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I didn't think I was insulting someone. Who can I apologise to? The archers? The sailors? The synchronized swimmers? Okay, here's a test. I'll bet most people off the street can name more male 100m gold medalists than any other individual sport at the Winter or Summer Games. By the way, all the media polls back me up. 100m men's final is the most watched event at the Summer Games (other than the Opening Ceremonies). Allee: the web videos are covered by the same country-specific broadcast rights as the TV coverage. I was in Denver last week, trying to watch CBC videos and I was blocked out. For once, the shoe was on the other foot.

Now the Jamaican women sweep their 100m race. From a population of 3 million. Wow. I hope that's not a spoiler for NBC viewers. The major network's failure to cover alpine snowboarding has been discussed on BOL. No doubt it will be the same in 2010 which is why we should all be there - Live! But I will say again, the 100m men's final isn't some niche event. It's big and should have been carried live. I didn't watch the NBC feed all day but did they pretend it didn't happen before they aired it in primetime?

Now you're in trouble with the Romanian members of BOL. That woman was Romanian, not Croatian. I love watching the marathon. I could watch it for the full 2.5 hours. I was feeling Paula Radcliffe's pain last night. I'll give NBC some credit for getting the Tyson Gay interview. Gay showed some real class in his "no excuses" response. Did anyone else think swimming commentator (Rowdy Gaines?) went a little overboard before Dana Torres's 50m semi? For those who missed it, Torres asked an official to hold the race while a competitor changed a torn suit. It was considerate but not an "INCREDIBLE ACT OF SPORTSMANSHIP!".

Oh. Never mind.

Do you mean to say that your comebacks were irrelevant and weak? I give you a number of theories as to why NBC chose to cover the basketball game over the premiere event of the games. You present "nyah, nyah" jabs about the Canadian performance and an irrelevant women's wrestling event. Who is presenting the ad hominem attacks?

Oh goodie, I started an argument. The women's wrestling final on CBC was big news in Canada since it was Canada's first gold. It was shown, live, at 5AM or so and replayed a few times in the later morning. It was a gold medal match and at the time, there wasn't a 100m men's final happening. USA's domination over Spain was marginal news but I suppose it was interesting to basketball fans and probably mandated by the Nike/Coke hype machine that greases the media. The 100m final is THE BIG EVENT. It is huge news. Carrying it on tape delay is a joke. Since the basketball game was in the first quarter, I doubt that anyone would have minded if they cut to the race for 10 seconds. Now you mention Walter Dix. Given that he is a collegiate athlete there was no way for Nike to spin him into a feel good story without his giving up his eligibility, therefore, he is of little interest to the machine. And judging by the prelims and the semis, the only way for Bolt to lose was to have a chunk of the stadium fall on him while he was in the blocks. Call me a cynic but all those reasons has me thinking that NBC felt a preliminary basketball match was of more interest. After all, who better to reflect the Olympian ideal than Kobe Bryant? More Kobe, More Coke.

That was the most incredible performance in track that I've ever seen. Total domination. Oh wait, you didn't see it live? That's cause NBC was showing the Spain/USA basketball *preliminary* match. Would that have happened if Tyson Gay was in the final or any American with a chance?

Hamilton, Ontario: population 505,000 Home of the CFL Tiger-Cats, Stelco steel mills and Bob Young, the Red Hat guy. Nobody intentionally tries to live in Hamlton. You just end up stuck there. It's sort of the Pittsburgh of Canada without the glamour. As for my university/college years, I don't consider them wasted. Well, maybe I was wasted but the years weren't wasted. I just didn't get anything out of it resembling an education. Sure had fun though.

Watching that movie was the worst thing I could have done before entering college. I used it as the blueprint for my next four years. I entered college with such promise. I left with a lot of good stories. Sort of like Pinto. I'd say Flounder but I didn't have the hot girlfriend back home. BTW, you guys don't know jack. The real inspiration behind Animal House was McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Ivan Reitman is an alumnus of Mac. There was a student residence there (frats didn't really catch on in Canada until recently) called Whidden Hall. The place was bonkers even in the early 80s when I visited friends there.

Swiss data may be poor but Michael Moore's "data" is just made up.

I'll keep an eye out on the newstands. Found some old versions on their websites.

Thanks for the all the input. There are so many choices and every board claims to be the best. I know that's the nature of marketing but what drives me nuts is that all the marketing descriptions claim that every board is is good for everything - rails, powder, high speed. Do the snowboard rags run any independent tests like the ski mags? I am leaning towards Arbor, Donek or Prior.

