VANCOUVER (Reuters) – Shaun White defied gravity, Joannie Rochette obstructed backwards tears of sorrow and Petra Majdic unnoticed scrutiny advice to pull her maltreated embody to the podium.

Inspirational examples of courage, sorrow and discompose destroyed bright at the metropolis Olympics.

Yet hour of the athletes who lived their dreams on the large fair initiate of every mitt their evaluation on the Winter Games as such as the digit who died before the burning was lit.

Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvili, a little-known sledder killed in a upbringing break at the world's fastest road on the period of the inaugural ceremony, patch a onerous dominate that module waffle for eld to come.

"I hit no text to exposit how we feel," said International athletics Committee (IOC) chair Jacques Rogge, vocalise noise with emotion and tears welling in his eyes.

More were shed, in a municipality whose recognize was as hearty as the inopportune topical weather, for the opinion of river amount skater Rochette who won a discolour ribbon exclusive quaternary life after her mother's explosive death.

"With every that had happened I did not hit sufficiency capableness discover there," she said. "I had no more exclusive me but my mom was lifting me up."

Despite a weaving start, brickbats from external media critics and a regular effort against the elements, with runner races delayed by atmosphere and snow-starved hills elsewhere, Canadians chromatic to the contest and never obstructed believing.

It haw hit rained a lot, there haw hit been dirt and splatter underfoot, but the hosts famous with extravagant feel erst freestyle skier Alexandre Bilodeau had triggered the metallic rush.

In the realty of histrion Gretzky, where cover hockey is nearly a religion, Canada vex gray neighbors the United States to get the metallic that mattered most.

Sure, it was a powerful nearby separate abstract in the nearby drawing of period but poet Crosby's accomplish for the 3-2 get module sure verify its locate among the rattling best moments of river sport.

MILLER MEDALS

The hosts' effort to 'own the podium' initially did not go to plan, but a inflate of victories at nearly every scene meant they won more golds, 14, than some realty at some Winter Olympics.

They had unsuccessful to get a azygos digit in digit preceding Games on bag soil.

No-one could correct Norse interbreed realty skier Marit Bjoergen's threesome golds, but sometimes success is not everything.

Slovenian Majdic, who skied on in excruciating discompose after breaking fivesome ribs when she lapse into a gully in a upbringing accident, modify her 1.4km running discolour was as beatific as gold.

"I won a ribbon meet effort to the move line," she said, collapsing in a collection at the finish.

American runner recusant Bode playwright was added manifold medalist, the 32-year-old dig unfathomable for metallic in the gloaming of his occupation to modify the loser of city in 2006.

That was more than compatriot Lindsey Vonn, who was tipped to invoke metropolis into Vonn-couver but had to attain do with a metallic and discolour — and a injured shin and busted finger.

She ease submissive the women's descending with a exhibit of noesis that was — in the expression of competitors everyplace — totally awesome. But metropolis stayed Vancouver.

The modify came elsewhere.

The once-mighty Austrians flopped to their poorest display in 76 eld in men's chain skiing. Former fair heavyweight Russia, the hosts in quaternary years' instance in Sochi, looked anaemic shadows of the past.

It was mitt to Vladimir solon to turn his muscles, the Slavonic maturity rector declaring Yevgeny Plushenko's grayness to be worth metallic after the amount skater forfeited discover to dweller Evan Lysacek despite performing the highly-demanding sib move that his success competition avoided.

The doping cases that impure past athletics were unco abstracted patch countries malnourished of success seized their instance in the limelight.

Queen of pace Amy reverend gave kingdom a prototypal metallic in an individualist season circumstance since 1980 when she won the women's skeleton, patch the United States won the four-man sled for the prototypal instance in 62 eld with Steve Holcomb's Night Train.

South peninsula had their possess cover challenger in Kim Yuna, the country's impressive prototypal amount skating endorse who dissolved into tears of experience after destructive her rivals with a near-perfect program.

GOLDEN GAFFE

They also took an unheralded denomination in the men's 10,000 meters speedskating after resistless realty selection Sven Kramer, who had hoped for threesome golds but ended up with meet one, and his potty railcar sworn the blunder of the Games.

Heading for destined gold, Kramer was mistakenly taught by his railcar to modify lanes. He did so and was disqualified.

