Can We Have Some Real Sports Please?

I've had enough of Bass fishing, competitive eating, poker, billiards, and baseball. I can tolerate streetball because, even though it's not real basketball, some of the things those guys can do are incredible. I'm ready for some football, even preseason football will do just fine at this point. Of course, preseason football will last for a month before the NFL regular season starts September 8th. That's another reason why college football is better, it starts September 1st. Other things to look forward to in August are the PGA Championship, and the tennis version of the US Open. And of course at the end of the month we get to see parents living their lives through their kids, the event otherwise known as the Little League World Series.

But before we get there, here are some tidbits ( I love tidbits!!!):

• Thankfully, the BassMaster classic came to a close with Kevin VanDam winning. Kevin VanDam can now be referred to as the BassMaster. You can't stop Kevin VanDam, you can only hope to contain him. One of the commentators described him as a "Mini Tiger Woods". Yeeeeaaaahhhh, riiiiiight. "He executed his gameplan perfectly." What gameplan??? He went where he could catch fish and tried to catch them, the same thing I believe everyone else was trying to do. That is the idea of competitive fishing, to catch the most, right???
• In a busy golf day, Vijay Singh won the Buick Open, but it was Tiger Woods making some noise at the end of the day. After bogeying the 1st hole, falling 10 shots behind Vijay, it looked like Tiger was out of it. Not so fast my friends. On the back 9, Tiger went birdie, par, birdie, birdie, eagle, par, birdie to get within 3 of the lead going to the 17th. The 17th at the Buick is a 200-yard par 3, or one big kegger. It is probably the 2nd most raucous environment in golf (16 at TPC Scottsdale being 1st). Tiger made birdie to get within 2, and with it the best reaction in golf. In his words, he wanted to see "how loud the drunk fans could get." After making his birdie putt, he smiled, tipped his cap, then put his hand to his ear to ask for a lot of noise. When he got the roar he wanted, he smiled and nodded his approval. If you get a chance, watch SportsCenter when he does this, I could watch it all day. Tiger was very playful with the crowd today, something he's done more of this year, which has been great to see.
• In other golf, Jeong Jang won the Women's British Open. Michelle Wie finished tied for 3rd, 6 behind, one ahead of Annika Sorenstam. In the US Senior Open, Allen Doyle came out of nowhere to shoot a course record 63 to win in Dayton. You could see the Seniors get tired, most having played in Scotland last week, then having to fly over to play in their 2nd major in 2 weeks. Add in the 88-degree temperatures and you had some grumpy old men out there today, which led to some poor shots.
• In the last 24 hours, everytime I come across MTV it seems the first two episodes of the new season of Laguna Beach are on. Talk about your spoiled high schoolers who have no idea what's going on the world and content to keep it that way. These people define, at least the ones who I guess came back from college, living in the past. Who goes to the bowling alley in a limo??? They should change the name of the show to Dumb Blondes.
• While great TV shows like The Contender got the axe after one year, there are others like my personal favorite My Super Sweet 16 Birthday that are coming back for another year. Another season of spoiled kids, dumb parents, and outlandish parties. At least it'll give me something to laugh at and write about I suppose. Is it too late for me to have a birthday party where I'm carried in on a Persian rug????
• What about the week the Boy Scouts had??? On Monday, 4 Scout leaders were electrocuted after lightning struck a metal pole that helped support a dining tent. Then on Wednesday, more than 300 Scouts were treated for illnesses from the heat after waiting for a visit from President Bush, which never came due to inclement weather. I know these are two serious incidents, but aren't the Boy Scouts supposed to good at these type of things???? I mean, metal poles in the middle of summer when thunderstorms are likely to occur. Then, not having enough water on a hot summer day???? I don't know.....
• The Baseball trading deadling came and went, and surprise, surprise, there were no big trades. Is it football season yet?
• In his first tournament since the French Open, Andre Agassi won the Mercedes-Benz Cup in Los Angeles, defeating Gilles Muller in straight sets. It was great to see Andre back and healthy. He took a cortisone shot after the French, but has not taken one since, instead doing more cross-training, which seems to have helped.
  
• Lance Armstrong appears on Letterman tomorrow night, make sure you watch.

That's all for tonight, goodbye July, hello August.

Love Story

Love Story is a 1970 movie starring Ryan O'Neal (the guy who later beat up Farrah Fawcett) and Ali McGraw. In its time, Love Story broke multiple box office records as single girls, like my mom, went to the theater and saw it multiple times. The critics have mixed feelings about the movie. You have the classic, tragic love story accompanied by the famous soundtrack from Henry Mancini that some feel is over the top. It suits me just fine, especially Ali McGraw. Her long brown hair, tanned skin, and great smile. Wow.

Watching a movie like that is liable to stir up feelings, and this one certainly did, especially with my time in Oxford now down to just a handful of days. My parents did some cleaning and packing today, only leaving the big stuff for Thursday's moveout day. I can't believe it's been 5 years since I entered Symmes Hall and began the best 5 years of my life up to this point. Every day, even the first seeing one of my roommates wearing capri pants, has been a life-changing experience. The write-ups, the movie nights, the sporting events, the formals, the nights uptown, the staff developments, and the prayer services all fall into that category. In the last 5 years, we've had the Bush-Gore election, 9/11 and the recession that followed, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the 2004 election, and locally the house fire on Main St. Sometimes it's easy to forget what is going on outside of Oxford.

I've grown so much as a person, both literally and figuratively. It's simply amazing thinking about what I did in my time here. From the community service work with Alpha Phi Omega to becoming an RA for 2.5 years, getting to be a role model for many young freshmen to helping start, then leading one of the biggest organizations on campus, I sometimes have to remind myself I was able to do all of this and appreciate everything about those times. I've gone from my quiet arrival as a freshman to someone that is recognized when my name is mentioned, in a good and respectful way. Then there are the people I got to see: Rudy Giuliani, John Major, Hurricane Carter, Jay Leno, Bill Cosby, Herman Boone, Ned Yoast, and Dave Chappelle among others. The football games at Michigan, Northwestern and here at Yager, getting to watch a Top 10 football team led by the eventual NFL Rookie of the Year. There are the guys I'm still close to from freshman year to the guys from this year in the Econ program. Then there are the girls haha. From the nervous moments freshman year to the girls I kissed sophomore year to the long-distance affair junior year to the relationship senior year to almost picking up a girl at the bar this year (Do you like sports?), the Miami women, what can you say?

There are so many moments, memories, experiences, etc. that I'll take away from these 5 years. I'm fully grateful for the good and the bad because it all happens for a reason, even though it's hard to figure out why the bad is actually good at the time. If I wrote down what I did in my 5 years here and shared it with people from my high school, they would have a hard time believing I did some of those things. The basics, the foundation that makes me who I am is never going to change, I'm always going to have certain values. But I've expanded on those during my time at Miami, allowing me to become a better person. So in a way, I've had my own Love Story with Miami, one that will continue to the day I die. I'll never be able to repay Miami for what it's given me. I was going to wait and be nostalgic later in the week, but I couldn't help myself.

I'm still debating whether or not I'm going to walk across the seal after graduation. I've walked around it so many times I don't know what'll happen if I walk across it. I never kissed anyone under the Upham Arch. That'll have to wait until I meet the girl I'm going to marry hopefully one day. I'd still like a piece of Reid Hall before it gets torn down; that would be nice to have.

Alright, what else is going on:

• I watched a couple minutes of the US Open of Competitive Eating. What a waste of time. When listening to the announcers, I couldn't help but laugh, especially when the commentator says things like, "Oh, there's the Kobyashi shoulder shake," or "She has great hand speed and great jaw breakers."
  
• The 3rd round of the Buick Open outside of Detroit saw Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh paired together. Tiger didn't come close to matching his 61 from yesterday, struggling to shoot 70, which is the equivalent of 77 anywhere else. Meanwhile, Vijay shot 29 on the front 9, ending with a ho-hum 63. In the Women's British Open, Jeong Jang leads Cristie Kerr and Annika Sorenstam by 5. Paula Creamer and Michelle Wie are tied for 4th, 6 behind. Finally, in the US Senior Open in Dayton, Craig Stadler and Loren Roberts are tied for the lead after NCR country club finally played harder.
• The most overrated day in sports is the Baseball Trading Day Deadline. Seriously, how many of these trades have made the difference in winning a World Series? It's just a day that helps break up the long and tortuous baseball season. If I hear one more thing about Manny Ramirez, I'm gonna puke.
• Astronomers seem to have discovered a 10th planet in our Solar System. The "planet" is outside of Pluto and is only 9 billion miles away. I guess all astronomers out there can get paid since they've actually done something. I can't say I've ever met an Astronomy major.

