Vancouver Olympics Blog : CBSSports.com Blogs

Fried: My five favorite Olympic memories

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:48:20 EDT

By Ina Fried

Thinking about the top sports moments of the Vancouver Games, there are many images that stand out, but a few performances that are etched indelibly in my brain. Two of the five are events on my list were ones got to witness firsthand and two others I covered live, albeit watching on a big screen. Over the coming days, I plan to write about my top non-sports moments of the games, as well as some of the not-so-highlights.

1. The gold medal men's hockey game.

Sure, the U.S. didn't bring home the gold, but this was an incredible game that left an entire nation (and some additional millions in the U.S.) on the edge of their seats.

Curling: Sweeping across the nation

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:15:17 EST

By Brian Stubits

A Saturday night in South Florida and the line is long, with hopefuls arriving seeking entrance. Sounds pretty typical for these club-going parts.

But it's not. Not at all.

You see, these people are waiting for an instructional class on curling, a sport that has seen tremendous growth with the coverage in the Olympic Games.

Live Blog from Vancouver: USA vs. Canada

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 15:38:59 EST

By Ina Fried

Editor's Note: Ina has been in Vancouver for two weeks following the Olympics for CBSSports.com and CNET. She has one thing left to do -- watch USA vs. Canada at the Molson Canadian Hockey House and provide live updates all game (rough job, huh?) Get all your updates here: (You can also chat live with our hockey experts)

Well, that was fast, Molson already has a gold medal T-shirt available.

Meanwhile outside the hockey house hundreds mopre fans are watching on the big screen. The crowd can still be heard a football field way at the Sochi House, a pavilion celebrating the Russian city that will host the next games.

Canadian hockey vet shut out of big game

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:12:08 EST

By Ina Fried

Gordon Robertson won a gold medal in the 1952 Olympics but even he didn't land a ticket for today's big game.

It's now about two hours until game time and all of Vancouver is staking out their place to watch the gold medal hockey game.

While lots of people think they deserve tickets, Gordon Robertson has a pretty good case. He was part of the 1952 Canadian gold medal-winning team.

U.S. Bobsled Blog

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 23:46:18 EST

By Ina Fried

Editor's Note: Ina has been following USA-1 and Steven Holcomb the last few days in their quest to earn a gold medal for the first time in 62 years. Here is her recap:

Steve Holcomb stood proud as he and his four-man bobsled team were honored with the American's first gold medal in 62 years.

Then, for the press, he did his now famous Holcy dance. Unfortunately, CBS doesn't have broadcast rights, so I can't show you that.

Holcomb has team if first after two runs

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:31:24 EST

By Ina Fried

Proving that he has the rare combination of athletic prowess and computer know-how, USA-1 bobsled pilot Steven Holcomb put the four-man bobsled team in strong position to win gold in Vancouver, which would end a 62-year-gold medal drought in the sport.

After two of four runs, Holcomb's Night Train team leads by four-tenths of a second over Canada 1 and 0.44 seconds over bobsled legend Andre Lange, who is trying to be the first man to twice win the two-man and four-man events at the same Olympics.

Holcomb, who is a computer science major and Microsoft Certified Professional, has the U.S. two runs away from ending a 62-year gold medal drought in bobsled.

Notebook: Microsoft exec avoids the penalty box

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:25:08 EST

Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop looked up as he delivered a presentation to his top managers on Microsoft's campus on Wednesday.

As Elop had been speaking, one of those managers, Kirill Tatarinov, had groaned several times.

"Was it something I said," Elop asked Tatarinov, who runs a division that creates business software for midsize companies.

Sheepishly, Tatarinov confessed that he had been watching the Russia-Canada Olympic hockey game. If Tatarinov worked for some other bosses at Microsoft, that could have been what is known in Redmond as a "career limiting move." Luckily, Tatarinov works for Elop, himself a huge hockey fan.

The Olympics run on Windows (XP)

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:14:43 EST

By Ina Fried

The good news for Microsoft is that all the PCs powering the Olympics are running Windows. The bad news: it's the older Windows XP operating system.

Windows 7, it seems, was a bit too new to be used, while Windows Vista was, well, Windows Vista. So, instead, all the PCs are running an operating system that was first released before the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City.

Representatives for Acer confirmed that the more than 6,000 notebooks and desktops that they delivered to Olympic organizers were all running Windows XP.

