Closing it down for 2007-now on to 2008!

What a year it's been! I'm really humbled at all that's happened, and the support I've recived in the process. Of course, there will always be the ubiquitious person or two who thinks they can "spoil the party" (you know who you are), but overall, it's been a good year professionally.

I started to think about this journey that I am on, which started back in 1996. Being humble will get you everywhere. Being a jerk, well...

Caring for my husband supercedes anything I have ever done (or will do, for that matter.) He encouraged me to "keep at it." In a previous column, I mentioned that Ken was my cheerleader, shoulder to cry on and number one fan. He still is.

As we go into 2008, my message to you is to make your own memories, and most important, to make a difference. It's especially important in 2008.

Because, if we don't, we only have ourselves to blame.

Not another Munich

I get the creeps when I think of another Olympics possibly being held in Munich. What I think is really disgraceful is Jacques Rogge's enthusiasm for the current Munich Winter Games bid, with nary an acknowledgement of what happened the last time the Olympics were held there.

I have heard that the security concerns are much less at a Winter versus Summer games. One, less athletes. That equates to less of everything: officials, volunteers, and paid employees. And I have heard people say "it couldn't happen again-especially at a Winter Games."

The complacency bothers me---big time.

Sometimes I have to wonder where people's heads are at. It's clear priorities are all out of whack, all around. The German NOC, the people backing the Munich bid, and the IOC. It's a slap in the face to those who lost their loved ones...and another attempt to sweep the unanswered questions under the rug-again.

I have only one question: how can the German NOC sleep at night, knowing what happened the last time?

Answers, please.

"Like pigs and dogs"

Another Chinese dissident has been arrested this week, all for referring to people who he said "would live like pigs and dogs" during the 2008 Games.

Who's fooling whom here? What is it about truth that scares the authorities over there, to the point that people are forcibly taken out of their homes and arrested?

It's got to stop. No excuses. Enough is enough.

We've had seven years of broken promises in relation to media rights. In the meantime, mainland journalists have been arrested and foreign reporters have been denied visas and harassed while there. Bloggers are fairing the worst of all---at least those on the Mainland.

I think I know who the real "pigs and dogs" are---and it's not the people trying to shed light on an ever-growing problem less than one year out.

Those of us on the outside of China are going to keep the pressure up. At least we don't have to wake up every morning wondering if we are going to get a knock at our door from the local police.

It's something I wish for my brothers and sisters on the mainland: freedom to express their thoughts and wishes.

It's not that dangerous of an idea.

How about it---and those of us outside China supporting these people?

The best Christmas gift of all.

No excuses!

If there is one thing that drives me crazy, it's the folks who make excuses. I didn't know it was steriods, because my trainer told me not to worry. I completed clean. Or, let's overlook the human rights abuses because China is on track for their Games preparations.

I say: enough already!

And lets take responsibility in the process.

Sure, some of the stuff that is going on isn't nice. But it's our job to bring light to that. IF we chose to do so. There are some out there that whitewash what is going on. That gives the readers a disadvantage. Just pretend it doesn't happen and maybe, just maybe it (whatever the problem is) will go away.

We have a responsibility to set an example. Not to babysit the bad guys. If we all can make that commitment, just think of how much more tranparent it will be.

I don't understand the reluctance to do so. What's the worst that could happen? A little more knowledge, maybe?

So, for 2008, can we make the commitment not to babysit the bad guys, but on the other hand give praise where due, and in the process, we will continue to grow, both personally and professionally.

I've already made that commitment. How about you?

The Mitchell steroids report-more questions than answers

The Mitchell steriods report came out last week and everyone is having a field day with the so-called "results." Over 80 current and former players have been named and half of the people mentioned are no longer playing baseball. It's being picked apart to see where the Olympic links may lead to.

Roger Clemens is especially mad as hell. There are rumors he's going to sue. The problem with the players mentioned is that over half allegedly used 'roids when there was no definitive policy in place by MLB. Former Senator Mitchell said every team had players that "had used" (his words) and that had made it sounds like every team with a current roster had users. This was a misnomer as some teams(such as the Atlanta Braves)did NOT have any players mentioned.

So...you've got a bunch of guys, half of them retired who allegedy used. Even Mr. Mitchell by his own admission said that there should be no action taken against the players that were mentioned. Then that begs the question, why mention anyone, especially when he says "this only scratches the surface" of the problem?

This sort of thing has disappointed me. I expected so much more. Solid answers to a growing problem. Instead, we got a half-hearted attempt to say "well, we ARE trying to tackle the problem, we will name names and hopefully, that will start us on the road to resolving this issue." But naming someone who's been out of the game for twenty years, enjoying his retirement on a farm in Arizona somewhere...what does that do to solve the problem?

Not much, if at all. I do think Senator Mitchell's heart was in the right place. But the modus operandi was all wrong. Sure, only one current player agreed to talk. You've got the word of some guy who claims he sold to a bunch of players while working in a team's clubhouse. The testimony of another person in addition who is coming under question.

The next time someone wants to do a hatchet job on long-gone players, let us know beforehand.

Then I won't get my hopes up when the so-called "results" come out---because it will amount to nothing but hot air, with no backbone.

Just like the people accusing Roger, years after he retired from the game.

Friday's Random Thoughts

It's the end of another week---Christmas is almost here. And of course, I am no where near ready. Looks like it will be another last-minute dash to the grocery store, and various insundry other places! I vowed to be done early this year. The best laid plans...





I don't know who has the more animated hockey announcers: Rogers SportsNet or CBC Hockey Night in Canada. One thing is for sure: I could do without the fights. It seems there are more this year. One of these days, someone is going to get seriously hurt.

We've got lots of Christmas lights on in our subdivision. It's a nice way to spend an evening, driving around to see what everyone else has done.

I've got concerns about that Mitchell steriods report that was issued this week. We'll be discussing this on Monday.

Some guy who was drunk as a skunk almost drove off a condo parking deck last night. What will it take to get the message out about drunk driving?

I feel sorry for those folks with no power due to the ice storms. I went thru one really bad ice storm here about seven years ago. Five days without power is no fun!

Michael Vick got off easy in my opinion (even though he was sentenced to more time than the prosecutor recommended.)

If you can, try to do something for a less-fortunate friend at Christmas. I have, and it feels good to help!



Back on Monday as always!

Why we need to get real about Tibet

This one's for the naysayers.

The ones who believe Tibet doesn't have the right to exist as a free-standing country.

Read carefully-it looks like I will have to explain it to some people.

There were a group of Tibet protesters at the IOC meetings this week. Seeking what is rightly a valid issue. The right of Tibet to be recognised as an individual country. That's not such a outrageous idea. Sorry to dissapoint some people.

If you remember high school history, Tibet was invaded and overtaken by the Mainland Chinese in 1951. It's an illegal occupation, yet the IOC chooses to acquiese to the wishes of Beijing in all matters relating to that country.

Unfortunately, it's easy to erase history---and paint your own image of what the reality is. Picture this, living in a country that is illegally occupied, with no avenues for self-determination, no free press, no self-governance. It's a crappy way to live, essentially being trapped in a prison with no way out. But for many in Tibet, that is daily reality, and for some in the free world, a status-quo that they are only too happy to oblige to Beijing.

I for one refuse to go along. For those of you who know me, I speak my conciense. I don't expect anyone to agree with me, but being involved for close to seven years on various issues relating to press freedoms, I say it's time to get real.

This is a country fighting for it's life. For it's soul. For it's children. For it's future. We need to be the voice of the voiceless on Tibet. To stand up for it's people to live in freedom and prosperity. And not to be the enablers who want to deny those opportunities that they have not had since 1951.

The monks who staged the public protests this past summer were brave souls. Inside the country, they are that nation's conciense. They better than anyone else know what is happening there. It's rough, and nasty. But it's daily life there, and a life that could be made better, if we only on the outside would get real.

How about if all of us set an example? Old fashioned, I know. But it works. And be the conciense that tells the truth, instead of "going along to get along."

Tibet, and not "Tibet."

Al Sharpton-why we need to take him seriously

If you've seen or read the news lately, Rev. Al Sharpton is threatening to go to the IOC if Mayor Daley doesn't respond by December 29th in reference to alleged incidences of police brutality by the Chicago Police Department.

It was well known that in the 1970s and early 1980s, the Chicago police used to beat out "confessions" of Black men. Some victims decided they had enough and the city agreed to pony up $20 million dollars. That amount of money should get anyone's attention---it sure did mine. I don't know at what dollar amount it becomes police brutality, but the agreement of Chicago to settle some cases clearly indicates there is a problem.

A recent poll said 91% of Chicago residents have told Sharpton to mind his own business. That's exactly what got the PD into trouble in the first place.

I am not accusing all cops. In fact, two of my friends are police officers and they are the most hard working guys you will ever meet. They certainly aren't in it for the money. For them, it's an honor and a privilege to wear the badge, and one they take seriously. As one told me: "the bad ones give us good guys a black eye."

I am probably one of the few who is taking Sharpton's comments seriously. We all have to, and it would behoove the Chicago organisers to do the same. The issues of police brutality came up in NYC's bid and I think it did cross several IOC voting members minds. It came out in thinly-disguised comments ("we have concerns about how certain security aspects will be handled.")

Replace Al Sharpton with Dr. King. Would 91% of people still ignore his comments? I think not.

Some people think Al is a blowhard and a buffoon. In actuality, he speaks the truth, sometimes painfully, as Dr. King did.

And it's a message we all need to listen to, because it affects all of us, no matter where we live.

Rock on, Reverend. You've got my ears.

Munich's 2018 Winter Olympic Bid-no way!

The German government has approved a bid to go forward for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

What a shame---and a slap in the face of those who can't get resolution for what happened in 1972.

