After Olympic shun, McKeever wins gold

Winning a gold medal in the Paralympics 20-km cross country event must be a bitter sweet moment for Brian McKeever. As a visually impaired athlete, McKeever was only hours away from skiing for his country in the Olympic Games, when he was told by his coach he would not be competing.

Less than a month later, McKeever stands atop the world at the Paralympics after winning Canada's first ever Paralympic gold medal on home soil.

It isn't all smiles and congratulations for McKeever, he still has a foul taste in his mouth from the Vancouver Winter Olympics and a goal in his mind for the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

What is sad about this, is the media coverage surrounding McKeever is not for his amazing accomplishment in the Paralympics, it is because he was shunned at the Olympic Games.

McKeever is the kind of athlete children should be looking up to. He aspires to be the best, and in fact, is the best in his sport. Brian McKeever's gold medal at the 2010 Paralympics shouldn't be thought of as second rate; his first Paralympic gold on home soil is every bit as important as the Olympic Gold won by Alexandre Bilodeau.

I wouldn't count McKeever out just yet. If you know anything about the Paralympics, you'll understand that overcoming odds is just a part of the business. For McKeever, despite his visual impairment, the 2014 Olympic Games are still very much in sight.

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Why you should be excited for the Paralympics

For some people, the Paralympics might seem like a lesser version of the Olympic Games. Not so at all. The Paralympics are as fine of an example of elite sports as you'll ever see. There are many reasons to be excited for the Paralympic Games in Vancouver. If anything, these two events are a part of each other. The Olympic Games and Paralympic Games are one amazing, unifying, sporting event.

Get excited Canada (and the rest of the world). Round one was amazing, it left us with dozens of tear inducing stories, and round two is about to start. Here are 5 reasons to get excited for the Paralympic Games:

1. The Olympics were an amazing warm up: We experienced emotions related to sport over the 17 days of the Olympic Games that haven't been seen by our planet in decades. The Olympics were amazing from the opening ceremonies, to the slightly corny, yet still entertaining closing ceremony. And everything in between, well, the athletics were absolutely mind blowing.

2. Canada vs. USA Part 3: So far, the season series between Canada and the USA in Olympic Hockey is 2-0 Canada. Does that mean the Canadian Sledge Hockey team is guaranteed gold? No way. This will be another epic battle between dominant forces. Led by Canadian flag bearer and captain Jean Labonte, Canada will be desperate to win another gold on home soil. Especially if they face off against Team USA.

3. Brian McKeever will finally get to perform: After making the Canadian Olympic team and preparing for the Olympic Games, Brian McKeever was told the night before his cross country race that he would not be competing. Once hoping to become the only athlete ever to compete in both the Olympic Games and Paralympics, the legally blind cross country skier now must focus on winning gold in only the Paralympics after having his Olympic dream crushed.

4. The athletes are an inspiration: You can't watch the Paralympics without feeling at least a little inspired. These athletes don't see what they've been given as a "disibility." What they show is their amazing athletic ability. And personally, it makes me often feel like a whiner, or like I should be doing more with what I have. There is nothing about the Paralympics that is low calibre. Top athletes, using every ounce of their ability to compete.

5. There is a unique quality to Paralympic sports: The Paralympics offer several unique variations to regular sports that are both amazing and entertaining. Sledge hockey, wheelchair curling, and watching downhill skiers fly down the hill on modified skis. There is no other time of year, when these variations of sport are highlighted on such a national and international scale.

Personally, I think the Paralympics are going to be every bit as special as the Olmypic Games were. Follow Instant Replay on Twitter for Paralympics updates.

Let the games begin.

Charles Hamelin finally gets his gold(s)

After missing out on a gold medal earlier in the games, Charles Hamelin finally got his gold(s).

The Canadian from Montreal, Quebec, narrowly missed a medal in the 1000m short track speed skating event early in the Olympics after leading for much of the race.

In the 500m however, Hamelin could not be denied. Hamelin's medal was Canada's first in 500m short track speed skating since 2002. Later in the evening, Hamelin won his second gold medal of the night in the short track speed skating relay.

