After All These Years, United States vs. Russia Still Holds Our Undivided Attention

By - Benjamin Lincecum

It goes without saying that history runs deep between the U.S. and Russia. From the time when they were the two most dominant super powers on the planet (both politically and athletically), to today, there is something about these two countries competing against one another that fills their citizens with fire.

There is perhaps no better instance of this competition than the "Miracle on Ice," when an overmatched Team USA managed to defeat the heavily-favored Russians during the 1980 Olympics held in Lake Placid, New York.

Audiences in both countries were again treated to a fantastic hockey game Saturday, and more than anything, it perfectly illuminated the Olympic spirit.

Photo by: Jonathan Nackstrand

Both teams took to the ice determined to pull out a win, and both had solid outings. There was controversy and intrigue. Jonathan Quick, the American goaltender, put on a brilliant display, with 29 saves in regular time and 5 more during the shootout. Pavel Datsyuk started the scoring for both teams before the U.S. scored twice. The Russians eventually tied the game, and then the controversy came.

With a little over 15 minutes to go in the contest, the Russians appeared to have taken the lead on a strong shot by Fedor Tyutin. Amidst the celebration by both the home crowd and Russian International Team, the officials started a review process. No one in the play-by-play group knew what was going on, as there was seemingly no reason the shot should have been reviewed.

They were even more flummoxed when the referee came out and waved the goal off.

It was then that it was pointed out that the net was off the moorings before the goal had been scored, which, according to international rules, negated the point. Once play resumed, neither team really made much noise.

In the overtime period, both squads struggled to get much of anything going. The only real chance came when Patrick Kane managed to breakaway from the Russian defense and streak towards the net. At that moment, my throat tightened. I felt my friend lean forward in his seat, and I swear he temporarily stopped breathing. Alas, the room filled with groans when Kane's shot was corralled by Sergei Bobrovsky.

Then came the extras. We all nervously stared at the screen hoping that the U.S. could put the game away. The outburst when T.J. Oshie scored on his first attempt was not overwhelming, but it was strong. Jonathan Quick stayed big in the net, making sure the Russians had no conversions in the shootout after two tries. After Joe Pavelski failed to convert his scoring opportunity, the tension in the room really ratcheted up. We watched as Ilya Kovalchuk picked up speed on his way towards the goal, and everyone let the outbursts fly as he blasted a shot past Quick to keep hope alive for Team Russia.

2014 Men's Olympic Hockey Power Rankings

By - Brad Heerschop

With most of the other events well underway now, the moment we've all been waiting for is finally upon us.

What I'm referring to, of course, is Men's Olympic Hockey. Sure, the women's portion has been fun, but let's be honest, that was basically a two-horse race before it even started. With the United States and Canada capturing four golds, three silvers and one bronze medal over the last four Winter Games, it's pretty much a lock that the preliminary affairs will be nothing more than formalities.

The men are an entirely different story, though. There are seven teams fully capable of capturing gold in Sochi, and the other five clubs in the tournament are good enough to play spoiler at any point.

So let's get to it. Here are our 2014 Men's Olympic Hockey power rankings.

Photo by: Jayne Kamin

12. Slovenia - While I have them as a dark horse to make at least some noise in this tourney, with the exception of L.A. Kings center Anze Kopitar, the Slovenian team is primarily made up of nobodies. 26-year-old Kopitar is no slouch with 47 points in 59 regular season NHL games this year, but is he enough to take this club past the group stage? The only other vaguely familiar name on this squad is Jan Mursak, a former Detroit Red Wing, and only the second Slovenian-born player in NHL history. Mursak now plays in the KHL, and has performed more than modestly at that level, but with only two familiar faces, Slovenia is a wild card, at best. If you're one of those people looking for that "root for the little guy" moment, this is it. 2014 marks Slovenia's first time ever competing for Olympic glory, and they managed to qualify without Kopitar, who was playing in North America at the time.