It's a shame that their government so convinenetly "forgets" what happened, with lives lost and the subsequent coverups, that still to this day have NOT been resolved.

As someone who had a friend who's cousin was one of the murdered athletes, I say that I have had enough. Enough of the posturing by the German government, enough of the refusual of the IOC to resolve the issues, and enough of the denial to the families to get to the truth of what really happened.

Germany does not deserve to have another Olympic bid (Winter or Summer) until they get serious about resolving the outstanding issues of the 1972 Games and the IOC grants the wishes of the family for a 30-second moment of silenece in the memory of those who gave their lives.

Don't reward a government who thinks all this can be swept under the rug. I guarentee you they are going to face some very rough questioning at the IOC Session when discussing their bid if it gets to that stage.

And they better be prepared---because I will be.

Beijing's lookism-it's not acceptable!

If you are between the ages of 18-25 and "tall, thin and attractive", Beijing 2008 is looking for you, as a possible presenter at the medal ceremonies.

What's wrong with this picture? Plenty.

Discrimination has reared it's ugly head. What with all the other issues that Beijing is facing in the world community in the runup to the Games, now we can add employment discrimination to the list.

Unless there are physical requirements for a job (right now I can't think of any), any job that is on the books should be made available for anyone to apply for. Of course, some jobs (such as law enforcement) require certain guidelines, but positions that don't require site-specific skills should have an opportunity for everyone to apply.

Of course, no one is guarenteed a job. They don't have to take you on. But don't deny the opportunity to apply to someone who's life would be bettered by the experience they would be given.

Human Rights Watch has had plenty to say about this. The Olympics are about opportunity, and giving someone a chance to step out of their comfort zone for a couple of weeks. Denial of those opportunities is never acceptable, especially when it is based on an outmoded way of thinking that (thankfully) most countries don't subscribe to.

Perhaps in the future, bid cities should be required to make a commitment of equal employment opportunity in all Olympic functions. It would set an example for others to follow, and is just plain good business.

Too bad Beijing finds this an acceptable way to do business. I don't, and I hope you feel the same way.

It's time to do the right thing Beijing. How about it?

Friday's Random Thoughts

Darn....looking at some recent posts, I have had to correct spelling. As my friend in Jacksonville calls it, I have a case of "CRS" (and I will let you guess what that means!)



It's going to be a predicted 75 degrees on Tuesday. No, I am NOT going to switch on my air conditioning in December.

I was at the bookstore the other night, when a woman who had her two wild kids running out the door. One problem, they almost knocked me down into the street, in the path of an oncoming car. When I spoke up, she claimed I was being "rude." No Lady, what would have been rude is if I got hit and your lesson would have had you paying my medical bills.

What is it with Lexus drivers? They are some of the rudest people out on the road. I don't know who's worse: gramps driving his Buick 35 MPH on the interstate or a soccer mom driving an overpriced Lexus SUV.

Last year, Budweiser was selling special Chocolate bottles of beer. I can't find them this year. They used to sell it with the collectible beer stein. Have they discontinued it for this year? Anyone know?

Why all the fuss about the college bowl games this year? Be GRATEFUL your school GOT a bowl invite! (woof woof.)




Back on Monday, without the CRS!

Too little, too late

27 years after Preisdent Jimmy Carter banned the 1980 US Olympic Team from competing in Moscow, they are now getting their so-called recognition, 27 years after the fact.

Too little, too late.

If I was an athlete, I would have been furious at the events of the last couple of days. Getting some sort of cheesy "gold" medal after being used as a pawn in a cat and mouse game with the Soviets wouldn't make up for the lost opportunities, both business and financial.

Who's fooling whom? And what brought this on all of a sudden?

The athletes of 1980 were innocent bystanders in a political crisis they had no control over. Why oh why 27 years later is our government trying to make it up to them when the right thing to do was to let them compete? Some who had dual citizenship were able to compete in other country's Olympic teams. Those folks had some measure of recourse. The Americans didn't.

Why the guilt all of a sudden? Wouldn't it be better just to admit we made a mistake and acnowledge the decisions made in 1980 were not in the best interests of the athletes, many of whom had been preparing for years for that one moment in the spotlight.

The Soviets were laughing---all the way to the bank. The Games that year made money, even without the presence of the big-name stars from the States.

How about if we as a nation insure by word and deed the right of an athlete to compete without interference from his/her government?

In fact, I could think of a lot of situations a "no interference" policy could apply to nowadays.

It sure would save us embarassment---and public scorn in the future.

Just as I thought

According in a report in Around the Rings, computer maker Lenovo has left the Top program, effective after the 2008 Games. After Kodak jumped ship, I predicted we would see a possible top-tier sponsor leave at some point in the future. I am going out on a limb here---expect to see another Olympic sponsor leave. Just my gut feeling. It was that same gut feeling that after Kodak left, then whoever was thinking about calling it quits would feel better about their decision. They just didn't want to be the first and as a result, Lenovo's leaving hasn't attracted the publicity that Kodak's actions have.

Companies are getting smart. They want to make sure their sponsor dollars will get the biggest bang for the buck. Especially in this economy. What with us facing possible $4/gallon gas (I don't think that applies to you folks out in California-I saw it coming close to that amount in San Francisco two years ago) and layoffs making the news, spending a gazillion dollars on sport sponsorship isn't as attractive as it used to be.

Who will step up to the plate to replace Lenovo? Acer, the Taiwanese computer maker has been mentioned. Ho ho, wouldn't that make the Mainland spit noodles. Whoever replaces Lenovo, they better be in it for the long haul, since the next several years are going to be a rough ride in general for sponsors, athletes, in fact, anyone on the periphery or heavily involved with Olympic sport.

I just hope it doesn't get to the point where we have a sponsor crisis what with people leaving as fast as the IOC can replace them. That isn't good. The IOC needs stability, and what with the current doping crisis, they need all the financial friends they can get their hands on, before anyone else is thinking of pulling out.

Otherwise we could see what happened years ago before reforms were enacted: an IOC millions of dollars in debt, with no-seemingly way out.

If it happens again, it's going to be a lot harder to correct. Hopefully it will be the IOC's priority to stop the sponsor bleeding...before the patient is declared DOA.

Or if the Olympics have a DNR order slapped on them.

Rogge: Schmitt was misquoted

Rogge: IOC Member was "misquoted."

Reporter on the scene: Pal Schmitt went "on the record."


Who are we supposed to believe? I am siding with Pal on this one.

I say let Mr. Schmitt speak for himself...he certainly doesn't need an IOC President trying to explain to a member of the press what HE thinks Pal said.

Mr. Schmitt, don't let anyone try to muzzle you on this. You've opened a door---that needed to be opened for a long time. Believe me, it's tough to be the first to raise an issue with the IOC.

But the rewards are well worth it.

I know.

He's Our Pal

Pal Schmitt has done something that no other IOC member has publically dared to to:

Challenge the IOC on the issue of press freedom in China in the runup to the 2008 Games.

I say: Good Job, Sir!

Pal was involved in a very bitter election in 2001 for the IOC Presidency. He lost out to Jacques Rogge, who today was sent a letter fromt the President of Reporters Without Borders which in part said "your silence on this matter has enabled the abuses" of freedom of the press in relation to the Olympic preparations.

I said a couple of months ago it was going to take an IOC member to challenge Dr. Rogge on the issue of press freedom. I don't know if Mr. Schmitt reads this blog (he's probably too busy but thank you in advance if you do) but he's done the right thing, and it was a huge risk for him to step up and speak out. I only wish more IOC members would do so.

I wonder how long Jacques Rogge is going to stay silent on this matter. I hope it won't take the arrest of an IOC-accredited journalist during the Games next year for him to wake up and smell the problem. His peers certainly are speaking up.

It would behoove him to listen to the voices that are getting louder and louder on this issue.

What will it take for him to listen? Ideas, anyone?

The Bonds indictment-what's next?

Well, it's finally happened. Balco Barry and the Feds finally met up and the hammer has come down. People are expressing surprise at the timing of the indictment. Me? Not surprised. The Feds just saved some hapless team owner(s) that might be thinking of signing Barry millions of dollars in salary and bonus.

You can always count on one scandal erupting before spring training. This would have been a PR nightmare extraordinaire. I got the feeling here in Atlanta the fans were saying "not in MY backyard" to a possible Bonds signing. People are saying his career is effectively over.

All Barry had to do was tell what he knows. Apparently law enforcement has a mountain of evidence on him and with a greater than 90% conviction rate, his back is against the wall. Lying to a federal grand jury is serious business. My late dad was on two federal juries and the experience makes going to county court to do the "one day/one trial" system a cakewalk.

He probably wouldn't have recieved any jail time if he told the truth---or at the very least a minimal amount of time. People are saying that Barry wasn't an Olympic athlete and why is the government so adamant about going after him? Because the feds have some rock-solid proof and now it's their time to shine.

It's guilt by association. And the sad part was that Barry risked his career, and for the time being, it's effectively over. For now. Maybe forever.

I don't understand it myself. But Barry's links to the Olympic world via Balco are yet to be revealed. And you can bet the Feds always get their man.

Or maybe Barry should just do what Michael Vick did today. He signed in 22 days early to a Virginia lockup in anticipation of the judge sentencing him to a jail term for dogfighting.

Barry Bonds: sign in please.

Friday's Random Thoughts

Brrrr....it's cold outside! Time for a hot chochlate, and a bit of FRT!




My neighbor already has their Christmas tree up. Looks like it's about time to decorate here too.

I don't get the adults who are obsessed with Hello Kitty. What's up with that?

Why can't some people park their cars head first? Some clown almost hit my car in the parking lot of Kroger tonight trying to park back end in.

I have seen some of those "fire in the hole" videos on YouTube. I don't think it's very funny. Where are the parents in these cases?

