The International Olympic Committee will investigate the actions of Canadian women’s hockey players who celebrated their gold medal victory Thursday night by swigging beer and smoking cigars on the ice in Vancouver.

Number of players, including 18-year-old superstar Marie-Philip Poulin, were drinking alcohol on the ice following the team’s 2-0 defeat of the United States. (The legal drinking age in British Columbia is 19.) Players lingered for more than 70 minutes after the awards ceremony reveling in the arena, which was empty except for media and arena staff.

To be sure, the Canadian women’s hockey team should have acted with more class and been a little more discreet with its celebration. But to do something drastic like ban the team from the Closing Ceremony or force them out of the Olympic Village would be an overreaction. In past Olympics we’ve seen steroids, political boycotts, cheating and judging scandals. A few puffs of a cigar hardly seems to be in the same league.

The players stormed back onto the ice half an hour after beating the United States 2-0 on Thursday and staged a raucous celebration — smoking cigars and swigging beer and bubbly.

Haley Irwin poured champagne into the mouth of Tessa Bonhomme, gold medals swinging from both their necks. Meghan Agosta and Marie-Philip Poulin posed with goofy grins.

Goalies Charline Labonte and Kim St-Pierre posed at center ice for Poulin, lying on their stomachs with a giant bottle of champagne resting just above the Olympic rings.

Rebecca Johnston actually tried to commandeer the ice-resurfacing machine.

Poulin, who scored both goals for Canada, doesn’t turn 19 — legal drinking age in British Columbia — until next month. The drinking age in Alberta, where the Canadian team trains, is 18. Photos showed Poulin on the ice with a beer in her hand.

Gilbert Felli, the IOC’s executive director of the Olympic Games, said the antics were “not what we want to see.”

“If they celebrate in the changing room, that’s one thing,” he said, “but not in public.”
In a statement released late Thursday, Hockey Canada apologized.

“The members of Team Canada apologize if their on-ice celebrations, after fans had left the building, have offended anyone,” the statement said. “In the excitement of the moment, the celebration left the confines of our dressing room and shouldn’t have. The team regrets that its gold medal celebration may have caused the IOC or COC any embarrassment.

“Our players and team vow to uphold the values of the Olympics moving forward and view this situation as a learning experience.”

IOC spokesman Mark Adams said earlier that the players were asked to return to the ice to have photos taken. “We understand that some people may have felt that their behavior was over-exuberant,” he said.

Steve Keough, a spokesman for the Canadian Olympic Committee, said it was “quite an emotional moment for our team” and added: “It was not our intention to go against any IOC protocols.

“In terms of the actual celebration,” he said, “it’s not exactly something uncommon in Canada.”

Not even uncommon at these Olympics. After Jon Montgomery won a gold medal for Canada in skeleton, he walked through the streets of Whistler guzzling from a pitcher of beer that he gripped with two hands.

American Scotty Lago, who won a bronze in halfpipe, voluntarily left the games after a photo surfaced of a woman kneeling below his waist to kiss the medal.

At Canada Hockey Place on Thursday, the celebration started much earlier. As time expired and the team skated into a massive pile-up near their goal, cheering fans threw flags over the glass to the players, who wrapped them around their shoulders like capes.

“I looked up in the stands and saw a sign that said, ‘Proud to be Canadian,’ and that’s what I am today,” said goalie Shannon Szabados, who made 28 saves.

Manchester City vs Liverpool, I don’t think it would be any less than loads of excitement as 2 mighty clubs Machester City meets Liverpool. The 2 clubs shared encountered way back in November and have shared 4 goals each at Anfield Park. The fourth place game will be interesting nevertheless at Eastlands.

Roberto Mancini has taught his boys to go more defensive and Liverpool on the offensive. The Sunday’s match is a tough one to predict although a draw is on call by most betters.

Fernando Torres is ruled out because of an injury and Tevez went on a leave. Manchester City will also miss Patrick Vieira who was under suspension. Still the Reds will be hopeful of their win and will not allow Rafa Benitez men to over power them. Liverpool has some promise though in Yossi Benayoun.

The forthcoming league fixture looks crucial for both although Liverpool is in more danger than Man City.

Olympic Hockey Usa vs Canada, The U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team is part of the hottest ticket in Vancouver for Sunday’s game against Canada at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games (game preview). Team USA expects to rely on Chris Drury for leadership in its bid to win its group.
Men’s: vs. Canada, Sun., 4:40 p.m. PST on MSNBC
Women’s: vs. Sweden, Mon., Noon PST on USA

Scotty Lago Photo Controversy, Scott Lago, a Bronze medalist, said sorry to American administrators as well as helper to go away the Olympic Games subsequent to racy pictures of him, his medal as well as a feminine admirer turned up on the Internet, an orator for the American ski as well as snowboard players established Saturday.

Scott Lago, from Seabrook, ended third in Wednesday night’s snowboard half-pipe occasion. It was his initial tour to Olympics.

On Friday morning, the gossip Web site of TMZ uploaded two snaps of Lago. In one, the unnamed admirer is kissing the award whereas it suspended under the waistline of Lago’s jeans. In other, she is specking down on the medal, which is about Lago’s neckline, like coworker Greg Bretz appears on. This is uncertain about the capturing occasion of the snaps…

U.S. Ski as well as Snowboard Association President moreover CEO Bill Marolt stated Lago had said sorry to the American Olympic Committee as well as the U.S. snowboard group, moreover moved from Canada.

