Serapth

In all honesty, that was as close to the line as you could possibly get. At 0.2 seconds, the puck was visibly not across the line, at 0.1 it had disappeared and wasnt visible for about .5 seconds later. I believe in international rules, in the event on a non conclusive goal, its a no goal. I really don't know if that was a goal or not, it was just so exceptionally close either way. Lets hope they have a camera angle we didn't! I am a bit shocked how fast they came to a ruling though. If this was the NHL, we would still be waiting for NY to decide.

Goal or non goal? In review now. WOW, 0.1 seconds, did it cross the line? No Goal. WOW!

Shots 33-7. Eek. This is why elimination hockey tournaments are so scary, a hot goalie can actually carry you through. We all remember what Hasek did. Granted, they did have a certain Jaromir Jagr too...

Like I said, that game was won/lost completely on the play of Miller and Brodeur, I don't really put it on Babcock other than perhaps some of his line choices/juggling there isnt much he could do, except of course pull Brodeur earlier. But, this is kinda what I meant when I said he is maybe treating it like an 82 game series. The lack of a practice in off time ( I forgot to mention this one earlier, but I really dont get this one ), giving players second chances for development, these aren't things you have the luxury of in a tournament like this. In elimination tournaments, you go with what works and react in the now. I agree, this could have gone either way, but I still think it is generally regarded as a tactical error. That said, it was by far the lowest of Babcocks mistakes. All around I simply don't understand Crosby's first among equals status. His defensive play is meh, his shootout ability is meh and is leadership, to me, has never actually been verified, especially in this kind of dressing room. Frankly, this is Babcocks greatest sin, in my books. Thanks. Frankly, its part of what brought me here at this time. Talking to other Canadians about Canadian Olympic hockey really isn't that fun, too much group think or overwhelming irrational negativity. Actually, I agree, although I just like Torts.... I have to say, I sure as hell wouldnt have picked Brian Burke for GM!

Powerplay USA, again another soft call.

I know this means nothing to nobody, but... Team USA jerseys are really effing ugly. (Semi) weak call on Malone. 2 minutes for roughing. Swiss apparently 4 for 9 on powerplay.

Keep forgetting the period breaks are shorter in international hockey. Would love if the NHL did this! Well, unless of course I was at the game and was unable to get my beer during intermission.

US carried the play, Hiller is rock solid ( 18 saves! ). Miller pretty untested. Strangely refs are letting a lot of goaltender contact go uncalled. I missed the first few minutes, but I don't recall actually seeing a penalty at all during the first. Essentially, that period was won by the Swiss, as they are still in the game.

Wow, refs are really allowing a lot of contact on Hiller.

Ah ok. Gotta say, for a team whose best forward is Hnat Domenichelli, they really can make a game of it. Nobody defensemen blocking shots and playing positionally correct hockey. Pretty much exactly what they need to do against a much more skilled team. Hiller is looking good too. EDIT: Langdengrunner just got away with a goaltender interference.

LOL, they just said Jamie Langenbrunner almost didn't answer the phone call telling him he was team captain, because it was from the 416 area code and he thought it was about a trade. FYI, 416 is Toronto.

I'm new to these parts.... just to be certain, is this the GDT thread? If so, I have to say Hiller is looking like the Hiller from the Canadian game. Already 11 saves I believe.

You'd better pray Ice Dancing doesn't come on.... EDIT: How does the NBC feed look? Im watching on CTV ( Canada ) right now, and a few of their camera's are so mis calibrated and saturated that the ice is almost glowing! Hope they fix it soon, or I will try and stream the NBC feed.

