Bye Vancouver-See You In Sochi In 2014

The XXI Winter Olympics concluded yesterday with the closing ceremonies being held at BC Place.

Despite Vancouver's games getting off to a tragic start with the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili during a practice run hours before the opening ceremony, they spent the next sixteen days of competition building toward a triumphant climax.

I concur with IOC president Jacques Rogge's remarks. Vancouver did a wonderful job hosting the games and as always, I'm sad to see any Olympics end.

While the host Canadians are keeping an Olympic record 14 gold medals, Team USA is taking 9 golds and 37 total medals south of the 49th parallel. It's the best total Winter Olympics haul we've had since the 1932 Lake Placid Games and broke the record set by Germany at the 2006 Torino Games.

All eyes will be on Sochi from February 7-23 in 2014, to whom the winter Olympic hosting torch was passed. While we're waiting for the start of Russia's first winter Olympics, next year in Durban, South Africa the IOC will determine which city gets the nod to host the 2018 winter games.

The 2018 contenders are PyeongChang, South Korea, who is making their third winter Olympic bid and has finished as the runners-up to eventual 2006 and 2010 winners Torino and Vancouver, Annecy, France, and Munich, Germany. If Munich's winter bid is successful, it would become the first city to host a winter and a summer games.

Fear not, Olympic junkies. Singapore will be hosting the first ever Youth Olympic Games this summer. They will be held from August 14-26 and will feature athletes aged 14 to 18 competing in the same events that are contested in a Summer Olympic Games. There will also be a Youth Winter Olympic Games as well contested in 2012 with Innsbruck, Austria hosting it.

Both should be interesting to watch and keep us Olympic junkies happy until London 2012. In the meantime, it's going to be an interesting four years between now and 2014.

Frack, Canada Men Win Gold In OT

This time I got a phone call from Renee and Renee's unhusband when it was over.

After Ryan Parise tied the game with 24 seconds left to stun the crowd into silence at Canada Hockey Place, Sidney Crosby got the red and white party started with a goal in the overtime period to deny Team USA their first Olympic gold medal since the 1980 Miracle on Ice squad accomplished the feat.

Oh well, Sochi's only four years away.

When North Americans Dominate An Olympic Sport, Why Does The IOC Want To Cancel It?

While I'm still disappointed about the Team USA women losing to Canada in the gold medal game last night, what has bothered me even more are the comments attributed to IOC president Jacques Rogge concerning the future of women's hockey in the winter Olympic games.

He said this to the Vancouver Sun on the same day of the US-Canada women's final.

“There is a discrepancy there. “Everyone agrees with that. This is maybe the investment period in women’s ice hockey. I would personally give them more time to grow, but there must be a period of improvement. We cannot continue without improvement.’’

The IOC doesn't have enough women's sports in the Olympic program to begin with, and refused to add women's ski jumping to it for this Olympic cycle.

So why the chatter about canceling women's hockey?

I believe much of this carping about women's hockey has to do with the fact that it has been a US-Canadian party so far. How much of a hue and cry would there be to end it if a European nation such as Russia or Sweden were dominating it instead of the United States or Canada?

When the Russian women were dominating women's Olympic basketball by capturing the 1976, 1980, and 1992 golds, deafening silence.

Softball got yanked as a Olympic medal sport for the 2012 London Games probably because of American domination of it. Never mind the fact that Japan knocked off Team USA for the 2008 gold medal in Beijing.

An attempt to bring it and baseball back into the Olympic program for 2016 was defeated despite the fact both sports are played all over the planet.

As was pointed out by IIHF president Rene Fasel men's hockey in his Swiss homeland experienced a lopsided 22-0 butt kicking in the 1930's administered by the Canadians. Swiss hockey grew to the point in which they knocked off the Canadians in the 2006 Torino games, and extended them to a hard fought 3-2 shootout loss in Vancouver.

Same story with the USA men's dominance of Olympic basketball. We went from sending collegiate all star teams to blow out the world's best to having to send our NBA ballers to uphold national basketball pride.

