phelps

definitely Federica Pellegrini's triumph over "the monster" Katie Ledecky in the 200m Freestyle at the Swimming Worlds...the only flash of light in the darkest and most difficult and depressing days of my life... https://video-it.eurosport.com/nuoto/mondiali-di-nuoto/2017/video-il-video-dell-impresa-di-federica-pellegrini-oro-mondiale-nei-200-sl_vid993471/video.shtml @hckosice you know that your choice's hurting me so, soooo much!!!???

I guess it's more or less the same for all Regions from Emilia-Romagna going South, unfortunately...

my 2 cents... Alpine Skiing [10] Slalom (m/w) Giant Slalom (m/w) Super-G (m/w) Downhill (m/w) Combined (m/w) Team Event (mixed) Parallel Slalom (m/w) Biathlon [10] Sprint (m/w) Pursuit (m/w) Individual (m/w) Mass Start (m/w) Team Relay (m/w/mixed) Bobsleigh [3] Two-man/woman (m/w) Four-man (m) Cross-Country Skiing [12] 15/10km Freestyle (m/w) 15/10km Skiathlon (m/w) 30/15km Skiathlon (m/w) 30/15km Freestyle (m/w)...but only with Interval Starts, since those mass start races have become too tactical and are generally exciting only in the last couple of kms... 50/30km Classical (m/w)...but, once again, Interval Starts only 4x10/5km Relay (m/w) Individual Sprint (m/w)...but it should be a real "Sprint"...so, always only 1000m long and always held with Freestyle technique... Team Sprint (m/w)...but with different format (4 athletes per team, no more than 2 legs for each athlete, 1000m legs and again Freestyle only and always)... Curling [2] Tournament (m/w) Mixed Doubles (mixed) Figure Skating [3] Singles (m/w) Pairs (mixed) Ice Dancing (mixed) Team Event (mixed) Freestyle Skiing [2] Aerials (m/w) Moguls (m/w) Halfpipe (m/w) Slopestyle (m/w) Ski Cross (m/w) Notes: stop trying to make the Olympics the new X-Games... Ice Hockey [2] Tournament (m/w) Luge [4] Singles (m/w) Doubles (open, m/w)...provided a decent development of the women's game, of course (but since this is just a fantasy effort, we can take it for "granted", I guess)... Team Relay (mixed) Nordic Combined [6] Individual Normal Hill/10km (m/w) Individual Large Hill/10km (m) Individual Large Hill/15km (m/w) Team Large Hill/4x5km Relay (m/w) Notes: always assuming ideal women's participation... Short Track Speed Skating [8] 500m (m/w) 1000m (m/w) 1500m (m/w) 5000m/3000m Relay (m/w) Skeleton [2] Singles (m/w) Ski Jumping [5] Normal Hill (m/w) Large Hill (m/w) Large Hill Team (m/w) Ski Flying (m) Snowboarding [6] Halfpipe (m/w)* Slopestyle (m/w)* Big Air (m/w)* Parallel Giant Slalom (m/w) Giant Slalom (m/w)...like the Alpine Skiing one, Individual Runs, 2 Run-competition...as it was in the early days of the Games... Parallel Slalom (m/w) Snowboard Cross (m/w) Notes: * = see the Freestyle considerations... Speed Skating [14] 500m (m/w) 1000m (m/w) 1500m (m/w) 3000m (w) 5000m (m/w) 10,000m (m/w)...time to make men and women's competitions the same thing... Mass Start (m/w)...but only if they make it a serious event, like the Dutch Marathon Cup events (50km race...and no silly and useless intermediate sprints)... Team Pursuit (m/w)...with a slight change of format...4 athletes per team and over the 4000m distance..basically the same thing as the Team Pursuit of Track Cycling... Additional Sport - Ski Orienteering [6] Individual Sprint Race (m/w) Individual Race, Long Distance (m/w) Team Relay (3 x the Sprint Race distance, m/w) Additional Sport - Natural Track Luge [4] Singles (m/w) Doubles (m/w) Total medal events: 99 in 17 sports Total athletes: surely more than now... Days of competition: 17 (including Day 0 before the Opening Ceremony)

yeah...but that's another World if compared to the rest of Italy... they speak another language, they have a different special statute and some different laws... things there work a lot better than in the rest of the Country at any level... I must confess...Bolzano/Bozen is the only other Italian place where I could imagine to live if I had to leave "my beloved Milan"...

