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Monthly Archives: February 2014

Hockey’s Julie Chu carries flag for U.S. at Winter Olympics’ closing ceremony

23 Sunday Feb 2014

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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SOCHI, Russia _The woozy hockey hangover the United States women’s and men’s hockey teams suffered at the 2014 Winter Olympics produced at least one bit of good news: U.S. women’s player Julie Chu will carry the American flag at the Winter Games’ closing ceremony Sunday.

U.S. hockey player Julie Chu ends Winter Olympics on high note.

U.S. hockey player Julie Chu ends Winter Olympics on high note.

The Sochi Games are Chu’s fourth, and probably last, Olympics. If so, she leaves with three silver medals from 2002, 2010 and 2014 and a bronze medal from 2006. She’s tied as the second-most decorated U.S. female athlete in Olympic Winter Games history.

“When I found out I was the flag bearer for the closing ceremony I was trying to process what a humbling honor it was,” Chu said. “With the way that we select the flag bearer, being able to be elected by my peers is unreal, especially with the success that so many of our athletes have had.”

Chu, 31, is the second hockey player to carry the U.S. flag. Hockey Hall of Famer Cammi Granato did it in 1998, the first year women’s hockey was played at the Winter Games. She’s the first person of color to be the U.S. flag bearer at a Winter Games closing ceremony.

“Today, Julie joins a distinguished group of athletes who have been selected to serve as flag bearer for Team USA,” United States Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun said. “She has been a tremendous ambassador for her sport and our athletes, and will continue to be a world-class representative of our nation at the closing ceremony and beyond.”

Unfortunately, the women’s and men’s hockey team didn’t achieve the success that many had anticipated in Sochi.

The U.S. women were within a minute of capturing the Gold Medal and defeating archrival Canada. But the U.S. squandered a 2-0 lead and gave up the tying goal with less than a minute to play in the third period. They lost the game 3-2 in overtime.

The U.S. men, a collection of National Hockey League stars, played themselves out of any kind of medal with a dismal 5-0 loss to an inspired Finland team. After the U.S.’s dramatic 3-2 shootout victory over Russia and feasting on lesser teams like Slovakia, the men’s team went into a scoring drought, losing 2-1 to Canada before ageless Anaheim Ducks forward Teemu Selanne and his Finnish teammates kept the American squad off the medal podium altogether.

Chu said the women’s loss to Canada, and the way they lost, was “an emotional rollercoaster for us.”

“We believed we could win it,” she added. “I’m proud of how we came out flying, we didn’t lose our belief. When the final puck was in, we felt that we’re down.”

But Chu said she won’t let the defeat define her career or her Olympic experience. She finished her collegiate in 20087 as Harvard University’s all-time assist leader with 196 and the NCAA leader with 284 points in 129 games.

“It’s been a dream,” she said. “When I was young, it was 1995 when it was announced that women’s hockey would be in the 1998 Olympic Games. I was a freshman in high school when our U.S. women’s team won in 1998 and I was hooked for life.”

Chu said her time in Sochi “has been absolutely incredible.”

“The competition is obviously our focus and the venues have been spectacular,” she said. “One of the best things is that every time we enter a venue or go in and out of the (Olympic) village, we pass these smiling, excited volunteers. They truly made this a spectacular experience.”

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“Eat me now,” Russia coach says after team loses game, chance for Olympic gold

20 Thursday Feb 2014

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Alexander Ovechkin, Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Evgeni Malkin, Pavel Datsuyk, Pittsburgh Penguins., Sergei Bobrovsky, Teemu Selanne, Washington Capitals

SOCHI, Russia _ After suffering one of the most epic and unfortunate collapses in hockey history, the question is how will Team Russia players who are on National Hockey League teams respond when the NHL resumes activity.

Make no mistake, Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to Finland was a dagger in their hearts and the hearts of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the rest of this hockey-crazed nation. Russian fans were expecting an exorcism of the ghosts of the American “Miracle on Ice” at 1980 the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.

