Kudos To CTV But...

Paralympic closing ceremonies go from no-show to live-show on CTV

The Canadian Press

Final torchbearer Zach Beaumont, centre right, is surrounded by other torchbearers after lighting the Paralympic cauldron during the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday, March 12, 2010. (Darryl Dyck / THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER — The closing ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Paralympics have gone from a no-show to a live show on the official broadcast network for the Games. CTV has announced it will air Sunday's closing ceremonies live across the country in both English and French.
Originally, the event wasn't even on the broadcast schedule for the Games.
The network faced criticism for refusing to air last Friday's opening ceremonies live, changed its plans at the last minute.
Residents of B.C. were able to see the two-hour show as it happened, while the rest of Canada had to wait for the rebroadcast on Saturday afternoon.
Overall, the network is showing 60 hours worth of Paralympic programming, a record for the Paralympic Games.

...it begs the question why isn't CBC picking up the slack?

The Olympics Is More Than Overpriced Red Mittens and Toques...

Jeffrey Simpson

Here we are, finally, holding high the torch, set for glory

Whatever happens in the Games, the memory of the torch run across Canada will remain

CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD

At these Games, the presence of Terry Fox, courageous and inspiring, felt by all 

The IOC Held To Account....

Rex Murphy: Faster. Higher. Stronger. Dumber.

Posted: February 13, 2010, 9:00 AM by NP Editor Filed under: Rex Murphy

 

There have been a few odd, pre-Olympian moments of late, offering interesting aperçus on the eve of the official opening of the Vancouver Olympics. It turns out some 90 buses rented from California were judged not to be quite capable of making the grade up to Cypress Mountain. What did they expect — they’re California buses, probably all very green, with the carbon footprint of a ball of lint and emission standards lower than a rock. California buses don’t have engines: They have pedals. The IOC — high Lords of Olympus — forbade a 16-year-old Australian figure skater, Cheltzie Lee, from competing while wearing “a tiny good-luck charm bracelet she wears in memory of her dead friend”: A teenager’s honest sentiment fails to move the marble gods of the world’s greatest exercise in harmony and the formation of good character. The IOC claims the memorial bracelet comprises a form of “sponsorship,” and I guess to the myopic wizards of Olympic bureaucracy it is difficult to distinguish a memento on a 16-year-old wrist from the corporate billboards of the world’s voraciously advertising megamarketeers.

Click here to read more...