#IceBucketChallenge

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is sweeping the nation.  Friends, family, dignitaries, professional athletes and countless other celebrities are doing it (ok, technically it's a totally countable number, but I'm not going to).  And for some reason this is rubbing some people on the interwebs the wrong way.  Why, in a time where there's a land war in Ferguson and people literally lighting themselves on fire in online challenges that support nothing (please don't google that, it will only give them credence), would people waste their time bitching about this ice bucket thing?  And why would I possibly waste my taste bothering to write up a retort?  Because the internet, basically.  I considered not bothering to write this, but then I realized I could at least use it as a platform for some education.

Full Disclosure
ALS is a cause very near to me.  It is not just a terminal disease affecting 5600 new patients each year, it is a disease that has taken the lives of 4 member of my wife's immediate family.  So, no, I don't take lightly to people complaining about the most exposure this disease has had since Lou Gehrig himself suffered from it.

The Challenge
I'm not sure entirely where the whole idea started.  I saw it in the beginning of the summer being used by women's basketball to raise funds for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.  At some point, some family member of an ALS patient picked it up, and their challenges eventually reached Peter Frates.  After it got to the former college baseball player, diagnosed in 2012, it took off.  The "rules" of the challenge vary, but basically you dump a bucket of ice water on your head, donate to charity, and challenge more people to do it.

The Results
The results have been massive.  One of the complaints I see on comments sections daily (moral of story: don't ever read the comments section) are that people aren't calling for donation, how is this helping?  By now, hopefully, everyone has seen that answer.  Though a lot of videos don't explicitly make the call for donations, people see them, research it, feel inspired, and donate.  According to an article I read yesterday, the ALS association has received $9.5 million in donations since the end of July.  Last year it was $1.6 million over the same time.  IT'S WORKING!  And even if no one who does the video donates, for a non-profit raising funds for an little-known disease exposure is everything.  Last year, the ALS Association estimated half the US didn't know what the disease was.  Here's some Google Trends to help:

Frequency of search terms "ALS" and "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis"

Search for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is more than doubled this month from the 5 year average, searches for ALS up by 50%.  This is big.  This is amazing.  People are complaining, "well the people in the video are just doing it to see themselves on the internet".  Who gives a crap?  Look at the numbers!  Keep posting yourself on the internet dumping water on yourself, if I keep seeing these results.

I've also seen "I don't have the money and don't want to dump water on my head, why are people forcing this down my throat".  True, it's a bit forceful being called out by your friends.  But I realize everybody has their own charities, or their own things going on in their lives.  You should not feel guilty turning this down, and if your friends can't handle that, maybe you have crappy friends.  Heck, if this inspires you to go donate or volunteer for some other cause, more power to you.  The bottom line is this is friendly, in good fun, and not some mandate from a Higher Power.  The amount you donate, if you should so choose, doesn't have to be what someone says in their video.  It's a free world, man, just let this wave of awesomeness wash over you.  Besides, like all internet trends, this will fade out pretty soon.

My Walk

I am walking once again in the Walk to Defeat ALS, in support of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the ALS Association.  Those funds go directly to people suffering from ALS, and taking care of ALS patients, in the Rocky Mountain region (mostly Colorado and Wyoming, a little from neighboring states).  I got challenged yesterday, and will be doing my video shortly.  And, if you go donate to my walk team this week, I will match all funds raised up to $1000.  Here's to you, Marlene, Janie, Carol and Bernard!

http://webco.alsa.org/site/TR?pg=team&fr_id=10192&team_id=275520

Parting Thoughts: ALS can suck it.

TdF 2014: Stage 5: Cobbled

Yes, that's a sub-sub-title.  Better than the kardashians.

COBBLES
Today had to get it's own entry due to a couple serious events.
First and foremost, this was a day that people (and by people, I have to imagine that I'm referring to people that aren't the cyclists themselves) were looking forward to, because the Tour organizers decided to throw down some old school, Classics-level cobblestone sections, the likes of which haven't been seen in the TdF in a long, long time.  And just because riding the TdF is already about the worst kind of torture humans willingly put themselves through, mother nature decided to make it rain all night and all day.  The result?

