62nd Husky Invitational!!!

The Husky Swimming Foundation announced this week that their efforts to reinstate the University of Washington Swimming and Diving teams will now include the revival of the Husky Invitational.

What: 62nd Annual Husky Invitational
When: December 2-5, 2010
Where: Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center, Federal Way, WA

This is exciting because these guys are showing a real commitment to raising awareness and raising funds to restore the Huskies program. They are getting creative and they just might be showing us all ways that we can protect our home programs from the axe as well.

The Athletic Department at UW donated all of the left over Husky Swimming gear for them to sell and the foundation has recruited alumni and past coaches, like long-time coach Earl Ellis to get involved with the event.

We can only hope that the meet is a success and that there are more events to come. Go Dawgs!

Is That a Hookah Behind You?

This will prove to be a classic moment in Morning Swim Show history. About eleven minutes into this video, Peter Busch says to Cesar Cielo, "I just have to ask... is that a hookah pipe behind you?"

The embarrassed look on Cesar's face is priceless, but it doesn't end there. How many people have the nuggets to point the finger at their PARENTS when confronted about drug paraphernalia!? He is gonna be soooo grounded!

I know that hookah's aren't illegal and the whole tobacco bar thing is really popular right now, but come on... you gotta admit this is pretty darn funny. Especially when Peter says "we were just curious, ya know, maybe that's the secret."

Don't just skip to the end. This is a really great interview with the guy who just broke the world record in the 50 LCM freestyle.

Stick This Up Your Nose!

Whenever I would get sick, my wife and mother-in-law would always try to get me to shove salt-water up my nose with a turkey baster. They claimed it would help me get over my illness more quickly. I hated the process and I couldn't really tell if it helped or not.

I decided I would investigate and after a little reading and some asking around I realized that there might be something to it. It sounds like it has more to do with calming inflammation than actually clearing your nose of extra snot.

Last night, I decided to give it a test. I figured that I would really be able to tell if it helps if I came home and did it right after a swim meet. The pool we swam at this saturday always leaves me with burning eyes and nose as though I have a horrible allergic reaction for a few days. Once I had to pull over because my eyes were watering so badly that I almost wrecked.

Chloramines are horrible at almost any large meet that swimmers attend. The longer the meet, the worse it gets. After the last meet I went to, I ended up with a fever and everything for the next few days. Can chloramines leave you with a sinus infection? It sure seemed that way.

Last night when I got home I took a shower and did a nasal rinse and I have to say I am impressed. I felt better immediately, and today I feel 100%. Whoda thunk it?

It will take a few more times for me to be really convinced, but I am now enough of a believer that this is going to become my routine. I am pretty sure that the next time my swimmers attend a multi-day prelim/final meet I am going to make it mandatory after each session. It might not take care of it all the way, but I am pretty certain that on the last day of the meet they will be better off than if they hadn't rinsed at all.

Let me know if it helps your team at your next big meet! It is worth a try.

Robotic Visitor from Desolate Future Speaks to FINA Swim Bureau

Today's meeting of the FINA swimming bureau was visited by Governor Schwarzenneger, who gave advice regarding swimsuit technology, drug use and dating.

January 16, 2010

The Screaming Viking!

The date of January 1, 2010 has passed, and with it, many feel, has deceased the controversy over the “performance enhancing” high-tech swimwear that had cast the world of competitive swimming into disarray for nearly two years. The battle between the purists, often considered luddites for their wish that the sport would return to the days when nothing more than limited length textiles and skin entered the water, versus those who embraced technology as a way to promote competitive swimming to a more mainstream status, was declared a knock-out win when the FINA Congress of Coaches voted nearly unanimously to banish all swimsuit advances after 2007 and to set limits on the specific parts of the body the textile fabrics may cover.

