Canada wins hockey gold

I'll keep this one short and sweet. In epic style, the Canadian men's hockey team captured Olympic Gold in overtime. Sidney Crosby scored the clinching goal winning it for the host nation.

This gold gave Canada 14 for the Vancouver Winter Olympics, setting the all-time record for most gold medals in one Olympic Games by any nation.

The Game was an outstanding battle between American netminder Ryan Miller and Canadian goalie Roberto Luongo.

I'm sure the streets of Vancouver and many cities across Canada will be rocking until the early hours of the morning.

This USA vs Canada game will easily go down as one of the most watched, most talked about, and most memorable sporting moments in history.

I am proud to be Canadian, for our hockey golds, 14 gold medals total, and for the outstanding Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Let the games begin.

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Canada sets host nation gold record

The host nation might not have "Owned the Podium" in overall medals, but Canada owned the most important medal count: GOLD.

Canada set the record for most gold medals by a host nation with 13, surpassing the former record shared by the USA and Norway with 10. Canada won gold medals in curling, bobsleigh, skeleton, moguls, ski cross, ice dancing, hockey, snowboard slalom, snowboard cross, short track speed skating, and long track speed skating at the Vancouver Olympics.

Thinking back to the criticism of other nations and from the Canadian Olympic Committee itself, it all seems irrelevant now. Canada did "Own the Podium" at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

More importantly, as is being shown in montage after video montage, Canada exhibited the nation's unique personality. The friendliness, respect, fair play, and kindness. From Jon Montgomery's memorable skeleton gold and celebration, to the on-ice party that commenced following the Canadian womens hockey gold, Canadians have acted as expected.

They have won gold medals, showed dedication through adversity, exhibited sportsmanship, and had fun. On the closing day of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, the host nation is celebrating great success in all facets of the Olympics.

Thank you Vancouver and Canada for hosting such an outstanding and memorable Winter Olympics.

Let the games begin.

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Joannie Rochette wins Terry Fox Award

Awarded for determination, and pushing on regardless of the obstacles an athlete faces, Joannie Rochette was the co-recipient of this year's Terry Fox Award.

Along with Slovenian cross country skier Petra Majdic, Rochette was given the Award aftering winning a bronze medal in figure skating, only days after her mother, Theresa Rochette, tragically passed away.

Majdic, who won a bronze medal in cross-country skiing, competed after falling 9-feet (3 metres) into a rocky pit during a training run. During the fall, Petra Majdic broke multiple ribs, and still managed to compete.

Rochette, shocked the sporting world by putting together two memorable performances to capture a bronze in womens figure skating. Although Petra Majdic should not be overlooked in this story, Joannie Rochette is definitely one of the Vancouver Olympic Games' most compelling stories.

Her ability to overcome what looked like impossible odds to compete, let alone win a medal, was absolutely amazing.

Canadians have experienced more gold medals, and more medals total in the Vancouver Olympics than ever before, but Joannie Rochette's bronze will be remembered long after many gold medal winners are only names in a record book.

Joannie Rochette was well deserving of this honour, which was named for one of Canada's bravest and most determined athletes.

Let the games begin.

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Give the Canadian Women a break

It's a double standard. The media backlash that has chased Canada's Womens Hockey team after their post gold medal, on-ice celebration is overblown and unnecessary.

The Team Canada women were seen on-ice drinking beer and smoking cigars following their Gold Medal 2-0 victory over the USA. Yes, the women should have kept their celebrations in the dressing room, but nothing they did was outrageous.

Look at every single Stanley Cup celebration. The boys are seen smoking cigars, drinking beer and champagne, and partying like there is no tomorrow. The same goes for any major sport. And if we want to debate the moral actions of the Olympic athletes partying in the Olympic Village, we can. The Olympic Village is known for sex, drugs, and alcohol.

What these Canadian women did was harmless. They did not hurt anyone, they did not do this for the media, they did not damage the image of the Olympic Games. Led by Haley Irwin, Meghan Agosta, and others, the Canadians were having innocent fun.

All they did was celebrate a hard fought victory. They celebrated committment, effort, dedication, and the realization of a dream. Beer and cigars? That doesn't seem outrageous.

In fact, watching the girls on ice together, looking at the pictures, the comradery and togetherness of the Canadian team is apparent and refreshing. Nothing they did was illegal. Think of it this way, only hours before, children were exposed to drunken debauchery and foul language of innebriated Canadian and American fans in the stands. These women played the game with class and deserve their moment to celebrate.

Team Canada was celebrating in front of an empty arena. No fans or children remained and only a small handful of media were present. The media needs to give these girls a break. If this were a party following the men's final, it would be accepted and likely praised.

Way to go Canada, you deserved every moment of your celebration.

Let the games begin.

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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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Canada's Golden Hockey Girls

Women's hockey took a lot of abuse at the Vancouver Olympics this year. The lack of competition is evident and the lopsided games are not entertaining.

Luckily, whenever Canada faces off against the USA, sparks are going to fly and you are guaranteed a great game. Watching the USA play Canada in the womens final shows that there is hope for womens hockey at the Olympics.

These two nations are packed with skilled hockey players and every gold medal game is epic. In this round, Canada captured another Gold in Women's Hockey, their third straight Olympic Gold.

Led by young stars Meghan Agosta and Marie-Philip Poulin-Nadeau and veterans Hayley Wickenheiser and Jayna Hefford, the Canadians were too powerful for the USA team taking home a 2-0 victory in the Gold Medal game. The shutout in net for the Canadians went to Shannon Szabados.

Unfortunately, if other nations can't match the talent of the USA and Canada, the womens game might become extinct at the Winter Olympics. Until then, we'll have to settle for amazing gold medal game, after amazing gold medal game between the USA and Canada.

Congratulations to the Canadian Womens Hockey team for winning Canada's first Hockey Gold Medal on home soil.

Let the games begin.

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Own the Podium is already a success

Let's put all the critics to rest right now. Canada's 'Own the Podium' program has been a success already.

It's true, Canada will not win the overall medal count at this Olympic Games, but relative to past Olympic Games, particularly those on Canadian soil, Canada has done extremely well.

Canada is tied for the lead in Gold medals and has several opportunities to add to that number including in curling, hockey, and speed skating.

For the head of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Chris Rudge, to come out and say that the 'Own the Podium' program was a failure, is wrong. Look at our success stories. Athletes such as Jon Montgomery and the bobsleigh team of Kallie Humphries and Heather Moyse might never have captured gold at the Olympic Games without 'Own the Podium'.

Canada sunk $117 million into athletics. Was it money wasted? I don't think so. The problem with the program was the unrealistic goals and the outrageous pressure they placed on Canadian athletes. If Canada continuosly funded athletics, not just in the few years leading up to a home Olympics, we truly would 'Own the Podium' everywhere we went.

Canada is Owning the Podium and Canadians should be proud of the dedicated athletes who are working hard to bring pride to their country. Remember, before these Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada had never won an Olympic Gold Medal on home soil. When the Vancouver Games come to a close, Canada will likely have more than 10 gold medals. That is what I call 'Owning the Podium'.

Let the games begin.

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