Two more medals today and more to come tomorrow for sure.
If you don't know about this organization already, Canadian Athletes Now has provided much needed funding to many of our needy athletes. Check out the site and donate to the cause if you want to personally do something about the lack of adequate funding that the athletes receive.
http://www.canadianathletesnow.ca/home/
Til next time
RH
By the way, Simon Whitfield will be live and answering questions on Slowtwitch tonight at 8 pm ET.
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=1947056;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
I'm Lovin' it
Like I said almost one week ago, the medals will come for Canada and they sure did. Lots of other great performances and close calls too. Unlike the first week, I haven't heard any Canadian athletes cry babying about lack of funding and making other excuses for their performances. Just HTFU and get the job done. These athletes are doing just that. Awesome job!
The perfect example of that was last night when Simon Whitfield clearly gave it all he had to valiantly claim a silver medal. It was truly incredible. All athletes should check out the final 5 minutes of this race to see what HTFU, giving 110%, and laying it all on the line is all about. He had nothing left by the end of the race and that is how it should be. Drain that tank and have no regrets. The bronze medal performance by Priscilla Lopes-Schliep was wicked too.
Here are the Canadian medals as of today:
Diving
Silver - Alexandre Despatie (3 M Springboard)
Equestrian Jumping
Silver - Team Canada (Mixed Team)
Trampoline
Silver - Jason Burnett (Men's Individual)
Silver - Karen Cockburn (Women's Individual)
Rowing
Gold - K. Light / B. Rutledge / A. Byrnes / J. Wetzel / M. Howard / D. Seiterle / A. Kreek / K. Hamilton / B. Price (Men's 8)
Silver - D. Calder / S. Frandsen (Men's Pair)
Bronze - I. Brambell / J. Beare / M. Lewis / L. Parsons (Men's Lightweight Skulls)
Bronze - M. Kok / T. Cameron (Women's Lightweight Double Skulls)
Swimming
Bronze - Ryan Cochrane (1500 m Free)
Track and Field
Bronze - Priscilla Lopes-Schliep (Women's 100m Hurdles)
Triathlon
Silver - Simon WHITFIELD
Wrestling Freestyle
Gold - Carol Huynh (48 kg)
Bronze - Tonya Verbeek (55 kg)
Canada's updates are available here:
http://stats.cbc.ca/olympics/medals.asp?country=CAN
We have more medals coming for sure so keep cheering and checking for updates.
The perfect example of that was last night when Simon Whitfield clearly gave it all he had to valiantly claim a silver medal. It was truly incredible. All athletes should check out the final 5 minutes of this race to see what HTFU, giving 110%, and laying it all on the line is all about. He had nothing left by the end of the race and that is how it should be. Drain that tank and have no regrets. The bronze medal performance by Priscilla Lopes-Schliep was wicked too.
Here are the Canadian medals as of today:
Diving
Silver - Alexandre Despatie (3 M Springboard)
Equestrian Jumping
Silver - Team Canada (Mixed Team)
Trampoline
Silver - Jason Burnett (Men's Individual)
Silver - Karen Cockburn (Women's Individual)
Rowing
Gold - K. Light / B. Rutledge / A. Byrnes / J. Wetzel / M. Howard / D. Seiterle / A. Kreek / K. Hamilton / B. Price (Men's 8)
Silver - D. Calder / S. Frandsen (Men's Pair)
Bronze - I. Brambell / J. Beare / M. Lewis / L. Parsons (Men's Lightweight Skulls)
Bronze - M. Kok / T. Cameron (Women's Lightweight Double Skulls)
Swimming
Bronze - Ryan Cochrane (1500 m Free)
Track and Field
Bronze - Priscilla Lopes-Schliep (Women's 100m Hurdles)
Triathlon
Silver - Simon WHITFIELD
Wrestling Freestyle
Gold - Carol Huynh (48 kg)
Bronze - Tonya Verbeek (55 kg)
Canada's updates are available here:
http://stats.cbc.ca/olympics/medals.asp?country=CAN
We have more medals coming for sure so keep cheering and checking for updates.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
The CBC Widget
Here is a real cool tool to get quick access to all the Olympic results and stories. I have the widget on the right hand side too.
Enjoy
RH
Enjoy
RH
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Nothing New...sort of
Like the title says, there is nothing new happening with me. But I have a lot to say.
I finished my online course, volunteered at a race this weekend (forgot about my condition and accidentally ran a few steps..oops), keep watching the Olympics to see Canada win its first medal (by the weekend for sure), and try to keep healing from my ATR.