Live Blog: United States vs. Finland

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:18:27 EST

By Erin Brown

Final: UNITED STATES 6, Finland 1 -- The United States improves to 5-0 in the tournament and advances to the gold-medal game. Patrick Kane scores twice, Zach Parise finishes with a goal and an assist, and defenseman Brian Rafalski registers two assists.

3rd period, 2:22 left: Here's an interesting bit you're bound to hear a lot before Sunday: In the five Winter Olympics held in North America, the United States has played for men's hockey gold in four of those. (1960 Squaw Valley, 1980 Lake Placid, 2002 Salt Lake City, 2010 Vancouver).

3rd period, 5:14 left: GOAL! UNITED STATES 6, Finland 1 -- Antti Miettinen's slap shot from the left circle hits Jack Johnson in the side and finds its way past Tim Thomas.

Computer geek Holcomb looking for gold

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 9:18:00 EST

It's been 62 years since the United States claimed a gold medal in bobsled.

And this year, our best hope is piloted by a computer geek, who who trains by playing video games.

So our chances are pretty good. That's because, in addition to being a Microsoft Certified Professional and admitted PC nerd, Stephen Holcomb is also the reigning world champion in the four-man bobsled.

Plus, he's got this crazy "Holcy dance" that one just has to see to believe.

Fans gather to cheer on figure skaters

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 8:43:21 EST

By Ina Fried

One of the cool things about the Vancouver olympics is practically every restaurant or bar in town is a mini-venue with a contingent of fans as passionate as any lucky enough to have tickets.

Such was the case with Thursday's ladies figure skating finals. I found myself at Character's a bar and restaurant on Davie Street.

At one table, a group of Koreans cheered on Yu-Na Kim, a national hero and leader after the short program.

Granato, nations ready for USA vs. Canada

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:59:58 EST

By Ina Fried

The next installment in the Canada vs. United States hockey battle takes place later on Thursday as the women's teams battle for the gold medal.

I had a chance Wednesday night to catch up with Cammi Granato, captain of the U.S. team that captured the gold medal in 1998 in Nagano, Japan. As for what it will take for the U.S. to win a second gold medal, Granato said the keys will be excellent goaltending and solid work on both power plays and penalty killing.

"If they just play loose," Granato said, "Canada's got more pressure on."

Notebook: 'Snow Leopard' spotted in Vancouver

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:02:22 EST

By Ina Fried

There's been a lot of attention in Vancouver about a certain Snow Leopard, but this one comes from a lot further away than Cupertino, Calif.

Ghanan skier Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, who happens to have the same nickname as MAC OS X 10.6, has one attention as the only representative from the African nation at these Winter games. The Snow Leopard is slated to race on Saturday in the men's slalom race at Whistler.

Part of his nickname comes from the fact that he supports the Snow Leopard Trust, an organization devoted to protecting the endangered wild cat.

Weir speaks out over Canadian commentators

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 1:26:45 EST

By Ina Fried

Figure skater Johnny Weir said on Wednesday that he was "pissed off" by comments made by Canadian commentators who questioned his gender, but stopped short of calling for a public apology or their ouster.

At a press conference, Weir said that he probably wouldn't go on their show, but said he supported free speech, including theirs.

But he said that their comments were offensive. "I want them to think before they speak," Weir said.

Olympic notebook: A kid's first hockey game

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:28:02 EST

By Ina Fried

A child's first hockey game is a right of passage in Canada.

And Thomas Challis, 5, of Coquitlam, got an exceptionally good introduction to big time hockey, landing the chance to go with his dad to Tuesday's matchup between Switzerland and Belarus.

Thomas' Dad, Roger, patiently explained some of the games finer points, such as the difference between linemen and referees (referees call penalties, while linesman generally do not) and why regular players have hard shin pads and goalies have big soft pads (goalies don't want to give up big rebounds that can lead to scoring chances).

Live Blog: United States vs. Switzerland

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 17:35:06 EST

By Erin Brown

Postgame analysis: Team USA escapes a hard-fought battle against the underrated Swiss to move on to the semifinals. Ryan Miller records the first shutout for the Americans since 2002, when Mike Richter whitewashed the Germans, 5-0.