Even the NBA ballers now are challenged to the point where they only came home with bronze in 2004 and were severely challenged by Spain in 2008 before subduing them for gold.

Team USA women's basketball since the 1996 Atlanta Games has won four consecutive gold medals and six overall (1984, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008). Instead of jibber-jabber about canceling the sport, the rest of the planet is rolling up their sleeves and raising their level of play to compete with us.

The result is that Team USA, even with WNBA players in the lineups are being stiffly challenged now by the Australians and the Russians. The Russians upset us in the 2006 FIBA worlds semis, and the Aussies have been our Olympics finals opponent in three consecutive Olympiads.

So if you non-North Americans want to end Canadian-US dominance of women's ice hockey, lower your level of complaining and raise your level of play.

We had to do that in the States and Canada to be competitive in sports Europeans dominate like Nordic combined, bobsled, speed skating and ice dancing.

Team USA has had to step up their hockey game just to be competitive with the Canadians. It's paid off with consecutive world hockey championships, two silvers and a bronze medal in Olympic competition, but no gold since 1998.

But as we American sports fans painfully know, all good Olympic sports dynasties come to an end, and this current Canadian run of Olympic hockey success will one day as well.

Step up your game, don't end it.

Oh Well-Canada Wins Olympic Gold

Renee is happily drinking her green tea this morning instead of crying in it like she was Monday because the Canadian women did something their male hockey playing counterparts haven't been able to do in these Olympics so far:

Beat Team USA.

They parlayed two early first period goals by Marie-Philip Poulin and the goaltending of Shannon Szabados into a 2-0 win for gold. Szabados stopped 28 shots to help Team Canada win their third straight Olympic gold medal and rack up their 15th straight Olympic win.

While Team USA did walk away with silver medals, it's one of the times in the Olympics when you aren't happy about it. When you lose to your bitter rival, it's even worse.

“Szabados played out of her mind,” Monique Lamoureux said. “It’s never fun to lose, especially in a championship game.”

“When you give your whole life to something and you come up short, as a team, it’s just awful,” four time Olympian Angela Ruggiero said while choking back tears. “It’s a little different than playing on the men’s side. You really give your life to it. You make lots of sacrifices to win the gold medal.”

Well ladies, you played your butts off to be so young. There were 15 Olympic rookies on that squad and you're still the two time world champions.

All Olympic sporting dynasties end sooner or later. The Canadian women will eventually lose an Olympic hockey game. Just get 'em in Sochi in 2014.

Assuming the IOC doesn't end women's Olympic hockey because Canada and the USA are dominating it right now.

It's On Renee-USA Vs Canada Women For Gold

At 6:30 PM EST what me and Renee have been trading barbs across the 49th parallel about for several months will finally happen.

The Clash of the Women's Hockey Superpowers at Canada Hockey Place.

It's the two time defending Olympic gold medalist Team Canada versus the two time reigning world champion and number one ranked Team USA.

This game is also taking place in the shadow of the 30th anniversary of the 'Miracle on Ice' game and the historic men's win over Canada on Sunday.

Interestingly enough, Mark Johnson, one of the major catalysts of the 4-3 win over the Russians is Team USA's coach.

Team USA has outscored its opponents 40-2 enroute to this Olympic final with 12-1, 13-0 and 6-0 wins over China, Russia and Finland in the preliminary round and a 9-1 semifinal win over Sweden. It avenged a 3-2 upset shootout loss in Torino that denied Team USA a trip to the 2006 Olympic final.

Canada has been just as dominant on its side of the Vancouver bracket. It steamrolled Slovakia 18-0, Switzerland 10-1 and Sweden 13-1 before posting a 5-0 shutout win over Finland in the semifinals.

It may be your house Renee, but we're coming to spoil the party. We want to do unto Canada what was done unto us at Salt Lake in 2002. Deny them the opportunity to win gold on their home soil.

My two time defending world champion girls won't be intimidated either.

"There's nothing better as an athlete – let alone a hockey player – than to play in a building of this magnitude, to have all the fans screaming," said Angela Ruggiero, who is one of two Americans to play in all four Olympic women's hockey tournaments.

