Eric of Just My Show continues his Winter Olympic coverage with an interview with Rawle D. Lewis, who played Junior Bevil in Cool Runnings.
Also appearing is Jamaican Bobsledder Devon Harris.
With the Winter Olympics set to get underway, Eric of Just My Show interviews Dave Silk of the 1980 Miracle on Ice gold medal U.S. Hockey team.
It is a fascinating interview of a key member of one of the most memorable teams in sports history.
Image Courtesty of Icon Sports Media
1. In a Super Bowl XLIV ad for Doritos or Taco Bell.
2. In a 7-Eleven purchasing EZ Wider rolling papers.
3. At a Laser Floyd show.
4. In Jamaica Mon!
5. Riding shotgun in Chris Henry’s car. Or Pacman Jones. Or Matt Jones. Or…
6. At the beach playing with Devil Sticks.
7. Working on a Tie-Dye t-shirt.
8. Perfecting his stoner laugh. Uh huh huh huh.
9. At Best Buy picking up the Beavis & Butthead box set.
10. On the cover of High Times.
Disclaimer: I am a huge Michael Phelps fan and he simply used poor judgement.
Francisco Rodriguez collected his 50th Save. Every Day Eddie Guardado re-joined the Twins for a Minor Leaguer. Johnny Cueto will miss a start. Kevin Mench got sent down to the Minors. John Maine landed on the DL. Grady Sizemore joined the 30-30 (HR-SB) club. Instant Replay on Home Runs is now in effect. Oh boy. The Red Sox acquired Mark Kotsay from the Braves for a Minor Leaguer. Good thing they were able to strike a deal because J.D. Drew went on the DL. Cristian Guzman hit for the Cycle.
Osi Umenyiora will miss the season with a knee injury. Things just got a little tougher for the Champs since Michael Strahan will remain retired. Houston WR Harry Williams fractured a vertebra. What a scare. He most likely won’t play football again. Tom Brady missed another preseason game. J.T. O’Sullivan won the SF starting gig. Matt Ryan won the Falcons starting gig. Kurt Warner beat at Matt Leinart for the Arizona gig. They are great in college, but USC’s offensive skill position players haven’t been very successful Pros of late. Jason Taylor will miss a couple weeks with a strained knee. Carson Palmer had his nose broken for him. The Cowboys will be without LG Kyle Kosier for a month. Oakland lost WR Drew Carter and Oren O’Neal for the year with knee injuries. Chad Johnson has a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder. No good. Peyton Manning returned to practice. Cadillac Williams, Joe Jurevicius (knee), and David Tyree (knee) will miss the first six weeks of the season. The Chiefs signed Jay Feely and then cut him the next day. When did Donald Trump start working in the Chiefs’ front office? Shawne Merriman will play with two torn ligaments. Two thoughts: A) The Chargers are foolish for not shutting him down. This is not in the best interest of their future and B) I guess steroids can cloud the ability to make sound judgement. Derrick Harvey finally signed with Jacksonville. Baltimore traded a couple of draft picks for DE Marques Douglas. Pacman Jones got reinstated. Jeff Saturday (knee) will be out for a month or two. Brandon Marshall has his suspension reduced to one game. Kudos to those of you who took a chance on him in your fantasy drafts. The Cowboys acquired G Montrae Holland for Denver for a draft pick.
The Celtics signed KG look-alike Darius Miles. It will be confusing when they stand next to eachother. J.R. Smith re-signed with Denver. New Orleans signed Devin Brown. Phoenix traded D.J. Strawberry to Houston for Sean Singletary. Kevin Duckworth passed away of congestive heart failure. He was only 44. Another former player, Wayman Tisdale, who is also 44, had part of his leg amputated because of cancer. Monta Ellis will be sidelined for three months with a bad ankle sprain. Memphis signed Iranian Center Hamed Haddadi.
Joe Sakic signed a one-year deal worth $6 million to play for Colorado next year. San Jose signed Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic to a four-year extension. Dallas Center Stu Barnes called it quits after 16 seasons. L.A. signed first-rounder Colten Teubert to a three-year deal.
