3 YOUTUBERS DIE IN CANADA FOR VIEWS (RYKER GAMBLE, ALEXEY LYAKH, MEGAN SCRAPER)

3 YOUTUBERS DIE IN CANADA FOR VIEWS (STUPID PRANKS):

RYKER GAMBLE, ALEXEY LYAKH, MEGAN SCRAPER - ALL IN THEIR 20’s.

GOOGLE & YOUTUBE PAY BIG BUCK$ FOR DANGEROUS PRANKS.

YOUNG YOUTUBERS RISK THEIR HUMAN LIVES FOR VIEWS AND LIKES.


Post Sources: BBC News, CBC News, Yahoo News, Youtube


****** Three YouTube vloggers die in waterfall plunge at Canada's Shannon Falls


Three members of a YouTube travel blogging collective have died after falling over a waterfall in Canada.

Ryker Gamble, Alexey Lyakh and Megan Scraper were part of High On Life, who post videos of their travel adventures.

The group said: "They were three of the warmest, kindest and most driven and outgoing people you could ever meet."

Police said the trio were swimming at the top of Shannon Falls in British Columbia on Tuesday when they "slipped and fell into a pool 30m (98ft) below".

Other members of the group, who have 1.1 million followers on Instagram and more than 500,000 YouTube subscribers, named the three on their memorial fund page and in a tribute video.

They said: "There are truly no words that can be said to ease the pain and the devastation we are all going through right now."

According to the Vancouver Sun, the accident happened when Scraper slipped and fell, with Gamble and Lyakh also getting swept away as they tried to save her.

High On Life are based in Vancouver and were formed by Gamble, Lyakh and another high school friend, Parker Heuser, after they travelled the world in 2012.

They decided to turn travel and video production into a full-time job and often promoted brands and destinations in the pictures and videos they posted from exotic locations.

Their Facebook page says: "High On Life is the attitude to embrace all of life's opportunities with a positive outlook and energy."

In one of his last Instagram posts, Gamble, spoke about the things we can all learn from "our younger selves".

He wrote: "Life isn't about responsibilities, tough decisions and hard work, it's about feeling bliss and living in the moment."

Last year, Gamble, Lyakh and another group member, Justis Price Brown, were banned from US federal land for five years after pleading guilty to walking on a sensitive hot spring in Yellowstone National Park and other crimes at parks across the western US.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they had received a call about three people swimming in one of the pools at the top of Shannon Falls, about 36 miles (58km) north of Vancouver.

"The individuals were with a group of friends when they slipped and fell into a pool 30 metres below," they said.

They added that teams had "worked throughout the day to complete the complex recovery of all three people from Shannon Falls" and that the file had been given to the coroner's office.

The British Columbia Coroners Service said on Friday they were in the early stages of the investigation.

An official confirmed the three were in their 20s, though Gamble's age has been reported as 30.

The Shannon Falls region and its old growth forests are an increasingly popular destination to visit in the province.

The waterfalls themselves are among of the tallest in British Columbia, reaching 1,009ft (335m) at their highest point.

In the wake of the tragedy, officials are warning people to be cautious in the area.

"Areas like Shannon Falls have very polished granite, it's very slippery with the mist and the lichen and etcetera that builds up around there-going in or near those pools has great risk," John Wilcox with Squamish Search and Rescue told radio station News 1130 on Wednesday.

"It's a very unfortunate circumstance hopefully we can all learn from."

AYESHA CURRY'S TWITTER RANT BACKLASH IS RACIST (REMEMBER TIPPER GORE?)

AYESHA CURRY'S TWITTER RANT BACKLASH IS RACIST (REMEMBER TIPPER GORE?)

IGNORE STEPHEN A. SMITH'S SEXIST, MISOGYNIST REMARKS.

IN AMERICA FREE SPEECH ISN'T COLORBLIND.

DOES ANYONE REMEMBER TIPPER GORE'S CENSORSHIP PR STUNT?

IS IT POSSIBLE AYESHA CURRY'S ANTI-NBA TWEETS COULD BE AN INTENTIONAL PR STUNT?

Sources: ESPN, Huffpost, Twitter, NBA, Rollingstone, Oprah, Village Voice, Undefeated, YouTube

Ayesha Curry, wife of NBA Superstar Stephen Curry is being slammed for her recent tweets about the NBA being rigged.

Many people have previously expressed this same sentiment about the NBA Play-offs, so why is Ayesha being rebuked?

Is it due to the fact that her husband Stepen is currently employed by the NBA or does RACISM play a factor in this backlash against Ayesha?

And why is Sports Commentator Stephen A. Smith (a BLACK Man) comparing Ayesha Curry to Lebron James' wife Savannah?

Both Women are BLACK, however that is where the similarity stops.

Since the husbands of Ayesha Curry and Savannah James will play for rival teams during the 2016 Play-Off games, is it possible Ayesha is strategically posting negative NBA Twitter rants as a PR stunt?

Has the Mainstream Media forgotten about TIPPER GORE, former wife of AL GORE?

When her husband was still employed as Vice-President in the Clinton administration, TIPPER GORE launched a national campaign to shut up and Censor the music of BLACK Rappers.

Yet......

No one, not even the NAACP told TIPPER GORE to "Shut up and stay in her place".

TIPPER GORE used her fake "Family Values" Hip Hop Music Censorship campaign to bring attention to HERSELF but no one said a word.

Not even Bill and Hillary Clinton!

******* Stephen A. Smith Essentially Tells Ayesha Curry To Shut Her Mouth And Know Her Place

“You are not just Ayesha Curry. You are Steph Curry’s wife.”

