I only have a passing interest in the upcoming Winter Olympics. I dislike the Olympics in general. Being held in Canada is only making me marginally interested. First, I don’t think most events are actual sports. Ice dance is not a sport. It’s dancing…on ice. Don’t tell me dancing is a sport. If drunken people do it in a club then it’s not a sport. Am I supposed to take these events seriously when they are subjectively scored by crooked judges? At least the winter Olympics are better than the summer ones which are filled with survival tactics (e.g. running, swimming), not sports. Wow, you can run fast. Great, that isn’t fun, it’s what you have to do when a bear is chasing you. The only thing I am looking forward to in the Olympics is men’s ice hockey (I also get pretty into the women’s final). In fact, to me the Olympics is synonymous with hockey. If Canada is shut out of every medal, but they take home the gold in men’s hockey, I will consider it a success.

The roster announcement is set for about a week away, so I thought it would be appropriate to outline my picks for the team. I’ve already stated my reasons for leaving Thornton and Marleau off the team, but I’ve got a terrible feeling one, if not both, will be on Steve Yzerman’s list.

It’s imperative that Canada makes the right picks because Torino was a clusterfuck. That year Gretzky and friends picked a horrible defence (McCabe, Redden, Foote, Blake in particular). Pronger looked old and out-of-place, but the four previously mentioned were miles behind the competition. The offense couldn’t score and remember the number one centre that year was Jumbo Joe Thornton. There was also the baffling Todd Bertuzzi selection and the Sidney Crosby omission. These aren’t even just bad moves in hind sight. Even before the tournament began these picks were suspect. Canada needs the gold. It’ll take a long time for the nation to recover if we don’t. Onto the picks.