Ali McGraw.

Bass Fishing is not a Sport

This weekend is the Citgo Bassmasters Classic, held in Pittsburgh this year. Basically, it's a bunch of guys going out to catch bass, and whoever's catch weighs the most after 3 days of fishing is the Bassmaster. In recent years, the Classic has become big, drawing more than 40,000 people to the weigh-ins that are held in a basketball arena. You've probably seen a clip of at least one of them. Mike Iaconelli, 2003 Classic winner, is famous for his yelling and screaming after catching a fish. You know the expression, "Act like you've been there before." Well, it doesn't apply to bass fishing. Catching a fish is like winning the lottery to these people, even though it's their job, incredibly. These guys have more logos on their shirts than even race car drivers. The Classic can be seen on the ESPN family of networks this weekend. It may be popular, but it is definitely not a sport.

What else can I find to talk about:

• Brooke Burke and her husband have split after being married for four years. Two things I didn't know: she has two kids and she's only 33 years old. I'm really crying over this breakup.
• Tonight on ESPN is the US Open of Competitive Eating. No joke. 32 competitors go through single-elimination, head-to-head competition eating: cheese fries, potato skins, salad, pasta, and if you make it to the finals, a platter with various things meant to serve 4 people. Either there are a lot of diehard Kobyiashi fans out there (the guy who can eat the most hot dogs), or there really is nothing to watch on TV this summer.
• CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement) passed the House by two votes and now goes to President Bush for his signature. You know I usually like to stay away from politics, but I don't understand why this is a bad idea. Here are things the liberal news media probably hasn't told you (courtesy of the Wall St. Journal):
• With CAFTA, American farmers will expect to increase exports to Central America by $1.5 billion.
• While most people think NAFTA has failed, it really hasn't. Trade between Mexico and the US has tripled, creating 18 million new US jobs, lowering unemployment from 6.4% to the current 5% rate.
• If you're concerned about the trade deficit, don't be. US exports to Canada and Mexico have grown by 55%, while US imports from the two countries have only grown by 20%.
• I just don't see how you can disagree with free, globally integrated markets. Our economy, and the world economy does better when countries' business cycles interact with one another, thereby eliminating the possibility of a world-wide economic depression not seen since before World War II.
  
• Don't get me started about Social Security. I'll save that for another day.
• One more political commentary. Did anyone catch House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on CNN earlier today? Her interview on Inside Politics embodied why the Democrats don't control anything right now: weak, no new ideas, and no idea where to get new ideas.
• Here are some notes on the various NBA Summer Leagues:
• The Las Vegas Summer League was won by the Cleveland Cavailers, going 6-0. The Cavs did it with defense, holding opponents to 65 points per game. Some of the notable rookie performers: Ike Diogu averaged 18 points and 8 boards for Golden State, Nate Robinson averaged 18 points for the Knicks, and Chris Paul averaged 6 assists for New Orleans.
• The Minnesota Summer League went to Houston, going 5-0. Lonny Baxter was the Rockets' main cog averaging 21 points and 6 rebounds. Also of note: Ron Artest in his return to the NBA averaged 20 points, 5 boards, and 3 assists, Nate Robinson continued his good summer play averaging 15 points and 5 assists, Andrew Bogut, #1 pick averaged 13 points and 10 boards for Milwaukee, Channing Frye had 14 points and 5 boards for the Knicks.
• And finally, in Salt Lake City, Charlotte won the League going 4-2. Sean May continued his fine play, averaging 17 points and 9 rebounds, while fellow Tar Heel Ray Felton contributed 13 points and 5 assists, tops in the league.

Finally, I pulled off an 82 at Hueston Woods today, surviving a 5 hole stretch that saw me lose 6 strokes to par. I shot a 43 on the front 9, as I was out of rhythm from not having played in 3 weeks and having to play through about 15 people. I battled to a 39 on the back, including a birdie on the toughest hole on the course, the 415 yard, par-4 10th.

Tomorrow night is bowling. Concentration, not strength.

Not a Whole Lot

This is when the dog days of summer ring the truest for me, and more so this summer. School is over with, the Tour de France is over, regular season football doesn't start for a month, and with no job news to report, there just isn't much going on. Today consisted of buying graduation gear, packing, and watching Napoleon Dynamite for the first time. I can see why people like it so much, it was pretty good. Not Top 10 worthy, but much better than Anchorman, which I thought was crude and overdone at times. I also put in a 65 minute run that included the Bonham Road trails and the long uphill trek up Rt. 73 back into Oxford. But the legs felt good and I'm looking forward to running in the Englewood 5K in a couple of weeks. Tomorrow will consist of golfing, bowling on Friday, and the parents coming down for some packing on Saturday. My dad and I possibly may go to watch 7 on 7 high school football down at the football stadium Saturday. 7 on 7 is just offensive backs and receivers vs. defensive linebackers and secondary, but we're so football hungry it doesn't matter. These are often referred to as Passing Camps. When my dad coached high school football, his team was one of the first to start the trend since they threw the ball so much.

My dad was defensive coordinator for Alter, then Wayne high school in the 70s and 80s. I remember as a little kid always looking forward to Friday nights, going to football games. Now, Wayne was not where I went to school (Northmont). I didn't know the difference at first. In fact, Wayne used to open the season against Northmont, and I rooted for Wayne, not yet realizing I was in the Northmont school district. Northmont would give Wayne a game, but Wayne had too much talent. For Friday Show and Tell, I would talk about that night's football game haha. At the game, I would do play by play in the stands. I think I embarrassed my mom when I did this. If Wayne had the game in hand in the 4th quarter, my dad would let me come down to the sideline and come on the field. Then I got to spend the rest of the night with my dad in the locker room, celebrating with the players. For a 6 year old, this was a big deal. Getting to be in the locker room afterwards, seeing all of the reporters, eating all of the potato chips and cake I wanted, with garbage cans full of pop was heaven. But it was also nice to be with my dad since during football season I didn't get to see him as much. I remember one night after Wayne beat Centerville, who at the time was quarterbacked by Kirk Herbstreit, who of course went onto Ohio St. and is now at ESPN, my dad and I stopped at Perkins for a cheeseburger. We just talked and had a good time; I'll always remember that night.

In my dad's final year, I got to be Ball Boy (I'm in 3rd grade now). I even went to some of the summer practices, so the players knew me and most of them treated me with respect. That year, I got too close to the action and actually ended up at the bottom of a pile during practice. My dad wasn't too happy about that. Since I was on the field, if you looked closely during the TV highlights, there would be me running into view at the bottom of the screen. There's a really good shot of me at the end of the year, bundled up in my winter coat and stocking hat looking on as Wayne scored a touchdown. There were two big highlights that took place for me. First, was actually talking to then Lead Sports Anchor Dave Calabro of Channel 2 at halftime of one of the games. Now, Calabro is a sportscaster in Indianapolis and is the voice of the Indy Racing League radio network I believe. He was a nice guy. Second was getting to be with the team at their practice at Welcome Stadium before their 1st round playoff game. Welcome Stadium is now basically a dump that UD still uses as their football stadium, but then, it was and felt much bigger than that. I remember being out of breath as I ran goal line to goal line. Another highlight was traveling with the team to the Centerville game, and while getting soaked and sick, Wayne won and I got to be part of a huge locker room celebration. On the highlight video, there I am, right in the middle of it with the players as they dance away.

But again, it was just great to be with my dad and getting to share his last year with him. He gave up coaching the next year to be around more, which I'm grateful for. I hope I gave him some memories where he can be proud of me. Thanks Dad.

You know, I didn't think I had much to say, but it's funny when you start writing, you never know where you're going to end up. Good night.

I Can't Help Myself

Hmmm, last night haha. I joined my fellow Econ peeps and the lovely Katy Higbee for one last get-together uptown up at Brick Street. Monday night is karaoke night at Brick Street, and yours truly got persuaded to take the stage. Not drunk, but definitely buzzing, and hey, if I was terrible, I'll be gone in a week so it won't matter. Now I've done karaoke at graduation parties and tied for 1st at the Alpha Phi Omega 2001 Valentine's Day karaoke competition while singing doo wop with some of the old Symmes crew. But I've never gotten up on stage by myself, so this was all new to me.

