(Extremely Late) Olympic Recap And Recovery

The Olympics: Canada, curling, and catfights.
(examiner.com)

Oh, Canada! It's been a few days (or 2 weeks), I know. But it feels appropriate to do a bit of an Olympic recap. Besides, I have a good reason for the delay, I swear! The recap is necessary because it was probably 90% of my TV viewing over those particular two weeks, competing heavily with shows like 'Modern Marvels' and 'Celebrity Rehab 3'. I mean, how much more History Channel/VH1 could I possibly watch? As pumped as I am for baseball, it's only just emerging out of its jumping jack and wind sprint phase. Plus, now that Spring Training games have started, I'm in prayer mode so that none of the Sox's big names pops an Achilles tendon during a split-squad game in Sarasota. My overall assessment on these Games in Vancouver: It was a comeback success, especially considering the games started with a fatality only hours before the opening ceremonies on a track that many of the competition had doubts on its safety potential. Also can't forget the botched torch lighting, which felt like these Games were going to go down the slope faster than a downhill skier, set up more for a fest of folly and less for competition. In between, we saw the we witnessed a record-breaking Games from Apolo Ohno, even though I think it is a little elementary to call him the greatest Olympian ever just because he has won the most Olympic hardware, especially when only two of them are gold. Not dissing the speed skater extraordinaire and 'Dancing with the Stars' dynamo, but what Eric Heiden did at Lake Placid sure trumps what almost anyone has done in the Winter Games. Then we also had the semi-annoying drama of the women's ski team and how Julia Mancuso felt a little like Jan Brady to Lindsey Vonn's Marcia-like attention grabbing. Admittedly, 'Vonn Watch' did get a bit frustrating after the 10th minute, especially pre-event time when the exposure pretty much exceeded Kardashian levels. But I'm secretly satisfied that it made a teammate get a little scrappy. I mean, at the end of the day, who doesn't like a good catfight? And even though the chance of me having a genuine interest in figure skating has equal odds of Hot Tub Time Machine winning an Oscar, what Joannie Rochette pulled off only days after her mother died was truly a story worth noting. But of course, my personal dish du jour of these Games was certainly the hockey. It was just about the only thing I cared about going into Vancouver, well, until women's curling got me a bit intrigued. The play flows so much better than the NHL game and they're mega-rivalries that don't need any help with a cheap Versus marketing campaign. The Games concluded with with one of the greatest Olympic hockey contests in history, however I sort of disagree with the assessment that the final was the biggest hockey game in history. I mean, maybe Canada thought it was. It was on their home ice, with 70% of the nation watching the game. Hockey by itself in Canada is the NFL, MLB and the NBA in importance, then multiply it by about 10,000. It would have been ultimately embarrassing if they lost to their neighbors to the south (twice), who would have just used that gold as another flaunting tool to go along with pseudo-patriotic chants from South Park movies. Yes, me and many other Americans wanted this gold medal, but Canada NEEDED it. So as much as it saddened me when Sid the Kid slipped the OT winner past Ryan Miller (forcing me to a faux ban of anything Barenaked Ladies or Bryan Adams on my iPod the day after), it was how these Games should have ended; with the host country (Canada) singing their national anthem after winning their national sport (hockey, a.k.a. by far the best/important event in the games). I mean, it's touching to have your little brother country win at what they're good at on a global stage, right? Overall, much better than watching the Celts do a Three Mile Island meltdown against a 5-win Nets team. So what has taken me away from the blogosphere for so long, making me leave my Olympic reminiscing to collect dust in my unfinished drafts? You guessed it, it's spring baseball, but it's not what you immediately think.

IT'S MINE, ALLLLLLLLL MINE!!!!
(CEB II)

Guess we are heading into my first video game review of sorts. This past Tuesday marked the arrival of this year's version of 'The Show', a.k.a., my video game heroin. Hell, I have almost totally forgot that the Olympics actually happened, or that I had a blog entry prepared for it. I can easily see myself locking myself in my room for days as I bang out a whole season, basking in the enjoyment of noticing little details and building my team on franchise mode while substituting my naps for blinking. Plus, it's a good method as a fanatic to pump in some regular season adrenaline during the frequent lulls of Grapefruit League action. If you are a fan of authenticity like myself, the graphics are exceptional, the mannerisms of play are so close to perfect (catcher finally takes his mask off) and the crowd reacts on sequence to the game action with chants that you can add personally. Most video games have the basic template down, so I'm usually attracted by the little things, and this year's version of 'The Show' sure has an abundance. With ownership of a PS3, I can add my own tunes to be the intro music of all my Sox players before they grind through their Fenway at-bats. It sort of makes me miss the 2004 team a bit more, considering I have a plethora of appropriate tracks in mind for Kevin Millar, ranging from 'Slow Ride' by Foghat to 'I Play Chicken with the Train' by Cowboy Troy. I like how the bullpen gets out of the way of an incoming baseball, I like how they included the actual mascots dancing on the dugout between innings (even though I despise actual mascots), I like the day-to-night transition that also makes the Madden games more authentic to a true game experience and even the beach ball can enter the field to delay a game. Guess it's only a matter of time before streakers start to make an appearance in virtual reality. For its impeccable gaming experience, its ability to take my mind off the world and controlling what seems to be a virtual monopoly of my free time, this game gets a solid 9.5 out of 10. Hope you make it to 'The Show', ladies and gents!

R.I.P. To The Leader Of The Mooses

Mosi Tatupu (April 26, 1955 – February 23, 2010)
(cache.boston.com)