Fuzzy Bus

Mic was a strong willed, independent and ambitious young athlete. Since he was two years old his parents noticed a definite stubborn streak in their child and watched as he instantly climbed furniture, counters and other miscellaneous dangers items before he was one year old. They both ended up getting into better shape than they imagined they would simply by chasing him around. They were also terrified of what would happen when he hit his terrible twos. Oddly, Mic sailed through them with ease. He never seemed to want to rebel but simply follow his own path, which was always in motion. Of course it isn’t called rebellion in two year olds, usually, it’s a time of early identity development and a period of time when babies are figuring out they are separate from other people, animals and objects. However, with Mic it really seemed to his parents that he was born with a self knowledge and conflict only occurred when it got in the way of his movement.

It may be obvious at this point that Mic’s interests veered more toward running than other sports, which is true and he certainly loved track. However, he also enjoyed applying his speed and agility to the football field and frequently played in the position of running back during his Pop Warner days. Throughout high school he had an equal passion for track running and football, though he was noticeably small for a football player. For this reason one of his coaches and also his parents recommended he apply for track and field scholarships.

Mic thought about this for some time but finally decided he would apply to three schools, though he absolutely wanted to go to University of Washington. By this time his true ambitions had solidified and he had every intention of someday playing for the Seattle Seahawks. It was natural to him he would want to stay in his hometown and play for the Huskies prior to his professional career. Mic thought about all of the hotels Seattle that would be full of football fans and wondered how many of them would be there to watch him play. That was the single fantasy of glory he indulged in. At all other times he was genuinely passionate about the sport and his favorite team.

I’m a cricket fan. I’m an Aussie who lives in London. I love food. So, when I read that Cardiff had a festival which combined the two, cricket and food, I just had to go. I made reservations at a Cardiff Hotel and drove as fast as I could away from London and on over to Wales.

The two events Cricket and Food are actually two separate events, but for me that didn’t matter. I’ll be able to feast on the sporting excellence of a Cricket game and also sample culinary excellence at the Food and Drink Festival after the game. Seems like pure heaven to me. When I arrived, checked in and headed off to the Cricket Match where I got to see the npower Ashes Test in Sohphia Gardens, it was easy for me to obtain information about where to go for the food and drink festival after the game. I was able to hop onto a water taxi from the Swalec Stadium and dropped back off at Cardiff Bay. Right where the Food and Drink festival was happening. I felt right at home with an array of Aussie wines, foods and ingredients. See, there was a special Aussie Zone in a restaurant located in the Wales Millennium Center. Of course there were delicious foods from Wales to sample, and from around the world. Have about three full hours of sampling my way through the festival, I had a chance to chill out with a cool drink with views over the water.

The next day, I treated myself to other events which the festival offered. There was a craft market and a farmer’s market which were very nice, I even got to create my own dish using local produce from the farmers market, but what I really enjoyed was taking a workshop to learn how to make artisan ice-cream and a master wine class. By the time I got back to my hotel room that evening, I was satiated, happy and floating in memories of Cricket and fine cuisine.

Major League baseball (MLB) implemented a drug testing program to rid the game of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs that have forced hardball fans to question the outstanding pitching and hitting accomplishments of such modern legends such Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Mark McGwire, among others.

This year, America’s pastime has already dealt with positive drug testing results from two of its biggest current stars. Before the 2009 season even began, Sports Illustrated magazine broke the news of New York Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez’s failed drug test during MLB’s 2003 survey testing for steroids. Meanwhile, Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez tested positive for a banned substance in spring training and was recently suspended for 50 games in accordance with MLB regulations, forfeiting $7.7 million in salary from his two-year, $45-million contract.

NASCAR is also taking a stronger stance on substance and drug abuse to start the ‘09 season. NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield failed a random drug test and was suspended indefinitely, becoming the first driver to violate NASCAR’s tough new drug policy that went into effect this season. In a statement, Mayfield said that the combination of a prescribed medicine and an over the counter medicine reacted together and resulted in a positive drug test for a banned substance. He and his doctor are working with NASCAR and the company running NASCAR’s drug testing program to resolve the matter.

And NASCAR’s drug testing policy extends beyond the race track to the pit stop. Days after the Daytona 500, one of Mayfield’s pit crew members became the first person punished under NASCAR’s new drug testing policy for a failed drug test. More recently, two more pit crew members from other racing teams were suspended indefinitely for failed drug tests.

Among the substances NASCAR crews must be tested for are:

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Seven different amphetamines, including methamphetamine and PMA, a synthetic psycho stimulant and hallucinogen.
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Three drugs classified under ephedrine.
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13 different narcotics, including codeine and morphine.
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Ten different benzodiazepines and barbiturates.
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Marijuana, cocaine, zolpidem, nitrites, chromates and drugs that can increase specific gravity.

Many pro athletes enter drug rehab and alcohol rehab for problems with substance abuse and pay a high price for not following their leagues guidelines. Not just in the league but these people could need some real drug rehab programs.

