IX Winter Olympics RP thread

[Kriegiersien]

A day to forget about.


Biathlon - Men's 10km Sprint final
Wolfgang Gartner with 1:18 behind the first will have big problems in the pursuit. He ended on Place 17.
"Missing three times is too much, even with good ski and a good running time", he said.
Max Minimax ended 113.
"I wasn't last and I even hit the targets 4 times", the man coughed happily, but exhausted.

It started with a relief when it got clear that Eva Minimax and Luna Latenight would start in Cross Country Skiing - Women's 15km Skiathlon.
Eva ended 68. and was in a good mood.

But Luna Latenights dreams ended after 1,5 km. First Hedvig Lahti knocked her down, before her ski pole was broken from Jennifer Valenti-Gonzales when she drove over it and finaly Keerrha Fairbearrn triped over her. While the snow was falling on Lunas body, burying her, she wept bitter tears.



When Thora Bergen tripped and was only 5th after the first run in Freestyle Skiing - Women's Moguls Final, there could be seen a sense of foreboding in the faces of some of her coaches.
After a missed double screwtwist in the second run it got clear to everyone that she would miss the final of the best 6.
Ending 7th a whole country wept with her. Thora departed, without saying a word, back to Kriegiersien.


Speed Skating - Men's 5000m Finals
John Red ended 51 in the 5k. Totaly exhausted he wasn't even near to his PB. Neil Minimax on 83 on the other side was ok.
"I had worse times and didn't trip. I could have even run further 5k", he boasted.



Preview

DAY 2
Figure skating - Team event Pair free program/ ice dance free program
And the second part of the mammoth project Team Trophy.

Weyland Prometheus/Yutani Kratos will try to play their part in the Pairs.
"Our program will have a great twist", Weyland predicted smiling. Yutani remained silent.

Melanie Elfchen/Tido Tanzbaer will dance to 'In the House - In a Heartbeat', dressed as Zombies.
"That is no political statement, we really have noting against the people from Zombiestan. Some of our best friends are now Zombies", declared Tido desperate. Melanie remained silent.

Ice Hockey - Matchday 2
Men
Kriegiersien - Darmen.
Black against green. While the Team from HC Schoenwetter is known for a more fluent play, the Darmens are pretty aggressive. We can expect many Power Plays of our team, something they execute very well. We will also see Mattias Mitchell, the Darmen Flagbearer.

Women
Lymantatia awaiting.
The first of the now beginning series of decisive Games. Our advantage against Lymantatia is their small squad. 6 players, who all have to play all the time. That should make it hard for them to not be exhausted in the end. Also, one injury could brake them.

Luge - Men's individual runs 3 and 4
Steven Raven will try his very best. After rearranging the luge we can only hope that he can show a perfect run.
"Normaly you can't catch up witch such a deficit. But this is Olympia. I am Kriegiersien. Hell, yeah."

Ski jumping - Women's individual normal hill qualification
The only chance for the woman to present themselves (in a medal event), as Kriegiersien has no starters in the Demonstration Events.
Alexandra Minimax,Tina Minimax and Kate Minimax are three crazy, fearless sisters. But the focus goes to Bunny Druns, anorexic Top Jumper of the Team. If she doesn't win and gets blown away, a model career is still in range.
The Qualification of course just means: Survive and get to the final.

[Anm Vo Bantu]

Stemotvi 23th in luge & curling scandal

During the first real competition day, we saw once again Anm Vo Bantuese athlete, our flag carrier in the brilliant opening ceremony and also our greatest medal hope, Larici Stemotvi.

Stemotvi's first run was quite satisfying, 51.654 seconds. This was one of the best results of first runs. In second run his time was nearly half second slower, 52.078.

"I did a small mistake in the second curve. Luckily it did not cause more harm. My changes to get medal in this competition are not very great after these results, but I will try my best. Nothing is certain at this phase."

Curling player arrested

There has also been small scandal, caused by Anm Vo Bantuan curling player, Malry Cosekul. According to our information, Curling team was visiting a local pub soon after the opening ceremony. For unclear reason, Cosekul started to fight with Barunian tourist. Captain of the curling team, Rome Mica, told that Cosekul was "discussing about politics with this tourist, and was quite drunk too" when the fight began. Luckily neither party got serious physical injuries during the fight. Cosekul was arrested after this incident by local police forces.

Anm Vo Bantuan Olympic Committee has decided that Cosekul will not participate in Olympic games anymore, and he will return to Anm Vo Bantu as soon as possible. Cosekul will be replaced by Volmy Tongl.

"We can not accept this kind of incidents. Athletes are representatives of our country and Olympic values, and it makes this happening even more regrettable." Hogo Trure, chairman of the AVBOC commented, when he heard about incident.

[Icatus]

Channel 7 SportsNet

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen! It's me, Jack Swenson, and we got our compiled results from the evening of day 1 of the IX Olympic Winter Games!

Jose Shandow came in 107^th place in the men's 15km Biathalon event, sadly missing his dreams of a gold medal. From what we have heard, he will be staying in Olympic Village to watch the rest of the winter games.

Cindy Clous came in 16^th place in the Women's Moguls, narrowly missing the qualifications to the next round. She too will be staying, although probably not for long.

We can't wait to see what our athletes can do next in the IX Olympic Winter Games! We'll be seeing you soon!"

[Benjamin Mark]

Kelly - Good Morning, I'm Josh Kelly

Zhang - Good Morning, I'm Jessica Zhang, Justine Cook is in Arcon with the latest, Justine?

Cook - We had some-not-so tremendous showings and one outstanding showing, Jennifer Valenti-Gonzales kept up with the top three and granted our nation with the silver medal and patted herself on the back. Jennifer Valenti-Gonzales what is it like to win your silver medal.

Valenti-Gonzales - I started out really slow, really, really, slow. As more people started slowing down, I started picking up. Slow and steady certainly wins the race, or at least gives me a silver medal to wear around my neck. I am truly proud of myself and the country is hopefully proud of me. I have a few more events to compete in, hopefully I can snag a gold next. I am thankful for this silver. *She kisses her medal* Peggy Sue Ziegler finished 20th, and the first thing she did was hug me.

Cook - Kwan Huang-Le also had a strong showing finishing 10th in the Men's 5000m Finals, here are today's events.

Figure skating - Team event Pair free program
Figure skating - Team event ice dance free program
Ice Hockey - Matchday 2
Luge - Men's individual runs 3 and 4
Ski jumping - Women's individual normal hill qualification

[Muriburiland]

Íþróttafréttir - Ólympíuleikarnir Sérstakt

First Day Review - disappointment in Muriburiland after athletes fail to win medal in the 10km Biathlon sprint.