"A lot of us were able to see the men win just, if anything, to get a sense of what the atmosphere is going to be like – hostile, fans chanting against you. And that's OK because I think our team thrives off of that."

It's on, Renee. Looking forward to watching my girls win gold, owning your podium and seeing the Stars and Stripes rise high in Canada Hockey Place.

5-3 USA! USA! USA!

The last time the United States beat Team Canada in Olympic hockey, my parents were a few months shy of graduating from high school.

Since that 2-1 February 25, 1960 win in Squaw Valley, CA Team USA has gone 0-5-1 in Olympic competition against Canada.

Until tonight.

Fittingly wearing replica 1960 uniforms and playing a day before the 30th anniversary of the 1980 'Miracle on Ice', Team USA followed the script of the 1960 and 1980 teams in riding the hot goaltending of Ryan Miller and some timely shots to a stunning 5-3 upset of Team Canada in front of a raucous crowd in Vancouver.

Ryan Miller did his best Jack McCartan and Jim Craig impression by stopping 45 shots in upsetting the heavily favored Canadians. It was the first time in 50 years that the United States men have beaten Canada in hockey and helped them close the preliminary phase of Olympic play with an unblemished record in Group A.

Team USA not only clinched the top spot on Group A, but also gained a bye into the quarterfinal round.

While Team Canada isn't out of the medals, their road to win gold became that much tougher. They not only have to play an extra game, they will have to win four consecutive games to do so.

The 1960 'Forgotten Miracle' team not only went unbeaten to gold at Squaw Valley, but went through Canada, the USSR, and Czechoslovakia in consecutive games to do it. The 1980 'Miracle on Ice' squad, well you know the story.

Can this 2010 United States men's team join those legendary Olympic hockey teams and come back with a gold medal?

They are only three tantalizing games away from doing just that.

Olympic Hockey Border War-Men's Division

We share a long border, the English language and a continent. But for the next two hours, they are The Maple Leaf Flag Waving Enemy.

It's the Olympic hockey showdown at the OK Corral, men's division. It's Team USA versus our Canadian neighbors,

It's Canada's game and national sporting passion. Team USA are no hockey slouches and are playing the day before the 30th anniversary of the 'Miracle on Ice'.

The Canadians won Olympic gold at the 1952 Oslo Games and to our chagrin the 2002 Salt Lake Games. Team USA won on home soil at Squaw Valley in 1960 and Lake Placid in 1980. We're also the only nation in Winter Olympic history to have won Olympic hockey gold as the host nation and we've done it twice.

Fittingly, there are high stakes in this final men's preliminary round game as well. Winner wins Group A and gets a bye into the quarterfinals. Loser plays an extra game to get to the medal round.

'Feel the Thunder' my azz. Time for some Olympic payback.

In 2002 they beat us in the gold medal game on US soil. Time to bring some pain to Canadian dreams of winning gold on their home soil.

USA! USA! USA!

12-1, Renee: USA! USA! USA!

The back to back world champion and number one ranked Team USA played their first game in this 2010 women's Olympic hockey tournament versus China.

Team USA unleashed 61 shots on goal and took a 5-0 lead after the first period concluded enroute to tying an American Olympic record with their 12-1 victory.

The game was played in front of a flag waving crowd that included Vice President Joe Biden and his wife and 1980 USA Olympic hockey captain Mike Eruzione.

Jenny Potter scored three goals in only 22 minutes to become the all time leading scorer in US Olympic history male or female.

“You don’t ever like to beat a team, 12-1,” Natalie Darwitz, the American captain, said, adding, “I think we got a little sloppy there in the middle and the end. It’s kind of a tough game when you’re controlling the play and it gets to be about goals and points. You get away from doing the little things.”

Team USA's next Group B game will take place on Tuesday against the Russians, who lost to Finland 5-1 in their opener.

One down, four to go

The Vancouver Games Begin

They got off to a sad start with the unfortunate death of a Georgian luger during a practice run at the Whistler Sliding Centre Friday morning, but the XXI Winter Olympic Games are underway.