I sorta hit the wall in the healing process over the past few days. Plenty of soreness and swelling. I had a bit of a slip a few days ago, heard a bit of a click but suddenly the heel pain went any and so did a lot of the tightness. Very eerie! I was just hoping I didn't re-rupture the darn thing. I poked around and the middle section felt softer as compared to the rest of the Achilles so maybe I tore away some scar tissue? So I've been taking it easy and today is tons better.
I had some physio today and he checked out the area and said all was OK. He also thinks I just jarred some scar tissue loose. At any rate we put off the start of my strengthening exercises for another day. This didn't prevent him from doing the super deep and painful massage of the tendon of course.
Since most of my time has been spent watching the Olympics, I wanted to spout out a few comments.
If you have been watching the CBC coverage over the past few days, you probably saw some interviews where a few Canadian athletes were complaining about the Canadian Government's funding. While the funding has improved over the last 1-2 years, it has been too little too late for these Olympics (and for many sports it is still too little).
I agree with the athletes 100%, but only if the Canadian public, media, and government is going to scoff, complain or be ashamed of the medal count at the end of the day. If they expect these athletes to compete at the same level as the rest of the world the need the same support. Canada must decide one way or the other. Either support our athletes properly and make the athletes accountable for their funding (no free handouts - they must meet performance standards, do public speaking, coaching, etc.) or let them go at it alone to find their own deals or fleeing to other countries if need be.
My only disagreement with the athletes comes in the fact that they decided to make athletics their "job" in a badly funded sport society so why am I (the Canadian taxpayer) being made to foot the bill. Does a person wanting to go to University or take a course to get a better job get free government money to do so? Simple answer. No. If I decide to give support athletes I'll donate to a specific sport organization or pay a membership fee in which much of that money goes to support up and coming athletes. I'm sure many potential world class athletes from Canada saw the sad funding situation and chose another path in life.
While I like watching the Olympics, is it that worth it for the government to spend millions of dollars to see Canadians bring home a zillion medals? I admit it would be nice but, no. I really just appreciate the spirit of the competition, seeing their efforts and achieving personal bests, and the many cool and inspiring stories of the athletes. I am proud of their efforts to even make it to the Olympics because it takes major skill, talent, determination, hard work and sacrifice.
This is why if any Canadian brings home a medal of any kind, I admire their efforts even more. I know that they have risen above extreme hurdles to beat the best in the world.
Let's go Canada! Medals will be coming your way soon. And if it doesn't, does it really matter?
If it does to you, then you better contact your local Member of Parliament and complain for Canada to change its system and give more money. Otherwise, don't slag the athletes, keep your mouth shut and enjoy their efforts. Remember, they haven't spent years of training to go to Beijing to be embarrassed. They all want to win and are trying to make Canada, their families and themselves proud.
I'll stop my rant on that note.
Don't forget the Women's Olympic Triathlon - Sunday August 17 @ 10 pm ET, and the Men's race on Monday August 18 @ 10 pm ET. No matter what happens it will be a wicked two days of racing. Go Team Canada!
Til next time.
RH
I finished my online course, volunteered at a race this weekend (forgot about my condition and accidentally ran a few steps..oops), keep watching the Olympics to see Canada win its first medal (by the weekend for sure), and try to keep healing from my ATR.
I sorta hit the wall in the healing process over the past few days. Plenty of soreness and swelling. I had a bit of a slip a few days ago, heard a bit of a click but suddenly the heel pain went any and so did a lot of the tightness. Very eerie! I was just hoping I didn't re-rupture the darn thing. I poked around and the middle section felt softer as compared to the rest of the Achilles so maybe I tore away some scar tissue? So I've been taking it easy and today is tons better.
I had some physio today and he checked out the area and said all was OK. He also thinks I just jarred some scar tissue loose. At any rate we put off the start of my strengthening exercises for another day. This didn't prevent him from doing the super deep and painful massage of the tendon of course.
Since most of my time has been spent watching the Olympics, I wanted to spout out a few comments.
If you have been watching the CBC coverage over the past few days, you probably saw some interviews where a few Canadian athletes were complaining about the Canadian Government's funding. While the funding has improved over the last 1-2 years, it has been too little too late for these Olympics (and for many sports it is still too little).
I agree with the athletes 100%, but only if the Canadian public, media, and government is going to scoff, complain or be ashamed of the medal count at the end of the day. If they expect these athletes to compete at the same level as the rest of the world the need the same support. Canada must decide one way or the other. Either support our athletes properly and make the athletes accountable for their funding (no free handouts - they must meet performance standards, do public speaking, coaching, etc.) or let them go at it alone to find their own deals or fleeing to other countries if need be.