What many people thought would be a night of champagne celebrations for the Curry family instead turned out rather badly for them on Thursday night.

Stephen continued to lack MVP-level sharpness in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, fouling out and then getting ejected for throwing his mouthpiece at some rich kid in a loss that pushed the series to seven games. But most of the conversation following the game centered around his wife, who hopped on Twitter to accuse the Cavs of holding up the Warriors’ family bus and the NBA of rigging the Finals for money. (She quickly deleted the latter tweet.)

TWITTER/@AYESHACURRY

Ayesha joins the NBA conspiracy theorist community.

Steph defended his wife after the game, saying, “Everybody says stuff where you get caught in the moment ... I don’t fault her from showing some emotion on Twitter.” But on ESPN’s Friday morning episode of “First Take,” “analysts” Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless completely faulted Ayesha for showing emotion.

Smith spoke at length (as seen in the above video), in fact, about how NBA wives should and should not act. He focused the conversation around wives of the NBA Finals’ two rival stars: LeBron James and Steph. Smith thinks that Ayesha, a relative rookie when it comes to the superstar NBA lifestyle, should be quiet and act more like LeBron’s wife Savannah Brinson, a 13-year veteran of the NBA family. 

“[Brinson] never brings attention to herself. She never tweets and calls out the lying. Nobody, nobody is more scrutinized than her husband, but yet she thinks about how she represents him,” Smith said.  

And there’s nothing wrong or right about that! It’s Savannah’s choice to stay low and work on a small business. It’s also Ayesha’s choice to parlay her popularity as a family-first social media presence into a Food Network show. They’re different women who are making their own mark, if Smith couldn’t tell.

But he can’t, because his sexism won’t allow him to recognize Ayesha as an independent person from her husband. “You are not just Ayesha Curry. You are Steph Curry’s wife,” he shockingly said (and Bayless agreed!). Apparently, once a woman marries an NBA player, they no longer have their own identity. They’re merely ornamental.  

Smith claims that because “everybody veers towards Steph Curry,” we’re ignoring Ayesha’s tweets. Quite the contrary, as much has been made of her tweets Thursday morning. 

“If this were Savannah acting like this, do you know how much heat LeBron James may have taken?” Smith continued to argue. 

Savannah “acting like this” may indeed cause some heat for LeBron. Yet in the spectrum of overly critical LeBron stories, Smith’s “acting like this” hypothetical would likely amount to nothing. Would LeBron and Savannah suffer if she started defending LeBron’s flopping? No. Will Ayesha and Steph suffer because of a few tweets? No. When you’re Steph Curry or LeBron James, two of the biggest athletes alive, it’ll take a lot more than heated tweets to “hurt yourself or your husband or your family in any way,” as Smith said.

Ayesha evidently watched Smith’s diatribe, and responded on Twitter immediately: 

Seeing the tweet, Smith responded live on “First Take” and continued to explain why she was out of line.

“It is not me. It is you,” he said.

No it isn’t, Steven. No it isn’t. 

BILL MAHER (A LIBERAL) CRITICIZES RADICAL ISLAMIST IDEOLOGY

“This idea that somehow we do share values, that all religions are alike, is bullshit.

And we need to call it bullshit,”

BILL MAHER

Some 2016 Voters are concerned that if Syrian & Iraqi Refugees are allowed entry onto American soil without passing a thorough Certified Background Check, Pres OBAMA'S intentions might not be in our nation's best interest.

Other Voters are concerned a certain percentage of these Refugees (at least 13%) ascribe to extreme Anti-Western ideology, including orders from ISIL to help destroy the United States.

What do you think?

I say we need to Wake up!

Sources: Arab Center of Research & Policy, Investors.com, The Wrap, YouTube

Obama To Approve Southern Portion Of Keystone; He's Preparing For GOP-Controlled Congress

On Thursday Pres. Obama will announce plans to approve the Southern portion of the Keystone XL Oil Pipeline.

This announcement comes just 2 months after he said his administration needed at least 6 months to review plans of the pipeline for Environmental Safety purposes.

So why the sudden rush?

Politics! i.e., an approaching election & Gas Prices.

I told ya'll Pres. Obama is preparing to work with a 100% GOP-Controlled Congress just as Bill Clinton had to do.

Pres. Obama will most likely squeak through a Win but the Senate will most certainly go to GOP Candidates due to the amount of Big Money being spent by Wealthy GOP Super PACS & from Wall Street Executives.

As this election closes in don't be surprised to see Pres. Obama veering more & more to the Center.

Once the election ends & the new Congress is Sworn in, Pres. Obama is going to govern from a Very Conservative, Very Moderate perspective.

Just Watch.


Obama to fast track southern portion of Keystone XL Pipeline


President Obama plans to announce in Cushing, Oklahoma Thursday that his administration will expedite the permit process for the southern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline, a source familiar with the president's announcement tells CNN.

In January, the Obama administration denied a permit for the 1,700 mile long Keystone XL oil pipeline, which would stretch from Canada's tar sands development to the U.S. Gulf Coast. That decision was met by persistent Republican criticism that the president has not been doing everything possible to create jobs and combat high gas prices.

Late last month, TransCanada, the company behind the Keystone XL Pipeline, announced it would move forward with the process to build the southern portion of the pipeline, which would begin in Cushing, the president's third stop on his two-day energy tour. The White House praised the move.

Still, the permit process for a project like this can typically take a year or more. The source familiar with the president's announcement says the administration could shave several months off that timeline.

Senior administration officials would not confirm the president’s plan to unveil the effort to cut red tape for the project, though one senior administration official acknowledged the need to deal with the glut of oil in Cushing, where oil from the Midwest hits a bottleneck as it is transported to the Gulf of Mexico.