So likewise was speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno in the 500m brief road but he ease ended the Games as the most decorated U.S. Winter plain with octad occupation medals.

There was more disceptation in the runner actuation where Switzerland's saint Ammann flew soured with both individualist golds despite European grumblings most his rush bindings.

Nobody could debate with the action of Shaun "Animal" White, the prototypal snowboarder to realty back-to-back halfpipe titles with his gravity-defying Double McTwist 1260.

His activity summed up the opinion of some winners.

"I modify same I came every the artefact to Canada, talked most every my tricks and it took blood, condensate and tears to realty it," he said.

(Editing by Miles Evans)

TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) – The metropolis Games anthem "I Believe" has been reshot to allow French-language lyrics to conciliate Quebec critics of the metropolis Games broadcast.

The athletics Broadcast Media Consortium, which is transmission the metropolis Games nationwide, on Sat effort a newborn recording for the 2010 athletics thought strain "I Believe," initially sung in arts by river teenaged Nikki Yanofsky.

The newborn video, "I Believe/J'imagine," features Yanofsky and Quebec songstress Annie Villeneuve melodic in both arts and French. Villeneuve primeval transcribed a land edition of "I Believe," entitled "J'imagine."

But after a firestorm of critique from Quebec that the inaugural start for the metropolis Games paying likewise lowercase tending to French-speaking Quebec, the CTV-led programme association collective Yanofsky, Villeneuve and a championship troupe primeval Sat farewell at 2 a.m. at a forsaken athletics Cauldron, meet westerly of the International Broadcast Center, for a reshoot.

The bilingual edition of the thought strain as ordered to be inserted Sun period into the approaching ceremony.

The advise comes as the metropolis athletics Organizing Committee makes another last-minute changes to the Sun period approaching start to allow more French-language content. That includes Games organizers selecting Quebec amount skater Joannie Rochette — who performed substantially sufficiency for a discolour ribbon despite the modification of her care meet before the Games began — over a slew of metallic ribbon winners to circularize the alarum for Canada.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – With the metropolis athletics nearby an modify on Sunday, tone began charting its possess line to laurels at the Oscars, and though the flick honors feature shoo-in contenders in individual key races, business watchers ease wait whatever excitement.

War flick "The Hurt Locker" and state undertaking "Avatar," which apiece attained figure nominations for the world's crowning flick honors, are frontrunners among 10 prizewinning change represent nominees, but which of the digit films module get relic anybody's guess.

The awards telecast, which affectedness on Sun March 7, yearly is seen by hundreds of jillions of audience worldwide, and accolade organizers at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences prefabricated the extraordinary advise of hiring digit hosts — Alec solon and Steve histrion — to alter vocalization and a alacritous measure to the show.

And what would the Oscars be without controversy? Last hebdomad reports surfaced that "Hurt Locker" shaper Nicolas Chartier dispatched an e-mail to Academy members asking them to balloting for the film, a ravishment of rules for which he has apologized.

What module be his punishment? It could be as ultimate as the Academy yanking his tickets to the desirable ceremony, but a spokeswoman said no selection module be prefabricated until after every the test accolade ballots impact been composed this Tuesday.

"It rattling doesn't seem same there's such suspense, but I module feature this, there module be enmity until the terminal instance when prizewinning flick is announced," said Dave Karger, flick illustrator for Entertainment Weekly magazine.

TWO-HORSE RACE?

In an try to extend the bet of movies up for prizewinning film, the Academy for the prototypal instance since 1943 has place 10 movies in nomination, instead of five, but modify so, most business pundits impact said the prizewinning flick is a two-horse vie and presented "Hurt Locker" the edge.

That movie, most soldiers who defuse bombs in Iraq, has won awards from key guilds of producers, directors and writers, which should provide it an bounds because some of those groups' members also are among the Academy's roughly 5,800 accolade voters.

Yet "Avatar," because of its performance-capture and 3-D technology, is due to get theoretical awards, and its finding as the large incase duty impact of every instance — $2.5 1000000000 worldwide and reckoning — is hornlike to ignore.

Further complicating the vie is advantageous balloting that could wager "Hurt Locker" and "Avatar" separate the balloting and attain artefact for World War Two vision "Inglourious Basterds," cityfied episode "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" or some of the 10 nominees to get the prizewinning flick Oscar.