Biathlon
Gold medal favourite Torgeir Ærinbjørnsen finished a credible 4th after finishing 37.2 seconds behind winner Mathias Gardevoir but will still be disappointed after missing out on a medal in the 10km sprint. "I am upset after failing to medal in my favourite event", he said "But at the end of the day I still managed fourth against some very strong opposition in my first ever Olympic games and it also puts me in good stead for the 12.5km pursuit which I hope I will do at least one better in." he added. Aðalþegn Fjölvarsson will join him in the 12.5km pursuit after finishing 23rd while Harald Nilmarsen and Bodvar Bodvarsen will miss out in the Pursuit after finishing 65th and 130th respectively.

Women's 15km Skiathlon final
More disappointment in the Women's Skiathlon after Muriburi athletes fail in their target of a top ten finish. Aagot Nývarðdóttir fared the best after coming in at 15th. Franziska Anbjørndatter, who had been hoping to medal, was upset after coming in down at 38, while Ýr Axeldóttir failed to finish after falling with 5km to go.

Speedskating
Neither Reidar Ottisson, who finished 76th or Ulf Ulfsen (90th) will be too disappointed after their performance as neither were expected tomake much of an impact anyway. "I'm quite happy with my performance today" said Ottisson. "I feel it has given me a good feel for the ice for the later Speedskating events which I should make more of an impact at."

Ice Hockey and Luge
The men were not happy after losing 1-0 to Renzynistan. They will have to play better next time out if they wish to progress to the next round. The women fared better after beating Niebo 1-0 and currently lie in 2nd place in Group 12.

Sveinjón Ubbisson is currently lying in 79th in the Luge. Ubbisson, who only took up the sport last year, said that he "Is delighted to have qualified for the Olympics at all and even though I would of course like to finish higher I don't really care where I come. Arçon is a beautiful place and the fans here are fantastic, I'm just so happy to be a part of it."

[Some Village]

Slowly, Obed tied his skates, ogling his opponent for the upcoming race who sat at a bench not too far away. So far, as he was sitting crunched over his material, Obed knew there was something wrong with the guy but he couldn't place his finger on the exact issue. The guy had bushy hair and, contrary to most aerodynamic skaters, he looked as if he could lift a table, four chairs and the complete dining family with one arm. Obed tried to figure out what it was, but got distracted when Elmer Rubnov ran up to him. The only official from the Villagean delegation carried a small packet under his arm.

"What are you wearing," Rubnov asked, clearly not enthused by Obeds outfit.
"Well... This," Obed responded, "it's not exactly tight around the legs and arms, but it is in red and blue and..."
"Awful. Awful! I've got you something much better, state of the art, novel and new. Put it on," Rubnov spoke, throwing the package to his speed skater.

When Obed returned, he couldn't hide that he didn't agree on the designal choices made.

"Elmer... I'm really grateful but... You know, it's like... Orange?"
"What? You don't like orange? It's a nice colour!"
"Sure... Sure... But it's not really... Villagean?"

Rubnov shook his head in disgust.

"I come to you with specifically designed materials and that's how you thank me? Seriously?"
"Well... Thanks but," Obed stuttered, "what exactly is a Kobe sushi bar?"
"Oh, that's just the manufacturer, you see."

Although Obed knew there was something fishy about the situation, he decided not to mope, realising that his heat was up in about two minutes. He slowly sled to the starting line, turned his head to the left and finally got a clearer view of his opponent. The speaker avoided the last possible confusion.

In the inside lane, representing Some Village... Obed Coelho! In the outside lane, representing Bears Armed... Berron o Redsun!

Bewildered, Obed tried to get in touch with Rubnov, who dubbed as coach for the occasion. In the meanwhile, some laughter had risen from the audience, probably caused by the idea of a skating... Well yeah, bear.

"Elmer! Elmer! That guy... It's a bear!"
"Obed, for crying out loud, do you have no manners at all? They prefer the word 'ursine', all right? Now get ready!"

Too baffled, Obed completely lost his start and had to give the opening round to the surprisingly elegant o Redsun. The start of a long chase in which the proverbial prey -not litteral, that's for sure- outran the evenly proverbial hunter while the chuckling kept on rolling from the stands. Nonetheless, Obed could look back at a more than reasonable 64th spot in the final table, a similar result as obtained by his compatriot Kezia in the skiathlon. When he surpassed the finish line, he both had the continuous laughter to think about as the fact that he had been beated by an ursine. A friendly ursine, it must be said, as the two had a gentle chat after the competition and he even could laugh with the 'why the big pause'-joke, although he probably had heard that one before. Berron responded with a joke upon fish, Obed grinned but didn't really get the clue. Something ursine-y probably.

It wasn't but when Obed got out of the suit again that he realised the reason for the laughter. On both of his tighs, he could spot the slogan which went along with the Kobe Sushi Bars, "the only thing fishy around here"...

A bear walks into a bar and says to the bartender "I'll have a Scotch and............ A coke, thank you".
"Sure thing," the bartender replies and asks, "but what's with the big pause?"
The panda holds up his hands and says "I was born with them."

(with thanks to The Sarian)

[Zombiestan]

Coffee and cake (sometimes cookies)

Mom: Welcome to Coffee and cake, our friendly program at midday. Today with me, the Chef de mission of the Olympics from Zombiestan, Count Crisp.

Count: Yoo-hoo.

It is so nice that you have time for us. Cake?

I'd prefer a tomato juice. I am happy to be here, thank you.

What is your goal at the Olympics?

To participate, have fun, learn something about other countries, especially Saugeais and other People.

No goals? Medals for example?

No, everyone should give his or her or its best. We want to see good performances, but it really doesn't matter which position someone has in the end.

Well, many people are still confused about Zombiestan. Do you want to explain a bit?

Of course. Zombiestan is now independent from Kriegiersien after the second Zombiecalypse. And we had a long, terrible war, later between the sentient plants and zombies here, I want to spare us all the horrible funny details. But now we have peace in our country, with Kriegiersien, have a good contact to them, are recognized as Nation and try to live a free and fulfilled live. Something some of our neighbors have yet to learn. Plants and Zombies life together happily and even some humans are still here.


How does the plants...ehm...run?

Luckily the skates and ski help them. They just slide then, an old trick that they are using to move since...a long time. Still, most plants prefer to sit problems out and relax on one place their whole life.


Fascinating. And why do you depart to Arçon but now? You missed the Opening Ceremony.

Yes, that was unfortunate. I had to make some commercials here, so I have to turn up later. But our athletes have good enough companions to organize everything at the start.

Thank you for beeing here, Count. Now a report about bees in Imkentown.

[Anditia]

Tough Time for Anditia at Olympics
Hava Tabala -- SAUGEAIS

Anditia has not been faring well during the 9th Winter Olympiad at Arçon. Despite the early advances by Prot Marton in normal hill ski-jumping, the Anditon contingent has been defeated twice in ice hockey (one for men- 1-0 loss to Terran Borealis, one for women - 1-0 loss to Vettrera) and fell more than two minutes behind the podium in Women's Skiathlon.

