Post from: EveryJoe

Snowboarder Shaun White

After the SHEER, “SCHOCHING” victories of the Schoch Brothers yesterday, Swiss Miss Daniela Meuli took the Gold at the same event today.

Meuli competing at a pre-Olympic event (Source: NBC)

American Rosey Fletcher took the Bronze, vindicating the U.S. Men’s defeat yesterday. By the way, though Tyler Jewell didn’t win the PGS event, his struggles and story of determination is a must-read.

Meuli went head-to-head with Fletcher in the semifinals. The former snowboarded to an easy victory after Fletcher fell. The same thing happened to her competitor, Silver Medalist Amelie Kober (GER), in the finals.

Post from: EveryJoe

An All SWISS Domination at PGS!

The victorious Schoch brothers (Source: NBC)

Older brother Simon was expected to win the event but a mistake on the slalom course handed the Gold to Philipp.

Siegfried Grabner of Austria took the bronze after his French competitor fell on his first run.

In a sport that is practically invented by Americans, the lone U.S. snowboarder, Tyler Jewell, could only manage a ninth place finish.

But despite the premature exit, Jewell’s journey to the Winter Olympics is an incredible story of determinitaion and inspiration for aspiring athletes everywhere.

While training for the event, Jewell had been living out of his car or tent for the last 4 years. And to save money for training and equipment, Jewell had to subsist on nutrition bars and cheap hospital food.

Graceful even in defeat, Jewell said, “Just getting here, everything I had to do financially … to me the coolest thing is I followed my heart through thick and thin and everything worked out.”

And for that, Tyler Jewell, I salute you. I will vote for you as the athlete who best embodies the Olympic Spirit. Good luck in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.

Post from: EveryJoe

It’s all in the family! And a story of Inspiration.

I love Figure Skating, especially Women’s Figure Skating. I like Gymanstics too, exclusively Women’s Gymnastics. I also like Women’s Tennis, and only Women’s Tennis (but I never watch the Williams sisters play).

Michelle Kwan on ice (Source: MSN)

The difference among those three is that two of ‘em, according to Aaron, are not “Sports.”

So, in defense of the ladies who trained so hard to compete in events that they (and I) love, I am going to throw my 2-cents into the mix. Ladies, this one’s for you!

Aaron mentioned that:

“Any activity that winning or losing is based on the opinion of someone else does not qualify to me as a sport.”

Aaron is right, that is why cooking is not a sport (even if the cooking is done in what the Food Network calls ‘Kitchen Stadium’).

But Figure Skating today is unlike the Figure Skating events of yesteryears. Fans understand the difficulties involved in awarding scores according to artistic interpretation, that’s why many have clamored for changes in the Judging System. And those Judging System has gone through many modifications, some very drastic.

In the interest of objectivity, nowadays, Figure Skating is as OBJECTIVE as matching those PowerBall Ticket Numbers. Match them and you win, otherwise, you lose. My brother likes to say that there are 10 types of people, those who understand Binary, and those who don’t.

Quadruple Salchow (Source: NBC)

Anyway, I digressed. Land a ‘quad throw salchow’ and you get X number of points, you fall, you get Y number of points deducted. Simple as that. A person or couple performing a conservative program with no dramatic jumps, throws, loops, or lutz stand a better chance of winning than those who attempt those daring maneuvers but failed. On the flip side, those who successfully execute those technical elements required in a program will fare better than those with conservative routines.

Now. isn’t that objective enough and easy to understand?

You can learn more about Figure Skating, its Scoring System, and the associated Elements at the NBC Olympic Web Site.

I am sure that other artistic sporting events like Gymnastics, Diving, Synchronized Swimming, Ice Dancing, Ski Jumping, Snowboard Half-Pipe, and many more have (or are going to) significantly revamp(ed) their Judging Systems to allow for objective scoring.

I agree with my buddy, HART , that it is difficult to be objective when you need to process the scores in a compressed time scale (2 minutes).

