Curlers, Hockey Teams Get Ready for "Must Win Wednesday"
The round robins are over for Olympic curling and men's hockey. It's time for "must-win" Wednesday.
In a way, it's cruel. The hockey teams have played 5 games to position themselves. The curlers have played 9 games. Yet now, it's a "sudden victory" situation - win or go home. For the teams that have struggled, it's a new chance. For the teams who have dominated, there must be some nervousness. From now on, no one will care what you've done.
The worst example of how devastating a loss can be now is the 2002 Sweden men's hockey team. They were destroying opponents until their quarter-final game against Belarus. A 4-3 loss opened the door for Canada to win gold. If Sweden had won that game, I believe they would've been favoured for gold.
Canada now plays the Russian hockey team. It's anybody's game, as the rivalry removes any talent advantage. The Russians have nothing to lose, because Canada was one of the pre-tournament favourites. I expect Russia to play tough, and maybe pull out the win. A loss for Canada would be utter disappointment as no medals would accompany the team home.
In curling, the Canadian women play Switzerland. Hopefully the day's rest will give Canada a healthy squad. Switzerland won the round-robin contest, so this one is up in the air. A loss means Canada would get bronze at best.
The Canadian men play the USA, who they beat on Monday to clinch 2nd. I'm very worried about this game. USA threw the rocks well, but had a couple of questionable strategy calls. If those get ironed out, they will be tough. Again, a bronze medal game for Canada would be unacceptable to most fans.
Get the seat belt on your favourite TV chair ready - it's going to be quite a day.
The 3 sports in the "yet-to-come" category have now been played, and Canada has one for each category. Bobsledding gets in the "good" with silver (men's 2-man) and 4th (women's 2-man). Congratulations!
Ladies figure skating goes into the "bad" column. Canada hasn't had an Olympic medalist since Elizabeth Manley in 1988, and no champion since Karen Magnusson in 1973. Fix the system! There's no way a champion cannot be produced in 33 years.
Freestyle aerials goes in the "ugly" category. How can Canada go from owning this sport (and others) in previous Olympics to being an also-ran? 2 qualifiers in men's and one in women's for the final. Not very good. Fix the system!
Regards,
Steve
In a way, it's cruel. The hockey teams have played 5 games to position themselves. The curlers have played 9 games. Yet now, it's a "sudden victory" situation - win or go home. For the teams that have struggled, it's a new chance. For the teams who have dominated, there must be some nervousness. From now on, no one will care what you've done.
The worst example of how devastating a loss can be now is the 2002 Sweden men's hockey team. They were destroying opponents until their quarter-final game against Belarus. A 4-3 loss opened the door for Canada to win gold. If Sweden had won that game, I believe they would've been favoured for gold.
Canada now plays the Russian hockey team. It's anybody's game, as the rivalry removes any talent advantage. The Russians have nothing to lose, because Canada was one of the pre-tournament favourites. I expect Russia to play tough, and maybe pull out the win. A loss for Canada would be utter disappointment as no medals would accompany the team home.
In curling, the Canadian women play Switzerland. Hopefully the day's rest will give Canada a healthy squad. Switzerland won the round-robin contest, so this one is up in the air. A loss means Canada would get bronze at best.
The Canadian men play the USA, who they beat on Monday to clinch 2nd. I'm very worried about this game. USA threw the rocks well, but had a couple of questionable strategy calls. If those get ironed out, they will be tough. Again, a bronze medal game for Canada would be unacceptable to most fans.
Get the seat belt on your favourite TV chair ready - it's going to be quite a day.
The 3 sports in the "yet-to-come" category have now been played, and Canada has one for each category. Bobsledding gets in the "good" with silver (men's 2-man) and 4th (women's 2-man). Congratulations!
Ladies figure skating goes into the "bad" column. Canada hasn't had an Olympic medalist since Elizabeth Manley in 1988, and no champion since Karen Magnusson in 1973. Fix the system! There's no way a champion cannot be produced in 33 years.
Freestyle aerials goes in the "ugly" category. How can Canada go from owning this sport (and others) in previous Olympics to being an also-ran? 2 qualifiers in men's and one in women's for the final. Not very good. Fix the system!
Regards,
Steve
posted by Irrelevant at 6:30 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home