We're number 30. Right behind:
24 Taiwan 0 1 0 1
24 Cuba 0 1 0 1
24 Denmark 0 1 0 1
24 Poland 0 1 0 1
24 Sweden 0 1 0 1
24 Thailand 0 1 0 1

The Americans grabbed hands and backed up, eager to get a better view of the scoreboard.

There was really no need. That Olympic gold medal was in the bag the minute they took the floor.

The Americans lived up to their considerable hype and then some Tuesday night, routing Russia and everybody else on their way to their first Olympic title since 1996. Their score of 183.596 was a whopping five points ahead of Russia, and they were so far ahead their last event, floor exercise, was more like a coronation.

Team Canada had a strong finish in its first appearance in the women's final since 1984, placing fifth with a score of 170.804. Canada was represented by Elisabeth Black, Victoria Moors, Dominique Pegg, Brittany Rogers and Kristina Vaculik.

"Canada rocked the house!!! #SoProud of my girls and #SoProud to be Canadian!! Fifth place in the world!!", Vaculik tweeted.

Pegg echoed the sentiment: "Today was the most amazing day of my life! So proud of my team, we made history!," she tweeted.

With the Russians on the sidelines crying, the Americans stood at the center of the floor, clapping, cheering and basking in a golden glow. When the score for captain Aly Raisman flashed, the Americans screamed and a chant of "U-S-A! U-S-A!" rang out around the arena. The women held up their index fingers for the cameras — just in case anyone had a doubt.

The Americans had come into the last two Olympics as world champions, only to leave without a gold. But this team is the strongest, top to bottom, the USA has ever had, and the rest of the world never stood a chance. After the U.S. opened with a barrage of booming vaults, everyone else was playing for silver.

Now all they have to do is find themselves a catchy nickname, like "The Magnificent Seven" from 1996. Some have suggested "The Fab Five," but that belongs to Michigan basketball's Chris Webber, Jalen Rose and Co. Others have tossed out "The Fierce Five."

How about "Best Gymnastics Team in the World. By A Lot."

Some teenagers might find that pressure tough to bear, but the Americans reveled in it. When they saw the Russians and Romanians peeking in the doorway during training sessions, they would add some extra oomph to their routines, the better to intimidate the competition.

And when the gold was on the line, the Americans were simply spectacular.

They essentially won the gold medal with their first event, vault, putting on a fireworks show right in front of the Russians.

All of the Americans do Amanars, one of the toughest vaults in the world — a roundoff onto the takeoff board, back handspring onto the table and 2.5 twisting somersaults before landing. It's got a start value — the measure of difficulty — of 6.5, a whopping 0.7 above the vault most other gymnasts do, and they ripped off one massive one after another.

World champion Jordyn Wieber went first and did perhaps the best one she's ever done, getting great height in the air with her legs locked together. When her feet slammed into the mat on landing, she threw up her arms and smiled broadly. Anyone who wondered how she would recover from the shock of failing to qualify for the all-around competition got their answer.

Gabby Douglas went next and her vault was even better. And then came McKayla Maroney, who let everyone know why she's a heavy favorite to add the Olympic gold to her world title in vault. She got so much height on her Amanar it's a wonder she didn't bump her head on the overhead camera. She hit the mat with tremendous force yet didn't so much as wiggle, triumphantly thrusting her arms in the air as she saluted the judges.

The Americans strutted out of the event with a 1.7-point lead, and never looked back.

Seeing as how we're largely a winter nation and we're ranked 35th in terms of population, I'd say we're doing pretty good.

NCAA Agrees to $10.8-Billion Deal to Broadcast Its Men's Basketball Tournament

In a move expected to shore up the long-term financial health of college sports, the NCAA announced on Thursday that it had signed a 14-year, $10.8-billion contract with CBS and Turner Broadcasting to televise its men's basketball tournament. The deal will funnel at least $740-million annually to NCAA member colleges,

I'm sorry but that sounds like a cop out to me. We Americans used to use that not being a winter nation excuse for our lack of dominance at the winter games. Somehow we managed to win the overall medal count at the last winter olypics in Vancouver. Canada won the most gold medals of any nation. Because the games were being held in Canada, your nation went all out. You spent money. You supported your athletes.You showed the world what Canadian athletes are capable of doing. The level of athletic dominance shown by Canadian athletes at the Vancouver games demonstrates what can be accomplished when your athletes have financial backing.

