Amazing US Soccer Win

I can't profess to be a big women's soccer fan, but as with other sports, I try to tune in during the biggest events, when that sport is on the world's stage. Usually, I'll catch highlights here and there, monitoring my favorite player or team's progress until they either make it to the high stakes games, which I'll actually watch, or they are eliminated, after which I'll cease watching, unless there's a hottie on a remaining team or something (Hello, Sweden!).  I sure am glad I was watching Sunday morning for the US Women's match against mighty Brazil, which was for my money one of the most exciting sporting events I've ever seen.

Soccer is a game prone to incredible amounts of tension; goals are rare, especially in games of this importance, but can come at any time, requiring only a few well timed passes or a fatal defensive error. The tendency towards 0-0 or 1-0 scoreboards can make watching soccer on DVR impossible, as an impatience for scoring can compel speeding through the entire game to watch only the goals. But watching it live is another thing entirely, that unfulfillable desire to fast-forward to the good parts serving instead to heighten the tension, because you don't know when the good parts are coming, or how many there will be, or if there will be any at all. Well, there was a good part early on Sunday morning, followed by a few (referee-assisted) bad parts, before concluding with a barrage of fantastic parts that made for an exciting and dramatic finish that people will be talking about for years to come. And to think, this is only the quarterfinals. Get the Cup, ladies!

British announcers make everything seem cooler.

A Mea Culpa, and A Few Good Reads

I've determined I'd much rather read than write, which has as much to do with simple laziness as it does with the quality of what I'm reading. Sports, politics, gossip, the politics of sports, the sport of politics, gossip about politicians and athletes...you get the idea. Much of what I read is trash, worth nothing, placed before my eyes to glean one or two nuggets and then be clicked away in favor of the next page, and whatever triviality lives there. But I also come across some great things, fascinating things, that make my search worthwhile. Reading is learning, and encountering that new idea, that new thing, that makes me want to get to the end as soon as possible but also never get there is what it's all about.

Here are a few items that are worth checking out:
A courageous first person account of the author's life as an undocumented, illegal immigrant, who was brought to America as a pre-teen and has lived in fear of deportation to a land he can't even remember ever since. As Congress debates the exceedingly worthy DREAM Act for the umpteenth time, this is especially relevant.

From one of my preferred economics writers is a breakdown of the battle over the deficit currently raging in Washington. Some stark truths: to truly dent deficit, entitlements, not discretionary spending is where the $$$ is; tax increases should be on the table, as average rates are at their lowest since the 1960s; the final package should be a mixture of conservative and liberal ideas; and to slow down rampant healthcare cost inflation, Medicare shouldn't pay for treatments that don't work. For example, read this and try not to rip your hair out.

And now, for the heartwarming: a pair of recently paralyzed college baseball players still were drafted last month. Pretty cool gesture in a sporting world that's usually so cutthroat.


I love the message of hope in this video even more than I do the futuristic product. And the Bond villain accent of the CEO is pretty cool too: "There's no such word as no."



Here's a great clip from the (former) UM strength coach, talking about his work with the paralyzed brother of a UM player. It gets at the basic reason I work out so hard - "No limits".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93Jsf6znYH4&feature=BFa&list=FLPg6XHcL_5bE&index=7

Canadians Know How To Riot

This was a riot the likes of which you don't often see anywhere in the world, let alone a picturesque Canadian seaport. But when there's hockey involved, and you're on the losing side, and you're a hockey-loving Canadian who apparently react very poorly to losing, those are as good of excuses as any to set cars ablaze and generally terrorize major downtown streets. These photos might help tell the story:

Looks like that's right downtown. Geez, mob mentality is a flamable thing...as are cars, apparently.

Eerily reminiscent of the view off the shore of Manhattan after 9/11. 



Seriously? The word is this kid is a national team water polo player who has been subsequently suspended. 

Wow. Maybe Boston should've just let the Canucks win. 

As always, Taiwanese animators have a take on the situation.



But at least one lucky couple was able to find romance amid the fire, riot police and random violence.

All over a hockey game...I must say though, these Canucks put Sparty to shame when it comes to rioting.

Walking Last Week, and Great Therapy News

And here's some pretty cool news - an unprecedented development in the recovery of a C-7/T-1 paraplegic. After months of intense locomotor therapy (very similar to what I'm doing) and an electrical stimulator surgically implanted in his lower back, this guy was able to fully stand and support his own weight, and even wiggle his toes. So even with a damaged spinal cord up near his neck, stimulation to his lower cord was able to initiate movement - a huge deal. It's good to see training-based therapy validated like this. Good motivation to keep on working too.

Tressel out at tOSU - Bummer Dude!

Can't say I didn't see this coming - and it's probably a good move for the Buckeyes too, as the removal of Sweatervest may make the inevitable NCAA sanctions a wee bit softer. Believe me, the punishment is still coming though, and whether it's this year or 3-4 years down the line, they will get the penalties they so richly deserve.

It's always tough seeing seemingly squeaky clean sports heroes fall from grace, because it taints their accomplishments, and thus, your memories as well. If they are frauds, am I as well? You spent so much time and energy rooting for what turned out to be a sack of lies; it's like being robbed of a portion of your life. I'm obviously no Tressel fan, but I admired his success and the way in which he achieved it. But whether it's him, or Tiger, Barry Bonds, Pete Rose, Roger Clemens, possibly Lance Armstrong, or any of the many other fallen superstars, their legacies are irreparably damaged, along with the memories of millions of fans.

  

An interesting point....provocative, if nothing else.

The word is the timing of Tressel's resignation was timed to precede a particularly damaging report set to emerge from Sports Illustrated either Tuesday or Wednesday. I CAN NOT WAIT to see what's in that report.

Amazing photo. Big as a city bus.

The Grand Rapids lip dub - a World Record (for size, length, awesomeness, or something)!

An in-helmet look at playing quarterback. Doesn't look easy.

Memorial Day 2011

This looks like a terrific documentary - I can think of no more deserving group of people. Real life heroes, who fought and died to protect the rights and liberties we so take for granted today, are national treasures and deserve year long praise and admiration. But on the summer day designated especially for them, to honor their sacrifice for us, let's stand up and say thank you.

Adventures of Bo SuperDog Episode 13

Bo has an interesting encounter with an unfriendly, unmoving beast. 

Sooooo....right. This is awkward. Seems like May 21 has come and gone and we're still here, living our normal, everyday lives, completely Rapture-free.  You thought it was your duty to warn the several thousand Detroit Tigers fans in attendance at this spring training game that 'the end of the world is almost here'? Did God himself whisper this information into your ear while you were deep in meditation or is this whole charade just a ploy to get us to listen to 'Family Radio', whatever 'Family Radio' is? Is FamilyRadio.com one of those sites that draws people in with a wholesome, conservative sounding name, masquerades as a legitimate source of news and opinion, then - BAM - brings the crazy so swiftly and nonchalantly that unwitting passersby might actually take it as fact? Since the only time anyone's ever heard of 'Family Radio' is right now, attached to this totally realistic and well thought out marketing ploy, that sounds like the case. Unfortunately, you guys aren't the only ones peddling such a scheme. (Right, Fox?)
So, in retrospect, the decision to wear this t-shirt advertising the approaching Apocalypse seems rather foolish, right? As it's now May 22 and fire and brimstone is not raining down upon non-believers? What's that? Speak up, you're mumbling...you must have misheard the whispered date and the world will actually end next month? Good grief. Looks like you better print some new t-shirts.