Alexander Ovechkin's Team Russia fails to make medal round in Sochi.

Alexander Ovechkin’s Team Russia fails to make medal round in Sochi.

Instead, they got was a “Nightmare at Bolshoy Ice Dome” as ageless Anaheim Ducks forward Teemu Selanne and his Finnish teammates shocked the hockey world.Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin, Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, Detroit Red Wings forward Pavel Datsuyk, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin all struggled for words after the game about how the defeat felt.

“It sucks,” Ovechkin told reporters afterwards. “What can I say?”

Ovechkin is the face of the team. His image adorns billboards and Coca Cola machines throughout this country. But the man who probably felt most of this nation’s weight on his shoulders was Russian Head Coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov.  He was tasked with getting some of the world’s best individual one-on-one hockey talent to play as a cohesive team in a short, pressure-packed tournament.

When reminded by Russian reporters that the last Russian coach who lead an under-performing team was eaten alive by the press and fans, Bilyaletdinov replied “Well, eat me now. You’ll eat me and I’ll be gone.”

“Eat me, and I won’t be here anymore,” the coach continued.

When reminded that Russia still has to compete in the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship in Minsk, Belarus in May, Bilyaletdinov replied: “Yes, I will remain living.”

Still, Russian media couldn’t resist rhetorically picking at the bones of the Russian coach and his team.

“Burned in Finnish Sauna” read the headline in Kommersant, a privately-owned Russian newspaper.

“Failure in Bolshoy: Russian ice hockey players without Olympic medals for third time in a row” noted RIA Novosti, a government-owned sports news agency.

“Russian ice hockey players disappointed their fans,” Vzglyad, a privately-owned online Russian newspaper wrote.

“Finnish Curtin,” blared the headline in Gazeta.ru, a privately-owned online publication.

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With T.J. Oshie in Sochi

16 Sunday Feb 2014

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Alexander Ovechkin, Chicago Blackhawks, Chippewa, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dan Bylsma, Jonathan Quick, Ojibwe, Patrick Kane, Pittsburgh Penguins., Sergei Bobrovsky, St. Louis Blues, T.J. Oshie, Washington Capitals

SOCHI, Russia _ After the United States beat Russia 3-2 Saturday in an instant classic of a hockey game, a Russian journalist asked me in broken English: “What’s a T.J. Oshie?”

After Team USA's shootout win, everyone in Russia knows T.J. Oshie's name.

After Team USA’s shootout win, everyone in Russia knows T.J. Oshie’s name.

If Oshie, a forward for the St. Louis Blues, wasn’t a household name in Sochi, Moscow, St. Petersburg, or anywhere else in Russia, he certainly is now. Team USA Coach Dan Bylsma made what seemed like a strange decision to use Oshie over and over again in the shootout that gave the American squad the victory.

Oshie responded by scoring four times over eight rounds, including the decisive goal past Russian and Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, last season’s Vezina Trophy winner as the National Hockey League’s best goalie.

Oshie, who is part Ojibwe (Chippewa) Native/First Nations, was a little surprised about his shootout encores  and a tad nervous about repeatedly going up against Bobrovsky in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin and more than 11,000 decidedly pro-Russian fans inside the Winter Games’ Bolshoy Ice Dome.

“It was pretty nerve-racking out there,” Oshie told reporters afterwards. “I did (feel pressure) a little bit, but then the puck hits your stick and you start staking. It’s just you and the goalie. I was fortunate to keep (Bobrovsky) guessing and Quickie (USA goaltender Jonathan Quick) did his job great.”

If Saturday’s game was a National Hockey League contest, Bylsma couldn’t have called Oshie’s number so many times. Under NHL rules, a player can only be used once in a shootout. In international hockey, a player can be used as often as the coach desires.

Still, Bylsma’s shootout strategy seemed odd given the offensive firepower and creativity on the U.S. bench. Shifty Chicago Blackhawks sniper Patrick Kane was sitting there. And slick Toronto Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel can pick a corner or two.