Barry Bonds has been indicted for lying to a federal grand jury. His home run record of 756* might be taken away. His next record could very well be a prison record for the next 30 years. We'll be discussing this on Monday. Just remember one thing: Hank did it on steak and eggs!

The December Ladies' Home Journal has the septuplets on the cover again. Enough already with these people. I am tired of hearing about them.



Monday's posting will be the last before we take a break in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Regular postings will resume November 29th.

So far, so good

50+ posts and counting. It's definitely a challenge to think of something to write five days a week. But that can be filed under the category of discipline. And a good attitude, of which I have previously discussed here.

I was at a meeting tonight at the Wellness Community. My late husband's oncologist was the featured speaker. I went partly to thank him for the care he gave Ken and also to support my husband's memory and my pageant platform of Brain Tumor Awareness. One of the things he discussed tonight was attitude and initiative. He said that those who actively participated in their treatment had a much better chance of recovery than those who were passive, didn't ask questions, and uninvolved.

I drove home thinking that could apply to so many other things. Attitude and Initiative. The right mindset with the right partipation equals success. Wheather that two-way street takes you to the doctor's office, or face to face with a sport or business icon (guarenteed to happen if you hang in the Olympic world), it's a formula that almost always will bring success and further opportunities as a result.

Just watch out for the red lights. The green is just on the other side.

Sad to see you go

This week sees the election of a new WADA President. Since as of this writing there is only one candidate, and no one else on the horizon (you never know between now and Sunday when the election is what might come up), it's going to, for me at least, taking some time getting used to a new person at the helm. I only hope whoever heads WADA as of Sunday will continue the legacy that Dick Pound has laid down. WADA's HQ are to remain in Montreal so there might be some behind the scenes help if he is called upon. I can't see him just walking away from the fight against doping.

Whoever is in the President's chair as of Sunday has some big shoes to fill. And hopefully, will continue the tough-as-nails stance against the issues that have come up this year. Marion Jones for one. Whoever the medals go to, the new guy better get it right from the get-go, otherwise we could be in for a rough ride, and whoever works doping control next year will have their hands full due to the fact it will be open season for the cheaters due to the fact the first year included falling down on the job.

Whoever is elected, remember this: you aren't there to make friends. You're there to clean up sport and the future of a clean Olympics is on your hands.

Don't let it get away.

Being Thankful

It is less than two weeks to Thanksgiving here in the United States. I've been thinking a lot about what I have had to be thankful for. Here are some of mine:



That I live in a country where I can write freely, without fear of harassment.

Friends who support what I do.

A loving husband watching over me in Heaven.

A roof over my head.

Having been able to travel the world and get a bit out of my comfort zone.

My good attitude---but it doesn't mean I will just walk away if you say or do something to hurt me.

My life outside the Olympic world...my subdivision board, and starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel after a horrific year of losing the most important person in the world to me.

Hey, I am even grateful for the jerks, because they remind me of how never to act at an Olympic activity or Session. I have a saying: Life takes care of the villians.

A good cleansing laugh, the kind where you have tears running down your face and your tummy aching.


What are YOU grateful for?

China media database---say what again?

The Chinese want to compile a database of reporters and media folk during the Olympics. They say it is to stop intimidation of interview subjects (among other "concerns") and media people shaking down interviewees for money.

What?!?

You heard me.

I am just shaking my head at this one. Maybe translate "intimidation" as aggressive gathering of the facts and you know where I am going with this one.

Most media people I know are professionals. As for shaking down people for money, that is a laugh. We're looking to get paid-legally. Shaking people down is for the low lifes (alhthough I am sure there are media low-lifes hanging around in the bushes somewhere in the world.)

At the time I am writing this, there is a writer's strike. Most network TV shows have stopped filming. I would rather bet money on one of them asking for money than a reporter covering the events in Bejing.

Just another example of how BOCOG is out of touch one year on.

Chinese pressure forces CBC to pull TV show

In a report in Friday's New York Times, it was written that Chinese diplomats in Canada pressured the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to pull the program "Beyond the Red Wall: The Persecution of Falun Gong." The action was prompted by what was described as a telephone call to the CBC from a "cultural consultant" at the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa. A spokesperson for the CBC, Jeff Keay, has rejected any connection between the Olympics and the CBC and said the decision was made in response to the aforementioned telephone call from the Embassy. John Cruickshank who is in charge of the news operations at CBC said that "I'm happy we stepped into the process. In the end, we got the journalism right."

Or did you?

Who's journalism exactly? The Chinese, or the CBC's who's charter I am sure mandates fair and accurate reporting (if it is the same as Radio Canada International's, of which I listen a lot to.)

I am really disappointed in the CBC for caving in to pressure and not airing the program. How about letting the Canadian people deicde for themselves on what they can watch and not some faceless flunky at an embassy who wants to impart their brand of (cough cough) "impartiality" which translates to, "if you air this program, we can bet next year we're going to give you grief." The CBC in my opinion took the lazy way out and caved, which they should have never done.

This sets a dangerous precedent. Who's next? NBC? BBC? TVNZ? We know the Chinese don't keep their promises. But they have no business telling CBC what they should broadcast. I wonder how this is going to play out in the end, if the program will be shown at all. Maybe one of the cable stations up in Canada will pick up the program since CBC is too chicken to air it.

To my Canadian readers: I am outraged and I hope you are too. No matter where you live (in/out of Canada) let's tell Jeff and John what we think and maybe the Chinese Embasssy in Ottawa should get a call too. This action by China is totally unacceptable for Canadians, let alone for anyone else who's country will recieve an Olympic broadcast next year.

I thought CBC was impartial. Guess I got it wrong.

Thorpe cleared of doping---will he sue?

Swimming's international governing body FINA has cleared Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe of doping allegations. FINA's conclusions were that the levels of alleged drugs occurred naturally in his body and there is no need to investigate further.

This is an investigation that should have never happened. I wonder who blew the non-existant dope whistle on him. The actual dope in this case is the person or persons who accused Ian in the first place.

When situations like this come up, my first thought was "who did you tick off?" Someone doesn't normally go to one of the sport governing bodies unless 1: you have solid proof (which the person(s) involved in the Thorpe case didn't have or 2: something else (unrelated to swimming) is going on here i.e. someone trying to shake you down for money, for example.

Ian has every right to protect his good name and reputation. I hope he does. Maybe that will make some other nutcase think twice about going after an athlete (or any celebrity for that matter) with unfounded allegations, in order to destroy their careers or worse, their international reputations.

Bibles allowed: how nice

The USOC has confirmed from the IOC that athletes will be allowed to bring Bibles into the Olympic Village next year. But what will actually be allowed into practice the closer it gets to August is yet to remain.

Beijing knows they are going into "put up or shut up" mode. Either come up trumps with your promises, or else. Sometimes I think they would rather take the risk on the "or else" part.

I wonder how long it will take for me to get the first email about something confiscated, censored, corrupted or worse. Maybe I am being cynical but after six years, nothing surprises me anymore.

They say they will allow certain items. But, mark my words, putting it into actual practice will be quite another matter alltogether.

Chicago's Olympic Battle

Oops. Big oops. Really big oops.

Chicago has engaged the services of former Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games official Charlie Battle in their bid to bring the 2016 Summer Olympics to their city. He is described as an Olympic official "with over twenty years experience."

Not the most appropriate choice, I say.

In a 1999 Washington Post article, he admitted that ACOG "probably violated" IOC gift-giving limits, but "nothing illegal went on." I am not so sure, with all the Olympic consultants out there, Chicago couldn't chose one person who has absolutely NO question about how they handled previous Olympic dealings.

This is an issue of which the IOC is quite sensitive: you better have your hands squeaky-clean, otherwise anything you say or do could be called into question. There have been people at the IOC working their butts off to erase the scandal-laden Samaranch years. It's up to the bid committtes to do their part. And this is where Chicago is already failing.

Tell that to NYC 2012 about how well their bid went down. Charlie was involved with them too. If I was a bid official, I would hold off and search for someone with absolutely no question of a black mark, improper gifting or other Olympic-related bid wrongs by co-workers in their past.

Chicago better be more careful in the people they hire in the future, because it's going to be called into question in Copenhagen.

That is if those people aren't let go beforehand. Which might not be such a bad idea at this point.

Don't pat yourself on the back---yet

From the way the folks up in Chicago are thinking (and talking), you'd think they have it in the bag for 2016.

Not so fast, I say.

It takes two to tango. You...and the votes of those all-important IOC members.

I am just not convinced. My gut feeling is that in Copehangen, we will see the fastest flameout since NYC's bid. What I don't understand is the other writers who are so quick to be the enablers, patting Chicago on the back for the great boxing championships, for the quick resolution on the Romanian boxers who shoplifted several hundred dollars of goods from Nordie's, and for the overall organisation of their bid.

Slow it down, please.

We've still got a bit more time before the IOC sesssion in October, 2009. A lot (and I do mean, a LOT) can happen between now and then. Those who are so quick to praise Chicago in my opinion are actually doing their bid a disservice because I can almost guarantee that between now and October 2009 when the IOC Session will be held, that there will be some kind of major scandal from someone, somewhere, sometime. It might not involve Chi-town, but you can be sure someone is gonna get it---and good.

We're not going to have another Olympic Games in the USA for quite some time. We better get used to it.

And that can be attributed to some of our own doing---and words.

Friday's (sniffle) Random (sneeze!) Thoughts

I've been battling a nasty case of the flu most of this week. Thank goodness for the 24 hour pharmacy that is down the street. I hope everyone else is staying well---and out of the doctor's office!



I had two groups of kids ring the doorbell on Halloween, even though the lights in the house were off downstairs. No lights, no candy! Maybe next year.