Mari Mikkel managed to make it across the finish line during the 15k skiing competition in a time of 42:19, but was hampered by poor waxing on her skis, forcing her to expend more energy than the others. Initially in the lead pack for the entire first 10k of competition, Mikkel's waxing conditions forced her to slow down as the top 8 skiiers separated themselves from the rest of the lead pack. It was then just a matter of catching up, which Mikkel was unable to contend with. The other Anditon competitor in the skiathlon, Alana Gulagga, was nearly a full minute behind Mikkel. Her time of 43:03 is a personal best, but not close to being good enough to place on the podium. Neither Mikkel nor Gulagga were expected to contend for medals in the skiathlon, though, the team of Mikkel and VanZoppen [Jules], should contend for a medal during the team sprint competition later during the Olympiad.

Later today, expect to find the results for qualification for women's normal hill ski jumping. During this competition, we have two competitors Alla Vangol and sister of tennis star Al Montis de Surmar, Mara Montis de Surmar. Expect Mara to advance and contend for the podium in the event. We also have further competition of ice hockey on both the men's and women's rinks.

[The Sarian]

Sporting Journal
By Leonard Heathwait

With my first post as the editor of the Sporting Journal, I would like to dedicate to sport in The Royal Isles in general, and how we're moving forward. It was three years ago when we entered our first sporting competition, the fifty fourth Baptism of Fire, since then much has happened, we went round the multiverse in the World Cup, we travelled to the Cup of Harmony, we came forth in a cricket competition, we hosted and came a remarkable third in the World Lacrosse Championships, before we finally won the Beltane Cup at Lavington Park, now Sarian athletes are abroad in both Vettrera and Saugeais.

But the thing that has changed is not the trophies, not the fact we're abroad, it's the sense of national purpose, the sense of wanting to invest in these stars. Just recently, the government invested a large grant into the TSFA, which was spent on a fleet of luxury helicopters to transport them around Esportiva, and indeed the whole multiverse. And The Sarians famous brand, Maiden Hotels is the official partner to the Sarian Olympic Committee.

And onto the Olympics, with the first day over, and little success for The Sarians olympians, but no-one expected us to medal in any of the events we participated in, Dion King achieving the best result, finishing 16th in the first two runs in his Luge event, which concludes tomorrow morning.

But real success came in Vettrera, where the Bustard Chicks came from a goal down in the opening minute to triumph over Farfadillis, with these young stars already beating some of the worlds best, it is fair to say, the future is bright. With the star of the last performance, hattrick hero Jordan Lee and captain, William Peters already in the senior side, it won't be long till they are gracing their way down the cobbled streets that lead to the National Football Center.

That's all from me now, but be sure to check out all the features of this fantastic magazine, and I will be back next edition.

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, sledge is heavy
There's vomit on his papakhi already, Mum's chanakhi
He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready
He's got qualms, and he keeps on regretting
That he's going down, at ninety one miles per hour
His thoughts turn sour, realises he's not in power
He's speeding now, velocity's exceeding now
The barriers hit, sled's up over, BLAOW!

You better LUGE yourself!

[Bears Armed]

(In the office that the visiting journalists from 'The Bear Necessities' are using during these Games_ )

"We can't get these rreports back home tonight: The Ravens won't fly."

"HWHAT?!?"

"They said that there's -- and I'll quote them directly here -- "a phenomenonologically inasupicious conjunction of Realities in progress" and so they won't attempt the journey. Maybeso tomorrow they said, but more likely the day after that instead."

"Urrgah!"


___________________________________________________________________

OOC: Sorry, but RL simply isn't giving me the opportunity to type-up any more than this in the way of RP...

[Wray]

State of Play
A man. Sports. Booze.

Hooray for Winter Sports. Boo for snow.

It was the first time it had actually snowed in Arcon, and as anyone who knows me know: I hate snow. Straight up despise frozen water. And when I'm standing out in the open viewing paddock as opposed to the covered Press seats, it's even worse. The press area was full for some reason; perhaps foreign journalists' resolves hadn't melted away yet and were eager to do their jobs, thus depriving me of a dry place to stand and watch the events.

And what made it worse was that the events were poor. For Wray at least. The first gold of the Games went to Mathias Gardevoir of Taeshan in some pointlessly long Skating race which I didn't watch. 5000m. Come on, we've all got better things to do. In the first final of Freestyle skiing, Mary Nickle and Isla McClure, who'd outdone certain expectations, came crashing to a realistic halt, with neither qualifying for the second run of the final, with Nickle finishing 15th and McClure 22nd. And a Taeshani girl fell over, which made me laugh.

Over to the Snowboarding, and Cameron Franks & Aidan Kaylock-Brown went in the final runs of the Slopestyle. Aidan KB finished 9th and Franks, rather disappointingly, finished 18th. Rumour has it he was supporting a knee injury after the semi-final run.

I've decided that I'm going to set my own Medal Target for Wray.

One.

Just one.

Any colour.

Please.

[Vulshain]

Vulshainian Olympic News Coverage: Winter Olympic Games IX

Gold Sisters Vow to Make a Comeback! Vulshainian Fans still Unsure about Bobsleigh Team

Bonjour everyone! This is Yermolai Vadimaron, reporting live from Arçon in Saugeais, where this year's Winter Olympics are taking place, for Vulshainian Confederate News and Media Network (VCNMN)'s Winter Olympic Games IX Coverage.

The Reinhilde Sisters both missed scoring a medal in the Women's Freestyle Skiing Moguls event. Despite this setback, both sisters are determined to make a comeback and make up for yesterday's mishap. "This is just a small bump for us and we plan to make our families, friends, fans, and country proud of us," Rebekka Reinhilde told VCNMN.

While the Reinhilde Sisters are training hard for their comeback, Vulshain's athletes prepare for both the Ice hockey and Women's individual normal hill Ski jumping qualification round. The men's hockey team goes up against the team from Yulis, while the women's hockey team goes up against Rizealand's team. "Both teams are good, so we're going to have to stay on our toes," Men's Hockey team captain Lucas Yuri, Jr. told VCNMN while taking a break from today's match.

And although Erdem Kuroro did not score a medal, he did ranked 11^th in the Men's 5000m Speed Skating. "I'm just glad to make it that far. Kwan Huang-Le from Benjamin Mark is a fast one, so I tip my hat off to him," Erdem replied when asked about his fellow athletes.

Still, Vulshain has shown to be strong in skiing, snowboarding, figure skating, and speed skating in past Winter Olympics, so there is a strong possibility that Vulshain can still earn a medal in these events. However, many Vulshainians are still unsure about the chances of their nation's bobsleigh teams. "Bob sleighing isn't that popular back home, but we plan to change that," bobsleigh athlete Lilia Karolina told VCNMN. Lilia Karolina is part of Vulshain's Four-Woman Bobsleigh team. Patrick Stanford, Chairman of the Vulshainian Confederate Olympic Committee (VLCOC), commented that the VLCOC plans to continue to develop Vulshain's Bobsleigh program during a press conference earlier this morning. "While I'll admit that our nation's bobsleigh program is still in its infancy, we are determined to continue developing bobsleighing in Vulshain."