My only disagreement with the athletes comes in the fact that they decided to make athletics their "job" in a badly funded sport society so why am I (the Canadian taxpayer) being made to foot the bill. Does a person wanting to go to University or take a course to get a better job get free government money to do so? Simple answer. No. If I decide to give support athletes I'll donate to a specific sport organization or pay a membership fee in which much of that money goes to support up and coming athletes. I'm sure many potential world class athletes from Canada saw the sad funding situation and chose another path in life.
While I like watching the Olympics, is it that worth it for the government to spend millions of dollars to see Canadians bring home a zillion medals? I admit it would be nice but, no. I really just appreciate the spirit of the competition, seeing their efforts and achieving personal bests, and the many cool and inspiring stories of the athletes. I am proud of their efforts to even make it to the Olympics because it takes major skill, talent, determination, hard work and sacrifice.
This is why if any Canadian brings home a medal of any kind, I admire their efforts even more. I know that they have risen above extreme hurdles to beat the best in the world.
Let's go Canada! Medals will be coming your way soon. And if it doesn't, does it really matter?
If it does to you, then you better contact your local Member of Parliament and complain for Canada to change its system and give more money. Otherwise, don't slag the athletes, keep your mouth shut and enjoy their efforts. Remember, they haven't spent years of training to go to Beijing to be embarrassed. They all want to win and are trying to make Canada, their families and themselves proud.
I'll stop my rant on that note.
Don't forget the Women's Olympic Triathlon - Sunday August 17 @ 10 pm ET, and the Men's race on Monday August 18 @ 10 pm ET. No matter what happens it will be a wicked two days of racing. Go Team Canada!
Til next time.
RH
Friday, August 08, 2008
Beijing Olympics are underway
If I don't poste regularly it is due to the Olympics.
I will be watching every minute of the coverage on CBC, TSN, and NBC.
Despite what many ignorant fools in the mainstream media have to say, I'll watch the Olympics over baseball, etc., any day.
Here is the schedule of events:
http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/Schedule/index.shtml
The CBC generally covers the Olympics every day from 6pm-12am and 6am-12noon. With some added coverage and schedule tweaks in there (depends on the day). Check your own local listings.
Just look for the Women's Olympic Triathlon on Monday August 18 (10 pm Eastern) and the Men's Olympic Triathlon on Tuesday August 19 (10 pm Eastern).
Here is the excellent CBC site. All the events and times are on the right side and can be customized for your own time zone.
http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/
It is going to be a great next couple of weeks.
Enjoy
RH
I will be watching every minute of the coverage on CBC, TSN, and NBC.
Despite what many ignorant fools in the mainstream media have to say, I'll watch the Olympics over baseball, etc., any day.
Here is the schedule of events:
http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/Schedule/index.shtml
The CBC generally covers the Olympics every day from 6pm-12am and 6am-12noon. With some added coverage and schedule tweaks in there (depends on the day). Check your own local listings.
Just look for the Women's Olympic Triathlon on Monday August 18 (10 pm Eastern) and the Men's Olympic Triathlon on Tuesday August 19 (10 pm Eastern).
Here is the excellent CBC site. All the events and times are on the right side and can be customized for your own time zone.
http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/
It is going to be a great next couple of weeks.
Enjoy
RH
Saturday, August 02, 2008
McEnroe & Nadal Roadtrip
Enjoy two of the greatest tennis players of all time getting together for a road trip.
By the way here are my top 10 players of all time:
Men
1. John McEnroe
2. Roger Federer
3. Bjorn Borg
4. Rod Laver
5. Andre Agassi
6. Pete Sampras
7. Stefan Edberg
8. Ivan Lendl
9. Raphael Nadal - and rising qickly
10. Daniel Nestor - Canadian content & has career Golden Slam in doubles.
Women
1. Martina Navratilova
2. Steffi Graf
3. Serena Williams
4. Billie Jean King
5. Chris Evert
6. Martina Hingis
7. Monica Seles
8. Justine Henin
9. Ana Ivanovic
10. Anna Kournikova - If she is on court I'm there. It's "my" top 10 after all. Let me refresh your memory below.
Oh yeah, check this out too. Mac does Rafa.
By the way here are my top 10 players of all time:
Men
1. John McEnroe
2. Roger Federer
3. Bjorn Borg
4. Rod Laver
5. Andre Agassi
6. Pete Sampras
7. Stefan Edberg
8. Ivan Lendl
9. Raphael Nadal - and rising qickly
10. Daniel Nestor - Canadian content & has career Golden Slam in doubles.
Women
1. Martina Navratilova
2. Steffi Graf
3. Serena Williams
4. Billie Jean King
5. Chris Evert
6. Martina Hingis
7. Monica Seles
8. Justine Henin
9. Ana Ivanovic
10. Anna Kournikova - If she is on court I'm there. It's "my" top 10 after all. Let me refresh your memory below.
Oh yeah, check this out too. Mac does Rafa.
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