Vancouver: the final

Well, that's the final over with.

It was a really close game. So close, in fact, that one looks to factors that otherwise might not be so important; in this case, the referees. In the beginning of the first period, we watched Chris Pronger run an American player headfirst into the boards from behind: a minor penalty plus a ten-minute misconduct under international rules. Not called. Moments later, Ryan Getzlaf charges a player who's nowhere near the puck. Not called. By the second period, we'd already lost count of the number of egregious Canadian fouls that went uncalled.

Hardly surprising, really, when you consider that both referees were Canadian. It's the Olympic final, and both referees are from one of the countries playing in it.

Seriously speaking, could this be done in any other organized sport? Throughout the tournament, Canada benefited from the referees' special treatment, but getting two "home" referees in the final is just outrageous. We're not sure what that is, but it isn't sport.