2010 Winter Olympics Schedule: What to Watch This Weekend

The 2010 Winter Olympics are finally here. Tonight's opening ceremonies from inside BC Place Stadium kick off the 16-day extravaganza which will feature the best winter athletes from around the globe.

26 sports and 38 disciplines will encompass the schedule from today through the closing ceremonies on February. But let's stay simple and look at the events this weekend and what you the viewer can expect to see.

Friday - Opening Ceremonies

Don't expect the Vancouver Opening Ceremonies to approach the other-worldly spectacle that was Beijing. But the VANOC (Vancouver Organizing Committee) and the Canadian government want to use the ceremonies—and the Games—as a platform to show how much Canada has grown in recent years. Themes incorporating all of Canada, from its modern devices to its native, First Nation culture will be on display.

Friday - Ski Jumping

One event will actually get underway before the Opening Ceremonies and that is ski jumping qualifying. As a result of court ruling, there will be no women's ski jumping at the games. Thus, it will be the men taking the stage first in the qualifying round of the individual normal hill jump.

Saturday - Men's Downhill

One of the first major medals to be handed out will be on Saturday in the men's alpine downhill. For the U.S., Bode Miller will have his first shot at redeeming his performance at the 2006 Games. Marco Sullivan is the other American involved in the event.

Other skiers include:

Didier Cuche, Switzerland
Michael Walchhofer, Austria
Carlo Janka, Switzerland
Manuel Osborne-Paradis, Canada
Didier Defago, Switzerland

Saturday - Biathlon - Women's 7.5-kilometer Sprint

Ski through the woods, shoot at a target. It's something like James Bond action scene, but on Saturday it will be the women's 7.5-kilometer biathlon sprint. The event is all about time. No need for endurance in this event. Who hits their targets the quickest and gets through the transitions fastest wins.

Saturday - Ladies Moguls Qualification and Finals

There is no time to rest for women's participating in the moguls. Tomorrows' qualifying round begins at 430 PM local time with the finals being held three hours later.

Saturday - Women's Hockey Preliminary Round

Women's hockey gets underway with a Group A prelimary round game between Sweden and Switzerland. Sweden earned the silver at the 2006 Winter Games.

Saturday - Men's 5000-meter Speed Skating

The first speed skating medal is handed out when the men's 5000-meter race takes off at noon local time.

Saturday - Men's Normal Hill Ski Jump

Both the first round and the medal round will take place on Saturday, with the events kicking off at 9:45 AM local time and running until a gold medal winner is decided.

Saturday - Women's Hockey Preliminary Round

Defending gold medal winners Team Canada kick off their Olympic defense against Slovakia at 5 PM local time.

Saturday - Men's Luge

The first runs of men's single luge will Saturday evening. Mark Grimmette leads the U.S. team.

Saturday - Men's 1500-meter Short Track Speed Skating

Apolo Anton Ohno hits the ice for the first time in the Olympics for three rounds of the men's 1500-meter short track speed skating. The preliminary heat, semifinals and medal round (roughly 7:15 PM local time) will all take place on Saturday.

Saturday - Women's Short Track Speed Skating

Both the women's 500-meter short track and 3,000-meter relay will take place on Saturday. The 500-meter is a preliminary heat while the 3,000-meter is a semifinal round.

Sunday - Women's Super Combined Downhill

The first of the day will surely garner the biggest headlines as Lindsey Vonn tests her injured leg in the Super Combined Downhill at 10 AM local time. Early in the afternoon the event hits the medal round. Will Vonn make it?

Sunday - Nordic Combined 10-kilometer Normal Round

Both the qualifying round and the medal round of the nordic combined 10-kilometer normal hill. The medal round is set to start around 2 PM local time.

Sunday - Men's Biathlon 10-kilometer Sprint

The men have their day of skiing and shooting on Sunday. Sven Fischer of Germany is the defending gold medalist. The medal race occurs at 11:15 AM local time.

Sunday - Women's Preliminary Round Hockey

The U.S. women's ice hockey team get its first taste of competition when it lines up across China in this Group B preliminary game. The U.S. team won the bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Games. The puck drops at noon local time.

Sunday - Men's Luge

Men's luge will hold both a third qualifying run and the final medal run on Sunday. The medal run is set to start at 3:10 PM local time.

Sunday - Men's Moguls

Men's moguls will all be solved on Saturday with a qualifying run at 2:30 PM local time and the medal run at 5:30 PM local time.

Sunday - Women's 3,000-meter Speed Skating

The medal round of the women's 3,000-meter speed skating will take place at 1 PM local time.

Sunday - Figure Skating - Pairs Short Program

The preliminary round of pairs short program gets underway at 4:30 PM local time

Sunday - Women's Ice Hockey Preliminary Round

Team Finland and Team Russia face off in a preliminary round game of Group B, set to begin at 4:30 PM local time. Finland lost to Team USA in the bronze medal game of the 2006 Winter Olympics.