11. Latvia - A case could be made for this bunch at No. 12, but it's hard to put them behind Slovenia, all things considered. Latvia managed to qualify for the Olympics last time around, in 2010, albeit an 0-3 performance in which they scored only 4 goals. Another club with many unknowns, the only big name to speak of is center Zemgus Girgensons. A former first-round pick for the Buffalo Sabres, Girgensons highlights a rather limited group of talent, at least as far as the NHL is concerned. Older hockey fans will remember Sandis Ozolinsh, who will be playing in his second Olympics, but at age 41, it remains to be seen what he has left in the tank. Other names of note are Oskars Bartulis, Arturs Kulda, Kaspars Daugavins and Martin Karsums, all of whom have played in the big leagues in some form or fashion. The real question is, how will 5'10 goalie Edgars Masalskis, a notoriously clutch goaltender in big moments, play for the Latvians? The person who could really help them is Sabres interim head coach Ted Nolan, who should make this Latvian team play to their highest potential. I just don't think that potential is medal-worthy.

10. Austria - This is the first year that Austria has qualified for Olympic play since '02, when they finished dead last. The last time they won any medal in men's hockey was in the 1947 World Ice Hockey Championship when they took home the bronze. Goalie Bernhard Starkbaum has been good in international play during his career, so at the highest level, it'll be fun to see how he performs. Austrian team captain Thomas Vanek and New York Islanders teammate Michael Grabner, along with Philadelphia Flyers first-liner Michael Raffl account for all of the NHL talent on this team. However, hockey is deeper than the NHL these days, and you can expect some of the spotlight to shine on Manuel Latusa and Daniel Oberkofler, both of whom play in Austria's hockey league. This team is far from loaded, but they have some talent. That said, paired with Finland, Canada and Norway, I wouldn't expect them to go far.

The XXII Winter Games: Hypocrisy in Sochi

By - Benjamin Lincecum

If you think the 2014 Sochi Winter Games are strictly about the events themselves, you are sadly mistaken.

Photo by: Getty Images

Everything about these Olympics has been big and political, something the event is not unfamiliar with. From the U.S. protest of the 1980 Moscow Games, to the Berlin Games in 1936 that saw Adolf Hitler try to prove his ideas about race and eugenics, to the '68 Mexico Games where two African-American athletes raised their fists in gesture to support the idea of civil rights in their country.

Perhaps the most infamous political moment in the Olympics came in the 1972 Games in Munich where eleven Israeli athletes were killed by five Palestinians, who also died, after a standoff with German authorities.

From the onset of these particular Games, there have been accusations of political intrigues, corruption and misconduct. Contracts were given out to childhood friends of the Russian president, and the cost overrun for the projects has been enormous. There has also been the storyline of recent anti-homosexual and general anti-human rights laws that have come out of the Russian government, coupled with jihadist threats to attack the Games themselves.

Teams like Greece and Germany were assigned protest status against their own intentions, and a gay athlete from the Netherlands openly flouted her opinion after her slopestyle run by showing off her rainbow themed unicorn gloves to the cameras.

Perhaps one of the most interesting and underreported stories comes from recent revelations that Russian TV audiences were not allowed to see footage of the ring mishap during the opening ceremonies, but were treated to a doctored version that was earlier recorded where all of the snow flakes successfully changed into colorless rings.

The big question we now face is, do we really care?

Per Olympic rules, the Games are not to be used as a political platform, but it's rarely, if ever, enforced by the committee. Athletes like Tommie Smith and John Carlos faced no lasting consequences, and the IOC has said nothing in regards to Cheryl Maas' antics. Russia has even used the Olympics to advance the narrative of their beliefs regarding the problems with the modern gay rights movement becoming less a movement about human equality and more about forcing people to adopt beliefs against their will.

Multiple Playmakers Snubbed By Team Canada

By - Brad Heerschop

In the midst of the NFL playoff frenzy, I have been a bit slack in my hockey coverage as of late. Have no fear, with the 2014 Winter Olympics just around the corner, puck season is officially in full effect.

February 8th, the world's best hockey nations will begin competing in Sochi, Russia for International Hockey's biggest prize; an Olympic gold medal. It seems like only yesterday I watched Jarome Iginla find Sidney Crosby open in front of the net to cap Canada's thrilling overtime win over the United States in the 2010 Games.

Photo by: Jamie Squire

This time around, I'm not so sold on the product Canada is putting on the ice.

Goaltending has been a point of concern for fans in the Great White North for many years now, and this year is no different. With Carey Price's recent struggles, Team Canada is forced to hope that Roberto Luongo has some Olympic magic left in the tank. Otherwise, the load falls on Coyote netminder Mike Smith.

