Casey already has one of these ordered

If you truely want to remember the 2010 Olympics, you may want to buy yourself one of these bad boys.

Millions of people tuned in to watch the Olympic closing ceremonies in Vancouver this past Sunday. If you were among them, you might have thought, "What a nice tribute to Canada." Or, "It's great to see the athletes of the world come together." Or, "I really need one of those giant inflatable beavers."

If the last of those sentiments applies to you, good news! According to the Ottawa Citizen, for just five grand, one of those huge rodents can be yours. It's an even better deal considering that's 5,000 Canadian dollars, making it only $4,846.88 U.S. (If you want the 35-foot-tall moose, it'll cost you a little bit more.) 

Only 5,000 dollars for a huge beaver? How could that not be an awesome investment. Something tells me, one of these things will find its way on Oregon State's football field next season.

The Brandon Hansen experiment

In case you haven't noticed, perhaps the coolest athlete of the 2010 Winter Olympics is Shaun White.

And because of his flowing red hair, Shaun has the nickname of "The Flying Tomato."

Therefore, today at Just South of North I am going to do a bit of a science project. And no, there will be no test at the end. Now let's get started.

First of all, please note the following two photos:


Now let's compare shall we?

The first photo is of snowboard sensation Shaun White. The second photo is not.

The second photo is actually of Just South of North's very own Brandon Hansen.

Now the next step of this experiment is to list the similarities between these two individuals:

They both have red hair.

....

Whelp, that's about it.

Ok, not as hard as I thought it would be. But this next step will be a bit trickier. Let's take a closer look at each photo and really examine each.

Photo 1: Shaun is hosting an American flag above his head after winning the gold medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics. His outfit contains his sponsors logos and USA. He is excited cause he just represented his country in the biggest show for his sport.

Photo 2: Brandon is trying to flex his arms. Notice the word trying. Also, he is wearing a Spokane Indians jersey which, I have come to the conclusion he came upon this jersey one of four ways. He either A: found it in the Indian's locker room and stole it. B: was given it while being the honorary first base coach for the Indians during a game. C: Has served as the bat boy for the Indians for the past 12 seasons. D: Bought it from the team store.

Since Brandon is an honest guy that rules out A. And I don't think he was the bat boy, so that crosses off C. Now we just have B and D. And since D involves money, I'm going with B.

Anyway, back to the photo. You'll also notice that Brandon has his thumb out. That leads me to believe that he was probably hitchhiking. Oh, and he's standing on a base, but if you notice there are no other players in the shot. Therefore I believe this photo was staged by Brandon using his own camera and a tripod. Well that, and the fact that I know Brandon couldn't make on base. Well, maybe if he was walked. Maybe.

Alright, now one last experiment:

Who would be more recognizable on the street?

Most people across America know Shaun White. So he has that going for him.

However, everyone in Spokane knows who Brandon Hansen is. Seriously, if you think I'm joking then you don't know the Spokane sports scene. That guy knows everyone and everyone knows him.

So this experiment is inconclusive.

Thank you for taking part in this week's edition of "Brandon or a famous person." Next week we'll be comparing Brandon with Seth Green.

Oh Seth Green. He's funny.

Good Morning Olympics fans

Today is the opening ceremonies for the Olympics, and we've already shown you the awesome promos that the BBC has been running. However, something tells me that this year will be no different as the Olympic games seem overhyped, non-interesting and generally just a bunch of fluff sports.

Does anyone REALLY care about curling? (Casey put your hand down) What they need to do to generate more interest in the games is take a page out of the WWE and start pitting countries that are at war or were at war with one another in events. North Korea and South Korea in a cage match? How about Great Britain and the US in a ladder match? Do you see where I'm going with this?

Instead we have to watch that fart of a broadcast Bob Costas give us a smug interview with some figure skating twins with last names that nobody can pronounce. Hooray Olympics!

Washington state hosts Olympic Torch for two minutes

Woo! The Olympic Torch in the state of Washington! ... for about two minutes. But hey, it's the thought that counts right?

BLAINE, Wash. (AP) — The Winter Olympics torch made its only visit to the United States for a ceremony Tuesday at the Peace Arch border crossing in Blaine.

The torch was carried by skier Phil Mahre (mehr) of Yakima who won medals at the 1980 Olympics at Lake Placid and the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo.

Mahre was cheered by a crowd of several thousand people, waving U.S. and Canadian flags and signs with the Olympics rings.

A childrens choir from nearby White Rock, B.C., sang the U.S. and Canadian anthems.

Gov. Chris Gregoire and British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell applauded as Mahre lit a cauldron at the Peace Arch. A Canadian runner carries the torch back into British Columbia where the games begin Friday at Vancouver.

I can't say that I've ever been to Blaine, but it's a town of about 4,000 people and has the nickname of The Peace Arch City. No word yet on if the torch set any fires in that town.

(This is from Just Northwest)

BBC Olympics promo

Our blogging friend, Paul, over at Washington Adventures got my attention the other day when he posted the BBC promo for the winter Olympics.

This promo was awesome.

According to official BBC site description the promo has a lot going on in it:

BBC Sport's Vancouver Winter Olympics coverage will feature the story of Akiak and his quest to find the missing head of Ilanaaq, a stack of rock in human form, which sits on the mountain above Whistler, where the skiiing and sliding events will take place.

So who is Akiak and what is Ilanaaq?

Akiak is a legendary Inuit, a member of the indigenous population who inhabit the Arctic regions of Canada, Greenland, Russia and the United States of America, whose name means "brave" in his native language.

Ilanaaq, the Inuit word for "friend", is the emblem of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and is a contemporary interpretation of an inukshuk.

Inukshuk are land markers which started out as a single upright stone and have evolved into more elaborate stacks of rock built in the form of a human. They are normally built around good hunting places and have been extremely important for Inuit survival over many thousands of years.

Apparently in the promo, the head of Ilanaaq has been stolen by the monster in the ice. Therefore, the hero must perform different Olympic events to retrieve it.

Enough of my yakking, watch the promo yourself:

(The music is Cry Me A River by Michael Buble)

And in case you're wondering, this isn't the first kickass promo that BBC has made for the Olympics.

For the 2008 games in China, the promo was pretty sweet as well. It features a monkey and his sidekicks that must use various summer game events to make it there.

Check it out:

Vancouver 2010 Mascots

I just came across the mascots of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Yeah. They pretty much rock. The best part is, go to each of their sites and they will talk.

Quatchi- He's a sasquatch. Epic. Here's his bio:

Quatchi is a young sasquatch who comes from the mysterious forests of Canada. Quatchi is shy, but loves to explore new places and meet new friends.

View his page here.


Miga- She's a seabear. Yeah. Odd. Here's her bio:

Miga is a young sea bear who lives in the ocean with her family pod, beyond Vancouver Island, near Tofino, British Columbia. Sea bears are part killer whale and part bear. (Miga is part Kermode bear, a rare white bear that only lives in British Columbia.)

View her page here.


Sumi- He's an animal spirit. All I can say is WTF? Here's his bio:

Sumi is an animal spirit who lives in the mountains of British Columbia. Like many Canadians, Sumi's background is drawn from many places. He wears the hat of the orca whale, flies with the wings of the mighty thunderbird and runs on the strong furry legs of the black bear.

View his page here.

The Olympics start February 12, 2010. With mascots like these, it should be legendary.