TorchbearerSydney

I think for the first time ever I am thinking about going back to bed, and watching the rest of the Closing later.....

The pacing is a bit off....and we have the never-dull speeches yet to come.

Hard to fault these Games..no major dramas (and only a few small ones)...athletes seem happy, the weather was great, many countries doing well...a solid 'A-" for me.

Winter sports are so fluky- especially the events NZ and AUS specialize in....AUS won one gold on a countback and another by 0.02 second! No shame in not quite getting to the top podium.

The speed skating for 2030 will also be held in either Torino OR Netherlands.............announced today

Think we might squeeze in one more yet!

It has been a great Games, improved broadcasting technology makes it so immediate and intimate now. The spread out Games is a success- it is not perceptible to the viewing ausience. And as an Australia it has been a medalfest, that helps! Remember not long ago there was no host for these Games.

Yes- the flip side is one of the golds was won a countback, and another by 0.02 seconds!!!

"This almost getting silly"....really feels like that here in Australia, at the halfway mark! Sadly a couple of red-hot potential medalists have been injured as well.

And it even looks like Canada could equal their Calgary 1988 Gold medal haul too!

The Good: the intimacy of the stadium, and the streets of the other venues made this a much more human scale ceremony after some cold extravaganzas like Sochi and Beijing. the artistry and culture were freshly presented- not easy for a country so examined like Italy. a bit of humour never hurts the 4 parades somehow worked- but they really could have sped up the pace. the flame passing through then quickly arriving at the cauldron was done much better than Paris. Imagine there's no Imagine- its easy to do! Not so Good Double Champion de Natation's speech was way too repetitive and long. About 4 minutes (rather than 10) would be ideal. Mariah absolutely murdered one of the happiest, fun pop songs of the 20th Century. She added nothing. There were quite a few awkward silences and gaps. Why didnt the athletes come in and sit down first, so they could watch the show? They were not in the way. Solid 7.

Just read an Australian fashion story- they pick Mongolia as the smartest uniforms....we will be up to the "M"s in about 3 more hours.

Q:Honestly, they should have someone carry the flag into the San Siro even if there's no athletes there. Feels like they're less present with just a placard. Thats where the plan sort of falls short. And medium to large countries (like Australia up) have 5 flagbearers....including the official flagbearer pair, who could be anywhere, and 3 others.

Q: Great Britain's outfit is as good as their cuisine! They are bad, but not that bad.....

Germans are dressed as bloody skidmarks!!!