Such an announcement would no doubt be met with opposition from environmentalists, many of whom spent weeks protesting the Keystone XL project outside the White House late last fall into the early winter, before the administration announced its objection to the pipeline.


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Sources: CNN, PBS, Youtube, Google Maps

Border Patrol Racism: Canada vs Mexico

Does 'secure the border' mean 'keep America white'?

In case you plan to see Wednesday's GOP debate, allow me to offer up some crib notes so you don't get lost.

First, when you hear the candidates talk about "job creators," that's just another way of saying "rich people" or "the guy bankrolling my super Pac."

When someone says "family values," that's to remind the audience that they don't like gay people; "religious freedom" means "Christianity"; and it's not really a GOP debate until a candidate attacks the "liberal media" for asking questions they're too afraid to answer.

Now there will be plenty of other buzz words and euphemisms that will be tossed around during the debate, but since it is being held in Arizona, chances are the most popular phrase will be "secure the border."

We must secure the border.

The candidates will argue that it's a matter of national security.

That it isn't just the friendly illegal immigrants looking for work we must worry about, but terrorists, drug lords and other criminals who seek to make their way through our porous border.

They will say if they were president they would build walls, add troops, even commission a Death Star to keep this country safe.

Newt Gingrich has promised to build a double fence along the entire southern border, adding, ""The United States must control its border.

It is a national security imperative,"
Ron Paul said "If elected president, I would move to quickly end foreign nation building efforts and use many of the resources we waste playing world's policemen to control our southern border."

They all will receive applause, and it will all sound great ... until you realize that "secure the border" is slang for "keep the Mexicans out."

Oh boy, here comes the black guy playing the race card again.

Yep, that's me -- pointing out that the Canadian border is largely ignored in this dialogue despite being more than twice the size of the Mexican border and less than 1% secure, according to a 2011 report by the Government Accountability Office.

Even if we were to disregard the 1,538 miles between Alaska and Canada, the 3,987 mile border connecting the lower 48 to our neighbors up north is still much larger than the 1,933-mile stretch that connects us to Mexico.

And yet the attention we give the northern border is miniscule at best when compared to the resources we allocate to the south. There are definitely reasons for serious concern about safety along the Mexican border, but according to our own intelligence, Mexico should hardly be our only concern.

You would think presidential hopefuls genuinely concerned about our safety would remember that just four years ago, Michael Chertoff, President Bush's Homeland Security secretary, said he was more afraid of terrorists coming into the country from Canada than Mexico and that his department arrested more people connected to al Qaeda and Hezbollah trying to come in from up north than down south.

This is not to perpetuate the myth that the September 11 terrorists came through Canada or defame our northern neighbors. But rather to point out the glaring disconnect between some of the crowd-pleasing rhetoric the GOP candidates like to deliver about "securing the border" and the more nuanced reality.

For example, did you know reports show that from 2007 to 2009, the amount of marijuana seized at the Canadian border jumped 22% and that Homeland Security has seen a sharp increase in the trafficking of more dangerous drugs such as heroin, cocaine and ecstasy?

Yes, there are drug tunnels along the southern border, but the Drug Enforcement Administration also found a 360-foot drug tunnel from a hut in Canada to a house in the state of Washington as well.

We know an estimated 350,000 people trying to come in through Mexico in 2011 were stopped. We also know that number is down from the 447,731 arrests made in 2010 and that is significantly less than the 1,643,679 people stopped in 2000.

What we don't know is how many people are illegally trying to get in from Canada, because less than 1% of the world's largest border is secure.

Conversely, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the Mexican border is as secure as it has ever been, adding, "It is clear from every measure we currently have that this approach is working." Still, judging from the tone of the immigration talk so far in this campaign, no one debating in Arizona on Wednesday really seems to care about either point.
Why?
Last year a group of senators had to petition the Obama administration for military assistance to catch the drug traffickers who were using low-flying planes to move their products from Canada into the United States. Ten years after 9/11 and we still had undetected aircraft crossing the border because it wasn't the border we're scared of.
You know, this whole immigration discussion would be a lot more productive if the people leading it would be more honest and stop pretending as if it's only about national security. It's a part, but the larger truth is that nonwhite people will be the majority in this country by 2040 and this browning of America scares the hell out of a lot of people, particularly some white people.

The thinking goes that if the country can deport the Mexicans who are illegally here and stop new ones from coming in, maybe that trend will slow down or even reverse.

That sentiment is at the core of the racial profiling laws started in Arizona and is at the core of the entire illegal immigration conversation. It's a clumsy attempt to talk about race without mentioning race so as not to appear racist .

But the dialogue is transparent because if it was really about "securing the border," the facts suggest Canada would be a big part of the conversation and not just an afterthought.





The Canadian Border vs the Mexican Border. WHITE Illegals vs Brown Illegals.

100% of GOP Politicians campaign on keeping the Border Safe from Mexican Illegals.
Well What about Canadian Illegals?

So its okay for WHITE People to enter America Illegally but NOT okay for People of Color to enter America Illegally?

I’m just asking.


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Sources: CNN, Youtube, Google Maps

Stop Bullying! Wear Pink To Observe Anti-Bullying Day

Sources: Facebook, PinkShirtDay.ca, Youtube

Steve Holcomb Drives 4-Man Bobsled To Olympic Gold For U.S.

U.S. Wins Gold Medal In Four-Man Bobsled



Steven Holcomb drove USA-1 to the gold medal in four-man bobsledding, ending a 62-year drought for Americans in the event.

