Canadian Olympic Curlers Make Playoffs

Hello. Congratulations to both Team Gushue and Team Kleibrink for making the Olympic playoffs. After some disappointing losses (Gushue lost to Italy, Kleibrink to Japan), they came through when they had to. Both teams avoided tiebreakers, which I'm sure is a big relief as health issues have affected both teams. Here's hoping they come out on top in their semi-final games, as that would ensure they would get at least a silver medal.
I can now say the Canadian alpine teams have moved from "bad" to "good" on my list. 3 4th place finishes and some other top 10s hopefully mean they'll be medalling in 2010.
I'm still hurting from the fall Marie-France Dubreuil took in the ice dance on Tuesday. I'm not surprised she couldn't skate today. To hit the ice from that height with no padding has to be painful. She was fortunate to not have any broken bones.
Congrats to Cindy Klassen for another speedskating silver medal. 3 medals in a Games is a tremendous accomplishment. While I think Duff Gibson will carry the Canadian flag in the closing ceremonies, I believe you will be the leading candidate for flagbearer in Vancouver.
Unfortunately Jeremy Wotherspoon makes my "ugly" list for his 1000m performance. This guy is supposed to be a threat in every race. After 600m he had the time to beat. Then as my mom said, he faded faster than ice cream in the summer sun. If you do come to Vancouver, Jeremy, please first share a sports psychologist specializing in peaking at the Olympics with Emanuel Sandhu. Hopefully both of you will get the performances you're capable of.
Also moving to my "ugly" list is Tanith Belbin. Why? Certainly not because of appearance, or where she's from (I have relatives in Gananoque, where her relatives are). Why was Tanith skating for the USA? Why wasn't she in the Canadian skating program with a male Canadian skater for the past 6 years? In a word, ugly. Fix the system!
Finally a big "ugly" to all overwhelming favourites in general and the Canadian men's hockey team in particular. If you want a lesson on how to perform as a favourite, look at the Canadian women's hockey team for your role model. These ladies know how to play as a team, and how to use their talent to dominate. They took a Swedish women's team on a real high from defeating the USA (congrats Sweden on your silver) with a hot goalie today and ran away from them on their way to Olympic gold. Fix the system to get your athletes focused coaches!
Happy rest of the Winter Olympics everyone.

Regards,
Steve