You don’t want to get on Jon Grunden’s (Tampa Bay Buccaneers Coach) bad side (Source: New Orleans Pro Football)

By that argument, the NFL is not a sport either when we see questionable, gut-feeling calls being made by the Officiating Crew. And most of those questionable calls cannot be reversed after the whistle is blown. Would you say that the NFL is not a sport? I think several hundred million NFL fans plus one (me) would disagree.

Now, having said all that, Fat-assed Celebrities sitting around a table playing poker is not a sport (hear that, ESPN?)

Watching Fat-ass Celebrities playing poker on ESPN is not a sport either.

Incidentally, ‘complaining that Figure Skating is not a sport’ IS ALSO NOT A SPORT.

Post from: EveryJoe

Figure Skating IS A SPORT!

I used to be a competitive snowboarder and hold two national titles (1996 USASA Apline Overall & Slalom) so I thought I would offer my perspective. Some have said she wasn’t trying to appease her fans, however I disagree. The maneuver she performed over the next to the last jump is not something productive to snowboard cross competition. It is also something you don’t accidentally do.

Lindsey as since admitted she got caught up in the moment. So where do we go from here? Personally I feel really bad for Lindsey. I know what it is like to get caught up in the moment of competition although my experiences don’t compare to hers. The toughest part will be for Lindsey to move on and not dwell on the moment.

I hope most people can take away from this a positive message. See things through to the end with everything you do in live. I know I was reminded of this today. If it is clearing out your inbox or finishing a project you’ve been procrastinating on Lindsey reminds us it isn’t done until it is done. 95% complete is still 5% deficient.

So thank you, Lindsey. You are a silver medalist in the Olympics which is an amazing accomplishment. You’ve reminded us all of important lessons in live. And most of all I look forward to seeing lots of good riding from you in the future…. And we wish you the best in Vancouver 2010!

Post from: EveryJoe

Lindsey’s Crash

Canadian Maelle Ricker of Whistler, B.C., was the first rider to go down in the final. She botched a jump, landing hard on her back, and was unable to get up.

Ricker was loaded onto a sled and taken down the hill. Her condition wasn’t immediately known.
[..more..]

Hey! What do you guys think of this new “Snowboard Cross” event?

I came across this older news item HERE..

Snowboard cross is a big twist on the parallel giant slalom, combining whoops, waves, banks, kickers and spines with mad alpine velocity. It also has what it takes to seduce television viewers.

Athletes compete individually against the clock in the first two qualification runs. Then the competition narrows when 32 athletes with the best times advance to the finals, where they compete in heats of four riders, all racing down the slope together

There’s no room for error. Fast reflexes, tight carves and a kamikaze psyche are keys to advancement. When competition narrows to final groups of four, the competitors are no more than a blur as boarders plummet for gold.

I pretty much watched most of these events and I must admit .. I was watching the early races and thinking “This is crazy .. they should just clock the time it takes to get down to the finish line .. but by the end .. I found it suprisingly curious to watch. I dunno .. but I think I liked it!

Post from: EveryJoe

Canada gets Bronze in Ladies Snowboard Cross

Having never experienced Snowboard cross before, i have to admit that it impressed me greatly, the when the commentator announced “There just entering the Toilet Bowl” i will admit to letting out a little chuckle.

Full Results NBC

Post from: EveryJoe

Women’s Snowboard Cross Final

There are more posts about Seth Wescott at Snow Skills as well as a video clip of Seth Wescott on Letterman. Congratulations Seth, I guess this means I owe you a Beer when you get home. :)

Post from: EveryJoe

Snowboard Cross Champion Seth Wescott

Rank / NOC / Snowboarder / Best Time

1 – CAN – Drew Neilson (1:19.93)
2 – SUI – Marco Huser (1:20.26)
3 – USA – Seth Wescott (1:20.69)

Results of Other Canadian Athletes

18 – CAN – Tom Velisek
20 – CAN – Jasey Jay Anderson
30 – CAN – Francois

Go Drew Go!

Post from: EveryJoe

Men – Snowboard Cross – After Qualification 2

Olympic Videos at Google Video (Source: Google)

You can watch events ranging from Alpine Skiing to Figure Skating to Snowboarding to Speed Skating.

Post from: EveryJoe

Olympic Events @ Google Video