The Olympic Media Blame Game...

Journalists around the world especially from the United Kingdom have been criticizing so many aspects in the Games' many problems in the opening days, from a lack of snow on the ski and snowboard courses to ice problems at the speed skating venue. I found this article, and this is what was reported:

Recently the Olympics officials are retorted back.  "We continue to be impressed by the level of organization. It's been a very well organized Games -- has been right from the seven years we've been working with VANOC," said International Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams. "The key thing is (problems) are identified and dealt with, and we feel that's being done. We're very happy." Criticism has been particularly harsh from the British media, which has collectively declared that the Games so far have tarnished Canada's international reputation. The Times Online has criticized Canada's $100 million-plus athlete-development program aimed at raking in this country's largest medal haul in the history of the Games. The Olympics, according to the Times, make a "global statement about a host city and its nation. For the Canadian hosts, the statement they had intended to make was tied up less in infrastructure and more in hard-nosed competitive edge; they pretty much told the world that they wanted to win medals more than friends."
Ouch. And it's just been downhill, so to speak, from there.
The Times declared that the Games "appear to have been cursed" and organizers are wringing their hands as the competition "staggers from one crisis to another." Indeed, representatives from VANOC have faced tough questions during daily media briefings about everything from a transportation system that has stranded athletes to the weather. Before the Games began, organizers were forced to start trucking in snow to Cypress Mountain, home to the freestyle skiing and snowboard events, which has been left slushy and foggy from rain and warm temperatures. Comedian Stephen Colbert joked about the weather on the Colbert Report, suggesting that "on future Winter Olympics hosting applications, you might want to add the question, ‘Does it snow there?'" But the Times went so far as to suggest that Vancouver tourism officials have their work cut out for them to counter the negative publicity that comes with snow-less mountains in a premier ski-holiday destination. "Much rides on an Olympic Games, not just financially but for the nation's global image," wrote reporter Kevin Eason. "Experts are still weighing up the potential damage to Vancouver's ‘brand' as trucks laden with imported snow roll down the highways through the rain to ensure that the Olympic venues have something that looks vaguely wintry for athletes to compete on." "Let's be honest, you are probably not going to book a skiing holiday in February in Vancouver if you have been watching the Games on television," Chris Lightfoot, a branding expert, told Eason.
On Monday, a headline in the Guardian newspaper screamed: "Vancouver Games continue downhill slide from disaster to calamity." Underneath the headline was a prediction that the 2010 Winter Games could go down as the "worst in Olympic history." Reporter Lawrence Donegan criticized the organizers' decision to hold events at Cypress Mountain, a location known for spotty weather. The rains have left organizers no choice but to refund thousands of tickets to snowboarding events because viewing platforms would be too unstable. Donegan also mocked the malfunctioning hydraulics system that left one of four cauldrons surrounding the Olympic flame to remain buried underground during Friday's opening ceremonies. Indeed, the endless series of calamities has led a writer on U.S. online magazine Salon.com to "fire" Canada as Olympic Games host in a humorous, but pointed, post. "This is not a decision we made lightly. Believe me, we wanted this thing to work," wrote Steve Almond. "But put yourself in our position, Canada. All we want to do is watch the strange, mostly obscure sports of the Winter Olympics -- and yet every day you, as the host nation, deliver up a fresh disaster. After the men's 500 metre speed skating event was delayed for nearly an hour because of problems with the Olympia keeping the ice clean at the Richmond Oval, NBC's Bob Costas called the situation "not acceptable," and Almond wrote the following: "Because, I mean, look at it: what's the one thing you should know how to do at this point, in terms of athletic preparedness? We're not asking you to produce a gripping television series, or a memorable historical figure. Just keep the ice smooth, Canada. That's all you had to do. And you had, like, eight years to plan for this." It also must be said that the Games started off on a sombre note, when Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was tragically killed during a training run hours before the opening ceremonies. The Times called the response to the tragedy, including blaming the crash on Kumaritashvili's own mistakes, "not only indecent but utterly unconvincing. The organizers explained that the track was perfectly safe, yet made dramatic changes to it, including extending the wall that could have saved him."
Despite the myriad international criticism, representatives from VANOC say they have identified and dealt with problems as they arise. "The goal for us is to continue to adjust as we see fit and to make sure the two priorities: the athletes who are here for their Olympic experience and the spectators both here and on television have the very best possible Olympic Games," said Renee Smith-Valade, VANOC's vice president of communications. And some members of the international media are quite enjoying their time in Vancouver. "I can't help feeling sympathy for our Canadian hosts here," blogged Daily Mail reporter Rick Broadbent said. "They so want to be loved and the negativity has grown until it is now the default setting of every cynic who thinks the Games are only here so a bunch of suits can go whale watching. And veteran sports reporter Christine Brennan of USA Today predicted that Vancouver's Games will not indeed go down in history as the worst ever. "It would be natural to fear that the lasting image of the Games had been seared into our minds even before the Olympics began, with a young athlete beginning a training run that in a matter of seconds ended his life," Brennan wrote.

It’s all too funny as the media tends be biased I find within their reporting. As it's opiniated and this blame game really has no place if you ask me. This is where you can’t please everyone and I have yet to see on Olympic games that havent had problems within the past – but that’s the media for you. There have been some troubles with the Winter Olympics, but within the manner of reporting I think that with all taken into consideration, you can never please everyone, but at the same time where ever the next Olympics are they will certainly find that they have there own problems. Why is it I think that England expects to have the next Winter Olympics? Taking all into consideration I think they are running very well with all things considered. But then that is my own opinion.