While Vulshain has yet to earn a medal, surprisingly neither has its fellow region members from The East Pacific Region, Kelssek and Vekaiyu. All three nations are rivals and any match between the three is always guaranteed to be a fierce one. Especially with Kelssek, which is renowned internationally for its sports programs. "Kelssek is the best of the elite when it comes to sporting events and sports training," Luicia de Juneda II, Vulshainian ambassador to Kelssek, said in an interview with VCNMN when asked about Kelssek's sports programs. "They are determined and extremely skilled. You need to be prepared to go up against them."

Which one of the three nations from The East Pacific will be the first to score a medal, and which will be the first to earn a gold? Only time will tell as the Ninth Winter Olympics continue today.

This has been Yermolai Vadimaron, reporting live from Arçon in the Republic of Saugeais, for Vulshainian Confederate News and Media Network (VCNMN)'s Winter Olympic Games IX Coverage, and wishing our athletes good luck out there as Day 2's events continue! I'll be back tomorrow with an update on the results!

[Taeshan]

http://chirb.it/9MmqId

[Northern Inertia]

THE ENNISKEAN LEADER

February 27th, 2014

Olympic Special Edition

---

GUNTHER WINS OLYMPIC GOLD

ARÇON, SAUGEAIS--- In a major upset, snowboarder Felix Gunther secured a historic first ever Olympic medal for his native Northern Inertia by winning the Men's Slopestyle competition at the IX Winter Olympics in Arçon, Saugeais. Gunther, who looks set to become a national hero back home, lit up the opening day of the games with a stellar performance, reaching an incredible score of 96,35 in his first run after landing a triple cork for the first time in his competitive career off the final kicker. This proved enough for a sensational gold, even though his second run was a disappointment and more fancied comprtitors posted solid runs as well. Eventually, Gunther won by a margin of only 0,07 points over runner-up Marian Tritter of Quakmybush. Dave Hellman of Maineiacs came third.

"Wow. I'm speechless," proclaimed the Olympic champion after his win was secured. "I don't think I quite understand what's happened yet. I'm just so thankful for all the support I've received, from family, friends and ordinary Northern Inertians. And especially from Josh, my coach. He was the one that convinced me to overcome my fears and go for that triple cork, it was a huge risk. I still can't believe I made it."

"Proud Moment for the Nation"
Northern Inertian President Frederic Oestrond, in attendance at the forest cluster, was overcome by the occasion. "I feel immense pride right now. This is a hugely important moment for our nation, a moment that could inspire a whole generation." Meanwhile, his nation erupted in celebration of a victory that is sure to be remembered for years to come.

There was no shortage of good performances by Northern Inertian athletes on the opening day of the games, with cross-country skier Anne Kolarov finishing an impressive sixth in the Women's Skiathlon race. She lost her chance for a medal after the top three left the rest of the field behind at the beginning of the final lap, but saw no reason to be disappointed. "This was a good start for me; skiathlon is not my strongest discipline, so this was a really good start to the games. The skis worked really well, and that's always a good omen." Kolarov's compatriots Sophie Nought and Sally Smith finished 18th and 78th, respectively.

Heroics in the Hockey
The Men's Hockey team got the tournament off to a great start by battling to a 1-0 upset against heavily favoured Vilita & Turori. Although their opponents controlled most of the game and had far more shots on goal, the Northern Inertians scored the only goal as Mike Sorkin calmly finished from a counter-attack midway through the first period. The performance was characterised by many blocked shots and great goaltending by Ingmar Blanc, who recorded a shutout.

Unfortunately, the women's team had a less pleasant start to their tournament, being thumped 0-6 by a hugely impressive Quebecois Commonwealth side. In other results, Mark Scavenger finished a respectable 26th in the Men's 5000 metre speed skating, whereas biathlonists Jean Feuille and Mark Johnson had a disappointing day in the Men's sprint, finishing 146th and 147th, respectively.

[Gregoryisgodistan]

A Bad Day for Gregoryisgodistani Olympians

The day started with such high hopes for Gregoryisgodistani Olympians competing in several sports, but in the end all that happened were several poor performances. Let's break it down, sport by sport.

Biathlon 10 km Men's Sprint

Assassin MADH9424A was the only competitor for Gregoryisgodistan in this sport. He publicly stated that his goal was to get into the top 60 and make it to the pursuit event. However, in order to do that, he would likely have to hit almost all of his targets. Assassin MADH9424A went into the first shooting range in 69th place, which would not be good enough, but he hit all five targets while several competitors ahead of him missed one or two. Once he got clear of the range, he had vaulted into 37th place, which would completely exceed expectations. Unfortunately, Assassin MADH9424A lost significant time on the skiing portion and went into the second and final shooting range in 53rd place. Making all five would likely be good enough to get him to the pursuit, as there wasn't much skiing left. He made the first one. Then he hit the second target, and the third. He hit the fourth and only had to hit one more, but he missed it. That meant he had to ski a penalty lap. By the time he was done, he had fallen to 76th place. He then dropped another two places on the remaining skiing and finished in 78th overall. He will not compete in the pursuit.

Cross Country Skiing Women's 15 km Skiathlon

Lady Pervert Chaser CBCH123 came into the skiathlon with modest expectations. She was an average skier, but nothing too special. Not like the men's competitors. She knew she wasn't going to win a medal, and realistically speaking, top 40 would be a success for her. She, unlike most of the other athletes competing yesterday, exceeded expectations, finishing in 24th place. She started slowly, and was in 59th place at the 2.5 km checkpoint, but maintained and even quickened her pace as the race progressed. At the changeover of skis, she was in 38th place. She then did even more impressively in the second portion, finishing the race in a personal best time of 42:13.4. This easily exceeded her previous best of 42:51.7 at the Gregoryisgodistani Olympic Trials in January.

Speed Skating Men's 5,000 m

Pervert Chaser 8838HSDA came into the 5,000 meters with the highest hopes of any Gregoryisgodistani athlete competing yesterday. He was widely expected to contend for a medal, and maybe even win gold. Unfortunately, he did no such thing, finishing in a disappointing 19th place out of 99 athletes. He is still yet to compete in several other events and hopes to medal in at least one of them. "It would be a disappointment if I came out of these games with no medals," Pervert Chaser 8838HSDA told the press. "But I won't let one performance discourage me in the other sports."

Today's Preview

Later today, team figure skating continues with the pairs and ice dancing free program. Lord Almighty Gregory and Cleffie Martinez will take to the ice once more, along with Dancer 9DBBFBBB and Dancer QEREOAO. They will need a strong performance if they want to medal. Currently, the team is in sixth place but is well out of medal position on points. The ice dancing tandem is widely regarded as the worst in any of the four areas, but the pair of Lord Almighty Gregory and Cleffie Martinez is widely considered the best. Cleffie Martinez will also compete in singles in the team competition, as well Dancer KUUUHUUUASA. Both disappointed during the short program but hope to bounce back in the long program.