My two absolutely favorite songs-of-the-moment are the Teddybears "Different Sound" and Kid Rock's "So Hott"...everytime I hear them on the car radio, I swear I am going to blow out the speakers because I turned the volume up so high.

Can't construction companies be more careful? We've had several incidents of streets being blocked off when a JCB or Catepillar-type machine hit a gas line. It's the law here you have to "call before you dig." I don't know anyone who's worked construction so maybe this isn't really the danger TV news makes it out to be because the companies are always careful (??)

Did anyone watch the Heather Mills McCartney interview on Today? Shut up, settle or better yet, GET A JOB!

Is it my imagination or are the pre-Christmas and Thanksgiving sales getting started earlier this year?

Speaking of Thanksgiving, the one day I am so grateful that I don't work in retail management anymore is the day after the holiday. Anyone who doesn't go to a mall during the year can be guarenteed to show up the day after Thanksgiving.

What was it tonight with Bravo running the film "Notting Hill" for four hours straight? Programming error, maybe? It's one of my favorite movies, but there is something called overkill.

I have to admit: the National Enquirer and Globe are my guilty pleasures.

Who is that snotty-sounding woman with the English accent who does the ads on TV for those gold coins commercials? Like nails on a chalkboard. Men, can you imagine waking up next to her in the morning? I think not!

I once had a chance to take a private tour of the Kremlin-and turned it down. I've regretted it ever since. Who knows whom I would have run into?

Is it my imagination or is there not that kind of excitement this year about college football?


Back on Monday as usual!

Liar Liar, Pants on Fire

The China Public Security Ministry offical made it official: no public protests or so-called "unathorised" marches will be allowed during the Beijing Games. That isn't what Wang Wei promised in 2001 when he said that "anyone was welcome to stage a demonstration, you just have to apply for the correct permit and it will be approved."

Who's fooling whom here?

Certainly the Security Ministry official who's lies are just about as transparent as the excuses Brit gives to her parenting coach.

We've had almost six years of the wool being pulled over our eyes in regards to how transparent the Beijing Games actually will be. They say that dissent "will not be tolerated."

OK then what happens when the first reporter interviews a Falun Gong believer, or internet dissident (and broadcasts or publishes the work while they are inside Mainland China. I wonder if there are contingency plans with NBC, BBC, and the other major broadcasters if one of their own suddenly gets a knock on the hotel room door in the middle of the night. What then?

Today's Security Ministry announcement really concerns me. This is just the beginning. It's not enough to decry what is happening. For those of us who work with the written word, it is up to us to put it into actual practice every day of our working lives. It is our responsibility to our brothers and sisters who can't do what we are doing, and if they are doing it, putting their lives on the line every single day.

Shine the light into the darkness. It's our moral responsibility.

Trick or Treat

Defintely a trick today, what with the acceptance (almost unanimously, 5 are yet to vote) on the Olympic Truce resolution that was introduced today at the United Nations. I wonder what is to come afterward?

I don't think it should take a resolution every four years to stop conflict. How about making it a part of our daily lives?

Short. Sweet. And to the point today.

Not all doom and gloom

Regular readers of this blog know the IOC is getting hammered---pretty good. But it's not all doom and gloom. There ARE people there who are getting it right.

Giselle Davies for example.

She is the Communications Director and sure does have her hands full. I once told her she is my role model for objectionable situations. I've seen her deal with uppity press people with style and grace. I once told her that a nuclear bomb could go off at an IOC Session and she still would be the cool, calm and collected person she is.

Her previous experience was doing time with Formula One. Now there are major egos there without a doubt. I knew a guy that did F1 reporting for a number of years and I think those types gravitate to the testosterone-filled world of international auto racing since it is a glamorous scene. (As a side note, I don't understand the former F1 drivers jumping ship to NASCAR. What's with that?)

I am a classic Leo. I will be the first to admit I have a loud mouth. But since I have had the change to talk to her and observe her, I have given a think and said to myself "how would Giselle handle this situation?" Before I would just verbally mow you down and be done with it. Of course, I am no pushover---if someone is taking advantage of me (such as my writing being ripped off several weeks ago), I will speak up---and loudly.

I've seen her handle some very tough situations. And most important...she doesn't back off of the tough questions that have been tossed at her. Unlike some of her cohorts.

Perhaps they would best learn from her? I know I have, and I have been thankful and all the better for it.

Rogge's US visit this week---will anything change?

Jacques Rogge is scheduled to visit Chicago and New York City this week. While in NY, he will visit the United Nations where there will be a BOCOG presented traditional proposal for an Olympic Truce during the 2008 Games.

What's wrong with this picture? Plenty.

If you've watched the news lately, we've seen a lot of info on what has been going on in Tibet recently. No truce there, what with people getting shot and violence from the ruling military being the order of the day.

I see irony in all this. It's the old "don't do as I am do as I say" or something similar. It's OK to spill blood and guts back home but when it is on an international scale, let's present a more civilised approach to the world.

It won't work.

Perhaps BOCOG should go back to 2001 and make a commitment to the promises they made that day in Moscow. Withdraw their illegal occupation of Tibet. Stop harassing Taiwan. In other words, be true to their words that they spoke that day.

Then maybe their proposal for an Olympic Truce will mean something. But for now, it's just empty words on paper, while the killing and intimidation still happens back in their homelands.

And that is something President Rogge shouldn't have to tolerate---but he does.

I've said it before and I will say it again: it's time for change and it's time for Rogge to go. Then perhaps the Olympic Truce will have teeth to those words, because we then will have an IOC President who backs it up 100%.

We're taking some time off for vacation!

Back on Monday!

Let's get ready to rumble!

In this corner: Dick Pound, outgoing WADA President.

In the opposite corner: Juan Antionio Samaranch, clueless-about-drugs-in-sport ex-IOC President.

It was no-contest: Pound won this one.

He's accusing Juan Antonio in an article in yesterday's Daily Telegraph about being clueless about drugs in sport, citing the Marion Jones case, which as a result has put a black mark on the IOC and world opinion of the IOC not being taken seriously about this issue.

Juan Antonio's solution to the drugs problem: ignore it and it will go away.

Thank goodness Richard has laid it on the line this time with him. Too bad old Juan didn't take the bull by the horns when this problem first started...maybe today we wouldn't be dealing with Marion Jones, the issues of who her medals go to and what to do with her teammates medals.

This is an issue that has the potential to destroy the IOC. Most of us have known friends or co-workers who have had problems with drugs at some point in their lives. Or had friends-of-friends who went to rehab. Or were arrested and spent some time in jail. Those are the cases you don't hear about. But when it is on an international scale, the problem is amplified and there is closer scrutiny. All the more reason to get it taken care of now.

I've got a solution: throw JAS out of the IOC, and replace him with someone who cares. We all thought in 2001 at Moscow he would stay retired and the issues that have plagued the IOC during his tenue would finally be dealt with. Fat chance. He's still there.

And until Samaranch's interference stops, Richard is going to have a huge challenge on his hands, as those of us who's job it is to highlight the issues that come with drugs and how they relate to the Olympics.

Let's make Richard's job easier.

Crescendo, anyone?

Who's reading?

I know my friends are. Colleagues too, including one very nice lady who sent me an email right at the beginning and said she "is looking forward to reading more." That is the kind of support I like.

There's also some reading that I wish wouldn't---including one who took a chunk of what I wrote and passed it off as their own. That isn't nice.

I suppose it happens to all of us at some time or another. I would not have minded if this person had properly credited me as the original author. Except for a few words here and there, it was almost identical to a section I wrote a couple of weeks ago.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

That isn't nice. Remember what I said at the beginning? There is room for everyone.

Play nice---I don't like to get ripped off.

Don't do it again.

Could someone tell me why people feel the need to do this? I am trying to understand it all.

Maybe there is someone out there that can enlighten me---and the person who felt they had the liberty to lift my material as their own.

A Clean Team in 2008?

The IOC has "vowed" to send a so-called "clean team" to Beijing in 2008.

Don't count on that happening. From what I am hearing, it may be the biggest year for drug scandals and drug cheats in a long time. I personally am not hopeful.

We've heard this talk before. Heard the same talk right before the Atlanta Games. Talked to a buddy of mine that was working Doping Control and he had two words for me: "We're busy!"

Remember the five Bulgarian weightlifters who succesfully challenged their results from 1996 (and subsequently kept their medals.) Same talk...that this was going to be the cleanest Games ever, and look what it got us. Absolutely nothing.

Don't count on the Mainland Chinese to help us. They are too busy sending tainted products to the US. Wouldn't be surprised when 2008 rolls around if they try that strategy to taint our athletes (unknowingly, of course.)

I wish the USOC and IOC well in this fight. Hopefully, it will come to fruition.

But I will believe it when I see it.

Friday's Random Thoughts

I took it real easy this week. Probably too easy...I was in the gym only once this week. I hope my trainer isn't reading this! Rick will you forgive me?!?! Actually, I have a good excuse, with several meetings and running all sorts of errands. I know that is no excuse, but my mantra for next week is to do better!



Boo to my cable company for starting NHL Center Ice ONE MONTH LATE this year. They did the same thing when baseball season started; MLB Extra Innings also was one month late. There's nothing like this upset sport fan. Go Red Wings!

We've got neighbor pitted against neighbor in regards to water issues in our subdivision. I am on the board and trying to keep things cool. It's a challenge. Is this happening where you are?

I am proud to say I have NEVER watched an episode of American Idol.

Can't decide if I want to cook this year for Thanksgiving. The recepies in the November issue of Good Houskeeping look really good. I also subscribe to the UK edition of GH and we had an Anglo-American holiday last year. Little did I know...

The situation with Ellen DeGeneres and the dog is really sad. The kids in that house will remember this incident the rest of their lives. Kids just love pets. Why couldn't there have been some flexibility in this issue by the adoption agency?

