Winter Olympics 2006 - Torino, Italy

[Panadol]

it is unacceptable. Sad. For team canada, NHL pros to get beaten twice and shut out like that...wtf are they doing?

There is ONLY ONE Ice Hockey Team Canada. The women's gold means nothing. The REAL TEAM CANADA sucks...no one cares about the women except themselves.

Those stupid guys are trying to play the fancy european game. They have to play to win, The NORTH AMERICAN hitting physical game. Hit those damn Frenchies, swiss, germans, swedes, and finns, and those pesky russian commie wanna be bastards. Hit them hard. Show them North American Muscle. Not some pansy sissy finesse euro trash nonsense.

I am the most racist person. Screw u if you dont' like it.

The Canadian team has big and physical players, hit and slow down the quick europeans. Mess up their morales by tiring them out through physical hard hitting. If you can't outskate or out manoeveur them, then hit them hard, so they can't skate or move as freely. If you have a 6'6 guy and 6'4 guy like Pronger and Blake, they should use their size and strength to out muscle the other guys. Knock them down hard.

sometimes taking a penalty and hitting the other player so hard they feel pain is better than letting them score.

[Moinllieon]

How ironic that Nash has no finishing touch eh? He who won the Richard trophy before. Right now, nothing is going Canada's way. At least if they could have lost 2-1, 3-1 or even 5-2 you know? They absolutely can't score and rarely have a good shot. Most of the shots have been from the outside with no good angle. They just can't penetrate. It's very frustrating watching them.

I think it's b/c Janet Gretzky has money on the Under.

[Yu W3i]

Wah canada sucks!!! china suck as well

[superkaratemonkey]

To be honest, I think Gretzky and company chosed players based on past performance and not what happened this year. There's no way Staal and Spezza shouldn't be on the main squad. There's no way any of the Tampa boys should be on the team. There's absolutely no way that Bertuzzi should be on the team either. The way Iginla played this year, even he doesn't deserve to be on the team. Both Blake and Foote shouldn't be on the team from their performance base on this year as well. McCabe???? Come on. Phenauf should be on the team. Pronger is sucking big time. He's too slow and takes too many dumb penalties. Did you noticed that Koviu and Selanne were skating circles around Pronger all game? Both Pronger and Blake are absolutely useless on the point. McCabe should be on the point, not Richards. That's the only thing McCabe is good for and Quinn doesn't put him there.

Still, you think with the roster the Canadians have (the whole NHL salary of the Canadian team costs $108 mil US), they would be much better than this.

well u cant really blame gretz for picking the players he had success w/ b4. experience is highly regarded when they pick players. they'd rather go w/ a proven gold medal winner then a hot rookie. im not sayin i agree or disagree, its just the way it is. some ppl think phaneuf/staal/crosby/spezza should be on the team, but i dunno how much difference they would make. r they better player rite now then blake/sakic/thornton? its not clear at this point imo. this team is capable of more, if/when they deliver everybody will say "what a great selection for team canada".

also, i dont think its as easy to hit the other players as somebody here suggested. the ice surface this yr is bigger then salt lake, which means dat if u cant skate, u cant hit either (cuz u cant hit wat u cant catch). look at finland, aside from ruutu, who really hits on dat team? yet they r successful becuz they play great in a system. in a short turney like this, u dont have time to get chemistry, so u rely less on skill and more on your system to beat the other team. canada doesnt have a great system, dats y players get confused as to where they should be/go, and dats y they look slow and lazy.

btw, koivu is amazing in international hockey! him ans selanne are money in olympics! i predict koivu to be top 3 in pts again. go saku go (hes one of my fav player)

[Panadol]

Yeah screw those frenchies and their stupid olympic rules. They should play hockey like the NHL. Someone should change the size of the hockey rink. Hockey is a tough and gritty sport like in the NHL not like some fancy stupid prissy European sport like soccer.