But Bylsma, coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Team USA’s brain trust knew something about Oshie: he’s an absolute shootout assassin. He’s never scored more than 19 goals a year in his six NHL seasons. But he’s 25 for 46 in shootouts in his career and boasts a 54.3 career shootout percentage, second among active NHL players with at least 20 attempts.

 T.J. Oshie became Team USA's  designated shooter against Russia.

T.J. Oshie became Team USA’s designated shooter against Russia.

“T.J. has been exceptional in the shootout this year and throughout his career,” Bylsma said. “Once we got to the fourth shooter, and just the quality moves he had even when he did miss, we were going to ride him out.”

Oshie was reportedly picked for the US team in part because of his shootout success. American League baseball teams have designated hitters. Team USA wanted a designated shooter, and Oshie is it.

“I was just nervous for him. At some point you think ‘Does he have any moves left?'” said Team USA captain Zach Parise, a forward for the Minnesota Wild. “But he did a good job. He always went in the same way from right to left and maybe that started getting into the goalie’s head a little bit. For someone to keep scoring in a shootout like that, it’s pretty impressive.”

Shootouts aren’t everyone’s bowl of borsht. Some of the best NHL scorers, for whatever reason, don’t like participating in them. New Jersey Devils forward Jaromir Jagr, who’s playing for his native Czech Republic in Sochi, eschews shootouts.

Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin sometimes passes on them, too. He was on the Russian bench as forward Pavel Datsuyk of the Detroit Red Wings and former NHLer Ilya Kovalchuk faced the Los Angeles Kings’ Quick in the shootout.

“Of course it was hard to pick the players for the shootout because we have players like (Carolina Hurricanes’ Alexander) Semin, who shoots well, and (Alexander) Radulov, but overall, I think that both Datsuyk and Kovalchuk were good enough and had confidence,” Team Russia Head Coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov said after the game.

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P.K.’s OK with Winter Olympics accommodations and security in Sochi

10 Monday Feb 2014

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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2014 Winter Olympics, Chicago Blackhawks, Jonathan Toews, Montreal Canadiens, P.K. Subban, Pittsburgh Sidney Crosby, Sochi

SOCHI, Russia _ Montreal Canadiens defensesman P.K. Subban stepped off the ice after the Canadian Olympic men’s hockey team’s first practice Monday at the 2014 Winter Olympics and proclaimed the housing situation and security in Sochi, Russia good.

Team Canada defenseman P.K. Subban praises  Winter Olympics housing and security.

Team Canada defenseman P.K. Subban praises Winter Olympics housing and security.

“You know what, it just goes to show you what media can do,” the ever-candid Subban said. “It’s just the complete opposite of what I’d thought it’d be, it’s awesome. The setup is great, the rooms are awesome. Guys were even saying the setup here is better than it was in Torino.”

Torino, Italy, was the site of the 2006 Winter Games. In the days leading to the Sochi games, media outlets reported about unfinished hotels and shabbily-completed accommodations with questionable water and few working amenities.

However, most Olympic athletes have gushed about their accommodations, which are mainly located near the coastal ice arenas or mountain slopes where they will perform.

“I’ve got to give credit to the people of Sochi and of Russia who have made it really comfortable for us coming here,” he added.  “It’s been a great experience so far, and we haven’t even started playing yet. So I’m sure it’s just going to get better.”

While many people in North America were wringing their hands about whether or not to travel to Sochi to watch the Winter Games, Subban’s family came to this Black Sea resort city in force. The Norris Trophy-winning defenseman arrived with his parents, two sisters, and three nephews.

“I think the whole big deal about security is just getting way overblown and it shouldn’t overshadow what these people (Russian Olympic organizing committee) have done.”

After practice, Subban  admitted that he was awe-struck by the talent on Team Canada, with its all-star roster that includes forwards Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks and goaltender Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks.

“These are world-class players,” he said. “I like the fact that after practice I can play keep away with Jonathan Toews and Sidney Crosby. I’m hoping by the end of the tournament, when I play keep away back in Montreal, I better be the best player.”

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