Can you stand one last note on the Winter Olympics? My take on the whole two-week extravaganza? They saved the best for last: the Canada-U.S. gold-medal hockey game was a singular joy to behold.

Yep, the 3-2 loss in overtime was a tough one for the Americans to stomach. But both teams played their hearts out and showed just how exciting hockey can be -- even on TV -- when it's played on that level with so much passion and so much at stake.

Checking out Bill Plaschke's column today in the Sun, which you can read here, I got goosebumps reading what Canadian coach Mike Babcock told his team in the locker room before the start of the overtime period:

"He told us "This is a chance of a lifetime,'" said Canadian Duncan Keith. "He said, 'One period, one shot, who's going to be the hero?'"

Now we know who the hero was: the incomparable Sidney Crosby, dashing to the net and flicking a shot past U.S. goalie Ryan Miller some seven minutes into OT.

The gold medal went to Canada. The silver went to the U.S. But it was an Olympic competition for the ages -- and definitely the very best thing to come out of these Vancouver Games.