If you live under a rock, you might not have heard. But Team Canada won the Gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver in Hockey....TWICE.

See, both our teams won. The womens team doing it the evening of February 25th in a spectacular 2-0 victory over their arch nemesis from the U.S.A. While the men matched the feat in even more dramatic fashion the afternoon of the 28th defeating the same country as the women did, in Overtime off the stick of Sidney Crosby.

No surprise to anyone, both squads celebrated heavily. The teams were rewarded with large bottles of Molson Canadian.

The womens team opted to celebrate inside Molson House for a couple hours after arriving from their on ice celebrating. They then took the party off the grounds to a local bar (Metropole) that 3/4 of the team went to on foot thru the streets of the downtown eastside lead by musician Tyler Stewart of The Barenaked Ladies like some pied piper. Constantly stopping to make sure the rest of the crew caught up, Stewart lead teammates, staff, friends & others on a 6 or 7 block walk from the Molson house to the bar. They partied there till after I left at 3:30 AM.

Then mens team had a more random & scattered celebration. Many members of the team with family opted to go celebrate privately with them, while others stayed in Molson House till late in the evening. Others left the Molson house to go celebrate other places, namely the Roxy night club where several members of the team & their friends were seen celebrating till closing.

Of course, free drinks wasnt all these athletes were given. Large shiny keepsakes were also awarded to them, and most sported them proudly as they returned & left the Molson House. Below is a few pics of them & their brand new Gold medals.

PS- to a certain member of 1 of our teams who was concerned on where & how the photo was going to be used....see, this is the only place you are seeing this photo...like I told you (unless someone re-posts it with my tag still on it).
 
 
Widely viewed as the top player in womens hockey for the last decade, Hayley Wickenheiser will be in Vancouver hoping to strike Gold in the Olympics for a 3rd time.
 
As the all-time leading scorer in International womens hockey history, Hayley is the most recognizable face int he game. One of very few women to ever play in a mens pro league, Hayley has nearly done it all in womens hockey. A 2 time Olympic Champion and 6 time World Champion, Hayley is one of the most decorated athletes in the sport. She is a 2 time "Top forward" of the World Championships, as well as 2 time Olympic tournament MVP.
 
Hayley hasnt just dominated in womens hockey. She has taken her skills to the mens game where she has played over 40 career games in pro leagues in Europe. Her desire to continue to challenge herself has not been ignored by the media either. Sports Illustrated, in its list of the 25 toughest athletes, listed Hayley 20th.
 
In Olympic action, "Wick", as she is also known to fans & teammates has an incredible 35 points in 16 GP, and nearly a goal a game with 14. She was the leading scorer in 2006 Olympics with astounding 17 pts in 5 games. It was her best performance in an Olympics to date. In World Championship play, her stats are scary as well. 68 points in 41 games played.
 
Hayley is one of those rare athletes that excels at almost everything she tries. Proof of this is, her inclusion on the 2000 Summer Olympics team in Softball. Despite the team having an unsuccessful tournament, Hayley proved her athleticism by leading the team in batting average. Since then, she has focused solely on hockey & maybe no surprise, has elevated her game to near unmatchable heights.
 
With stops in her career for the Calgary Oval X-treme of the Western Womens Hockey League (WWHL), HC Salamat (Finnish league) & Eskilstuna Linden (Swedish 3rd tier league), and an invite to Philadelphia Flyers rookie camp one year, Hayley has done more in her career than probably any other womens player. 
 
If Canada is to win a 3rd straight Gold in Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics, it is a guarantee that Hayley Wickenheiser will have a lot to do with it.
 
You can check out her website at - http://www.hayleywickenheiser.com
You can follow her on twitter at http://twitter.com/wick_22