A good site for clothes is www.netaporter.com---they will overnight deliveries to your residence and I have been pleased with the purchases from them so far. Their sale section has great bargains!

I just love that new show TMZ. Anytime Harvey Levin is guest-hosting Larry King Live, I make it a point to watch. Harvey should have his own talk show (or replace Larry who is a dinasaur.)

If the Cleveland Indians get to the World Series, I am counting on an email from a buddy up there saying "I told you so!"

I am not nervous yet about friends that will be going to Beijing next year. Check back with me in about six months.

Can anyone figure out this Britney mess? You need a scorecard!



You know where to go, come Monday!

Why are people playing it safe?

The reluctance to tackle the hot-button issues in the Olympic world mystifies me. Obviously, if you are coming from a country like China or Venezuela, you probably aren't getting rock 'em-sock 'em reporting. Or you are currently in a dangerous area that wouldn't bode well for that sort of thing. But barring that...

Could it be own personal egos in the way? I know of a few that could apply to. Finances? Certainly, what with budgets for business travel being cut or completely wiped out. Or maybe the audience isn't there? It seems that thud you are hearing is that there hasn't been for the past several years any issue that got people worked up. But that might change in the run-up to Beijing. Or maybe your hand is in the candy jar so far, you can't pull it out? Wouldn't be surprised on that score.

I see so many opportunities going to waste all because someone doesn't want to take a change on offending someone, or taking a stand. Sometimes you have to lay it all on the line and go for broke. There's a risk in that you will fall flat on your face, but OTOH, it just takes one question, one story, one opportunity for our readers (and bosses and co-workers, if we have them) to sit up and take notice.

So for the rest of the year, can we check our egos at the door and get down to serious reporting? Our audiences will thank us for it. And the issues of "playing it safe" will be relegated to that car insurance company and not the newsroom.

Just Some Little Things

Just a few items (short ones) that I would like to see the IOC tackle in the upcoming months:



1. Address the issues that were brought up by Reporters Without Borders in Lausanne this week. They unfurled a banner with handcuffs in the shape of the Olympic rings. I have done work with these people before and they are good folks. The IOC says they don't want to get into politics. I say there are lives on the line.

2. Ensure a place for Richard Pound in the IOC hierarchy after his term as head of WADA ends in December. He's a good egg---and keeps the IOC honest.

3. QUICKLY resolve the issue of Marion Jones' teammates' medals. I could see this dragging on for years.

4. Embrace more of the "new media" forms. The IOC is on the right track, but they need to speed things up.

5. Get real about BALCO---and what athletes are involved. Enough already!

6. Require all athletes to stay in the Olympic Village. It's a matter of safety, as well as security and giving a cohesive look to the Games. If you can't give up your luxury hotel for several weeks, you have no business being in the Olympics.

7. While on the subject of media freedom, allow the athletes to publish their blogs. That should be the last thing the IOC should be worrying about during a Games.



Just a few things, that would make it more pleasant for everyone.

Should the USOC move?

For the residents of Colorado Springs, Colorado, that whooshing sound you hear might be the moving trucks, if the USOC can't come to an agreement to stay in your city.

Frankly, I am surprised at the timing of their desires to look for new space. And, (ho ho) if reports are to be believed, Chicago is being touted as one of the places under consideration for their new HQ. Hmmm, aren't they bidding for something?

I just think the timing of this is suspect, what with Copenhagen coming up in 2009, and the possibility that Chicago officials could use a possible USOC move as an unfair advantage to their bid in case it does come to fruition that they move there.

There are so much more pressing issues for the USOC to be dealing with now. Doping. Marion Jones. The safety of athletes (and journalists!) in 2008. The results from Sydney being thrown into disarray. A new HQ should be the last thing on the totem pole.

Their desire for a new HQ shows that their priorities are in the wrong order. Concentrate on keeping (and retaining) what you have, deal with your pressing issues first, and then re-evaluate and if the situation warrants, then start looking elsewhere.

But don't use it to give a bid city an unfair advantage. We don't want another SLC situation on the books again.

Otherwise, you may have more on your hands than you realised, and it will be quite difficult to clean it off.

The disappearing Olympic sponsors

Wave and say bye-bye to Kodak, after 2008.

Remember Northwestern Mutual Life ("The Quiet Company People Have Been Talking About For Over 100 Years") used to be a long time sponsor and they haven't been involved with the Games for years.

I wonder who will be the next long-term sponsor to say sayanara. See ya. Goodbye. We're outta here.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least if we see another major company pull out within the next several years. Maybe one of the top-tier sponsors. Don't think it could happen? Think again---it's called economics.

Changing trends in the photographic world were cited for Kodak's reasons. But I wonder if the recent Marion Jones revelations aren't giving some sponsors reason to reflect. Companies are very image conscious nowadays. Even the hint of scandal is enough to send a corporate relationship down the drain. One only has to look at the situation with Kate Moss the model and as soon as a UK paper labeled her "Cocaine Kate", companies such as Burberry and H & M dropped her as a spokesperson for their fashion lines.

I am not saying if we hear another story of one more dirty athlete, it's all over. But more than damage control is needed. There are more "Marion Jones"'s that are out there, poised to do damage to an institution that has been around for over 100 years.

You've GOT to protect your bottom line. For the people who rely on you every four years: the athletes, the advertisers, the host countries, and to the kids that look up to these folks. Like it or not, when you are a public figure, you are a role model. If you don't want the responsibility, then your local burger joint is hiring.

Protect and retain the sponsors and you will have accomplished a major step in the preservation of the Olympics, for all concerned.

Friday's Random Thoughts

Well, we all made it through another week. I could have done without the migraine headache that I had for several days.



I am hooked on that new show called "Pageant Place" on MTV. Many years ago, (too many!) a co-worker said to me "Maryanne, aren't you too old to be watching MTV?" Gah.


I never miss watching "Real Time with Bill Maher" on HBO. He tells it like it is. Remember when he was fired from ABC? The joke's now on them.


Winter's almost here and already I am getting cabin fever. Itching to get my feet on a beach somewhere. Maybe back to the Caribbean.


Being a widow stinks. But I said to a friend of mine that if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't have done anything differently. The 3 1/2 years I was married was the best years of my life. Being a caregiver is the toughest job you will ever love.


It didn't take barely a month and the first verbal brick was hurled through the window in regards to this blog. Just what is it with people? 99% of the feedback I have received has been positive. I don't mind constructive criticism, but the comment about my character was just plain mean. Bite me. (And be grateful that I have not mentioned who you are.)


I had the leafs and debris blown off my roof this week. The company has worked for me before and is very careful. But I am still nervous about workers getting up there---no matter how much insurance they (or I) have. You too?


One thing I am grateful for is that I don't have a major Starbucks habit. Their coffee is way too strong for me. I was at a Starbucks last week and I was jacked for hours on just one cup of latte.


Another school shooting happened in Cleveland, Ohio. Back when I was in high school, the worst thing that could happen was that a student would get caught with a pack of cigarettes or a bottle of Boone's Farm. That now seems tame compared to what we've seen on the news lately.




We're back on Monday for more fun and games!

Chicago, we have a problem

300 runners with various ailments. One runner dead. Complaints about lack of water.

A receipe for disaster.

Publically, bid officials say it isn't going to affect their strategy and they say it isn't going to affect their chances.

I beg to differ.

Hawken back to 2001, and Toronto's bid. Remember Mel Lastman, and his infamous comments? Similar situation. Yes, lives wern't at stake, but public comments by their bid officials said everything was on track. After China won, the stance was still the same. And the media were after the one comment that would solidfy what a lot of us were thinking.

John Bitove, Jr. who was the head of their delegation was very gracious in the loss. He said it "was China's to win" and I couldn't help but wonder if there was something else he wanted to say to somebody but couldn't.

I see him coming down the steps and he makes a beeline right for me. He whispers in my ear that "the Mayor's comments hurt us", gave me a hug and walked away, shooing a hoard of media in his wake, hanging his head down, totally broken in spirit.

Of course, people were wondering "what did he say to you?" He and I had some small conversations during that week, and I think he felt comfortable in my presence, versus some other media people and thus, little tidbits would come out, that other people were scrambling for.

Chicago would bode well to do some major damage control---but it may already be too late. Their excuse is that the runners who got sick and the one who died wern't "elite" runners that would be in the Olympics if it was held there. That's a load of bull.

They were human beings who deserved every guarentee of safety as does a so-called "world class" runner. I worked the Peachtree Road Race for 17 years where there was both a mix of professional and "weekend warriors." We were trained to deal with any medical emergency exactly the same without regard for a runner's status. It's scary to think the participants up in Chicago were considered expendable by their race officals.

I can't get over the denial these people are in. It would be much better for them if they tackled this situation head-on---instead of sticking their heads in the sand and pretending there isn't a problem.

You can bet the USOC and IOC privately are saying there is a problem, that better be fixed before Copenhagen.

Before someone fixes it for them.

Munich's possible Winter Olympics bid---and why it's a bad idea

Some things are such bad ideas, I don't know how they even come to fruition.

File this one under "what are they thinking?"

This one's a stinker.

There is going to be a decision made sometime in December as to wheather or not Munich will put itself forward as a candidate city for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Local officials have already put up a high six-figure amount of money to study the feasbility of such a bid. It's roughly the equivelent of USD $700,000.

The German NOC must have a really short memory as to what happened when their country last hosted the Olympics.

This is really a sore point with me. As someone who knew one of the relatives who's cousin was murdered, I find it highly offensive that the German NOC can just go on it's merry way and act as if nothing has happened. They haven't cleaned up the mess from 1972 and in no way, shape or form even deserve to bid for ANY Olympics, Winter, Summer or Youth.

Germany needs to come clean about what really happened that fateful day. And just who else was involved besides Arafat's robbing crew. He had help, and he wasn't alone.