perfect point in this part of the World, where the Olympic Games have been thought and created, history and tradition mean Winter = Snow & Ice so, imho the Winter Olympic Games must only include disciplines played on those 2 "elements"...

can I say: "below 0"? as usual, here's only about football (it's open market season...our favourite sport...even better than the game played on the pitch itself )... we were also the last Country to finalize an agreement between Discovery Group and our public TV for the FTA part of the Games (which will be just a disaster, as for the schedule released by RAI...by the way, not that the Eurosport coverage will be better...basically you have to subscribe their awful player to watch most of the things going on beside the main "Italian interest stuff" on Eusp1 and the Ice Hockey tournament on Eusp2)... there's nothing to do...Winter Sports only interest a small part of the Country...and unfortunately it's also the side that doesn't count anything when it comes down to any "political" decision, public TV schedule included (because yes, here in Italy the public TV schedule is a political affair )...

it's a bit early, but definitely soon it 's gonna be the time to start talking about it... however, she must get 62 world cup wins (and at least 113 podium finish), at least 6 overall world cup trophies, at least 10 discipline world cups and more than 12 medals (at least 6 of them being Gold) between World Champs and/or Olympic Games just to sit down at the same table of Annemarie Moser-Proll...

Olympic Winter Games 2018 teams’ curling schedule published The PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee Olympic Winter Games recently published the women’s and men’s curling teams' schedule for the upcoming Games in February 2018. The women’s and men’s teams’ competition will run from Wednesday 14 February until Sunday 25 February and comes after the newly introduced mixed doubles tournament, which begins on 8 February Ten teams will compete in the women’s and men’s events. They are: Women: Canada, China, Denmark, Great Britain, Japan, Korea, Olympic Athletes from Russia, Sweden, Switzerland and United States Men: Canada, Denmark, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Korea, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and United States The tournament format will be a round-robin – three draws per day – followed by a session of tie-breakers if required, then semi-finals and finals. The round-robin will be played between 14 and 21 February. The tie-breakers will follow at 09:05 on Thursday 22 February. Also, that day will be the men’s semi-finals at 20:04. On Friday 23 February, the men’s bronze medal game is at 15:35 and the women’s semi-finals are at 20:04. Saturday 24 February sees the men’s gold medal game take place at 15:35, followed by the women’s bronze medal game at 20:04. The Olympic curling concludes on Sunday 25 February at 09:05 with the women’s gold medal final. This is the first time the women’s final has come last at the Games, since its debut in Nagano, Japan, in 1998. At the end of the round-robin the teams will be ranked one to ten, with the first ranked team playing the fourth ranked team (1v4) and the second ranked team playing the third ranked team in the semi-finals (2v3). The men’s defending champion nation, Canada will open their round-robin campaign in the first session of play on Wednesday 14 February against Italy, who recently qualified out of the Olympic Qualification Event in Pilsen, Czech Republic. Also, in that session, the hosts Korea will meet United States. Canada’s women’s team – again the defending champion nation and the current world champions – open their campaign at 09:05 on Thursday 15 February against the hosts Korea. Full Schedule: http://www.worldcurling.org/owg2018/schedule

