Olympics come to a close

What a 2006 Winter Olympic Games from Turin, Italy!! Canada's medal count was about where the experts agreed might happen, and that was great to see.

By the way, Sweden won the gold medal in men's hockey, giving Finland its first loss with a 3-2 decision.

The Canadian Olympic Committee prediction of a top-three finish and a minimum 25 medals at Turin came oh so close. Canada finished third with 24 medals with many misses, and no medals for men's hockey. The previous record for Canada was 17 set at Salt Lake City in 2002.

The spectacle of the closing cermonies includes a nod to the next host of the Winter Olympics, Vancouver in 2010. I didn't realize this much was made for the next home.

Canadian opera star Ben Heppner is scheduled to sing the national anthem to begin the Canadian segment of the Olympic closing ceremonies in Turin. The Olympic flag will be handed over to Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan. Games organizers for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics will have an 8-minute segment of the closing ceremonies.

The theme for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver is "Come play with us in 2010." The Canadian Games will be held in Vancouver and Whistler from Feb. 12-28, 2010. Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12-21, 2010.

Here are the final Olympic medal standings. Congratulations to all the athletes who participated.

2006 Winter Olympic Medal Standings

Country
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Total
Germany
11
12
6
29
United States
9
9
7
25
Canada
7
10
7
24
Austria
9
7
7
23
Russia
8
6
8
22
Norway
2
8
9
19