Verdict: Summer Olympics still better

With the conclusion of the Winter Olympics, it is kind of sad that the nonstop action has finally come to an end. No longer can I turn on NBC and know that there is going to be some sort of winter contest on. One question that is always asked about the Olympics is which games are better: the Winter or Summer Olympics? Though I do like both, I think the summer games are far more exciting and fun to watch.

Both the summer and winter games have their fair share of exciting, heart-pounding sports. The summer games has the 100m dash, while the short track speed skating competition is always crazy in the winter Olympics.

These two sports aren’t without characters to root for either. Though he was not born in the US, Usain Bolt is a fan favorite in the 100m dash, not only in native-Jamaica, but all over the world including the US. In the 2008 Olympics, he smashed records in that event as well as in the 200m.

Speed skating has American Apollo Ohno, who just recently captured his 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th Olympic medals in Vancouver. Speed skating is a sport where anything can happen as Ohno is well aware. He was in fourth going into the final turn of the men’s 1500 meter finals when two Koreans wiped out and he took the silver.

Speed skating is exciting, but I still prefer watching the fastest men in the world compete against each other for just under 10 seconds. This isn’t the only sport where I hold preference for the Summer to the Winter Olympics. Figure skating is boring and overplayed, which is a terrible combination. The male figure skating is ten times worse than the females just because of the terrible outfits that the men wear. I don’t think anybody enjoys these men in the outfits, but I could be wrong. I doubt it though.

The odd sports in the Winter Olympics are pretty interesting, but they can get old fast. Curling was cool a couple Olympics ago, but now I think they go on for too long. The games take forever and there are no household names to draw viewers. The same goes with skeleton and luge, though they are exciting sports nonetheless. The problem is that they are never shown on NBC at good times. One o’clock in the morning is not a good time to watch skeleton.

In the summer games, beach volleyball is the equivalent to figure skating in terms of being overplayed, but I would still much rather watch volleyball. The swimming is also very exciting in the summer games. Sure, part of this is because Michael Phelps is swimming, but the same can be said for snowboarding with Shaun White. Both sports are great to watch, but are made even better with these icons.

On Sunday, February 28^th, the hockey gold medal game was played in Vancouver. This is one thing that I agree is amazing in the Winter Olympics. The United States hung with the gold medal favorite Canadians, and gave them all they could handle for three periods and overtime. The Canadians outlasted the US team 3-2 in a game that kept all fans on the edge of their seats. Basketball does not bring this type of excitement in the summer games, just because the US is heads above every other country at the sport it seems.   

Overall, though, the summer games are much more fun to me. They rarely lag like the winter Olympics do. So in 2012, when the summer games come to London, I will be much more excited for the games. It’s too bad that the 2016 Olympics are not in Chicago.

The Ballad of Nick Klytta

This weekend senior hockey player Nick Klytta tied up his skates for one last hoorah. Klytta has been playing hockey for thirteen years of his 18 year-old life. This past season he played for the Hawks, an NIHL (Northern Illinois Hockey League) team. Nonetheless, it is possible that he will never take the ice again, despite an opportunity to play for Western Illinois University club hockey team.

Klytta and company took the ice early Saturday morning to compete in the Rock n’ Roll Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio. They got off to a stellar start winning three in a row with Klytta recording three goals and three assists. 

Late in the third period of the third game, Klytta was punched by a frustrated member of the opposing team. Klytta responded and broke the player’s nose. He was suspended for game four, and the Hawks struggled without its star player, losing the match. Luckily the tourney was double elimination and Klytta and company would still play in the championship.

“I knew that I had to go out with a bang, more so a championship,” Klytta said of his pre-game thoughts.  Klytta was awarded tourney MVP for his outstanding six goals and three assists.

After the game, Klytta said, “I was on cloud nine.  Then I caught the over time of the USA vs. Canada gold medal game.”

Klytta is still undecided on whether he will play hockey at the next level. He is unsure on if he can balance the college work load and playing hockey, but also unsure of if he can live without the game.

Canada beaten at their own game

The most hyped game of the Olympic hockey season ends in an upset for Canada with USA winning 5-3. This time the game was not for a medal, but for pride and respect for the US team. This win was the first win over Canada for the US since 50 years ago. With a bunch of players who are new to the Olympics on the US team, the win brought back memories of the Miracle on Ice, when an amateur US team took the gold away from Soviet Union.   

The game started fast with Brian Rafalski scoring a goal in the first forty seconds of the game. This was returned by a goal from Canada and then another goal by Rafalski, his second of the night.

In the second period Canada scored again to tie it up, but then the U.S. slipped ahead with another goal to end the second period 3-2.

With tensions high, U.S. scores again in the third taking the lead by two with 4-2. Canada then tried to make a comeback with another goal leaving it at 4-3. Then with only forty-five seconds left in the game the US cemented their lead with an open net goal from Ryan Kesler on Canada.

The US team will now advance into the quarterfinals top seeded. Their next game will be on Wednesday against Sweden. This year may just be another miracle on ice for the US hockey team.

Back on the ice

On Monday, September 14, the Bulldogs hockey team returned to the ice for the first time since the spring season ended. The Bulldogs are returning with a spark this year after winning the spring season championship.

The head coach for the Bulldogs is Yovan Stevanovich also known as Coach Yo. Coach Stevanovich is looking to bring the team to the championship and bring home a trophy.

The team will be held to high expectations this season because they had gone to the fall season championship but lost to Nazareth/Guerin Prep, to with  score of  6-4. “ I expect our team to developed well, because we’re practicing a lot to become better players, and be a force to be reckon with in the league.” Said junior assistant captain Jon Stevanovich

Stevanovich helped the Bulldogs to the spring league championship. If his efforts can carry over, he can do the same for Bulldogs this fall so the Dogs can bring home a championship.

The team got some help in between the pipes from freshman goalie Bobby Heff. All together the Bulldogs did great during there spring season. Hopefully their efforts will carry over so the team will can bring back a trophy to R-B.

Now with one game in the books, the Bulldogs are 1-0. The Dogs beat St. Charles East to a score of 8-2. Now the Bulldogs hope they have some momentum that will help them through the season.