Olympic Winter Games 2018 teams’ curling schedule published The PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee Olympic Winter Games recently published the women’s and men’s curling teams' schedule for the upcoming Games in February 2018. The women’s and men’s teams’ competition will run from Wednesday 14 February until Sunday 25 February and comes after the newly introduced mixed doubles tournament, which begins on 8 February Ten teams will compete in the women’s and men’s events. They are: Women: Canada, China, Denmark, Great Britain, Japan, Korea, Olympic Athletes from Russia, Sweden, Switzerland and United States Men: Canada, Denmark, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Korea, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and United States The tournament format will be a round-robin – three draws per day – followed by a session of tie-breakers if required, then semi-finals and finals. The round-robin will be played between 14 and 21 February. The tie-breakers will follow at 09:05 on Thursday 22 February. Also, that day will be the men’s semi-finals at 20:04. On Friday 23 February, the men’s bronze medal game is at 15:35 and the women’s semi-finals are at 20:04. Saturday 24 February sees the men’s gold medal game take place at 15:35, followed by the women’s bronze medal game at 20:04. The Olympic curling concludes on Sunday 25 February at 09:05 with the women’s gold medal final. This is the first time the women’s final has come last at the Games, since its debut in Nagano, Japan, in 1998. At the end of the round-robin the teams will be ranked one to ten, with the first ranked team playing the fourth ranked team (1v4) and the second ranked team playing the third ranked team in the semi-finals (2v3). The men’s defending champion nation, Canada will open their round-robin campaign in the first session of play on Wednesday 14 February against Italy, who recently qualified out of the Olympic Qualification Event in Pilsen, Czech Republic. Also, in that session, the hosts Korea will meet United States. Canada’s women’s team – again the defending champion nation and the current world champions – open their campaign at 09:05 on Thursday 15 February against the hosts Korea. Full Schedule: http://www.worldcurling.org/owg2018/schedule

Olympic Winter Games 2018 teams’ curling schedule published The PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee Olympic Winter Games recently published the women’s and men’s curling teams' schedule for the upcoming Games in February 2018. The women’s and men’s teams’ competition will run from Wednesday 14 February until Sunday 25 February and comes after the newly introduced mixed doubles tournament, which begins on 8 February Ten teams will compete in the women’s and men’s events. They are: Women: Canada, China, Denmark, Great Britain, Japan, Korea, Olympic Athletes from Russia, Sweden, Switzerland and United States Men: Canada, Denmark, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Korea, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and United States The tournament format will be a round-robin – three draws per day – followed by a session of tie-breakers if required, then semi-finals and finals. The round-robin will be played between 14 and 21 February. The tie-breakers will follow at 09:05 on Thursday 22 February. Also, that day will be the men’s semi-finals at 20:04. On Friday 23 February, the men’s bronze medal game is at 15:35 and the women’s semi-finals are at 20:04. Saturday 24 February sees the men’s gold medal game take place at 15:35, followed by the women’s bronze medal game at 20:04. The Olympic curling concludes on Sunday 25 February at 09:05 with the women’s gold medal final. This is the first time the women’s final has come last at the Games, since its debut in Nagano, Japan, in 1998. At the end of the round-robin the teams will be ranked one to ten, with the first ranked team playing the fourth ranked team (1v4) and the second ranked team playing the third ranked team in the semi-finals (2v3). The men’s defending champion nation, Canada will open their round-robin campaign in the first session of play on Wednesday 14 February against Italy, who recently qualified out of the Olympic Qualification Event in Pilsen, Czech Republic. Also, in that session, the hosts Korea will meet United States. Canada’s women’s team – again the defending champion nation and the current world champions – open their campaign at 09:05 on Thursday 15 February against the hosts Korea. Full Schedule: http://www.worldcurling.org/owg2018/schedule