This

And also

Some of this

And also:

Lots of this.  Not the guy in the middle on the road, the guy on the left... no so much on the road

Yeah, it was a brutal day.  And though my man Taylor Phinney tweeted out some regret about not being able to ride it (WHAT??), and Tejay has some colorful words for his post-ride interview (starting with "It was insane"), mostly they made it out.  And the end result was a ballsy solo from 6km out for Lars Boom to take the stage win.

Biggest Moments

Nibali was impressive and in-form today.  Though I was a fan of his last year, I somewhat dismissed him this year, and he has proven that he is here to wear that yellow for a while.  It might be hard to take off his back at this point.

The key moment of day, however, was that (another) crash by race-favorite Chris Froome caused him to abandon.  As open as I said the GC was yesterday, I can't help but thing that this opens it up even more.  This, to go along with the abandon of Mark Cavendish, can be seen as a serious hit to race, or a serious door opening for another rider.  Kittel already staked the claim on the latter, and Nibali and Talansky, and Tejay for that matter, will take similar advantage.

What to watch for

Seriously, everyone hit the pavement today.  The biggest question the next couple days, is who recovers the fastest from it.  Still a few days until the first rest day, and as is the popular sentiment about the first week in general: you can't win the race now, but you can definitely lose it.

Parting Thoughts: What if the one you'd take a bullet for is the one holding the gun?  (Thanks, Fall Out Boy)

TdF 2014 post-pre-view

Hey, it's July, which means it's time for the Tour de France!  And yes, technically it's already 4 stages in, but I totally planned in writing this all up before, so it's still a preview!  Exclamation marks!

As a reminder, if you are unfamiliar with professional cycling, go back and check out my cycling 101 from last year.
As a starter, let's look at the people to pay attention to...

Green Jersey
Early season, it seems like pretty much everyone has been in form.  Cavendish, Sagan, Greipel, and last year's breakout start Marcel Kittel have all gotten victories in.  Prior to the 5th, I was picking Cav to claim his spot as the world's best sprinter again, but.... he crashed in stage 1 and it out for the race.  I feel bad for the guy, he was going to get those first 3 stages in England to race in front of home crowds.  Bummer, man.

Sagan watching Kittel take another one

 In the meantime, Kittel has won 3 of the first 4 stages, and I'm not sure anyone can keep up with him right now.  But Sagan has the green jersey.  He is once again focusing on picking up mid-stage sprint points, while most others aren't really concerned about it.  I guess if you have to pick between stage wins and the green jersey, Kittel and Sagan would pick differently, and both seem perfectly happy with the situation.  Give me Kittel with another couple stage wins, including Paris, and Sagan taking his 3rd Green home.

GC
That is; overall time, the winner.  In stark contrast to last year, I don't feel like this year has a distinct favorite.  Last year, everyone knew it was going to be Chris Froome before the race started, and anybody else would've been a surprise.  Though showing some good early season form once again, Froome was bested in the Criterium du Dauphine by young American star Andrew Talansky, with a bold final day attack.  Also falling short of Talentski (I just gave him that name... I'll work on it) was Alberto Contador, the Spanish temporary TdF winner back in form after his suspension.  Any of them have a legitimate shot at the TdF this year.  And I haven't even gotten to the guy currently leading, and the one guy I wanted to see challenge Froome last year, Italian Vincenzo Nibali.  On the hilly stage 2 he snuck away at the end for a 2 second advantage.

Nibali FTW

Other GC team leaders include Alejandro Valverde, Bauke Mollema, Rui Costa, Frank Schleck and Tejay VanGarderen.  Tejay was given reign of team BMC this year, but suffered through injuries early season, and if any American is on the podium in 2 and half more weeks, my money is on Talansky.  I like the way Mollema is riding, but I'm not sure he can keep up long term.  And I'm picking Contador to fade in the 3rd week (you know, if he's clean now).  Which leaves me to look for Froome, Nibali, and Andy Talandy (still working on it).

Talansky was all smiles after taking the famous Dauphine

Unfortunately, the Time Trials have proven so decisive the last couple years, it's hard to pick against Froome.  But screw it, I'll be a homer and go with AT (nailed it).

