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Gagné injured at Olympic camp
August 25, 2009
CALGARY (CBC) — Forward Simon Gagné of the Philadelphia Flyers was not on the ice Tuesday as Canada's men's 2010 Olympic hopefuls reconvened at the Saddledome in Calgary.
The 29-year-old Gagné sustained what he believes is a mild injury Monday night at practice.
"I had been skating back home for about two weeks but not at that high level," Gagné told the Flyers' website. "I kind of felt that it was getting a little bit tight on me, close to the hip and groin."
Gagné, who had surgery on his right hip in late May, is heading back to Philadelphia to meet with doctors Wednesday.
The left winger rebounded from an injury-plagued 2007-08 to post 34 goals and 40 assists for Philadelphia last season.
Gagné has represented Canada in the past two Olympics, the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and at a world championship the following year.
He has scored two goals and added five assists in 12 Olympic games.
Team director Steve Yzerman was a teammate with Gagné on the squad that won gold in 2002.
Gagné told the team's website he was disappointed but it's more important to be healthy for his NHL club when the season begins in early October.
While Gagné would have a tough time cracking the squad for the Games in Vancouver, the Ste-Foy, Que., native has overcome not participating in orientation in the past.
Gagné made the 2002 team despite missing camp months earlier due to a shoulder injury, which paved the way for Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames to attend and ultimately make the cut.
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Canada's hockey stars start arriving in Calgary for four-day Olympic camp
By Chris Johnston, The Canadian Press
August 25, 2009
CALGARY — Canada's top hockey stars had barely stepped off the plane before they were surrounded by TV cameras and autograph seekers.
The somewhat chaotic scene that greeted the players Monday as they arrived for the start of this week's Olympic orientation camp served as a pretty good reminder of how much focus will be on the team at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.
Roughly two-thirds of the 46 players invited to the camp landed at Calgary's airport where fans were nearly tripping over one another trying to collect autographs or snap pictures of the NHL stars.
One group screamed Marc-Andre Fleury's name repeatedly until the Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender greeted them at a barrier they were crammed up against.
"It's the middle of August and you see a lot of hockey fans here," said Fleury, one of five goalies attending the camp. "That tells a lot."
The scene was a little calmer earlier in the morning when Duncan Keith was the first player to step off a plane. Still, the Chicago Blackhawks defenceman couldn't help but feel excited when thinking about how far he'd come.
Keith was a spectator when the Olympic camp was held in Kelowna, B.C., four years ago.
"I feel like it's a huge privilege to be here," said Keith. "I remember watching the Olympic orientation camp ... with some of my buddies. Now to be playing here is pretty cool - playing alongside these guys is a pretty neat feeling."
It's the kind of statement that will be heard a lot this week with 20 players under the age of 25 participating in the much-anticipated camp.
There's a growing feeling that the next generation will be well represented on the 2010 team, especially coming off a seventh-place finish by the veteran-laden 2006 Olympic squad. That possibility brought a little extra enthusiasm to the start of camp.
"It's a good mix," said winger Rick Nash. "Last time I played in the Olympics I felt like one of the only young guys. There's a new wave coming in right now."
The players all went through medicals after arriving in Calgary and took the ice in two groups for practice at Pengrowth Saddledome on Monday night. They've been divided into red and white teams and will also skate separately on Tuesday and Wednesday before wrapping up the camp with a scrimmage Thursday evening.
The on-ice sessions should provide the first glimpse into some of the combinations Mike Babcock's coaching staff and Steve Yzerman's management team are considering for the team - although Babcock urged reporters to take them with a grain of salt.
"I wouldn't write too much about it," he said. "It'll probably be different for tomorrow."
For the record, Sidney Crosby was between Rick Nash and Jarome Iginla on a potential top line that could give goalies a nightmare.
Crosby was among the handful of players who came to Calgary over the weekend. This is the kind of experience he lives for.
