I know it's been a while since I've had a non-sports related post, but this is what you get when you mix an obsessive like me with an unbelievably rich sports calendar. I can't remember a better time to be a sports fan than the past two months:
-World Cup
-Wimbledon
-Le Tour de France
-British Open golf
-Tri-Nations Rugby (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa)
-a baseball All-Star game that went down to the last strike
Taking over from the WC, Le Tour has been my obsession over the past 3 weeks. I don't know much about cycling, other than what Phil Legget and Paul Sherman faithfully tell me every 12 months - and I'm OK with that. Here in Oz we get the same coverage that is shown on OLN in the States, and it's fantastically great television. The hosts - Legget really, as Sherman's role seems to be play the straight man when Legget (inevitably and repeatedly) goes over the top with child-like excitement and enthusiasm - not only know the sport they are commentating on better than just about any other announcer I've heard, but (importantly) they are able to express their passion and knowledge in a manner that doesn't lose any of the drama inherent in the race.
It doesn't hurt that this year was one of the most incredible races in recent memory. Not that I'm qualified to speak of "recent memory"; that's just what the experts say. What I can say is that to watch Floyd Landis lose 8 minutes on a single stage, then follow it up THE NEXT DAY with a 7 1/2 minute win and set himself up for a winning time trial to close out the real racing has to be one of the incredible turns in recent sports history. Tough to admit as it is, it beats the pants off my former #1, which occurred in 2004 when a certain Boston baseball team beat a particular New York baseball team in a 7 game series after losing the first 3 games (though of course the sentimental value of this far exceeds the sports-related drama) of the American League Championship Series.
Well done Floyd! He hails from Lancaster, PA - same hometown as Lara Andersen. Lara, I think you'll have to start sharing the title as most famous Lancastrian...
Since this will be my last sport-related posting for a while (er, right), I should probably mention know that Melbourne University won the Southern University Games competition in ultimate frisbee a few weeks back, going undefeated and scoring 119 points while giving up 28. We've qualified for Australian University Games (to be held in Adelaide in September), and while the teams from New South Wales are typically good, we're riding a huge wave of confidence and have a good chance at finishing in the top 3.
In other news...the second semester started today (teaching a total of 5 classes); Maria is still at home in Sweden (but arriving back here next weekend); I'm going skiing in 2 weeks (crazy, I know); I just found out that my good friend Becca will be coming to visit me in a month; and I bought a way-too-expensive camera that I am crazy excited about. Maybe I'll be better about posting photos now. More on these, and other, happenings in the near future...
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