VANCOUVER, B.C. – With the final medal count in for the 2010 Winter Games, the U.S. sits at the top with 37 total. That is a record for the U.S. who has been more known for their dominance in Summer Games.

After never winning a gold on their home turf, host country Canada won the most gold medals in Vancouver tallying a total of 14. Their final gold was won Sunday afternoon on the ice in a 3-2 OT thriller when Sidney Crosby scored in overtime on U.S, goaltender Ryan Miller.

Here are the full results. See NBCOlympics.com for more detailed breakdowns.

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VANCOUVER , B.C. – The surprise victory by the United States men’s hockey team over heavily favored Canada (5-3) has sent shock waves through the host country.

In the U.S. there was euphoria where patriotism drove the ratings up past viewership for regular season as well as playoff games in the NHL (8.2 million viewers). It even beat game seven of the 2009 NHL Stanley Cup Finals.

What we saw, in essence was an NHL All-Star game. So why the resistance to watching Americans play in the course of their employment rather than their volunteer gig during the Olympics?

Easy one: hockey neophytes knew who to root for. Without a rooting interest in a pro sports game it’s hard to care. That’s why many fans like to bet on games that don’t feature their favorite team.

If the NHL is smart it will market these guys in a way to maximize the Olympic buzz and get their faces in front of a vast audience the league has yet to satisfy.

NBC should help since they hold the broadcast rights to the Stanley Cup Finals. And it should start this week.

If the USA team goes on a roll and plays for a medal in the games there should be TV spots ready to point out what teams the stars play for and highlight some good upcoming games that feature them.

 Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles. 

Vancouver, B.C. – The Opening Ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics will take place tonight in Vancouver and like many past Olympics the question remains on who will light the torch.

Many famous former athletes have a history of lighting the flame including Muhammad Ali who lit it during the opening ceremonies for the summer Olympics in Atlanta in 1996.

Another notable lighting occurred during the opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002 when the entire 1980 USA ‘Miracle on Ice’ hockey team led by their captain Mike Eruzione handled the honors.

This year, the favorite? Canada’s most respected hockey player, Wayne Gretzky and the buzz has gathered a lot of momentum over the past few days.

A recent poll conducted by the Globe and Mail found that 25 percent of Canadians want to see Gretzky, their most famous sports hero light the flame when the ceremony takes place tonight. A poll held on CTVOlympics.com has Gretzky at 41 percent.

Although the NHL’s all-time leading scorer never won a gold medal for Canada as a player, he did manage Team Canada to the top of the podium in Salt Lake in 2002.

The ceremony can be seen on NBC at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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