Sport For Thought: Is Under Armour to Blame for the US Speed Skating Debacle?

The major story at the conclusion of the 2014 Sochi Olympics were no longer about the hotels being unfinished, or spying in showers, or even only four out of the five Olympic rings lighting up during the opening ceremonies. Instead, the topic of discussion was the United State's lack of medals in speed skating, which was a promising event heading into the start of the Games.

Midseason Check Up: Orange and Black

Back on Track

      Since the firing of former head coach Peter Laviolette after an 0-3 start to the season, the Flyers and new head coach have worked through early season struggles.  They now find themselves with a winning record at 21-17-4, good for second place, only to the Penguins (BOO), in the Metropolitan Division , and 7th place in the Eastern Conference.  Just recently the Flyers ended and started the New Year out west, where they went 4-1 collecting 8 of a possible 10 points, huge.  Tomorrow in Newark, NJ the Flyers finish up their 6 game road streak with a nationally televised game on NBCSN.  A win could catapult them to 5th place in the Eastern Conference.  What has been most noticeable about the Flyers since their putrid start is their never dieing spirit to battle to the end of the game.  We have seen that spirit before in Flyers teams, especially during the improbable Stanley Cup run in the 2011 Playoffs.  This kind of desire to win is fueling the Flyers ascendance up the Eastern Conference Standings as we enter the second half of the NHL season.   

Guard the Post: Sochi 2014 is on the horizon

7 years ago, Sochi, Russia was granted the 2014 Winter Olympic games. At that time, Russia needed the attention that comes with hosting the biggest sporting event in the world. In hindsight, the attention may have been a little bit more than the Russo's were looking for. Anti-gay legislation, money problems, political unrest with the United States and other world powers, threats of terrorist attacks, and bombings in other Russian cities, just to name a few.

Global Scope: 2014 Winter Olympics

Next year promises to be a very exciting one in the wide world of sports, with the FIFA World Cup in Brazil happening during the month of June. However, for those of you who may not know the Winter Olympic games will also be taking place in Russia, in a town situated on the coast of the black sea, Sochi. The Winter Olympic Games will be hosted from the 7th of February up until the 23rd, with 98 events in 15 different sports. The Winter Olympic Games have been hosted on three different continents over time, but has yet to be hosted by one located in the Southern Hemisphere. Germany and Bosnia hosted the event one time each while Austria, Canada, Japan, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland have hosted the event twice. The United States and France are leading the pack in number of events held, with four and three respectively. Once February of 2014 comes around, it will be the first time a Russian city has hosted the games.