Monthly Archives: September 2021

The NHL is heading back to the Olympic Games, after it was announced earlier this month that the NHL and NHLPA came to an agreement to send NHL players to the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

That means the best hockey players in the world will be coming together to represent their home countries and compete for a gold medal. It will be the first time since 2014 that NHL players have competed on the international Olympic stage.

With that, lets take a look at some of those players that could be participating in the Beijing Olympics.

There will be 12 countries competing in mens ice hockey for the gold medal in Beijing. The 12 will be split into three groups of four to kick off the preliminary round.

Group A will consist of the United States, Canada, Germany and China, who automatically got a bid as the host country. Group B will have the Russian Olympic Committee, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Denmark. Group C will be Sweden, Finland, Slovakia and Latvia.

For the first time in five Winter Olympic Games, the NHL did not send its players to the Olympics in 2018.

Previously, the IOC covered travel, insurance, accommodations and other costs for NHL players. However, the IOC decided against it for 2018. When that was announced, the NHL decided to pull its players from going to the Olympics, also citing injury concerns that would affect the rest of the NHL season.

As a result, countries were forced to look elsewhere to fill out their rosters. Players were pulled from the AHL, European professional leagues and the NCAA level to participate in the Olympics.

Part of the reason for the NHLs return in 2022 is because the IOC will cover those costs that they did not in 2018.

Come February, the Washington Capitals could be sending a handful of players to Beijing to play in the Olympic Games.

Coming off his five-year extension, Caps captain Alex Ovechkin will surely be selected to play on the Russian Olympic Committee team. Ovechkin made his Olympic debut back in 2006, meaning this would be the wingers fourth appearance at the Games. He will be one of a very small group of players to play in both 2006 and 2022. The Great 8 has yet to win a medal at the Olympics, as he was not part of the 2018 ROC team that won gold, with NHL players not allowed to participate in the Olympics. In his Olympic career, Ovechkin has eight goals and three assists in 17 games.

Dmitry Orlov is likely to join Ovechkin on the Russian team. The Russians lack depth on the defensive side, so Orlov should see a significant amount of playing time at his first Olympics. Ilya Samsonov will be in the running for the third goaltending spot, but will have his work cut out after signing a one-year deal to stay in Washington. With Tampa Bays Andrei Vasilevskiy and New York Islanders Semyon Varlamov as the 1-2 in net, Samsonov will be battling Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky, Islander Ilya Sorokin and Ranger Igor Shesterkin for the third and final goalie spot.

Evgeny Kuznetsov would have been on the team; however, he is currently serving a four-year suspension from the IIHF for testing positive for cocaine back in 2019 and wont be able to participate.

Nicklas Backstrom surely is going to his third Olympic Games, where he will be representing Sweden. The playmaking center won silver in 2014, dishing out four assists in five games. He also had a goal and five assists in four games in 2010. Backstrom could slot in on the second line as New York Rangers Mika Zibanejad is anticipated to be the No. 1 center.

Despite being a member of the team at the 2014 Olympics and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, Carl Hagelin might not be joining Backstrom at the 2022 Olympics. Hagelin had two goals helping the Swedes to silver. Hes 33 years old and certainly no longer the player he was in Sochi. Dont be surprised to see Sweden pass on Hagelin for younger talent at forward.

Another lock is Lars Eller, who will be a part of Denmark's first Olympic team. Denmark qualified for the Olympics by defeating Norway in the qualifying tournament. Eller did not play for the team in that tournament, as the Capitals were still in the hunt for the Stanley Cup, but hell be one of a handful of NHL players on the team in Beijing.

Turning to Team USA, John Carlson should be one of the only veterans on a relatively young USA blueline. Carlson was on the U.S. team in 2014, scoring the opening goal for the Americans in their opening match against Slovakia. The 31-year-old may end up being the only blueliner to have previous Olympic experience for the U.S.

T.J. Oshie may not get a chance to repeat his spectacular shootout heroics for the U.S.. He famously converted four of six shootout attempts to give the U.S. a 3-2 win over the Russians in the preliminary round in 2014. He was considered a bubble player that year and most certainly will be on the bubble again. With an influx of young American talent at forward, Oshie might be watching the Olympics from his home.

