this star-laden team back on track.
Or did it?
Canada barely hung on to defeat fast-closing Slovakia in the semifinals and secure its place in Sunday’s gold medal game at Canada Hockey Place. Adversity could bring the Canadians closer — or exhaust them.
The U.S. has run the table, relying on perseverance to subdue the stubborn Swiss in the quarterfinals and using physicality and speed to embarrass Finland in a 6-1 blowout. They have no gamebreakers — the closest to that is Hawks winger Patrick Kane — but their teamwork and energy have fueled their success.
I’m putting my money (figuratively speaking) on the US, but I’m glad that my favorite two teams made it into the finals. The game starts at 3:15 ET and will get televised live. USA! USA!
Update: Team USA scored a goal in the final 24 seconds to send it into OT, but Team Canada won in sudden death, 3-2. Congratulations to our cousins north of the border — it was a classic Gold Medal finish.
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They were only dating for about 2 months. He’s dated a string of pretty girls. Looking at the size and layout of those homes, I have doubts that the neighbors could hear anything.
Blake on February 14, 2013 at 10:06 AM
I bet the one-maned man did it…
Washington Fancy on February 14, 2013 at 10:08 AM
It’s like SUVs that crash. The SUV (and the gun) has a mind of its own. No human is responsible.
Bitter Clinger on February 14, 2013 at 10:08 AM
Maybe he was drunk or on drugs, got angry and then shot her.
bluegill on February 14, 2013 at 10:09 AM
ah, yes, that would make it all just fine then.
gatorboy on February 14, 2013 at 10:11 AM
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2278492/Oscar-Pistorius-charged-murder-accidentally-shot-dead-Reeva-Steenkamp.html
Blake on February 14, 2013 at 10:13 AM
Obviously, the springs on his legs are made from heavy metals.
I think we need some new regs.
Mr. Arrogant on February 14, 2013 at 10:13 AM
I’m waiting until Marc Lamont Hill weighs in as to which real life movie this is…oops, no cops were killed?
d1carter on February 14, 2013 at 10:14 AM
From other reports I’ve heard, other former girlfriends describe “volatile relationships.”
So he may not be all that good of a guy. Dunno at this point.
rbj on February 14, 2013 at 10:16 AM
Um, no.
bluegill on February 14, 2013 at 10:16 AM
There can never be a role model in today’s age. No wonder there is a massive shortage of MEN.
nobar on February 14, 2013 at 10:21 AM
I wonder how long after she was shot did he call the police.
bluegill on February 14, 2013 at 10:22 AM
That’s ridiculous. There are plenty of wonderful role models, both famous and non-famous. People have been killing other people for all time. This isn’t a “modern” thing.
bluegill on February 14, 2013 at 10:23 AM
Huh??
ThePrimordialOrderedPair on February 14, 2013 at 10:26 AM
Apparently, the new rule is that no inspirational story anymore is allowed to have a happy ending, especially in sports.
Brutal.
Red Cloud on February 14, 2013 at 10:27 AM
Must be more Global Warming fall-out.
/s
hobbit on February 14, 2013 at 10:29 AM
At one point, the man was held up as a role model. Now he’s been torn down, as all others have. Decency and honor have been evicted from our society, thank you progressives.
nobar on February 14, 2013 at 10:29 AM
Tragic. And yes, the usual trolls in the media are already telling a story that may or not be true. The facts will eventually come out. That is what a legal justice system is for.
Ummmm Ed, I thought you gave up twitter for lent. :)
simkeith on February 14, 2013 at 10:30 AM
Sport heroes are being stripped of their noble flair, one by one. Next thing we learn, Lance Armstrong used performance enhancing drugs, or something…
Archivarix on February 14, 2013 at 10:31 AM
I defy you to find a Norman Rockwell in this day and age.
nobar on February 14, 2013 at 10:31 AM
I hope they execute the gun.
/Libiot
hillsoftx on February 14, 2013 at 10:32 AM
He was never a role model. He had no business being in the Olympics. Steroid-popping full-bodied runners have more right to run in those races than someone with prosthetics.
And who do think is “[tearing] him down”??
ThePrimordialOrderedPair on February 14, 2013 at 10:33 AM
Tragic. How long until this model’s death is exploited by the administration and the msm? After all, she was beautiful and not black, so this death will hit their exploitation meter pretty hard.
