Dreams Unlimted gsvzrcxuoq

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Fishing To Be Added As Winter Olympic Event In 2010

The Winter Olympics....

Once again the fishing world has been ignored.

As I sit watching a spine tingling, heart thumping, always tension packed Olympic Curling event competition, I can't help but wonder why a fishing event has never been represented in the Olympics.

What are they trying to say?

Are they saying that there is no athletic prowess involved when trying to flick a #12 Adams to a 20 inch ring created by the kiss of an 18 inch Rainbow trout!

Is the firing of a high powered rifle after skiing around on a pair of wooden planks any more demanding than fording a riffle packed stream and tossing a chunk of powerbait deftly into the "honeyhole" pocket containing an 8 inch stocker?

I see no difference.

But then I'm an idiot.

Or am I? Let's at least take a look at some future options for the winter Olympics, that can finally give the fisherman his due when it comes to skill and athleticism....

1) What event shows stamina and grit more than ice fishing? I propose a winter Olympic event that is comprised of ice fishing. In this event, contestants will be timed on their ability to saw a hole in 8 to 10 inches of a frozen lake surface, run in sneakers across the frozen ice to a designated staging area where they will grab up a rod, and stool, and sprint back across the ice to the open hole, bait up, and sit for hours in a fierce northern wind. The athlete then will hopefully, eventually catch a fish, pull his fish from the ice hole, drop it in a bucket, and sprint again across the ice, into a 1975 Ford pick- up truck, drive across the finish line to the cheers, flag waving,and cow bell jingling of his fellow countrymen.

More challenges? Perhaps a couple of fellas name Swen and Ole can sit across from the contestant and constantly be throwing a verbal barrage of "You Betcha's" and "Don't ya know's" at the athlete, as he or she agonizingly attempts to coax a fish out of the water.

Talk about grit!!

Of course the Norwegian contingent might not have a problem with this and be at a decided advantage.HOW do you say "you betcha" in Norwegian anyway?

We will all watch as the hole starts to skim over with ice,and the athlete frantically chips away at the hole to keep it ice free.All the while precious time clicks away as the fish only nibbles at the bait.

They can even hold this event indoors at the Olympic Hockey or Figure Skating venues. It might even make the hockey games more interesting with a few holes in the ice, and figure skating?PLEASE... a double axle into a gaping hole in the ice will add more excitement than Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan living in the same trailer park. Or they can leave a few frozen fish on the ice to help add to the Olympic ambiance.

The events could also easily be held as a "two man" competition with one athlete fishing, while the other builds an ice shack.

If the extreme thrill of the Downhill is your cup a tea, imagine if they hold the event on thin melting ice. The now famous runs of Franz Klammer and Hermann Maier will pale in comparison to the crackling of ice beneath the ice fisherman's stool as he scrambles for shore before disappearing into the frigid waters.

Talk about the agony of defeat....

2)Boat Slalom. Never mind the luge, bobsled, or skeleton(which at first glance appear to require the two major athletic skills of courage and alcohol), try standing up in a drift boat while running a classIV rapid with a 40 pound salmon stripping line off of your reel, hell bent for return to the ocean. Yes, athletes in ten layers of clothing including the mandatory flannel outer jacket, will try to stay afoot while "the driver" navigates the boulder choked channel of a stream. Not only are the contestants timed in this event, but style points are given for the degree of difficulty the athlete shows while doing "gunnel grabs", "spins", and the ever popular "aerials". Throw in a number of slalom gates, and you have the making of an event made for television. Fall in or lose your salmon, and it's sorry Charlie--see you in four years.

"OOOHHH, tough break Vern--Elwood has been training all his life for this moment, and to see it all go overboard in one instant is heartbreaking...."

3) No offense to our Canadian friends north of the border, but --CURLING!!! CURLING!! A combination of bowling on ice and a group of shop keepers trying to keep the storefront spiffy.

Gawd, the winters must be awful up there.

Outside of the obvious "sex appeal"of the Olympic Curlingevents, the only thing more thrilling would be to watch Dick Cheney go quail hunting.

But, given that there is a place on the podium for chiseled curling athletes, I'm sure we could find a spot for the skilled athleticism of the Winter Fly Tying Team !This event would obviously be dominated by the American squad, which has trained year round in a meat locker in Detroit. Size #28 midge after miserable size #28 midge, the Americans have relentlessly been training, by tying these little buggers to 8x tippet--in a meat locker kept at 14 degrees below zero.

That's minus 26 celsius for our European competitors.

There at the Olympic Fly Tying arena, in frigid weather, teams of fly tiers will take to the vice, and tie up various flys. We will watch pained expressions and complete intense concentration as athletes try to get their fingers to work in the icy cold. We will hold our breath as they try to get the hackle and dubbing just right. Precious time will tick away as they blow on their hands, and we watch split screen images of just where the Olympic hopefuls lost time along the way.

Of course,in this two day event, athletes will be judged on speed, style,difficulty, and the ability to catch and release fish.

So, here's to the athletes of the XX th Olympiad, and I will see you fishing rod in hand, in Vancouver in 2010.

Gamers in the Game

Sometimes at night, while I sleep, I dream that I am the point guard on Michael Jordans Chicago Bulls. Other nights, I bat cleanup for the Chicago White Sox. If that isnt busy enough, I still often find time to quarterback Jimmy Johnsons Dallas Cowboys.