You can watch live coverage of the Olympics on the Sports Channel during select hours. Check your channel guide for details. At all other hours, live or tape delayed coverage will air on Overflow 1. Additionally, for the first time ever, you can watch live coverage of all events and full event replays at GregoryisgodistanOlympics.gs. Due to contract restrictions, residents of the Gregoryisgodistan Special Administrative Zone are unable to access online coverage without using a VPN to connect to the mainland servers. Consult your IT slave or call 800-VIP-TECH if you are unsure how to do this. If you are not a government VIP, you will not have access to this hotline, but you should also not be living in the SAZ, so this is a moot point. However, those on the mainland who are not government VIPs should not try calling this number for any reason.

[Mollary]

UNBC Coverage

"Well, hello and welcome to the round up of today's sport with me, Liz Barker, today saw Mollary kick off their action in the first official day of the games, although there were some held before the opening ceremony a couple of days before. The first action of the day was the Mollarian men's hockey team taking on Vulshain in their opening match. Both sides put on a spirited defensive performance and Overtime failed to produce anything of value. As a result, Mollary found themselves in a Shoot-out, a nerve inducing way to bring an end to the game. Davies and Holland, however, both managed to bury their shots while Zoyt managed to keep Vulshain from scoring to take the match, although not with denying Vulshain any points which might bite back at them later.

In the women's hockey match, however, Mollary found themselves torn apart by a tough Free Republics side as they were denied any goals. Most of the damage was to come in the second period as a string of three goals came in quick succession to end the women's hope of taking a victory through the second game, but with some plugging away they might still take some results.

The final event of the day before the Mollarian delegation got the afternoon was the luge. It saw the men makes their first two of four runs. Tom Neilson put in the best time of the Mollarians, with his two coming to 1:43.952, just under a second off the lead. Sanders meanwhile came in at 1:45.765 and Mons came in at 1:47.477. As a result, only Nielson has a vague hope at attempting to challenge for the victory, but even he will struggle to make up the ground and try and bring a medal home.

Here with me I have William Mons, age only 17 to comment on his performance. What did you think of your performance?"

"I was disappointed to be honest, I was trying to get in under the 1:46.000 mark, which is what I've managed before on similar tracks. But this is still only my first Olympics, so I guess the nerves got to me."

"What do you have to say about you being written off as out of contention?"

"Well, they're right, so I don't mind."

"Oh right, fair enough, what do you think about Neilson's chances of taking home a medal then?"

"He's a talented bloke, the competition are too, so it will difficult for him to crack it, but I reckon he could take one if he puts in a couple of his strongest performances, which I'm sure he will do."

"Well, thanks for your time. That's all we have for today, join us tomorrow for the round up of the coverage with the men's Luge medal run and the second day of hockey."

[Isula ge Ru]

There was, of course, no reason for Lucau Moĝu Cæla to be upset at all. The sprint was not his strongest event, and he'd qualified for the pursuit. Qualified, yes. That was a nice word. But that qualification had come at a massive price, when he found himself crossing the snow-swept finish line in 50th place, after a disastrous final shooting round. The race had been fine up until then. Fine, yes, but not stellar. Mathias Gardevoir of Taeshan, the proud holder of the first gold medal of the Olympics, had set a near-unbeatable pace, and Lucau had hovered around the mid-30s mark for much of the race. The cameras hadn't seen much of his face, no bright lights had cast his sweating form into shadow, no microphones had recorded his labored breathing. On the second shooting round, Lucau missed his fourth shot. Bad. Awful, in fact, but not disastrous. That was until, skiing the penalty loop, he tripped. Still not utterly, missing-qualification disastrous if he hadn't sprawled completely out of control, and if his right ski had remained attached to his foot. As it was, that penalty loop cost him almost a minute. Lucau had no reason to be upset. He still had four events to ski in. But entering the pursuit event in 50th place, with a deficit of nearly two minutes (+1:58.4), well, that was almost insurmountable. He'd ski, and hope for a miracle. The would be nothing to stop him from skiing in the snowy woods of Saugeais, for as long and as fast as he could.

---

"The winner of the Bronze medal, from Isula ĝe Ru, Iosef Iacubu Iulha"
"Le gagnant de la médaille de bronze, d'Île de Fumée, Iosef Iacubu Iulha"

Iosef, still wearing a black-accented gray bodysuit under his jacket, smiled, crinkling his eyes maybe just a little so that the cameras pointed straight at him didn't pick up his tears. He tucked a silver necklace underneath the silver jacket, bowing his head to accept the medal, the chunk of bronze that, in an etched circle, represented, well, everything. His life, his nation, midnight at the oval, tears freezing on the ice. He shook the hand of the man in a suit who had presented him with his life, and turned respectfully as "The winner of the Silver medal, from Darmen, Lindsay Schuhart" took his medal, the culmination of his years of hard work, his tears, his sweat, his life. "The winner of the Gold medal, from Estope, Logan Lubbert" took his place on the highest step. Flags rose into the snow, seeming never to stop their ascent, as the triumphant strains of the Estopan national anthem swelled. Black and silver, green and white, red, blue, and yellow, all rose unceasingly on poles of silver. The three victors knew no common language, had no way to communicate. But to hold back tears while the anthem of another nation plays, to hug in genuine happiness the two men who had just defeated you, and pose for photographs in the glittering snow, to each have the slight weight of an Olympic Victory around your neck, and to each share in three minutes of tearful, salty glory atop a podium, was that not communication enough?
The petals of the bouquet Iosef had been given were white, almost identical to the fat snowflakes drifting down from the moonlit Saugeain sky. Without a word, he took three pristine petals, kissed them, and dropped them in front of the podium. Maybe they were drops of blood, the blood he'd spent working for the metal round his neck. Maybe they were tokens of thanks. Maybe they were just flower petals. Either way, now, Iosef's tears had something new to freeze to.

---

Samuél Forĉu Saramaria thought he liked Saugeais. Maybe it was the atmosphere, the hospitality, the people, the food, the drink, or maybe that his nations first ever Olympic medal had come on day one of competition. Then again, perhaps that was just a reason to like life. As Iosef had completed his petal-throwing, the nature of which was still unknown, Samuél and all his colleagues in the International Broadcast Center had celebrated like the delegation and nation would tonight, like they'd just won Curling gold. Champagne, fine silver wine, the works. And he didn't need to work until the Luge events tomorrow, which meant he had a whole drunken night ahead of him to write and rehearse his preview for the biggest event this side of the Curling tournament in the Olympics. There was not much else but the Luge awaiting Isulan athletes tomorrow morning, save for massive underdog Iessica Manhu Alba's try at the women's ski jumping. Perhaps there was a chance to go out and watch Ice Hockey or some nonsense. A drop of champagne hit Samuél in the eye. Right. Luge. The Ioĝou Salhaĝeĉisiua brothers had found themselves in a difficult state going into the final two runs, which would occur in the morning tomorrow. He'd already said that. Thought it. Whatever. The brothers needed to make up in the range of half a second each, as the first event of the integral Luge competition concluded. Such a deficit was not unbeatable, but would be difficult to overcome. The Luge was massively important to Isulans everywhere, yes, yes, oh bother, he didn't need to be on air until tomorrow. Champagne and Bronze Medals.

