The Winter Olympics are over. And the winner is... Germany. Nothing better signals a return to worldwide prominence than winning a bunch of alpine skiing competitions. Oh and the biathalon. Can't forget that. That's the odd combination of cross-country skiing and shooting. Yes, shooting. I wonder if the New York Road Runners would like to incorporate shooting into any of their races. Just to do something different.

Anyway the morning papers are all running final medal counts for the participating nations. But I feel that a better measurement is a system used by many but not officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee. That's assigning 3 points for each gold medal, 2 points for each silver and 1 point for each bronze. In case of a tie, the nation with the most golds gets the higher ranking. Using that system, here are the Top 10 from the 2006 Winter Olympics!

1- Germany (63 points)
2- United States (52 points)
3- Austria (48 points)
4- Canada (48 points)
5- Russia (44 points)
6- Norway (31 points)
7- Sweden (30 points)
8- Switzerland (28 points)
9- South Korea (26 points)
10- Italy (21 points)

Next stop - Vancouver - 2010. I wait with baited breath.