It was the first gold medal for the U.S. in four-man bobsled since Francis Tyler won one for the Americans at St. Moritz, Switzerland, in 1948.

USA-1's four-run time was 3 minutes 24.46 seconds.

Germany-1 won the silver in 3:24.84; Canada-1 took the bronze in 3:24.85.

The last sled down the track, Holcomb and his sledmates crossed the finish line and threw their arms in the air before wrapping each other in American flags. Holcomb hoisted his helmet high as family and friends craned for photographs, and a party that the U.S. program had been waiting 62 years for was finally getting started.

“It's huge,” said USA-3 driver Mike Kohn, who finished 13th. “This is a great moment. It's hopefully going to change the program and bring some publicity and some funding to this sport, just like it did in '02 when we won silver and bronze.”

Kohn was a push athlete for Brian Shimer's sled at those 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, when Todd Hays drove to silver and Shimer got the Americans a bronze.

Sources: AP, LA Times

Pres. Obama Encourages Bi-Partisanship, Congratulates 2010 Olympic Winners

Sources: Whitehouse.gov, ESPN, MSNBC, Sports Illustrated

Andrew Koenig Found Dead, Presumed Suicide

Father: "Growing Pains" Actor Andrew Koenig Took His Own Life



More than a week after scouring the city for missing American actor Andrew Koenig, friends who had organized their own search discovered the 41-year-old man's body in the vast urban park that he favored when he lived here more than 10 years ago.

Walter Koenig, also an actor known for his role as Chekov on the original Star Trek series, said his son's body was found Thursday by friends in Stanley Park.

"Our son took his own life," Koenig said, struggling to maintain his composure. "He was obviously in a lot of pain."

Koenig, flanked by his wife, Judith, said their son, known for his role as Richard "Boner" Stabone on the popular 1980s TV series Growing Pains, was in the midst of a life-long struggle with depression.

"If you learn anything from this," Koenig said, directing his comments to those who also suffer from depression, "there are people out there who care."

"In his pain," Judith Koenig said, "he didn't realize help was available to him."

Police Constable Jana McGuinness said the body was found in a densely wooded area just off one of the park's most popular trails for joggers and bicyclists.

McGuinness said investigators did not suspect foul play. She declined to identify the specific cause of death, but she said no weapons were involved.

In a briefing at the police department's horseback patrol precinct in the park, not far from where the body was found, McGuinness said police had searched the general area without success.

Koenig was last seen by friends Feb. 14. He was scheduled to return to the Los Angeles area Feb. 16. When he did not arrive, McGuinness said his parents became increasingly worried and then reported him missing Feb. 18.

From the start, police focused their search in the park after learning that the actor frequently took walks in the 1,000-acre sanctuary, not far from downtown, now teeming with visitors to the Winter Olympic Games.

Police have said Koenig had come here to visit friends, not to attend the Olympic games.

Discovery of Koenig's body came just a day after his parents arrived in the Olympic host city from California to appeal for assistance in locating their son.

McGuinness declined comment on whether a suicide note was found.

On his personal website, however, Walter Koenig earlier in the week acknowledged receiving a troubling letter from his son who had sounded a "despondent tone."

Judith Koenig also said the family had recently learned that their son was giving away some of his personal possessions.

"He was much loved," the mother said, "and he had lots to contribute to this world."


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Sources: CBS News, USA Today, Popeater, Youtube, Google Maps

U.S. Men's Hockey Team & Bode Miller Upsets Canada 5-3

Waking Its Neighbors, U.S. Upsets Canada


With a hard-earned, thrilling victory Sunday, the United States surprised Canada, both the hockey team and the nation.

The Americans did it exactly as General Manager Brian Burke and Coach Ron Wilson built them to do it — through speed, relentless diligence and unflappable goalkeeping. They withstood a furious Canadian attack, hitting as hard as they got hit, and prevailed despite the deafening roars of the red-clad crowd at Canada Hockey Place.

“For these young guys I think it was great to win in an atmosphere like this,” Wilson said. “Everything was stacked against us, but we came out on top.”

It was a consummate team effort, but two players stood out.

The first was defenseman Brian Rafalski, the oldest skater on the youngest team in the Olympic tournament. He scored the first two United States goals and took the shot that Jamie Langenbrunner tipped in to make it 4-2 in the third period.

“After scoring those first two, the adrenaline really wiped me out, actually,” the 36-year-old Rafalski said. “Who expects to score two goals in the first period in a big game like that? I had to try to recover and get prepared for the second.”

The other standout was goalie Ryan Miller, who turned aside 42 of Canada’s 45 shots.

“I knew they were going to bring pucks to the net,” said Miller, who withstood a barrage of shots to give the United States a chance to win. “I just tried to keep it really simple. If I start bouncing all over the ice, I’m not very efficient. So I had to trust that my guys were going to be around me and I could keep it more contained.”

It was a physical, high-speed game that lived up to its billing as part of Super Sunday, a tripleheader that pitted Russia against the Czech Republic, the United States and Canada and then Sweden versus Finland.

The victory was the third in three games for the Americans — they have the maximum 9 points — and earned them a bye into the quarterfinals Wednesday, where they will be the No. 1 seed and face the winner of the Switzerland-Belarus game. The victory against the Canadians, favorites coming into these Games, was a small measure of revenge for a loss to them in the 2002 Olympic final in Salt Lake City.

Sunday’s loss left Canada with 5 points and sent it to a qualification game against Germany on Tuesday.

Martin Brodeur, who stopped only 18 of 22 shots and was partly to blame on two of the goals he allowed, said he welcomed the extra game.