I've lived with this story for 35 years. Eaten, breathed, watched. If something was written about Munich, chances are I've read it. This time, it's personal.

Germany, you can run, but this time you won't be able to hide.

I guarentee it.

Don't punish the innocent

The IOC had a message on Tuesday for Marion Jones' relay mates on the medal winning 4 x 400 and 4 x 100 relay teams: turn 'em in.

The fallout continues...it looks like the IOC will ask for the medals back from her teammates---the thinking being, if one medal is tainted, then they all are.

I have a problem with that.

It's a little something called "due process." Her fellow relayers aren't getting that. One of the people that ran with Marion is a university administrator and is mad as blazes.

There are innocent victims of Marion's lying. By all accounts, they ran clean. It isn't fair to them that they are presumed guilty, all because one person decided that they could bend the rules, and thinking she could get away with it.

Everyone wants heads to roll. But we're all forgetting one thing: there ARE athletes who compete clean, who have trained for years for this one moment, and now are caught in a situation they had no knowledge or control over. Shouldn't their rights be preserved? Not everyone is tainted, but according to the USOC and IOC, they all are if they ran with Marion.

Let's step back, take a deep breath, and do this the right way. The aftermath could be a lot more damaging in years to come versus one dirty athlete who thought the rules didn't apply to her.

I am not defending Marion or what she did. But the USA's reputation in international athletics is on the line here, and that will still be around, many years after Marion is long gone on the scene.

USOC to Marion Jones: we got the medals, now we want the money

According to a report in Around the Rings, an attorney for Marion Jones voluntarily surrendered the medals to a United States Olympic Committee representative in Austin, Texas (where Marion lives.) Next up according to various sources: going after the $100,000 in bonus money that was paid.

My message to the USOC: good luck trying to get it.

By her own admission, she is broke, with less than $2000 in the bank. It's going to be a tough go. I used to do collections myself for seven years for MasterCard and Visa years ago. I saw some pretty weird things in the credit business. Many times, I would hear "you can't get blood from a turnip", which many times, followed a letter from an attorney saying my debtor had filed bankruptcy.

The IOC, in a statement to me said: "This is a sad day for sport. The only good that can be drawn from (today's) revelations is that her decision to finally admit the truth will play we hope, a key part in breaking the back of the Balco affair. The IOC has since 2004 wanted to ascertain the extent to which the case has had an impact on the Olympic Games. Our disciplinary commission, which has been working on this file over the past years, will now glean now what it can from her comments, and work with the IAAF and the USOC on how to finally get to the bottom of this sorry case."

What Marion did was wrong, no doubt about it. But for her to turn the equivalent of "state's evidence" and roll on other athletes is going to take a huge amount of "give" from the USOC and IOC. Marion can be a valuable resource, especially in terms of what she knows about Balco. But it's not going to happen unless she's offered a deal.

I am not saying she should escape punishment. But the value of what she knows is far greater than $100,000 and she's going to want something out of this before she talks.

Deal...or no deal?

Friday's Random Thoughts

The end of another week. Hope yours was as productive as mine was. AND, finally, some much needed rain!



Hockey season has resumed---go Thrashers and Red Wings.

Since the Braves are out of the playoffs, I'm pulling for the Phillies to go all the way and win the World Series.

Another passenger on a Southwest Airlines flight was told to change his clothing or get off the plane. The guy was wearing a t-shirt that said "Master Baiter." What is the problem with Southwest? Especially after it's president emailed employees a SECOND time reminding them they don't have a passenger dress code. Go fish.

Just what was it with people this week (both in-person and on line.) Did the Cranky Gene Store suddenly have a major expansion? As the Queen would say, I am not amused.(Nor am I impressed.)

Greetings to the CANADIANS who are reading me---thanks for the support! It's much appreciated!

The Simply Vera Vera Wang clothes that are at Kohl's---I'm getting some! My favorite is the purple skirt that is featured in the November issue of Glamour.

I am saving time (and frayed nerves!) by doing all my Christmas shopping on-line this year. To heck with the malls.



We're back on Monday! Have a great weekend.

Marion Jones: What Happened?

I'm speechless.

Never in a million years did I think she was involved.

Now she stands to lose 5 medals she won in Sydney.

If you've seen the news today, there's a good chance you heard Marion Jones admit to using performance enhancing steriods and lying to a federal grand jury. She stands to get up to one year in jail on the charges stemming from the Feds.

In the 7 years since I have been commenting on various issues regarding the IOC and the Olympics, never did I hear anything that would implicate Marion even getting near doping. I heard plenty about the ex-husband. Marion was the last person I would have suspected of such a thing.

What should be her punishment? Certainly the Feds will have something to say and I am sure some kind of jail time is in her future. As to the medals, she should do the right thing and voluntarily surrender them to the IOC so they can be awarded to the second-place finisher in Marion's events.

I wonder how many other "squeaky clean" Olympic athletes are hiding deep dark doping demons from the world.

Why, Marion, why?

Romney Redux---and why you don't want him to be your next President

Mitt Romney scares me. Really, he does. I grew up in Michigan, where his dad George, had several successful terms as governor of Michigan and sadly, his political career went down in flames when he made the infamous "brainwashing" comment on the Lou Gordon Show (local Detroit talk show in the 1960s.) His Mormom religion didn't even enter into his politics and it wasn't until I was an adult, did I know he practiced that religion, as his policies were devoid of any faith-based initiatives, that are so common in today's politicians.

Sadly, his son doesn't share the same values. His term as the head of the Salt Lake Organising Committee and it's subsequent scandals put a black mark on what could have been a great Winter Games. In my dealings, with SLOC, I said to my Aunt one day: "never again!"

I guess it was SLOC's legacy of discrimination that turned me off. One of their personnel representatives said to me that she "couldn't understand why I hadn't had an offer for a job interview" despite my application being looked at over 30 times. They said it was because I "didn't have a local Salt Lake City address." Never mind that I offered to pay for my accomodation and transportation to the interview myself---there would be no out-of-pocket expense to SLOC. No deal, they said. Didn't matter to them that I had x number of years experience, including (at the time) 10 years being successfully self-employed. The message was clear.

One of the strange things I found out was that there was an increase in the amount of applications for Salt Lake City post office boxes. The local PO's went wild---they loved the extra business but it was quite a head-scratcher for them as to why there was all of a sudden demand for these items. Then SLOC got smart---and started checking addresses more carefully.

I've never had a potential employer or client make issue of where I lived. Mostly, it was "can you get to work on time?" I could have lived in a hut in Timbuktu for all they cared so as long as I showed up on time and got the job done on budget.

Now he's wreaked havoc in Massachusetts, doing the same in as in SLC, and now he wants to take this to the nation.

Over my expired IOC and Olympic creditial badges.

My Aunt (who has nothing to do with sports but has a great sense of philosophy) said to me at the time that maybe it "was a blessing in disguise. Maybe you would have uncovered something that they didn't want you to know that would have embarassed them."

The SLOC scandal hadn't even been whispered about at that time.

I think back to that whole time and realise how silly it all was. How everyone was out for themselves and for what they could get. Tom Welch and Dave Johnson esentially got off scot-free with SLOC's insurers paying their legal fees. The bribes, gifts, free trips, college tuitions, it goes on and on.

Now Mitt Romney wants to unleash his policies on the nation. Look what he's done in Massachusetts. Enacted legislation to require all residents to have health insurance. I don't know about you, but I sure as hell don't want the government telling me how I should pay for my health coverage. I took care of my husband for two years while he battled a cancerous brain tumor. I had enough on my mind. I sure don't need the government to tell me how to pay for it.

We can't let the legacy of corruption and discrimination rear it's ugly head again in the next presidential election. It was already dealt with once, with a varying degree of success in 2002.

We sure don't need eight more years of it in Washington,DC.

They're baaackkk! A Denver 2018 Bid? You've GOT to be joking!

At least that is what I hope the IOC will say if and when the time comes.

The Colorado governor is hoping the IOC won't...if various reports are to be believed, you just might see Denver jump into the race for another Winter Olympics bid.

What's the old saying...something like "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me" or somthing to that effect.

Denver's voters actually threw out the 1976 Games. Innsbruck, Austria graciously saved the day, and it was one of the most memorable Games ever. Now they want to possibly bid for another Winter Olympics, 31 years after they rejected the bid they actually won.

I once asked an IOC offical about this many years ago. He said it "would be a cold day in h***" before Denver was awarded any Olympics, and that a Denver bid "would be dead in the water" even before it started.

The IOC has quite a l-o-n-g memory for such antics. One of the factors taken into any bid (Summer or Winter) is the degree of financial risk the IOC and the host city would have to assume if the Games were cancelled or postponed or even moved to another area, apart from the original winning bid city. Even with insurance, it's a major factor that bid cities need to address. It took Montreal almost 30 years to pay off their debt from 1976. The IOC is determined not to have such a situation happen again and you can bet the financials will be carefully examined for any bid, because local taxpayers have said enough is enough and many don't even want the Games in their city, let alone the possibility that they will be paying off a debt for years to come. You've got to guage what the populace may think and factor that into wheather or not you will go forward with a bid.

Tell THAT to the fools up in Denver who think they can successfully bid again.

The Gentleman of Mexico City has died

Over the weekend,we lost one of our Olympic greats, when the shot put athlete Al Oerter died over the weekend in Florida. It was rumored that he suffered from heart problems and other health issues for many years. Besides being a great athlete, he was also a very successful abstract artist.

Al was of the old school. Someone who knew the responsibility of being an Olympic athete, and a role model to others, long after his competition days were over. This was in sharp contract to his teammates Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who tarnished their medals with the infamous raised fist actions on the medal stand and in 1998, being honored (?!?!?!) on the 30th annivesary of their actions.

