Today is a huuuge day in Vancouver, and our Hot off the Grill preview article is back! The quarterfinals of the men's hockey tournament are upon us, featuring the titanic showdown between Canada and Russia tonight. Also, men's curling has a dramatic tiebreak to get into the medal round featuring Gold Medal contender Great Britain. So break out the slabs of Canadian bacon and follow me! Hopefully we don't Shuster this preview...
Big Kielbasa's Game Of the Week - #6 Canada v #3 Russia 7pm CNBC
-Get out the way Ron Insana, Larry Kudlow, and Jim Cramer. The biggest game of the Olympics, and one of the great rivalries in international competition is coming to... CNBC? Uhhh... ok. The hopes, dreams, and sanity of an entire nation are on the line tonight as Canada plays Russia in what many thought was going to be the Gold Medal game. Canada is showing signs of panic pulling Marty Brodeur and demoting Rick Nash off the top line. Eric Staal will partner Sidney Crosby and Jarome Iginla, while Roberto Luongo will step in between the pipes. Canada demolished Germany 8-2, but that still isn't enough to ease the nerves of a nation. Canada needs their amazing roster to actually start playing like the best players in the world, especially Crosby and Iginla.
Russia though hasn't been playing world class hockey, either. They were 2-1 in the prelims, losing to Slovakia in OT. Alex Ovechkin's biggest contribution to the Olympics has been knocking out Jaromir Jagr in a bonecrushing hit. All of the attention will be on Ovechkin and Crosby, but it could be Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin that is the difference in this game. Malkin is overshadowed so often by Crosby and Ovechkin, but is just as talented. However, Russia doesn't have the class from top to bottom that Canada does. Which stars perform best? Will the pressure get to the Canucks, or is home-ice too much to overcome? A hard game to pick, and I usually have a terrible record picking, so I'm going with... PICK - Canada
Beer Brat's Spotlight Game Of the Week - #1 USA v #8 Switzerland 3pm NBC
-USA Hockey is back in the spotlight with a nationally televised afternoon game against heavy underdog Switzerland. The US beat the Swiss easily early on in the tournament, but SUI did take Canada into a shootout. The US's physical style should give the Swiss problems, and they should not have trouble getting a victory and moving on to the semis. I like that Brian Burke and the rest of the team are keeping their nose to the grindstone and keeping the same hard-working mentality that saw them past Canada. Ryan Miller has been the MVP of the tourney so far, and I would expect Blackhawks F Patrick Kane to bag a goal or two today. The US can make a statement to the rest of the tournament today with an impressive victory. PICK - USA
Chorizo's Upset Of the Week - #4 Finland v #5 Czech Republic 10pm CNBC
-I'm sure not that many people were watching the Czech Republic-Latvia play-in game late last night. The Czechs had a 2-0 lead, but Latvia scored 2 3rd period goals to force OT. Even though the Czechs had many more NHLers, they struggled mightily to close out Latvia. Eventually they got the OT win, but now has to turn around and face Finland with Jaromir Jagr a question mark. Let's be honest, this isn't the likeliest upset in the world, but I don't see any of the other 3 hockey games being an upset possibility. The Finns are the weakest of the Top 4 seeds, and if Tomas Vokoun steps up, the Czechs have enough firepower to win. PICK-Czech Republic
Andouille's Under the Radar Game - Curling Playoff - GBR v Sweden 5pm MSNBC
-Men's Curling also takes center stage today with a play-in game to the medal round featuring World Champ David Murdoch facing off against Sweden. The Scots lost to 2 seed Norway last night to set up the playoff with Sweden. Norway was given a boost by having King Harald V in attendance - yea, curling is that big of a deal. Sweden and Niklas Edin won Gold at the 2009 Euros and won't be a pushover. Sweden beat GBR 6-4 in the prelims, but Murdoch is a guy that actually wants the pressure on him to throw the winning rock (unlike the American curlers we'll get to below). GBR to win, setting up another classic with #1 seed Canada with Kevin Martin, but it'll be tight and close throughout. PICK - GBR
Extra Toppings -
-The other QF hockey game pits defending champ Sweden against Slovakia in the 2/7 matchup. Sweden's big win was a 3-0 victory over Finland, and they should be able to beat the Slovaks in the nightcap.
-This might be the best Olympic look alike I've ever seen...
Germany Men's Curling Skip Andy Kapp
David Wallace of The Office
-At least USA curling went out with a bang. I do feel sorry for John Shuster, he's giving it his best and representing his country as an Olympian, not a million dollar pro. Hopefully he comes back in 4 years and is able to find redemption. But comments like, "I'm sick of this stupid game" during his last game won't endear himself to fans across America. Some of the best Shuster-related tweets...
ZamboniRodeo All those Mitch Williams jokes we used to tell in Philadelphia in 1993 could probably work for John Shuster now.
TheRealPSJ John Shuster strikes me as the type of person who always tries to pay for things with exact change even though he never has it.
jeffreybigmoney Yeah, John Shuster, I'm sick of your stupid game too!!
Psilocyn I'm glad the Olympics is almost over, if i see johnshuster throw 1 more missed shot i'll lose faith in america
SPBowley John Shuster needs a hug. #curling #Shustered
malitzd john shuster should be deported. ideally to a countrythat could teach him how to curl.
sportsguy33 Just signed a lucrative deal to ghost-write John Shuster's autobiography, "Sorry, Guys."
Man alive.
FYI, that last tweet was from the one and only Bill Simmons. The happiest person on the planet is USA Women's Skip Debbie McCormick. The former world champ took the US Women to a last place finish at 2-7, equaling the epic Shuster fail. McCormick took herself out of throwing last rocks and showed about as much ability in the clutch as Greg Norman. Hopefully these Olympics inspire more interest in USA curling... because millions of Americans now feel that they can make the Olympics as curlers.
-On the Women's Curling side, #1 seed Canada and Cheryl Bernard appear to be the favorites, but it is a tough Top 4. They face the Swiss in the semis while Sweden and China face off. My bet is Canada over China to win the Gold.
Randall's Got His Eye On... Roberto Luongo
-Roberto Luongo is the captain and hometown goalie of the Vancouver Canucks. He'll never face as much pressure in his entire NHL career than what he'll feel tonight replacing all-time goalie Marty Brodeur in the net for Canada. Luongo allowed 2 goals against Germany in an 8-2 win, but both goals were somewhat lucky. People north of the border are trying to talk themselves into thinking that Luongo is the man to lead Canada. Is it a bad time to remind Canadians that last year in the Stanley Cup Playoffs he allowed 7 goals to the Blackhawks in the deciding Game 6? Luongo must play the game of his life for Canada today to keep their Gold Medal dream alive.
That's it for our Hot off the Grill Preview. We're looking forward to an awesome day of Olympic action, it only comes along once every 4 years so enjoy it while you can! Bye for now!
No comments:
Post a Comment