Positives: Miller remains at the top of his game, but much credit needs to be given to the defensive effort in front of him. There are no official statistics when it comes to shot blocking in this tournament, but it would be a fair bet to say the Americans are among the leaders if not the top team. Today alone, Team USA players blocked at least 25 shots. They're playing desperate hockey in their end. Late in the third period (as noted below), Erik Johnson completely dropped to the ice to stop a shot by Martin Pluss in the low slot. Miller didn't even have to move. It isn't often you see that kind of play so close to the netminder.

Marty scoring machine for Swiss team

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:03:28 EST

By Ina Fried

Swiss skater Stefanie Marty is a scoring machine, a fact she proved again in her team’s dramatic shootout win against Russia to capture fifth place in the Olympic tournament.

Marty scored the team’s lone goal in regulation and also notched the shootout winner. That follows a record-breaking four goal performance against China and an earlier hat trick.

But Marty humbly shrugs off mentions of what elite company she is in when it comes to Olympic women scorers.

Chinese hockey veteran ends career with win

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:10:31 EST

By Ina Fried

Rui Sun is unlikely to become a household name. But she did end a 20-year career in organized hockey on a high note on Monday, scoring the game-winning goal and leading Team China to its first victory of the tournament.

Fighting back tears as she talked about the fact she was retiring, Sun told me she badly wanted to help her team, despite having to play through a number of injuries. As for the win, she said (through an interpreter) "Now we are kind of satisfied, note completely satisfied, but no regrets."

Sun was a fireplug for Team China, even though she didn't notch a goal until the final game. Her speed made her one to watch, even in games where China was solidly outmatched.

Olmypic Notebook: Photo finishes

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:15:51 EST

By Ina Fried

The advantage of being Omega, in addition to the branding benefit of being the official timekeeper, is you also get access to some really cool photos from the Olympic finish line.

And this year, Omega has an even more powerful 2,000-frame-per-second camera, to capture those close calls. The folks at Omega were nice enough to share some of the photos from the first week of the games, which I've put into a photo gallery.

Photo Gallery: Images of photo finishes

Olympic timing a high-tech affair

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:18:52 EST

By Ina Fried

Less than a century ago, the timing of downhill skiing required someone at the top and bottom of the run, each with a stopwatch synchronized to the time of day.

Every few skiers, the timer at the top would send down a piece of paper with the start times of the last few skiers and then some math would ensue, eventually resulting in the time of the run being calculated.

Oh, how things have changed. Not only is everything electronic, of course, but the sensors are often tied to the athletes themselves. In speedskating, racers wear a transponder that can measure not only start and finish times, but also determine other things, such as acceleration in and out of a turn. On the slopes, it is the skier's knees passing through a "snowgate" that creates a contact, instantly sending an impulse to triggers the start of the electronic timing.

Blogging from Vancouver: USA vs. Canada

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:22:15 EST

By Ina Fried

Editor's Note: Ina has been in Vancouver all week covering the Olympics for CBSSports.com and CNET.com, but tonight she takes on the ultimate task of watching the USA vs. Canada men's hockey match live at the Molson Canadian Hockey House. She will send updates throughout the night:

10 p.m. ET -- The U.S. wins as heads shake and burrows frow at Molson Canadian Hockey House. Also staying upbeat was Roundsky. "The game will go on," she said. "It's a cloud with a golden lining." The host tried to put a good spin on things too. "That's why we have beer," he said, adding, "I still believe. It's a long road, but we'll just have to walk a long road."

9:55 p.m. ET -- And a diving poke into the empty net sticks a knife in the heart of the crowd giving US a 5-3 lead with under 45 seconds left. Ridge, still calm, looks at the bright side. "There's still lots more hockey to be played before the gold medal," Ridge says. With the win, the U.S. will get a bye in the next round but Canada is not out. USA 5, CANADA 3

Olympic Notebook: Canada vs. U.S. on Super Sunday

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:23:58 EST

By Ina Fried

It's not the Super Bowl, or even the gold medal match-up, but it is most definitely Super Sunday in Canada.

That's because three epic ice hockey battles are on tap, topped by the U.S. and Canada, who square off at 4:30 p.m. PST. The match-up has taken on added importance with the host nation having needed a shootout to defeat Switzerland earlier in the week.

All of Canada is ready for Sunday's huge hockey match-up between the host nation and its rival and neighbor to the south.

Olympic notebook: Honoring Gretzky

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:55:49 EST

By Ina Fried

At a ceremony on Friday night, hockey legend Wayne Gretzky was honored for his contributions and put on the spot.

