FUNNY SPORTS QUOTES \ Source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com

OLYMPICS SPORTS QUOTES

Quotes from 1998 Olympics (Nagano, Japan)

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Best quotes:

"It was second-hand smoke,"

Canadian gold medal snowboarder Ross Rebagliati after testing positive for traces of marijuana

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"USA Hockey will have no further comment on the matter. For more information, please call Darryl Seibel at USA Hockey."

-- USA Hockey press release regarding the Team USA dorm-trashing incident

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"The 500m [individual] went super good and the relay went super good and we have a good shot at winning Saturday cuz I don't think all of us guys went all out last night and we have some juice left."

-- Marc Gagnon, Canadian men's short-track speed skater in an obvious slam at Team USA hockey's lifestyle here.

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Worst quote:

"Dedicate that to your dead father,"

No one admits to saying this to Canadian female hockey player Danielle Goyette, but just about everyone here claims to have heard that a member of Team USA said it. Goyette had dedicated her Olympics to her father, who passed away just before the Olympics began.

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Trivia Notes, 1998 Olympics:

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Best in your face performance:

French figure skater Surya Bonaly, a former gymnast competing in her last Olympics, did an illegal back flip near the end of her long program in ladies figure skating. It was nothing less than a full body gesture to the judges, many of whom Bonaly felt had discriminated against her for years. It was also a spectacular trick.

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Worst excuse for not performing:

Canadian moguls skier Jean-Luc Brassard claimed the tension of carrying Canada's flag during opening ceremonies threw off his skiing. A former gold medal winner, he finished out of the medal round.

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Gold, silver and bronze crow eaters:

A Canadian sweep. Canadian freestyle skier Veronica Brenner landed badly on her first jump in women's aerials and finished ninth while China's Xu Nannan won a silver medal. Earlier in the Games, Brenner had referred to the Chinese team as "crash test dummies" who were no threat to her medal chances

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Canadian curlers came here claiming that the 50th-ranked Canadian curling team could beat any European team. They then went out and lost the gold medal to Switzerland by a whopping 9-3 score. In the wake of the defeat Canadian skip Mike Harris said "No, it's still true. There are 40 teams in Canada that could be considered gold medal favorites." At least the count was reduced by 10

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The Canadian men's hockey team, virtually all of whom had said there is no medal except gold for Canada. At least they got it half right.

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Worst performance by a name athlete:

Alberto Tomba, the talented and bombastic slalom skier, came here hoping to medal in a fourth straight Olympics. He fell 18 seconds into his first run and watched the rest of the Olympics from his hotel room.

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