The death of Al got me to thinking that maybe we should rethink just who we allow to compete. Perhaps it's time to go back to what the Olympics originally were for, the amateur athlete, and not the pros we see dominating the Games now.

It certainly would be a step in the right direction and just maybe, cut down on some of the issues that seem to crop up around every Olympic year.

You hear a lot about cities' "Olympic Legacy" as part of their bid documents. It's an important issue that the IOC takes into consideration on who to award the Games to.

But this Legacy doesn't take a bid, or an IOC Commission visit to enact--it just takes one person.

Besides, if you don't believe in something, you'll fall for anything.

Friday's Random Thoughts

Let's go surfing! Here are a few websites (not all Olympic related) that I enjoy and read on a regular basis.


www.thebigproject.co.uk/news---one thing I really miss from not being in the UK is going down to the corner newsstand and getting my copies of The Times (London), Daily Mail, Daily Mirror and News of the World. Here I can read them all online.


www.findmadeline.co.uk---no explanation needed.


www.aroundtherings.com---please visit my friends Ed and Sheila Hula who run this excellent website. If you want up-to-the-minute Olympic news, this is the ONLY website you will ever need. (After you finish with ATR, come see me for Olympic commentary and opinion.) There is also a link on how you can subscribe to the electronic edition and daily email updates.

www.pageant.com---another friend of mine runs this site. If you have a friend that competes or is intersted in the pageant world, direct them to Pageant News Bureau.


www.themoscowtimes.com---Web site of my favorite English-language Russian newspaper. It's too expensive to subscribe to the paper version but this is the next best thing to read it online.


www.moscow2001.olympic.org---where it all started. If you look in the archive photographs, you might see me hunched over a computer! There is an audio link to the President's news conference on the site also.


www.blackpoolonline.co.uk---Blackpool Gazette newspaper. My mother-in-law lives near there and my early married life was spent there. Not as tacky as some people think the place is.




Well, there are just a few of the sites I enjoy to visit, some in my off time.


Be good and see you Monday!!

One person who's doing it right

I have a confession to make...back in 1996, when Atlanta was taking it on the chin for how it was running the Olympics, Richard Pound was one of the most vocal critics. One day, I told my boss that "someday if I am face to face with him, I am going to give him a piece of my mind!" Seven years later, he and I and his wife were having a most pleasant conversation in the lobby of the Prague Hilton. I had to (silently!) smile at the irony. To say back in 1996 I wasn't exactly enamoured of him was an understatement.

But in the years that followed, something happened. He said in an interview that he took reflection of himself and realised that some of the caustic comments he had made over the years probably didn't win him any friends, and broke bridges in the process. He made a subsequent comment about "mending fences"---and he did just that.

Not very many people in the Olympic world make such a dramatic transformation. His principled stance on doping, and ridding the Games of cheats, which ended up in several IOC officials resigning their positions most likely cost him the IOC presidency in 2001. When he was named to Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential in 2005, he made a comment that "in the old program, you had to hold up the liquor store five times instead of four before you got caught." When other people were decrying how bad doping was, Richard actually and actively set out to do something about it.

His term as the head of WADA ends in December. I hope he considers another try for the IOC presidency---because I sincerely believe there needs to be change, and that change can only happen from the top, and he's the man to do it.

Anyone who can stand alone and call out the drug cheats is a good guy, in my book.

Para-normal?

I've heard grumbling from time to time over the years about the Paralympics from various sectors of the Olympic community: organising committees, broadcasters, volunteers, law enforcement. I talked to one bid committee member who told me they should have the option of hosting-or-not-hosting the Paralympics as they see fit. Costs were mentioned most as a factor. I heard volunteers in Atlanta who were turned down for "real" Olympic volunteer jobs being steered to the Para side. I recall in the application that I signed for 1996, that I understood that this was a Paralympics volunteer application also. Broadcasters say there's not enough interest to justify the cost. Law enforcement says the security concerns aren't as great as the regular Olympic Games. Who's right?

Everyone is...up to a point. I've heard talk from certain sectors saying that they would go ahead with a Summer Games bid if they didn't have to take on the Paralympics also. I've always felt that it should be up to the various Organising Committees if they wanted to take on this task.

I've always maintained that the Games for disabled sport should stand on their own and not piggyback the big event. I'll go one step further---and say it is discriminatory to disabled athletes to steer them away from the regular Olympic Games, and I am very surprised that a disabled athlete hasn't sued the pants off the IOC in this regard.

Some people will say it's a safety issue---you don't want an amputee competing with the likes of an able-bodied athlete who just won gold in his last event. I say it's a lack of opportunity issue and I really don't see the reason why athletes should be separated like this, if the IOC truly wants to equalize sport.

Give the athletes a CHOICE in how they compete---and the organising committees that same courtesy.

It will be a win-win on both sides of the medal stand.

Picking your ad battles---carefully

Over the next year, you are going to hear a lot about so-called "ambush marketing", "protection of trademarks", and related issues. The IOC is to the point of being obsessive about protecting their advertising dollars, especially for the so-called "top tier" sponsors (such as Coke.)

You've probably heard about the butcher that had a display of sausages in the shape of the Olympic rings. Faster than you can say gold-in-the-100-meters-goes-to, the IOC swooped down and demanded gramps take the display down. His excuse was to show support for the US bid in 2016. Not kosher, said the IOC, and threatened a lawsuit if he didn't comply.

I recall during 1996, there was a famous case here. A local restaurant had a huge billboard near Dobbins AFB that advertised "gold, silver and bronze" lunch specials. No mention of the Olympics or any Olympic-related marks whatsoever. You can guess the rest---down it came, several days later.

I think the most outrageous thing I have heard was the harassment of a local liquor store in Atlanta. I used to live in the neighborhood and the Olympic Package Store in the Brookhaven area had operated for years with no problem. Nary a word was said about the name of the business. But when officials were surveying the route of the men's and women's marathon, (that route directly passed the liquor store), the IOC went nuts.

I'd think it's safe to say the customers of Olympic Package wern't thinking of the Games when they went in on Friday's after work to get their supplies for the weekend. The store had been in the community for as long as I have been in Atlanta, (and that's a long time.) But they were forced to change their sign so it read Olympik to avoid a potential lawsuit from the IOC.

But the grandaddy of them all was in 1992 with Michael Jordan. Remember the Dream Team? And the huge billboard in downtown Barcelona that everyone loved? Everyone that is except the IOC.

At the time Nike was one of Jordan's sponsors. Big problem---it wasn't an IOC sponsor and said to him that if he won any medal, he was going to have to cover up his logos. Biiiggg mistake. Really big mistake. You don't tell the biggest sports star in the world what to do.

Fine, MJ said...I will just tell a few of my fellow teammates and I think it would be no problem at all if we just stayed home. As the whole focus of the Games that year and the big ad push here in the States was around the Dream Team and the possible gold they were bringing home, the IOC found out it bit off more than they could chew with Big Mike and backed down.

I am not denying that the sponsors that have paid lots of money have interests to protect. But in this area, I think the IOC needs to be more careful in how it chooses it's battles. Going after the corner liquor store versus someone producing unauthorised merchandise with the Olympic rings---it's a no-brainer as to who is the bigger threat. It got so bad in Atlanta that spectators were being denied entrance to events and/or given masking tape to cover up logos on what they were wearing.

The IOC needs to be more sensible and pick it's issues carefully. Too much money and time is being wasted on petty stuff and in the meantime, the big ones are getting away. But going after the local mom-and-pop retail joint only creates more distrust, and besides, it doesn't do the image of the IOC any good, in fact, in the case of the sausage man, it made them look downright petty.

And if the IOC was more careful, that's an opportunity for them---paved in gold.

Busted!

The DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) made headlines today when it was announced that at the culmination of an 18-month probe, which involved nine other countries and busted 56 drug labs that netted $11 1/2 million dollars of steroids and a database of thousands of customers, some of which may be athletes headed to the Olympics. Or I should say were.

The feds that ran Operation Raw Deal have said not-so-fast...they are just now processing evidence and have told everyone to sit tight for awhile.

The DEA is focusing on China. Before this became a huge PR gaffe for them, they shut down one lab. But I bet there are many more where that came from.

There was a publication from the IOC that I saw that should be required reading in every junior high, high school and college locker room. It was in regards to steriods and had very graphic photo evidence as to what could happen over a period of time. It wasn't pretty.

I once asked Dick Pound, the outgoing President of WADA (and a nice guy, to boot)what his solution was. He told me "forget the high schools, and colleges---we need to reach kids in elementary school who are just starting out playing organised sports." Wow, that was a real eye opener for me. The gist of the conversation was by the time you got to high school and/or college, it was pretty much a lost cause. He told me (at the time) that MLB and it's players's association was giving him major grief over trying to get investigations targeted towards baseball. The player's union is very protective of those guys and still to this day continues to stall any meaningful investigation. It is estimated that 10 percent of guys on any major league team are using. But WHY take the risk?

Back in 2001, I was having a casual conversation during a break at the 112th IOC Session in Moscow. I said to a friend that the one thing I missed being away from home is my baseball---at the time, internet access was difficult and major daily newspapers from the US took 1-3 days to arrive. The conversation drifted a bit until he dropped this bombshell: "well, you know about Barry Bonds..."

I said, well, I do know he plays for the Giants. It progressed further and he said, "you know he's using." I thought at the time-there is no way, that someone would put a big-money contract on the line, all for the risk of a few points in their average. Was I ever surprised, three years later, when the first allegations surfaced. I didn't ask my contact how he found out.

My late husband asked me about how I felt missing out on the Bonds story. I said that I didn't know that much about the "ins and outs" of baseball, but if the story was true, it was going to make someone's career. And two guys who worked for the SF Chronicle did just that. And the issues raised by the Bonds story are still reverberating to this day.