I decided to go with one of my all-time favorite songs, "I Can't Help Myself" by the Four Tops since I knew I could pull it off. But, I can only imagine what the crowd thought when they saw me, white boy wearing glasses, going up to try and sing a Motown classic. When that music came on, I have to say, I was feeling it. The crowd sang and danced along with me, crowding the stage as I performed. I even sang on key, or at least when I listened I was on pitch, so that was going for me as well. When the song ended, I got the biggest standing ovation I may have ever experienced in my life. As I made my way back to my friends, EVERYONE, girls and guys told me how good I was, which shocked me.

So thanks to my friends that were there last night for persuading me to go on stage last night, you've left me with a night I'll never forget.

Then today was a reality check. I've pretty much packed up my computer room and will do more packing tomorrow.

Let's see, what else can we talk about:

• Here's a perfect example why I have no respect for Bobby Bowden and Florida State football. His top two returning tacklers were both arrested in the offseason, one being tasered because he was behind a bush, and the other for domestic battery. Yet Bowden says if both are only convicted of misdemeanors, they will both not be suspended for games and will only have to do extra running or some other type of physical drill. They won't be suspended because the season opener is against Miami (FL). Now if it were against Duke, they probably would be suspended, but as you see, Bowden only cares about winning games, not integrity and discipline. Bowden may be the only coach that is a worse disciplinarian than Bob Huggins at UC.
  
• It's a busy weekend in golf with Tiger & Co. playing at the Buick Open outside of Detroit, while the women are playing their British Open at Royal Birkdale. And the Seniors are in good ol' Dayton at NCR South playing the US Senior Open.
• The Space Shuttle Discovery was finally launched, marking NASA's first venture into space since the Columbia disaster of 2003. While the countdown and launch went smoothly, cameras have detected that a piece of debris did come off the shuttle during its ascension. The debris did not appear to hit the shuttle when it came off, but nevertheless, it'll make for another interesting touchdown when the shuttle returns in 12 days.
• I think I forgot to mention yesterday that John Kerry paid the Tour de France a visit Saturday, getting a ride in the race director's car that followed Lance Armstrong. While Kerry professes to be a big fan of Armstrong, the same cannot be said of Armstrong since he's a friend of President Bush. Notice that Kerry rode in the race director's car, not the Discovery team car where Robin Williams and SI's Rick Reilly have ridden. Two words for you John Kerry: "Go Home!!!!"

That's all for tonight, catch ya tomorrow.

Done playing Defense, back to the Run N Gun Offense

It's fair to say a lot has happened in the last week haha. I'm back in Oxford for a little more than a week as I'm done with school and am playing the job market full-time. I'll be moving back home until something happens, which could be very soon, but again, you never know. So now, I'll take you through the last week....

Wednesday was all about putting the final touches on my presentation and getting the apartment ready for my Aunt and Uncle from Lafayette, IN and their 4 kids, who stayed the night. I know you might be thinking, "Why did he want such a distraction before arguably the biggest day of his life?" I wanted them here because I never get to see them, and I knew I would stop constantly thinking about my defense, which is exactly what happened. We went out for Mexican, I showed them the campus, watched a movie with the kids, and had a nice evening. That surreal feeling of it all coming to an end was hovering all night, especially when we were uptown and going around campus. It felt like this was the end, but I knew I still had to do my thing the next day.

Thursday was the big day. I slept on my couch and got enough sleep to function. When I woke up, I learned London had been bombed and China had revalued their currency. China revaluing their currency on the same day as my defense made me laugh because I mentioned China several times in my defense. So after some morning adjustments, I was ready, waiting for my time. About 30 minutes before leaving for my defense, Ernst & Young called to let me know I would be interviewing with them next week. I went from really nervous to really excited, very intent on doing a good job. With my parents, my Uncle from Lafayette who helped me out tremendously with the paper, and my Aunt from Montana as a cheerleader, I defended my thesis in front of 4 professors. Despite going 10 minutes longer than I should've, I nailed it and successfully completed the Miami Economics Master's program. Afterward, the professors told me I had done a good job and were impressed with my work ethic throughout the year. After taking some pictures at the soon to be demolished Reid Hall, it was time to head home, mission accomplished. It was one of those days that you couldn't write a better script for, everything went as well as I could hope for, and then some.

The real reason family were in town was Friday's 80th birthday celebration for my Grandma. At our house, we hosted about 40 people for lunch, then grilled out for dinner for the family. My Grandma had a great time and showed enthusiasm I hadn't seen for a little while, so that was really good to see. Saturday was more family time, as we all went to breakfast, church, and dinner. But in between while some went to the Air Force Museum, I went shopping, yes I chose shopping with my mom and Aunt. I chose shopping because I was looking to buy a new suit, which I did at Brooks Brothers. It's black and it's sharp let me tell ya. Yesterday was more family time, but I'm glad things have settled down for a little bit so I can catch my breath. It has finally sunk in my days at Miami and Oxford are basically done. All that's left to do is move out and get a job. The best 5 years of my life (up to this point) have been the last 5 here at Miami, and it's weird thinking my life will never center around this university ever again.

And while all of this was happening, Lance Armstrong ended his professional cycling career with one last victory in the individual time trial Saturday to put the exclamation point on his 7th Tour De France title, defeating Ivan Basso by 4 minutes and 40 seconds. It was great to see Lance come up with one last big effort Saturday as he held off Jan Ullrich by 23 seconds in the time trial. It's a shame Ullrich suffered 2 crashes early in the Tour, he may have helped make Armstrong's last tour a more memorable one. You could see Ullrich become more of Armstrong's equal as the Tour went on, but he had already lost too much time to threaten Lance. Lance's 3 kids came up to the podium with him one last time to celebrate the victory, and the flag of Texas flew at the hotel for one last night. Armstrong is not the greatest cyclist or athlete to ever enter the sports world, but he may be the greatest sportsmen and competitor ever. Who else comes back from cancer to win arguably the world's toughest sporting event 7 straight years??? No one will be able to match the competitive fire and drive Armstrong had, nor will anyone be able to harness anger and rage into positive energy as Armstrong did. I hope Armstrong sticks to his word and doesn't come back; we don't need another failed comeback attempt in the world of sports.

Well, just a few more days to savor Oxford. There will be no doubt graduation in 3 weeks' time will be emotional, more so if I'm able to receive a job offer. When I graduated from high school, I was excited to be leaving and coming to Miami. When I received my bachelor's degree, it was a little more emotional because more was invested in getting through undergrad. This graduation will be emotional though. This degree required a lot more time and hard work and has put me in a position not as many have been able to reach. There will be probably at least a fist pump after I receive my diploma August 19th hehe.

I Can't Believe I'm Doing This

I have nothing else to do. I spent close to 3 hours practicing my presentation. I have cleaned the apartment for my aunt and uncle and their family who arrive tomorrow for this weekend's activities. So I'm taking a step out of my comfort zone and heading to Country Night uptown in a little bit. For those of you who know me, country music and I have never gotten along. I just can't relate to it, can't get into it, etc., etc. But I'm giving it one more try tonight as part of trying to get rid of a little stress buildup. So this should be interesting.

Yesterday, I was worried my thesis defense wouldn't last that long. After going through it today, I'm no longer worried about its length. It will be interesting to see how it goes. I'll practice again tomorrow, but it's mostly going to be reading from my thesis itself, so the main thing is making it all flow together.

The Tour completed its trek through the high mountains by climbing out of the Pyrennes, finishing in the familiar town of Pau. Four men stayed away with Oscar Periero winning the sprint at the end, making up for his 2nd place on Sunday. There was no change at the top, Lance Armstrong is in control. He donned his 78th Yellow Jersey today, which now ties him with "The Badger" Bernard Hinault for 2nd most of all time. The Badger was known for his tenaciousness, he was the original Boss of the Peloton.