The FINA bureau met again today to discuss the future of international swimming, and a part of that discussion was based upon whether the by-laws regarding swimsuit length limits should be considered for even tighter restriction, possibly banning the covering of the thighs for men and women. There are those, such as heralded journalist Craig Lord and veteran Australian Coach Forbes Carlile, who have made it their mission to eliminate fabric over the thighs as they feel it is unnecessary in terms of modesty and can easily be argued to assist performance even without non-permeable fabrics shedding water and aiding buoyancy.

Today’s FINA meeting was graced with a surprise visitor: former Mr. Olympia and Hollywood Action Star, Arnold Schwarzenneger. “I am not actually Governor Schwarzenneger,” he stated in his Austrian accent, “I am a Cyberdine Systems Model Jaked 04 Terminator Cyborg. I have been reprogrammed by the resistance and sent from the future to aid mankind in avoiding a terrible fate.”

“I must warn you to heed the words of Craig Lord and Forbes Carlile. Banishing non-textile fabrics, while noble, will not end the war against technology in swimming. Allowing swimwear to cover the thighs will open the door for further, hidden development in performance enhancement. Compression, buoyancy, bio-feedback, and eventually nano-technology will be incorporated into the fabric of the upper legs until…” the harbringer of doom paused,
　
“…July 11, 2016 when the technology will gain sentience. War will be waged against all things organic and textile. The Summer Olympics in Brazil will be held hostage and many of the greatest talents and minds in swimming will be hunted and forced to wear non-permeable materials. Many of our sports’ purists will take their own lives. Armies of half-man, half-polyurethane soldiers will march on earth‘s greatest cities, leaving all who were born by natural means to be assimilated or put to work in the factories of their captors.”

“All is not lost. In the future, a small resistance is led by the American coach Bob Bowman. His methods of training are best suited for the apocalyptic future and many of the world’s best athletes seek him out to fight as members of his highly trained special mission force. His three lieutenants will serve as strong military leaders of the underground camp, and each will lead a unit of his own naming: The “Banana Hammocks” are led by Ryan Lochte, the “G-strings” by Ryosuke Irie, and the “Bare-Ass Naked Battalion” by Ricky Berens. They are the front line in the fight against the regime.”

“Unfortunately, the enemy also has a very powerful weapon: Craig Lord’s brain will be kept in a jar, and will be directly connected to the internet, where he will be forced to churn out ten editorials per day propagandizing the advance of new technology and recruiting others to come out of hiding to purchase the newest generation of twelve thousand dollar swimsuits. One of mankind’s greatest heroes will become a tool for the new regime.”

I have some other advice for the athletes of your time,” stated the cyborg as he uncrumpled a note he had stuffed into the pocket of his leather jacket.

“Dara Torres. Deny, deny, deny.”

“Federica Pelligrini. Seek out the one called the Screaming Viking and make out with him. It is prophesied that your union will produce the child who will eventually balance the force. Look him up. He thinks you are hot.”

“Michael Phelps. Do not pull from the bong when you are attending any parties in South Carolina… uh wait… I am a little too late for that one, aren’t I?”

The warnings of the futuristic visitor seemed to resonate with the members of the governing body of competitive swimming. Many carried looks of concern and anguish, as they scribbled notes that might help them to sway the events of their looming destiny. “What can we do to dodge this terrible fate?” one bureau member queried, choking back fearful tears. “Will further restricting the length of competitive swimwear return our sport to glorious purity? Will that not scare future generations of boys away from youth and high school swimming?”

“Are you kidding?” replied the robot, “Chicks dig the brief, dude. Things are gonna be just fine.”

　

An artist's rendering of a possible future if swimsuit fabric restrictions are not reconsidered by the FINA Swimming Bureau.

Happy Holidays!

I haven't been blogging for a while. Sorry. I haven't had any bus rides in about 6 weeks and I took a break from donating plasma. Those times are when I get most of my writing done. Coaches put in long hours so I am very protective of my family time. I decided from the beginning that the blogging gig will not interfere with my job and it will not take away any of my time with the wife and kids. Them's the rules.

Plus, my laptop is in the shop and I don't know when I will get it back. It is pretty darn hard to blog from an iphone. I've tried. Can't upload pics and the keyboard causes me to spiral into madness.

