Just Simply Holly

OK, I’m probably the only person in the US that hasn’t watched a single second of the Olympics, I didn’t even watch the opening events. Sorry, sports just aren’t my thing, and life has been very busy and stressful for the past 5 days!

I have, however, kept up with some of the Olympics news online, mostly the news about Michael Phelps and his drive to break the 1972 record of 7 gold medals won by Mark Spitz. Mark Spitz was an AMAZING athlete and has every right to be proud of what he accomplished 36 summers ago! However, when I just read this story on Yahoo News about Spitz being upset that he wasn’t personally invited/taken to the Olympics, I don’t know how to feel!

In the article Spitz talks about how he’s offended because he wasn’t “brought” to the 2008 Olympics:

Spitz said the International Olympic Committee, a US television network or FINA — the international body that governs world swimming — should have brought him to the Games this year, with Phelps making a go at his record.

He also goes on to say

“I am going to sit there and watch Michael Phelps break my record anonymously? That’s almost demeaning to me. It is not almost — it is.”

While I can only pretend to know how it would feel if someone were to break a world record that I had set almost 4 decades ago, I can’t help but feel that Spitz is acting like a toddler throwing a fit because he can’t have a piece of candy from the grocery store!

Mr. Spitz, GET OVER YOURSELF and grow up! Rather than coming off as a spoiled child get your ass on a plane and fly over there to support a young man who will be a MUCH better athlete than you ever were! Not because he might break your record, but because he’s NOT arrogant! Your time in the spotlight was over DECADES ago, rather than cry over it, get over there and be prepared to be a true man and congratulate this young man if he does indeed break your record. No one needs to invite you, and I can almost guarantee the reason they didn’t is because you are a pompous ASS! If you’d have shown any indication that you weren’t crying over your record being broken, they’d have “brought” you over to Beijing without a moments hesitation!

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You know, I get so tired of hearing people say things like “That’s not fair” or “Why does he/she get to do that if I can’t”. But something I seen on the news and then found online just now just tops the cake, in my opinion!

I was sitting here watching The Today Show and Matt was interviewing a young man, named Oscar Pistorius, from Africa who is a double amputee. You can read his entire Wikipedia page HERE, but I’ll give you a brief synopsis into this young mans life.

Oscar was born without fibula’s in both of his legs. At the age 11 both of his legs were amputated between the knee and ankle. He has spent his entire life overcoming obstacle after obstacle. He played several sports in high school, including rugby, water polo and tennis, but after a serious knee injury while playing rugby he was introduced to running and, to quote, “has never looked back”.

Oscar has participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens where he won the Mens 200 meter T44 with a time of 21.97 seconds and setting a world record. His motto is “You’re not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have”, which just shows how determined this young man is to not let his disability hold him back from his life’s goal, which is to participate in the Olymipcs. But this is where the title to this post comes in.

In January of this year (2008) the International Association of Althetics Federations (IAAF) ruled that Oscar is ineligible for competitions because his prosthetic legs that he uses for running give him an unfair advantage over runners with real legs. They based this decision on an amendment they added to their competition rules in 2007 after Oscar took part in his first able bodied competition. The amendment bans the use of “any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels or any other element that provides a user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device”, and claims that the amendment was not specifically aimed at Oscar.

However, just a few days ago, on May 16, 2008, The Court of Arbitration for Sport reversed that decision, stating ” that the IAAF had not provided sufficient evidence to prove that Pistorius’s prostheses give him an advantage over able-bodied athletes”, thus clearing the way for Oscar to at least try and qualify for the South African Olympic Team. But with the time frame, it’s going to be a heck of a challenge and Oscar is saying that the 2012 Olympics in London are probably more realistic at this point.