The bad thing about my dreams: they end.

By no means am I a professional athlete. Yet almost every night, I watch myself on TV draining three pointers, hitting towering home runs, and throwing sky scraping touchdown passes with the best in the game.

I realize all my sports dreams are make believe. I live for lifes little pleasures.

The tiny light at the end of my tunnel is thanks to todays digital technology. I can become a professional athlete by creating myself in a video game.

Im not the only person to do it, or to have ever done it.

Joffrey Lupul is a winger for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. In addition, he is also a featured athlete in EA Sports NHL 2004.

I used to create my own player and try to make it look as much like me as possible, said Lupul in an interview with John Gaudiosi of ESPN Gamer. I guess now I wont have to do that.

Sports video games have been evolving since Pong, a tennis-like game where two players use long bars to defend their end of the screen from what vaguely resembles a ball. It debuted on the Atari game system in 1976. In 2003, the top-selling game of the year was EA Sports Madden NFL 2004, which sold over 1.3 million copies in its first week.

Unlike me, many athletes today do not need to create a digital image of themselves to be featured in a game. Todays popular sports video games have the characteristics of all active players. Professionally licensed games even have players accurate height, weight, and hometown. The best games even feature individual trademarks of certain players, like Vince Carters classic double-handed sky point after a furious dunk, or Ichiros bailout first step as he swings at an inside pitch.

When I was a little kid, everybody could do the same dunks and lay-ups, said Jay Williams in an interview with Patrick Hruby of ESPN Gamer. Williams, formerly an NBA point guard, plays video games daily as a diversion from the rigors of rehabilitating his left leg following a 2003 motorcycle accident. I remember last year, the game version of me was doing the same hand gestures I do.

The NCAA prohibits endorsement by its amateur athletes, but that doesnt mean collegiate athletes are less fortunate. All the player attributes are there, only the names are deleted to protect the unpaid.

Jason Colson is a 61, 215 pound, sophomore tailback who proudly wears No. 24 at West Virginia University (WVU). In EA Sports NCAA Football 2005, his name has been changed to HB #24, but the height, weight, and class rank are all the same. When No. 24 steps into the backfield, the game player knows they are about to hand off to Mr. Colson.

As a youngster, I never pictured myself being in a video game, said Colson. Its cool playing as yourself.

Todays younger athletes have grown up in the video game generation. All of them have memories of playing games as kids and teens. Many still play.

One of my favorite game players growing up was Terrell Davis in the Madden games, remembers Kay-Jay Harris, another WVU tailback you can find in NCAA Football 05, starring as HB #1. [Davis] never looked like he was running that fast, yet no one could catch him. Our running styles are similar.

Most athletes play video games the way most gamers play: as entertainment, for fun. In WVUs football player lounge, a PlayStation2 (PS2) is plugged in next to the team TV. Several players take the games they play on the screen as serious as the games they play on the field.

Ray Lewis, whose spastic pre-game dances and primal, near death-causing hits on the field make him one of the most intimidating players in the NFL, is also known to be one of the most competitive video game players in the league. Lewis hates to lose at anything he does. Thanks to his competitiveness on the field and in front of the screen, Lewis became the first defensive player to be chosen as cover man for the 2005 installment of EAs Madden NFL series in August.

Video game popularity with athletes has soared because of the free time they have in the off-season.

[Games are] relaxing. Its pure entertainment. This is the way you kill four, five hours, Lewis said in an interview with Matt Wong of ESPN Gamer. You have your boys over, you have your kids over, and you have a big tournament. We might have three TVs going.

I played [EA Sports] MVP Baseball 2004 all summer long, and Rasheed Marshall and I played MarioKart on [Ninetendo] Gamecube for a week straight, said Harris. I could play games like that all day, 10 straight.

Games are clearly the best cure for the off-season blues, but many athletes see the benefits video games have as recruiting tools.

Video games can be a positive influence for younger kids, who might not have started skating yet, said Minnesota Wild center Pierre-Marc Bouchard, in an interview with Gaudiosi. If you get into the realism of the video games, kids might try street hockey and eventually graduate to the rink.

The National Hockey League has been entrenched in a lockout since Sept. 16. With no end in sight, holding the interest of young fans will be crucial to its future. While it seems possible that the entire 2004-2005 season could be cancelled, fans can still find excitement by turning on their PS2.

Its tough to replicate the battles along the boards in video games, said Eric Staal in an interview with Gaudiosi. Staal plays center for the NHLs Carolina Hurricanes. But if kids dont know anything about hockey, [video games] are fun to play because its up and down action and scoring goals.

Microsofts Xbox, PS2, and GameCube allow sports to be played year round. Fans can get their fix at any time of the year with a simple flip switch. Indeed, they are simulated, but the World Series can go on in the dead of winter, and hockey games can hit the ice in the scorch of summer.

For athletes, video games can help them stay entertained, or distracted, when they arent on the field.

For future athletes, gaming consoles provide the ultimate first step to falling in love with a sport.

Video games allow all who play to live outside themselves. Armchair quarterbacks become heroes. On the field quarterbacks get the opportunity to dominate their most hated rivals. Everyone can live out dreams in cyber world they never could on the field.

Dreams Unlimted gsvzrcxuoq

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Fishing To Be Added As Winter Olympic Event In 2010

Gamers in the Game

Dreams Unlimted gsvzrcxuoq

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