[Moinllieon]

Yeah screw those frenchies and their stupid olympic rules. They should play hockey like the NHL. Someone should change the size of the hockey rink. Hockey is a tough and gritty sport like in the NHL not like some fancy stupid prissy European sport like soccer.

Is that why the NHL just switched their rules so they can play more like the International style, allowing 2 line passes, cutting down on off-puck physical contacts, and going to a shootout?

[Panadol]

Is that why the NHL just switched their rules so they can play more like the International style, allowing 2 line passes, cutting down on off-puck physical contacts, and going to a shootout?

yeah i know they did...it should have been the other way around...though i do like the shootout.

still i'm gonna be a real american and blame the damn french lol.

[Bai Qi44]

well u cant really blame gretz for picking the players he had success w/ b4. experience is highly regarded when they pick players. they'd rather go w/ a proven gold medal winner then a hot rookie. im not sayin i agree or disagree, its just the way it is. some ppl think phaneuf/staal/crosby/spezza should be on the team, but i dunno how much difference they would make. r they better player rite now then blake/sakic/thornton? its not clear at this point imo. this team is capable of more, if/when they deliver everybody will say "what a great selection for team canada".

Yeah except Gretzky never had success with most of these players. Tampa boys, Bertuzzi, Heatley, Thornton, Nash, Redden, etc weren't at the last Olympics. Tama boys got picked only because of their Stanley Cup run and none of them have been doing well this season. One player they should've picked should be Shannahan. The guy has leadership and judging from his play this year, age is not a factor. Crosby would mean dip squat to team Canada, but Spezza would be magic with Heatley for obvious reasons. Staal is a one man wrecking crew. He can do it by himself. I just found out that Pronger is playing injured (and I think Blake is too) and with several big D's already down, our defense doesn't look as good anymore. If only Nediermayer wern't hurt, he'll help us tremendously.

also, i dont think its as easy to hit the other players as somebody here suggested. the ice surface this yr is bigger then salt lake, which means dat if u cant skate, u cant hit either (cuz u cant hit wat u cant catch). look at finland, aside from ruutu, who really hits on dat team? yet they r successful becuz they play great in a system. in a short turney like this, u dont have time to get chemistry, so u rely less on skill and more on your system to beat the other team. canada doesnt have a great system, dats y players get confused as to where they should be/go, and dats y they look slow and lazy.

The way the refs are calling these games, I don't want our players to hit. It seems like every hit is an automatic penalty. Yeah, Switzerland and Finland are playing Minnesota Wild hockey. Canada's players play as individuals and not as a team. This has got more do with Pat Quinn.

btw, koivu is amazing in international hockey! him ans selanne are money in olympics! i predict koivu to be top 3 in pts again. go saku go (hes one of my fav player)

Well, a guy like John Madden (don't know if he's Canadian or not) in his prime would be more beneficial to have for just going and shutting down guys like Koviu and Selanne. Draper isn't the guy. Although I do like it when Draper kills penalties, but really he's pretty much useless. Him and Doan both.

Canucks 21. I agree, but Nash who won the Rocket Richard only had 41 goals that season. That was the most pathetic season I've ever seen in terms of goal production by any individual player. No way should the league be lead by 3 guys who only scored 41 goals each. I just sigh whenever I hear people say "Nash, Iginla, and Kovalchuk" winning the Rocket Richard trophy last season cause all they did was score a lousy 41 goals each. That's pretty good, but a pathetic number to lead the league.

[dan J]

Well, boxing judges only count the number of hits landed...

and you would think that's a fairly straight foward thing to do ... but ...

[kacheek]

i like to watch figure skating the most coz i get to see how well they can dance on ice.

[Bai Qi44]

yeah i know they did...it should have been the other way around...though i do like the shootout.

still i'm gonna be a real american and blame the damn french lol.

You're confusing me. It seems like you're cheering for team Canada, but you're saying you're American??? Shouldn't you cheer for the US team, who's been doing even worse than Canada.