Race from here
They were back in France starting today, and Kittel took his 3rd stage.  Tomorrow is another flat, followed by some small hills, and doesn't get in to big hills until Saturday (July 12).  The stuff gets real.

Parting Thought:
Check out this profile for stage 9, this Sunday:

Weee

You know what's awesome about it?  I'm doing Triple Bypass that day, and it's TOTALLY harder than that stage of the TdF.  Booyah.

Everything so far, 2014

So, it's been a while since I posted something.  Apparently when I get busy, writing a blog doesn't bubble up to the top.  Well, "busy" is a strong word.  Sure, there was work, but I've also managed to watch 3 seasons of American Horror Story, the first season of Arrow, and binge watched Orphan Black like a champ.  Speaking of which, go watch Orphan Black.  Like, now.  Come back and finish reading this later.

Anyways, hereafter lies some words spilling out of my brain on to the keyboard about what's happened so far in pro cycling.  The biggest and saddest news as far as I'm concerned is at the bottom (see, that's called a tease).

Bayern Rundfahrt
Teehee.  Ok, still not mature enough to say Rundfahrt.  Moving on.

Classics
Does cycling 250km on medieval cobbled streets sound like fun to you?  It shouldn't.  But this is basically what it means when they talk about "classics" or "monuments".  Single-day, long, painful races.  And apparently, it's fun to the man they call Spartacus, as Fabian Cancellara has finished on the podium in every one of these butt-numbing adventures that he's finished since 2010.  Go Fabian!

Maybe that's why he does it...

Tour of California
I'm sorry, AMGEN Tour of California.  US Pro Cycling Challenge may not be a real winner of a name for Colorado's professional race, but I'm happy to not have the title sponsor part of the name of the race.
Moral of the ATOC story this year is that Bradley Wiggins is back from his victory tour that he apparently took all last year, and is certainly in form.  He won in impressive fashion, and leaves me wondering how much he'll want to be working for Chris Froome in the TdF... Team Sky's got some super-star egos to massage.
Also from the ATOC, Boulder's own Taylor Phinney had quite an impressive win on the second to last stage, soloing to victory from over 20km out.  But more on him in a minute.

Giro d'Italia
I really did intend to do a whole thing on the Giro, cycling's 2nd biggest race, but here we are with 3 stages to go (out of 21), so instead... let's talk Stage 16 controversy!

For real though, this doesn't call for neutralization??

At the race director's discretion, and especially when rider safety is a concern, a race may change routes or be neutralized (meaning everyone is chill and stays together and goes slow).  On the blizzardy descent of Stelvio, leading to the final climb of the day, race officials radioed that the riders should stay in groups and follow a moto down the pass.  At least partway.  What followed was confusion over whether or not the descent was neutralized, leading to Nairo Quintana (and several others) breaking away, and Quintana eventually taking over the pink leader's jersey.  With 2 hard stages to go, this may not be THE decisive stage of the tour, but Quintana's got 1:41 on 2nd place Rigoberto Uran and 3:29 on Pierre Roland.  Drama!
(Side note: Quintana, Uran and Rolland are all on my fantasy Giro team.  No, for real)

Another note on this, and another something I've been thinking about a dedicated blog on... Rider welfare.  The indecision on calling it here is the real problem, because there is no way those conditions were safe.  Cyclists are abused.  There shouldn't have been confusion, because the UCI or the race director should've have called it well ahead of last km of the climb.

Taylor Phinney
If you've read my writings before, you know I have a soft spot for Taylor Phinney.  Boulder-born and raised, crazy hair, shoe fetish, and apparently teaching himself how to twerk late at night.  Not to mention clean, like REALLY clean, and adamant about the sport cleaning itself up.  He's the energy pro cycling needs, especially here in the US.  There's better riders, but not many who engage people the way he does.
And he was on point this year, too.  Having won the GC in the Tour of Dubai (granted, it was a stage 1 TT and 4 days of coasting), a big stage in the ATOC, and claiming his 2nd national TT crown, he was poised for something big.  And then, during the US Nationals Road Race, he crashed, breaking his tib/fib and injuring his knee.

