12.20.08
Posted in , Sports at 4:29 am by Administrator
After the Beijing Olympics, an idea struck me….why not a Summer Olympics in Miami. Yes, I know, I sound like a crackhead, but first let’s dissect the idea and analyze it. It might not seem so crazy after all (and isn’t the U.S. the land where we achieve the impossible?). It would do miracles for Miami’s image. The city is already the cultural and transportation crossroads of the Americas and a Gamma World city or whatever that means. If Saint Louis was able do to it, so can Miami (Why the hell pick Saint Louis?).
When organizing an Oympics you must look at finances, infrastructure, sponsors, city size, transportation and sports venues. Avoid a city (or nation) that’s suffering from political turmoil. If a civil war breaks out suddenly, you’re forced to move or cancel the Olympics. Also, pick a city where mayor and commissioners don’t hate each other. If one side comes up with the Olympic idea, the others will try to sabotage it. Local politicians (with the exception of Manny Diaz), are seen nationwide as jokes (in all truth, they are), but they’ll put their differences aside for an Olympics.
Weather-wise, South Florida is perfect. But the Olympics must be held around June or September, preferably during the cooler hours. We don’t want athletes falling prey to the sweltering heat and dying in our vice-city streets. Referent to cost, the Miami Olympics, similar to Atlanta 96, can receive plenty of funding in the form of corporate sponsorship. Locally, we have Burger King, Carnival, Norwegian, Spirit Airlines, Bacardi, Perry Ellis and Ryder Systems. South Florida has several airports which can handle the visitor influx. The tri-county area has plenty of lodging sites, no one will have to sleep on park benches. Miami Beach hotels alone, can hold up to 400.00 visitors.
Cities that hosts the Olympics offer housing units in the form of an Olympic Village. A few of those grandiose but empty high-rise condo buildings in Downtown Miami would be PERFECT as an Olympic Village. The condo is the perfect symbol of Miami to the World. Past Olympic villages have resembled Communist-era tenement buildings in East Berlin or Moscow. The Miami Olympics can raise the bar when it comes to style.
Olympic cities have a grand stadium wihich is the centerpiece of the event; this site is used for opening and closing ceremonies and track & field events. New York’s plan for the 2012 Games failed when it’s West Side Stadium plan was rejected by the state legislature. Currently, plans are being devised for a baseball stadium for the Florida Marlins in Little Havana; good location, but if it’s built for baseball, it can’t host much. Pro Player Stadium is neither Olympic nor does it have an optimum location. The old Bobby Maduro Stadium that was bulldozed a few years ago had a perfect location in Mid-town Miami. Now, its the site of a Target and other shopping stores. I say screw Target and the shops, let’s rebuild the stadium (Target can be a sponsor). There isn’t another site for a stadium. Traz Powell at MDC North? Location sucks. Lockhart Stadium up in Fort Lauderdale? Too small. FIU’s new stadium? Only made for football. Any stadium down in Homestead? Cow country.
Let’s think of venues for other sports: gymnastics, an Olympic favorite; I say American Airlines Arena. Swimming and diving can be held at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center. Basketball can be played at either the AAA or UM’s Bank United Center. Triathlon can be held in Biscayne Bay. Sailing too. Key Biscayne can host tennis. Several indoor events such as wrestling and tae-kwondo can be held at veues such as the Bank Atlantic Center or the Miami Arena (if it hasn’t already been demolished). For rowing,….. we’ll think of something. And for the marathon, police must cordon off all necessary streets and make sure none of our psychotic local drivers kill any Olympic runners.
So there… all set. We need a big stadium in Mid-town Miami and we’ll get our Olympics. But it has to be for 2020, to give time for preparations, sponsorship and cost allocations. For 2016, Madrid is the front runner and miles ahead of us. Chicago is also vying to host the event and has the U.S. Olympic Committee’s backing. Since summer Olympics were held rather recently in both countries (Barcelona 92 and Atlanta 96), Prague might get a chance. I think Rio de Janeiro, the other finalist, should be chosen since an Olympics has never been held outside of North America, Europe or East Asia. So for Miami it’ll be 2020 or 2024…2028(?)….it all depends.
Some people do have their heads up their ass!
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06.09.08
Posted in , Sports at 7:22 pm by Administrator
Turns out, I have joined many different Critical Mass-type groups that are posted on Meetup.com and other websites. There is a group for every hobby imaginable (though I still have not found one for Parkour). You name it. From bowling, rollerblading, to knitting, to mechanics enthusiasts. I joined groups for tri-ahtletes, runners, cyclists and kayakers. It’s an interesting way to meet people with similar hobbies and do some social networking.
The bike ride group has sent me several messages about meet-ups, but they always pick dates when I’m already busy. A kayak group sent me a message about a meet-up and it fit with my schedule. We met late Tuesday afternoon at Matheson Hammock park. Earlier, I had gone to a job interview in the area around Miami Metro Zoo. I don’t usually drive all the way down there, worse now with these shit gas prices. I met with “Fred” and “Jack”. Fred was in his early 40s and looked a bit rugged. Jack was in his late 20s like me. Fred has a large collection of kayaks and I rented one from him (some people collect porn, others collect kayaks). I had only kayaked twice before at Oleta River State Park, but had got the hang of it. Fred’s kayaks were the close feet ones, where only your torso, head and arms stick out. As I later discovered, they are also less stable in water.