“I hate to say this, but I think we just need to play more games,” he said. “There’s things we need to work on.”

Canada Coach Mike Babcock said he would decide whether to replace Brodeur in goal with Roberto Luongo after watching video of the game.

The Canadians controlled most of the play, passing crisply and at high speed. But it was the Americans who scored first, almost instantly.

Only 41 seconds into the game Rafalski fired a shot from the blue line that deflected in off the stick of Canada’s Sidney Crosby.

Canada struck back at 8 minutes 53 seconds on Eric Staal’s tip-in. But only 22 seconds later Rafalski scored again, allowed to walk in from the blue line after picking off Brodeur’s clearing pass.

Rafalski also scored the last two goals in the United States’ 6-1 victory over Norway, meaning he scored four goals in a row for the Americans.

Dany Heatley tied it at 2-2 early in the second period, but Chris Drury restored the Americans’ lead at 16:46. David Backes got in Brodeur’s way, and Brodeur dove to push the puck away from Bobby Ryan but missed and put himself out of the play. The puck came to Drury, who slotted it in to make it 3-2.

At 7:09 of the third period, Rafalski’s power-play shot was deflected in by Langenbrunner to push the United States lead to 4-2. Canada mounted a frantic comeback, with Crosby scoring with three minutes to go to draw Canada to 4-3. But Miller stood firm.

The victory was sealed when Ryan Kesler leapt around Canada’s Corey Perry to push the puck into an empty net with less than a minute to go, the Americans’ hustling effort distilled into one play.

“We were just playing against the boys in the red uniforms, but the crowd made it exciting,” Miller said. “It was a fun environment. I’ve been walking around the last few nights and taking some of the trash talking.”

Trash talking? In Canada?

“It was actually the most polite trash talking I’ve ever heard in my life, because we’re in Canada,” Miller said. “Most of them were just, ‘Hey, that’s Ryan Miller, the American goalie.’ And their friends would rally around and say, ‘Go Canada,’ or something like that.

“They know the game, they respect the game,” he said, calm and collected after a victory he helped secure. “That’s what makes it great to come here and play.”






Bode Finally Earns Olympic Gold


This is the way Bode Miller always wanted it to happen, needed it to happen.

An Olympic gold medal may be the ultimate evidence of skiing success in everyone else's eyes, but most assuredly not in his. If the willful Miller ever was going to earn one and truly embrace the accomplishment, this is how it had to be.

He conquered a tricky course with sometimes-spectacular skiing that reminded him of being a kid on the slopes. He overcame a big deficit by pushing himself despite a bum left knee and an aching right ankle. In sum, he turned in a performance that pleased him, regardless of what the clock said.

In this case, it just so happens, Miller's total time from one downhill and one slalom was Sunday's best, allowing the 32-year-old from Franconia, N.H., to win the super-combined event signifying all-around skiing ability -- and that first career gold. He now has a record-tying three medals at these Olympics after only three races, quite a comeback from his infamous flop at the 2006 Turin Games and his near-retirement last year.

"The gold medal is great. I think it's perfect. Ideally, that's what everyone is shooting for. But the way I skied these last races is what matters. I would've been proud of that skiing with a medal or not," Miller said after turning in the third-fastest slalom leg for an overall time of 2 minutes, 44.92 seconds, a comfortable 0.33 ahead of Ivica Kostelic of Croatia. Silvan Zurbriggen of Switzerland got the bronze.

"The way I executed -- the way I skied -- is something I'll be proud of the rest of my life," Miller said.

Whether he ever says so or not, it's the Olympic gold medal that changes history's view of Miller. What happened in Turin is now an aberration rather than the defining moment. Now he'll always be seen by those outside the sport as one of Alpine skiing's greats who frittered away one Olympics, not a should-have-been who never fulfilled his promise.

"I mean, Bode has now done everything you can in skiing. He's won World Cups. He's won World Cup overall titles," said Will Brandenburg of Spokane, Wash., who finished 10th in his Olympic debut. "He's won medals in every color. And now he's got the gold. And I think that's big. He's one of the best skiers of all time now and no one can discredit that."

Older and perhaps wiser -- although good luck getting this guy to admit the latter -- Miller is at the top of his game at the right time.

What a week.

He also won a bronze in Monday's downhill and a silver in Friday's super-G, adding to two silvers at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. The five Alpine medals tie him for the second-most by any man in Olympic history, behind only the eight won by Kjetil Andre Aamodt of Norway.

At this point, who would doubt that Miller could keep going, maybe coming up with something special in the two remaining events, the giant slalom Tuesday and the slalom Saturday.

Miller was asked why he's doing this now, and not in Italy four years ago, when he tuned out, partied hard and failed to live up to the expectations thrust on him by the media, by sponsors, by fans. Miller only finished two of five races back then, never better than fifth place.

In short, he said, what happened there was a reaction to all of those expectations. And what's happening here is a reaction to enjoying a fresh sense of excitement after taking time away from skiing and thinking about quitting before eventually deciding in September to return to the U.S. Ski Team.

"In '06, I didn't really necessarily want to be there for a number of reasons ... but, you know, I also didn't want to not be there. So I was incredibly conflicted," he said. "I think I had no intention really of blowing it, but I raced as hard as I could, but I didn't have this motivation. I didn't have the energy and the enthusiasm."

Some of that comes from spending more time around his younger teammates. At the last Olympics, Miller stayed in his own RV, away from the rest of the Americans. At these Olympics, he's living in a condo with everyone else, eating with everyone else, training with everyone else, feeding off the energy of everyone else.