So is the athletic competition that we'll be enjoying for the next two weeks. As a matter of fact, the ski jumping prelims took place before the opening ceremony.

With the start of these games, Vancouver with a population of 2 million now has the distinction of being the largest city to ever host a Winter Olympic games. This is also the first time that an opening ceremony was held indoors as well.

Governor General Michaelle Jean declared the games opened as the honor of the lighting the cauldron fell to hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, NBA baller Steve Nash, and Olympians Catriona Le May Doan and Nancy Greene Raine.

The ceremony went flawlessly until it was time to light the indoor cauldron, and one of the four arms failed to lift, leaving Catriona Le May Doan holding her torch as the other three pillars were lit.

Today was a drama filled day, but let's hope that the only drama from now until the February 28 closing ceremony is focused on the competition.

Can Vancouver Top Beijing's Olympic Opener?

The Winter Olympics opening ceremonies will take place later tonight. The question that people around the world are asking is what will Vancouver do to top the awesome spectacle Beijing put on to open the 2008 Games.

It seems since 1992 the torch lighting ceremonies have gotten more spectacular from an archer being used to light the Olympic flame cauldron in Barcelona to Li Ning sky walking his way to the Beijing one.



That's the gold standard so far. Here's the one for Torino 2006.



So the big questions being asked are not only who will be the person or persons from Canadian Olympic history be who will light the Olympic flame, but how will they do it?

New Year's Message From Canada's Governor General

Y'all know how much I love Canada's Governor General Michaelle Jean. Her term expires later this year unless it is extended either by the 'Sweater Vest' or his successor for two more years.

At any rate, here is her New Year's Day message to her fellow Canadians and the peeps across the Diaspora like moi who think she's just awesome.

Renee...The Olympic Hockey Beatdown Is Coming!

The Vancouver Winter Olympic Games will be starting February 12, and Renee's finally starting to get Olympic fever since the torch run passed within two blocks of her house.

One of the many things we have in common is that we are big women's hockey fans. Of course, she's Canadian and it's their national sport.

We've had some good natured trash talking going on about which one of our squads will take home the women's hockey gold from Vancouver. Canada and the United States have been the two best teams on the international women's hockey competition scene and the rivalry is an intense one.

When the Vancouver Games kick off the women's hockey tournament will feature the anticipated battle between the current two time women's world champion Team USA versus the two time defending Olympic champs Team Canada.

Both teams are in separate pools, so barring upsets, they will meet in the gold medal match. And as you can see, the trash talking is only beginning.

May I remind you Renee and all proud Canadians, when women's hockey was first contested as a medal sport at Nagano in 1998, we beat Team Canada twice to skate away with the first gold ever awarded in Olympic competition.

The 2010 USA women's Olympic team has been selected. There are six Olympians on that squad including Angela Ruggiero and Jenny Potter, who were on the 1998 Nagano gold medal squad.

My girls will be training hard to make sure that gold medal comes back to the States with them. Yeah, we definitely haven't forgotten Salt Lake 2002 and owe y'all an Olympic butt kicking y'all so richly deserve.

I have already composed a special version of the Canadian National Anthem I will post to TransGriot when the Olympic tournament is over and the Stars And Stripes is being raised above the Canadian flag to the rafters of GM Place.

(singing to tune of the Canadian national anthem)
Oh Canada,
Your fans will get to see
Your women lose
The gold in women's hockey

You'll see the rest of it on February 25. FYI, that's the date the women's Olympic hockey gold medal game will be contested.

USA! USA! USA!

Canadian Trans Rights Bill C-389 Moving Towards Debate

I talked a few months ago about Canadian MP Bill Siksay filing a private member's bill May 15 that would add “gender identity” and “gender expression” to the list of protected classes in the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code of Canada.

Well, thanks to the action alert from Mercedes Allen, it looks like the legislative process is finally beginning to percolate around MP Siksay's Bill C-389 and it is about to come up for debate.

NDP Party critic on Canadian Heritage, housing and Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Transsexual issues Bill Siksay is one of the few openly gay members of the Canadian Parliament and has represented the diverse Burnaby-Douglas riding in the Vancouver, BC area since 2004.

