The Torino 2006 thread

[jorismo]

Some important finals today:
*Nordic Combined - 15:00 Torino time (TT)
*Mens 5000m speed skating - 15:30 TT
*Freestyle skiing, ladies moguls - 19:00 TT

[jorismo]

Some results:

Biathlon, Men's 20 Km Induvidual:
1. Michael Greis (GER)
2. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (NOR)
3. Halvard Hanevold (NOR)

Nordic Combined, Men
1. Georg Hattich (GER)
2. Magnua Moan (NOR)
3. Petter Tande (NOR)

Speed Skating, Men's 5000m
1. Chad Hedrick (USA)
2. Sven Kramer (NED)
3. Enrico Fabris (ITA)

[ZeTurbo]

i saw nowboarding today... it was pretty cool.

Canada will have a hard time DOMINATINg men's hockey, russia, sweeden, the chec rep. and the USA are allways formidable oponents, but they hardly stand a chance.

Wemmen's hockey is another story, The only real opositon to Canada is the USA. (Yesterday CAN beat Italy 16-0)

But c'mon guys, you have got to let canada win hockey...what else have they got?

[kingofthering]

a certain ferrari F1 team did a pitstop and doughnut during the opening ceremony. it is sad that tey find a pitstop entertaining because they could have done more stunts.

[Rockefella]

Wow Italian went all out with that opening ceremony....what with that Ferrari F1 car doing donuts and all....

Anybody have a link to that, I missed it.

Speaking of which, my father was flipping through MotorTrend, and caught his eye on the Pininfarina Birdcage 75, and today my mom asked me if I saw that 'Maserati spinning around at the start of the olympics'. I was thinking, wtf.. but my dad soon pointed out it was that thing Schumacher drives.. so I suppose Ferrari went on another stint w/ their colossal budget?

[Vaigra]

any idea who was actually behind the wheel?

[Pando]

Most of you have a sense what hockey is about, but don't know the real deal, so here's how it goes:

When it comes to (mens)hockey you can place the teams in four groups:

I: Canada, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden
Teams that are concidered the very best and are assumed to win. Canada traditionally nr 1, but the all around excellent Czech, Slovak and Swedish teams are all possible winners. Three of these teams are likely to be in the top four.

II: USA, Finland, Russia
Very hard opponents for any team, but for one reason or another usually not capable of winning game after game. Little brother relations - USA to Canada, Finland to Sweden... Since the fall of the Sovjet Union, Russia has had unity problems within the team, many excellent players but they've been previously unable to function as a good team. But they're improving. Unless on "a roll" these teams have the tendency to crack under pressure. Have a real chance of winning gold, or at least getting one team into the top 4.

III: Latvia, Germany
Could surprise and teams in groups I&II watches out when playing against them. Latvia rose to this level under the Swedish coach Curre Lindström (who also helped Finland win the world championships in '94). These teams are in a hard position as they usually win the teams in group IV but still aren't strong enough to reach group II. Unlikely to win, surprising if any of these gets into the top four.

IV: The rest
Surprises can come (like Denmark a few years ago), but it's very unlikely we'll get a World Champ from this group or even a team into the top 8.

This isn't just my opinion it's the cold truth and hence cannot be the subject of debate.

[RacingManiac]

any idea who was actually behind the wheel?

Luca Badoer...

[Rijoh]

any idea who was actually behind the wheel?

Valentino Rossi...

[LTT]

Russia will not be a force in mens hockey. They have a bunch of snipers, no setup guys, no defence, and no goaltender. It'll be Canada and Czech, with Canada comin out on top, because we're awesome.

[Lord & Master]

i remember the aussie just wining @ salt lake 4 years ago

[Pando]

Yay! Today is hockey day!

[Pando]

Aah, first day of ice hockey....

Results and comments: (no surprises really)

KAZ - SWE 2-7 (0-3, 1-4, 1-0)
Notoriously dirty hockey playing Kazakhstan was no match for Sweden as expected. Tough start for the Swedish goalie Stefan Liv, with only 14 shots on goal and two pucks behind him.

ITA - CAN 2-7 (0-1, 2-5, 0-1)
One could say this was the game between the worst and the best teams. I'm surprised nervous Italy managed to fool Martin Brodeur twice. All Canadian lines proved themselves effective.