"He's been really motivated," said Ted Ligety, the surprise 2006 Turin gold medalist who was fifth Sunday. "It's cool to really see him win an Olympic gold. That's what's been missing from his resume."

Miller got a late start to training before the World Cup season, and when he worked hard to get going, he hurt his left knee and needed arthroscopic surgery in October to clean it out. Another setback came in December, when Miller injured his right ankle playing volleyball, of all things. On top of that, he took a bad tumble in slalom training at Whistler, flying about 35 feet before landing on his left hip.

In the downhill that opened the super-combined, Miller was only seventh-fastest. He knew he had to make up time in the slalom, and it didn't help that he was hurting and felt exhausted, even if he did begin his career as a slalom specialist.

Miller increased his lead at both checkpoints in the slalom, but after skiing fluidly at the top, he barely managed to get through one gate after another on a demanding course set by Kostelic's father and coach, Ante.

"I was like, 'God, get me to the finish.' I knew I had a great run going, but I mean, I don't know how I got those last 15 gates," Miller said. "It was literally just willpower, because my legs were completely shot."

He moved into the lead, but had to wait while six other skiers who were faster in the downhill portion got their turns, including double medalist Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway.

"I couldn't hold back," Svindal said. "I had to attack it if I had any chance to get that gold."

But when Svindal, who had the fastest morning downhill, skied off-course in the slalom, that gold medal was Miller's.

As he walked away from the finish area, he stopped to sign autographs and pose for pictures, even kneeling down to eye level to thank one girl for her support. Miller's own daughter turned 2 this week, and while he won't tell you fatherhood changed him as a person, he will say it made him reconsider his priorities away from the slopes.

When he's on skis, he refuses to change this stance: Medals are not what matters.

Still, Miller's father, Woody, who was at Sunday's race, said his kid "was hungry" to perform well this time around.

"He's enjoying himself. That's always been key for him. He lost that. That was what was key in Torino," Woody Miller said. "He was going through the motions, but not really enjoying himself."

Miller did, indeed, make clear that he was happy to finally have a gold, but he also repeatedly made the point that there are other rewards he finds more satisfying.

"It's hard to really describe in a way that makes sense, but the actual gold medal doesn't mean that much. If I'd won it in a way that I wasn't excited about or proud of today, I would have probably resented the medal in a certain way because of what it makes everyone else think," Miller said.

A few minutes later, he added: "People are generally not good at separating those two things. They think you're proud because you won an Olympic medal, and the reality is I'm proud because I skied that way at the Olympics."

With that, he walked away from the race site, heading off to collect his new prize at the official medal ceremony in the village below the mountain, his mountain. And then maybe, just maybe, Miller would head out to celebrate his gold medal.



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Sources: AP, NY Times, ESPN, Youtube, Google Maps

Shani Davis: Fastest Man On Ice! Wins Gold For Speedskating

Shani Davis Wins Gold in Men's Speedskating


Speed skater Shani Davis used a push in his final lap in the men's 1000 meter race to become the first Olympic speed skater to win the event twice and the first U.S. Speedskater to defend a gold medal title.

The American trailed the time of South Korean silver medalist Mo Tae-Bum by .26 seconds after the first lap before finding the speed that allowed him to again win an event he has not lost all season. Mr. Davis finished with a time of 1:08.94, .18 seconds ahead of Mr. Mo. American Chad Hedrick earned a bronze, his fourth career Olympic medal in four different distances.

After the race, Mr. Davis credited the unusual move of pulling out of the 500-meter race Monday after the semifinals to rest for Wednesday.

U.S. coach Ryan Shimabukuro called the move smart, saying it allowed him to work on his starts and test the corners of the Richmond Olympic Oval at high speeds. But Mr. Davis had received criticism for the move because his decision to use that race as last-minute training for the 1000 prevented another U.S. skater, Brent Aussprung, from competing.

As has often been the case in Mr. Davis's career, he pointed to the results.

"I rightfully earned a spot and it's for me to do what I want to do with it," he said Wednesday after winning his third Olympic medal, following a gold and silver in 2006 in Turin. "Obviouisly, it's probably the right thing, because it helped me with my speed. Maybe skipping the second 500 [race] allowed me to recover. I needed all that strength and energy that last lap of the 1000.

"Without that last lap in the 1000, maybe I'm not a gold medalist right now."

As often happens with Mr. Davis, fairly or not, such decisions seem to draw extra scrutiny in the rare instances when the American press pays him the attention that comes freely to him in Northern Europe, where his sport is more popular.

Several American publications attempted long features on the Chicagoan who became the first African-American to ever to earn a Winter Olympic gold medal in an individual sport four years earlier. Often, those psychological profiles came with little or no cooperation from Mr. Davis.

In those stories his teammates often have not hidden their confusion at his decision to train away from them. On Wednesday, he cited his work with the U.S. short track team as a major factor in his victory.

Observers noticed when he held a teddy bear with sentimental value and a Chicago White Sox cap instead of an American flag in Turin. This time he skated a victory lap to the appreciative crowd holding the flag with Mr. Hedrick.

The sometimes icy relationship between those two is the source of yet another mini-soap opera. Mr. Hedrick is a Texan who participated in a 2006 post-race interview session in Turin with Mr. Davis that featured tension more befitting a boxing press conference.

But Mr. Hedrick was all but worshipful of his teammate Wednesday, calling him "just untouchable in the 1000" minutes after wishing him well on the ice. Both skaters sounded cautiously optimistic that they might actually be able to enjoy their success this time without any sideshows.

