Torino 2006

Torino 2006 Skeleton Gold Medalist athlete Duff Gibson chats with Olympic Outsider host Dave Thorvald about having a beer named after him, life as a Calgary fireman, being Canada's (and the world's) oldest gold medalist, training for technical and speed courses, the Whistler track, athletic challenges and the future of the sport at an Olympic rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery in May 2006.

Download The Duff Man! - Olympic Laughs with the Superhero Skeleton-ist Duff Gibson
(.mp3, 8MB, 9:53)

I've noticed various errors and ommissions by the big-time media during the Winter Olympics (nowhere near as many as i make of course but ...).  Didn't screen caputre ESPN listing Jeremy Wotherspoon as USA but did catch CBC recalling Saku Koivu's days playing for the Czechs (attached .pdf).

Host Dave Thorvald with Dan Funboy wrap up the Men's and Women's hockey tournaments from Torino 2006 in this enhanced podcast with pictures. 

Topics include team leadership, puck possession, tactical strategies, tournament surprise teams, and a bit of looking ahead to 2010.

Grab thew show:
Olympic Outsider Episode 6 - Hockey Tournament Wrap-up  (m4a)
Olympic Outsider Episode 6 - Hockey Tournament Wrap-up  (mp3)

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Olympic Outsider Episode 5 - Wrapping Up XX Part 1 

Host Dave Thorvald with Dan Funboy and buddy Lance wrap up the performances of Torino 2006 with emphasis on Team Canada's athletes.

Topics include notable Men's and Women's performances in Luge, Skeleton, Bobsled, Curling, Short-Track Speedskating, Long-track Speedskating, Alpine Skiing, Nordic Skiing, Biathlon, Freestyle Skiing, and Snowboarding.  Plus banter on doping measures, police raids, sportsmanship, new sports, and herbal remedies.

This 38:18 long podcast is enhanced with 'chapters' for your listening convenience. 

Grab thew show:
Olympic Outsider Episode 5 - Wrapping Up XX Part 1  (m4a)
Olympic Outsider Episode 5 - Wrapping Up XX Part 1  (mp3)

That was a painful segment promoting Vancouver.  C'mon organizers, that was puzzling, weak, uninteresting and unfocused.  Giant fake snow blocks making a stone monument ... huh?  We can do better! 

and Avril!  What happened to the cool punky chick?  What's with the Farrah Fawcett hair and froofy look?  Looks like the 3rd Olsen twin.  Get the handlers away from her!  Should have got a BC artist (like DOA but not Bryan Adams) or even Barenaked Ladies (they were classic at SLC).  Sam did all right though.

Overall, Ugh.  Embarrassing.  Vancouver is so much cooler then they showed and this is B.C.'s games, not 'Canada's' per se.  Let BC show off, no reason to include shots of Toronto in the cheesy montage.

VANOC clearly needs some folks with artistic sensibilities on staff.  Comments?

What was up with the security breach with the t-shirted guy running upon stage during the Torino Organizing Committes' President's speech?  Anyone catch what he said or what was on his t-shirt?  Any other security/protest issues of note on the ground?

I find it very interesting how the Village People were able to unite the people of the world. I have been watching snippets of the closing ceremonies in Torino but my jaw dropped when the dancers in the stadium started to "break out the moves" when the YMCA song started.

The camera work on the CBC was scanning the crowds and, to my astonishment, people were doing the YMCA moves! Flags from all over the world were being tossed around YMCA excitement.  Canada, Italy, USA, Russia, and others were waving their flags to the YMCA.  The friggin' YMCA song!

I exclaimed:  "See! There is world peace in front of our eyes and everyone is missing it!"

How is this possible?  A dance tune has broken down years of suspicion and history in a few seconds?  I am forced to conclude, the human race should play the YMCA song all around the world and everyone will be able to put aside their differences and boogie down.

The amazing things we can discover from the Olympics. 

Just an early morning note to say that a fine game between neighbors Sweden and Finland provided a fitting end to an Olympics of unknowns and intrigue.  Several Vancouver Canucks coming home with medals, as well as a few with injuries.

Overall for Canada, a bit sweet (24 medals including curling and lots of speed skating) and a bit bitter (wither Wotherspoon, Men's hockey, lots of 4th places) but all in all outstanding results abounded. 

While CBC's coverage was better than NBC, it wasn't near enough and i am glad i will be in person in Vancouver 2010 and i wish there were more fan-podcasts rather than the corporate pablum-casts rehashing the same schnews.

I spent the last couple of days cross-country skiing, hottubbing and snowboarding (ouch) but will be posting an extended Olympics Outsider wrap-up cast in the next couple of days hopefully with Dan Funboy's loquaicous insight.

If you watch TV coverage of the Olympics, you see coaches, fans and friends taking videos and photographs of the Olympics. Yet next to none of that is on the web, aargh.

START OF RANT:

Like Arieanna and Boris, I want the raw and the cooked and I am willing to pay for it.

I want the established media's Q&A, high gloss stuff.

I want the raw video, text, photos, audio from the fans, coaches and friends of the athletes.

In other words, I want the everything there is available for the Olympic events I am really interested in.

For example, I am a cross country skier. So for Chandra Crawford's win in cross country pursuitsprint (Chandra's CBC web forum):