[Liventia]

LIVENTIA OLYMPIC ASSOCIATION
DOCUMENT SECURITY: CLASSIFIED IMPORTANT. LOA ATHLETES AND OFFICIALS ONLY.

To all athletes and officials:
Please be reminded that the Government of the Republic of Liventia does not recognise the Kingdom of Saintland following their government's shenanigans at the last Summer Olympics in Orean. You are instructed not to communicate with any athlete or official from the Kingdom of Saintland wherever possible. In extreme cases when contact or communication is required, it should be kept to a minimum.

Athletes:
If you are drawn in a heat with an athlete from the Kingdom of Saintland, you are not to communicate with them or to acknowledge them. Do not embrace or shake their hand. If approached first, walk away, even if on camera.

Officials:
If Saugeain organisers require you to officiate or judge an event involving Saintlandian athletes, you are to discharge your duty fully and as per the Olympic oath, without fear nor favour. However, you are not to speak to them (except on the field of play in hockey, if so assigned). You should only shake a Saintlandian athlete's hand if you are the chief official and it is part of due process (such as in hockey). You should ask to be re-assigned if assigned to officiate alongside a Saintlandian official.

To all:
Please note that this is non-negotiable and anyone found to be breaking these orders will be sanctioned by the LOA without fail. This may include, without prior warning, the immediate withdrawal of your accreditation for the Olympic Winter Games of Arçon, regardless of whether or not you have participated in your event(s). A formal press release of this information will be issued by the LOA to organised media — any athlete or official leaking this classified message will be sanctioned by the LOA and prosecuted under Liventian law.

Should any clarification be required, please contact your sport's media liaison officer.

Signed,
Eric Ashdown
Team Liventia chef-de-mission

---

LIVENTIA OLYMPIC ASSOCIATION
PRESS STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Government of the Republic of Liventia has instituted restrictions on Team Liventia at the ongoing Olympic Winter Games in Arçon relating to possible communications with athletes from the Kingdom of Saintland.

The Government of the Republic of Liventia considers citizens of the Kingdom of Saintland persona non grata in Liventia and does not recognise Saintlandian citizenship, following the outrageous and blatant attempts by their delegation to flout Liventian law and convert athletes at the last summer Olympics in Orean.

Liventian athletes have been told not to acknowledge Saintlandian athletes if competing in the same heat or event.

Officials have been advised to discharge all duties neutrally, but to otherwise not have contact with any Saintlandian athlete or official.

The Government of the Republic of Liventia's amnesty to Saintlandian nationals, dating back to the Orean games, remains open for any Saintlandian athlete in Arçon wishing to safely renounce their Saintlandian nationality and to leave that country's church. These athletes are requested to visit Team Liventia House, where a trained visa official will speak to them.

For further enquiries, please contact the Liventian Foreign Ministry.

ENDS

[Transalpine Republic]

An IC viewpoint, not an OOC one.

New Documents Surface Regarding Vessen Bid
Olympic Committee Quoted as Saying "Transalpine Republic Will Never Win a Bid"

---

Thursday, February 27, 2014
Story by Anton Giehl

The document-disclosure organization WikiLeaks discovered new NSOC documents detailing Vessen's failed bid.

Valschloss, TRANSALPINE REPUBLIC - New documents have surfaced detailing the NationStates Olympic Committee's involvement in the withdrawal of Vessen's bid to host the IX Winter Olympic Games. The documents had been stored in a NSOC server in a neutral country, but the document disclosure group WikiLeaks brought the documents to light. The content of the documents has been released to several newspapers and magazines, including the Transalpine Times.

"We chose to make these documents public because of the impact they have in revealing the discrimination of the NSOC," wrote the group in a statement posted on their website. "Such release will massively benefit the world, in increasing transparency and in making sure everyone is treated equally."

The documents show the role of senior NSOC officials who were not named in the developing scandal. The officials spoke of the mistrust they had for the Vessen bid. "I highly doubt that Transalpine Republic has the capacity to hold an event of this volume," one official said in the papers. "Although the facilities in Vessen may be impressive, the climate of Transalpine Republic is not suitable for a Winter Olympics. And I do not mean the climate as in the weather," wrote another official.

Furthermore, one official remarked, "If Vessen were to eventually win this bid, they would be responsible for holding all of the events, and I cannot believe that they are capable of the feat." Another official compounded on the statement by writing, "It is highly unlikely that Transalpine Republic will ever win a bid."

Senior sports analyst for the Transalpine Times Vester Horowitz has his own take on the revelations. "These documents show that the NSOC has a high bar for bidding to host, and the only ones capable of reaching that bar are the insiders of the NSOC - those that have been around since it was founded."

Indeed, the NSOC's disdain for newer players on the sports scene shows throughout the documents. Among the papers released was an inspection report of the Vessen sites, along with minutes from several closed-door NSOC sessions, which Transalpine officials were not allowed to attend.

Political analyst Alex Frei says he thinks the content of the documents is not surprising. "It has been suspected since the beginning of the Olympics that the insiders get favorable treatment, and these documents only confirm this suspicion. Still, he is hopeful for a future bid from any city in Transalpine Republic. "We can make a reputation for ourselves, and it is entirely possible that we can win a bid."

The Communist Party leader in the Federal Assembly, Ernestine Metzer, is shocked at the revelations. "When a government body here in Transalpine Republic is discriminatory, it is not tolerated. We must not tolerate discrimination by any body, even a large, multinational sporting body." Radical Assemblyman Reto Linden agrees. "If someone throws tacks on the road, and you drive into the tacks and get a flat tire, you want to have the person who throws the tacks prosecuted for giving you a flat tire. Not holding the NSOC accountable for throwing tacks on the road to a successful bid is like letting the person who threw the tacks of the hook because he was a member of the government. Everyone must be held accountable." The NSOC has not yet responded to requests for comment.

Vessen Mayor Raffaela Kopp says a successful bid would have brought billions of dollars to the city. "Our economy needed this boost, and it is simply unacceptable that our bid was basically shot down by the NSOC for no good reasons," she said in a prepared statement.

The debate on the legality of the releases is also ongoing. Radical Assemblyman Linden said that the releases were perfectly legal because they were in the public interest. "Our constitution provides protection against whistleblowers when the release of the data is in the public interest. In this case that standard applies." However, an anonymous NSOC official, who asked to remain anonymous because he had not been authorized to speak with the media, said that the breach was "theft, plain and simple." He further went on to say that the NSOC plans to bring a case against WikiLeaks for the theft, whose leader, Lukas Sundén, is currently seeking asylum in the Costeno embassy in Kingsmouth.

