I guess the headline says it all really, even though it is a question. The Olympic games are just the greatest.

Summer or winter, they capture the imagination of an entire planet.

I tell you what though, the winter games certainly are the most dangerous!!! First, sincere condolences go to the family of the Georgian luge competitor who tragically lost his life only hours before the games begun.

Though you look at so many winter olympic events and people’s lives are on the line, or at the very least there’s a severe risk of injury. For example, any events at the sliding centre, downhill skiing, ski jumping, speed skating, freestyle aerials and the list goes on.

Maybe that’s a huge part of the attraction. The possibility of carnage. The agony and the extacy. The human story to go along with sporting triumph.

Which ever direction you come from, watching a human being pushed to the absolute limits always captures the imagination. How good are the Olympic Games? Un-be-lieve-able!!!

Bravo Vancouver. Now for one final day of competition. Can Canada wrap up a near perfect games for the host nation by winning (let’s be honest) the only gold medal they really wanted. Men’s Hockey. In fact, I think most Canadians would trade every other gold they’ve one for just this.

Wow. How heavy the weight of a nation’s expectations on your shoulders must be.

Congratulations to Aussie Torah Bright who took out gold in the women’s halfpipe at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Cypress has been good to the Aussies, with Dale Begg-Smith winning silver and now our Aussie flag bearer from the opening ceremony winning the best colour of all. Gold it is!

Already, the Aussies have 2 medals, which is as good as we’ve ever done, so as you can imagine, we are all stoked!

My only disappointment is the fact I’m not there. Boohoo I know, however for someone like myself and my wife, we have been in Canada this time of year for 3 of the last 4 years. Why not this year? Well, truth be known, we are too busy setting up some new businesses.

The only real shame about the Aussies winning another gold is the worst sporting coverage known to man through channel nine in Australia. It is an absolute disgrace. You would think that one of the biggest events on the planet would deserve better from a team who claims to be the number one sporting broadcaster.

Shame, shame, shame!

Let’s not take the tarnish off what was a hugely gritty and determined performance from one very cute young Aussie. A life of dreams lived out in the snow of Canada!

In the modern world of international sport, a great deal of scrutiny is placed on athletes to ensure a fair contest. Drug testing is probably the more prominent form of scrutiny and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to cheat the system, or so it would seem.

When you have 28 cameras covering a cricket match though and you know those cameras are following the ball… and you are the captain… why would you try and cheat without even hiding it? Why?

This is exactly what happened to Shahid Afridi in a one-day cricket match against Australia in Perth on January 31st 2010.

For those of you who are not cricket fans, it is against the laws of the game to “tamper” with the ball. The reason is because if you manipulate the ball, it can do weird and funny things when you bowl.

In the past, people have tried putting something on the ball, fiddling with the seam where the ball is stitched, scuffing half of the ball and have even used bottle tops to try and scratch the ball. At least they have tried to hide it from the cameras.

Shahid Afridi must have been a little peckish as between deliveries, he was seen in broad daylight, with no attempt to hide the fact…

wait for it…

biting the ball. Yep, it looked like he had just picked a juicy ripe peach from a tree and was desperate to have the nectar roll down his chin. Only it was with a cricket ball that had the accumulated spit of an entire cricket team on it (spit is legally used to help shine the ball).

So blatant cheating should get a severe penalty, right? We’ll get to that in just a second.

What was Afridi’s defence? He told an Australian radio station after the match that he was “trying to smell the ball”. When further asked if he was smelling it with his teeth, he responded, “that is one way you can do it, yes”.

Hmmm… the plot thickens.

Then when he was found guilty of ball tampering, what did he say? He said that everyone cheated and it was part of the game. Way to cover yourself in glory and be a good role model!

So now for the penalty. Two matches. Yes sir, two lousy games. What a joke. What an absolute joke all around. Afridi and the games administration. They should all take a good long hard look at themselves.