Hamelins medals were also important to the host nation because of the significance toward their gold medal count. Nearing the end of the Vancouver WInter Olympics, Canada is in a heated battle with Germany, Norway, and the USA for the most gold medals in the Games.

Hamelins gold medal winning relay team also included brother Francois Hamelin, Olivier Jean, Francois-Louis Trembley, and Guillaume Bastille.

With a late push, Canada could potentially beat the nation's previous record of 24 medals in the Winter Olympics.

Congratulations to Charles Hamelin and the rest of the mens speed skating team for winning Canada's 9th and 10th gold medals of the Vancouver Olympic Games.

Let the games begin.

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Joannie Rochette is skating for more than her country

As Joannie Rochette takes to the ice in womens figure skating, she is living a dream and a nightmare simultaneously. Following the tragic death of her mother Therese, Joannie Rochette is skating for more than gold in Vancouver.

Therese Rochette suddenly passed away from a heart attack in Vancouver, only two days before her daughter was set to skate in the 2010 Olympic Games.

Just by stepping on the ice at the Vancouver Olympic Games, Joannie Rochette is exhibiting a strength and courage many people do not have. Rochette's mother was integral in her rise in the figure skating world, and has been at Joannie's side every step of the way.

Although Theresa Rochette isn't beside Joannie at the Vancouver Olympics, I'm sure her presence will be felt by the 23-year-old Montreal, Quebec resident.

Joannie Rochette is not just skating for a gold medal at the Winter Olympics, in fact, that is likely the last thing on her mind. Joannie is skating for the memory of her mother.

Luckily, Joannie Rochette has the encouragement and support of an entire nation. Canada is backing her and will cheer her every move.

When the music stops on Joannie Rochette's final program at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, regardless of her results, you can bet the Canadian crowd will be cheering her as though she won the figure skating Gold. If for nothing else, they will be cheering for the golden spirit and heart this young athlete has shown in such trying times.

Let the games begin.

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Lindsey Vonn looks better in a snowsuit

It might sound strange, especially coming from a man, but Lindsey Vonn looks better in a snowsuit than she does in a swimsuit. Well, I guess it isn't a snowsuit, but she looks better dressed in ski gear, than flaunting herself in a magazine.

After suffering a pre-Olympic injury, Vonn battled a sore shin, and her critics, to take home a Gold Medal in Womens downhill skiing.

Many sports fans have argued over the last few weeks that Vonn has tarnished her sporting image by sexualizing herself in mens magazines. Lindsey Vonn seems determined to prove that she can be a fierce competitor and a sex symbol at the same time.

In a perfect world, Vonn would be popular, receive endorsements, and gain public respect for her skiing alone; however, participating in a sport like alpine skiing, where your salary is typically between tiny and none, Lindsey Vonn has stood out from the crowd. Last year, Vonn's reported income was a little over $3 million.

Not bad for a downhill skier.

Sadly, if Vonn wasn't attractive, she wouldn't be rich. This is the society we live in. Luckily for Vonn, she can deflect every insulting comment, every smack from the media, and every questionable photograph with her Olympic Gold Medal.

Personally, I think Lindsey Vonn looks better in her ski gear. She is an athlete, yes, a female athlete, but a fierce competitor, and an extremely talented alpine skier. We should celebrate her for her ability on the slopes, not for her appearance in a swimsuit.

Next Olympics, here's to hoping Lindsey Vonn keeps her clothes on and continues to knock the socks off the competition.

Let the games begin.

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What the Olympics mean to the World

After months and months of predictions, hype, and speculation, the Winter Olympics are finally here. Although the Olympic Games started on a sour note, with the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, the Winter Olympics in Vancouver promise better things to come.

In fact, the Olympics in general are a sign of world togetherness you don't often see. Where else would you see the USA standing beside Iran and North Korea? These countries aren't competing against each other out of hate; rather, they're competing in peace and sport.

The Olympic Games are unifying for all people. It's a chance for us to forget the wars we fight, the terror in our world, and to focus on a sense of togetherness that is often overlooked.

Starting with the spectacular and theatrical opening ceremonies and the lighting of the torch by hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, the Winter Olympics utlilize one of our planets greatest common grounds, sport, to bring people together...even if it is only for a few weeks.