Olympic Winter Games 2018 teams’ curling schedule published The PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee Olympic Winter Games recently published the women’s and men’s curling teams' schedule for the upcoming Games in February 2018. The women’s and men’s teams’ competition will run from Wednesday 14 February until Sunday 25 February and comes after the newly introduced mixed doubles tournament, which begins on 8 February Ten teams will compete in the women’s and men’s events. They are: Women: Canada, China, Denmark, Great Britain, Japan, Korea, Olympic Athletes from Russia, Sweden, Switzerland and United States Men: Canada, Denmark, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Korea, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and United States The tournament format will be a round-robin – three draws per day – followed by a session of tie-breakers if required, then semi-finals and finals. The round-robin will be played between 14 and 21 February. The tie-breakers will follow at 09:05 on Thursday 22 February. Also, that day will be the men’s semi-finals at 20:04. On Friday 23 February, the men’s bronze medal game is at 15:35 and the women’s semi-finals are at 20:04. Saturday 24 February sees the men’s gold medal game take place at 15:35, followed by the women’s bronze medal game at 20:04. The Olympic curling concludes on Sunday 25 February at 09:05 with the women’s gold medal final. This is the first time the women’s final has come last at the Games, since its debut in Nagano, Japan, in 1998. At the end of the round-robin the teams will be ranked one to ten, with the first ranked team playing the fourth ranked team (1v4) and the second ranked team playing the third ranked team in the semi-finals (2v3). The men’s defending champion nation, Canada will open their round-robin campaign in the first session of play on Wednesday 14 February against Italy, who recently qualified out of the Olympic Qualification Event in Pilsen, Czech Republic. Also, in that session, the hosts Korea will meet United States. Canada’s women’s team – again the defending champion nation and the current world champions – open their campaign at 09:05 on Thursday 15 February against the hosts Korea. Full Schedule: http://www.worldcurling.org/owg2018/schedule