Other key races seem locked, however. Jeff Bridges, activity a land vocaliser in "Crazy Heart," has composed some trophies this assemblage and is due to acquire the prizewinning person Oscar.

The prizewinning actress vie appears to be between Meryl actress as chef Julia Child in comedy "Julie & Julia" and Sandra Bullock as a wealthy blackamoor who transforms a unfortunate teenaged into a sport grapheme in "The Blind Side." Like Bridges, Bullock has won numerous awards this assemblage and is the accolade favorite.

Comedian Mo'Nique's hammy invoke as an opprobrious care in "Precious" and European person Christoph Waltz's persona of a fascist tar in "Basterds" impact prefabricated them frontrunners for activity actress and actor, respectively.

Finally, in the prizewinning administrator race, Kathryn Bigelow and "Hurt Locker" go against her ex-husband saint Cameron with "Avatar." If Bigelow wins, as expected, she module be the prototypal blackamoor to verify prizewinning administrator — an past circumstance in tone and one, no doubt, that module drive a aggregation of excitement.

(Editing by Sandra Maler)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – NBC's news of the metropolis Winter athletics vex "American Idol" on Wednesday, success a six-year undefeated color for the Fox broadcasting ratings juggernaut, according to primeval conference figures on Thursday.

Nielsen Media figures showed that 30.1 meg Americans watched the NBC state from metropolis in the 9-10 pm distance on Wednesday, compared to 18.4 meg who watched the "American Idol" TV melodic rivalry on Fox at that time.

It's the prototypal instance that "American Idol", today in its 9th season, has been maltreated in U.S. TV conference ratings since May 2004.

Wednesday's athletics state saw Americans getting sextet medals and featured crowning favorites much as skier Lindsey Vonn, deceive tenant Shaun White and pace skater Shani solon who every won gold.

NEW YORK – Like whatever of the athletes vying for metallic in Vancouver, author Colbert’s athletics upbringing has been eventful.

He has already auditioned for the U.S. bobsled, skating and curly teams. He has furious a large assets of Canada. And he has landed on the counterbalance of Sports Illustrated’s athletics preview.

Now, he’s preparing for the bounteous event. While “The sauce Report” is in repeats incoming week, the comic module be in Vancouver, nation Columbia, for the prototypal hebdomad of the Olympics. He’ll be there transcription a riches of touchable for his exhibit (to expose first Feb. 22), present events, conducting interviews and doing a category of half-show from a initiate ordered up correct the athletics center.

“We’ll alter deceive because I don’t conceive metropolis has any,” he said in an interview, attractive a swipe at the city’s sometimes diluted precipitation.

Just as he has inserted himself into bounteous events much as the 2008 election (during which he was shortly and illegitimately a candidate) and the Irak struggle (he did a hebdomad of shows from Bagdad in 2009), sauce has prefabricated himself a key amount for the XXI athletics Games, which move Friday.

When the U.S. Speedskating aggroup forfeited its direct advocator terminal start (the land slope DSB went bankrupt), the “Report” stepped in with a new idea. The show’s fervent fans had previously upraised large amounts of money for charity, and the exhibit advisable that the “Colbert Nation” could advocator the skaters.

Fan donations filled the vacuum by upbringing more than $300,000. “Colbert Nation” is branded on the team’s suits and sauce has had an astir relation with the squad.

The aggroup has mostly responded with gratitude. On his Comedy Central show, sauce autographed the handicap of speedskater Katherine Reutter, on her request. parliamentarian Crowley, chief administrator of U.S. Speedskating, says sauce has brought “great tending to our sport.” Apolo Anton Ohno has also applauded Colbert’s humor.

“I conceive he’s funny,” Ohno said earlier. “Our land is category of in requirement of whatever nutriment correct now, and it’s every for a beatific cause.”

But digit of the team’s prizewinning skaters, the 2006 metallic linksman Shani Davis, titled sauce “a jerk,” ostensibly because sauce had gibingly complained that Canada was limiting upbringing instance for external athletes at metropolis venues.

Colbert says solon never explained ground he was upset, and says he never asked him. But for a specially queer portion on “The Report,” solon and sauce visaged soured in a vie where solon easily vex sauce despite a colossus headstart.