The Frenchman won 5 Tours, his 5th coming at the expense of American Greg LeMond. LeMond and Hinault were teammates from 1984-86. In 1985, Hinault held the race lead, LeMond was 2nd. Hinault crashed while descending a mountain, then fell behind up the finishing climb on that particular stage. LeMond had a chance to take the lead, but the team director called him back to take care of Hinault. LeMond was furious, but waited for Hinault. Hinault won his 5th Tour with LeMond a close 2nd. The next year, because LeMond had helped him, Hinault pledged he would help LeMond win the Tour. But in the early stages, it was Hinault who took the lead, leaving LeMond furious and confused again. LeMond proved to be the stronger rider, taking the lead in the mountains, winning what would be the 1st of 3 Tours.

Well, better put my dancin' boots on, I gotta get ready to Boot Scootin' Boogie!

Deeee-fense!!!!!

Well, the week I've pointed to since the beginning of May has finally arrived. Thursday I will defend my paper and finish my education at Miami University. Wow, I can't believe I just wrote those words. Yes, graduation isn't until August, but this really is it. One more chance to stand up in front of professors and family and show what I have. This is the last band concert, basketball game type event I'll have most likely. So Thursday I get to be in the spotlight one last time, and I'm looking forward to making the most of it.

Today was the 2nd Rest Day in the Tour, so I actually got to sleep in (10 hours, feeling good). Tomorrow is the last day in the mountains. The Category 1 Col de Marie-Blanc and the Above Category Col D'Aubisque await the riders before the latter third of the course descends into Pau. Lance Armstrong would tell you yourself that the race isn't over by a long shot. This week is tough with the undulating terrain of the Massif Central and the final time trial on Saturday.

Tiger Woods won his 2nd major of the year and 10th of his career, holding steady while Jose Maria Olazabal and our favorite Monty faded on the last 9 holes. It's going to be hard for Tiger to match his 2000-02 form, but he's pretty close. I don't like his chances at Baltusrol for the PGA Championship. The course is shorter and only has 2 Par 5s, which gives more players a chance. Of course, who's going to beat him?

Finally, congratulations to my buddy Brad who is engaged. That will make 2 HawkHeads married in 2 years. It's so weird seeing good friends you knew through college getting married. But it's exciting, and I can't wait for the wedding.

True Grit

I think True Grit is actually the name of a John Wayne Western, but today it was in the form of Lance Armstrong. I mentioned last week the way to attack Lance and his team was to take control of the race before Discovery did, then attack and isolate Armstrong until he can't respond to the attacks. Finally, someone listened to me. T-Mobile, the team of Ullrich, Vinokourov, and Kloden, attacked on the lower slopes of the Port de Pailheres, ridding Armstrong of his team, making him vulnerable. But Armstrong responded like the true champion he is, not panicking and answering every attack. Then, it was Armstrong who sprinted to the top of Ax-3-Domaines, finishing 2nd to Georg Totschnig, who had been part of an early breakaway group of 10. Totschnig left his breakaway group on the Pailheres, and started the final climb 5 minutes ahead of the Armstrong group. Slowly, the Armstrong group became just Armstrong, helped by attacks from Ivan Basso and Ullrich, as they looked to improve their overall standing. The victims of Basso and Ullrich's attacks were Michael Rasmussen (still 2nd, but now 1:41 behind), and Christophe Moreau (fell from 3rd to 10th). At the end of the climb, it was just Armstrong, Basso, and Ullrich together, but Armstrong sprinted the last 1500 meters to send a message to Basso and Ullrich that he was in command.

Tomorrow is the "Queen Stage" of the Tour. This is what the riders face: Col de Portet Aspet (Category 2, 6K long @ average road grade of 6.9%), Col de Mente (Category 1, 7K @ 8.6%), Col du Portillon (Category 1, 8.4K @ 7.3%), Col de Pereysourde (Category 1, 13K @ 7%), Col de Val-Louron Azet (Category 1, 7.4K @ 8.3%), and finally the ascent to Pla D'Adet (Above Category, 10.3K @ 8.3%). I will be very surprised if Lance does not win tomorrow's stage. This is the stage of all stages, the one he's circled on his calendar since the route came out. In addition, the Portet Aspet is where former teammate Fabio Casartelli crashed and died during the 1995 Tour. Everytime the Tour has climbed the Portet Aspet, Armstrong has won that particular stage. Make sure you watch tomorrow. Coverage on Outdoor Life starts at 7:30am.

In the 3rd round of the British Open, Tiger Woods did not run away with the tournament as many, including myself, thought he would. Paired with Colin Montgomerie, his pairing turned into a Ryder Cup-like atmosphere, the St. Andrews crowd turning partisan to support the Scotsman. When Monty got within one shot of Tiger, the Old Course went crazy, feeling more like the Belfry. But Tiger remained steady, shooting 71, holding onto a 2 shot lead over Jose Maria Olazabal. Monty, who if it were match play would've beaten Tiger 1 UP, is 3 behind along with Retief Goosen. Other notables include Sergio Garcia 5 behind, John Daly 6 behind, and Phil Mickelson 9 behind. I would be shocked if Tiger doesn't win tomorrow.

I did manage to get 8 hours of sleep last night, so I'm feeling a lot better today. I think it also helped that it was a little less humid last night, which my sinuses liked. It's hard to believe I only have 3 weeks left in my Oxford apartment. Again, my thesis is done, now it's just a matter of getting the logisitics in order so I can defend it and formally finish.

That is all for tonight.

The good: The interview. The bad: Sinus Infection

Well, I have a lot to update tonight so I'll get right to it. Wednesday was my introduction to the corporate world with my interview at KeyBank in Key Tower, Downtown Cleveland. To sum up, I feel I nailed it. Despite not sleeping well due to the sinus infection I unknowingly had, I stepped up and dominated the interview. I knew things were going well when: each mini-session went long, the many times I had my interviewers laughing and smiling at my answers, and finally when I was asked to come back after lunch and talk with a person I wasn't originally supposed to at the start of the day. Granted, the feelings I have about my performance do not guarantee I will get an offer, but for me personally, knowing that in arguably the biggest moment of my life with the most riding on it that I was capable of and turned in that kind of performance, that in itself means a lot. So many times before in moments similar to these, I was "happy to be there". This time, I was happy to be there, but I wanted to take advantage of it as well, and I feel I did that.

The people at Key were very kind and gracious. Two things I took away from their working environment were leadership and energy. They place a great value on keeping their talented employees in the firm, grooming them for future leadership opportunities. Also, you could feel the positive energy in the room. Everyone was passionate about working for Key and their respective jobs, which says a lot about the work culture. I was very impressed with what I saw.

Here's a funny moment. After I finished, I had to use the restroom, and the only one on the ground floor was in the Marriott, which shares Key Tower with KeyBank. I'm still in my suit (looking sharp), and as I walk through, I happen to pass some Marriott employees who all greet me with, "Good afternoon, sir," and "How are you today, sir?" I could barely contain my laughter, after all, I was just interviewing. But, I can't wait to get back into the corporate world and experience that on a daily basis hehehe. The whole trip was everything I expected and hoped for. I felt very comfortable among the working crowd and am not intimidated at all. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to experience this, hopefully this is just the beginning.

Oh, and one more thing. The girls in their business suits and/or business casual clothing: WOOOWWWWW!!!!! Another reason I can't wait to get back in that environment hehe.

Tomorrow begins the final week of the Tour de France (very sad) and the first of 3 days in the Pyrennes. Today offered an opportunity for the sprinters to steal the glory one last time before the latter part of next week. Despite a breakaway containing American Chris Horner and Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel that stayed away until the final kilometer, Robbie McEwen won his 3rd stage of the tour, beating Stuart O'Grady to the line at the finish in Montpelier. Horner was a member of the original breakaway group of 5 that was away most of the day. Chavanel joined them with around 10 kilometers to go, then attacking again, with Horner only able to follow. They were agonizingly close to winning the stage, holding off the field until the very end.

Lance Armstrong still holds a 38 second edge over Michael Rasmussen. Christophe Moreau is 3rd, 2:34 behind, followed by: Ivan Basso, 2:40; Santiago Botero 3:48; Levi Leipheimer 3:58; Francisco Mancebo 4:00, Jan Ullrich 4:02, and Andreas Kloden and Floyd Landis 4:16. One name missing is the young Alejandro Valverde, who had to quit the Tour with a knee injury. He banged his knee against his bike during the team time trial and has progressively gotten worse, despite his win at Courchevel over Armstrong just earlier this week.