SUI - FIN 0-5 (0-1, 0-4, 0-0)
Finland started off with an expected win. Swizerland did their best but was out-skilled. A perfect game for Antero Niittymäki beating many good attempts, once again proving that excellent Finnish goalies are no longer an exception but a rule. Finlands 1st and 2nd lines worked very well and will be worth keeping an eye on in the tournament.

GER - CZE 1-4 (1-0, 0-2, 0-2)
Germany started off well against one of the best. Olaf Kolzig made sure Germany stayed in the game long, but were outskilled in the end. Down by 1-3 with a few seconds left they pulled their goalie, which didn't give the result they hoped.

RUS - SVK 3-5 (2-1, 1-2, 0-2)
A tight game with two of the most entertaining teams. Russia played well but Slovakia showed why they are without a doubt one of the best. Slovakia's Marian Gaborik had a great game, scored twice and made sure he'll be watched and feared by teams they play in the future. Fortunately for Slovakia they have definately a top 3 line-up of players so there will be no shortage of potential heroes. Russia's players are not to be taken lightly either, players like Pavel Datsyuk, Ilya Kovalchuck and Alexander Ovechkin can easily singlehandedly change the course of the game. But having great players isn't enough, teamwork is something Russia needs to improve if they desire a medal.

LAT - USA 3-3 (1-2, 2-0, 0-1)
Latvia played very well and earned their tie. USA have often had problems against "weaker" teams and it will be interesting to see if they are able to shape up for their game against Kazakhstan tomorrow. If not, they are almost certain to face a losing streak with tough opponents like Slovakia, Sweden and Russia coming up. Latvia on the other hand got a good start for the tournament and once again reminded the "traditionally big" teams they are not to be taken lightly.

[ZeTurbo]

Aah, first day of ice hockey....

Results and comments: (no surprises really)

KAZ - SWE 2-7 (0-3, 1-4, 1-0)
Notoriously dirty hockey playing Kazakhstan was no match for Sweden as expected. Tough start for the Swedish goalie Stefan Liv, with only 14 shots on goal and two pucks behind him.

ITA - CAN 2-7 (0-1, 2-5, 0-1)
One could say this was the game between the worst and the best teams. I'm surprised nervous Italy managed to fool Martin Brodeur twice. All Canadian lines proved themselves effective.

ou can say that again! Canadiens were a bit nervous and they faltered in the first moments. But Italy played very well in the first period. They have heart these guys. OH and BTW, italy's second goal was REALLY cool.

RUS - SVK 3-5 (2-1, 1-2, 0-2)
A tight game with two of the most entertaining teams. Russia played well but Slovakia showed why they are without a doubt one of the best. Slovakia's Marian Gaborik had a great game, scored twice and made sure he'll be watched and feared by teams they play in the future. Fortunately for Slovakia they have definately a top 3 line-up of players so there will be no shortage of potential heroes. Russia's players are not to be taken lightly either, players like Pavel Datsyuk, Ilya Kovalchuck and Alexander Ovechkin can easily singlehandedly change the course of the game. But having great players isn't enough, teamwork is something Russia needs to improve if they desire a medal.

Russia lost because of theyr coach. Why didint he take the keeper out in the last moments? What was he waiting for?! 5 on 4 hockey can be very effective...

[Pando]

2nd day part one:

FIN - ITA 6-0 (0-0, 4-0, 2-0)
(First game this year I watched in a sports pub and there will be more to follow... ) I said before the game that if Finland wins by more goals than Canada did then we did good. The results are satisfying for the team with Fredrik Norrena this time making sure no one has scored against Finland yet. (To be honest I don't really know why he is in the team since I don't really see him as a goalie to count on, but that's just me...) The 1st period started off quite boring with both teams playing carefully. But when Finland scored for the first time, Italy cracked and even started to play dirty. Over all both teams played quite sloppy hockey during the last periods but Italy was outskilled in all areas. Finland needs to shape up for saturday if they want to win against the Czech's since against teams like them a misstake = a goal. Teemu Selänne(2 goals) 's line played a very good game and he showed he's back in business as the star he is.

CZE - SUI 2-3 (0-1, 1-1, 1-1)
Woot woot! First big surprise! (ok, I admit Switzerland belongs to the same group as Latvia and Germany....) World class goalie David Aebischer is whom they have to thank for the win, playing an excellent game with 40 saves! Kudos to him and the whole team!