Not that any of the three are bad goalies by any stretch, but the Canadian teams of yesteryear, with superstar goaltenders Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy, are now a thing of the not-so-distant past. In fact, many might argue that there are several other countries with an advantage over what Canada now has to offer. Jonas Hiller (Switzerland), Tuukka Rask (Finland), Jaroslav Halak (Slovakia), Sergei Bobrovsky (Russia), Henrik Lundqvist (Sweden), and Ryan Miller (USA) are all names that might come up as preferred options to what the world's foremost hockey nation currently has between the pipes.

Nonetheless, every country still has to pick somebody, and the three guys they've chosen are certainly the most viable options. Regardless of who is in net, Team Canada has arguably the most talented roster top-to-bottom, and will definitely be on everybody's radar, as usual.

Which brings me to the point of this article. Team Canada boasts a roster with the top 3 point-getter's thus far in the NHL this season. The problem is, Canada has a ton of goal-scoring prodigies, but the squad is lacking in the true playmaker department.

Throughout the past three seasons, five Canadian-born players find themselves in the top 10 for goals league-wide. Of those five, four of them are on this year's roster. Canada also has five players in the NHL's top 10 for assists during that same time frame. However, only two of those individuals will be making the trip to Sochi.

In fact, the top 3 on the list were players snubbed by the Canadian Olympic Committee.

Hey America, Leave McKayla Alone!

By - Brian Harrington

Pretty much all I've heard over the last few days is how gymnast McKayla Maroney acted "spoiled," "like a bad sport," and even "made the U.S. look bad" at the Olympic Games in London.

Photo by: Brian Snyder

Whoa, pump your breaks there America.

There are a few things that come into play here:

1. I watched the vault final live. All I heard the ENTIRE telecast were the announcers saying things like "this is hers to win," "the others already know they're just competing for silver and bronze," and "there's no way she loses this." So you know if they're saying it, chances are -- others had probably been saying it to her from the moment she got on the plane to London.

2. She's ONLY 16! I mean, come on!

I actually LIKE the fact that she got pissy. It tells me that silver wasn't good enough for her, that gold was her goal, and she was upset she didn't get it.

I'm 33-years-old, and I get mad when I get beat playing sports video games. I bet I've broken about $500 worth of controllers. And yes, there are actually several witnesses to this. I can only imagine how I would react on the world stage.

Michael Phelps: Greatest Olympian of All-Time

By - Kyle Malinowski

How do you recognize greatness in sports?

Usually, we recognize it when an athlete or team accomplishes feats that seem next to impossible. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps accomplished greatness when he went 8-for-8 with 8 gold medals, a feat never accomplished in Olympic swimming history.

While Phelps didn't need this year's Olympic Games to solidify his greatness, by taking the chance at an older age to fail, he made matching his legacy in the pool even more unreachable in the near future -- if ever.

Photo by: Getty Images

Phelps finished the London Games as the greatest Olympian of all-time. But early on, it looked like that might not be the case, after fellow U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte dominated Phelps in one of his signature events, the 400-meter individual medley.

However, the champion inside Phelps once again came out, as he finished the games winning more medals than any other Olympian -- 4 gold and 2 silver. Phelps regained his Beijing form by blistering the competition in the remaining events. He even won his always closest race, the 100-meter butterfly, fairly easily.

Phelps has proclaimed that London is the last time we will ever see him glide through the water like a dolphin. If this is true, it is very sad, as the odds we will ever see another Michael Phelps are highly unlikely.

When you watch sports, you can always tell when you're witnessing greatness. Phelps makes SWIMMING must-see TV, and that in itself is a tell-tale sign of just how one of a kind he is as an Olympic athlete.

The 2016 Games just won't be the same without Phelps, as surely no male American swimmer will be able to win almost every race he enters as Phelps did in Beijing. Therefore, now that he is finished, we must begin predicting how large of an impact his dominance in the pool will have on the popularity of swimming as a sport amongst American youth in the future.

Phelps has already started swimming schools around his Baltimore home. However, the problem with Olympic athletes is that shortly after the flame is extinguished, even the most dominant ones fall off the national radar.

Ryan Lochte's Mom Throws Him in the Deep End

By - Keith Smith

Anyone who has ever played sports has probably been embarrassed by their mom.