Tomorrow, the race starts in Agde and is mainly flat (4 small climbs in the first half) until the end. First, the riders must climb the Port de Pailheres, a climb 15 kilometers where the average gradient of the road is 8.1%!!!!! Then, after a short descent comes the final ascent up to Ax-3-Domaines, a climb of 8 kilometeres where the average gradient is 8.3%!!!! The kicker is, Sunday is harder, hahahaha. Be sure to tune in tomorrow, it's a huge day. Even though it seems Lance is in control, many things can happen. It's also entertaining to watch the Basque cycling fans come out in their orange shirts and cheer on the riders while they climb the Pyrennes. I wouldn't expect Armstrong to give a huge effort until Sunday, where there are 4 Category 1 climbs before the final, "above category climb" to Pla D'Adet, but if he sees others in trouble, he'll go for it tomorrow.

Today, the golf world said its final goodbyes to the greatest it has ever seen, Jack Nicklaus. It is amazing that he not only won 18 majors, but finished 2nd 19 times also. It will be hard for Tiger Woods to match those records. Yes, he has won 9 majors, but I believe he only has 2 2nds (correct me if I'm wrong, '02 PGA and '05 US Open). Anyway, what a sight it was to see all of the people straining to catch a glimpse of Nicklaus as he finished his 2nd round today at St. Andrews, the birthplace of golf. The last 3 holes of St. Andrews run up against the town, namely the clubhouse, the club's hotel and other apartment buildings and businesses. There were people looking out every window, hanging off railings, even watching from the roofs of the buildings. The players who had already finished their 2nd round also came out to catch a glimpse of the greatest ever finish. When Nicklaus failed to chip in short of the 17th green, it was clear he wouldn't make the weekend cut, which disappointed everyone. But in true Nicklaus fashion, he almost drove the 18th green, putted onto the green, then made a 14-footer for birdie on his last competitive hole. Not being that old, I didn't get to see Nicklaus in his prime, but I did get to see that unforgettable final round of the '86 Masters where he charged on the back 9 to win. From then on, I've always matched the Masters, and have slowly become an all-around golf fan. Thanks Jack for all of the memories.

Meanwhile, Tiger Woods holds a four shot lead at the halfway point over Colin Montgomerie. Among those 5 behind are Jose Maria Olazabal and Vijay Singh, 6 behind are Sergio Garcia and Fred Couples, 8 behind are Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els. It should be an interesting day with Tiger and Monty paired together. I have to admit, part of me would like to see Monty do well, especially after the London terrorist bombings of a week ago. A Monty win would provide the people of Great Britain a huge boost. But I'll root for Tiger because Monty is a cheater. I will never forget his "improved lie". I'll root for Phil, as I always do, then Tiger. But Tiger seems to be in command, especially after shooting a bogey-free 67 today.

Michelle Wie made it all the way to the Pub Links quarterfinals where she ran into Clay Ogden of BYU. Ogden never let her get into the match, birdieing 4 of the first 5 holes to take an early 4 hole lead. Wie never got closer than that, losing 5 and 4 as Ogden put on a short-game clinic, saving par from everywhere. I still think she needs to play more tournaments, like these, against girls her own age. But her winning 3 matches exceeded my expectations and shows the experience she's gathered the last couple of years is paying off. Michelle heads to France to play in the Evian Masters before finishing off her summer schedule at the Women's British Open.

Another quick couple of things to mention:

• I will not be one of the people going to buy the new Harry Potter book tonight. Nothing against Harry Potter, it's just not my thing.
• The Space Shuttle Columbia will not take off until early next week at the latest, having originally supposed to launch Wednesday. This is NASA's first launch since the older version of Columbia broke apart while returning to Earth 2 years ago, killing its crew. I am one of those people who have questions about the longevity of the space program. It seems there isn't much else to do, maybe it's time for the space programs of each nation to come together to form one joint space program. After all, NASA was created to rival the Soviet space program and its quest for the Moon.
  

Finally ( I can't believe I almost forgot to mention this), what made Wednesday so incredible was my health. I spent the night at home home and was forced to the couch after coughing in bed, repeatedly. I went to the doctor on Thursday and was told I have a sinus infection. The only problems I have are the coughing spasms I have at night, which keep me awake. So, basically I'm fine, except I haven't slept a lot in the last week, so I'm pretty tired. Now that I'm on antibiotic, hopefully that does the trick.

And that is all. Thanks to everyone for their support this past week, it means a lot.

I could get used to this

A special Cleveland edition of the blog tonight coming to you live from the Holiday Inn Express in Downtown Cleveland, just about a block away from Public Square. I left Oxford around 1:30 and arrived here at 5:30, but didn't check-in until 6 as I searched in vain for the hotel's parking garage. I found a garage, not the correct one, but it's all right, I made it. I'm up on the 8th floor in a HUGE, corner room with a king-size bed and all the amenities. Yes, there is the ever crucial Gideon bible.

I find myself looking out the window at the skyscrapers around me, down Euclid Avenue with its many stoplights and street lights, pinching myself that I'm in the big city. Tonight was all about pinching myself, then getting over it and establishing a feeling of belonging in this environment. I haven't been to downtown Cleveland in a long time, so I took some time to walk around. The building I'll be interviewing in is one of the tallest in the city, if not the tallest. I had dinner in the Tower City Centre, then browsed through a couple of the shops before coming back.

So the "ooh and awe" period is over. It's one thing to be grateful to have the opportunity to be in this situation, which I am. But it's another thing to take full advantage of it, which I aim to do all morning long. 7:15 wakeup call, continental breakfast, then it's gametime.

In the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong and Team Discovery put all the doubters to rest by dominating today's stage that took the riders from Grenoble to Courchevel. The only thing that got in the way of Lance and the boys was the farmers' protest that delayed the start of the stage. After finishing the descent of the first climb, Discovery pushed the pace, each rider doing his equal share of the work, which continued as the ascent of Courchevel began. As each Discovery rider pushed the pace a little more once it became his turn, the other riders popped and cracked. The last Discovery rider to help Lance was the young Yaroslav Popovych, who got hit by a car on the previous descent. You wouldn't have known it seeing Popovych put the hammer down and sprint up the mountain, forcing guys like Alexander Vinokourov, Jan Ullrich, Floyd Landis, and Levi Leipheimer to fall off the pace.

Eventually, it came down to Armstrong, Michael Rasmussen, Alejandro Valverde, and Francisco Mancebo. When Mancebo rides, he looks as if he has a strained neck and is always in pain. But that's his style, and he used it to help Valverde, a future Tour star, to stay with Armstrong. Armstrong went for the sprint win, but Valverde had a little bit more at the end and took the stage, Lance getting 2nd. But Armstrong got what he wanted, the yellow jersey and big gains over most of his rivals. He now leads Rasmussen by 38 seconds, Ivan Basso is now 2:40 behind, Levi Leipheimer 3:58, Jan Ullrich 4:02, and Vinokourov now more than 6 minutes behind. Tomorrow is another dramatic stage in the Alps, with climbs over the monstrous Col de la Madeline, Col de la Telegraphe, and the highest point of the Tour, the Col du Galibier, which takes the riders up to an altitude of 2645 meters, before plunging into Briancon for the finish.

I had a meeting with my thesis advisor this morning (the thesis is done!!!!), so just in case I missed the final climb, I was recording. I got back to see most of it live, but when I saw what was happening, I kept the tape running. I will watch this stage a lot over the next days because it was textbook Lance Armstrong. Again, when people began to doubt him and his team, he translated that anger and frustration into another amazing performance. I can't believe he's retiring in a week and a half.

What else can I blabber about:

• Michelle Wie shot a 72 in the 2nd round of stroke play in the US Men's Public Links, good enough to finish in the top 64, qualifying for match play. Out of the 64, she finished tied for 49th after opening with 76 yesterday.
• I did watch last night's Home Run Derby, and was amazed by the number of home runs hit. Comerica Park is not a hitter's park, yet it looked very small last night. Tonight's All-Star Game (yawwwwwwn).
• Unfortunately, while I was looking for something to watch on TV, I stumbled upon the Real World. This particular moment, I caught the part when one of the roommates said, "he thought it would be harder to serve in jail than serve in Iraq." He later told the roommate, who was an Army nurse during the Iraq war, that "she didn't really serve" or something like that. Just another example of someone that doesn't appreciate the sacrifices the men and women of our military make for us everyday. They are the true heroes, who show on a daily basis what courage really means.

