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.  

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.

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.

 

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.

The confetti that papered the streets of New Orleans after the Super Bowl has been swept away and most of the fans from out of town have headed home. Now America’s obsession with a big sporting event is shifting to Vancouver.

• Washington Takeout: Takeaway Washington correspondent, Todd Zwillich helps us remember Pennsylvania Congressman John P. Murtha, who died yesterday at 77.
• Sports Takeout: The 2010 Olympic Games kick off this week in Vancouver and Takeaway sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin joins us to profile figure skater Johnny Weir.   

Ski jumping has been in the Winter Olympics since the very beginning. Yet in those 86 years there has never been a women’s ski jumping event. That may be about to change. A group of women ski jumpers from all around the globe have formed a coalition and are suing the Vancouver Organizing Committee to try and get women’s ski jumping into the 2010 Winter Olympic games in Vancouver, Canada. Deedee Corradini is the president of Women’s Ski Jumping USA as well as the former mayor of Salt Lake City, UT, and was a pivotal part in the city getting the 2002 winter games. She joins The Takeaway with her thoughts on pushing this great leap forward.

To see the masculine side of ski jumping, watch the video below.