But my question is this, and no, I do not truly understand the sport of running. How do the artificial legs that Oscar uses for running give him an advantage over able bodied runners with two natural legs? If you look at his times for events in the Paralympics that he has won medals for and compart them with times for the same events in the Olympics for the medal winners, his times are measurably slower. If they were way faster, then I could see where people might say he has an advantage. I do also understand that this is an area that has yet to be dealt with as far as the Olympics go. But it just feels like a blatant form of discrimination to me, especially when you take into account that the IAAF amended the rule shortly after Oscar’s first able bodied competition!

If you would like to read more about Oscar, here is a link to the Google Search I did. He is an AMAZING young man and when his life’s dream comes true, you can bet that I will have my TV tuned in and rooting him on! GOOD LUCK OSCAR!!!!

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My daughter was so bummed out when she didn’t make the basketball team this year, but she didn’t totally give up on sports completely. She decided she’d try out for the track team, which I think was a good idea seeing how she’s always loved to run. To say it’s been a challenge for her is an understatement though. I get to school early to pick her up from practice so that I can watch her and offer tips. She cruises around the track like it’s nothing more than a brisk walk in the park. But she puts so much into it that when practice is over, she has nothing left.

By the time we get home she’s ready to take a shower and eat dinner and anything after that is pretty much a moot point. Trying to get homework finished or get her to bring her dirty clothes and/or dishes out of her room often turns into an argument. Thankfully she gets most of her homework done during her study hall period at the end of the school day and we’ve found that it’s easier to just let her fall asleep after dinner then get her up early in the morning to finish up her homework from the day before.

Yesterday was supposed to be their first track meet and she was a big old bucket of nerves yesterday morning. But the weather turned ugly in the early afternoon and the rain and winds came in, so they postponed the track meet until Saturday. After watching the news this morning I’m thinking they didn’t look at the weather forecast very well because they’re calling for colder temps and heavier rain for Saturday. Not my idea of a fun time at all! I’m hoping they postpone again because I really don’t want to sit outdoors in the cold and rain all day!

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YES! As sad as I am to see summer wind down to its end, I’m thrilled that football season is finally here! My husband and I are both huge football fans and even though we have our favorite teams, we still watch every possible game we can on the weekend. I’m not one of those “Either you like my team or I don’t like you” people; because I know that we all can’t be fans of the same team, imagine how boring that would be! So whether you’re a fan of my team or even a Penn State football fan, you’re always welcome to stop by here and watch a game with us! Just be sure to give me a call first so I can make sure I don’t answer the door in my PJ’s….LOL!

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And I am READY! I’ve played Fantasy Football for a few years now and really look forward to it starting up each year. This year I’m thinking about playing fantasy football at a high stakes site where I can play for prizes! I get hyped up each week watching my stats and since I’ve done fairly well on some of the free play sites the past several years maybe it’s time for me to take it a bit more seriously!

The American Fantasy Football League is one of the most known leagues on the net and just looking at their prize line up really makes you want to sign up with them. At their Platinum level, the prize for the grand champion is $100,000 and a beautiful Waterford Crystal AFFL trophy. So come on everyone, lets play some football!!!!!!!

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Yes, I really am serious! I used to go golfing with my grandfather many years ago and really enjoyed golfing with him! But my biggest problem would be figuring out how to pick out the right set of golf clubs for me. If it were up to me I’d just pick out the set that looked the prettiest, but I know that probably wouldn’t be the best way to pick out a set of golf clubs. Fortunately there are websites and golf pros that are trained to help me find the set of golf clubs that would best suit what I need for starting out.

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I just read an article that is more than worthy of being mentioned! Cal Ripken Jr. was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame

“Ripken was picked by 537 voters, appearing on 98.5 percent of ballots, falling just short of the record percentage of 98.84 set by Tom Seaver when he was selected on 425 of 430 ballots in 1992″This doesn’t amaze me one bit, Cal is a wonderful man and set an excellent example for all to follow. I must admit, however, that I was saddened to hear that Goose Gossage was only 21 votes shy of making it in this year. I have fond memories of following the Yankees in the 1982 season because of a secret crush on the boy in the desk next to mine who was a HUGE Yankee’s fan….LOL! But I’m sure The Goose will make it next year!

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