Hockey fans gathered at the Molson Hockey House downtown for a tribute to Gretzky but they also wanted to know whether the Great One thought this year's team has what it takes to win the Olympic hockey tournament. Well, rest comfortable, Canadians. he picked the home team to win gold.

Gretzky, who for many is still the face of Canadian Hockey -- praised the work of another NHL great -- Steve Yzerman -- in putting together the team that is competing in Vancouver.

Canada's Chan: Lysacek deserved gold

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:28:19 EST

By Ina Fried

When it comes to the controversy of giving the figure skating gold, Canada's Patrick Chan sides with American Evan Lysacek.

The decision to award Lysacek the gold even tough Russian Evgeni Plushenko did a quad jump drew some criticism from some corners, but not from Chan.

Gearing up for Sunday's border battle

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 20:13:59 EST

The United States and Canada are peaceful neighbors, sharing the world's longest undefended border. When it comes to the sport of ice hockey, however, there is no love between the North American rivals. It is flat-out war.

While Canada boasts more championships in its history, the competition between the two nations has become heated in recent years because of frequent matchups at other levels, such as the World Junior Championship and Women's World Championship.

Sunday marks the first Olympic meeting between the countries since the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Canadians won 3-2 to clinch the gold medal.

CBSSports.com's Erin Brown and Derek Fobe cast aside all objectivity and preview the contest from an unabashedly patriotic standpoint. Be sure to join Erin and Derek Sunday night at 7 p.m. for a live chat during the game.

Canada's Brodeur talks hockey, tech

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:24:52 EST

By Ina Fried

Team Canada goalie Martin Brodeur was in Robson Square on Friday ostensibly to talk about health and technology, but naturally the talk quickly turned to hockey and, specifically, the incredible pressure on the host nation's team to win gold.

"I think it's just normal," Brodeur told reporters. "People have been waiting for a lot of years to have these Olympics in Canada .... Expectations are high and we definitely are looking forward to the challenge. It's what we do in Canada -- we play hockey."

Brodeur, for those not keeping track of hockey, was on fire in last night's shootout, stopping everything the Swiss could throw at him as the Canadians pulled out a 3-2 victory.

Behind Canada's "own the podium" program

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 3:25:01 EST

By Ina Fried

Determined to make a better medal showing on its home soil, Canada has spent millions of dollars over the past several years in an effort to "own the podium."

And a big part of that effort has been a "top secret" program that aims to give the country's athletes better uniforms and better equipment, as well as access to technology that can help them improve their performance.

In the past five years, Canada has invested $8 million exploring anything that might give their athletes a boost, including better materials for uniforms, putting athletes through wind tunnels, and using motion-capture software to measure body position.

Canada ... a nation on the edge of its seat

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:01:19 EST

By Ina Fried

Editor's note: Ina is at the Elephant and Castle bar in Vancouver watching a 2-2 hockey game, where the entire country is on the edge of their seat. She sends reports every couple of minutes:

10:10 p.m. ET -- And the home team wins! People take pictues of the screen.

10:00 p.m. ET -- Crosby scores for Canada and the bar is nuts. Swiss still have a last chance.

Notebook: Kid reporter enjoying Games

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:23:26 EST

By Ina Fried

Working in the unofficial press center at Robson Square, Brennan LaBrie stands out a bit.

It's not just that he's blogging, doing podcasts, and posting to Twitter. It's that he's 10 years old. LaBrie was one of a dozen winners of a Time magazine "kid reporter" contest. But LaBrie was already an experienced reporter before landing the Time gig. He runs a handwritten neighborhood weekly that has roughly 250 subscribers paying 25 cents an issue.

Because his hometown, Port Townsend, Wash., is so close, the folks at Time suggested he come to the Games for a day.

Olympic Thursday: Too much to watch

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:51:33 EST

By Ina Fried

There are four TVs in the unofficial international press center and it is still not enough to capture all of the action going on right now.

On one TV is speedskating, the US is taking on Norway in hockey (leading 3-1 after the second period), and the CTV news channel is showing highlights on a third. On the fourth channel, I just saw Lindsey Vonn's chances for back-to-back golds go up in snow as she crashed after leading the downhill portion of the super combined.

Maria Riesch of Germany took the gold, Julia Mancuso of the U.S. took silver, while the fall allowed Anja Parson of Sweden to take the bronze, prompting the swede to do a belly slide on the Whistler snow.