"We hope that these documents are a stepping stone to greater transparency in the NSOC," says Communist leader Metzer. "I hope that a spark becomes a fire in this case, and that in future Olympic Games, nations will be able to bid freely without interference. "

[Kelssek]

Deep within the International Broadcast Centre

"What's wrong with how I'm saying it?!" demanded Ron Berry, using his outside voice.

"You keep saying it either like the criminal offence of setting fire to something, or like you're saying something rude in a Sorthern accent," began the junior producer, trailing off as she saw the executive producer in the background, shaking her head in a distinct way so as to communicate don't-even-bother-we've-been-here-before-stop-now-you'll-waste-your-time.

"You're saying I don't respect the Saugeais? Well maybe twenty years ago, I don't know what. But they got a nice country here and I'll be the first to stand up and admit that. You know, we got French people back home too, so I can respect that. Now listen here, I'm not anti-anyone, is what you got to understand. I'm just extreme pro-Kelssek. And that's the bottom line!" Ron said, swigging from the tall can of "pop" (Lucky 8 Strong Brew, so named for its 8% alcohol content) none of the the KBC staff had the guts to tell him he couldn't bring into the studios.

"10 seconds to air," one of the technicians called out.

"You saying I got TEN seconds?!" Ron Berry was using his outside voice again.

[Florgania]

FlorganiaSport
Our Contributors: Jessica Williams, Brian Tate, Gloria Sanders, Joseph Fulton

Day 1 Recap

After a busy morning, we headed out to cover Men's Biathlon and Men's Speed Skating. These events brought the end of a busy and eventful day. A sense of excitement can be felt in the Florganian Olympic Village as athletes begin their competition.

BIATHLON

The Men's 10k Sprint was the first of the Biathlon events from the Arcon Olympics. Jonathan Jenkins and Andrew Cordiger finished 37th and 39th respectively. The event showcased 156 athletes. Adam Goslinger had a rough time with his accuracy and finished in 137th. Overall it was a good showing for the Florganians in an unfamiliar sport. Mathias Gardevoir of Taeshan was the Gold medalist.

Jonathan Jenkins at his shooting post.

SPEED SKATING

The finals for the Men's 5000m took place this evening from the Arçon Olympic Oval. David Thurman was the highest placing Florganian in 41st place. Greg Chambers finished the day in 46th place. The event had 100 competitors in it. Louis Redburn was the final Florganian placed. He had a rough day that landed him in 84th place.

David Thurman competing in the 5000m.

What to Look for Tomorrow...

ICE HOCKEY
The Men's team takes on Icatus tomorrow from the Olympic Arena. Icatus has yet to play a match in this tournament. Florgania is coming off of a 5-2 victory over Dangelia. This looks like a win on paper and the squad is certainly hoping so, but we will have to wait and see the outcome of game 2.

The Women's team will play New North Aqmuland tomorrow. The opposition is coming off of a 3-2 victory in game 1 against Northern Sunrise Islands. Florgania is coming off of a 2-0 shutout loss to the hands of Taeshan. Things can't get much worse for this Florganian team. We can only hope that they pull things together and pull off an upset win.

LUGE
Runs 3 and 4 for Men's Luge take place tomorrow from the sliding center. At this point of the event, Matthew Farnum sits in 41st after 2 runs, Paul Dempsey in 89th and Andrew Gurnsey hopes to not have a repeat of his 2nd run that placed him in 136th.

ALPINE SKIING
Gregory Fritz, Silas Greene, Oliver Whitewood and Wesley Mettingberg will take the slopes tomorrow for the Men's Downhill Finals. Mettingberg and Fritz are Florgania's best chances for a medal, but will face stiff competition. This will be one event to keep an eye out for.

BIATHLON
The Women's 7.5k Sprint takes place tomorrow evening. Kelsey Pottinger is Florgania' best shot at a medal followed closely behind by Kristina Calvert. Alison Adams and Tori Redding round out the team.

SPEED SKATING
The Women's 3000m Finals round out tomorrow's schedule. Sasha Cowell, Lilly Lehmer and Sophie Stengal are all competing for Florgania.

[Yttribia]

After a crazy day at the Opening Ceremony, the Olympics officially began their first day, and so did the first official day of Olympic broadcasting on the national network, Corporació de Radiodifusió Yttribiano, the Yttribian Broadcasting Corporation. After what was considered the grandest Opening Ceremony in Summer and Winter Olympic history, the athletes get to work. As the athletes get to work, so do the journalists, and so does Keila Porras, the late-morning and early afternoon studio host of the Arçon Olympics, was sadly still intoxicated. And her eyes were really red. Thankfully, she only had to work thirty minutes out of the six hours the Olympic transmission was supposed to last. However, CdRY required her to stay within the International Broadcasting Center, so she was stuck with Brendan Henry for six hours, who happened to confess his love for her.

"Brendan, I swear on my grandmother's grave, you are going to be seeing hell rise up if you mention the events on what happened two nights ago."

"Listen, that was probably a little uncalled for, and I truly apologize for the actions I preformed. I think I was badly drunk."

"You had one flipping shot?! And you say you were drunk? If you were drunk, then you must have a really low alcohol tolerance, or you happen to be playing bull with me. And, I'm going to safely assume it's the latter"

"Okay, yes, that was uncalled for. But listen, I know you probably hate me after what happened, and that's totally understandable. Now,-"

"Wait, after my shift is done, would you like to grab some coffee?"

"Are you bipolar or something? If you are, then you need some help; if you aren't, then I'd be glad to.

Anyways, we return to air in about fifteen seconds!"

"Oh crap, my eyes are still flipping red! I think then network might pull-"

The CdRY jingle starts to play, signaling the start of the live transmission.

"And welcome back to the International Broadcasting Center for the end of Olympic coverage, here from Saugeais. Now, after what was proved an amazing semi-final run for the two Yttribians in slopestyle, Remo Fiscella and Howie Welter, the two bombed their runs, and came in twenty-second, and fourteenth respectively. Howie Welter's run was marred by the failure of his attempted "double-cork 420 degrees blaze it gravitational-pull spin", which is a really crazy name for such a title, but alas, didn't work. Had he landed it, that would have been gold. He decided not to attempt it in his second run, but his first run was still really high, giving him a score of 91.39 for the day, after two runs.

In women's moguls, Tatiana Putnam disappointed her fans and followers in the nation by coming in twenty-fourth, with a score of 21.41, in the first of three runs for qualification to the next run of moguls. When asked about her disappointing run, she had this to say to her fans on Vilsper: 'And as much as I wanted to make it to the next run, things didn't work out for me. There's always the next Olympics, so I'll put in my A-game next time. #Arcon #Moguls #TheYTTCrowd.'

