JohnF

Ask for a refund. JF

How do you determine how much room to leave downstream? JF

Sometimes these restoration jobs are about the fun, the satisfaction of resurrecting something nice. The nicest sled I ever had was also one of the slowest and took the most work. It was a '70 292 Blizzard that I reconstructed after a few years hard track years. It was my favourite of all the sleds I owned, I think mainly because of the work I put into it. And any of you who've done frame up car builds understand the feeling. I helped put a '28 Chev body on a Ford frame with a 283 driveline. It took us all winter and a lot of work but were we ever proud of it. I think that if we only look at the dollars we'd just buy what we want but what fun is that? JF

And now that the officials have demoralized all the US goalies by making them cover up stuff on their nifty new helmets we'll have the edge. JF

That didn't say it included brokerage fees. They're the killer. I've been down that road with scuba gear in the past. JF

No argument about the Russians. But a lot of observers were a little surprised at how ineffectual they looked in Game 1. Any team that went up against them not expecting a tough game would be stupid. Canada appeared to be using that first game to get a feel for lines, figuring out who paired up best. Gonna be some fun hockey to watch over the next couple of weeks. And I checked out Getzlaf. He's an old creaky 24 with 4 years pro experience. I'm sure they've already fitted him up with a special pylon orange sweater since there are all of 4 Russians younger than him and one of them's a goalie. JF

I like to deal in facts (sometimes) and here are a few facts I discovered by looking up the rosters for Team Canada and Team Russia. Our goaltenders have an average age of 32, the Russians 29. They win the youth award there but is 29 really that young in modern professional hockey? Our D-men average 30 while the Russians average about 9 months more. Point to the Canucks there. Frankly I'd rather have big smart old D-men though. Canuck forwards average 3 months over 27 while the Russians are 3 months short of 30. Looks like you really choked on that one. Youth and good wheels up front are great. I'd say our boys have just the right blend of youth and experience to do fine so hopefully they won't let their old age impede their success. BTW The youngest players are Doughty (Cdn), a Russian goalie & Toews are a year older than Drew, then Crosby. The oldest players are a Russian forward born in '69, Brodeur '72, Niedemeyer '73, then a Russian D and Pronger '74, sounds pretty even with perhaps a slight edge to Canada. Personally I think Pronger's a jackass but he is still a helluva D-man. I just noticed that Getzlaf isn't on my list. Perhaps he's older than he looks and will raise the average up high enuf to work for you. The rosters I used are from the internet and there may have been changes but the Canuck names all sound familiar so my "facts" should be pretty good still. JF

Ah, the wisdom of youth. JF

Along that same line I've been really impressed (proud - whatever) with our Canadian athletes who've been winning. They have really done a good job of representing the Canadian persona (the one we'd like folks to see). They've been modest, polite, unassuming, and grateful. I'm talking mostly about the baggy pants set, the boarders and mogul racers. On a petty personal note I was more than happy to see the American board crosser, Holland, crash and burn. I know I should be a bigger man but I'm so glad that tubby little walking mouth isn't one of ours. On the other hand some of the American kids have been great. Anyway, in the face of the criticism being tossed Canada's way for our newfound cockiness (Own The Podium etc) it's nice to see that our winners are really nice kids. I like the new national pride thing. I've never liked our national inferiority complex. It's about time we showed some nads on the national stage, and backed it up. That's my 2 cents worth. YMMV. JF

Old guys? What planet are you watching hockey on? JF

The Russians had better get with the program before they meet Canada then. By all accounts they didn't look brilliant in their first game. JF

I don't know this for certain but I suspect that many of the players you'll be watching are being paid to play hockey somewhere. Europe has pro teams galore. The Russian hockey league is paying big bux. It's not just hockey that's been bought out either. I've read or heard snowboarders describe themselves as professionals. The American kid with the long red hair flies by helicopter to his private fullsized halfpipe in the mountains somewhere. There are curling teams who are paid to do nothing but curl for their country. The day of the true amateur is dying fast if not already dead. It's understandable though as there's no way modern athletes can fund their own training and equipment costs and hope to be competitive. One need only look at the NCAA to know there's big money in "amateur" sports. JF

Some of those sites are restricted to Canadian IP addies. I discovered that in the States & Mexico when I tried to watch the Junior hockey. JF

I didn't get that from it at all. To me it was just a spot on jibe at those who think there's something wrong with us Canucks being polite at times. And though I can't say I'm completely comfortable with our new cockiness about "owning the podium" etc I do kind of get a kick out of the British (and a few Canuck) journalists who think it's awful for Canadians to be so bold. I agree with whoever it was who said "Fortune favours the bold". Polite is great in a social context but it really sux in snowboard cross, or in hockey as our boys found in the first period tonight. I see they've become a tad rude, and are winning now. I'll go with bold for competition and polite for social situations. I was interested to note that most American commentator/writers also liked the new Canuck persona. JF

Canada/Norway CTV 7:30 JF

I've been watching live streaming Olympics coverage (curling, hockey & snowboarding) on CTV and TSN but when I tried to watch the Junior Hockey tournament on TSN while I was in Mexico it was blocked outside Canada. JF

Thanks for posting that. I really liked hearing it recited at the opening but missed parts of it. JF

I'm picturing a guy pulling condoms onto his arms and legs .... JF

I can't bring Fla or Cali oranges back into the States either. There must be some kinda logic in laws like that. JF

The internet has probably had a lot to do with changing the role of these shows. Also the emergence of the outdoorsy supermarkets like Basspro and Cabelas. The shows are probably best seen now as a source of entertainment, a few hours immersed in all things fishy, meeting friends new and old, seeing the tv celebs in the flesh, checking out some of the new boats and motors, perhaps seeing some of the latest innovations that are coming on the scene. No longer are they likely to be a bargain mart for lures, rods and reels. Oh, there may be the odd good deal that didn't already get internet exposure, but for the most part the shows will be more about a winter's day of fishy fantasizing. JF

I've never snowboarded but I think that's a great event. I also really liked the moguls, and not just because we got medals. JF

Some of you might have to talk to yerselves if all the Olympics fans had to do that, but hey, it's one way of being right all the time. JF

The American is the fish carver. JF

If I was working nights or whatever shift during which an event is finishing I think I'd like to leave the radio off and hope to be able to enjoy the excitement on PVR or whatever. I plan to record some hockey games and hopefully no one will spoil those results for me. Kinda sux to sit thru a game when you know how it finishes. JF

Ummm. That could be after our bass opener. jf