What a thoughtful and informative rebutal. You sir, with your razor wit and well reasoned arguments have completely changed my mind!!! Oh wait... Oh, and by no means am I alone in my fear of Russia. Here are the Vegas odds 4501 Canada -104 4502 Russia +226 4503 Sweden +651 4504 USA +1080 4505 Czech Republic +1782 4506 Finland +2362 4507 Slovakia +6952 4508 Field +11809

It is only scapegoating if well, the players are scape goated. ( Yes, i'm making up words... ). See, the US/Canada loss, in pretty much all the press and most of the water cooler talk I've particpated in, been placed mostly on the shoulders of Brodeur. Does Babcock have is share of the blame, you betcha! On much the same accord, even if Canada wins gold, it doesn't erase the glaring mistakes Babcock has made. No doubt, if Canada loses a number of people will put too much blame on Babcock's shoulders, as always seems to happen, but no doubt some of the blame is his.

At the start of the year ( before his season with Calgary and when coaches were being picked ) I would have said Brian Sutter. Sutter has so much international experience and did a great job with New Jersey. Of the three coaches picked, I would have gone with Ruff. That said, its just my two cents and I would make a lousy GM. I personally would have picked John Tortorella to lead the US team, so.... that said, I have been really impressed with Wilson, especially his treatment of the media and under the dark cloud he must be dealing with. I hated him as coach of Vancouver, but since I have been more and more impressed. He is outspoken, but I tend to agree with him. Just, his inability to close the deal is a bit scary.

I would caution anyone to underestimate the Swiss, which I never EVER thought I would say. A hot goalie can easily win a series and Hiller is hot. Amazingly enough, this relative group of nobodies can actually be quite a force to. Regardless to how hot Hiller was, the Swiss matched the Canadians for intensity. You should win that game, but don't assume it will be a cakewalk. Personally, as a Canadian, I am TERRIFIED of the Russians, that top line is really that scary. No offence to the Americans, but I actually see Russia as the biggest threat. On the brightside, they seem to be having the chemistry problems Canada is. You are right though, today is an amazing hockey day! Im well stocked with beer, and for a change, I have an excuse to start drinking at 3!

The way your thread was ( and wasn't ) responded to, really shows me how many people on this forum have their home town blinders on. That, and the thread title ( obviously not your fault ) itself is very incendiary and not very helpful towards a civil argument. Is Babcock a bad coach? No. Is Babcock doing a good job at the Olympics? No, absolutely not. He has made some mind bogglingly bad decisions, that I for the life of me can't explain. Perhaps he is treating this too much like a 82 game series, I don't know. I don't personally blame him for the USA loss, that rests solely on two sets of shoulders, Brodeur and Miller, but he has definitely made some big mistakes. His treatment of Iginla is just baffling. To say "He isn't there to score" when he is the all time leading Olympic goal scorer is just a bit crazy... Starting him on the 4th line ( granted, 4th line of a stacked team ) seemed like a waste of use, but BENCHING HIM!!!! I mean... WTF? With a list of players doing NOTHING ( Pronger, Thorton, even Nash ) should have been benched long before hand. If I was a more cynical man, I would make note of the fact DET is in 9th while CGY is in 8th, but i'm not quite that jaded. I will say though, Babcock does have some sort of vindetta against Canada's top scoring player... Hell, he still won't acknowledge Iginla's contributions. Brodeur. I am not blaming him for going with Marty ( I probably would have too ), but I sure as hell blame him for not pulling him! The Nash penalty shot incident. I mean, wow, really, just wow. The game was already in the bag for the most part... let the guy take the damned shot! What a moronic and demoralizing move. Blown time out (non)call So, no, he isn't a bad coach, but in this Olympics, he sure doesn't look like a good one! As to the Job Yzerman did, I think being GM of the Canadian Olympic team has to be about the worst job in the world. When your team is expected to win, really at best you can meet expectations. That, would not be fun. That said, no matter how bad things turn out, Yzerman can't possibly do any worse than *spit* Bobby Clark *spit* did in Nagano, that piece of $@#$@$. I will gladly argue any of the points I have made above and would love to have a good discussion on the topic. That said, I will simply ignore any personal or ad hominem attacks, so don't waste your time. Oh, and hi all, i'm new here.