Seahawks Win 'Weed Bowl' XLVIII

 

First it was the Metropolitans winning the Stanley Cup, then the Sonics and Storm won theirs. Now it's the Seahawks turn. And a linebacker is MVP for the third time in game history. In a game where it is dubbed the 'weed bowl' because Colorado and Washington have already legalized cannabis.

 

Mariners and Sounders, where's yours? 

Sochi 2014: The Countdown Series: Opening & Closing Ceremonies Part 1

Only four days remaining until the opening ceremonies (three until the first day of competition) at Sochi 2014. Up next on the countdown: opening/closing ceremonies, part 1.

The Fisht Olympic Stadium (pictured) is the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies at Sochi.

The building is just simply Century Link Field in Seattle on the outside with a retractable roof (similar to AT&T Stadium in Arlington) in the middle. Does that sound familiar?

When it's over, no doubt it will convert into a football (soccer) stadium. It is another reason why the Olympics give back to a community so it provides something like another stadium to be put into use after the games (see Montreal 1976, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and London 2012 as examples).

A record 88 nations will march in the parade of nations at both the opening and closing ceremonies in that stadium. In part 2, see who will fly their countries' respective flags at the opening ceremonies.

Arthur Rankin Jr., 89, Animator

Link.

He and Jules Bass were a legendary animation pairing. Think Frosty, The Hobbit, ThunderCats, and SilverHawks.

Maximilian Schell, 83

Link.

Academy Award winner for best actor, Judgement at Nuremburg (1961), the film about the Nuremburg Trials.

Sochi 2014: The Countdown Series: Figure Skating Preview

Only five days remaining until the opening ceremonies (four until the first day of competition) at Sochi 2014. Up next on the countdown: figure skating preview.

Per ISU standards, 30 countries will have at least one skater in any of the five events of the figure skating at Sochi.

Historically speaking, the singles events have had some dominance. Three is the most number of gold medals won in the singles portion of figure skating in the Olympics. That number is shared by Gillis Grafstrom (Sweden) and Sonja Henie (Norway). Grafstrom won the men's singles three times: at Chamonix 1924, at St. Moritz 1928 and at Antwerp 1920 (summer games). Henie won the women's singles at St. Moritz 1928, Lake Placid 1932 and Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936.

The Soviets have had the most pairs wins ever with seven, including two each from two different pairings. Oleg Protopotov and Lyudmila Belousova won the pairs at Innsbruck 1964 and Grenoble 1968, while Aleksey Ulanov and Irina Rudnina won the pairs at Sapporo 1972 and Innsbruck 1976. The Soviets also tied the Russians with most wins in ice dancing with three gold medals each. The Soviets won with three different pairings, while the Russians got two of those wins from one pairing--Yevgeny Platov and Pasha Grishchuk--at both Lillehammer 1994 and Nagano 1998.

Grafstrom has the most individual gold among men skaters with three, while Henie and Rodnina have three each among women skaters.

New to the Olympics this year is the team trophy event, which is a combination of various events.

The Iceberg Skating Palace (pictured, above) is the venue for the figure skating at Sochi.

Up next: opening and closing ceremonies preview

Your Micro Super Bowl XLVIII Preview.

A subtle west coast flavor is the theme for the NFL championship game on Sunday.

Despite possible changes to the game, such as shifting to another day to avoid snowstorms (which would be a very pussy move), the game will be played as scheduled: on Sunday night.

The Seahawks--featuring their invisible '12th Man' (the real '12th Man' is in College Station, Texas)--are playing in just their second Super Bowl in franchise history (lost in Super Bowl XL), while the Broncos are making their first Super Bowl trip since XXXIII, where they defeated the Falcons at Joe Robbie Stadium.

Come to think about it...weren't they used to both play in the same division before 2001?

The rivalry continues on Sunday, live on Fox. The commercials should be just as good as the game.

Sochi 2014: The Countdown Series: Snowboarding Preview

Only six days remaining until the opening ceremonies (five until the first day of competition) at Sochi 2014. Up next on the countdown: snowboarding preview.

Snowboarding has been on the Olympics menu since Nagano 1998, along with women's ice hockey. Now the sport has expanded with more events beginning this year at Sochi. 31 nations with at least one quota spot for any of the snowboard events this year, per FIS standards.

The men's competition has had more dominance than on the women's side. The men's parallel and halfpipe is a perfect example. Only two multiple winners out of those events. Philipp Schoch (Switzerland) is the only multiple winner of the parallel giant, with his wins coming at both Salt Lake City 2002 and Turin 2006, while Shaun White (United States) won the halfpipe twice: Turin and again at Vancouver 2010. Seth Wescott (United States) is the only winner of the boardercross, winning that event at both Turin and Vancouver.

Parity has been the theme in the women's events. Three different winners of the parallel giant, with Nicolien Sauerbreij (Netherlands) the most recent at Vancouver. Halfpipe has had four different winners, including Torah Bright (Australia) who won that event at Vancouver. And finally, boardercross has had two different winners: Tanja Frieden (Switzerland) at Turin and Maelle Ricker (Canada) at Vancouver.

Schoch, Wescott and White are the only multiple gold medalists in snowboarding in the Olympics with two each. Ten different women have gold once in snowboarding in the Olympics.

New to snowboarding at the Olympics beginning this year are the  men's and women's parallel slalom and slopestyle.

The Rosa Khutor Extreme Park (pictured) is the venue for the snowboarding at Sochi.

Up next: figure skating preview