Eight people were supposed to show up, but in the end it was only us three. No women, which sucks for me. So we went out kayaking. I hadn’t kayaked in this area which is the coastline along Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay. It is mostly mangroves, dotted with mansions (no poor people allowed). 50 yards from the shore, the water is still shallow, averaging between 4 and 6 feet in depth. Marine shrubs and other plants are easily visible. The waves are small but when you’re on a kayak, even small waves feel like they’re going to turn you over. Another funny thing was that as hard as I paddled, my kayak seemed to be veering out towards the far ocean. Fred said it had to do with the wind. Turns out that my kayak was about 10 pounds heavier. Gee, thanks, Fred.
Fred and Jack were expert hard-core, no-fear, all guts and glory type kayakers. Along the coastline we paddled south. After reaching a mangrove area, we paddled inland through a swampy section with several narrow and shallow canals and reached Chapman pond, before going back. The whole trip back and forth was 12 miles!! 12 fucking miles!! Thank God I’m in good shape. Anyone expecting 2 or 3 miles would have had gone into cardiac arrest. They’re lucky I’m not an attorney. Anyway, I kept up as best I could, usually 20 or so yards behind the supermen.
Along the way the way I get stuck in a sandbar and discover the energy consuming task of paddling your way out of a few inches of water inside a 50 pound kayak. By this time, it’s around 8pm or later. The coastline is dark with few lights. I start hearing a splash here and there along the water, probably fish. Fred and Jack start talking about how sting rays and little sharks swim around this area. Oh crap! Sting rays are passive, but they can kill a person with their spike if they feel threatened (Steve Irwin, RIP). And sharks, well, I don’t care if it’s 2 feet long. Those motherfuckers have teeth that can tear off your hand easily. I become paranoid and paddle faster. I can’t see anything through the water and the trip seems eternal. My arms feel like they’re going to fall off. I can’t take a break because then the kayak feels like it going to tip over, which isn’t good in these sting ray and little-shark infested waters. I have to tough it out. Be competitive, no breaks, no stops. Finally we reach the pier. The ironmen mention that this is a short trip for them. They usually do 20 miles or more. Oh, well. Whatever. The trip wasn’t bad, but in the future, I’ll kayak at Key Biscayne or Oleta River State park where I can do it at my own pace.
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05.04.08
Posted in , Sports at 5:58 am by Administrator
In late March, I attended a Miami Heat-Dallas Mavericks game at the American Airlines Arena. I hadn’t attended a game since 2002-03, which was one of our worst seasons. I always said to myself that the Heat would improve and I would be in the front row (if I could afford those seats). Well, between being extremely busy, negligence and procrastination, I just never had a chance to go back to a game. During the 2006 title run, I was so busy with classes, I didn’t even notice we were that good until the Heat made it to the finals. By then, all the tickets had been snatched up by bandwagon jumpers.
Now things are different. Shaq just left, Zo might retire, Eddie Jones and his bloated contract also left, Wade is injured. Then Shawn Marion is injured too. I didn’t exactly expect the Heat to be in championship form. But what I saw at this particular game I attended was pitiful. At half time, the Mavs are ahead by 30 points and the Heat simply gave up. Jason Wiliams and Udonis Haslem are benched. They are replaced by reserve players which Pat Riley never, ever allows on the paint, like Chris Quinn and Alexander Johnson. Of course, the Mavs see that the Heat gave up and they also send Nowitzki to the bench. Finally the Mavs win by…30 points. Well, the Heat just gave up entirely on the game. Why don’t they just bend over and take it up the ass, while we’re at it. What happened to dying with your boots on, or fighting to the last man? Thank God, Riley never pulled off these disgusting displays of ineptitude during the Heat-Knicks rivalry. Riley shouldn’t stoop to these levels, he is not incompetent like Isaiah Thomas. I felt like asking for my money back, then again I was in the $10.00 seats. By the way, I didn’t recall the American Airlines Arena being so huge. You can’t see shit from the 4th level, the players look like ants. But the place is nice. And of course, the Heat dancers are fine, not that any of those bitches would ever pay attention to me. More on that later.
Well, it doesn’t stop with the Heat. The Miami Dolphins haven’t made the playoffs since 2001. Wannstedt and Fiedler were given plenty of chances and they kept messing up. The idea of bringing a college coach like Nick Saban was completely retarded. And the motherfucker ran out of here like Senator Craig runs into a public restroom. Oh, and don’t forget Ricky Williams and his weed. But I don’t criticize Ricky, I’m artistic too. And football can be brutal sometimes. But despite all that, last season was not just dreadful, it was putrifying. My only consolation is that the Jets aren’t much better than us. But our other enemy, the Patriots, are way better. Let’s hope our next quarterback is a real one. No disrespect to Fiedler or Ferotte, but the Dolphins need a REAL GOOD quarterback. Maybe they should call back Marino. He wouldn’t mine. Look at Vinnie Testaverde. He suits up whenever the Jets need him. While I felt that Trent Green still had something left in him, i didn’t expect him to crack his head wide open. That’s just life. We didn’t expect Ronnie Brown to injure himself. Or Ricky to smoke a doobie. Or Saban to be such a fucking chicken. Now if the Dolphins could only lower those fucing ticket prices….
I won’t comment on hockey, because I know as much about hockey as I know about nano-technology …nothing. Well, I know it’s on ice. You skate. You hit the puck with your stick. You fight and knock the crap out of rivals whenever you can. One guy from the Panthers by accident crashed, flipped over and hit his team-mate with his skates, almost severing his neck….Damn! And they say the UFC is violent….
I’ll talk about the Marlins in the next post. Later kids.
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