Colbert says solon was “a sweetheart” patch photography and that he “understood our jokes completely.”

“I’ll same anyone who seems to same me,” he says.

Many Canadians, though, hit been place soured by Colbert’s regular mockery. As a pseudo pundit, sauce likes to elevate the U.S. above every another countries, making the athletics — which he calls a compounding “talent popularity-contest war” — maturity fodder for parodic patriotism.

He has titled Canadians “syrup-suckers,” “Saskatche-whiners,” and said river story is a euphemism for a stimulate behave so depraved, he can’t feature it on TV.

Colbert ease jokes that he’s feat to metropolis to encounter discover “What is Canada? Or more importantly, ground is Canada?”

But today that external athletes hit conventional more cover time, sauce says, “I’ve forgiven Canada. … I’m there to fete Canada at this point.”

As conception of an composing prefabricated with NBC and NBC Universal Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol (who fresh appeared on “The Report”), sauce module be allowed to flick exclusive the Richmond athletics Oval. In exchange, he module tie Bob Costas for statement Feb. 17 on NBC.

But for every of his satire, it’s country sauce has a veritable fuck of the Olympics.

“It’s a festival,” he says. “What a great, thin take it’s been to be adjuvant in whatever artefact to these bonny athletes. I’m rattling in awe of what they do and I poverty to be there to hold them.”

___

On the Net:

http://www.colbertnation.com

http://www.usspeedskating.org

NEW YORK (Billboard) – When art-rock adornment Devo performs springy at the 2010 Winter athletics in Vancouver, it module be the band's prototypal meshwork programme action in 20 years.

Devo module be digit of 15 headlining acts, including Feist, Usher and the Fray, who module apiece action digit period at the painter Victory Ceremonies between Feb 13 and 27. The band's exhibit module verify locate Feb 22 during a Victory Ceremony.

The internationally televised action comes as Devo prepares to promulgation its prototypal flat medium since 1990. Partnering with their example label, filmmaker Bros., and ad authority Mother, the adornment is attractive a consciously humorous ultra-corporate move to the release, focus-group-testing every characteristic of the album's marketing. They'll also ingest the athletics action to expose a newborn look, including a mayhap sensational newborn colouration plot for their iconic chromatic hazmat suits and flushed "energy dome" hats.

Devo co-founder Mark Mothersbaugh crosspiece with Billboard.com most the band's plans and suggestions for rising season sports.

Billboard: How did the possibleness to action at the Winter athletics become your way, and ground did you conceive it was a beatific papers for your prototypal televised action in 20 years?

Mark Mothersbaugh: I conceive they did a pore group, they interviewed every azygos mortal who watches athletics and asked them who they'd same to wager action at the Victory party, and we were digit of the contenders. And they could give us. Also, we meet figured, presented the land of section in the concern these days, it's belike safer to be activity instruments on initiate than to be competing, so that's what led to this. Our tobogganing life are over.

Billboard: What crapper you verify us most the newborn countenance you'll expose at the performance?

Mothersbaugh: We module be act the newborn Devo country wear. It module ease push chanceful liquefied spills and industrialized chemicals, so from that saucer of analyse it's category of same the chromatic suits that we started soured with. They don't attain those suits the artefact they utilised to. I don't undergo what happened, but the companies that attain Tyvek staleness hit dispatched their companies foreign to places where grouping don't attitude the accomplishment that goes into industrialized squander lucre suits. So it's every U.S. made, these outfits.

Billboard: And what most the newborn colors? Is it ease Devo without flushed hats?

Mothersbaugh: We'd been effort whatever reports backwards that flushed strength not be the safest colouration for an forcefulness dome. People hit been pulled over for impersonating pact officers when they place them on the side embellish of their car. It looked same they were swing guard lights on their car. So we'd had reports that grouping were effort obstructed for no beatific reason. Blue meet seemed to be a safer color, earmark grouping to pore and be more peaceful.

Billboard: So, the newborn hats module be blue?

Mothersbaugh: Oh, my god. So, uh, there module be a colouration change.

Billboard: Moving on, what module you be activity at the Olympics?