that's the thread I'd always have liked to see in a sports forum! as a great Olympics fan, I've always had some "fantasies" about my "perfect Olympics"...some of them being absolutely crazy and "impossible", some others a lot more close to reality... this version is one of the most realistic, I guess... Aquatics - Diving [4] 3m springboard (m/w) 10m Platform (m/w) Synchronised 3m Springboard (m/w) Synchronised 10m Platform (m/w) Notes: following one of my main principles about sport...the less "judged" events there are, the better it is... Aquatics - Swimming [42] 50m Freestyle (m/w) 50m Breastroke (m/w) 50m Butterfly (m/w) 50m Backstroke (m/w) 100m Freestyle (m/w) 200m Freestyle (m/w) 400m Freestyle (m/w) 800m Freestyle (m/w) 1500m Freestyle (m/w) 4x100m Freestyle Relay (m/w) 4x200m Freestyle Relay (m/w) 100m Breaststroke (m/w) 200m Breaststroke (m/w) 100m Butterfly (m/w) 200m Butterfly (m/w) 100m Backstroke (m/w) 200m Backstroke (m/w) 200m Individual Medley (m/w) 400m Individual Medley (m/w) 4x100m Medley Relay (m/w/mixed) 10km Open Water (m/w) 25km Open Water (m/w) Notes: my other main phylosophy...men and women are different from each other (different body, different mindset, different strenght...the only common thing is that we are all human beings), so why should they compete toghether in the same event? Aquatics - Synchronised Swimming [2] Aquatics - Water Polo [2] Tournament (m/w) Archery [8] Individual Recurve (m/w) Team Recurve (m/w/mixed) Individual Compound (m/w) Team Compound (m/w) Athletics [44] 100m (m/w) 200m (m/w) 400m (m/w) 800m (m/w) 1500m (m/w) 5000m (m/w) 10,000m (m/w) Cross-Country Race (m/w) 110m/100m Hurdles (m/w) 400m Hurdles (m/w) 3000m Steeplechase (m/w) 4x100m Relay (m/w) 4x400m Relay (m/w/mixed) Marathon (m/w) 20km Race Walk (m/w) 50km Race Walk (m) Long Jump (m/w) Triple Jump (m/w) High Jump (m/w) Pole Vault (m/w) Shot Put (m/w) Discus Throw (m/w) Javelin Throw (m/w) Hammer Throw (m/w) Heptathlon (w) Decathlon (m/w) Notes: with my heart broken, but Race Walking nowadays has become a farce and doesn't deserve anymore to be called a "sport"... meanwhile it's time to get men and women equal also in the last event which it isn't yet (so, Decathlon instead of Heptatlon also for the girls)... and please...let's not feed the idiots with those senseless mixed gender events... Badminton [4] Singles (m/w) Doubles (m/w/mixed) Baseball [1] Tournament (m) Notes: to be confirmed only if all the best ball players in the worlds (meaning MLB, NPB and KBO athletes) are in... Basketball [2] 3x3 Tournament (m/w)...that's good for the youth games...maybe...for sure it has nothing to do with the real Olympics... Tournament (m/w) Boxing [13] Notes: It's clear that the Olympic short-time tournament doesn't fit the real fights (those on 12 rounds) nor will have at the start the best Boxers in the world (the best PROs), moreover it's also clear that AIBA doesn't even want to do anything about the endemic corruption within their ranks...so, even though with broken heart, let's get rid of this farce (for how it's run nowadays)... Canoeing - Slalom [4] K-1 (m/w) C-1 (m/w) Canoeing - Sprint [12] K-1 1000m (m/w) K-2 1000m (m/w) K-4 1000m (m/w) C-1 1000m (m/w) C-2 1000m (m/w) C-4 1000m (m/w) Notes: Canoeing should be completely reformed...they should choose one single "Olympic Distance" (like Rowing...I prefer the longer 1000m races, but it's just my preference) over which all the discipline's events have to be contested (and I dream that one day kayak and canadian canoe would get the perfect equality in the program, provided the necessary conditions of a good spread of women's C racing)... Cycling - BMX [4] Notes: no X-Games stuff...and, for cost containing, let's sacrify also the other discipline (even if it's a spectacular one)... Cycling - Mountain Bike [4] Men's/Women's Race (m/w) Elimination Race (m/w)...also known nowadays as Cross-Country Eliminator (also because it's a sort of replacement for the departed BMX) Cycling - Road [2] Road Race (m/w) Time Trial (m/w) Cycling - Track [16] Individual Sprint (m/w) Team Sprint (m/w) Team Pursuit (m/w) Keirin (m/w) Omnium (m/w) Madison (m/w) Individual Pursuit (m/w) Elimination Race (m/w) Points Race (m/w) Equestrian [4] Individual Dressage (mixed) Team Dressage (mixed) Individual Jumping (m/w) Team Jumping (mixed) Individual Eventing (m/w) Team Eventing (mixed) Notes: Team events in this sport don't make sense, since they are just a mere addition of Individual efforts..Dressage...well, it's just that I don't like it...and yes, I'm against mixed gender events in any case...so, separated events for men and women also here... Fencing [12] Individual Foil (m/w) Team Foil (m/w) Individual Épée (m/w) Team Épée (m/w) Individual Sabre (m/w) Team Sabre (m/w) Field Hockey [2] Tournament (m/w) Football [2] U-23 Tournament (m) Senior Tournament (w) Notes: this is the most difficult issue of all...a senior men's tournament would cannibalize the other sports at the Games, but on the other side, Football is so popular that it coan't be written off the program..so, I guess that the compromise of a men's U-23 tournament (but without any over-age quota, unlike nowadays) is the only possible solution to the problem... meanwhile for now, Women's Football tournament can still be a full senior event... Golf [2] Individual Stroke Play (m/w) Gymnastics - Artistic [14] Individual All-Around (m/w) Team All-Around (m/w) Floor (m/w) Vault (m/w) Pommel Horse (m) Rings (m) Parallel Bars (m) Horizontal Bar (m) Balance Beam (w) Uneven Bars (w) Gymnastics - Rhythmic [2] Notes: c'mon, man! again with those non-sports activities? stop! stop! stop them! Gymnastics - Trampoline [2] Notes: c'mon, Man! that's Circus material... Handball [2] Tournament (m/w) Judo [14] 7 Men's weights 7 women's weights Team Event (mixed) Karate [10] 5 Men's Kumite weights (the full Kumite program as it is now) 5 Women's Kumite weights (the full Kumite program as it is now) Individual Kata (m/w) Modern Pentathlon [2] Individual (m/w) Rowing [12] Single Sculls (m/w) Double Sculls (m/w) Lightweight Double Sculls (m/w) Quadruple Sculls (m/w) Pairs (m/w) Fours (m/w) Eights (m/w) Rugby Sevens [2] Sailing [11] RS:X (m/w) Laser (m) Laser Radial (w) Finn (m) 470 (m/w) 49er (m) 49er FX (w) Nacra 17 (mixed) Tornado (m) Star (m) Shooting [16] 10m Air Rifle (m/w) Mixed Team 10m Air Rifle (mixed) 50m Rifle Three Positions (m/w) 10m Air Pistol (m/w) 50m Free Pistol (m) Mixed Team 10m Air Pistol (mixed) 25m Pistol (w) 25m Rapid Fire Pistol (m) Rifle Running Targets (m) Trap (m/w) Double Trap (m/w) Mixed Team Trap (mixed) Skeet (m/w) Skateboarding [4] Notes: c'mon, man! you already know what's my opinion (this is NOT the X-Games!)... Softball [1] Tournament (w) Sport Climbing [4] Combined (m/w) Lead (m/w) Speed (m/w) Notes: let's respect the nature of a sport... Surfing [2] Notes: see above (Skateboarding and similar amenities)... Table Tennis [4] Singles (m/w) Doubles (mixed/m/w) Team (m/w) Taekwondo [10] 5 Men's weights 5 Women's weights Notes: just to make it a draw with Karate... Tennis [4] Singles (m/w) Doubles (m/w/mixed) Triathlon [2] Individual Race (m/w) Mixed Team Relay (mixed) Volleyball - Beach [2] Tournament (m/w) Volleyball - Indoor [2] Tournament (m/w) Weightlifting [14] Notes: sorry...very sorry...but it's obvious that this discipline has no longer anything to do with human natural performance anymore... Wrestling [18] 6 Men's Freestyle weights 6 Men's Greco-Roman weights 6 Women's Freestyle weights Additional Sport - Futsal [1] Tournament (m) Notes: hoping that one day also the women's game would develop enough to deserve a spot in the Olympic Games Additional Sport - Cricket [2] T-20 Tournament (m/w) Additional Sport - Inline Speedskating [12] 300m Sprint Time Trial (m/w) 500m Sprint (m/w) 5000m Elimination Race (m/w) 10000m Points Race (m/w) 5000m Madison Relay (m/w) Marathon (m/w) Notes: All races to be held over a 400m-Track Oval like the ones use for the more worldwide known Ice Speedskating, with the exception of the Marathon Races (to be held on the street on the Athletics Marathon's same course)... Additional Sport - Orienteering [6] Individual Sprint Race (m/w) Individual Long Distance Race (m/w) Relays (m/w)...3x the Sprint Race distance Total medal events: 316 in 33 sports (counting Acquatics and the other multi-discipline sopots as a single one) Total athletes: the limit should raise to at least 15000 (so to get rid of those farce events with only 8 or less participants) Days of competition: 19 (including Day -2, Day -1 and Day 0 before the Opening Ceremony)