"It's not hard to look around and want to learn from guys - whether it be other players or the coaching staff," said Crosby. "You look at the group they put together, these are experienced guys and winners. As a player, you're always trying to find ways to be better.
"You couldn't be surrounded by a group of better people. I just try to be a sponge here for five days and take what I can back to Pittsburgh."
The first evening of practice was held at a fairly high tempo, with Babcock hollering out drills and others banging their sticks on the ice. Forward Ryan Getzlaf (sports hernia) and goaltender Cam Ward (sore back) were the only guys to sit out.
Overall, the atmosphere was pretty intense given that the NHL regular season is still more than five weeks away. It came as no surprise to the guys in charge of the camp.
"The competition for jobs and positions in all areas of this team are up for grabs," said Babcock. "If you thought for one second that I could just tell you whose going to be on the team, I couldn't do it. Not even close."
Several of the storylines that will persist until the team is selected in December will be on display here.
The most compelling might be the number of young players pushing hard for a place on the team. Veterans like Ryan Smyth, Chris Pronger and Shane Doan know they can't take a roster spot for granted.
"It's not going to come easy - there's so many great young players coming up taking jobs," said Smyth. "You've got to be on top, you've got to be ready and focused from game to game, from shift to shift. You have to work for everything."
One advantage some of the veterans will likely hold is the ability to savour the experience.
This is likely the last time players like Scott Niedermayer will attend a camp of this nature. After arriving at the airport, he looked as happy as any of the kids.
"I think in general the last couple of years I've been ... looking at things differently," said Niedermayer. "(You're) not sure how much longer (your career) goes on. When you're in the middle of it, in your mid-20s and stuff, things look a little different than where I am now.
"Yeah, I'll enjoy every second."
It certainly started off with a frenzy of excitement.
Even though Hockey Canada was in contact with the players ahead of time to make sure they knew what to expect after arriving, the scene was still a bit of an eye-opener for 21-year-old goaltender Steve Mason.
He wasn't even in the NHL at this time last year and found himself getting mobbed by fans.
"Obviously in Canada the Olympics is a big deal," said Mason. "Having it in Vancouver, it just makes it that much more special and a little bit of a bigger event for everybody."
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K2 Sports Donation Supports At-Risk Youth at 2010 Olympics
By The Foundation for Global Sports Development
August 25, 2009
EUGENE, Ore. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Snowboards. Inline skates. Nordic ski equipment. There is a love of the recreational extreme among employees and fans of K2 Sports’ 16 outdoor lifestyle brands. The latest example? Extreme generosity.
Seattle-based K2 Sports has donated $35,000 in premium sporting goods including jackets, sleeping bags, water bottles, backpacks and more to disadvantaged youth attending the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.
The children will be part of a mentorship program by The Foundation for Global Sports Development (GSD), which is bringing 50 at-risk kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games free of charge. The program is designed to promote sportsmanship, fair play and ethics among these children who would otherwise never have access to the games.
K2’s in-kind donation will mean a better experience for these kids as they make life-changing discoveries, memories and relationships.
“We’re about passion in sports,” said K2 Sports President Robert Marcovitch, “and the innovation that comes with it. So we’re pleased to help these kids find their own passions through Global Sports and make the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games the best experience possible.”
Global Sports Executive Board Member Steven Ungerleider, Ph.D., added: “We’re overwhelmed by the generosity of K2 Sports and Robert Marcovitch.” A wholly owned subsidiary of Jarden Corporation (NYSE:JAH - News), K2 Sports is the nation’s top manufacturer of skis, number one producer of snowshoes and number two manufacturer of snowboards.
About the Foundation for Global Sports Development
The Foundation for Global Sports Development is a 501(c)3 organization that develops and provides support for programs that promote sportsmanship, education, fair play and ethics among the world’s youth. This is based on our understanding that today’s young athletes will be tomorrow’s playmakers and our belief that the combination of sports and education prepares young men and women to make a higher contribution as successful, responsible global citizens. For more information, visit www.globalsportsdevelopment.org.
