Olympic Hockey (3 cents)

I just saw Slovakia beat Kazakhstan 2-1. It was quite a good game, and it was nice seeing Peter Bondra scoring the winning goal in Slovakia's second straight game.

I am mixed on what I want to see out of this competition, particularly since so many of the players on all the times are NHL players. And with Bondra and Zednik (both ex-Caps) and Majeski (current Cap) on the team, it is easy to root for Slovakia. But Ovechkin is on Russia's team, Kolzig is Germany's goalie, all the Canadian players are well know, and the U.S. is the U.S.

So, I think I would like to have seen Kazakhstan win (as unlikely as that ever was). Because as a country with a significant Moslem population, and one which is primarily moderate in its religious practice, an Olympic medal would bring a Moslem country into the world-wide mainstream. Thus, a Kazakhstan victory may be exactly what is required in order to save Western civiilization.