While hes not a top-line defender in the NHL, Michal Kempny could very well play on the top defensive pair for the Czech Republic. It would be the first Olympics for the 31-year-old, who could see top minutes playing alongside Detroits Filip Hronek.

Expect Vitek Vanecek to be in the running to make the Czech Republic team, but he has his work cut out for him. Nashvilles David Rittich and Torontos Petr Mrazek seem likely to grab the first two goalie spots, and Colorados Pavel Francouz was on the Czech team at the 2018 Olympics.

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Which Capitals could play at the 2022 Beijing Olympics? - NBC Sports

Simone Biles offered emotional testimony on Tuesday at a US senate hearing into the Larry Nassar abuse scandal, an episode that rocked the world of gymnastics and involved some of the most famous young athletes in America.

Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics team doctor, is serving an effective life sentence after abusing dozens of athletes under his care. Biles and other Olympic gold medalists such as Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney are among the survivors of the abuse. On Tuesday, they appeared in front of a senate committee to give searing testimony at the hearing into the FBIs failed 2015 investigation into the case.

Biles began her testimony with a quote from Nelson Mandela that: There can be no keener revelation of a societys soul than the way in which it treats its children. She briefly had to pause after becoming overcome with emotion, before she continued.

To be clear, I blame Larry Nassar and I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse, she said. USA Gymnastics and the United States, Olympic and Paralympic Committee knew that I was abused by their official team doctor long before I was ever made aware of their knowledge.

The FBI is accused of failing to properly investigate allegations that Nassar was abusing athletes in his care. Children suffered needlessly because multiple agents in multiple offices at the FBI neglected to share the Nassar allegations with their law enforcement counterparts at state and local agencies, Republican senator Chuck Grassley said in prepared remarks before Tuesdays hearing.

Biles, widely regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time, withdrew from several events at this summers Olympics to maintain her mental health. She acknowledged on Tuesday that the legacy of Nassars abuse had affected her.

The scars of this horrific abuse continue to live with all of us I worked incredibly hard to make sure that my presence could help maintain a connection between the failures [around the Nassar case] and the competition at Tokyo 2020, she said.

That has proven to be an exceptionally difficult burden for me to carry, particularly when required to travel to Tokyo without the support of any of my family. I am a strong individual and I will persevere, but I never should have been left alone to suffer the abuse of Larry Nassar. And the only reason I did, was because of the failures that lie at the heart of the abuse that you are now asked to investigate.

The 24-year-old added that she fears similar cases could arise if proper action is not taken. Nassar is where he belongs. Those who enabled him deserve to be held accountable. If they are not, I am convinced that this will continue to happen to others across Olympic sports, she said.

Meanwhile, Maroney and Raisman described how the FBI had failed to investigate their complaints against Nassar properly.

After telling my entire story of abuse to the FBI in the summer of 2015, not only did the FBI not report my abuse, but when they eventually documented my report, 17 months later, they made entirely false claims about what I said, Maroney testified. They chose to fabricate. They chose to lie about what I said and protect a serial child molester rather than protect not only me, but countless others.

A US justice department investigation found that Nassar was able to abuse up to 70 athletes between the time the FBI first learned of the allegations and September 2016 when he was fired by his main employer, Michigan State University, after a police report was filed against him.

Raisman said that it was not just the FBI that had failed her. My reports of abuse were not only buried by [USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee], but they were also mishandled by federal law enforcement officers who failed to follow their most basic duties.

Raisman described how Nassars abuse continues to affect her. I dont think people realize how much it affects us, how much the PTSD, how much the trauma impacts us There are times where I feel like I forget what Im saying. I feel like my mind isnt working. I feel like I have no energy at all. Im 27 years old and my 80-year-old grandfather has more energy than I do, she said.

FBI director Christopher Wray appeared at the hearing and admitted his agency had failed the survivors of Nassars abuse. I want to be crystal clear: The actions and inaction of the FBI employees detailed in this report are totally unacceptable, he said.

W Jay Abbott, the FBI agent in charge of the initial Nassar investigation, retired in 2018 and was not disciplined over his handling of the case. The US Department of Justice inspector general Michael Horowitz said on Tuesday that Abbott had given false information during the investigation.