Song of the night: "I Can Feel It, Coming In the Air Tonight", Phil Collins.

I could get used to this

A special Cleveland edition of the blog tonight coming to you live from the Holiday Inn Express in Downtown Cleveland, just about a block away from Public Square. I left Oxford around 1:30 and arrived here at 5:30, but didn't check-in until 6 as I searched in vain for the hotel's parking garage. I found a garage, not the correct one, but it's all right, I made it. I'm up on the 8th floor in a HUGE, corner room with a king-size bed and all the amenities. Yes, there is the ever crucial Gideon bible.

I find myself looking out the window at the skyscrapers around me, down Euclid Avenue with its many stoplights and street lights, pinching myself that I'm in the big city. Tonight was all about pinching myself, then getting over it and establishing a feeling of belonging in this environment. I haven't been to downtown Cleveland in a long time, so I took some time to walk around. The building I'll be interviewing in is one of the tallest in the city, if not the tallest. I had dinner in the Tower City Centre, then browsed through a couple of the shops before coming back.

So the "ooh and awe" period is over. It's one thing to be grateful to have the opportunity to be in this situation, which I am. But it's another thing to take full advantage of it, which I aim to do all morning long. 7:15 wakeup call, continental breakfast, then it's gametime.

In the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong and Team Discovery put all the doubters to rest by dominating today's stage that took the riders from Grenoble to Courchevel. The only thing that got in the way of Lance and the boys was the farmers' protest that delayed the start of the stage. After finishing the descent of the first climb, Discovery pushed the pace, each rider doing his equal share of the work, which continued as the ascent of Courchevel began. As each Discovery rider pushed the pace a little more once it became his turn, the other riders popped and cracked. The last Discovery rider to help Lance was the young Yaroslav Popovych, who got hit by a car on the previous descent. You wouldn't have known it seeing Popovych put the hammer down and sprint up the mountain, forcing guys like Alexander Vinokourov, Jan Ullrich, Floyd Landis, and Levi Leipheimer to fall off the pace.

Eventually, it came down to Armstrong, Michael Rasmussen, Alejandro Valverde, and Francisco Mancebo. When Mancebo rides, he looks as if he has a strained neck and is always in pain. But that's his style, and he used it to help Valverde, a future Tour star, to stay with Armstrong. Armstrong went for the sprint win, but Valverde had a little bit more at the end and took the stage, Lance getting 2nd. But Armstrong got what he wanted, the yellow jersey and big gains over most of his rivals. He now leads Rasmussen by 38 seconds, Ivan Basso is now 2:40 behind, Levi Leipheimer 3:58, Jan Ullrich 4:02, and Vinokourov now more than 6 minutes behind. Tomorrow is another dramatic stage in the Alps, with climbs over the monstrous Col de la Madeline, Col de la Telegraphe, and the highest point of the Tour, the Col du Galibier, which takes the riders up to an altitude of 2645 meters, before plunging into Briancon for the finish.

I had a meeting with my thesis advisor this morning (the thesis is done!!!!), so just in case I missed the final climb, I was recording. I got back to see most of it live, but when I saw what was happening, I kept the tape running. I will watch this stage a lot over the next days because it was textbook Lance Armstrong. Again, when people began to doubt him and his team, he translated that anger and frustration into another amazing performance. I can't believe he's retiring in a week and a half.

What else can I blabber about:

• Michelle Wie shot a 72 in the 2nd round of stroke play in the US Men's Public Links, good enough to finish in the top 64, qualifying for match play. Out of the 64, she finished tied for 49th after opening with 76 yesterday.
• I did watch last night's Home Run Derby, and was amazed by the number of home runs hit. Comerica Park is not a hitter's park, yet it looked very small last night. Tonight's All-Star Game (yawwwwwwn).
• Unfortunately, while I was looking for something to watch on TV, I stumbled upon the Real World. This particular moment, I caught the part when one of the roommates said, "he thought it would be harder to serve in jail than serve in Iraq." He later told the roommate, who was an Army nurse during the Iraq war, that "she didn't really serve" or something like that. Just another example of someone that doesn't appreciate the sacrifices the men and women of our military make for us everyday. They are the true heroes, who show on a daily basis what courage really means.

Song of the night: "I Can Feel It, Coming In the Air Tonight", Phil Collins.

Oh, nothing big, just an interview and my thesis defense coming up....

Well, it's now officially crunchtime here. Tuesday afternoon, I'll head up to Cleveland for my interview with KeyBank, which will be Wednesday morning. I've decided to splurge and stay right in downtown, so I'm looking forward to that. So if you're in the Cleveland area and you're free Tuesday night, I'd love to meet up with you for a little bit. It's back home to relax Wed. night, then here to Oxford Thursday to get ready for the thesis defense on the 21st.

I picked a bad week to not sleep well, which has caused me to become rundown and contract a little cold. It's just a nuisance, I still did my normal workout today, but I sound very nasal. At least I get a couple days to rest up for the interview. I'm confident I'll beat this quickly.

The Tour de France has reached its first rest day, so I don't know what I'm going to do with myself since there will be no live racing. The only good thing about no live racing is I won't get up earlier than normal to watch, helping me sleep in, hopefully. With 9 stages complete, Jens Voigt is the leader of the race after escaping with Christophe Moreau during today's stage. Lance Armstrong was more than happy to give up the yellow jersey to a rider who doesn't have much of a chance of winning the Tour. Lance is now 3rd, 2:18 behind. By giving up the jersey, Lance and his team don't have the pressure to defend it, and Lance now has more freedom to go on the attack. Plus, Voigt rides for CSC, the team of overall contender Ivan Basso. Usually, teammates don't attack one another, so Basso is now in a precarious position for the next couple of days. Michael Rasmussen won the stage, solidifying his lead in the King of the Mountains competition.

During tomorrow's rest day, all of the riders will fly down to Grenoble where Tuesday's stage will start, the first of 3 days in the Alps. Usually, Armstrong likes to make a statement on the first day in the big mountains. The mountain-top finish at Courchevel will give him his chance.

One thing I forgot to mention Friday was the International Olympic Committee's decision to exclude baseball and softball from the Olympic program, beginning with the 2012 Olympics. Baseball hasn't really caught on since it's Olympic introduction in 1988. Major league baseball does not allow players to compete in the Olympics since they take place during the regular season, so the Olympics don't bring the best baseball players in the world together. Softball is a different story. It is now one of the fastest growing sports globally, especially here in the US. The only explanation for softball being eliminated is the US dominance of the sport I think. In the last Olympics, the US women went undefeated, only giving up 1 run in the entire tournament. 1 run?!?!?!?!

Baseball and softball are gone, but yachting, synchronized swimming, and rhythmic gymnastics are still Olympic sports. Go figure.

My heart goes out to the people who live on the Gulf of Mexico coast. Not even a year after Hurricane Ivan hit land, Hurricane Dennis reared its ugly head on the same area. Dennis was a strong Category 3 hurricane when it came ashore, causing flooding up and down the Gulf coast. What's really discomforting is that it's very early in hurricane season. It's a couple of more months usually before a hurricane like this develops. Dennis will most likely continue to drop heavy amounts of rain in its path, which includes Ohio in a couple of days.

This week is the Baseball All-Star game, which begs the question: How long until football starts????

Alright, time to clean the bathroom, one of my favorite things to do.

Song of the day: "Listen to your heart", DHT

Tomorrow, it gets a little more serious

For the main contenders of the Tour de France, the race in effect begins tomorrow with a trip into the Vosges Mountains. Today though was for the sprinters as the race took the riders from Luneville, then across the German border, finishing in Karlsruhe. Coming into today, a German rider had never won a Tour stage when the race finished on German soil. Fabian Wegmann tried his best to end that string, but he was gobbled up by the field with around 15 miles to go. The sprinters took it from there, with Robbie McEwen getting his 2nd stage win. Of course, what would a day in the Tour be without 2 more crashes. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt.