no way it's gonna happen... had Armin taken this option into consideration, he would have started Hofer in 2/3 world cup stages, at least... instead, she only competed in Igls (which is basically the home track for our youngsters) at the beginning of the season and then she's gone back to the youth world cup... by the way, on our NOC website the Olympic Team already include Oberstolz/Gruber and Rieder/Rastner (+ the Fischnallers & Emanuel Rieder and Andrea Voetter & Sandra Robatscher) among the Luge starters in Pyeongchang...so, I guess there won't be a (although well deserved) chance for the teenagers Nagler/Malleier...now we can only hope in a last-minute change of mind by the Luge Directors (meaning mainly Armin Zoeggeler, who has the last word on anything about the technical decisions in the Team)... http://www.pyeongchang2018.coni.it/it/home/azzurri.html

German team is basically completed... they have Wendl/Arlt and Eggert/Benecken in the Doubles, Geisenberger + Eitberger + Hufner (Taubitz just in case...) in the Women's Singles and Loch + Ludwig + Langenhan in the Men's Singles (those 3 are officially named in the BSD-Portal in the news article about Saturday's race: here)... the Italian squad, meanwhile, is quite a mystery yet... I bet on Oberstolz/Gruber and the youngsters Nagler/Malleier getting the 2 Doubles spots... the Fischnallers are sure in the Men's Single, but frankly I don't know if they would go with Theo Gruber instead of Emanuel Rieder for the 3rd sled (I think Rieder has the advantage of a better feeling with the Korean track, as shown last year in the World Cup stage and at the start of this season in the International Training Week organized by FIL)... among the Women, my guess thay are going to select just Voetter and Robatscher (meanwhile I'd give it a shot to Verena Hofer, too...even if she's only 16 years young, she's so dominant in the youth events that she should make this Olympic experience, since it would be propedeutical for the next time round, where she's supposed to be already among the top class lugers)...

not a good show for the audience...especially when you have just 4 starters in 1 race (the women's 5k) and only 2 in the other event of the night (the men's 10k)... I really thought the US speedskating had a bit more depth than this... p.s. there's no a guaranteed place before the Canadian trials for Vincent De Haitre? he did quite well in both 1000m & 1500m this season...

wow! what a scoring machine the Canadians are... the Czechs were just destroyed as the Swiss a couple of days ago... on the other side, the Swedes took the game against the US boys a lot more seriously than the previous efforts...and they did show what they can really do...the final score doesn't tell the whole truth...the Swedish domination was absolutely unmatched for the first 53 minutes (USA had just 1 big chance before the 3-Kronor did break the game with the 3-goal storm in 2 minutes at the beginning of the 3rd period...3rd and 4th goal shorthanded! )... hopefully, tonight we're going to see someone really capable of giving Canada some troubles (when it really matters, not just in "exhibition official games" like the snowy match against the USA last week)...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darla_dirladada

well, short track is a very exciting sport...and if you have a shot at going to watch an event on site (especially if you could find a seat close to the ice sheet)...well, don't miss it...it's so impressive how fast they go and what kind of extreme balance exercise it is (those skates are scary)...

good effort by your guys...Sweden had to earn their semis spot...they had to fight more than expected... unfortunately, they're still too strong... and great game between USA and RUS...at the end of the day it was the home team to take the win, but the Russian guys did play a lot better than in the previous games and almost did create an upset to the defending champions... I'm pretty sure that with better goaltending they could have won this match (and not only this one)...

well, he definitely knows hockey... however, even if it's not the right attitude before a match like that, he surely didn't say anything that all hockey fans already knew... good for the Swiss that CAN didn't go in double digit...

