January 22, 2011 Last updated: 1/23/11 9:00pm PT
When I was a kid, and sports used to be broadcast on free tv, I would spend all summer watching the Chicago Cubs play baseball, and spend all winter watching the Chicago Blackhawks play hockey. In the summer, I wanted to be a pitcher, in the winter I wanted to be a goalie. The Hawks were one of the first teams off of free tv. I soon lost interest in hockey. Over the years I’d watch parts of games if nothing better was on TV, and I’d keep track of the standings in the daily paper. Last year, Denise and I went to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and we attended a hockey game between Norway and Switzerland. It got me excited about hockey again. So I started watching the Canucks and Blackhawks regularly. Both teams were in the playoff hunt, with the Hawks winning the Stanley Cup.
Seattle doesn’t have an NHL team, so we decided to take in a Vancouver Canucks game. We sat in the front row of the upper deck, in the goal end. They were great seats, with an unobstructed view of the entire rink. It was an exciting game, with the Canucks losing in a shoot-out, on a replay reviewed shot. The Canadians are fierce hockey fans. The place was packed and rowdy.
We stayed at a hotel about 1.5 blocks from the Rogers Arena.
Here’s a picture from our hotel room window 
We walked around Vancouver on Saturday. Here’s what’s left of a statue that got knocked over and ripped apart by a mob of angry Canadians. That’s the only possible explanation for this ‘art’. 
This is Vancouver’s library. Very cool, obviously modeled after a Roman Colosseum. 
Last year, we went to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. They had the Olympic flame in a prison, fenced off, so you couldn’t get anywhere near it. Now, it’s wide open, but no longer lit. 
No, this isn’t a Lego orca, it’s a digital representation of an orca. 
Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. In their 40 years, they’ve never won the Stanley Cup. 
Rogers Arena 
Not sure how the players don’t watch themselves the whole time. The video screen is always showing the game live. 