This is also the third attempt he's made to get Bill C-389 passed.

If C-389 passes, this would be a groundbreaking legislative win for our north of the border trans cousins.

As MP Siksay stated during the first reading of Bill C-389:

The bill will add gender identity and gender expression to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act and to the Criminal Code sections regarding hate crimes and sentencing provisions, providing explicit protection for transgender and transsexual Canadians from discrimination in all areas of federal jurisdiction.

Transsexual and transgender Canadians face significant prejudice in their daily lives. Whether it is job discrimination, access to housing and public services, especially health care, problems with identity documents, difficulties with law enforcement officials, a high suicide rate, or the increased likelihood that they will be victims of violence, the situation of transsexual and transgender people demands our attention.

The bill would give transsexual and transgender Canadians direct access to the protections provided for in the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code of Canada that they so urgently need.

I look forward to seeing the bill debated this fall in the next round of private members' business. Given that transgender and transsexual folks are members of our families, our friends, our co-workers, and our neighbours, I hope this measure will find support in all corners of the House.

If you live in the 'Great White North', time to get busy writing, e-mailing or calling your MP and respectfully asking them to support C-389. This is an 'all hands on deck' project that the entire Canadian TBLG community and their allies can and should enthusiastically get behind as well.

And don't stop with just the MP's. Write the party leaders as well such as the Liberals Michael Ignatieff, the NDP's Jack Layton, Gilles Duceppe of the Bloc Quebecois and Elizabeth May of the Green Party.

And if you happen to be a Conservative with progressive leanings, write the 'Sweater Vest' as well. After all, he is the Prime Minister.

Mercedes also noted that since Prime Minister Stephen Harper and much of the leadership ranks hail from conservative Alberta, it will be critically important for GLBT Albertans to make sure they make their voices heard with their MP's about their support for the passage of C-389.

Here's a link to the NDP Party website to get you started. If you don't know who your MP is, here's the link to the Canadian Parliament website in which all you'll have to do is type in your postal code to discover who your MP is.

As I continue to point out, the fight for transgender rights is a worldwide struggle. Any positive success anywhere on the planet helps me and my peeps in the States and other locales. It's why I'm very interested in what transpires in Canada with Bill C-389.

While we transgender Americans and our allies will pretty much be on the sidelines in cheerleader mode for this one, in light of the fact that ENDA is still awaiting action on this side of the border, we'll be extremely interested observers as the potentially historic C-389 bill makes its way through Parliament.

We'll also be praying that the third time is indeed the charm in terms of this bill becoming law in the Great White North.

The Canadians Have A Point-Hate Speech Should Be Regulated

You know, I'm beginning to agree with the Canadians on the point they make about regulating hate speech, especially in light of the unprecedented racist abuse that President Obama is taking.

Many of us progressive Americans are fearing that some fool will go to the next level and attempt to do with a bullet what they couldn't do at the ballot box.

The Canadians use the standard under their Charter of a 'reasonable person'. Any speech that would be considered racist and offensive by that person is subject to regulation.

Yes, as a blogger and civil rights advocate I'm a staunch defender of the First Amendment. I have a copy of the US Constitution right next to my computer that I read on a regular basis. I'm quite aware it guarantees your right to free speech and dissent. But at the same time it guarantees my right as a person with contrary views to yours to have my say as well.

But with free speech comes consequences. I not only have an equal right to challenge you on it, but sue the crap out of you if your hate speech results in physical harm to my person.

When it comes to hate speech, while you have the right to say it, it doesn't add anything positive to the political discourse of the nation. All it does is fuel animosity and hatred. As a person of African descent I know all too well that unchecked hate speech far too often leads to escalating violence which can ultimately lead to death or genocide.

Too many times in this country's history we have seen hate speech used by vanilla flavored people to incite discourse and fan the flames of dissent in order to exploit the fears of people for their narrow political and economic interests.

Over the last fifty years, particularly during Democratic administrations we have seen a ratcheting up of hate speech by the conservative opposition to demonize politicians and people they don't agree with.

