I have a good excuse though!
This week I'm filling in on the Energy morning show which means my body and I are not getting along anymore. Going from the "Afternoon Show" lifestyle to the "Morning Show" lifestyle is a huge shock to the system. At this point I'm averaging about 3.5 hours of sleep a night. At this rate by Friday morning I should look like this....
Hey, looking like Michael Jackson is never a good thing!
I kind of feel bad that I don't have much of an update this week....but I do have a rant....let's talk about the Olympics shall we....
At the writing of this blog, six days of competition are now complete at the Beijing Games...and after six days Canada has yet to make a single trip to the podium.
Ok, we all know that the summer games are not our strong point. When it comes to the Winter Games we kick ass. Since we're hosting the next Winter Games I wouldn't be surprised if we set a new mark for medals-won.
This year, we may set a mark for medals not-won. Last night I stayed up to watch a couple of swimming events. I learned two things...first, American swimmer Michael Phelps is a freak of nature (more on him later) and second, the new motto of the so-called "Own The Podium" program must be "Hey, at least you tried, eh!".
If they handed out medals for missed opportunities, we'd surely be golden. Instead when I woke up this morning and looked at the medal standings I find Canada in 49th place with no medals behind countries who have won - like Togo, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. You can be guaranteed those countries didn't send the small army of athletes we did to the games but at least they have something to show for it.
I don't mean to sound negative. I know we will win a few medals.....eventually.
To me, a nation as great as ours with such passion for sport shouldn't be doing so poorly. I think a lot of questions will be asked about the Olympic program...do we send too many athletes?....do we send the right ones? I think the real question is - "do we support our athletes enough?"
Funding has always been an issue for sport in this country and without it the closest a Canadian athlete will get to the podium is if they trip over it. Either we need to step up the funding for the "Own The Podium" program or we need to scrap it and find a new way to instill national pride in our people. Losing poorly on a global stage doesn't make anyone feel patriotic.
Moving on....
The Beijing Games will be talked about for years about a number of different things. Among them - China's human rights record, the opening ceremonies controversy, the doping scandals...etc.
The one thing I'll remember most is Michael Phelps. So far, in only six-days, Phelps has managed to win 5 gold medals and set 5 world records. He won 6 golds in Athens and he's hoping to win 8 in Beijing.
Phelps doesn't win narrowly....he wins HUGE. The best in the world are not even close to this guy. One of two things needs to happen. Either he needs to be drug-tested or he needs to be sent back to his home planet. If he's not pumping steroids than he must be E.T.'s athletic cousin from Mars.
Seriously....we should offer this guy citizenship. Here's what I, as a taxpayer, would be willing to pony up to get Michael Phelps competing for Canada - A mansion in the Canadian city of his choosing, his own pool and training facility, a few million in cash (tax-free) per year and all the maple syrup he can handle.
It's a hell of an offer...but on second thought if we just treated our own athletes this well we would probably have some home-grown Michael Phelps' winning medals while wearing the maple leaf.
Now if you'll excuse me I have to go listen to the CBC Sports announcer use the word "disappointment" for the millionth time.
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