Sure nations compete against each other, battle on the playing field, and will push, pull, and claw their way to a place on the podium; but athletes from countries at war, countries who are political adversaries, show respect and sportsmanship to each other during the Olympics.

97 nations are competing at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. 97 countries in one peaceful place for sport. I've heard people argue over and over that sports are just games, that people take athletics too seriously, and that athletics are not important.

Looking at the Olympic Games, it's obvious they are wrong. Sports can mean so much more, they can bring unity and peace. They can bring hope and inspiration. From the moment the torch is lit, to the moment the last medal is awarded, the Olympic Games are a tie that bonds all of humanity through sport.

Let the games begin.

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Money talks at the Vancouver Olympics

Flipping through the newspapers this morning, I couldn't believe how many articles I found about money and the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. It seems that people have lost their motivation to succeed for themselves, and that spending, making, and winning money, is central in the Olympics.

Case in point, an Alberta company called Fast Track Group is offering $1 million to any Canadian who wins gold in luge. Luge? Not hockey, not skiing, not figure skating...luge. The company will award the Canadian Luge Association $500,000 and give the other half to the winning luger.

And then there was an article about Own The Podium, Canada's funding program to support athletes in hopes of winning more medals for the nation at the Olympic Games. The program costs tax payers $66 million over 5-years, and this program, which is losing a portion of its money following the Games in Canada, is asking for another $22 million from the government.

I'll go on. We also have the budget for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. In a recent poll, most Canadians said they thought the games would lose money. They're probably right considering the Vancouver officials are paying $1000 per truck load of snow to stock all of Cypress Mountain, and who knows how much for the helicopter loads of snow being flown in.

And then we have the fact that this is the first Olympic Games that the Canadian Olympic Committee is rewarding medal winners with cash. $20,000 for a gold, $15,000 for a silver, and $10,000 for a bronze. I'll take one of each please.

Finally, it comes down to sponsorship. I'm not talking about Coke, or Nike. I'm talking about the fact that an amazing organization, Right to Play, was told they were not welcome at the Olympic Games because their sponsors conflicted with current Olympic Games sponsors. In case you don't know about Right to Play, they bring sport to children in areas struck by poverty, war, and disease. Just the kind of dirty organization that we should keep away from a sporting event right VANOC?

Money really does talk these days. It's unfortunate that the Olympic Games, an event that was once the world's greatest display of amateur sport, is becoming such a professional and commercial venture.

Let the games begin.

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Canada gives up on Olympic athletes

Millions and millions of dollars have been sunk into numberous Canadian athletic programs in the past years in order to help Canada make it to the podium in the upcoming 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.

At Vancouer 2010, Canada is a favorite to lead the medal count, but this will not be the case during the next Olympic Games.

Only days before the Olympic Games in Vancouver commence, Canadian Sport officials have told 37 of their top athletic trainers, strength coaches, physicians, and nutritionists, that they will be out of a job as of April 1.

Well, after years of gains in the international sporting world, I guess the 2010 Olympic Games are a one stop chance for Canadian athletes to succeed before the money disappears.

It appears Canadian officials were out for public success at the games, and didn't care about Canadian athletes after all.

Since 2005, the Canadian Olympic program pegged "Own the Podium," has provided athletes with more than $110 million worth of financial support.

I guess officials refused to not win a gold medal on home soil for the third consecutive time, after serving as the only country never to win a gold on their home soil for years. Who cares about the next Olympic Games, or the World Championships, or any other international event right?

Let's only try when the Olympic Games are in our own country. Ridiculous. Officials need to keep the trainers, coaches, and support staff in place. Without funding for these personel, most athletes, who survive off tiny sponsorships, would not be able to utilize these training services.

Go for gold Canada, and Canadians better dominate the podium this year. After all, coming April 1, Canadian athletes will lose the support and coaching that has made them successful in recent years. If you're a Canadian athlete, you should start praying for another Olympic Games on Canadian soil in the near future. Or you should start writing your Member of Parliament angry letters, whatever works best for you.

Let the games begin.

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