After two weeks of competition, the one contest I would think most people were waiting for, will happen in Sunday's men's hockey gold medal final between the U.S. and Canada. The U.S. beat the host Canadians 5-3 in a preliminary-round game earlier this week.

Don't expect a repeat.

Canada is bigger, stronger, faster and better than its American counterparts and now it has a chip on its shoulder after its loss to the U.S.

The Americans have had quite a run, getting to the gold medal game and if you would've asked most hockey fans, I don't think many would've predicted the U.S. would be playing for gold.

Unless something unforeseen happens, the Americans will have to settle for silver.

With roughly 3/4 of the Olympic Games finished, I have one question: "Is anybody watching?"

I consider myself a pretty rabid sports fan, and even I have had a difficult time really getting into these Olympics. I'm not sure why because there was a time when I was a kid, my friends and I would get together to watch the Games (Summer and Winter) for hours on end.

But with the exception of a few of the marquee sports, I find most of the Games serving as white noise on my TV while I'm doing other things.

The U.S. is having a great Olympiad and is on track to win the medals table for the first time in nearly 80 years.

Wake me up when it's over.

After having a day to mull it over, I've decided to be the 1,000,000,000th person to comment on Tiger Woods' public statement.

I've heard many people call it heartfelt, phony, robotic, clinical, a step in the right direction and after seeing it I can see each person's viewpoint.

But, first of all, as a golf fan who admires Tiger Woods as a golfer, I didn't need to hear an apology from him about his marital infidelity. For that he needs to make peace with his wife, his family, his God and his conscience.

For those who said he looked robotic speaking from prepared text, I say, you're right. However, for those who have followed him over the years, I believe they would agree he looks pretty robotic no matter what the situation -- whether he's apologizing for his transgressions or celebrating another major win.

I know a lot of people felt he had to make some public statement, many even saying he should hold a full-blown press conference. Count me among those who would disagree.

The part of the speech that raised my eyebrow was the part when he said he hoped to return to gold this year. From the sound of it, I don't think we need to look for Tiger playing in a PGA event anytime soon.

Tiger Woods the golfer is really the only Tiger Woods I care about. Tiger Woods the adulterer -- I'll leave that for TMZ and Entertainment Tonight.

If the Kingston Classic indeed is done for the year, then I for one will be sad not see it around.

I'm not a runner, but I have to admit it was always fun watching the runners pass by the Freeman -- to see them all, the elite runners to the avid competitors to the causal runners -- was always fun.

I think I had more fun seeing them pass the Freeman on the way back and to see their obviously-gassed faces with a look of both exhaustion and relief, knowing the end of the race was near.

I do hope the idea of holding the Classic in the fall does not pan out because the Classic belongs in April, not September or October. But let's hope this only serves as a one-year hiatus, not a death sentence, for the Classic.

The race and the runners deserve better.

Maybe it's the little bit of snow we recently got, or maybe it's just knowing that Major League pitchers and catchers are reporting to spring training next week.

But whatever the reason, I cannot wait for spring.

Baseball has always been my favorite sport and knowing the season is less than two months away makes me already begin thinking about taking in a game or two in the summer.

The sooner, the better for me.

Well, include me among the many who were stunned by last night's Super Bowl.

As I said in an earlier post, my heart was pulling for the Saints, but my head said to pick the Colts. That's the last time I listen to my head, I guess.

The Saints and their relationship with New Orleans was the feel-good story of the year in the NFL. And now they get their storybook ending.

It only seems fitting, doesn't it?

Ok. I know you all have been waiting patiently for my Super Bowl pick, so here it is.

I really want to pick the Saints. They have most definitely been the feel-good story of this football season. I appreciate watching Drew Brees, a "short" quarterback by today's NFL standards pick apart defense after defense week after week.

I have loved watching Reggie Bush play since his days at USC and New Orleans has quite a talented receiving crew and an underrated defense.

That would be good enough against most team in the NFL, just not the Colts because of Peyton Manning. The "other" Manning as some Giants fans would call him is simply the best quarterback today and this win could cement him as the best QB of all time.

The Colts, too, have an underrated defense, although Dwight Freeney's injury, whether he plays or not, certainly hurts. But in the end ...

COLTS 34, SAINTS 31.

So the NFL did not Rex Ryan for flipping off fans in Miami during a Mixed Martial Arts event over the weekend. That was probably the right move, since the Jets fined their over-the-top coach $50,000 on Tuesday.

Ryan, who apologized for actions a day later, has paid enough this time, and hopefully this will serve as a wake-up call. Ryan proved to be an excellent motivator in his first season with Gang Green, getting the Jets to the AFC title game.

Over the season, the majority of the media and fans have loved the confidence he has bestowed on his team. There is a fine line between being confident and a jerk, and Ryan is flirting with that line.

Hopefully, he won't cross it again because that wouldn't be good for him, the Jets or their fans.

Sometimes, it's good to watch a non-professional sporting event as a fan and not as a member of the media.

I had that good fortune over the weekend when I watched my nephew's college hockey team and let me tell you it was a blast. It didn't hurt that this team is nationally-ranked, or that they won both games they played.

But to see the fans thoroughly enjoy an event as much as these crazed fans enjoyed this was a blast. When you've been in this business as long as I have, you tend to get jaded when it comes to how you view sports, whether it's professional or amateur.

It was so nice to see sports kind of put in perspective, at least for a couple of days.