There is a PSA by Partnership for a Drug-Free America airing here in the US that shows the statue of Discobolos (the Discus Thrower) and it is slowly cracking. Arms then fall off, then the head goes. The announcer says "there is something else steroids do to a guy's body." I've often wondered if such commercials are really effective, since by the time you get to the age where you can compete internationally or professionally, if you are using, it probably has been for a few years and there is some evidence that shows these steroids can be just as addictive as some of the street-level drugs out there.

I hope the DEA doesn't wimp out and releases the names (if there are any athletes listed) from the database. More important, prosecute the users, lock up the dealers, in other words, get tough with those that insist on this form of cheating.

Because it's coming to your neighborhood and your kids if we don't.

Taiwan to Mainland: Take This Torch and Shove It

The latest dust-up between China and Taiwan has ended with a decision for the Olympic torch relay skipping Taiwan completely. There is lots of he said/she said-type blame coming from all sides: both countries involved, the IOC, and various press commentators. Everyone is rushing to the defense of the Mainland, but nary a word is sticking up for Taiwan's President, Chen Shui-bian and his principled stance for setting the terms upon which he will allow the torch to pass thru his country.

Some people are saying that since China is hosting the Games, they should set the rules and Taiwan be dammed. Others have taken a more moderate stance by saying both sides should give a bit. But think about it for a sec: imagine living in a country where there is almost the daily threat of missles pointed at you, and warships in the Taiwan Strait poised for a takeover of your democratic form of government country. A friend of mine used to work for their national radio station, The Voice of Free China. She said that was the reality of daily life there.

I don't think this would have ever happened if the IOC had done the right thing years ago, and recognised Taiwan as a sovereign nation and treated it as such. Then, you wouldn't even have this talk now about where the torch would be going once it got into that part of the world.

But it's too easy for the IOC to kowtow to the big-time Chinese money, but at some point, something has got to give.

I just hope it won't be Taiwan's independence and sense of self. That would be the real tragedy---we can't afford to have that country fall, as has Hong Kong and Macau over the past several years.

Bravo to the Taiwan president for sticking to his principles---and boo to China for being the bully---again.

I just wish I wasn't the only person saying this.

Why we SHOULD Boycott Beijing

Put simply, Tom Lantos is my hero. You can't say that about many politicians nowadays. He doesn't even represent my district, but he's about the lone voice making sense along with Dana Rohrabcher (R-CA) and Maxine Waters (D-CA) about China's hosting of the 2008 Olympics. Dana and Maxine have introduced a bill (before the August recess of Congress) calling for a boycott of the Beijing 2008 Olympics. It is a non-binding resolution, but it has garnered a lot of press lately.

Why You Should Care


It's no secret China has been in the news lately---for all the wrong reasons. Everything from products poisoning your kids to pet food killing your companion animals. The USA seems to have been a dumping ground for toxic products being made over there.

But there is another more sinister reason why we need to take the hard line on China:

They don't keep their promises...and a country that doesn't do that does NOT deserve to host the Games.

Back in 2001, before they were awarded the Olympics, Wang Wei who is the head of BOCOG, made a solemn promise to me (in response to my news conference question) and 500 other reporters at the Mezh Hotel in Moscow that if awarded the Games, they will promise press freedoms and there "would be no restrictions" on accredited media coming to China. It was a classic moment, that threw them for a loop. Either they answered the question, and incur wrath back home, or don't answer it and take a chance at the final vote. A friend of mine who was at the auxillary media center across town told me that "everything just stopped" and there was "dead silence" in his work area, and after I had sat down, he heard someone say "she's nailed it."

Little did I know how that day would reverberate around the world. I am passionate about this as I have "got the call" in the middle of the night saying a friend overseas had been severely beaten leaving her radio job, all for what she had reported in the country she was working in. This didn't happen in China, but it could have been, and concerns have been raised about China's broken promises since they were awarded the Games.

I called it "the 60 seconds that changed my life forever", and with good reason. I probably wouldn't be sitting her writing this if it wasn't for that fateful day in Moscow seven years ago. If I hadn't cared enough to "stick my neck out." If I said, "that's someone else's problem." If...if...if...it was a risk I had to take, if only to save ONE person's life and prevent someone else from getting that middle of the night phone call.

Certainly before leaving the States, people were upset. Upset enough to send anonymous emails saying that "(they) have friends who can prevent you getting on that plane to Moscow." Upset enough to call my non-published number and leave a threatening message on my answering machine. Upset enough to have an unmarked white car (with LOTS of antennas) parked in front of my apartment for hours on end. AND...chasing me and my driver on the Moscow outer ring road at speeds over 100MPH after the news conference that day was over (and my driver admonishing me to "keep (my) head down" in case shots were fired.

I never knew that day who ordered the chase on me. But I have a pretty good idea. I walked into the media center the next day to a round of applause and whispers of "that's her!" when I was walking around the hotel.

I recall in Prague how BOCOG cancelled several press conferences. I walked up to the receptionist in the media center and (innocently) asked why this was happening. She shrugged and said she didn't know--but I sure did...and a writer who was in Moscow came up to me and said he was disappointed as he "was looking forward to a rematch with you and Wang Wei." So was I.

The Moscow 1980 boycott ordered by Jimmy Carter happened in a different era and different time. The Cold War was raging, and at the time, people were saying that the athletes were being "used as pawns" in a Soviet game of cat-and-mouse over Afghanistan.

But today, the stakes are MUCH higher. Hein Verbruggen said at the press conference after China won that he "dearly hoped" that the Games would change what is happening in China, but I detected a bit of resigned hopelessness, sort of well, don't expect too much. Same here---when they stormed into Moscow, their attitude was "we're here to pick up our Olympics---and go home."

We NEED to care about what is happening over there...the only thing China understands is the almighty dollar, and I say we need to hit them where it hurts: square in the wallet. I don't want to get another middle of the night phone call saying a friend has got hurt---or worse. But I am afraid that we are going to see large-scale harassment of foreign media, the likes of which haven't happened since the Cold War.

It's a different time and different era from 1980. We need to get behind Tom, Dana and Maxine and tell them they've got it right---because BOCOG sure hasn't, and to either: hold China to their promises, (which they haven't kept, and I doubt at this late stage they will), or the RIGHT thing to do: Boycott Beijing, because that is the ONLY thing they will understand, and losing the biggest prize in sport will be a blow to their national pride, but a lesson learned in responsibility, protection of human rights, and most important, allowing media to do the job they were assigned to do.

Because friends don't let friends come home in pine boxes.

A Trip Back in Time-and what it taught me

It's not very often one gets to go back and visit a broadcaster that you had close ties with during a Games. I had that opportunity the last time I was in Moscow, Russia which was in November of 2002.

I used to be in Moscow at least once a year. Circumstances, such as getting married, and then taking care of my dear husband with cancer (RIP) put a stop to the travelling. One of my fondest wishes was to take Ken to Moscow, to show him the city and the people that they say are the most loyal friends in the world.

The trip wasn't really that long after "that day in July" (more about that in a later posting), but going back to the Mezh Hotel where it all happened brought back a flood of memories. I practically lived on their oh-so-good egg pasta and went back for more, and the waiter recognised me, even joked that he knew what I was going to order!

I went to my usual haunts, the Mexican bar down the street from my hotel, the Okhotny Ryad shopping mall downtown, and when life in Moscow gets too much, the Alexander Gardens, right next door to the Kremlin and Red Square, among other spots.

Right before I went back home, I stopped in to see old friends at RTR television. I wasn't sure if anyone would remember me, although I keep in touch from time-to-time with the lady who was the head of their Olympic delegation. It was a big congolmoration of various buildings, trailers and a half-finished new broadcast building that had construction stopped when the Wall fell and the funds dried up.

"Marianna, how ARE you?" came the call from outstide the security gate. I felt sorry for the poor guard, who had to be outside in sometimes less-than-ideal conditions. We walked inside, upstairs to her office and had a cup of tea.

One of the things I notced was a black-draped picture frame. It was of a young man that I remember well from 1996. Little did she (and I) know that during the time they were in Atlanta, he did not feel well. Two weeks after he came home, the fellow was dead of an undetected heart ailment.

People came in and out of her office to say hello---so many that she had to admonish every to "get back to work!" She began to show me around and we went into quite a large studio. There were benches in there, and it gave us a private time to talk.

She was worried she was too tough. I was worried I wasn't living up to her standards. I joked that I knew when she was upset, as she didn't have to say anything as evidenced by her service call one day---and the wait for 45 minutes that I had.

"You remember that day?" I said. In fact she had, and we had a good laugh over it six years later.

We talked about all sorts of things: life since the Olympics, how come I wasn't in Salt Lake City (which is another story), and plans for the future.

She then asked me "what are you going to do with all this?" I had a pretty good idea but even then one year later, I wasn't sure. There was a lull when I got back from Moscow at the end of July (another story---there is always one!), and she gave me some of the best advice I have ever recieved.

"You've got to take advantage of this", she said. "You have been given a wonderful gift and you can do some very great things, but only if you allow yourself to do so." Did she sense a bit of doubt? She is quite perceptive.

We then said our goodbyes, and she walked me out to the gate.

What she said made sense...and I hope up to this point I have taken the advice and used it responsibly. After all, she's been doing it longer than I have, although I aspire to her level of success.

I was watching a TV program about Tamara Mellon, the president of the Jimmy Choo shoe company. She was talking about the period after her divorce and the life questions she had about what was to happen afterward. She wasn't sure about buying the company and expanding the range from shoes to bags, belts and other items.

She decided to plunge in literally, "feet first." The interviewer said "what philosophy do you have for your own life?" She then responded: "face your fears, then do it anyway!"

Just like what my friend in Moscow told me, many years ago.