ROCnPhilly on February 14, 2013 at 10:34 AM
I am surprised that nobody has so far commented on how mind-bogglingly hot his girlfriend was. Shooting such a babe is an awful waste of human flesh.
Archivarix on February 14, 2013 at 10:35 AM
Try a Lenten Fish Fry or a St. Vincent DePaul Meeting…heroes are EVERYWHERE.
As to Oscar he was NEVER a hero, sorry. Not after running but then complaining about ANOTHER blade runner cheating, because their blades were longer than his…suddenly he was just a guy working an angle, who didn’t like it when someone else wored the angle better. He was always working an angle..You bought TV hype about his “story” which is not the same thing as his BIOGRAPHY.
JFKY on February 14, 2013 at 10:36 AM
The only reason anyone owns a military style 9mm fully automatic machine pistol is to shoot girlfriends.
CorporatePiggy on February 14, 2013 at 10:36 AM
Yeah…it really is not hyperbole that we have very few people to look up to or can even point out as reasonably intelligent and virtuous. Which is not surprisingly reflected in our houses of government.
MelonCollie on February 14, 2013 at 10:38 AM
I love sports & competitions, but…
there is little connection between athletic accomplishments and development of good character.
22044 on February 14, 2013 at 10:40 AM
Mitt Romney.
Anyway, my theory is the guy was on steroids or some other kind of drug that made him especially prone to violent rages. Maybe drugs accentuated an already violent personality. Or perhaps he’s just a controlling guy who could not keep his temper in check. I don’t believe the mistaken identity story.
bluegill on February 14, 2013 at 10:40 AM
The first word of this article says it all. Tragic. My condolences for the young woman’s family. More and more, the media reminds me of the barking reporters in a Bloom County strip.
redmama on February 14, 2013 at 10:41 AM
Sad. We don’t know what happened so I’m not going to speculate further, but I do remember lots of posts on Facebook regarding this guy and what an inspiration he was. Not anymore…
changer1701 on February 14, 2013 at 10:42 AM
Sometimes, athletes are horrible people…we just don’t know yet if that’s the case here…my son was in South Africa lat year, and he said even the smallest house is like a fortress because of all the crime, so it’s plausible he mistook her for a burgler…I’m skeptical given what we have thus far heard but willing to keep an open mind. Just because he had a disability doesn’t confer automatic Sainthood status on him, though…that strikes me as kind of patronizing.
ellifint on February 14, 2013 at 10:43 AM
Also reminding me of the Trevon story. All speculation, little fact, other than a young person is dead.
redmama on February 14, 2013 at 10:43 AM
Movies? I don’t need no movies. I don’t have to tweet no stinkin’ movies! — Marc Lamont Hill
This is like an episode from Columbo. It’s so exiting! –MLH
This is like a two part Murder She Wrote! Can’t wait for part two. – MLH
Dusty on February 14, 2013 at 10:44 AM
Really. Who could he have mistaken her for? Another smoking hot blonde who seemed bent on mayhem?
ThePrimordialOrderedPair on February 14, 2013 at 10:45 AM
LOL
Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them… well, I have others. – Mitt Romney (and Groucho Marx)
sharrukin on February 14, 2013 at 10:45 AM
BREAKING: Django-Dorner copy-cat killer in DC?
Terp Mole on February 14, 2013 at 10:47 AM
Not the time or place for your same ol’ political blathering.
bluegill on February 14, 2013 at 10:51 AM
We din’t have to wait very long. Yahoo went right away with “this guy has an arsenal” (2 guns & 2 bats) and “he’s paranoid with his arsenal & his heavily secured compound” (paraphrasing):
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/oscar-pistorius-reportedly-had-arsenal-at-home-to-allay-fear-of-invasion-122246774.html
mdenis39 on February 14, 2013 at 10:52 AM
True, but only to keep my wife from finding out about them.
Sgt Steve on February 14, 2013 at 10:56 AM
All smoking hot blondes are bent on mayhem. Fact.
Sgt Steve on February 14, 2013 at 10:57 AM
I am not denying that he was acting like a dick. But nonetheless he was an inspiration (for however brief a time) to other amputees. My lamentation is about a culture that brings people up as heroes, then tears them down just as quickly. Lowering our expectation on what honor and virtue look like until finally we have cult-like following for people like Chris Dorner.
nobar on February 14, 2013 at 10:59 AM
This is tragic but predictable when you create a media star out of nothing. It’s a lot of pressure living a lie especially when your entire income and lifestyle are dependent on it.