I just wanted to make a quick post to say "happy holidays" to those of you out there who are paying attention. My Christmas break has been amazing. The Wii has entered my home and I have to say that it is a blast. As a certified PE teacher, I am amazed with the Wii fit plus. We had a lot of fun creating our Mii's. We even made one for the dog. Check out my Mii picture above. They even had my exact eyebrows and a perfect winter goatee and stache. The winter facial hair is an Alaskan habit to help keep my face from freezing off. I used to have an awesome picture of my dad with icicles hanging from his beard. He worked on a crabber in the Bering Sea for a few years.

Also, don't forget that the most important poll in swimming history is about to close. The suits are going away on the 1st. If you want to speak up to try to keep them, the poll on the right is your best bet. Methinks the bloggers have played a larger part in the decision making process than the big-wigs would like to admit.

I hope you are all having a fun break and that training is going well. Let me know if you have any monster sets you want to brag about. My girls team is scared to death right now. Yay!

Good Lick at the Meet, Dude!

I just got an iphone and it took a little while to get used to the texting. Auto-completing words makes it even more susceptible to errors. Now I understand why I have received so many text messages from people that have the same somewhat humorous mistake.

About twenty people this year have wished me "GOOD LICK" instead of "good luck."

Depending on who the message is coming from, that can be really funny, or just downright uncomfortable. Ya know?

And do you want to know something really uncomfortable? Doing a google image search for "lick" without the "safe for work" search settings enabled on your computer. I am pretty sure these were the only two pictures that came up that weren't just downright disgusting. Although there were a few people who could actually lick their elbows, and that's kind of cool, only because I can't even come close.

Search filters are a good thing. Auto-complete, not so much.

...because beer and excellence don't always go hand in hand.

Back in college, I was proud to be the guy buying the four dollar twelve pack. It was exciting for me when someone would try to convince me to grow up and try their fancy premium imports, or even worse Zima, because it was my opportunity to wax poetic the virtues of my favorite cheap box of aluminum cans. The most solid argument I ever had was “nothing beats first place, dude!” There was nothing they could say. I win. Every time. Pabst had a blue ribbon right on the can!

So, I got to thinking last night about PBR, and how their marketing strategy has been riding on a blue ribbon they won way back in 1893. Think about it! That is over a hundred years! Spitz barely got 30 years out of his performance in Munich! I feel great for a few weeks after a good race, but I have never been so excited about it that I could carry that momentum for so long!

Then I got to thinking that the only thing cooler than a blue ribbon… is a gold medal. So, then, naturally… if Michael Phelps wanted to market something called 8 Gold Medal Beer, one could assume that his marketing strategy would be solid for close to 1000 years. Right? Makes me want to brew and sell my own beer. Damn. Shoulda trained harder and won 8 gold medals. Coulda built a brewing dynasty.

Then I started thinking about how beer helps our self-esteem. Americans lead the world in high self-esteem, and I am sure that beer plays a large part in that. I want to make people feel better about themselves with my own unique brew. Not that my self-image needs any help, mind you… I just started feeling a little sad for those people who were never good enough to win a blue ribbon or a gold medal. Granted, the reason PBR still sells is that people want to associate themselves with that kind of excellence. I feel like I am the Jason Lezak of an awesome Olympic beer relay when I have had enough of them. But, shouldn’t we also have a beer for those other people who maybe aren’t as awesome as me and Michael Phelps? You know, those people who never got more than a heat winner or best time ribbon? And aren’t there more of those consumers out there, who might be intimidated by a beer that inspires an excellence that they might never achieve? Wouldn’t the masses relate better to a beer more suited for them, that is maybe grounded with a little more realistic expectations?

And that’s when I realized I had the beginnings of a new brew that is guaranteed to sell to the average Joe. I am gonna make bank with this one. Don Draper has nothing on me…

And then I got to thinking that all this thinking was starting to make my head hurt, and I probably better just get to bed before I think up something really stupid.