Olympic hockey is not NHL hockey

There are a lot of differences between Olympic hockey and hockey that we are used to when watching the NHL games.

The Olympic hockey is very exciting, the games are fast and intense, players are on the ice for less than a minute often, before being changed so they can rest. 

They don’t just coast around surprised when the other team scores like some teams… not to name any leafs or anything.. 

There are a lot of differences between the two. Some rules or changes are a bit more subtle and perhaps do not have as much as an impact on the game. Other differences are more pronounced and do.

A lot of NHL players are on the teams, close to 150, so they are used to playing on the NHL ice.  Well the mens teams. But the ladies teams play on NHL ice for some of the countries as well, two for sure. lol.  So the ladies coast out on to the Olympic ice and go woo hoo look at all the room. 😉

The obvious difference is the size of the ice rink.

The NHL ice is about 200 feet by 85 feet. Olympic ice is about 210 by 98. On Olympic ice there is an extra two feet behind the net.

So how does this somewhat tiny change impact the game? It doesn’t sound like a big change, it really does change the way the players used to smaller ice play though. The goal is farther away from the corners, there is more room behind the net for two players, resulting in the puck being taken away from you when you are used to blocking attempts more easily. There is more skating on the Olympic ice.

Inspiring Olympians

With the Olympics there are so many highs and so many lows. Training for years, devoting so much of your life, finances even diet for that thirty second run down a hill to end up standing on the podium with a huge smile, or twisted up in a fence halfway down the hill…  it can truly go any way. Best laid plans can quickly twist into torment and pain, when an unexpected bit of ice or perhaps burst of wind can finish your event.

How to cope with that experience must be so hard. Win or lose we must embrace all of our Olympians with pride and love.

There are lots of great stories too. When you do your very best, you feel the snow slipping under your skis, each twist of your body feels just so right, the wind rushes by as you cross the last line and your smile spreads wider than ever before, because you know that you did your best.

When you stand on the podium, your countries flag is over head rising, and you hear your national anthem.  Tears are streaming from your eyes, dripping off your chin even, you reach out and grasp your sisters hand and squeeze… because she is standing beside you on the silver podium, also with tears. That is one of those moments, one of those stories.

I love the winter Olympics.

Yay Justine and Chloe

Day One, the Olympics. The winter games not the silly summer ones, lol.

 

They started, woo hoo. the winter Olympics.  We watched the opening event at a party… hmmmm yawn?  eeeeps.

Lots of excitement today though. the games are underway, what to watch, lots of peeks to see how things are going, watching hockey games on my phone… I should get a medal for that I think.

Mark McMorris! Dude you are officially nuts. lol. Winning a bronze medal snowboarding with a BROKEN RIB! But I am proud of you, Yay Mark!  Amazing dedication. I hope you take some time off to watch now and rest. Broken ribs are very painful. Having broken lots of them I know. 😉

The hockey game though, wow. I love the way they played. A mostly very clean game with passing, a team game… hmmm I wonder if the ladies would be interested in wearing blue and white…..  That would be AWESOME. They still would have a maple leaf too.  Yay Tara! Goal one in  one minute and twenty five seconds, did you hear us cheering? You rock! Party tonight. 😉

The Swiss goalie, Florence Schelling, was simply amazing. 69 shots on net. Wow. Great job.

 

WOO HOO

 

 

 

 

YAY

 

todays blog

What to blog about today

food

ok well then

Olympics

darn.. searches for another blog idea.. oh I know.. reaches for my phone and sends a text.

hums while I wait for the answer… I am a good hummer, I know all the words…

psssst I asked Aimee what kind of wine is the most sought after.

woo hooo, she answered.. darn I can’t copy and paste from a text message.. oh well…

oh, it won’t take long to copy her answer….

Ambersssss it is a long weekend.. who cares.

*giggles*

 

oh well.. it is though, for us anyway. It is a civic holiday.. *nods* some famous person crossed a river and discovered something and his name was Mr. Civic….. wait.. googles to check.. darn that is not it either.

Oh well, it is a long weekend, so off to the cottage for us. *smiles eagerly* and not long before we leave too… woo hoo

Well I know Aimee will pick some good wines for the weekend. we are cooking a roast in the crock pot. it is going to be very hot again and humid, so that will give us a nice meal or two without heating up the house. I will bbq it a bit before I put it in the crock too. And we will make some wine coolers too. omg we have made some good ones this summer.

Oh and we can watch the olympics. I heard that golf is going to be an event in 2016… hmmm, bites my tongue.

 

Oh Tae Kwon Do is coming up, think it is five days away now, that will be an exciting event to watch. *nods lots*  *sighs too* But I will be watching.  *gets ready to cheer*

Have a great long Weekend everyone… or just a great weekend for those that are stuck with a short one. psst I am stuck with a short one too… oh oh, I am going to get a punch for that one…. *giggles*

*giggles and checks the clock again*

banning countries from the Olympics

It is a vague title I know, but I wasn’t sure how to title this, uhm, sort of rant.

I know two in a row, but this annoyed me.

Countries have been banned from taking part in the Olympics in the past. One comes to mind. I will talk more about that soon.

Do the Olympics have the right to say how a country is run? no, probably not.

Does anyone have the  right to complain when something in another country is unfair?

I think so.

We are a world. There are some things that should not be ignored in another country. Some things (and the list is long) are of world concern in other countries, people should complain.

So, that being said, a while ago South Africa was banned from taking part in the Olympics because of they refused to condemn  apartheid.

“The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit”  

Those are the International Olympics Committee’s own words, spelled out in its charter.

Nods, I think those are good words.

ok, but do they stand by them?

nope

Saudi Arabia bans women from its Olympic team

huh?

“The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit”  

Is the Saudi team, then banned from taking part at the Olympics?

seems not.

The South African team was barred for 28 years.

So what is going on now? How is this not the same? Is the IOC just a lot of talk now?

or are they a part of the problem. Maybe women are not individuals?

stay at home and cook dinner?

*grumbles*

They drag their feet a lot, the IOC. 

They wouldn’t allow women’s ski jumping in the 2010 Olympics. How was that fair? It will be added to the 2014 Olympics though.

*shows you my angry face*

The world is a community, all should be equal. Stop living in the past, it was corrupted.

“The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit”  

PROVE IT

Now, when the Olympics start, you can watch them with people from around the world in a chat room, and discuss them, that could be quite fun, watching the teams compete and talking with people from other countries. Adult Chat is not has a lot of themes. There are a lot that involve just enjoying the company of others, and you seldom know they are from around the world. pssst, it is because we are all the same.