Vancouver 2010 Olympics

One simply cannot walk away from a television when the Olympics are on. They mesmerize those who give it their attention; yet, the 2010 Olympics are being overshadowed by many misfortunes occurring in front of millions of viewers.  It all started with the flame malfunction in the opening ceremonies, where one of the four pillars did not appear. Although the first true heartbreaking news came when Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled on a practice run hours before the opening ceremonies and died. What was not reported was that this was the third incident on that exact corner of the course. The first accident victim walked away without serious injury while the second was airlifted off Olympic grounds to be medically evaluated. Reluctantly after medical evaluation there were no serious injuries as well. The first two accidents where woman competitors, and their start position is lower than that of the mens. This gives the men more speed and power as they fly down the course. The wall where Nodar flew from the course was boarded up overnight and no competitors are allowed to race from the mens start location. It is a horrifying thought they did not learn from the first two major accidents, and that it took the death of a young man to add safety precautions to the course. This is not the only dangerous sport at the Olympics, but since Nodars death there have only been a few minor injuries with athletes falling on other courses. It is not simply injuries that are overshadowing the 2010 games. During some of the speed skating events an Olympia Ice Resurfacer broke down spilling hot water all over the track creating what some would jokingly call a 'slip-and-slide'. When the second Ice Resurfacer came on scene to clean up the massive disaster  of the first one, it too broke down crating an even bigger mess. The athletes and coaches were furious with the hour and a half delay and rough ice surfaces, so in came a Zamboni to finally save the day. One would think after pouring millions of dollars into the Olympics they could pick machines that would do their task successfully, not quite though. One can only hope that the second half of the Olympics is centered on more positive aspects of the games. 
Ps. Go Canada go!