Carlijn Schoutens First Skater Named To 2018 U.S. Olympic Team For Long Track The U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Long Track began today from the sold out Pettit National Ice Center with the women’s 3000m and men’s 5000m events. Carlijn Schoutens (Heemstede, Netherlands) was the first skater named to the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team, winning the women’s 3000m. Skating in the final pair with Petra Acker (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), Schoutens came out of the gates fast, knowing exactly what she needed to win the U.S. Olympic spot in the women’s 3000m. “It’s been a goal for a long time and to make it happen is just unbelievable,” said Schoutens. “I get to go to the Olympics in the 3000-meter and I couldn’t be happier.” Schoutens turned in the top time of 4:14.02, beating out second-place finisher Mia Manganello (Crestview, Fla.) who skated 4:15.73. Acker took the third-fastest spot in 4:18.84. “Once I got past the middle portion, I was feeling pretty confident. My legs were still there and I thought if I could carry it through then I would be fine.” Born in New Jersey to parents from the Netherlands, Schoutens moved back and forth between the two countries most of her life. She started skating for Team USA in the 2014 season. On the men’s side, it was 2014 Olympian Emery Lehman (Oak Park, Ill.) who came out on top for the national champion crown in the 5000m. Teamed with Jeffrey Swider-Peltz Jr. (Chicago, Ill.) in the penultimate pair, the two were chasing Ian Quinn’s (St. Louis, Mo.) time of 6:32.957. As the two battled through each 400m split often trading lead times, Lehman crossed the finish line with the night’s fastest 5000m in 6:27.906. Quinn’s time would hold up for second place and Swider-Peltz Jr. finished third in a personal best 6:34.184. “My pair with Jeffrey [Swider-Peltz] was a good pair,” said Lehman. “He pushed the pace a bit which was nice because if I had been on my own without a good pair I would have been too slow in the beginning. I usually just keep my head down until I start getting tired. I look up with four or five laps to go and then I try to drop it.” Team USA currently holds the third reserve in the men’s 5000m for the Olympics. “I’m just taking it one week at a time. Whether I skate at the Olympics in this race or not, isn’t in my hands. I just wanted to go out there and skate technically-well and have a good race, I think that happened for the most part.” The entire U.S. Olympic Long Track Speedskating Team will be formally named at the conclusion of the week’s races and will consist of a maximum of eight men and eight women skaters, subject to approval by the United States Olympic Committee. Racing continues on Wednesday, January 3 with the men’s and women’s 1000m. Live coverage of the races will be on NBCSN beginning at 6 p.m. ET. Quotes from Carlijn Schoutens “It’s been a goal for a long time and to make it happen is just unbelievable. I get to go to the Olympics in the 3000-meter and I couldn’t be happier.” “Once I got past the middle portion, I was feeling pretty confident. My legs were still there and I thought if I could carry it through then I would be fine.” “I’ve been trying a couple of different things this year (in the 3000-meter). I had a couple opportunities to practice and the option that seems to work best for me is starting out fast. I think it’s a pretty good idea for this race because it’s pretty hard to keep the speed, so the more speed you have in the beginning the more you will hold at the end. So, I started fast and held onto it as long as I could.” Quotes from Emery Lehman “My pair with Jeffrey [Swider-Peltz] was a good pair. He pushed the pace a bit which was nice because if I had been on my own without a good pair I would have been too slow in the beginning. I usually just keep my head down until I start getting tired. I look up with four or five laps to go and then I try to drop it.” “I’m just taking it one week at a time. Whether I skate at the Olympics in this race or not, isn’t in my hands. I just wanted to go out there and skate technically-well and have a good race, I think that happened for the most part.” “I think everyone went into today just trying to win and hoping that, we are second priority right now, so hoping a spot will open up (in the Olympics). If not, I just wanted to race a good 5k.” imho, Manganello was definitely unlucky not to be paired with Schoutens...their match-up would have been more fair if they had to race face-to-face...

all infos here (US NBCSN TV Schedule is in the post just above): https://www.teamusa.org/US-Speedskating/Media/2018-Long-Track-Olympic-Trials

General news: https://www.teamusa.org/US-Speedskating/News/Featured-News/2017/December/26/Long-Track-Secures-16-Quota-Spots-For-Olympic-Games Full U.S. Team athlete selection procedures: https://www.teamusa.org/-/media/US_Speedskating/Documents/Athletes/Long-Track/Rules-and-Regulations/2018-WOG-SSK-LT-ATHLETE-selection-procedures---ammended-combined.pdf?la=en&hash=8CC201D580468D206114E952AAD1D01482CD7D84&hash=8CC201D580468D206114E952AAD1D01482CD7D84 NBCSN Schedule (all times local CST) Tuesday, January 2 – 4:30-6pm Wednesday, January 3 – 5-6:30pm Thursday, January 4 – 5:30-7:30pm Friday, January 5 – 5:30-7pm Saturday, January 6 – 5-7pm Sunday, January 7 – 5-5:45pm

yeah...nice game...the Czech guys did show some character...they came from behind twice (the decider with just 2-something minutes on the clock) and in the shootout their goalie was just better than Finland's (the second goal he allowed...a really soft one, between his legs )... p.s. now Canada are just destroying Switzerland... hope it won't end up in something too humiliating for my Swiss neighbours...

quite a good miscellaneous of leagues and teams represented in this team... I'm sure they will play with great pride and they're going to be a tough opponent for all the other teams, but I don't think they have any chance to come home with a medal, this time...