Katrina: One Year Later

This week at work I made the comment to someone, "You know, we haven't had a major hurricane yet this year." So of course, Ernesto has formed and begun to organize itself southeast of Cuba. Not yet a Hurricane, Hurricane Watches are out throughout the Caribbean with a tentative storm track that would take it on a path similar to Katrina's. This can change since Ernesto is at least 5 days from hitting the Gulf.

A year later, the Gulfport-Biloxi area is starting to show signs of life, especially the casinos. A recent article about the Gulf Coast casinos says the area could be more vibrant than before as the hurricane actually allowed the casinos to be built better and offer more amenities. Mobile is selling office space and are building a new skyscraper, bringing their downtown to life. But Louisiana still has a ways to go, as the billions of dollars appropriated to them by the US Congress have yet to be distributed thanks to the large, slow Louisiana bureaucracy. Then there's the wonderful Mayor Nagin, when asked why it was taking so long for areas to be repaired, he shot back, "New York still has a big hole in the ground and nothing's been done about it, why aren't you criticizing them." (something to that effect) I shouldn't be surprised by the comment but you have to wonder, "How did this guy become Mayor of such a large city?" As Don King would say (his one good contribution to society), "Only in America."

But, more than half of the city has come back. The Superdome will be ready for Monday night football September 25th, and tourists are slowly coming back. Hopefully, progress continues to be made.

ESPN Classic had a College Football Marathon of games from last year, and one was Texas/OSU. Of course, I happily (hehe) reminded friends and family that are diehard OSU fans that this game was on today. Honestly, and I said this last year, OSU should've won the game and could've won the national championship, especially if Troy Smith was allowed to play vs. Miami in the opener. Watching the Ryan Hamby debacle again, I think after he lost it the first time, the way he momentarily held the ball before getting hit in the end zone, he would've dropped it again. It looked like the ball was going to slip through his hands.

I'm reading a sports economics book, Major League Losers. Not a bad book so far, but there have been two glaring mistakes. The author, an IU professor, wrote about the Carolina Cougars NFL team (excuse me, that would be Carolina Panthers). Then he mentioned Northwestern playing in the 1996 Rose Bowl and how NBC used the occasion to talk up the academic repuation of the university. Only problem is ABC and not NBC televised that Rose Bowl. I'll keep reading, but those are two mistakes you just can't make.

Driving home from my run at the park, I saw a woman putting her hair in a ponytail while driving, with both hands. Therefore, she was driving with her knees, which I've seen a fair number of people do in Detroit. Is it really that important? I saw another guy looking down at his lap, paying no attention to the road. There's no easy drive anywhere in this city. You always have to be careful driving, but driving in Detroit takes it to a new level. I mean I have to look out for people on the way to and from church, a drive that's supposed to be easy.

I'd like to stay up and watch the US play Australia in the round of 16 at the Worlds, but I'm tired.

Greatest Athlete Ever?

On espn.com, there's a column written by Gene Wojcheowski that proclaims Tiger Woods as the greatest athlete ever. I read Gene's columns regularly because usually they're pretty good. However, this time he missed the mark. I think I've said this before, I feel that Tiger may eventually go down as the greatest competitior of all time. 37 out of 40 when he's held at least a share of the lead going to Sunday, 12/12 in majors. And he leaves it all out there. I love seeing someone care so much. His reaction to bogeying 17, even though the tournament was in hand, was classic Tiger. It's going to take someone special or a special performance to beat Tiger in a major when he's ahead. Bob May and Chris DiMarco each came close, but both fell victim to one last Tiger salvo, both times in playoffs.

But greatest athlete? No way. I agree with Dan Patrick, Jackie Robinson is probably the greatest athlete of all time. Jackie was a 4-sport star at UCLA. He was an All-American football player, led the Pac 10 in scoring in basketball, won the long jump in track and played baseball. After Robinson, my order would probably go Jim Thorpe, Jim Brown, Bo Jackson, and Michael Jordan. Tiger is a great athlete but can he play another sport at a high level? It doesn't appear so, but he doesn't have to, he's the best at what he does and he's fun to watch.