Notre Dame lost TE Mike Ragone to a knee injury. Miami will be without seven players (suspension) for their opener. Arizona TE Rob Gronkowski will miss their opener with strep throat. Oregon QB Nate Costa will miss the season with a knee injury. Mark Sanchez (knee) returned to practice for USC. Indiana suspended last years NCAA’s top sack artist DE Greg Middleton for their opener. #23 Wake Forest blew the doors off Baylor 41-13 to kick the 2008 season off. Miami, Georgia Tech, Iowa State, South Carolina, and Standord also got off on the right foot.
Buffalo suspended leading scorer Andy Robinson for trying to pay someone to write a paper for him. For further proof he isn’t too bright, he posted an ad online. Yeah, they never trace that stuff back to you. Indiana F Kyle Taber had surgery on his knee, which will sideline him for a couple months. Coach K will continue to be a part of Team USA.
The Redeem Team took the Gold. The U.S. Women’s Hoops did as well. Bryan Clay won Gold in the Decathalon. Usain Bolt won Gold in the 400 meter relay. The U.S. Women took their 400 meter relay. The U.S. Men’s Volleyball team capped a tragic Olympics with a Gold Medal. The U.S. led the way with 110 medals (36 Gold, 38 Silver, 36 Bronze). China was next with 100 (51, 21, 28).
Carl Edwards won the Sprint Cup’s NSCS at Bristol Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch took 2nd. Brad Keselowski won the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Bristol.
Vijay Singh won The Barclays FedEx Cup event in a playoff over Sergio Garcia and Kevin Sutherland. Cristie Kerr won the LPGA’s Safeway Classic in a playoff over Sophie Gustafson and Helen Alfredsson. Tom Kite won the Boeing Classic (Nationwide) over Scott Simpson. Scott Piercy won the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic (Nationwide) over Brendon de Jonge and Cameron Percy. Darren Clarke won the Dutch Open.
Marin Cilic beat Mardy Fish in the ATP Pilot Pen Tennis. Lucie Safarova beat Shuai Peng in the WTA Forest Hills Women’s Tennis Classic. Caroline Wozniacki beat Anna Chakvetadze in the WTA Tour Pilot Pen Tennis. No. 1 Ana Ivanovic got beat by Julie Coin in the U.S. Open.
That concludes the Tidbits. As always feel free to add any stories you liked this week in sports or discuss any of the stories I mentioned. Be sure to check out my Links Page for some great sites.
Chris Carpenter found his way back to the DL. Troy Percival, Ian Kinsler, Justin Duchscherer, and Todd Jones joined him. The Mets picked up Luis Ayala from the Nationals. R.A. Dickey tied a record with four Wild Pitches in 1 Inning. Greg Maddux is going back to the Dodgers. Billy Wagner’s elbow continues to trouble him. Josh Beckett will miss a start with a numb hand. Yaz had bypass surgery. I wish him the best. Jason Isringhausen’s elbow could keep him out the rest of the year. Hideki Matsui returned from the DL. Ken Griffey, Jr. tied Sammy Sosa with his 609th career HR. The A’s have lost eleven straight series. That happens when you deal two of your best Starting Pitchers. The good news is there is no ligament damage in Tom Glavine’s elbow. As long as he doesn’t slip in the shower or break a nail playing Guitar Hero, Carl Pavano will start for the Yankees tomorrow. Kansas City’s Mitch Maier landed on the DL after catching a pitch with his face. The Blue Jays picked up Jose Bautista from Pittsburgh. I guess they are trying to overtake the Yankees for 3rd in the division.
Terrell Suggs ended his holdout. He’ll make $8.5 million this year. Tennessee signed Cortland Finnegan. #4 looked good in his debut for the Jets. Ken Lucas returned for Carolina. Deuce McAllister returned for the Saints. Chad Johnson hurt his shoulder. Tarvaris Jackson has a sprained MCL. Tom Brady hurt his foot. Chris Henry is back with the Bengals. Peyton Manning returned to practice. Derek Anderson got a concussion. New Orleans signed S Lance Schulters. Anquan Boldin wants to be traded. Joe Horn got cut by Atlanta. New England sent Marcus Pollard packing. Kevin Curtis has a sports hernia. Surgery will put him on the shelf for an extended period. Steven Jackson finally ended his holdout. I don’t understand how they couldn’t get on the same page sooner. Gene Upshaw passed away. My condolences. James Farrior got a nice, hefty raise. Nick Barnett won’t be suspended after all after as he won his appeal. I guess the NFL is OK with the pushing of women. Now they are saying Ryan Torrain could be back with Denver by October. Houston’s Jameel Cook got busted with weed.
