“Vancouver” on The Daily Caller

ALBUQUERQUE—Having left Vancouver for a long weekend in the Bay Area, I now arrived in the frozen desert. It was 38°F when I landed, and the temperature dropped below freezing overnight. Never mind that I was now over 1,000 miles south of the Winter Games; I had returned to winter for the first time since leaving D.C. on the last flight out of Dulles before the airport shut down two weeks ago. (more)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Question: Will American audiences tune in to a ladies figure skating competition in which an American is not in the hunt for the gold medal? Maybe not even make an appearance on the podium? It hasn’t happened since 1964, but we may find out in the next few days, for this Olympic gold will be decided between a couple of longtime Asian rivals: South Korea and Japan. (more)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia–Less than a century ago, the timing of downhill skiing required someone at the top and bottom of the run, each with a stopwatch synchronized to the time of day. (more)

Legendary newsman Tom Brokaw was a big hit at the opening night of the Games in Vancouver when NBC aired his feature on the long relationship between the United States and their neighbors to the north. The moving feature was a huge hit that struck an emotional chord with viewers both in America as well as in Canada. (WATCH THE FEATURE HERE) (more)

VANCOUVER—On my last day in Vancouver, I didn’t end up attending any sporting events—preferring to save my money for sushi and souvenirs. Instead I walked around bits of the city I hadn’t previously covered, such as the bridge over False Creek by the Olympic Village (whose high rises are bedecked by various national flags, as well as Australia’s trademark-skirting boxing kangaroo). (more)

VANCOUVER — As soon as Steve Petrie arrived at Cypress Mountain, high above the city, a hint of panic set in. (more)

It’s been an excruciatingly long week. It began with the Daytona 500, where Tony had a less than stellar day and I spent an interminable 16-hour caution drinking with Andy Levy. For the rest of the week, I’ve been a shut-in, toiling away on my master’s thesis, due inexplicably soon, drowning in Durkheim and Freud and Geertz, reminding myself to eat and bathe, and assuring myself that any of this actually matters. I can sum up my fragile state of mind in one sentence: My mother wished me a happy birthday, and I said, “When is it?” (more)

We’re nearly halfway through the 2010 Winter Olympics and we’ve seen some dazzling performances by Americans. (more)

(Newser) – Now we know the real reason for those annoying Olympics tape delays: when NBC goes live, it gets f-bombed. Last night’s live snowboarding coverage took an awkward turn for the network when Shaun White’s coach told him on live television to “stomp the shit” out of the half-pipe and moved up to the big gun when he congratulated him on his predicted gold medal: “Way to effing go, man.” (more)

VANCOUVER—Yesterday I went downtown to the Robson Square Celebration Site (Is that like Berkeley’s free-speech zone such that you can’t celebrate anywhere else?) to see if I could pick up a hockey ticket. I love using scalpers: no waiting in line at the official box office, no Ticketmaster “service” charge, nothing but negotiating price mano-a-mano. I’m not sure how legal it is here—government does try to stamp out economic intercourse between consenting adults—but dozens of them are out in the open wearing laminated signs, so I assume they’re at least tolerated. Good for Vancouver: Scalpers make the ticket marketplace go round, ensuring efficient pricing and distribution. (more)

A mentally ill man with a homemade security pass was able to get within metres of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden during a security breach at the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, CTV News has learned. (more)

(CNN) — Lindsey Vonn of the United States lived up to her billing as the golden girl of the Winter Olympics with a dominant victory in the women’s downhill at Whistler Creek on Wednesday. (more)

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ilya Shapiro is currently on the ground in Vancouver and will be sending dispatches throughout the Olympic Games, posted here at The Daily Caller (more)

Shaun White wants to grab breakfast. He doesn’t have much time. Maybe 45 minutes. Conquering the world demands a tight schedule. (more)

Every time the Olympics roll around, some of the toned, horny athletes get nakey for one publication or another. This year, People talked to snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis and alpine skier Lindsey Vonn about taking it off. Jacobellis says, “I get way too many little girls who are crazy about snowboarding coming up to me, asking for autographs and advice, and I want to stay a strong role model for them.” Meanwhile, Vonn was one of the four Olympians who posed for this month’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue (above) and said, “I talked about it with my husband, and I looked at what other athletes had done in the past, I’m trying as best as I can to promote our sport and make it mainstream.” I don’t blame hot-bodied athletes for taking it off—I’d be naked all the time if I looked like some of them—but saying you’re getting naked to make alpine skiing more mainstream is some major BS. (more)

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ilya Shapiro is currently on the ground in Vancouver and will be sending dispatches throughout the Olympic Games, posted here at The Daily Caller.  (more)

The Olympic torch in Vancouver was lit last Friday, and on Saturday the Games got underway. (more)

Olympic organizers were Tuesday forced into an embarrassing cancellation of an extra 20,000 tickets for events on Vancouver’s Cypress Mountain over safety fears at the beleaguered venue. (more)

Happy Fat Tuesday from The Oval, where every day is Mardi Gras. Today President Obama has some good news to celebrate from Afghanistan as he continues his effort to provide jobs to Americans. (more)

Former governor Mitt Romney was attacked by a passenger on an Air Canada flight Monday morning. (more)