It is troubling to me to see that an FBI agent who lied, broke the law, knew he was breaking the law and nothing happens, Vermont senator Patrick Leahy said during the hearing, his voice rising in anger. I understand the procedure but it bothers me greatly that failures by the FBI field office in Indianapolis delayed the start of the investigation of Larry Nassars widespread sexual assaults of over 100 victims. And everybody, I dont care where they are on the political spectrum or anything else, had to be torn apart listening to the testimony of these victims this morning.

USA Gymnastics has announced a plan to pay a $215m (164m) settlement to the athletes abused by Nassar. In February, Li Li Leung, the chief executive of USA Gymnastics, told CBS the organisation recognises how deeply we have broken the trust of our athletes and community, and are working hard to build that trust back.

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Simone Biles says burdens of Nassar abuse remained with her at Olympics - The Guardian

Usain Bolt is arguably one of the greatest sprinters of all-time. During a lengthy career, the Jamaican asserted unprecedented dominance over his opponents, creating a legacy which looks extremely difficult to emulate, let alone better.

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With eight Olympic gold medals, the 35-year-old is one of the most successful Olympians in the events history. However, a sprinter competes in heats to qualify for the final, which decides the medal winners. Although he took home the gold in three consecutive Olympic Games, has he ever lost a race in the quadrennial event? The answer, surprisingly, is yes.

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For this statistic, one needs to go as far back as 2004. In that years Athens Olympics, the Jamaican made his Games debut in the mens 200m category. Prior to that, Bolt established himself as a prodigy during the 2002 World Junior Championships, and the 2003 CARIFTA Games.

However, he suffered a leg injury in his maiden Olympic appearance at the Athens. This led him to suffer a first-round exit as he finished fifth in his hear with a time of 21.05s. Polish sprinter Marcin Jedrusinski won the heat with a time of 20.63s.

Justin Gatlin, with whom he would share an intense rivalry, won the gold medal in those Games. To date, he remains the last American to win a gold medal in that category.

This defeat however, would be the only one in Bolts astonishing Olympic career. He won all his heats prior to winning gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay events in Beijing, London and Rio. However, he lost his 2008 Olympic gold medal in the 4x100m relay due to a doping violation committed by his teammate, Nesta Carter

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After the Rio Olympics, the Jamaican took part in the 2017 World Athletics Championships, which were held in London.

Despite his dominance, Bolt suffered a shock loss in the final, finishing third behind Gatlin and Christian Coleman. He also pulled up due to injury in the 4x100m relay, following which he hung up his spikes.

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WATCH STORY: Five Most Painful Defeats in Usain Bolts Career

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Did Usain Bolt Ever Lose a Race at the Olympics? - EssentiallySports

ATEEZ shared a sweet message for Olympic volleyball star Kim Hee Jin after learning that shes a fan of theirs!

During a recent interview, Kim Hee Jinwho is currently one of Koreas most beloved athletesmentioned that shes a big fan of ATEEZ.

When asked if shed requested any K-pop songs to be played during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the volleyball player replied that she hadnt been given the chance to request a song. However, she went on to share, I like ATEEZ. The reason I like them is because they put so much hard work and energy into their dance. They give it their all.

Kim Hee Jin then revealed that one particular ATEEZ song held special meaning for her after it unexpectedly wound up being a lucky charm for the South Korean team at the Olympics.

People probably dont know this, she said, but during the Tokyo Olympics, whenever there was a crucial moment for us, [ATEEZs] song WIN would always start playing. Every time it played, we would always win. We would turn the game around for an unexpected victory. So Im still listening to that song these days.

Later, during ATEEZs guest appearance on DAY6s Kiss the Radio, DJ Young K brought up Kim Hee Jins interview by remarking, As expected of a group thats all the rage, a person whos very popular these days revealed that shes a fan of yours.

He then asked the group if they wanted to share a message for Kim Hee Jin. Turning to the camera, San said, Thank you so much. I really love volleyball. I was really rooting for you while watching these [Olympic] games. Thank you so, so much for shining so bright. And thank you so much for liking us. Well continue to be a hard-working ATEEZ in the future. We love you. Thank you.

ATEEZ recently made a comeback with the mini album ZERO : FEVER Part.3, which made them the boy group with the fifth-highest first-week album sales in Hanteo history. Check out the music video for their new title track Deja Vu here!