He was hoping to debut that TT victory jersey next month at the famous Criterium du Dauphine and get selected to his first TdF squad (which was a very real possibility, given his popularity and marketability).  Sadly, these plans are all currently derailed, and it'll take some help to get to sport that new US Champ jersey before someone else takes it away next year.
Worst part?  It sounds like it was the fault of a motorcycle on the course.  Taylor is a master descender, and although Tommy D describe getting passed by Taylor at "Mach 10" right before the crash, the man can control a bike.  Fellow victim, and sporter of awesomely geeky glasses, Lucas Euser, is the only real witness to the events, and said the motorcycle ahead of them was indecisive and slow, and forced them both in to dangerous situations.
All that aside, I end this not with his sad face, but with a collection of Taylor victory faces.  He'll be back.



Parting Thoughts
Are you done with Orphan Black season 1 yet?

What's Up, Ladies?

Here we are, at the midpoint of the PAC12 schedule, and the once promising season for the CU women's basketball team has spiraled down the toilet, counterclockwise if you're in Australia.  I'll be the first to say, I don't know how we've gotten to where we are, 2-7 in conference.  Which I suppose begs the question, why am I bothering to write this?  Because the internet lets me, that's why.  So without further ado, here's what I've seen going wrong and what the future holds.

1) The Refs
I've watched a lot of games this year, men's and women's, and I can say that as a rule, the refereeing in the women's day has tighter and less consistent than the men's.  I've heard multiple reasons for this, that the women's refs are less-experienced, there's fewer eyes on the game to keep them in check, whatever.  The point is some of the women's games have been just painful.  It's like with the emphasis on the hand checks, they've decided to call ALL the handchecks (and at times have decided that makes up for calling harder fouls).

Now, where does this come in to this team specifically?  CU is not adapting well.  There are times that I, as the properly biased fan I am, have thought the calls were going against us, but that's not the point.  We don't adjust well, and as a result are shooting an average of over 4.5 fewer FT than the opponent in conference.  You just look at that bad swing in Washington a couple weeks ago, it was an average of 16 fewer in those 2 games.

2) The Injuries
Classic excuse, right?  Well it's not just Jasmine Sborov and Lexy Kresl, starters who have missed big playing time.  Both the Wilsons are way too familiar with the medical staff at this point due to one thing or another (B-Wil perhaps due to her penchant for hitting the floor, A-Wil shoulder hasn't been right all year).  Huggins has missed games, Jen Reese had ANOTHER mask on for a while, Jamee Swan had a black eye.  It's been rough.  What do we do about that?  A buncha nothing.  Hope they're all healed by the PAC-12 tournament!

That's gonna leave a mark

3) 3-Point Shooting
We started the year with a bevy of shooters, Lexy, Huggy, Jaz, B-Wil (I love nicknames).  But with changing roles and injuries, it's gotten harder.  Lexy was needed ONLY for treys a couple years ago, now she has to take the point.  Huggins has fallen in to somewhat of a freshman slump (it's her first full year, some inconsistency is to be expected).  Those things turned in to the last two games without a made 3.  That hurts.

4) FINISH HER!
The women need to get their Mortal Kombat on.  They have consistently either a) gotten a nice lead and given in up or b) made the run they need when they're behind, but not get over the hump.  They need the killer instinct, that last push to demoralize the opponent and make them go away.  A 20-point lead to Iowa ended up being a 3 point win, 10 point lead with a couple minutes left against ranked Cal blown, up 2 with the shot clock off against ranked ASU.

Just imagine a Cal jersey on Sonya

5) Depth
Another one that, at the start of the season, I thought was a huge strength.  I thought we had scorers at every position 2-deep.  That has definitely faded as the year has gone on.  Hargis, who I really thought came on and was a contributor last year, has been somewhat of a Tunks-like liability at times.  The freshmen haven't made a lot of noise, though Haley Smith in the last 3 or 4 games has become a clutch jump-shooter, and has been rewarded with a starting spot.  This one comes down a lot to injuries again, but also we need role-players to step up.