That has unfortunately led to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the murders of many others working for progressive causes or social change.

We have seen this play out ever since President Obama was elected on November 4. The 'white' wing has been uttering increasingly nastier, false and devoid of logic rhetoric by the day. When you call them on it, you're accused of being 'politically correct' or 'stifling their constitutional First Amendment rights.'

And as a transperson, I see with grim regularity the hate of the 'christian' right, the Roman Catholic Church, radio shock jocks and transphobic bigots manifest itself into murdered transpeople that we end up memorializing every November 20.

Don't even get me started about the 'Kill him' cries that rang out during McCain-Palin rallies last year. Many of us are fearful that the unprecedented unhinged rhetoric being disgustingly spat by 'white' wing conservafools and pimped for ratings by Fox News at President Obama will lead to another tragedy.

So based on this backdrop of history, is it any wonder why I would be in favor of hate speech being closely monitored?

Yo Renee, Canada's Women's Ice Hockey Is Going Down In 2010!

The Olympic flame lighting ceremony for the 2010 Vancouver Games will happen tomorrow while we're sleeping at 2 AM on this side of the Pond in Olympia, Greece.

The flame is lit outside of the ruins of the Temple of Hera using the rays of the sun focused on a metal reflector. It is part of a ritual in which includes a prayer and a hymn made by a woman representing the ancient role of the high priestess.

The ceremony also involves a young boy who cuts off an olive branch and gives it to the high priestess as a symbolical gesture.

The woman playing that role of the high priestess is Athens born Greek actress Maria Nafpliotou, who also presided over the flame lighting ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Games.

The Olympic flame is then taken in front of the statue of Pierre de Coubertin and handed off to the first of the torch runners. They will take the 2010 Olympic flame on a journey through Greece for several days before sending it overseas to arrive in Victoria, BC October 30 to begin the Canadian portion of the Olympic torch relay. It will travel through every province and territory of the host nation before it returns to BC Place Stadium on February 12 for the opening ceremony of the Games.

Who gets to light the Olympic cauldron will be kept a secret until that day. But the honor usually goes to a high profile athlete of the Olympic host nation.

What that means to this Olympics junkie and the rest of you casual sports fans is we are getting close to the start of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games that will take place in Vancouver, BC from February 12-28.

It's also triggered some good-natured trash talking between me and my Canadian homegirl.

She's been bragging (and rightfully so) about her two time (2002-2006) Olympic champion Canadian women's hockey team. The Canadian women along with the USA women have been the dominant teams in the sport while everyone else in the world has been trying to rise to the elite hockey skill levels of the Americans and Canadians.

Team Canada won eight straight International Hockey Federation women's world titles from 1990-2004 until Team USA broke that streak in 2005 by winning a 1-0 shootout. Canada reclaimed the IHF world title in 2007 by beating Team USA 5-1 in the final.

In addition to watching Team Canada pile up wins at their expense, Team USA chafed at being the bridesmaid to Team Canada's championship bride.

But when hockey was added to the winter Olympic women's sports program for the 1998 Nagano Games, Team USA flipped the script and upset the highly favored Canadians 7-4 in pool play. They then proved it wasn't a fluke by beating the then four time world champs again 3-1 in the gold medal match to skate back to the States with the first ever Olympic gold medal awarded in women's hockey.

And that only added fuel to an already hot sports rivalry.

Renee has not let me forget and rubs it in at regular intervals that the Canadian women avenged their 1998 Nagano loss by snagging their first Olympic gold medal on US soil.

They rolled into Salt Lake City and beat us 3-2 in the gold medal game.

In the 2006 Turin Games the USA women were cruising to a payback rematch until they were upset in the semifinals by Sweden. The USA women ended up with the bronze medal as they watched Team Canada skate off with another gold medal after defeating Sweden 4-1 in the Olympic final.

The Team USA women are determined to improve on that 2006 Olympic bronze medal finish, beat their Canadian rivals and return to women's Olympic ice hockey supremacy. Nothing would be sweeter for Team USA than to do so while avenging our 2002 Olympic home ice loss and doing unto Team Canada in 2010 what was done unto us in 2002.