Michael Finley re-signed with San Antonio. Jannero Pargo left New Orleans for the Dynamo Moscow. Shawn Kemp is going to play in Italy. The Italian men are locking up their wives and daughters. Paul Davis re-signed with the Clippers. Gordon Giricek is ducking out on the NBA for Turkey. The Suns struck back by nabbing Goran Dragic from Spain. Devean George signed a two-year deal with Dallas. Theo Ratliff is back in Philly. Oklahoma City gave Donyell Marshall the boot.
Pittsburgh D Ryan Whitney will be shelved for a few months following foot surgery.
Georgia is your Preseason #1. USC RB Joe McKnight hyperextended his elbow. Virginia Tech WR Zach Luckett was suspended after a second DUI. Penn State DT Devon Still will miss a bunch of time with a broken ankle. UCLA will be going with Kevin Craft at QB to open the season. Ole Miss will be without DT Peria Jerry for a month after he got his knee scoped. New Mexico extended Coach Rocky Long’s contract. Louisville suspended QB Matt Simms for four games. He’s not the starter. Purdue RB Jaycen Taylor will miss the year with a torn knee. Florida State RB Tavares Pressley got the green light to go as he got his grades in order. Tennessee TE Jeff Cottam will miss a couple months following back surgery. Another Tennessee TE Brandon Warren was given the green light by the NCAA to play. Now C.J. Gable is hurt for USC. The NCAA banned horse-collar tackles. Good thing Roy Williams isn’t a collegiate athlete anymore. Safety Jerimy Finch won an appeal to the NCAA to play at Indiana this year after transferring from Florida. Georgia can breathe a little easier as 8 Georgia State players were suspended for their opening game.
Alex Stephenson is appealing to be able to play this season following his transfer from UNC to USC to be closer to his ailing father. Virginia kicked Laurynas Mikalauskas to the curb. Tunji Soroye will get to play a fifth season for Virginia as an injury limited him to two games last year. Indiana signed Coach Tom Crean to a ten-year deal. Pitt’s Mike Cook was denied another year despite missing all but 11 games last year to injury. Kansas freshman Markieff Morris was arrested for shooting an Airsoft rifle. He must have read my post on Airsoft guns. I told you they could get you in trouble if not used properly.
Michael Phelps barely made it 7 for 7 as he won Gold in the 100 meter Butterfly. Make it 8 for 8 as he was part of the Gold-winning 4×100 Medley Relay. Serena and Venus Williams took home the Gold in Doubles Tennis. Vincent Hancock won Gold for Skeet. The U.S. women won Gold in the Women’s Eight Rowing. Walton Eller won Gold in the Men’s Double Trap. Our Equestrian Jumping team took Gold. Angelo Taylor took Gold in 400 meter Hurdles. Stephanie Brown Trafton won Gold in Women’s Discuss. Shawn Johnson won Gold in the Balance Beam. Anna Tunnicliffe won Gold in Sailing (Single-handed Dinghy). Dawn Harper took Gold in the 100 meter Hurdles. Henry Cejudo won Gold in Wrestling 55 Kg Freestyle. Nastia Liukin got screwed in the Uneven Bars and had to settle for Silver. Jamaica’s Usain Bolt won Gold in the 100 & 200 meters. The U.S. Softball team was stunned by Japan. Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor won Gold in Beach Volleyball. Lashawn Merritt won Gold in the 400 meters. Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers took Gold in Beach Volleyball.
Carl Edwards won the Nationwide Series’ Carfax 250 at the Michigan International Speedway. He made it a weekend sweep as he won Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as well.
Carl Pettersson won the Wyndham Championship. Peter Hanson won the Scandinavian Masters (European tour). Brendon de Jonge won the Xerox Classic (Nationwide tour). Fred Funk won the JELD-WEN Tradition (Champions tour). Katherine Hull won the Canadian Women’s Open.
