No Mod Required

In the next ten or so days we have:

• The Boston Marathon One of the world’s great sporting events takes place in my back yard I love the Marathon and this year my girlfriend and I are going to watch it from the course together, which is a first. We’re heading to Heartbreak Hill to watch the elites and hopefully catch sight of Lance Armstrong before heading home for a little relaxation. Should be an awesome day.
• The Red Sox playthe Texas Rangers on the very same day. The annual Patriot’s Day game has an early morning, 11:00 AM start time. Since the Marathon course goes right through Kenmore square the convergence of the two events is occasionally serendipitous- the game getting out just as the elite runners are hitting the square.
• The Boston Celtics, truly great again for the first time in twenty years, open the NBA playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks. I know the NBA is hoping for the return of the dream match up to end all dream match ups- a Celtics/Lakers NBA Final.

  I’d be pretty happy with that result too <- understatement.

• Over in Europe, the spring cycling calendar continues with The Amstel Gold Race on the 20th, La Flèche Wallonne 2008 on the 23rd and Liège-Bastogne-Liège on the 27th. While they don’t possess the grand drama of the grand tours, the spring classics are dependably great racing and this week of back-to-back-to-back action is an annual highlight.
• Closer to home the top American riders will all be on the start line of the Tour de Georgia. Folks like George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer, Tom Danielson, Dave Zabriskie, Chris Horner, and Bobby Julich will be vying for top honors in this challenging race through the state of Georgia.

  Of special interest, as always, will be the premier stage in all of North American cycling, the mountaintop finish atop Brasstown Bald. The nearly mile high peak brings the best out of the American climbers and adding a win atop Brasstown Bald is one of the most impressive victories a cyclist can earn on North American roads.

• Women’s Marathon 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials will be held in Boston the day before the Marathon (the 20th.) I’m not sure if I can make it out but it might be a lot of fun if I’m able. How often can one say they’ve seen two marathons live in two days?
• The Bruins? Heck, they might even be able to pull of an upset of Les Habitants. Not that I pay much attention to hockey anymore, but I know some people that do, so I’ve got to shout out the Bs
• Chelsea play Manchester United on April 26th. A game which could decide the Premier League. Fun times.

Did I miss anything? Even if I did that’s enough to keep me entertained and my DVR in good shape for a while. Good times.

USATF - Events - 2008 AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships

2008 AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships

February 23-24, 2008
Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center - Boston, Mass.

The Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College will host the 2008 AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships on Feb. 23-24. The concluding event of USATF’s Indoor Visa Championship Series, the AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships is the world’s oldest indoor track championship, with the first meet being held in 1888 in New York.

It should be a good time. I’ve never seen track live before so it should be a cool experience. It’ll also get me psyched up for track at this year’s Olympics. Track at the Olympics is always a treat for me and seeing some live in an Olympic year will be fantastic prep for the games.

World Track and Field Championships

Thanks to Versus for broadcasting a full week of the World Championships. After a full week, here’s a list of people I’m looking forward to seeing in Beijing next year:

• Tyson Gay: “The Fastest Man in the World,” will obviously be one of the major draws next year. His top end speed is magnificent and his battles with Powell will make for great television
• Bernard Lagat: The naturalized American citizen who pulled off the 1500-5000 meter double in Osaka has a deadly finishing kick. that and the fact that he’s just so happy to be running for America. He’s a lot of fun to watch.
• Allyson Felix: She’s young and very, very good. If there’s a face for the women of US Track next year she’s a mighty fine candidate. And she might be that face in 2012 as well.
• Blanka Vlasic: this Croatian high jumper is really good (and I mean really good) and she did little dances after her successful jumps. Which made me laugh. I like laughing. Here’s (croatian?) video of her jump from the Championships:
  
• Heptathlete Carolina Klüft is another amazing competitor who really gets into her celebrations. She truly gets geeked out when she does well, which is way fun for me to watch. She’s very easy to root for. Check this Swedish video of her performance for examples of bother her talent and her exuberance
  

La Vuelta a Espana 2007

Bummer that Danielson crashed out so soon into the race. I have no idea who’s going to win this race this year. without a clear favorite all ll I really care about is that it’s competitive (especially in the sprints) and that there are no significant doping stories.

I’m lucky to be working from home this week, so I can follow some important stages more easily. They’ve front loaded the Vuelta with a lot of action in the first week, so it’s worked out perfectly.

Clay Buckholz and the Red Sox

I was lucky to catch most Buckholz’s no hitter. I was in the middle of dinner down on the Cape for the first couple of innings, but we finished just in time to catch the really dramatic moments live. What a way to break out of their mini-slump. A blowout no-hitter. It doesn’t get much better than that. Of course, in the grand scheme of things the next day was even better as the Yankees lost their second of three games against the Devil Rays and the Sox lead went back up to 6 (and their magic number went down to 20.) As I’ve said all year, if the Sox win the Division, the year is a success for me. Everything beyond that is gravy.

Congrats Levi/Dave Z

Leipheimer won U.S. pro road crown and Dave Zabriskie defended his US Time Trial crown this weekend..

Now if we can just find out who Levi will be riding for next year…