At around 7pm, it looked like history was going to be made in the Quad Cities. Michelle Wie was ahead of the cut line by one stroke with four holes to play. But she proceeded to play the next two holes double bogey-bogey to finish 2 behind the cut line and shoot an even-par 71 for the day. Wie's undoing came on one of the easier holes on the course, a short 350-yard Par 4, which she bogeyed yesterday. Instead of playing safe off the tee with an iron, she hit 3-wood, which ran through the fairway and into a fairway bunker. This was a big mental mistake by her and her caddy. She could've hit 3-iron and still had only 120 yards into the green. She drew a bad lie in the fairway bunker, causing her to hit into the greenside bunker, which led to the double. Visibly shaken by what took place, she hit a really poor 4-iron on the par3 7th, missing the green badly. Credit to Wie for finishing with 2 strong pars, but again, you could see the pressure get to her down the stretch. Yes, she's only 15, but she's going to have to get used to dealing with pressure like this. I still think she should play more events against girls her own age, learn how to win, and learn how to deal with the pressure. If she never learns how to deal with the pressure, she could be setting herself up for disaster later on.

I went and saw "War of the Worlds" today, and it was very good, but the ending was very abrupt. Suddenly, the movie ended. I'm going to have to read the book to see how it ended, but I was looking for more in the ending. Dakota Fanning, the little girl, is outstanding.

From Triumph to Tragedy

It's hard to imagine what the people of London have gone through in the last 24 hours. Just yesterday, they celebrated their winning of the 2012 Summer Olympics, their first Olympic Games since 1948. We celebrated with them because we got to bash the French once again, specifically President Jacques Chirac for the STUPID comments he made about the British.

But today, that mood changed as 4 explosions, 3 in the London subway, the other on a double-decker bus, rocked London rushhour, killing 40 and injuring 300. Today reminded us why we are fighting terrorism. Yes, it's not going to be easy, and there may never be a finality to the battle, but we have to keep fighting terror. Even though you may not agree, I feel we have the right man for the job leading the fight. He's not the brightest guy, but he's tough and full of resolve, willing to battle, unlike his predecessor who would launch a cruise missile and run. So keep the people of London in your prayers tonight if you will.

Meanwhile, it was a dramatic day of racing in the Tour de France. Stage 6 took the riders from Troyes to Nancy, a ride of 124 miles. The weather continued to play a role as it rained once again, making the roads very treacherous. Four riders got away, trying to take advantage of the rolling terrain, which favors long breakaways. The breakaway led by as much as 5 minutes before the sprinters' teams looked to bring the race back together by picking up the pace. The breakaway still had a 90 sec. lead when they began the last hill climb of the day with less than 12 miles left. There, Christophe Mengin, a member of the breakaway, attacked, looking for the victory on his home soil. Behind, helped by another tailwind, the main field charged up the last climb, causing the field to split. The big men of the Tour: Armstrong, Ullrich, Vinokourov, Leipheimer, Basso, etc., all came to the front to avoid being left behind. Mengin desperately tried to hold off the field in the last 9 miles, but the field closed in, absolutely flying behind. Then, Vinokourov attacked with Mengin in sight, going for the victory and some time on Armstrong.

Then, in the final right-hand turn, a sharp 90-degree turn, Mengin lost his back wheel on the slick white crosswalk paint and crashed into the barriers. Vinokourov and Lorenzo Bernucci, who followed Vino, went around, staying upright. Right behind came the main field and the sprinters, and they too crashed into the barriers. The big names did not go down, but the sprinters were out of it, and it was Bernucci winning the Stage. When there is a crash like that in the last kilometer, everyone gets the same time, unless you attacked earlier. Vinokourov, because he finished 2nd and had attacked before the crash, picked up 12 seconds for finishing 2nd in addition to his 7 second margin over the main field, which puts him in 3rd, 1:02 behind Lance. Just another day in the Tour de France.

What else can we talk about:

• Michelle Wie opened with a 1-under 70 in the first round of the PGA Tour John Deere Classic. She is 7 off the lead, tied for 73rd. The low 70 plus ties make the cut. Last year the cut was 2-under, so Wie needs to shoot at least another 70 to have a chance of making the weekend.
• I was unconscious out at Hueston Woods today. Playing from the blues (6700 yards), I was Even par through 6 after making a birdie at 6. I ended up shooting 39 on the front, then coming home with 40 on the back, including another birdie at 17 to ensure my breaking of 80. I'm still in shock, namely because my previous best at the course was 86, with my best 9 being 42. I hit 7 fairways, 7 greens, and had 30 putts, pretty good stats for me. And some of those missed fairways and greens were close misses, so they could've been better. I'm pleased my best round of the year could come at such a tough course.
• Going back to the Olympics, here's my recommendation for where the 2016 Games should be: Indianapolis. At first, you may ask, why not New York?
  
• Indianapolis has hosted the Pan American Games, a smaller version of the Olympics.
  
• They wouldn't have to build many new facilities. For example: Basketball-RCA Dome, Conseco Fieldhouse, Gymnastics-RCA Dome, Baseball-Victory Field, Soccer-a new Olympic Stadium, Lafayette, Chicago, Cincinnati, South Bend (imagine Olympic Soccer in Notre Dame Stadium?), Tennis-Indy tennis center, Swimming, IUPUI aquatic center, Cycling-Indy Velodrome, the Indy Convention Center could host the smaller events.
• Minimal construction of additional highways. Indianapolis is one of the easiest cities to drive through. Plus, it's airport can handle the amount of traffic that would be necessary for an Olympic Games
• Can television get any worse???? The other night, I had to choose between I Want to be a Hilton, Real World: Austin, and Beauty and the Geek among other shows. I'm gravely disappointed I missed the season finale of the Real Gilligan's Island. Who comes up with some of these shows???

That's all I've got, talk to y'all tomorrow (unless I'm out til 3AM dancing again hehe)

Not The Way You Want To See It

Stage 4 of the Tour de France was the always important team time trial, a stage Lance Armstrong's team had won the previous two years. The race took the riders from Tours to Blois along the Loire River, providing great pictures of the many castles that make the region so famous.
The teams to watch were Lance Armstrong's Discovery, Jan Ullrich, Alexandre Vinokourov, Andreas Kloden's T-Mobile, and Dave Zabriske and Ivan Basso's CSC. As everyone thought, it was close all day because of the primarily flat course and the tailwind that was pushing the riders along. In 1999, Mario Cipollini won the fastest ever road stage that finished here, so it wasn't a surprise that today was the fastest ever team time trial.

At the first checkpoint, CSC led Discovery and T-Mobile by just seconds, while the other American-led teams Phonak (Floyd Landis, although they haven't decided who's leading the team) and Gerolsteiner (Levi Leipheimer), were watching their teams fall behind. As the day went on, the pace quickened, with CSC holding onto a 2 second lead over Discovery with just over 6 miles left with T-Mobile starting to lose ground. In the last 6 miles, it was Armstrong taking over, driving the Discovery boys to the finish where they beat T-Mobile's time, which had been best time, by 36 seconds. CSC was the last team on the road and they were flying to the line, trying to keep Zabriskie in yellow. But with just under a mile to go, Zabriskie touched the back wheel of his teammate in front of him and crashed, hitting the pavement and the barrier on the left-hand side hard. So regardless of the stage itself, Zabriskie had lost the overall lead as he was left to finish by himself while the team tried to salvage the long-coveted victory over Discovery. But as they hit the finish line, they saw they had lost by 2 seconds. 3 straight team trial wins for Armstrong & Co., 1 badly bruised and scarred Dave Zabriskie. It's nice to see Armstrong back in yellow, but that's not how you want to see it happen.

So, Armstrong leads teammate George Hincapie by 55 seconds. Notables include: Vinokourov 1:21 behind, Basso 1:26, Ullrich 1:36, Landis 1:50, Leipheimer 2:21.

Tomorrow should be another day for the sprinters as the eastward trek continues across France, heading towards Germany.

The only other exciting thing that happened today was I basically got my paper rewritten today. So I am very close now, very close to being finished.

Happy Birthday America

Today, I helped out the Junior Scholars at Kings Island. I know, it's tough getting paid time and a half by working and riding rides at an amusement park, but I managed. Thanks to the great staff for their wonderful company today, you are all good people and I had fun with you all today.

When you go to amusement parks, there are always those people who you don't want to be. You have the usual people who wear simply their bathing suits all day when they should be covered up. And you have your people who make out constantly in public, it being worse when the people have barely reached puberty. But today, I got to witness an individual who found a way to drive all of Kings Island crazy. While waiting for Faceoff, there was a girl who would scream everytime the ride went over us. At first, we thought she was just excited. But when this started happening repeatedly, she became scary. When we got a look at her, her eyes were as red as beets. Yup, this girl was stoned out of her mind. Saying she was high would be an understatement. This girl continued to scream her lungs out while waiting for the ride, adding some jumping and other erratic movements to her act. When it was her time to ride, all you heard was her. She was even louder than the ride at times. And when the ride was done, yup, still screaming. The joy of amusement parks.