Rafael Nadal won the Gold for Men’s Singles. Fernando Gonzalez took Silver. Novak Djokovic won Silver. Elena Dementieva (Gold), Dinara Safina (Silver), and Vera Zvonareva (Bronze) made it a Russian sweep for Women’s Singles. Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka won Gold in the Men’s Doubles. Thomas Johansson and Simon Aspelin won Silver. Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan won Bronze for the U.S. Juan Martin del Potro won the ATP Legg Mason Tennis Classic. Nadia Petrova won the WTA Tour Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open.
C.C. Sabathia threw another Complete Game Shutout as he improve to 6-0 with the Brewers. Ben Sheets followed C.C. up with a CG Shutout of his own. Brad Penny, Nomar, and Vernon Wells made their return from the DL. Looks like Brian Giles won’t be on the Red Sox after all. Chris Carpenter strained his triceps. Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, Andruw Jones, Mike Lowell, and Tim Wakefield landed on the DL. Crawford opted for surgery so he’ll miss the rest of the regular season. The Rays won their team record 71st game. Arizona got Adam Dunn from Cincy for three prospects. Arizona residents will get a break on their air conditioning bill since he fans so much. Shannon Stewart got cut. C.J. Wilson is out for the year. Randy Johnson picked up win #293. Detroit signed Freddy Garcia. Good luck with that. The Red Sox got Paul Byrd from Cleveland. Gary Sheffield got put on waivers, and then he hit 2 HRs. Chris Carpenter will miss a start. Fragile Eric Chavez had shoulder surgery. Instant Replay should be ready soon. Washington’s top pick (Aaron Crow) signed with the Fort Worth Cats. The White Sox hit four straight HRs. The last time it was done was last season when Boston did it to the Yankees. The Brewers finally lost after 8 straight wins. Mark Kotsay hit for the Cycle. Brad Ziegler saw his 39 consecutive shutout innings as he started his career come to an end.
Chad Pennington’s Jet landed in Miami. That was so lame. Brian Westbrook signed an extension with the Eagles. Charlie Batch broke his collarbone. The Steelers then signed Byron Leftwich. Ryan Grant hurt his hamstring. That’s why I don’t like holdouts. Takeo Spikes landed in San Fran. Willis McGahee had his knee scoped. Bobby Engram will miss close to two months with a cracked shoulder. Adam Archuleta signed with Da Bears. Erasmus James signed with Washington. Madieu Williams (neck) will miss six weeks. Jay Feely was cut by Miami. Michael Coe of the Colts will miss the season. Matt “Crackman” Jones pleaded not guilty. Denver signed Tyrone Poole. Hollis Thomas will miss a couple months with a triceps injury. The Patriots signed John Lynch. Pacman Jones submitted his reinstatement letter.
The Hawks matched Josh Smith’s mega-deal Memphis signed him to. Sixers C Jason Smith tore his knee. New Orleans signed Ryan Bowen. Detroit re-signed Walter Herrmann. Andre Iguodala inked a six-year, $80 million deal with Philly. In a three-way trade Cleveland gets Mo Williams, Milwaukee gets Damon Jones, Luke Ridnour, and Adrian Griffen, and Oklahoma City gets Joe Smith and Desmond Mason. Atlanta signed Flip Murray. Brandon Roy is having his knee scoped.
Buffalo re-signed D Teppo Numminen. The LA Kings signed the second overall pick in the 2008 draft (Drew Doughty) to a three-year deal. Brian Leech, Mike Richter, Brett Hull and Cammi Granato were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Islanders named Scott Gordon as the Coach. He was the AHL coach of the year last season. The Flyers inked Coach John Stevens to a two-year extension.
