Vancouver View: 1st Medals, Rogge to Whistler, Weir to Village, Protestors Turn Violent

Switzerland Wins First Gold

Swiss ski jumper Simon Ammann of Switzerland captured the first gold medal of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics on Saturday.

Ammann was followed by silver medalist Adam Malysz of Poland and Austrian Gregor Schlierenzauer with the bronze.

Ammann won two gold medals in Salt Lake City.

Vancouver Protests Block Streets, Smash Windows

A mob of about 200 anti-Olympic protesters marauded through the streets of downtown Vancouver, smashing windows and spray-painting cars. Anti-Olympic protesters clashed with police in Vancouver on Saturday, as the demonstrators smashed windows and spray-painted cars and buses. Vancouver police say seven were arrested.

The protesters, most of them wearing black-hooded jackets, took aim at the windows of Hudson’s Bay Company, site of the Olympic Superstore.

The group managed to block access for a short while to the streets leading to the IOC hotel.

IOC President to Whistler

IOC President Jacques Rogge spends his first day of the Olympics in Whistler. While he wasn’t able to attend a weather postponed downhill, Rogge took in biathlon, ski jumping and the first two runs of the men’s luge singles event.

With the IOC President off to Whistler, the IOC Coordination Commission for Vancouver did not meet Saturday morning. The commission, chaired by Rogge, is scheduled to meet from 0830 to review issues that need to be solved.

Top Ratings for Opening Ceremony

The Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremony was the match watched television event in Canadian history.

More than two in every three Canadians watched some part of the ceremony, according to the Canada's Olympic Broadcast Consortium. The Consortium reports that 26 million Canadians or 78 percent of the country tuned into the ceremony on some form of media platform including the internet. An average of 13.3 million Canadians watched every single minute of the 3.5 hour ceremony that aired in prime.

“Canadian athletes will break records at these Games,” CTV CEO and President Ivan Fecan said. “This is the first record to be broken.”

The viewership in Canada surpasses the previous record of 4.24 million viewers for Calgary 1988 and the 3.99 million of Salt Lake City 2002. Just 1.18 million Canadians saw the Turin 2006 Open Ceremony.

NBC Universal Sports & Olympics Chairman Dick Ebersol might have to revise his pre-Olympic prediction after he looks at ratings for the Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremony.

About 67.6 million viewers tuned in to NBC to watch the Opening Ceremony on Friday night. That figure is 17 million or a 47 percent increase from theTurin 2006 Games.

The previous most-watched non-U.S. Winter Games Opening Ceremony was the 1994 Lillehammer Games. About 61.7 million viewers watched in 1994 after the infamous Tonya Harding— Nancy Kerrigan saga.

NBC Universal is broadcasting its 12th Olympics and will present 835 hours of Vancouver coverage.

Before the Games, Ebersol predicted that the network would lose money on the Games. NBC paid C paid $820 million to broadcast Vancouver 2010.

Johnny Weir Seeks Refuge from Anti-Fur Protests

U.S. figure skater Johnny Weir has decided to stay in the Olympic Village instead of a hotel for security reasons. Weir has gotten threats from anti-fur activists, or as he calls them, "all those crazy fur people." Weir said he received threats of "bodily harm" after wearing white fox fur on his skating outfit. Rather than change to faux fur, which he doesn't like, he will revert to a skating costume he wore earlier in the season. Weir is sharing a two-bedroom suite with ice dancer Tanith Belbin.

Vancouver by the Numbers

6.5 million unique visitors to the VANOC Web site Friday, a record high.

717 doping tests conducted; 0 announcements of positive tests.

Written by Ed Hula, Ed Hula III and Karen Rosen.