Quad's the Matter?

Have to laugh at the mini-controversies erupting over Men's Olympic figure skating. Apparently the problem with the Olympic flames wasn't confined to the opening ceremonies. Let me get this straight (perhaps the only thing straight, but I digress), the Russian complained that the American wouldn't try a Quad? Which I believe in this instance refers to a Quadruple jump, as opposed to a quadriceps, which is a thigh muscle, but...you never know with Russian to English dictionaries and the treacherous world of Men's figure skating. Hmmm....Vladimir Plushenko, the Ivan Drago of figure skating? Well, if that's the case, he got knocked out by the American, Rocky style, and they're still picking the sequins off the ice. Somewhere Stallone is throwing up raw eggs.

Hold it...we're not done yet. Elvis Stojko, former Canadian Gold Medal figure skater, wrote a scathing piece calling the granting of the Gold to Evan Lysacek, "the death of figure skating." Well, that ought to open up the ice time at your local rink.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/figure_skating/news?slug=es-thoughts021810&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

He doesn't like that they rewarded the athlete who played it safer, rather than the guy who took risks by performing more difficult moves. He even goes so far to say he looks forward to Hockey, a sport where athletes are allowed to push the envelope. Huh?

I'm no Dick Button, but come on. Let's see, do I take a risk and try to pinpoint the long pass for the breakaway, knowing it might get picked off for an odd man rush, or do I dump the puck in and get on the forecheck? Seems like that sport has it's share of conservative approaches with their names etched on the Stanley Cup as well as it's share of risk-takers.

Does Shaun White do the double McTwist 1260 in his first run, or play it safe with easier moves? Seemed to get him a gold medal, in a sport that is known for risk-taking.

Does golf reward the conservative player who lays up, or the guy who goes for the crazy shot? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

Why don't we ask Packer and Vikings fans if Brett Favre might have been better served by trying the safe, conservative plays on the big stage?

You go for it, you might win, you might not. But you don't win if you go for it, and aren't successful. Time for Elvis to leave the building.

Buddha Man!

Just heard Tiger's Apology. I got confused though when he said he is a Buddhist. For a second, thought he said, "Bootiest", which made more sense. Afterall, don't both involve rubbing bellies for good luck?

Course Correction?

So Tiger Woods is finally confirming that he's completed a stay at a Sex Rehab clinic.

Glad to hear he's going to try and cut down on his swing, but I think if he is serious, his first Golf tournament should be sponsored by Fidelity.

Ream Teams?

I see a day in the not too distant future, where an NBA game takes place between teams comprised solely of expiring contracts. Imagine all the paper cuts. It should, of course, take place at the Staples Center.

Super Group A or Supergroup, Eh?

Watching Canada vs. Switzerland in Olympic Hockey and wondering why the folk Mike Babcock doesn't send out a line with (Sidney) Crosby, (Eric) Staal and (Rick) Nash? Canadian Neil Young would approve.

Swiss goalie Jonas Hiller was not cheesy. Precision Swiss timing on several brilliant saves. The glove save on Getzlaff in the third after a sprawling stick save told us the Swiss bank was indeed closed for most of the evening. He is the only reason it took Canada until the 4th round of the shootout to prevail.

Ice Atoner

This just in. Georgian Olympic Organizers have just announced they will no longer be using luge sleds manufactured by Toyota. Oooops...is it too soon? Sorry about that.

Better Nate than Never, or House in Garden?

I see last night that Nate Robinson, rumored to be part of a trade to Boston for Eddie House, was sidelined with "Flu-Like" symptoms. Perhaps there was some miscommunication. I think they meant to say, he "flew, like, to Boston."

Statue of Limitations?

So it was just announced that the Brewers will be erecting a statue of Bud Selig outside their stadium. Interesting feature is that the statue also looks the other way. It's also the only Bud welcome at Miller Park.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100208&content_id=8037770&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Brendan Like Beckham

Caught the Badger Hockey team's thrilling come from behind victory over Michigan Saturday night in the Camp Randall Classic...from the warmth of my basement. Outdoors in front of 55 thousand fans (only some of them wearing shirts), D Brendan Smith had two clutch pp goals from almost the identical spot. The first one was perfectly placed in the upper left corner with just over 5 minutes left. Then he one-times another one with just over a minute left to the top right corner. Bang Bang and it's off to the Plaza for some pitchers and a few games of Superchexx. Who am I kidding? For me-more like 2 minutes spent staring at the fridge and then off to bed.

Anyways, this kid Smith looked like Ray Bourque in the NHL All Star accuracy contest a few years back. Red Wings are going to love him if he can score like that. Hell, is that where all the great Badger defenseman have to go now? Chelios, Rafalski and now this kid? I guess they really are the "Red" Wings.

Only negative for me was the numerous delays due to problems with the ice. There haven't been that many issues fixing creases since Jerry Jones had a mid-life crisis. Sorry there aren't better recaps of the 2 goals, but what do you want...it's the Big Ten Network. Several camera's were damaged recently by Bruce Weber's Orange sportcoat (enough to make me I-L-L!)

http://www.bigtennetwork.com/news/article.asp?list_id=47&story_id=3383760

U.N. Believable.

The Milwaukee Bucks current starting five hail from Compton (Jennings), Flint (Bell), Australia (Bogut), Argentina (Delfino), and Cameroon (Mbah a Moute). Their top reserve is from Turkey (Ilyasova) and their backup center is from Holland (Elson). After dragging this international bunch to within .02 percentage points of a playoff spot, I hereby nominate Scott Skiles for a seat on the advisory board of the Council on Foreign Relations.

http://www.cfr.org/

Wrong Phil Termination

Had to laugh when Phil Simms offered this brilliant analysis last night:

"If I am the Saints here, I do not blitz. I drop and cover."

Saints blitz, Joey Porter picks it off for a TD giving the Saints a 31-17 lead and the game. Perhaps Phil should have dropped and covered after uttering that bonehead advice. His comments afterwards:

"Well, in big moments, it's important to stick to what you do best."

If we knew he could backpedal like that, he could have played corner.

Fish, No Foul?

Two thoughts came to mind after seeing the Betty White Snickers Super Bowl commercial.

1) Why no roughing the passer call on the vicious late hit on Vigoda, or the obvious pass interference against Betty White? Was Scott Green's crew calling this game as well? Guess I'm still not over the poor officiating during the Cards/Pack playoff shootout.

2) Wonder who's older QB, Vigoda or Favre?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rauK4fBjkI