Watch Kim Hee Jin on the latest episode of The Manager below:

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ATEEZ Responds To Olympic Volleyball Star Kim Hee Jin Revealing She's A Fan + Naming The Song That Meant A Lot To Her At Tokyo Olympics - soompi

Jockeying to represent Canada in team curling at the 2022 Beijing Olympics escalates Wednesday in Ottawa with a pair of events designed to complete the trials and pre-trials fields this winter.

Five men's teams are chasing two berths and five women's foursomes will compete for three spots in November's Tim Hortons Curling Trials in Saskatoon.

Regina's Matt Dunstone, Saskatoon's Colton Flasch, Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene, Ont., Winnipeg's Jason Gunnlaugson and Mike McEwen will vie to join Edmonton's Brendan Bottcher, Toronto's John Epping, Brad Gushue of St. John's N.L., and Calgary's Kevin Koe already qualified for the men's trials Nov. 20-28 in Saskatoon's SaskTel Centre.

Charlottetown's Suzanne Birt, Corryn Brown of Kamloops, B.C., Edmonton's Kelsey Rocque and Laura Walker and Casey Scheidegger of Lethbridge, Alta., seek to join Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., Tracy Fleury of East St. Paul, Man., Ottawa's Rachel Homan and Winnipeg's Jennifer Jones in Saskatoon.

The men's and women's champions in Saskatoon will wear the Maple Leaf in team curling in Beijing.

Another longer road to trials is entry via a pre-trials tournament Oct. 26-31 in Liverpool, N.S., which will produce the final two men's and last two women's entries for Saskatoon.

A parallel tournament running Wednesday to Sunday at Ottawa's RA Centre will complete that pre-trials field.

Eight teams of each gender compete in a triple knockout draw for two men's and women's berths in pre-trials.

Fans aren't allowed into the RA Centre because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Curling Canada will stream games lives on its YouTube channel.

Curling Canada revised its qualifying criteria for both team and mixed doubles Olympic trials because the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the majority of 2020-21 events that would have determined those fields.

Six duos have already qualified for the mixed doubles trials Dec. 28 to Jan. 2 in Portage la Prairie, Man.

Ten more will earn spots via bonspiels from September to December or by a high ranking in Curling Canada's Canadian mixed doubles rankings as of Dec. 14.

Canadian champions Einarson and Gushue, runners-up Kadriana Sahaidak and Colton Lott, Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant, Jones and Brent Laing, Nancy Martin and Tyrel Griffith, Homan and John Morris, andEpping and Lisa Weagle have already gained entry into the mixed doubles trials.

Morris and Kaitlyn Lawes won gold in the Olympic debut of mixed doubles in 2018.

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Road to Canada's Olympic curling trials crowded in Ottawa tournaments - CBC.ca

Japanese experimental musician Keigo Oyamada, better known as Cornelius, resigned from his role as a composer for the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony in July after old interviews, in which he apparently admitted to bullying and abusing schoolmates with disabilities, began recirculating online.

I sincerely apologize to my classmates and their parents who have been hurt by my words and actions, and I feel deep regret and responsibility for not being a good friend in school life, which is supposed to make good memories, but being in a position to hurt them, Oyamada said at the time.

But now that the Olympics and Paralympics are over, Cornelius is denying that he ever bullied or abused anyone, claiming that the original interviews which ran in Rockin On Japan and Quick Japan in 1994 and 1995 misquoted him and got his stories wrong. I wish to clarify the facts, Oyamada writes in a new post on Instagram.

I had talked about bullying that I experienced at school when I was in elementary and junior high school, Oyamada says. The headlines of the widely reported Rockin On Japan, stated that I had forced my classmates to eat feces and masturbate. I had never forced my classmates to do such acts or ever make any suggestions to do so.

In one story, I spoke of on the way home from elementary school where a classmate said jokingly that he could eat dog feces that was on the side of the road and picked it up and put it in his mouth and immediately spat it out, Oyamada explains. All the children there laughed, including the classmate who performed the act.

The other story is that I forced a classmate to masturbate, which I also did not do, he continues. The perpetrator was a senior student who was older and intimidating to us. I mentioned during that interview that I had witnessed outrageous violence, beyond my moral limits, when I was a student and that I had become withdrawn and distanced myself from these people.