Team Canada is well aware of the target on their backs by being the two time Olympic champs, one of the best teams in women's international hockey and having the added pressure of being the host nation.

They will go all out to defend their Olympic title, make the home folks proud and make it three straight Olympiads they've skated away with gold medals.

But they know it won't be easy. Team USA won the IHF Women's World Hockey Championships last year in Harbin, China by beating Canada 4-3. They defended their IHF title in Hameenlinna, Finland back in April by beating down Canada 4-1 in the final.

Team USA wants to be standing on the top step of the Olympic medal platform in Vancouver when the women's Olympic hockey tournament is over.

The other nations in this upcoming Olympic tournament are determined to prove that they can not only play with but beat the two best teams in the hockey world in Team Canada and Team USA.

They are in different groups, so unless either team falls victim to upsets, the highly anticipated matchup between Canada and the United States won't happen until either the semifinals or hopefully the gold medal match.

Canada will be competing in Group A with 2006 Olympic silver medalists Sweden, Slovakia and Switzerland. The 2006 Olympic bronze medalists and two time reigning world champs will be in Group B with Finland, Russia and China.

Go Team USA Women!

Top two teams in each group advance to the semifinals.

It's going to be fun to watch, and I'm looking forward to hopefully calling her up and yelling USA! USA! USA! in the phone when it's over.

I want to see my girls waving the flag, kissing their gold medals and singing The Star Spangled Banner while watch our flag rise a little higher than Canada's at General Motors Place.

So yeah Renee, it's on like Donkey Kong.

Yes, There Are Black Mounties

Living Single is one of my favorite shows. One of my favorite episodes was broadcast in its third season and entitled 'Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow... Dammit.'

Overton takes the gang to the Jones family cabin in Canada for what he thinks will be a old fashioned Christmas similar to the idyllic ones he had in his childhood.

He not only finds that things have radically changed in the town since he was a kid, it's now a tourist mecca. The trip is turning into a nightmare for Overton as his cherished Santa suit gets accidentally washed and turned pink by Synclaire and he destroys the gingerbread house when he accidentally sits on it.,

He also keeps running into and getting ticketed by an overzealous Constable Robeson.

When the gang first meets Cst. Robeson, they stare at the brother in the Mountie uniform as he wearily replies, "Yes, there are Black mounties."

So watching that episode again drove me to ponder the question, who was the first Black member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police?

The first Black Mountie was Constable Hartley Gosline from Saint John's, New Brunswick.

As the first African Canadian recruit, he didn't have it easy. As documented in the Cpl. Craig Smith book You Better Be White by Six A.M: The African-Canadian Experience in the RCMP, Smith recounts an incident from early in Gosline's training.

He was the only Black in a lineup of young white men, and his drill corporal noted it as he marched in for morning parade.

The drill corporal looked over his troop, stopped in front of him and said: ‘Gosline, you stick out. You make your troop look bad and you better be white by 6 a.m. the next morning.’ "

After graduation from the RCMP Training academy in Regina, SK in 1969 he was posted to New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Cst. Gosline was later transferred to the Dartmouth detachment and other locations during his career including the Security Service Division (now CSIS) in Toronto, as well as postings in both Jasper and Edmonton, Alberta. Cst. Gosline left the force in 1978 and currently resides in New Brunswick.

In 1970, the first mountie from Nova Scotia joined in RCMP in Yarmouth resident Clarence Bodden. When it comes to Black Canadian representation in the RCMP, Nova Scotia is the runaway leader with over 40 officers hailing from that province.

Women joined the RCMP ranks in 1973, but it wasn't until 1992 that Christine MacDonald became the first Black female recruit.

If you're wondering who the highest ranking African Canadians are in the RCMP, it's Ted Upshaw, who was promoted to the rank of Inspector in 1999. He was followed by Craig Gibson in 2001.

Today, out of the 17,000 members of the RCMP, 225 of them are African descended Canadians. They are blazing a historic path that they hope future generations of African Canadians will follow.