Anyway, Canada is up 3-0 against Jgar and company after 1 period. Yipee! Too bad 2 of those 3 goals should've never gone in. Vokoun is sucking big time. Anyway, I'm going to play some Olympic hockey on NHL 2006.

[KJ]

Well, boxing judges only count the number of hits landed and not award points for style and grace of punches, unlike figure skating. I always thought it would be better if Boxers wore gloves with some kind of sensitivity device on them so that we can just eliminate the judges all together. They are not needed.

Who says they only judge the number of hits landed? If that's the case, then we don't need judges since there are the CompuBox numbers, which are not 100% accurate, but more accurate than a human eye during the course of a fight.

I believe boxing judges are more subjective (who has more control in the round, landing harder and cleaner punches, etc) than objective (who lands more punches).

[Bai Qi44]

Who says they only judge the number of hits landed? If that's the case, then we don't need judges since there are the CompuBox numbers, which are not 100% accurate, but more accurate than a human eye during the course of a fight.

I believe boxing judges are more subjective (who has more control in the round, landing harder and cleaner punches, etc) than objective (who lands more punches).

It is number of punches landed (but like you said it has to be cleaned), however, if there is a block, then that hit doesn't count. Hmm.... I guess you have to have sensitivity blockers on certain parts of the boxer if you're going to have sesitivity devices on the gloves. Anyway, boxing is a sport and judges don't make decisions on who wins base on grace. The same can not be said about figure skating, which is more of an art. My main point is that I do not consider figure skating a sport. I would like to see figure skaters throw body checks at their opponents and whoever stands at the end, wins. Now, that would be a sport!

[dan J]

It is number of punches landed (but like you said it has to be cleaned), however, if there is a block, then that hit doesn't count. Hmm.... I guess you have to have sensitivity blockers on certain parts of the boxer if you're going to have sesitivity devices on the gloves. Anyway, boxing is a sport and judges don't make decisions on who wins base on grace.

actually, KJ is right, boxing is scored based on clean punching, knockdown, effective aggressiveness, ring command and defense. while clean punches and knockdown are heavily weighted, in a close fight, it is quite subjective. it's more about who the judges 'feel' is winning. sometimes you end up in split decisions.

[Moinllieon]

Boxing is NOT judged by punches landed, it's judged by "who won that round"? The person judged to have won that round gets 10 points, the person who lost gets points depending on how he did in that round. If the loser wasn't knocked down, he gets 9 points, and for every time he is knocked down in the round, he gets one point deducted. There are rare occurences when the round is judged to be a tie and both boxers gets awarded 10 points. What about that isn't subjective? Sugar Ray Leonard played that system to beat Marvin Hagler by winning the last 10 seconds of a round during which he was utterly dominated to leave the best last impression on the judges.

Amateur boxing is slightly less subjective. It involves 3 judges pressing a button when they see a "scoring punch". Which consists for a clean punch to the face/cheek. If enough judges pressed the button within a period of time, then the boxer scores a point. In the end, the boxer with the most points win.

Again, very subjective.

I'd still go with: punch until you drop.

[Bai Qi44]

If boxing is judged by who won what round, then why is there even a hit count? I don't get it. How do you know who won that round? Harder punches so judges make a decision even though boxer a hit more than boxer b, but boxer b hit harder than boxer a? I get the judges making decisions if the fight is too close to call after 12 rounds, but I think this is too primitive and not fair. No decision should ever be made by humans when it comes to sports. WWE <--- fixed. Boxing - judge's decision <--- fixed. I like my idea better with the sensor stuff and the elimination of judges.

When boxing becomes a winter Olympic sport , I'll discuss it further, but right now let's get back to the winter Olympics and let's not hijack this thread.

Anyway, Canada beat the Checzhs 3-2 with a pathetic display of an effort. If they play like this against the Russians tomorrow, we're smoked! We have no offense and only the St.Louis line look good today. Two of our 3 goals were more flukes than anything.

The Swedes are throwing away their game with the Slovaks (and I don't blame them) just so that they can face the weak Switzerland team.