Several weeks ago I did some research on Canadians for a thread I was posting on. I was surprised at how many athletes were earning a living in the States were Canadian citizens. It would appear that one of Canada's greatest exports is world class athletes. Canada breeds them, they raise them, but they have to leave Canada to make a living doing what they love to do. I was curious as to how many Canadians at the summer games were attending college in the States on athletic scholarships.

http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2012/ ... ale/?print

The link provided was not what I was looking for, but it was all I could find on the subject. I was amazed at the percentage of Canadian students who were attending ivy league schools that were on athletic scholarship. 40% of Canadian athletes at Yale are varsity athletes. 30% at Harvard. 60% at Dartmouth! Those are amazing numbers! Several years ago when the games were in Vancouver, many members on this site were stating that spending all that money on the games was a waste of time. That money could be spent on the homeless,or solving other social problems. Deciding how to spend your tax dollars is entirely up to you. As an American,I have no say in that whatsoever. Your country has to pick its priorities . I understand,and respect that. However I do not think that it is correct for someone to state in this forum that Canada's medal count so far is pretty good. It is far from good,and light years from what Canadian athletes are capable of achieving. I am not saying that the athletes that Canada sent to the games are slackers. I am saying that they are not getting the full financial support of their country. They are not getting the same support that Canadian athletes enjoyed at Vancouver. They are not getting the support that they get playing in the NCAA. I watch Canadian athletes perform in the NCAA. I watch them perform in professional sports in the States. I know what they are can do when they get the support that they deserve. That level of athletic excellence is not what I am seeing in London today. I am not trying to piss anyone off with my post here today. I am just stating the fact that Canadian athletes [when properly funded] are a hell of a lot better than what I am seeing so far in London.

Canada's men's eight rowers couldn't defend their Olympic title against a powerful German team on Wednesday, but the Canadians captured a hard-fought silver medal for the country's fifth medal of the Olympics.

Germany dominated the race at Eton Dorney from start to finish — winning gold with a time of 5:48.75, just ahead of the Canadians, who rowed to a 5:49.98 time. The Germans have not been defeated since 2009.

"The start was really clean and quick, and I just remember staying really internal and in our own boat," Canadian Robert Gibson said in a release. "The Germans are the cream of the crop and we didn't want to get fazed by their speed. We did everything."

Great Britain spent most of the race level with Germany, but settled for bronze with a time of 5:51.18.

"An unreal race, we were so stoked," Doug Csima of Oakville, Ont. said. "We executed our plan exactly and it was a great feeling rowing through the British in the last 250 metres. We're happy."

Canada, the defending Olympic champions, had to earn their spot in the final through Monday's repechage, where they finished second after placing last in their heat on Saturday. Germany and the United States dominated their heats on Day 1 to advance directly to the final.

The Canadian crew had only three returning members from their gold medal-winning Beijing team — Toronto's Andrew Byrnes, Victoria's Malcolm Howard and coxswain Brian Price of Belleville, Ont.

The other members of the Canadian eight are Will Crothers of Kingston, Ont., Jeremiah Brown of Cobourg, Ont., Conlin McCabe of Brockville, Ont., and Gabe Bergen of 100 Mile House, B.C.

Canada's women's eight are the next crew aiming for the podium in their final on Thursday.

Canadian pair heading to final
Dave Calder and Scott Frandsen placed third in their men's pair semifinal on Wednesday, giving them a chance to climb the podium in Friday's fiinal.

The Canadians finished with a time of 6:56.47, behind New Zealand (6:48.11) and Italy (6:55.82).

"We're through and now we need to get focused on what it's going to take to get a medal," Calder said in a release. "Everything's going to re-set and we'll be back to two kilometres and square one."

In the men's lightweight double sculls, Douglas Vandor of Dewittville, Que., and Clearwater Bay, Ont.'s Morgan Jarvis won their "D" semifinal on Wednesday with a time of 7:02.85, securing a spot in the "C" final. The rowers won't be competing for a medal, but could finish as high as 13th.

Yeah, we've moved up to number 25. Still getting our asses kicked by Slovenia and Lithuania tho. And Kazakhstan.

Well, if Olympic medal count is your only requirement for quality of life, feel free to move to anyone of those countries!