And elsewhere:

• Stewart Cink and Scott Verplank were Tom Lehman's picks to round out the US Ryder Cup team. Cink has played in the last 2 Ryder Cups, going 2-4-1. He was on the Presidents' Cup team that won last year, only going 1-3-1. Cink is 5-3-1 in his Presidents' Cup career. Verplank was 2-1 in the 2002 Ryder Cup, his only appearance. He was also on last year's President's Cup where he was 2-2-1. He is 4-5-1 in his President's Cup career. Both give the US more experience and Verplank can make putts, which is what the Ryder Cup is all about. Davis Love had a decent week at the PGA, but he's been hurt and inconsistent which makes him unreliable. Lucas Glover hasn't played well in the big moments and the Ryder Cup is one huge moment. I'd like to see Jerry Kelly make the team one of these years, but he needs to play his way in.
• The US is 2-0 so far in the World Championships. While the US has looked good, there are three teams that could beat them: Spain, Greece, and Argentina. I watched the Argentina/France game and it's scary how talented Argentina is. Manu Ginobili is a great basketball player, the international game allows him to shine. Andres Nocioni from the Bulls, the do it all forward is on the team as well as the veteran big man Oberto. He and Luis Scola, the young talent, play really well together, they're fun to watch. The point is Pepe Sanchez, the former Temple point guard. Add in Carlos Delfino off the bench and this team may be the most talented on paper. They should've blown France out (France is without Tony Parker), but they didn't play consistently. Also, pressure defense seemed to bother them, which is what the US will bring.
• And it was nice to see Andy Roddick play with fire and intelligence this past week in Cincinnati. The big serve and forehand are working, but so is the net game and the down the line backhand, 2 things that haven't been there. The down the line backhand has been the real surprise, Roddick has never possessed the ability to behind his opponent with that shot. He's caught everyone off guard and he could make a run in New York if he keeps his focus. Federer is still the man to beat, but Roddick now may have the game to challenge him on a hard court.

The Tigers are now 6.5 up on the White Sox after taking the first game of their series 7-1. I don't care what Jim Leyland says, this is a big series.

Anyone Not on Drugs?

Let's see Barry Bonds (supposedly), Floyd Landis and Justin Gatlin (all positive tests), and now Marion Jones, whose A sample from the Nationals in Indy has come back positive with EPO. Jones had been under suspicion because of her affiliation with ex-husband CJ Hunter and boyfriend Tim Montgomery, who both tested positive for drugs. Her former coach was Trevor Graham, who was Gatlin's coach and had BALCO connections. After dominating the 2000 Olympics, Jones's performances dropped off dramatically, failing to medal in 2004, struggling with the accusations and injuries that had people wondering if she was legit. This year, she returned to the top of her sport winning the 100 meters at Nationals. Now, it appears like Landis, her story will end in disappointment. Her B sample must still be tested, but things don't look good for her.

It has not been a good year for Olympic sports: the Bode Miller saga, the removal of softball from the Olympic program, drugs at the Tour, Gatlin, and now Jones. Asafa Powell just ran another 9.77 100, his 2nd of the year. Unfortunately, questions will start to mount against his amazing year.

And while I'm on the subject, I have a problem with baseball hall of fame voters' take on the steroid era. I've heard mulitple writers say they'll vote Mark McGwire in, despite the accepted opinion that he took steroids, because he was the best during that era when most were on drugs. So because the majority of baseball was on steroids, because he was the best of all of them, he should be in the Hall of Fame. What kind of an example are we setting by doing that??? Some high-school kid could be thinking, "Hey, if everyone is using steroids, I'll use them too. And it'll be ok, as long as I'm the best of all of them." Basically, if you cheat and do the best, it's ok because everyone cheated. If writers think McGwire is innocent of using steroids (he is innocent still currently) and feel his career is legit, then I have no problem with them voting him in. But if they use the other line of reasoning, I have a problem with that.

There is something (or a lot of things) that are not right with John Mark Karr, the self-confessed killer of JonBenet Ramsey. I know this is a serious matter, but there are a couple of things that strike me about this. First, what's with the first, middle and last name thing? Is that only reserved for 'special' killers. John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, James Earl Ray, Sirhan Sirhan Sirhan. Why does this guy deserve it? I don't remember Jeffrey Dahmer's middle name. If OJ were guilty, would he have changed to Orenthal James Sampson? Second, the way the media is covering this, it reminds me of the Eddie Murphy SNL skit, "Who killed Buckwheat?" I think the killer's name was John David Stubbs? Thanks to the media, I know everything about John Mark Karr's life, a lot more than I wanted to know. Which brings me to my third and final point: Why does he wear his pants so damn high???? Look at a picture of him, he's a walking wedgie.