Just when you thought the steroid scandals of major league baseball was over it comes out the LA Dodger Manny Ramirez tested positive for a chemical that helps get rid of the side effects of taking steroids. He has been on two other teams, making the biggest impact as a member of the Boston Red Sox, and starting out his career with the Cleveland Indians. He did not do any public speaking on the matter.

Now his legacy will forever be in question and he may not ever be voted into the hall of fame. Baseball used to be America’s pastime and these players are now breaking records of legends that never had the option to enhance their performance.

What are young kids supposed to think now? That no amount of leadership skills and good intensions and good old fashioned practice will make them major league baseball stars. And does that mean that players who are deserving of major league contracts are stuck in the minors because they refuse to cheat?

Major League Baseball has to do a major overhaul if they want to regain the fans that they have inevitably lost. Major League Baseball players all need to attend some kind of leadership development seminars. It works for other corporations so why not sports?

Major League Baseball is on its way to becoming a major joke. The executives need to take action and do something big. Players cannot just get off without any consequences if they are caught using steroids. What happened to the role models and their leadership skills?

Here is hoping that the future is brighter for Major League Baseball, despite the outrageous ticket prices, it’s about time the game could become what it used to be. Baseball is just the type of thing that the country needs right now to lift its spirits. If the banks and Manny can’t do anything without cheating, where really does that leave all of us?

A record-setting field of athletes is set to compete at the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon in Cape Town next month. A record 12,000 runners are scheduled to race the half-marathon and 19,000 athletes in all are registered for the event which will be held on April 11,2009.

The Two Oceans events includes a marathon, a half-marathon, and an ultra-marathon. The half-marathon has become so popular that officials had to cut off registrations when they reached 12K. An additional 6,800 runners are set to compete in the 56-kilometer ultra event.

Rowyn James, the race director, was pleased with the numbers, given that this is the 40th anniversary of the Cape Town event. For the main event, all of the men who finished in the top ten last year will be back to compete in 2009. On the women’s side, six of 2008’s top ten are returning, including the famous Nurgalieva twins: Yelena won the event in 2004 and again in 2005 while Olesya won in 2008.

Nearly 900 of the entries are foreigners, comprising 4.5 percent of the racers. The United Kingdom leads the foreign field, with 143 athletes. They are followed by Germany with 134 entries and the United States with 110. Nearly half of the racers are from the Western Cape province of which Cape Town is the capital.

With so many athletes and fans in town for the marathon and for the Eastern holidays, the four and five star hotels in Cape Town are expected to be at or near capacity. Anyone planning to attend the event should confirm their plans immediately.

An interesting factoid about the marathon: Racers with blue numbers have completed ten previous races. This year 59 runners will be awarded blue numbers in the half-marathon and 247 will earn blue for the ultra. Currently only 45 half-marathoners have blue while 908 have already completed ten ultras. This may be due to the fact that half-marathoners sometimes move up to the regular or even ultra marathon. Last year’s third place finisher in the men’s half-marathon will be competing in the full marathon this year.

The 2008 Olympics begin on August 8, 2008, which is 8/8/08-a lucky number to the Chinese. The tennis portion begin toward the beginning of the games which is right before the U.S. Open. Most of the players will leave the Olympics to head for the U.S. with little rest.

The U.S. Open tennis coverage will certainly be exciting as the commentators note all of the Olympic winners. Roger Federer will certainly win a metal and he will be determined to win the U.S. Open. He has yet to win the French Open but not due to lack of trying. He lost this year’s Wimbledon tournament, which was a surprise to most.

Rafael Nadal won both of these tournaments. I’m sure he is tired of being ranked at number two and he wants that coveted spot. He will be determined to win a metal for his home country of Spain and he will want to win the U.S. Open. It should be an intense summer of tennis.

I just read that all of the Williams sisters matches at the 2008 Wimbledon tennis tournament are on court 2, which is even slower and is known for bringing upsets. I bet they are not worried though because they have both been improving in every match. I think they are the U.S.’s only chance for bringing home a tennis trophy.

For the men’s singles, I think that it will be a match between Roger Federer of Switzerland and Rafael Nadal of Spain. The number one and two ranked players seem to always be the top two in most tournaments. I predict that it will fairly close and Federer will win.

With much anticipation, 2 time second place winner Roger Federes is ready to once again try to attain the ever-allusive French Open title. Currently he is getting over a glandular fever after the Australian Open and he is using his past losses as motivation to prove that his career is not in decline. Federes said that many people in his home country of Switzerland think that the last few losses for him mean that he is losing his edge.

He couldn’t agree less. He stated that people don’t know that he’s healthy and happy. If they did, he says they would know that he has not lost his edge. In fact, he is looking forward to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 Olympics.

Federes recently lost an exhibition game to Pete Sampras at Madison Square Gardens. Longtime friend Tiger Woods watched the match. Federes is just 2 Grand Slam titles away from matching Sampras’ total of 14. This is also giving him motivation to have favorable French Open tennis tournament results.

With all of that in mind, this year’s French Open tennis tournament should bring interesting results and possible a few high-drama situations as egos, careers and reputations are on the line.