USC QB Mark Sanchez hurt his knee. He should be ready for the opener. UCLA QB Ben Olson (broken foot) won’t be so lucky. He’ll be out a couple months. Clemson DT Rashaad Jackson (quad) will miss a couple of months. Gerogie LT Trinton Sturdivant (knee) will miss the season. Florida lost OL Jim Barrie (knee) and LB Brendan Beal (knee) for the year. Pitt lost DE Doug Fulmer (knee) for the year. South Carolina will be without QB Stephen Garcia (ankle) and Missouri will be without TE Chase Coffman (broken pinkie) for a couple of weeks. Josh Jarboe transferred from Oklahoma to Troy. I’d say that’s a little step back. Illinois DT Sirod Williams will miss the season after tearing his ACL. Pitt lost WR Cameron Saddler for the year with a knee injury. Kellen Winslow, Sr. was hired as AD for Central State. East Carolina RB Dominique Lindsay will have knee surgery. Ben Mauk is suing the NCAA to get elibility at Cincy.
Arkansas G Patrick Beverley is ineligible next year. He didn’t hit the books. Indian hired Roshown McLeod as an Assistant Coach.
China’s Chen Xiexia (Weightlifting) won the first Gold in the 2008 Olympics. Michael Phelps took Gold in the 400 IM, 4×100 relay, 200 meter freestyle, 200 butterfly, 4×200 relay, and the 200 IM. He has two more to go. Mariel Zagunis (fencing – sabre), Walton Eller (shooting – double trap), Aaron Peirsol (100 meter backstroke), Natalie Coughlin (100 meter backstroke), Ryan Lochte (200 meter backstroke), Rebecca Soni (200 meter breaststroke), Nastia Liukin (Gymnastics Individual All-Around), and Kristin Armstrong (cycling) won Gold Medals. The U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team took the Silver. Shawn Johnson took Silver in the Individual All-Around. The Redeem Team is making it look easy.
Padraig Harrington won the PGA Championship. Sergio Garcia and Ben Curtis were two strokes back. Ben Curtis clinched a spot on the Ryder Cup team. Amy Yang won the Scandinavian TPC. Amanda Blumenherst won the U.S. Women’s Amateur. Scott Piercy won the Wichita Open (Nationwide).
Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Marcos Ambrose won the Nationwide Zippo 200. Both races were held at Watkins Glen International Speedway.
Juan Martin Del Potro beat Andy Roddick in the ATP Countrywide Classic.
2008 TMAC2 Sporting News King of Blogging
I wanted to update this story. I took home first prize in the blog competition. Thanks to TMAC2 and all of the other competitors.
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TMAC2, a member of the Sporting News Community, invited me to participate in a blog competition. The topic is “What is the Greatest moment in sport’s history?”
There are so many moments to choose from “Do you believe in Miracles?” to Joe Namath’s Super Bowl Guarantee to “The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!” to Doug Flutie’s Hail Mary to NC State’s upset over Houston to Cassius Clay’s beating Sonny Liston as he ”shook up the world”. My own personal moment was the 2004 Boston Red Sox title run.
However, one moment stands out to me because the athletic prowess meant so much more than simply one man outperforming his peers. The moment was the 1936 Olympics. The man was Jesse Owens. The impact was felt around the globe.
To get the full picture, one needs to be in tune with the global climate in 1936. Nazi Germany was in the beginning stages with Adolph Hitler proclaiming the Aryan race (of northern European descent) to be the “master race”. With the 1936 Olympics set in Germany, Hitler had the opportunity to prove his doctrine to the world. What he didn’t expect was to be embarrased by an American. Not just any American though. Jesse Owens was the Grandson of slaves. He took home four Gold Medals that day winning the 100 meter, 200 meter, long jump and the 4×100 relay.
Unfortunately, Owens’ Olympic success didn’t dramatically change the race relations in America when he returned home. He is quoted as saying “When I came back to my native country, after all the stories about Hitler, I couldn’t ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn’t live where I wanted. I wasn’t invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn’t invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either.” In fact he never even received a telegram from FDR. According to Owens ”Hitler didn’t snub me—it was FDR who snubbed me. The president didn’t even send me a telegram.”
Years later Jackie Robinson (whose brother Mack Robinson ironically won Silver in the 200 meters behind Owens) would go on to break baseball’s color barrier, but Jesse Owens helped set that stage with his performance. Two of the staples of great sports moments are sheer dominance over your competition and overcoming long odds and adversity, and Jesse Owens set the standard for those two staples.
References
ESPN