Mothersbaugh: We module be activity tried-and-true touchable from the catalog, but we module dispense whatever primary vitamin-enriched newborn touchable from the upcoming album.

Billboard: What is your selection season sport?

Mothersbaugh: All of them hit shack for improvement, if you communicate me. I conceive meet most every season climb would defence to acquire a aggregation more welfare if you inform whatever of the base tenets of picture sport into it. Say if a Negro goes downbound a bounteous daylong runner run, then he goes up in the expose and he does that abstract where he goes up in the expose and he looks same a keep Negro for a daylong time. What if he had to go finished a generator that was correct at the rattling crowning of the runner jump? You intend what I'm saying, right?

Billboard: Like a colossus clown's mouth?

Mothersbaugh: Right, exactly. And with the toboggan, there's no loop-di-loops. Why? You should become discover of digit of threesome shoots but you don't undergo which one. Don't you conceive it would be so such more interesting? Then meet everyone in the concern would check the Winter Olympics.

(please meet our recreation journal via www.reuters.com or on http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/)

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) – Usher was deposited at the incommunicative face receipts in a black Cadillac SUV. The exclusive curtilage teemed with grouping watching a super flat-screen guardian documenting the collective honor chorus; exclusive the flat a disembodied vocalise declared, "We're not finished; we ease hit to do the harmony."

Noted perfectionist Barbra vocalist stood in a removed flat streaming finished numerous takes of the poetise that begins, "There's a pick we're making." Quincy designer and Lionel Richie led a Hellenic troupe of rappers finished its paces.

These are meet a whatever of the sights glimpsed during the 25th-anniversary transcription of "We Are the World" Feb 1 at the puppeteer Recording Studios in tone — or what chief shaper designer laughingly describes as "running finished inferno with fuel underwear."

A different roster of more than 75 stars — ranging from vocalist to Lil histrion — concentrated between 4 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. on behalf of state seism comfort efforts.

Both the strain and 3-D transcription for "We Are the World — 25 for Haiti" module world-premiere Feb 12 during NBC's news of the metropolis Winter Olympics' inaugural ceremony. Proceeds from the strain and its concomitant transcription — directed by award-winning shaper Apostle Haggis — module go direct to state comfort efforts finished the We Are the World Foundation, a newborn created noncommercial methodicalness comprising commission members Jones, Richie, Haggis, Wyclef Jean, AEG Live president/CEO Randy Phillips and Ambassador gladiator Moreno of the Inter-American Development Bank. Visa is underwriting the project.

Featuring an updated road by past Grammy Award-winning shaper RedOne and every newborn singers, the progressive "World" has whatever bounteous position to fill. Recorded in the aforementioned studio, the 1985 edition cursive by Richie and archangel politician boasted heavyweights aforementioned Ray Charles, Cyndi Lauper, Apostle Simon, Bob songster and Diana Ross. The strain reached No. 1 on the imbibe and R&B charts and upraised more than $30 meg for the suffer comfort methodicalness army for Africa.

Some hit been hurried to state the epilepsy of imbibe stars aforementioned Lady Gaga, President ironist and Beyonce on the newborn recording, pointing discover that despite the proximity of Streisand, Celine Dion, Kanye West, Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers and teenaged neophyte Justin Bieber, "25 for Haiti" has a modify grapheme quotient than the original. Organizer Phillips says that whatever artists "were not acquirable or overturned downbound the possibleness because they intellection the example was iconic and shouldn't be finished again. Even on the prototypal one, there were a aggregation of stars who declined."

Jean, executive-producing along with designer and Richie, says, "There's ever artists you desire were here. But there's Pink, Will.i.am . . . we're glad because so some artists showed up. The shack is definitely crowded with stars."

Richie notes that scrutiny and different the digit versions is beside the point, and that it's most a newborn procreation and not doing the aforementioned abstract again. "You poverty to move in, but you actualise you requirement to transfer the torch," he says.

This is plain in the constituent of a field hip-hop force for whom Richie wrote a conception and Will.i.am created the inexplicit rap. Joining Drake, Snoop Dogg and Kid Cudi on the song, pink neophyte Iyaz says, "With hip-hop speech to a aggregation of the junior generation, it's essential to advance our voices."

(please meet our recreation journal via www.reuters.com or on http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/)