Kinni asked how I am enjoying the Olympics--especially the hockey. I'm enjoying it--when I get a chance to see it. But because I'm working all day and then usually out at night to cover something or another, I really don't get to see that much.
Like this morning. It's Saturday morning, and Canada was just starting its men's game against Switzerland, which had earlier upset the Czechs. Intersteing--but I had to scramble off to the office for an interview.
On another channel, the U.S. men were in a curling match against Germany. They had a good lead--and I hope they were able to keep it, because I couldn't stick around to make sure. In the office, of course, there's no TV. Outside of the internet, you are cut off from the world.
On the cable system where I live, we are extremely lucky to get CBC, which has extensive (and excellent) Olympics coverage. Sure, they focus on the Canadian athletes, but they to a great job of presenting the whole story, and they pay a lot of attention to the Americans.
On this side of the border, NBC has split up its coverage over four networks--and we only get two of them, NBC itself and the USA network. (Of course, NBC wants cable systems to carry all four networks all the time--even when the Olympics isn't taking place.)
USA has been doing a lot of curling and hockey, but they sure let me down yesterday. The U.S. women were playing Russia in curling, and the match was just over the halfway mark yesterday morning when I had to go to work. I started a tape so I could watch the rest of it later. It just so happens that the U.S. scored three in the final end to tie the match and force an extra end to decide the winner.
And THAT's when USA switched over to cover the opening faceoff of the U.S.-Sweden women's hockey semifinal. During the last 15 minutes of the tape, it was all hockey, with no cutaways to the curling match they had covered for the previous several hours ... and which they left on the knife's edge at the very end.
Meanwhile, I got back home for lunch--and the end of that U.S.-Sweden women's hockey semifinal, which had gone into overtime. The Swedes' goalie, who went to school in Duluth, Minn., "stoned" the U.S., which also missed some golden opportunities, and they're going home while Sweden plays Canada for the gold medal.
The U.S. men's hockey team has had a so-so start, but (despite the media excitement) they weren't expected to reach the finals--maybe the semis if they play really well. Canada--well, that's different. Their nation is almost expecting a gold medal from them. That's a lot of pressure.
All the drama will be played out over the next week or so with me getting to see only bits and pieces of it. This week, I had after-supper assignments on four days--it would have been five, if a snowstorm had not canceled everything Thursday night. On two of the other nights, I was far out of town.
Next week, for the last week of the Winter Olympics, I've got basketball on Monday and Friday nights and volleyball on Tuesday and Thursday nights. On Wednesday, I think I get to stay home. But I've also got to take some time off to visit my mom, too.
That's what my life has been like since September. Rush, rush, rush. I missed so much of the baseball playoffs last fall, which I also love, and much of the NFL playoffs.
But the basketball and volleyball will all be over by the time the Stanley Cup playoffs start in April. I understand CBC carries a few Stanley Cup games. ;)
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