Olympic spirit all around Vancouver

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - There's an Olympic vibe everywhere you turn here with the start of the Winter Games less than three weeks away,

The many construction projects along the picturesque harbor waterfront downtown are nearly finished, including the media and information center that is both massive and striking.

The giant clock in the center of downtown is counting down the days, hours and minutes until the Games. There are Olympic signs everywhere and Olympic merchandise on sale in every store window.

One particular store was selling Team Canada hockey jerseys but had only four: Roberto Luongo, Sidney Crosby, Jarome Iginla and Jonathan Toews. That's pretty good company for the Blackhawks' captain.

Toews will wear No. 16 for Canada, with No. 19 belonging to San Jose's Joe Thornton because of seniority.

"You can feel the buzz," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "It's a good feeling around; it's definitely noticeable."

The venues are spread out with only a handful of events - including hockey, figure skating and short-track speedskating - to take place in Vancouver. There will be events in the surrounding suburbs and in the mountains in Whistler, about 90 minutes away.

The much-anticipated men's hockey tournament is at GM Place, which has undergone a bit of a facelift, such as enlarging the Canucks' dressing room for Team Canada.

However, the ice at GM Place will not be expanded to international size, making this the first Olympics played on the smaller NHL surface.