Marolt expressed in a printed report:

“Scotty Lago is a great athlete, but with that comes a responsibility of proper conduct and his involvement in this situation is not acceptable. Scotty realizes his conduct was inappropriate. He has formally apologized and also made a decision to leave Vancouver today.”

He was not gone into to fight in every lasting action. Lago could not be arrived at designed for remark Saturday.

The relations system of demeanor, positioned on the Web site of USSA, describes that associates: “shall maintain high standards of moral and ethical conduct, which includes self-control and responsible behavior.”

Before the Beijing Games, the USOC shaped a necessary manners plan for its athletes as well as administrators, recognized as the “ambassador program”.

This Is Not Youtube, You could be staying in a country like US, UK or India but may not be able to watch every video on YouTube – that’s because the content owners have allowed access to that video only from certain countries or geographic regions.

If your computer’s IP address falls outside that geographic region, YouTube will display an error saying “This video is not available in your country” – this message has nothing to do with censorship, it’s the owner of the video clip who could be limiting access.

YouTube Filters in Action

For instance, this video clip (Armor For Sleep – Hold The Door), uploaded to YouTube by Warner Brothers, is probably not available outside US. Similarly, this BBC clip (Stop Calling it a Honeymoon) on YouTube can only be watched from UK.

BBC has mentioned the reason behind region filtering on their official BBC Channel – “Because of the way that the BBC is funded in the UK through the licence fee, we cannot make videos available outside of the UK”.

Similarly the Olympic Games channel on YouTube  is blocked in countries like US because NBC has a deal to stream Olympic Games Live in those countries.

How to bypass YouTube Region Filtering ?

YouTube uses your computer IP address to determine your physical location / country. In order to bypass these country-specific restrictions on YouTube, try this trick:

Shaun White Olympics 2010 video, 2010 Olympics can’t get any better than the Flying Tomato. Promising to do his best for Team USA the Tomato gave it some air and did an insane run on the Olympic halfpipe.

The snowboarder played it safe on his first run, getting a solid first place score only to over top himself with a final 48.4 score from the second run and a win for him. Accepting the Gold may be the easiest thing he has done in a long time.

In continuous practice at his private halfpipe in Colorado called ‘X’ this Olympic athlete knows that it is now time to party. The near perfect score of 48.4 means he can once again claim to fame the sport and all the moves he has designed to go with it.

Olympic Torch Malfunction, The Olympic Torch Malfunction was not a big deal in the series of the events at the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games 2010, but it was a moment that Canadians probably are wishing didn’t have happened.

The opening ceremony would have been perfect, just if the Olympic Torch Malfunction would have not happened that left Catriona Le May Doan a little confused, but then again it was not the first time that such an event happened.

The Olympic Torch malfunction happened due to a technical problem. The Olympic Cauldron at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games 2010 suppose to lit by the four columns (pillars) rising up from
the floor, but disaster struck when one of the four columns (pillars) failed to light.

Although, Olympic Torch malfunction was an embarrassment not only for the organizers, but for the celebrity too, who was to light the pillar “Catriona Le May Doan”, that left her a little bit confused for a moment, but this is not the first time such type of incident happened.

If I remember exactly this is not the first time masses have witnessed Olympic Torch malfunction, few years back an archer overshot his aero that has to light the Olympic Cauldron.

Catriona Le May Doan was soon informed by the organizers about the Olympic Torch malfunction or technical problem and she reacted with immense professionalism and saluted the audience as others set fire to the Olympic Cauldron and formally opened the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games 2010.

Winter Olympics 2010 Opening Ceremonies, The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, will be a major international multi-sport event held on 12th February To 28th February 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the resort town of Whistler, British Columbia and in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond. Both the Olympic and Paralympic Games are being organized by the Vancouver Organizing Committee .

The 2010 Winter Olympics will be the third Olympics hosted by Canada, and the first by the province of British Columbia. Previously, Canada was home to the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta.

Vancouver 2010 is a video game modeled after the Olympic Games in Vancouver. It was released on 12th January 2010 to promote the upcoming Olympics Games.

VANCOUVER: Cricket was cleared to pursue its bid to be included in future Games after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) rubberstamped the sport’s recognition on Thursday.

Cricket, powerboating and sports climbing became the latest sports to be officially recognised by the IOC, a status necessary before launching a bid to become part of the Olympic programme.

“The session gave definite recognition to the three federations,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams told reporters.

The three sports can now bid to join the 2020 Olympics as the programme is always determined seven years in advance.

Golf and rugby were latest inclusions in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games when an IOC session voted them in last year.

The decision about new sports for the 2020 Games will be taken at the IOC session in Buenos Aires in 2013 where the host country will also be picked.

The past and future of Canada’s Olympic Games got together this morning in Montreal. The torch for the 2010 games was carried past the site of the 1976 Summer Olympics. Short-track speedskater Jean-Francois Monette carried the flame past the city’s Olympic Stadium, site of the 1976 Games and longtime home to baseball’s now-defunct Montreal Expos.

It was a surreal scene. The city’s first snowstorm of the season, combined with howling winds, made it seem like the stadium’s famous tower was shrouded in a tornado of white dust.

The 1976 Games were the first time Canada hosted the Olympics; Calgary was the second, in 1988, and Vancouver will be the third.