A GLIMPSE AT THE~CLOSING OLYMPIC CEREMONIES~A FEW PICS

*2006 GAMES COME TO A CLOSE

JUST AS THEY STARTED, THE OLYMPICS WENT OUT WITH A BEAUTIFUL SHOWING. OVERALL THE USA CAME IN SECOND WITH THE MOST MEDALS WON. GERMANY WAS FIRST WITH 29 medals, USA 25 medals, and our neighbor to the north, CANADA with 24 medals.
TURIN, Italy (Feb. 26) - Turin's Olympics, a topsy-turvy mix of marvels and misadventures, ended appropriately with a closing-ceremony Carnevale - a circus-like celebration full of clowns and acrobats, vibrant and often dreamlike.

It was a circus-like atmosphere at the closing ceremonies in Turin. Fireworks, confetti and pulsating ballads filled the air. At one point, a winged snowboarder hovered high above ground, as if by magic.
Some athletes wore red clown noses Sunday night as they swarmed across the huge stage of Olympic Stadium, waving jubilantly to a backdrop of bouncy Italian songs. Many of the 35,000 spectators donned devil and angel masks in a closing ceremony doubling as the annual Carnevale festival celebrated across Italy this weekend.
Italy had an extra reason to celebrate - a brand-new national hero as headliner of the first-ever medal ceremony included in a Winter Games' closing festivities. After an Olympics that often lacked star power, Italy's Giorgio di Centa filled the void with a final-day victory in the 50-kilometer cross-country race.
The crowd erupted in cheers and waved a sea of tiny Italian flags as di Centa and his fellow medalists strode to the podium. Helping bestow the medals was di Centa's sister, Manuela, an International Olympic Committee member and former cross-country medalist herself.
Before declaring the games closed, IOC president Jacques Rogge described the Turin Olympics as "truly magnificent."
"You have succeeded brilliantly in meeting your challenge," he told organizers. "Grazie, Torino."