And so another Olympics have ended. As is typical of most Games, we had the things we could rely on - Canadian gold in all sorts of hockey, Dutch dominance in speedskating, snowboarders and freeskiers providing countless hours of hilarious entertainment - and the surprises. Here are my top 10 favorite storylines from these Games.
10. Nightmare Bear, the world's most terrifying mascot.
9. Discovering new (old) sports. It never fails. At every Olympics, I get caught up, thanks to schedule or circumstance or whatever, in a new sport. And I don't mean new like it's a new sport, but new to me. I never thought I'd spend hours watching cross country skiing but I suddenly couldn't look away. And I don't remember the introduction to snowboardcross at a previous Olympics, but it might have been my favorite thing to watch this time around. Even Charlie White and Meryl Davis had me more interested in ice dancing, although I still wouldn't say I'm a fan.
8. Snowboarders. Seriously, the most entertaining athletes ever.
7. Zdeno Chara as the unofficial (and far less terrifying) mascot of the Games.
6. Stray dogs. And their best friend, Gus Kenworthy.
5. Buddy Cole. For those who've missed it, Stephen Colbert's official man-about-Sochi was Kids in the Hall favorite Buddy Cole. His reporting on Russia's anti-gay propaganda laws was both ridiculous (because of him) and ridiculous (because of Russia).
4. Johnny Quinn vs. Sochi. It shouldn't have amused me as much as it did, but I enjoyed the antics of Johnny Quinn, the unluckiest man in Sochi.
3. Johnny Weir and Tara Lapinski. Who would have guessed I could like figure skating commentary this much?
2. Sarah Burke. One of the saddest stories surrounding these Olympics centered on Sarah Burke, the Canadian freestyle skier who fought to get events like the freeski halfpipe added. She succeeded, but died in a training accident before she could actually compete herself. Her influence hung over the women's freeski events, both with her husband and parents' attendance and the closeness she had with the rest of the field, regardless of country affiliation.
1. Steve Holcomb. He overcame potential blindness, crippling depression and thoughts of suicide to become one of the most successful U.S. bobsledders in recent years. Four years after taking gold in the four-man in Vancouver, he added a pair of bronzes in two and four-man, becoming the first person to medal in each event in over 50 years.
Medals Awarded Yesterday
Bobsled - Four Man
Gold: Russia
Silver: Latvia
Bronze: U.S.
Cross Country - Men's 50km Mass Start
Gold: Alexander Legkov (Russia)
Silver: Maxim Vylegzhanin (Russia)
Bronze: Ilia Chernousov (Russia)
Hockey - Men's
Gold: Canada
Silver: Sweden
Final Medal Count
G - S - B - Total
Russia 13 - 11 - 9 - 33
U.S. 9 - 7 - 12 - 28
Norway 11 - 5 - 10- 26
Canada 10 - 10 - 5 - 25
Netherlands 8 - 7 - 9 - 24
Germany 8 - 6 - 5 - 19
France 4 - 4 - 7 - 15
China 3 - 4 - 2 - 9
South Korea 3 - 3 - 2 - 8
Czech Republic 2 - 4 - 2 - 8
Japan 1 - 4 - 3 - 8
Belarus 5 - 0 - 1 - 6
Poland 4 - 1 - 1 - 6
Finland 1 - 3 - 1 - 5
Australia 0 - 2 - 1 - 3
Ukraine 1 - 0 - 1 - 2
Kazakhstan 0 - 0 - 1 - 1
Silver: Sweden
Final Medal Count
G - S - B - Total
Russia 13 - 11 - 9 - 33
U.S. 9 - 7 - 12 - 28
Norway 11 - 5 - 10- 26
Canada 10 - 10 - 5 - 25
Germany 8 - 6 - 5 - 19
Austria 4 - 8 - 5 - 17
Sweden 2 - 7 - 6 - 15
Switzerland 6 - 3 - 2 - 11
Slovenia 2 - 2 - 4 - 8
Italy 0 - 2 - 6 - 8
Great Britain 1 - 1 - 2 - 4
Latvia 0 - 2 - 2 - 4
Ukraine 1 - 0 - 1 - 2
Slovakia 1 - 0 - 0 - 1
Croatia 0 - 1 - 0 - 1Kazakhstan 0 - 0 - 1 - 1
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