Totally untrue. Per 100 civilians, according to 2007 Small Arms Survey. US: 90 Yemen: 61 Finland: 56 Switzerland: 46 Iraq: 39 Serbia: 38 France: 32 Canada: 31 Austria: 31 Germany: 30 Firearms - absolute figures: US: 270 million India: 46 million China: 40 million Germany: 25 million France: 19 million Pakistan: 18 million Mexico: 15.5 million Brazil: 15.3 million Russia: 12.7 million Source: http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/front/detail/Swiss_rapped_over_poor_data_on_gun_ownership.html?siteSect=105&sid=8148895&cKey=1188328994000&ty=st I'll believe the Swiss before I believe Michael Moore.

She uses Flow bindings. S/M size. Size 9 feet. I have a credit at Backcountry so I was looking at the selection in their outlet. Does anything jump out at you? http://www.backcountryoutlet.com/outlet/subcat/49/Snowboards.html I'd go for the Arbor Push but it's only available in 148cm. I think that's a bit short for her.

My daughter races on a Prior WCR 161 but likes to tool around in soft boots. She likes to ride fast so I'm am going to look at freeride or AM boards in the 150cm range. Does that sound right? Is there any merit to women's specific boards? Other than the graphics? I will consider Prior but wonder what are other good makes? I am at a loss when it comes to freeride boards. I want to avoid Burton because of the insert pattern. She's 13 and weighs 130lbs.

You guys are lucky. A commuter bike in Toronto needs to be ugly, old and beat to hell with absolutely no valuable components. Anything more and it will last a week at best before it is lifted or stripped. I ride a 15 year old Kona if I have to lock it anywhere. I paid $125 for it so if I lose it, I won't cry.

Wow. Sitting there at a red light and he gets nailed by a semi. You can't even tell that was a Bimmer without the emblem. All the best to your Dad and your family. Get well soon.

I can believe it. I've personally suffered more snowboarding injuries than all other activities combined. I think I have 2-3 more seasons left in me and then I take up ice fishing. But then again, fishing accounts for more deaths in Ontario than any other sport.

I did a Google search on "iraq israel war" and came up with this as the first hit: http://www.rense.com/general69/dayone.htm Chilling. I think though, as the scenario above suggests, an Israeli attack on Iran could not happen without the support of the U.S.

I'm not sure how that one will work. An air war maybe but a real war needs ground troops and I don't see a common border nor any friendly nations bordering Iran that will allow a build-up of Israeli invasion troops. And if it's the other way around - Iranian troops going into Israel from Syria, for instance, they will be liquidated before they come within 100 kilometres of the border. If it's a few bombing raids followed up by a few Scuds that fall into the sea, well, we've seen that before and survived it.

I read a book a while back that is particularly relevant to this discussion - "A Short History of Progress" by Ronald Wright. I wish I could find it and reread it but I must've loaned it out. I remember this - Wright says that the idea that technology and progress is the answer to all of the the world's ills is a recent one - a Victorian one. Progess, at first, seems to make life easier but it eventually reaches a stage where it threatens us. He calls it the "progress trap.". Wright argues that technology will not save us. A complete, fundamental change in the way we live is the only answer. An interesting read. It makes you think twice about "advancements" like alternative fuels which, if successful, will simply perpetuate our lifestyle of over-consumption.

Geez, I think I will just go play golf. I might ride my bike to the course.

I just sat the family around the TV and watched the Toronto premiere of "Carved". At the 6:08 mark, Patrice makes a turn where it looks like the board is inches from the camera. That took my breath away. Excellent film. I wish it were longer. BTW, I ran the full 1080p version on my 1.83 Ghz Mac Mini (Intel Core Duo) with 1GB of RAM and it ran just fine. At first, I tried to stream it over a network and it was jerky but running the file from the local disk resulted in smooth playback. Nice work Jonas.

Donation sent. Was I the first? Do I get a Special Edition or Director's Cut that shows how you did this thing entirely in CG, just like "The Hulk"? <G>.

Because there is a pressing need for public transportation doesn't mean it will happen. There seems to be a pressing need for affordable medicare in the U.S. and I don't see anything being done about it. Do you think, in the U.S., with the underlying resistance to new taxes, that Joe Middle America is going to be okay with allocating his tax dollars towards transit? No, public transit is for them other folk. Do you think he's going to easily give up his truck which he equates with personal freedom? Ain't gonna happen. Instead, we'll see increased pressure to reduce gasoline taxes and an increased effort to "stabilize" the supply of oil. Already, Bush wants to end the ban on off-shore drilling. Who knows, maybe the next Prez will find evidence of Scuds in Alberta and launch an effort to liberate Albertans from the clutches of the evil socialists in Ottawa.