I spoke of such things during the interview but the magazine that was published had misleading headlines mentioned that I had violated a classmate. Since I could not check the manuscript for Rockin On in advance, it was only after the release of the publication that I saw the article, he adds. I was shocked with the factual inaccuracies, but at that time I did not have the maturity to realize that I should correct them. In hindsight, I regret that I did not set the record straight directly with Rockin On.

After the publication of the next interview in Quick Japan, which Cornelius says he agreed to in part to correct the misinformation, a blog post was edited to make it seem as if I were the perpetrator of the gruesome acts of violence and was published. This false information spread through various forums and social media and is now used as a source for most publications, even though the interview with Quick Japan clearly states that the violent acts were not committed by me.

I believe that it is my own fault for not taking appropriate actions in explaining or correcting the false information about me that has been circulating over the internet for nearly 20 years, Oyamada concludes. As a result, I believe I have caused secondary damage to my classmates, their families and those who had the same experience, and I am truly sorry. Read his full statement below.

In July 2021, I resigned from the creative team of the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics following reports of past statements in a magazine interview that had said I bullied a classmate when I was a student. Now that the Olympics are over, I wish to clarify the facts.

What triggered the report was an interview I did 27 years ago (1994 and 1995) for two magazines, ROCKIN ON JAPAN (Jan. 1994 Issue) and QUICK JAPAN (Aug. 1995 Issue) which stated that I had talked about bullying that I experienced at school when I was in elementary and junior high school.

The headlines of the widely reported ROCKIN ON JAPAN, stated that I had forced my classmates to eat feces and masturbate. I had never forced my classmates to do such acts or ever make any suggestions to do so.

In the interview, I discussed my experiences growing up and attending school.

In one story, I spoke of on the way home from elementary school where a classmate said jokingly that he could eat dog feces that was on the side of the road and picked it up and put it in his mouth and immediately spat it out. All the children there laughed, including the classmate who performed the act.

The other story is that I forced a classmate to masturbate, which I also did not do. The perpetrator was a senior student who was older and intimidating to us. I mentioned during that interview that I had witnessed outrageous violence, beyond my moral limits, when I was a student and that I had become withdrawn and distanced myself from these people.

I spoke of such things during the interview but the magazine that was published had misleading headlines mentioning that I had violated a classmate. Since I could not check the manuscript for ROCKIN ON in advance, it was only after the release of the publication that I saw the article.I was shocked with the factual inaccuracies, but at that time I did not have the maturity to realize that I should correct them. In hindsight, I regret that I did not set the record straight directly with ROCKIN ON.

I had agreed to an interview with QUICK JAPAN (Aug. 1995 Issue) with bullying as the theme, as I had felt that I wanted to correct the misinformation. The publishers plan and intention of using bullying as the main subject of the article, to my current understanding, is unethical and lacking consideration for the feelings of the victims and people that were in the same position. However, at the time, I did not think about this and did the interview and explained what I had witnessed as a child.

After the publication of the two magazines, a blog post was edited to make it seem as if I were the perpetrator of the gruesome acts of violence and was published. This false information spread through various forums and social media and is now used as a source for most publications, even though the interview with QUICK JAPAN clearly states that the violent acts were not committed by me.

I am fully aware that my tone of speech for both interviews was vulgar and inappropriate. I would like to sincerely apologize to the people involved for this and for bringing up such horrific events and not taking into consideration, the humiliation, pain and suffering I caused to the bullying victims by exposing their personal trauma to the public.

I believe that it is my own fault for not taking appropriate actions in explaining or correcting the false information about me that has been circulating over the internet for nearly 20 years. As a result, I believe I have caused secondary damage to my classmates, their families and those who had the same experience, and I am truly sorry.

I deeply regret both my actions in the past and the way I talked about them in the articles, which reflected a past attitude that I am not proud of. Over the past two decades I have tried to think with a broader perspective and an awareness of how I should relate and contribute to society, and I will continue to reflect on this more than ever before, as a person and as a musician.

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Cornelius Denies Bullying Incidents That Led To His Removal From Olympics Ceremony - Stereogum