"We've worked so hard for this, and we're not going to let anything silly ruin it," Mr. Herick said. "We feel like our parade was rained on a little bit last time. We left with five medals between two of us. Five. We felt awesome about ourselves. We felt like we were very successful. I just hope people will look at us in a different light and think, 'Man, those are good athletes,' instead of wondering who wants to fight with who."

Once more Mr. Davis enters the 1500 meter race Saturday as the heavy favorite. After that, Mr. Shimabukuro predicted, people might see a different side of the iconoclastic star.

"He's obviously not the only high-level athlete that buffers himself between the media prior to their events," the coach said. "I think after the Games he'll probably be a little more relaxed. But he's here to do work."

Sources: AP, Wall Street Journal, Youtube

Shaun White's "McTwist" Wins Gold Medal

Shaun White Defends Men's Halfpipe Title


Shaun White had the trick in the bag, along with an Olympic gold medal.

Might as well go for it, right?

Putting on a show when he hardly needed to, White capped his sensational night on the halfpipe with his signature move Wednesday -- the dangerous, spiraling Double McTwist 1260 during a victory lap that will go down as nothing short of epic.

"I wanted a victory lap that would be remembered," White said. "I achieved that."

The redheaded shredder scored a 48.4 on the final run, even though he was already assured of defending his Olympic title with a score of 46.8 on his first trip. Getting ready to close the night, he debated with his coaches for a minute, then made the decision.

Showtime! To the delight of cheering fans, he jerked his body around to milk the last half of the 3½ twists he crams into two head-over-heels flips.

An exclamation point on a spectacular day at the games for the Americans, who already had golds from Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn and speedskater Shani Davis, and wound up with six overall medals, including Scotty Lago's halfpipe bronze.

Wearing a blue bandanna with white stars, all of which goes perfect with the red hair, White easily outdistanced Finland's Peetu Piiroinen.

"It's impossible to beat Shaun unless he falls," Piiroinen said.

Lago's bronze gave the United States multiple medals on the halfpipe for each of the last three Olympics. Including the women, the U.S. halfpipe team has won 12 of the 21 medals awarded since the sport came to the games in 1998.

But has there ever been a bigger snowboarding star than White?

He's the multimillionaire who somehow flashes a businessman's smarts without losing touch with the culture that defines snowboarding -- the only sport that would think of competing in snow pants designed to look like torn-up jeans.

He keeps it fresh and he keeps people guessing.

White skipped the Double McTwist on the first run down the mountain, saying in an interview, "I know I have it in me, but the Olympics is pretty heavy. I was sweating it a little."

But if he was nervous on the first run, it didn't show. And it certainly wasn't anything to apologize for.

Soaring through the crisp, clear, Canadian sky, he flew 25 feet above the halfpipe at the top, linked a pair of spiraling, double-flipping moves in the middle and stayed on his feet the whole way down.

NBC spelled it all out in living color, transposing the shots of White's straight air and that of one of the medal contenders, Iouri Podladtchikov -- the "I-Pod." Suffice to say that had they actually been jumping at the same time, White would have landed on I-Pod's head.

In White's case, though, it doesn't always end when he wins.

He has become one of those rare athletes who makes the victory lap as dramatic as the show -- think Mary Lou Retton's second straight perfect-10 vault at the 1984 Olympics.

Knowing he had won, and celebrating at the top, he gathered himself and talked it over with one of his coaches. The conclusion: Snowboarding is supposed to be fun.

"He had to take a moment to collect himself, take several breaths to let out some screams and shouts and really celebrate," U.S. coach Mike Jankowski said.

The decision was impressive to everyone, including the godfather of the sport, Jake Burton, who is also one of White's key sponsors.

"With a gold medal already in his pocket, Shaun went out and beat his winning score," Burton said. "What a testament to how much fun snowboarding is. And what a true champion Shaun is."

White started the run by linking two double-flipping tricks -- "easier" versions of the signature move -- but then lost a little speed on the fourth jump, the one that sets up the finale. He went for the big trick anyway. It wasn't exactly perfect. He had to really twist his body to get the last half rotation, but he did it, landed on his feet, and the party that had already started got even bigger.

"That's what Shaun does," said Louie Vito, the "Dancing with the Stars" star who finished fifth. "He can go up there and lay down a run and take care of business. That's why he is who he is."

Instead of "Double McTwist 1260," White wants the trick to now be known as the "Tomahawk," after a huge steak he ate at the Winter X Games in Aspen.

"It was massive. Thirty ounces. Finished it," White said.

He began developing the trick about a year ago, but an injury halted his work on it. Meantime, he couldn't get himself to commit to it because it was dangerous -- he dinged his head gruesomely while practicing it at the X Games but walked away -- and he didn't really think he'd need it.

At that point, back-to-back double corks were enough to win almost any contest, and nobody did them better than The Flying Tomato.

But things changed drastically when one of White's main rivals, Kevin Pearce, suffered a severe head injury while practicing the double cork. At the next meet, a good friend of Pearce's, Danny Davis, dedicated his run to Pearce and became the first rider to try three double corks in the same run. Stuck them all. Beat White. And caused him to cancel his vacation plans so he could get back to work on his signature trick.

"It was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime run for him," White said. "And I'm happy he did it because it got me to where I am today."

Within a few weeks, White had perfected his new jump, debuted it at a contest in Utah, landed it and brought the halfpipe world back into its proper orbit. He was the best, he had the toughest trick and if he landed it, he would win every contest he entered.

Lago's bronze medal came on what might have been his best run of the season. He is one of a group of riders who call themselves the "Frends" -- because there is no 'I' in snowboarding -- a group that includes Davis and Pearce, who is recuperating in a hospital in Colorado.

Lago draped the American flag around his shoulders after his bronze medal was sealed.

