2010 Winter Olympics (The Takeaway)

Ibrahim Abdul-Matin recaps what can only be described as a classic hockey game between Canada and Team USA as they both battled for Olympic gold. In overtime, Canada clenched the gold and made the host nation proud. Meanwhile, a roster of exciting college basketball games filled the weekend back on U.S. soil.

MONEY TAKEOUT: New York Times finance reporter Louise Story reports on how credit-default swaps are pushing Greece even closer to the edge of financial ruin. OLYMPICS TAKEOUT: Jason Stallman, Olympics editor for The New York Times joins us from Vancouver to talk about the Women's figure skating finals and explains why one Canadian curler has to wear wigs before venturing out. RESPONSES TAKEOUT: Yesterday we aired a segment on whether it's OK to eat food past it's expiry date and the federal government's plan to bring broadband to rural America. We take a look at some of the responses we got from listeners to both those stories.

WASHINGTON TAKEOUT:  Will the president's health care summit be a bipartisan love-fest or more of the same legislative gridlock? Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich brings us a preview. OLYMPICS TAKEOUT: Team USA suffered a big shock yesterday when Lindsey Vonn crashed out of the Grand Slalom. Jason Stallman, Olympics editor for The New York Times talks to us about this race and the Men's Hockey competition. SPORTS TAKEOUT: After a five-month investigation, the NCAA has alleged that the University of Michigan's football program committed major violations. Takeaway sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin joins us with the backstory.

CONGRESS TAKEOUT:   Some lawmakers may be facing a conflict of interest as they go toe to toe with Toyota executives.  Communications director for the Center for Responsive Politics, Dave Levinthal, says many of these lawmakers are stockholders in Toyota. OLYMPICS PREVIEW: Jason Stallman, reporting on the Winter Olympics for The New York Times, has the latest from Vancouver and looks ahead to Lindsey Vonn's upcoming race. SUPREME COURT: Supreme Court correspondent for The New York Times, Adam Liptak, explains the Court's latest decision that police may now ad lib the Miranda Rights.

FINANCIAL TAKEOUT:   The New York Times Wall Street and finance reporter Louise Story joins us with analysis of some of the important economic indicators that came out yesterday.   OLYMPICS TAKEOUT: Jason Stallman, Olympics editor for The New York Times brings us the latest sports drama from Vancouver. LISTENER TAKEOUT: Our listeners respond to legislative gridlock, saying that the government is only partially to blame and that the American media is just as guilty.

MONEY: A federal judge has finally approved a 150 million-dollar settlement between the S.E.C. and Bank of America. New York Times finance reporter Louise Story explains the case. OLYMPICS: New York Times Olympics editor Jason Stallman looks ahead to one of the most popular events of the Olympic games: women's figure skating LISTENERS: Yesterday, we began our series chronicling America's feelings about Washington's seemingly stalled legislative process. Through emails, web posts and telephone messages our listeners prove America is truly a "Frustration Nation."

FINANCE TAKEOUT: A new report by the Pew Center gives a failing grade on eight states' pension funds. New York Times finance reporter Louise Story explains. OLYMPICS: Daily News sportswriter Nate Vinton joins us with a look at women's Olympic skiing. American women took the top two spots in downhill skiing — including a triumphant gold for an injured Lindsey Vonn. LISTENERS RESPOND: By email, phone and posts on our website, listeners weigh in on news of President Obama's nuclear power ambitions.

MONEY TAKEOUT: European Finance Ministers are uniting against a plan by President Obama to overhaul the banking system. New York Times finance reporter Louise Story tells us more. OLYMPICS TAKEOUT: The international men's hockey tournament is heating up at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Freelance sports writer Dan Friedell joins us from Vancouver.

Vancouver, British Columbia, host of the 2010 Winter Olympics, pulled out all the stops for this year's games — spending approximately $100 million to construct newer, bigger and faster courses for the world’s finest athletes.  But we're discovering bigger isn’t always better.   On Friday, in a training run on the Olympic luge track, 21-year-old Georgian slider Nodar Kumaritashvili was travelling 90 mph when he lost control of his luge, fatally crashing into an exposed support beam.  The tragedy has the Olympic Village and much of the world asking: in their attempts to keep the sports modern, are the winter Olympics courting too much danger? We talk with The New York Times Olympics editor Jason Stallman, who says that last week's tragedy was the unfortunate but inevitable result of a decade's long trend in Winter Olympic sports.

With the Winter Olympics' opening ceremony set for later tonight, it seems that all the world is caught up in Olympic fever.  Everyone that is, except for the people of Vancouver, British Columbia who are actually hosting the event. Sports writer Dave Zirin, author of the forthcoming book "Bad Sports: How Owners are Ruining Games We Love" recently returned from Vancouver where he was covering the Olympics for Sports Illustrated. He sees a Vancouver that is frustrated by the strain on its services and its budget. 

Vanessa James and Yannick Bonheur are preparing to skate their first Olympic match as a team.  They found each other on  icepartnersearch.com and are now hoping to win a medal.  They are skating for France this weekend and they will be the first Black pairs skating team to compete in the Olympic games. The team talks about connecting online and on the ice.

As the Winter Olympics kick off in Vancouver, we check in with three bloggers who've been following the lead-up to the games for months.   Leilani Gibson is a ski instructor and yoga teacher in Oregon. She writes about women's skiiing and skateboarding in her Ski-like-a-girl blog.   Brandon Worley is the Hockey editor for the Sports Blogs Nation and he talks to us about Team USA's chances of winning gol. And Aaron Harris's Axes loops and Spins blog about figure skating just won him an all expense paid trip to Vancouver to blog about the Olympics.  

It's long been a popular extreme action sport at the Winter X Games. Now ski cross will be included as a new sport at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The sport involves four to six racers who come out of the starting gate together and make a mad dash down the racecourse. U.S. ski cross coach, Tyler Shepherd, says the sport is dangerous, but fun. Ski cross, or skiercross involves four to six racers who come out of the starting gate together and make a mad dash down the racecourse. We find out more about the sport from someone who hopes to win an Olympic medal.