I don't get why so many of the basketball analysts are pessimistic about the US's chances at the World Championships, which begin later tonight. I don't think the US will keep winning by 30 points, but I think we're playing really well and have a great chance to win the whole thing. Yes, this team hasn't played together a lot compared to others, but neither did the successful Dream Teams when they dominated. I don't think that's as big of a factor as being fundamentally sound. The international game is more like the college game, movement without the ball, all out effort all the time, tough defense, good shooting, things you don't see regularly in the NBA now. That's why the US has struggled. Those issues have been addressed thus far. Coach K has got the team playing tough, college like man defense. The effort is there every minute, and the shooting is getting better.

Staying with the shooting issue, some are concerned as to what will happen when teams play zone against the US? Well, from my experience, being able to play zone defense is predicated upon scoring offensively. Most teams play zone after they make a basket and man defense after a miss because it's easier to set up in zone after a made basket since the other team has to take the ball out and bring it back down the court. So if you don't score, you'll most likely play man defense because it's easier to find the man you're guarding than try and play zone where you're assigned specific spots. So far, the US isn't allowing opponents the opportunity to score, playing great defense themselves. So if the US keeps playing great defense, they won't have to worry about facing zones because if the other team doesn't score, they won't play zone.

G'night, have a great weekend.

What is Integrity?

According to Webster, integrity can mean:
1. the quality or state of being complete; unbroken condition; wholeness; entirety
2. the quality or state of being unimpaired; perfect condition; soundness
3. the quality or state of being of sound moral principle; uprightness, honesty, and sincerity

According to Miss Teen Montana, integrity means being driven, doing whatever it takes to succeed no matter what, I believe those were her words.

Her definition could almost mean the opposite of integrity. Young beauty queens, oh boy. Granted, she's only 15, 16, 17, something like that, but I think at that age you should know the definition of integrity cold.

So of course, Montana WON?!?!?!!?! So either the dictionary is wrong or there are some people lacking in intelligence, I guess. Wow.

And now for sports as I'm in shock:

• The Tigers have righted their ship, winning the first 2 in a series at Fenway. A good sign for them is that they have gotten good starting pitching the last two nights, which hadn't been as good the last couple of weeks.
• I have no opinion on Tony Kornheiser's first MNF game. It's hard to make a preseason NFL game interesting. I watched most of the 1st half before switching programs. So many in the press were willing to jump on him after 1 game it's amazing, including someone from his own paper The Washington Post. Dan Patrick (as he often does) made a great point on his radio show. He's done PTI in some form with Mike Wilbon for 20+ years, he's been with Mike Tirico and Joe Theismann for one game. Chemistry takes time.
• Tiger and Phil together the 1st 2 days of the PGA, lovin it.
• I think Bruce Bowen will be the last cut for USA Basketball, which has looked even more impressive than I thought they would so far. Can they maintain that focus through adversity? I think that's where Coach K will be a huge calming influence because he's used to getting everyone's best shot as coach at Duke.
• If I'm a Bengals fan, I'm worried if Anthony Wright has to start the first 4 games, he didn't look good when it was 1st team vs. 1st team Sunday night.
• 16 days until college football starts.

And it looks like I could play basketball 3 nights a week in various Farmington public leagues if I wanted to this fall. I might actually have to go get a new pair of basketball shoes, it's been awhile since I have.

Canada

The great family vacation concluded today as we returned from a week in Canada. We spent Saturday through Tuesday in Montreal, Wed thru Fri. in Toronton and returned today. As far as cities go, I would rank Toronto 2 and 3 respectively as far as my personal favorites (Chicago being #1).

So here are some highlights from vacation:

• I was able to speak a little French in Montreal although I don't think it was received warmly. Since my other family members don't speak French, I got the feeling the Montreal people felt I was trying to show off (I guess). We must have had tourist and American written all over us, we didn't get many hellos, people didn't hold the door for us, I felt like I was in Europe.
• I didn't realize Montreal has 4 colleges/universities in the city, so there are a lot of young people around. Walking around downtown a little Sat. night, Montreal was buzzing with activity, everyone was out.
• Sunday we took a double decker bus tour of the city which was amazing. Montreal has a great mix of old and new, the old, narrow streets right up against the modern skyscrapers gives the city a great feel. There are numerous breathtaking views of the city, hence I have two disposable cameras' worth of pics of Montreal. If I go back, I'm definitely spending more time on the Mont Royal, the hill that overlooks the city.
• The food was good, the shopping was disappointing. It seemed like everything was geared toward 18 year old girls.
• Montreal is very proud of its Olympic heritage, there were multiple exhibits commemorating the 30th anniversary of the 1976 Summer games that were in Montreal. Getting to see Olympic Stadium and Olympic Park was neat, although I'll remember Olympic Stadium for, technically, never getting finished, or at least never being built to its original specifications.
• While there we watched The Da Vinci Code. I can see why it caused such an uproar. I thought it was pretty good. It definitely had me on edge the whole time.
• Other things that made it feel like Europe: the number of smokers, the very public public affection, and how thin the kids were. There's no obesity problem in Montreal. There are a number of parks in the city and they were filled to the max every day.
• Driving to Toronto on Wednesday, the Montreal-Toronto connection is the 401 freeway, one of the most travelled in the world. Around the Toronto airport, the 401 goes 8 wide on each side, the widest freeway in the world, and all 8 lanes are filled during the day. I thought Michigan drivers were bad, Toronto drivers have them beat. The 401 in Toronto might as well be one long amusement park ride.
• Wed. night we took in the 2nd round of the Tennis Masters Canada men's tennis tournament. The featured match involved Rafael Nadal. I would've preferred Agassi or Federer, but Nadal is a great shotmaker and allows the crowd to get involved in the match easily. His hustle, ability, and intensity make him fun to watch. A little sidenote, the Canadian announcers for the event (every match is televised in Canada) are not very good. Where's John McEnroe when you need him?
• Walking around Toronto Thurs. and Fri. brought back great memories and I remember why I loved the city so much when I first visited. Great shops, a lot to do, great energy in the city, clean, little worry about security, just a great place. Our hotel was by the old Maple Leaf Gardens just off of Yonge St.
• I never thought the first professional sports hall of fame I would ever visit would be the Hockey Hall of Fame. Yes, I got my picture taken with the Stanley Cup replica. It was neat seeing all of the various trophies and old jersies, but I'm surprised there wasn't more. There aren't a lot of interactive activities for kids.
• We also went to the Art Gallery which had a special Andy Warhol exhibit which featured some of his work from the 60s. There were no Campbell's Soup cans in this one. There were silk canvas paintings of pics of Liz Taylor and Jackie Kennedy (in fact the audio commentary said Warhol wanted to be Jackie). There were also random video tapes of things that went on in his Studio. And these included your everday naked girl on the couch, a guy getting a blow job, and people making out. I didn't know I was walking into a porn movie. I wonder what would've been worse, the strip clubs on Yonge St. or the Warhol exhibit? Needless to say, I didn't find out. Andy Warhol, interesting guy for sure.
• Watched Over The Hedge in Toronto. Very good movie, very funny, definitely recommend it.

That's all for now, it's nice to be back in the USA.

Heat Wave

I don't know if it made it to 100 degrees here today, at 4pm it was 98 with a heat index of 106 so I'm guessing it did. As I write this, it's 89 with a heat index of 99. At 9:43pm!!!!! My air conditioner isn't helping much, it's 80 in my apartment. I don't know how people without A/C survive in this, I'm very uncomfortable right now. It's ONLY supposed to get up to 95 tomorrow before some thunderstorms move in tomorrow night and highs fall back into the 80s Thursday.

I'm trying to remember the last time it was this hot. I remember landing in Phoenix in the summer and it was 126, so that's by far the warmest. But 110-ish heat indexes, I can't really remember another day like this. Back in the day at Alter basketball camp playing on the blacktop it might've been this hot one year, but normally the hottest it'll get will be 95 with 105 heat indexes. I took a cold shower after my workout and was still sweating afterwards. I like summer, but this is a little much.

Today being August 1st means the countdown to football season is officially on. Miami opens at home with Northwestern in 30 days. There is no USC-like team this year. They will be one of the contenders. How can they not be with all of the talent they have. Ohio St., Texas, and Notre Dame are contenders also, but all will have to make up for key players lost to graduation and/or the NFL. Texas lost Vince Young, Notre Dame needs to play better defense, and Ohio St. needs to replace theirs. The talent is there in all cases, it will come down to who comes around the fastest. Texas and Ohio St. won't have much time to do so since they play in Austin in September in the return match from last year. Oklahoma could sneak in there as their youngsters from last year now have a year of experience and Adrian Peterson seems to be healthy.

Stay cool.