Month: February 2010

We’re trying out a new feature on Outsports today: Live chatting. During the U.S.-Canada gold medal hockey game, you can live chat with other readers and Outsporters about the game. Just head over to our Winter Olympics blog and you can find the chat there. If this goes well, we'll be introducing this feature for […]

We're trying out a new feature on Outsports for the U.S.-Canada gold medal hockey game: Chat with other readers! Check back here at 2:30pmET for pregame chatting with other Outsporters, and then watch the game while chatting with them! You can set an email reminder for the chat after the jump. We’re trying out a […]

This is the moment when OVF (Olympic viewer fatigue) sets in. To get some relief from the non-stop explosive action — bobsled, slalom, hockey — I buried myself in the less-explosive-but-oh-so-engrossing medal games for men's curling. The packed house, and the high energy in it, told more about how this sport is caroming its way […]

Someone had mentioned this to me a few days ago but I couldn’t believe it. Then I saw the story for myself: The native-inspired logo for the 2010 Olympics actually represents death. NPR spoke to Peter Irniq, an expert on the stacks of rocks that inspired the logo: “It’s a symbol of the fact that […]

Now, now, the headline is deliberately provocative, and a play on what I wrote for the Opening Ceremonies, which got our friends in the North so indignant. I have them on tape, so haven't started watching, but I did see that they spoofed the torch malfunction. Use this as your Closing Ceremonies thread, and I […]

Congratulations to Team Canada for its stirring, pulsating, dramatic 3-2 overtime win over the U.S. to win the Olympic hockey gold. The game winner was scored by Sidney Crosby, who beat the superb Ryan Miller in goal. It was hockey at its best. I had no real rooting interest, but was glad when the U.S. […]

After all the squawking Candians made us suffer through about how they would win the medal count, after Russia’s posturing about their goal of 40 medals in these Olympics, it’s the good guys who will win this Winter Olympics medal count. The United States of America will come away not only with its first Winter […]

Longtime friend of Outsports Larry Felzer (who organized our second Outsports convention back in 2004) has set up gay nights at the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia flyers this month, continuing the great tradition he’s established with the Phillies.But this time around it was someone with the teams, Comcast Spectacor’s Event Services Department Matt Oldsey, contacting […]

Apolo Ohno’s 8th career medal last night gave the US delegation their 34th medal of these Games, tying the most ever won by the US. The previous US record was set on home soil in 2002. It appears the US will win the medal count for only the second time in a Winter Olympics (first […]

So, I asked our Canadian correspondent Jimmy D. and Hockey Kid in Minnesota, Mikey, to write a point-counterpoint to the gold medal U.S.-Canada hockey game. Jimmy was game, but Mikey unfortunately was too busy. So then I asked Jimmy to write as if he was interviewing Mikey. He obliged, but I told him what he […]

Who knows what the final score will be, but the U.S. men's hockey team leads Finland, 6-0, after 13 minutes of play. It's absurd. How do you say "quitting, choking dogs" in Finnish? Update: The final was U.S., 6-1, which sets up a gold-medal showdown against Canada. Team Frozen North led Slovakia, 3-0, then allowed […]

Norway’s Odd-Bjoern Hjelmeset won a silver medal as part of the men’s 4×10 cross-country relay, but that’s mainly because teammate Petter Northug skated an insane last leg that pulled his team from sixth to second. Via Sports Illustrated, we learn that Hjelmeset blames too much porn for his lousy effort. From the Vancouver 2010 quote […]

Last night, Kim Yu-Na's gold medal capped the rise of Brian Orser as one of the world's stellar figure-skating coaches. Outed in 1998 by a partner lawsuit, Orser has since embraced his orientation openly, becoming (among other things) an ambassador for the Outgames. Being out hasn't hurt his recent career — he remains one of […]

Okay, so shoot me for not getting into the Winter Olympics until the US shocked the Canadians on Sunday in hockey. So in my research, I discovered Steven Holcomb. Oh. My. God. This man is drop dead gorgeous. In fact… I’ve actually written poetry about him. So now I present to you a sonnet, Ode […]

There would be no Olympic Games without television. It's that simple. The sale of broadcast rights by the IOC to networks around the world represent by far the largest revenue stream available to the Olympic Movement. And the multi-billion dollar contracts negotiated with American broadcasters–most recently NBC–is far and away the most lucrative of those. […]

Re the Vonn/Mancuso incident in the giant slalom yesterday: As usual, the media are trying to squeeze a tabloid story out of the personalities involved — Mancuso's ruffled feelings and the rivalry between the two women. Personally, I am wondering why the media aren't looking at officials who sent the next skier down the hill […]

Figure skater Johnny Weir held a press conference yesterday to address the homophobic remarks made by various sports commentators directed squarely at him. “I want them to think before they speak. I want them to think about not only the person they’re talking about, but also other people like that person,” he said. “What people […]

OK. I’m not the biggest hockey fan, as previously mentioned in article written by Jim, but even I know when someone does something dumb. Canada won the gold medal for the third straight Olympics in women's hockey, beating the U.S., 2-0. That's awesome. But then the women lost all common sense. Members of the team […]

The ladies figure skating final tonight was the truly the show of shows. We watched a former world medalist crumble, another move up, one skater who made history, another who had to overcome gut-wrenching grief and the crowing of a new queen. This was the first final I have had the opportunity to attend at […]

A few days ago, a few French-Canadian TV commentators started to talk about Johnny Weir, and how he should be gender tested. In Vancouver, Weir addressed those comments (see previous post) after a public apology was made by the radio station president. Weir talked about how they insulted him as an individual, that it was […]