The Russians have completely outplayed the States, but only lead by one goal so far.

Finland beat Germany, but it was a meangingless game no matter what happens in other games.

Oh yeah, Switzerland tied Italy proving just how weak they are.

[Yu W3i]

there are so mant rules. GRRRRRR

[Moinllieon]

If boxing is judged by who won what round, then why is there even a hit count? I don't get it. How do you know who won that round? Harder punches so judges make a decision even though boxer a hit more than boxer b, but boxer b hit harder than boxer a? I get the judges making decisions if the fight is too close to call after 12 rounds, but I think this is too primitive and not fair. No decision should ever be made by humans when it comes to sports. WWE <--- fixed. Boxing - judge's decision <--- fixed. I like my idea better with the sensor stuff and the elimination of judges.

The same reason why there is a column for "hits" in the baseball box scores even though what really counts is "runs". The same reason why people keep track of how many yardages a RB gains when the game is about points. The same reason why people care about "rebounds".

As for how you know who "won" a round? Well, that's just darn well subjective isn't it? Personally, I thought Hagler won more rounds than Leonard, but 2 out of the 3 judges did not agree with me. Them's the breaks. As for sensors, well.. it could be nice, but I have some reservations, as always.

[Panadol]

Well I was born in Canada, I have an American Citizenship, work and live in America. BUt I am moving back to Canada, so I don't know what I am.

Those Russians are mighty dangerous. Still The RUSSSIANS ARE THE BAD GUYS! have to cheer for Canada.....

Russians should not be allowed to win the gold medal.

[superkaratemonkey]

Yeah except Gretzky never had success with most of these players. Tampa boys, Bertuzzi, Heatley, Thornton, Nash, Redden, etc weren't at the last Olympics. Tama boys got picked only because of their Stanley Cup run and none of them have been doing well this season. One player they should've picked should be Shannahan. The guy has leadership and judging from his play this year, age is not a factor. Crosby would mean dip squat to team Canada, but Spezza would be magic with Heatley for obvious reasons. Staal is a one man wrecking crew. He can do it by himself. I just found out that Pronger is playing injured (and I think Blake is too) and with several big D's already down, our defense doesn't look as good anymore. If only Nediermayer wern't hurt, he'll help us tremendously. .

i thot the Tampa trio was in the World Cup? if i remember correctly, vinny lecavalier was mvp and richards and st louis played well. and despite their struggles this yr in the nhl, richard is still averagin over a point per game. spezza and heatley probably wont be as good w/out alfredson there, i think alfredson is gotta be a hart trophy nominee base on his play this yr, he carries his line like nazzy did a few yrs ago. staal should be on the team, but it'll be tough to take out 1 of sakic/thornton/lecavalier/richards tho.
i agree w/ u tho, our D looks very weak rite now. j-bo is not even close to replacing neidermayer, regher looks slow and out of place, mccabe have to rely to holding to not get beat, and pronger/blake arent playing like the norris trophy player that they are. they have to turn it around fast or else....

Well, a guy like John Madden (don't know if he's Canadian or not) in his prime would be more beneficial to have for just going and shutting down guys like Koviu and Selanne. Draper isn't the guy. Although I do like it when Draper kills penalties, but really he's pretty much useless. Him and Doan both. .

dont 4get, draper was a selke trophy winner, he knows how to shut down a line if given dat role and opportunity.

Canucks 21. I agree, but Nash who won the Rocket Richard only had 41 goals that season. That was the most pathetic season I've ever seen in terms of goal production by any individual player. No way should the league be lead by 3 guys who only scored 41 goals each. I just sigh whenever I hear people say "Nash, Iginla, and Kovalchuk" winning the Rocket Richard trophy last season cause all they did was score a lousy 41 goals each. That's pretty good, but a pathetic number to lead the league.

41 goals isnt bad in this era, u cant compare w/ the 80s or even early 90s. goals r harder to come by these days