Also at the park, I did not vomit, ending my streak of doing so. In terms of great significance, it really doesn't matter, but for me, it does. Doing well in the heat and being able to handle the rides validates the physical and mental condition I'm in right now and all of the working out I've done. I was a young 24 today, and I'm glad I still have the stomach for amusement parks.

Stage 3 of the Tour de France took the riders from La Chataigneraie to Tours. Despite a valiant effort from Erik Dekker to hold off the main field and win the day, Tom Boonen won his 2nd straight sprint, showing he is the best sprinter in this year's Tour. Dave Zabriskie is still your overall leader, and Lance Armstrong is still 2nd, 2 seconds behind. Tomorrow is the team time trial, a very key day for the title contenders. Somehow, Armstrong's rivals must lead their teams to victory in order to pick up time on Lance. This will be hard to do since Armstrong's team has won this stage 2 years in a row.

Tomorrow, it's back to work on the paper and finishing things up. All that remains is editing and prep for the defense itself.

They are of a different breed

Stage 2 of the Tour de France was a 113 mile journey through the Vendee region of France from Challans to Les Essarts. With the exception of one small climb, the terrain was relatively flat, which meant a chance for the sprinters to attain Tour de France glory. Sprinters are like the hotshot drivers of NASCAR, they'll do whatever possible to win, even if that means putting themselves in danger. That's why commentator Phil Liggett refers to the sprinters as "a different breed of rider."

If you aren't involved in the sprint, like Lance Armstrong and the other favorites, your goal is to make it through these days without crashing. Ride up front during the stage, then when the sprint begins, slowly fall back, getting out of the sprinters' way. Today was no exception. A four man breakaway was out front most of the day, leading by as much as 4 minutes. Among the four was last year's revelation Thomas Voeckler, the Frenchman who held the race lead for 10 days. Despite his efforts, the four men were gobbled up by the main field with under 6 miles to go. Then it was up to the sprinters to finish it off, and today, it was Tom Boonen, edging out Thor Hushovd at the line.

Dave Zibriskie continues to lead, Lance remains in 2nd, 5 seconds behind. Tomorrow should be another day for the sprinters. Tuesday is the next big day for Lance and the favorites, as it is the team time trial. In the team time trial, each team rides against the clock instead of each person.

Also today, Roger Federer won his 3rd straight Wimbledon, defeating Andy Roddick in straight sets. It really wasn't fair to Roddick to play Federer after having to finish his semifinal match yesterday, but that's Wimbledon. Roddick didn't have his usual power and quickness, which makes it extra hard to beat Federer. Federer is a magician on the tennis court, he is amazing to watch. He plays the game the way it should, he has no weaknesses.

In the Western Open, Jim Furyk held off Tiger Woods to win by 2. After making eagle at 11, Tiger was tied for the lead. But Furyk answered with a birdie of his own and Tiger couldn't keep the momentum going. Still, you have to like Tiger as the favorite at the British Open, which begins a week from Thursday. If he had done better than 73 in the opening round, he would've won this week. Regardless, his game continues to improve and he dominated St. Andrews 5 years ago, there's no reason why he shouldn't win again.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Kings Island. My stomach hasn't cut it the last two visits, so I'm determined not to have that happen again.

Ooh La Lance!!!!!!!

A surprise post from Englewooooood. Yes, we are online here at the homestead, can you believe it?!?!?!?!

I can't put into words how excited I was for today. Since I first saw this TV show with guys riding bikes up and down tall mountains when I was 4 years old, the Tour De France has become an annual rite of passage for me. From seeing Greg LeMond become the first American to win to Miguel Indurain's dominance in the early 90s and now seeing the greatest champion of them all, Lance Armstrong, begin his final Tour, nothing matches the Tour.

What Lance Armstrong has done in the last 6 years is equivalent only to the Boston Celtics of the 1960s, the UCLA Bruin basketball teams of the 60s and 70s, and the New York Yankees have done. Lance Armstrong is a dynasty. So today, he began the final professional race of his career, beginning his quest to win just one more.

Today, instead of the usual, short prologue time trial which is only 3 miles long, was a longer individual race against the clock covering 12 miles. Starting on the west coast of France in the town of Fromentine, the riders would leave the mainland and finish on the island of Noirmoutier. The early starters were the beneficiaries of a strong wind at their back, enabling Dave Zabriskie, an American riding in his 1st Tour, to take the early lead. The big guns got underway: Alexandre Vinokourov finishing a strong 3rd, Lance teammate George Hincapie 4th, ex-Lance teammate Floyd Landis 6th among others. Some struggled: Levi Leipheimer 14th, Ivan Basso (3rd overall last year) 20th, Santiago Botero 25th, Michael Rogers 45th, and Andreas Kloden (2nd overall last year) 51st.

The last two riders to start were Armstrong and Jan Ullrich. Ullrich, last night, crashed into the back of his team car while practicing on the time trial course. He didn't see the car brake and crashed through the back windshield, your freakiest of freak accidents. Meanwhile, in a RANDOM drug test, Armstrong was the ONLY rider of the 189 competing tested (doesn't sound so random to me). Add to the fact all of the riders were tested on Thursday probably didn't make Lance a happy man. Add to the fact the growing number of doubters about his winning #7 and Lance was probably pretty pissed off.

A pissed off Lance should've triggered sirens all throughout the cycling community.

Starting a minute behind Ullrich (all the riders start 1-3 minutes apart, depending on the length of the stage), Armstrong charged out of the starthouse. He charged so hard his right foot came out of the pedals, which probably pissed him off even more. Zabriskie's time was still the best time by around 50 seconds; no one had come close to it. When Ullrich came to the halfway point, he was 42 seconds behind Zabriskie. It was clear the big German was not 100% after crashing yesterday, but he still should've been doing a little better. When Armstrong hit halfway, he was only 2 seconds behind Zabriskie, but more importantly, IN JUST 6 MILES OF RACING, HE HAD GAINED 40 SECONDS ON ULLRICH. That's incredible.

Lance was now closing in on catching Ullrich. If he did, he would be up a minute on the German. One thing that gives me great joy is to see Lance get after it, seeing the intensity and rage on his face, stomping on the pedals like they stole something from him. With 2 miles left in the time trial, Armstrong caught and passed Ullrich, something that you never thought would happen at all. Now, could Lance beat Zabriskie and win the Yellow Jersey. He was by far the closest, but he fell 2 seconds short, finishing in 2nd for the day. Even though Lance lost the day, he sent a message to the rest of the field, "You wanted me, now you got me."

Who knew there could be such drama on the very first day?!?!?!! But that's the Tour for you, you just never know, on any given day.

Also today, in an epic women's final, Venus Williams won her 3rd Wimbledon title, defeating Lindsay Davenport 4-6, 7-6, 9-7 in the longest women's final ever, lasting just under 3 hours. You know I'm not a huge fan of the Williams sisters, but it was nice to see pure joy on Venus's face after she won. It's evident she's put in a little time on her game, and it paid off. Now we can only hope sister Serena does the same.

Tomorrow's men's final will be the rematch everyone wanted: Roger Federer vs. Andy Roddick. Roddick will have to play his absolute best to knock off Federer.

Ben Curtis and Jim Furyk are tied for the lead after the 3rd round of the Western Open in Chicago at Cog Hill's Dubsdread course. Curtis, you may recall, came out of nowhere to win the 2003 British Open at Royal St. George's. The Kent, Ohio native has only made 3 cuts this year, so it's nice to see him doing well. Tiger is lurking, 5 behind, tied for 4th after shooting 67 today.

Well, back to Oxford tomorrow afternoon. This weekend, it's all sunk in. My defense is less than 3 weeks away; the paper is in editing phase, very close to being done. I have one job interview in Cleveland in a couple of weeks and may have another one around then also. It's all very exciting and a little nerve-wracking. But hey, this is where I wanted to be. I think after it sinks in a little more, that excited feeling will come back.

An update on my Grandpa, his doctors are going to wait until early August to see if his medication will bring his white blood cell count down. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts, they mean a lot.

Continue to have a safe and fun 4th of July weekend, don't drink and drive!!!!