The real celebration, though, was reserved for White, who by the looks of things, never gets tired of this.

He'll get the gold medal down in Vancouver on Thursday.

Yet another nice prize to throw in his always-expanding bag of tricks.


Sources: ESPN, KDKA

Golden Girl Lindsey Vonn Wins 1st Gold Medal In Downhill

Vonn, Mancuso Go 1-2 In Downhill


Lindsey Vonn of the United States, fighting off an injured right shin, won the women's Olympic downhill on Tuesday -- the first of five races she plans to enter at the Vancouver Games.

Vonn covered the 2,939-meter course at Whistler Creekside in 1:44.19 -- more than a half-second ahead of her teammate Julia Mancuso, who earned the silver.

Mancuso's time of 1:44.75 led by nearly a second after the first 15 racers. But Vonn, who lost two weeks of training time and, at one point was questionable for the Olympics after injuring her shin in training, eclipsed it -- then waited for the rest of the 45-woman field to complete its run.

Vonn, 26, is the two-time defending World Cup champ, and the defending World Cup champ in the downhill.

"This is the best day of my life," Vonn, crying, told CTV. "It's awesome. It was really bumpy, you know. It's a really challenging course and I almost lost it on the top. I just kept it going and kept fighting."

It's the third time two Americans have finished 1-2 in an Olympic Alpine race, and the first time in 26 years.

At the 1984 Sarajevo Games, brothers Phil and Steve Mahre took gold and silver in the slalom and Debbie Armstrong and Christin Cooper accomplished the feat in giant slalom.

Vonn was hurt Feb. 2 during pre-Olympic practice in Austria and had hardly skied over the past two weeks.

Still, as the two-time defending overall World Cup champion and the winner of five of the six downhills this season, she entered as an overwhelming favorite.

Mancuso won the giant slalom at the 2006 Turin Games but hadn't finished on the podium since the Olympic test downhill here two years ago. The Squaw Valley, Calif., skier has won only two World Cup downhills in her career, the last nearly three years ago.

Mancuso was an early starter and still led when Vonn skied.

Vonn, a Minnesota native who lives and trains in Vail, Colo., put on a skiing clinic for all the world to see.

Waiting in the starting gate with the sun reflecting orange off her goggles as she stared down the course, Vonn was a study in concentration. Kicking out of the start without regard to her bruised shin, she increased her lead at the first three checkpoints, kicking up a trail of smoky snow in her wake as if she were a race car, tucking at every opportunity.

Just when it seemed Vonn might go wide, she applied even more leg pressure, shifted her weight and maintained her line.

It wasn't all perfect, however, and Vonn lost nearly two tenths on the bottom, almost getting knocked off balance as she went over a small bump just before the finish.

It was more than enough for gold, however, and Vonn collapsed on her back in joy in the finish area. She then raised herself and placed both arms in the air in triumph

Germany's Maria Riesch, the only other woman to win a World Cup downhill this season and considered a legitimate threat to Vonn, fell off the pace early and finished in 1:46.26 -- more than two seconds off the pace.

Elisabeth Goergl of Austria was behind Mancuso in 1:45.75 and will take the bronze medal.

Swedish standout Anja Paerson became the latest victim of an ugly crash on the difficult Olympic downhill course. Paerson, the holder of five Olympic medals got a huge amount of air off the final jump and shifted her weight backward when she finally landed, then crashed through the final gate and got twisted around. She slowly slid headfirst across the finish line and sat up as she was tended to by officials. Dominique Gisin of Switzerland also crashed while landing the final jump, and Daniela Merighetti and Marion Rolland also fell. Injury details were not immediately available.

American Stacey Cook, fourth down the hill, completed the race in 1:46.98. The other American in the field, Alice McKennis, finished well down in the field.

The temperature was slightly above freezing for the race on the 2,939-meter course, dubbed Franz's Downhill. The race was originally scheduled for Sunday, but was delayed by bad weather conditions at Whistler Creekside.


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Sources: MSNBC, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Google Maps

Mitt Romney Not Pressing Charges Against His Attacker

Mitt Romney Won't Press Charges



The passenger in seat 14A. Mitt Romney, the Republican politician, refused to press charges against the passenger who tried to assault him yesterday while he was on an Air Canada flight leaving Vancouver for Los Angeles.

The man, who the RCMP won’t name, was arrested, let go and later caught another flight.

“The male who was alleged assaulted did not wish for charges to go ahead,” said Corporal Jennifer Pound, of the Richmond RCMP.

Police escorted the man off the plane; his luggage was also removed. The 62-year-old former Massachusetts governor was not injured.

Mr. Romney and his wife, Ann, had been in Vancouver since last Friday attending the Winter Olympic Games.

As the former president and CEO of the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games, Mr. Romney was at the Games as a special guest. He attended the opening ceremony and took in some events over the weekend.

The couple had always planned to leave Monday. And they were booked on an 11 a.m. Air Canada flight to Los Angeles. They were sitting in the economy section, row 15, of the aircraft, when the incident happened.

The man sitting in front of Mr. Romney’s wife dropped his seat back and when Mr. Romney asked him to move it upright for takeoff, the man became “physically violent,” according to Mr. Romney’s spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom. Another report said the man tried to strike Mr. Romney.

“Gov. Romney did not retaliate,” Mr. Fehrnstrom said. Instead, he allowed the Air Canada crew to take over.

The pilot decided to turn the plane back to the gate so the man could be removed.

Mr. Romney ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. He also served as governor of Massachusetts. There is much speculation that he is preparing for another bid for the Republican nomination in 2012.

Sources: The Globe and Mail