Inside the National Ice Dome, the Yttribians in the figure-skating team competition came in third after the short programs, with amazing performances by César Nasato, taking fourth in the men's singles, with an 87.96. Nasato is looking forward to his competition, where he believes he can possibly medal in his competition, despite the fact he hasn't successfully landed a triple-axle this season. Steffi Gardener came in third during her short program, scoring a 70.67, helped by her elegance on the ice. Gardener is considered a powerhouse in her event, where she is expected to medal.

In the women's slopestyle, scheduled to take place tomorrow, Marianita Roma from the civil-war torn Urellan mountain range, in which by the way you haven't heard of today since they're that irrelevant, she's going to compete in the finals of that competition, as Kennedy Ventura was eliminated during the preliminaries on the day before the opening ceremony was scheduled to take place.

Before we send you off to your late local news, and eventually late-night coverage of the Olympics, including the luge runs, we'd like to point out two highly interesting things at these games so far. First off, the other female figure skater of Yttribia, Liza Brinkerhoff-Parsons, has not stopped her obsession with leader and deity of the Gregoryisgodistani people, the Lord Almighty Gregory sending this message out to her few fans on Vilsper: 'Lord Almighty Gregory will lead me to victory in my competition, because without him, I'm nothing. #thankyoubasedgregory.' And as the Yttribians start their venture for gold in curling, in the so called 'group of death' in two days time, The Archregimancy is taking the entire nation by storm, especially with the younger and more 'hip' Yttribians, with their press releases from Friar Vasily. The photo, courtesy Monastic Olympic Committee, showing their curling team practicing is sending laughter across the nation seen here, despite being considered one of the powerhouses in this tourney.



Despite the laughter from across the nation, the skip of the Yttribian curling team, Giorgio Rey, would like to call for a moment of meditation before their match in group play.

And on that note, we would like to thank you for watching here, as the flame continues to burn on another day, the sun is high and bright in Yttribia. You can catch all the highlights of today's program, and all the competition later tonight in prime time. For now, Keila Porras wishing you all, my eyes included, a good night."

The director of the programme would yell cut, and Keila would then get a bottle of vodka from under her table, and proceed to start chugging the bottle.

"A few days down, god knows how many left to go."

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

QHL.com- Kingston Knights agrees to six-year extension with Pavel Smirnov

(Arçon, Saugeais)- The Kingston Knights have announced this morning that they have signed assistant captain Pavel Smirnov to a six-year contract extension with an approximate average value of $6 million Quebecois dollar per year.

The left wing's contract just expired this offseason. The extension goes into effect at 2015-2016 season and runs through 2021-2022 season. The contract value reportedly worth around $36 million Quebecois dollar/year.
"Pavel is and will be a key part of our organisation." Assistant General Manager Abraham Lee said in a release. "Pavel has been a very special player for the Knights, playing in all the key areas that we have asked during last 3 seasons. It is more than great to have him on board again."

The native of Sorochuk, Vaugania, played his first 2 years of a career with hometown team Sorochuk IceCaps of Vauganian Hockey League. During his time in the mountainous Vauganian city he was their rising star, ending his third and final season in VHL with 39 goals and 81 points, as well as +27 in 82 games. In the offseason of 2012, shortly after making into the Vauganian National Men's Hockey team, he signed to a 3 Year, $10.5 million contract with Kingston Knights and the rest is history.

During his last 3 QHL seasons Smirnov had 94 goals, 163 assists and 257 points in 217 games in his 3 seasons at Quebec Hockey League. Serving as linemates of Captain Dave Clark and speedster Sylvain Turcotte, he was well known for his excellent defensive abilities and were constantly used in both Powerplay and Penalty-Kills. On the way he won 3 Prenneau Cups as part of Kingston Knights, who enters this season trying to establish a dynasty.

On the international stages he has been a key fixture within the Vauganian National Hockey Team, serving in the top-6 role as Right Wing during last 2 World Cups of Hockey. Since last World Cup of Hockey in Saintland he was serving as the Alternate Captain of the Golden Eagles, who are one of the respected hockey NTs with history.

The signing, for Knights, is extremely symbolic. It symbolises the near-end of the signing period for the Knights. The re-signing of talented Vauganian forward finalises one of the two major UFAs that Knights still have in their pockets. During this offseason the Knights were able to resign many of their key pieces, locking Captain Dave Clark, electrifying winger Sylvain Turcotte and super pest Mikhail Komarov to long-term extensions. Filip Tennfjord is now the sole remaining UFA from the Knights who did not sign to a contract yet, most likely due to the length and amount of money for the new contract. However, it is very likely that Tennfjord, who is extremely content with his role in the Knights and constantly shows love for the city, will resign at around that range.

"Kingston has treated me very kindly and I couldn't ask for a better city to play in or a better team to play for." said Smirnov, who's on Arçon, Saugeais, for the IX Winter Olympics. "God has truly blessed me. It was an absolute no-brainer to sign back on with the team. I can't wait to spend many more years here in this great city."

Smirnov will play in the IX Winter Olympics as a part of Vauganian National Men's Hockey Team, before returning to Kingston for the Knights' training camp. The Knights organization and Quebec Hockey League wishes best of his luck on Messieurs Smirnov, Roux, Tennfjord and Skjeggestead with the Vauganian National Team.

More news:
--- Attawapiskat, Raphael Roux agrees to 5 year, $29.5 million contract extension
--- Marian Dater: U-14s making progress as a team
--- Polkopian Vladimir Tonov announced retirement from hockey

[Saugeais]

I hope everyone had a great day today. Let's get the cutoff for the morning session of day 2, shall we?

Side note: while there is a medal event finishing tonight, I won't add it to the medal tally until after the rest of the "day's" events conclude tomorrow.

Results

[Super-Llamaland]

The Pavlov Effect
Of the sports guy, for the sports guy, by the sports guy.

Coltrane, my friends!

-Randy Pavlov, Olympic Skiier. Whatever it is, Arcon

The first medalists have come! While the ski jumpers show promise, our nation hasn't gotten a single one yet. Ick.

In the morning, our Men's ice hockey team lost, but the women's side thrashed Paripana five-nothing. I had a short chat with right winger Jennifer Mustang. She had this to say:

"I feel really pumped up after that! (Mustang scored twice and assisted Kellie Smith-Osbourne) I mean, this team is going to go far. I can feel it! The Lady Tigers are going to be the champs after this!"

The team is confident, to say the least.

Then in biathlon, we saw some of the first medalists! Derek Coltrane, a Llamanean, sadly wasn't one of them, but he did finish twenty-fifth in a close field, where #21-#31 were separated by a few seconds. Coltrane kept his cool in the tough field but despite finishing rather early, missed a few too many shots and was forced to watch Taeshan's Mathias Gardevoir cross the finish line for the gold.

I'm going to start practicing. See ya all!

-Randy, Arcon