About CESEP
CESEP is a strategic alliance between Foundation for Global Sports Development, United Nations/UNESCO, Sport Information Research Center (SIRC) and other drug-free sports agencies that enlists students and teachers in the fight against the use of performance enhancing drugs and illegal substances that destroy the essence of ethical play. For more information, visit www.cultureandsport.com.
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It's a tale of two different athletes villages for 2010 Winter Olympics
By Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press
August 25, 2009
One's billed as an urban oasis, the other an alpine escape.
One is millions of dollars over budget, the other raking in the cash.
It's a tale of two very different athletes' villages for the 2010 Winter Olympics, but among the things they have in common is this: both have given Nejat Sarp a full head of grey hair.
"Half is for Whistler and the other half is for Vancouver," said Sarp, vice-president of services and villages for the Games organizing committee.
With six months to go until the Games, both the athletes' village in Vancouver and the one in Whistler, B.C., are expected to be completed on time for the organizing committee to take over in November.
Together, they will house about 5,000 athletes and officials and provide services as varied as post offices to play rooms.
Vancouver's is a village of glass and steel overlooking False Creek near downtown; Whistler is wood homes against a backdrop of trees and mountains.
"We have to have a sense of place so that people know that not only am I attending an Olympics or Paralympics, that not only am I in Canada, nor only am I in B.C., but I'm also in Whistler or in Vancouver," said Sarp.
In Vancouver, the village site encompasses space for a dining hall that will later become a grocery store for the housing complex, while in Whistler, athletes will eat inside a jumbo tent.
The development in Whistler also includes a $30.4-million athlete centre, which was designed to keep athletes coming back to the mountain resort post-Games.
There is also $16 million worth of temporary housing that will be moved to other areas of the province after the Olympics.
Building villages in Vancouver and Whistler was part of the original bid for the Winter Games; transporting athletes staying in Vancouver up to the host mountain resort was impractical and expensive.
They were each conceived to be a housing legacy for the two host communities, with state-of-the-art environmental features that would set a standard for sustainable development.
That initial premise will likely hold true after the Olympics, but each village took a very different path to get there.
While the organizing committee is contributing some funds to both projects - $30 million to Vancouver and $37.5 million to Whistler - the two villages were largely the responsibility of the respective communities to finance and build.
Whistler's village is built on land donated by the government specifically for resident housing, Vancouver's on prime inner-city real estate that cost a development company $193 million to buy.
The financing for construction of Vancouver's village was at first almost entirely a private loan that was to be repaid from the proceeds of selling off 735 of the housing units post-Games.
There are also 250 units of social housing and 120 rental suites.
Whistler chose to pay for its village through a combination of government money, tax revenues and post-Games resale.
Vancouver's money woes began when construction costs started rising. Then the economy began to slow and in the fall of 2008, the financial company backing the developers began refusing to pay out on their loan.
What emerged was the realization a project originally expected to cost $750 million was nudging $1 billion and without the city stepping in, it wasn't going to get done.
At the same time, sales of the units came to a halt.
All the while, the development in Whistler continued below the radar.
The not-for-profit development company entrusted with building the complex of town homes, condominiums and rental units negotiated its loan with the B.C. Municipal Finance Authority, not private bankers.
Sales were strong from the start and now 97 per cent of the 240 units are sold.
"It's exceeded all expectations," said Christopher Quinlan, a Whistler councillor.
Quinlan said the village, to be known as Cheakamus Crossing after the Games, will be a source of pride for the tight-knit community.
"To be there and be part of the legacy of the Games is going to be pretty phenomenal," he said.
The community is exploring having athletes who stay their all sign one door or create another memento.
In Vancouver, Meggs said he hopes that despite the financial challenges, the village there sets a new standard for the city.
"The Olympics are an opportunity for the city to reflect about what it wants to be," he said.
"The village is the city's largest investment in the Olympics and it gives us a chance to see whether we've done a good enough job and whether we need to be better."
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