6) Scoring Droughts
I don't have a lot to say about this, but every game seems to come with a 4 to 5-minute scoreless period.  It ain't good.  All the other things lead in to this, but they have GOT to execute and not allow the other team to get in it.

Who's gonna score?

7) The Road
Last, but not least, this team is playing Ricardo Patton ball, and failing to execute on the road at all.  The close losses to Stanford, Cal and ASU were all at home, followed by BIGGER losses to the also-rans up in Washington.  Seems like a mentality.  It's not like the women's crowds out there are providing a huge home-court advantage (though CU is once again 3rd in attendance in the PAC)

The Future
So, what can we expect from this team going forward?  For starters, I should note that while I'm writing this, I'm watching them take it to Utah, having doubled them up at the half.  A Utah team that beat them by 3 earlier this week.  And in doing so, have touched on several points from above.  Zoe Beard-Fails looks dominant down-low early on coming off the bench, Lexy is back in the lineup.  And when Utah tried to make a push, CU extended the lead.  Also, we made a couple treys already.  But I swear, I wrote that stuff down before this half!
This sounds like a ridiculous thing to say about a 2-7 team, but they are totally capable of winning the conference tournament.  We still rock the 2nd best team defense in the conference, we've seen what each of these young women are capable of, and until Cal's recent attempt were the closest game Stanford's gotten this season.  We played #5 Louisville to a 7-point game on the road.  This team CAN win, and I think they're capable of beating anyone in the conference. GO BUFFS!
Side note: I haven't seen Jamee Swan yet this game.  That better not be another unjury.  Update: Oh, there she is.  *shrug*
Additional note on the future: We lose the Wilsons and Hargis after this year, but pick up some true PGs.  Next year should be another chance to do some good things

Parting Thoughts: I should say something about the Broncos.  But I don't care.  So listen to this song I like:

Cycling 2014

Cycling Season is Starting

The Tour Down Under is not, in fact, one of my recommended options for your Anniversary Coupon Book, but the first cycling race of the year.  It is the first race of the year, starting on the 19th with a TT in Adelaide.  This is a very well-attended race, as it's the the first chance to get in to true racing form this year.  That said, a lot of guys show up to use to get in form, not to really win.  But whatever, racing is fun!  Sadly, and not really surprisingly, the first withdrawal of the season has also already taken place, as my favorite Frenchman Tommy Voeckler got in a training accident and broke his collarbone.  Also, it's apparently effing hot down there.

I'm not entirely sure what I should be watching out for the next 3km

There are some pretty strong teams present, mostly represented by sprinters.  Cadel Evans will be riding (he has to, he's Australian) as well as Frank Schleck, Richie Porte, and THE JENSIE.  Also, first time to see TdF breakout star Marcel Kittel this year, and he'll be tested against Andre Greipel.  Should be some fun racing.  The crux of this race is, of course, the 2 TTs, but also this finish:

There are HILLS

It's not super epic, but it ain't a breeze.  Also, it's called Old Willunga Hill, so that's pretty awesome.

Ok, it's also a highly recommended coupon option.

Off Season Notes

Radio-Shack Leopard nee RadioShack-Nissan-Trek nee Leopard Trek nee Radio Shack is now finally just Trek Factory Racing.  And their kits are black.  So, good luck with that down in Australia, TFR.

New team on the scene is NFTO.  NFTO is apparently a British outdoor apparel company.  They got Adam Blythe from BMC, and a bunch of other people I didn't immediately recognize.

Euskaltel and Vacansoleil folded.

There were a couple notable transfers.

• Young American Lawson Craddock moved from the Bontrager development team to Argos Shimano.  Also from Bontrager, Nathan Brown inked with Garmin-Sharp.  Good on ya, kids!
• Michele Scarponi from Lampre to Astana.
• Rui Costa to Lampre from Movistar.  I think that could be a great pickup for them, Lampre (even with Scarponi) had fallen off the radar a bit.

In other news, Boulderite and shoe-fetishist Taylor Phinney is in South America for the Tour de San Luis.  That's all I got to say about that.

Parting Thoughts: Totes magoats