Whether it's screaming at the very top of her lungs, cheering your success, or yelling at the umpire over a bad call, we've all wanted to pull our jersey over our head in shame at one point or another.

I think that concept reached a whole new level on Thursday.

Ryan Lochte's mother, Ike, told The Today Show that her son "goes out on one-night stands," and that he's not able to give fully to a relationship because "he's always on the go."

Photo by: Getty Images

It's a good thing Lochte has learned to hold his breath for a long time, because he may be tempted to stay under the pool's surface for, oh...the remainder of these Olympic games?

I don't suppose this came as a great surprise to anyone. I mean, I've seen more women - young and old, married and single - on Facebook this week practically offering themselves to Lochte. But it is just a bit disconcerting to hear it FROM HIS MOM!

My mom and I talked about a lot of things, both growing up and once I was an adult. My sex life was never one of them. Even after I was married and had two kids, I was okay letting her think I was still a virgin.

Out of fairness, the simple fact that Mrs. Lochte made these revelations on national TV doesn't necessarily mean that Lochte and his mom have long, deep conversations about his sex life. It's even quite likely that his mom was using incorrect terminology.

How Does the Rest of the World View Team USA?

By - Kyle Malinowski

What do people around the world think of when they see an Olympian from Team USA? Do they see American politics and how they view our country and government through our athletes, or are the Americans basically the equivalent of rock stars?

Photo by: Getty Images

In recent years, we have had figures such as Apolo Anton Ohno, Michael Phelps, and LeBron James -- who have taken athletic prowess to an unprecedented level. America may be one of the fattest countries in the world, but somehow, we still manage to produce the world's greatest athletes.

As an American myself, I always ponder if the Olympics are actually fair? I mean, proportionally, we should by far have the best athletes because of how large our country is and also how much money we can put into training at early ages. So does the world see Team USA as superstars or villains? Can the Olympics be the time where politics and hatred go out the window for a short time?

I am proud to be an American, getting to watch my fellow countrymen dominate in their respective sports, but I also must acknowledge that it almost feels like if we lose -- it's terrible.

But for the stories like Usain Bolt, it's a marvel for the country of Jamaica. Let's face it, Bolt will be a legend to his countrymen until the end of time. However, in the USA, Michael Phelps must dominate to such a degree that he forces himself into our national consciousness.

Therefore, I believe you could argue that we really don't appreciate our athletes in this country as much as other countries do. I believe this could possibly stem from the melting pot America has become, in that it's very hard for every American to find someone to bond over.

A Legacy at Stake? Michael Phelps Holds the Weight of the Swimming World on His Shoulders in the 2012 London Games

By - Kyle Malinowski

When one assesses the pantheon of American Olympians, male swimmer Michael Phelps would certainly contend for the title of the greatest Olympian of all-time.

Photo by: Heinz Kluetmeier

As the record holder of the most gold medals (14) ever won during the Summer Olympic Games, Phelps has nothing left to prove concerning his remarkable prowess in the water.

The last time America focused its attention squarely on Phelps was during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in which he went 8-for-8 by taking gold in all of the events he participated in. He almost did not achieve perfection in Beijing, but his close call in the 100-meter butterfly only added to his legend.

In perhaps the most memorable image of his career, Phelps won his 7th gold by one-hundredth of a second over Serbia's Milorad Cavic. It was only fitting that our most decorated Summer Olympian was not denied history in a photo finish.

Following the Beijing Games, Phelps was a hero and the epitome of perfection. The word that summed him up best: Dominating.

In the summer of 2012 though, at the London Olympic Games, he will most likely not be given a pass by the American public because of his past success. When Phelps chose to once again don the stars and stripes for his third Olympic Games, success in the pool instantly became the expectation.

This is the question I have: How will Michael Phelps be remembered if he does not win another gold medal? Will he be viewed as lazy? If he fails, will it be argued that he was satisfied with his performance in Beijing and did not care if he won in London?

Fair or unfair, Phelps has raised the bar so high that even the greatest swimmer in the world may not be able to match his past exploits. Therefore, shouldn't we view the London Games as a farewell, an opportunity to see him soar through the water during prime time one last time and not care if he wins?

In an ideal world -- yes, that would be the case; however, I have a feeling that Phelps will not be given that luxury.