Rocks on February 14, 2013 at 10:59 AM
Terrible. It seems she was shot multiple times, and Pitorius is saying he mistook her for a burglar. When you consider Pistorius is unlikely to own a machine gun, it is unlikely.
Sekhmet on February 14, 2013 at 11:03 AM
Seriously though, Mitt Romney.
Rusty Allen on February 14, 2013 at 11:05 AM
Bah, this has little to do with progressives. It has more to do with mass media. Why are you even paying attention to something that happened in South Africa?
Do we have so few problems here in the US that we need to fill up good days or slow days, or mediocre days with at least one headline screaming problem from the other side of the world so that some people can say good has been evicted from the our society?
Turn off the TV and get out more.
Dusty on February 14, 2013 at 11:07 AM
He is going to be found guilty.
Even his attorney knows he hasn’t got a leg to stand on.
{OK…I know…but nobody was willing to actually say it, right?]
coldwarrior on February 14, 2013 at 11:12 AM
Yeah, and this story shouldn’t have legs.
22044 on February 14, 2013 at 11:14 AM
Interesting choice. A Massachustts artist known for his progressive views on civil rights and racial integration. See, e.g.,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Problem_We_All_Live_With
cam2 on February 14, 2013 at 11:16 AM
LOL! You’re bad!
cam2 on February 14, 2013 at 11:17 AM
Actually, in South Africa, it is apparently quite common to be armed to the teeth. Very high level of gun related violence there (2nd highest level of gun-related deaths, I assume per capita, although I haven’t seen that specified – and no, the US is not #1, despite what some would have you believe). Crime is rampant there and supposedly the neighborhood where he lived is like a fortress.
Alia on February 14, 2013 at 11:31 AM
Yeah. I was being a bit flippant earlier, but crime in South Africa has been totally out of control for a long time. I guess if she was wearing headphones or something and didn’t answer his calls he could have gotten spooked and shot first. Not saying that’s what happened, as I don’t know any of the details, but violent crime is insane in that place and getting worse every day. This is one of the little tidbits about South Africa’s vicious spiral downwards that never gets mentioned in the MSM. It’s been on a slow but steady path towards a Rhodesia/Zaire ending.
ThePrimordialOrderedPair on February 14, 2013 at 11:36 AM
I don’t know. I’m a bit hesitant to believe those rumors that he kicked the crap out of her.
Syd B. on February 14, 2013 at 11:38 AM
Err … I meant “Rhodesia/Zimbabwe ending”. My mistake.
ThePrimordialOrderedPair on February 14, 2013 at 11:54 AM
Pistorius must be devastated.
But, I am sure he’ll spring back in no time.
OK. Did somebody say “Lunch!”?
Gotta go.
:-)
coldwarrior on February 14, 2013 at 12:18 PM
I’m hoping this was an accident, and not intentional.
Ward Cleaver on February 14, 2013 at 12:22 PM
Not to worry. Someone will “spring him”
contrarian on February 14, 2013 at 12:30 PM
May all the fools on TV spontaneously combust, for dereliction of duty. This includes the fools on Fox.
Schadenfreude on February 14, 2013 at 1:02 PM
There’s a leg joke in their but too soon. Maybe next week.
can_con on February 14, 2013 at 1:15 PM
*their … There
Damn you autocorrect!
can_con on February 14, 2013 at 1:16 PM
The bail hearing. He might go on the run and then the race will be on to catch him.
Dusty on February 14, 2013 at 2:07 PM
Been awhile since you’ve seen Basic Instinct ? Ice picks are nothing to mess with.
Barnestormer on February 14, 2013 at 2:38 PM
South Africa has quite strict gun-control laws.
In order to legally own a gun in South Africa, first the prospective owner undergoes a thorough police background check, which involves an interview with the spouse or partner, as well as two other people. Then there is a competency requirement, which encompasses training, as well as a criminal record screening.
“On top of that, the police have the discretion to give a licence or not, and the applicant has to explain comprehensively why they have to own a firearm. Put it this way, it’s a lot easier to get a shotgun licence in the UK than it is in South Africa,” Mr. Hood told Channel 4 News.
Of course, the Left’s answer to that would be that the gun laws must therefore be tightened even further.
s_dog on February 14, 2013 at 4:15 PM
I just hope they don’t let him go because he’s a celebrity or because they feel sorry for him because he has no legs.
SoulGlo on February 14, 2013 at 7:19 PM