Sunday, September 20, 2009

USOC Interns: The New Class

There's a new group of interns at the Olympic Training Center. Vanessa, Ingrid (the two other summer holdovers) and I are slowly getting to know the names, hometowns, colleges and departments of each new intern. It helped that we had an intern assimilation day, which was highlighted by a crash course in judo. It just so happened that I ended up with the only non-white "gi" or judo robe. Making matters more ridiculous was that the blue "gi" was the only to have the words Big Boss written across the back (pictured above).

Since my last post, their were trips to the Finish Line for karaoke and downtown Colorado Springs. This weekend was some nationwide firefighters festival. Apparently, all firefighters are Scottish because many of them were wearing kilts and playing bagpipes. A few interns and me ran the Jack Quinn's 5k run, which starts from the downtown Irish pub every Tuesday night. To celebrate three intern birthdays (mine being one of them), we went to Bird Dog BBQ. The placed boasted of its Oklahoma-style bbq. Whatever it was, it was good.

Last night, Vanessa, Adam (my roommate) and I went over to my boss's house to watch the UT-Texas Tech football game. Two other bosses of mine came over to see Texas win 34-24. It was an ugly win but a win nonetheless. After watching USC and BYU go down to unranked oppenents, I'm happy the Horns are still undefeated.

Click here for photos of the 5K, BBQ, Finish Line, Cowboys and the Olympic Training Center.

Click here for the latest Olympic Sports Scene.

Tomorrows weather forecast for Colorado Springs: High 52, Low 36, scattered showers

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

My Kind of of Town

This past week I have been in Chicago helping put on the 2010 Olympic Team Media Summit, which is the first chance to start hyping up the winter athletes heading into the Winter Games in Vancouver. It was my first business trip. I worked a few 12 hour days but it was a lot of fun. I got to know my bosses and co-workers better. At the end of each day I was very tired but we still went out and saw some of the Windy City.

I was in charge of the photo sessions, which meant that I herded athletes around between 10 photo stations. I had to make sure the athletes and photographers were happy. I got to manage volunteers and hotel staff. Everything went smoothly. The trip included sangria and a big dinner with my bosses and co-workers at a spanish tapas restaurant. There were three different receptions and media happy hour. One reception included a Beatles cover band and the happy hour took place at a rooftop bar on the 27th floor of a hotel in downtown Chicago.

The event and my room was in the historic Palmer House Hilton, right by Millenium Park, the Prudential Tower and the famous Chicago theatre. The park was the only thing between the hotel and the lake. In the park was a structure that has become somewhat of a Chicago icon, the Bean (see photos). Twice I went to a nearby sleazy sports bar to watch some soccer/football. One night we went to Giordano's for some deep dish pizza then the House of Blues. Our last night we went to a really cool college bar area where we saw a U2 cover band on the same night that the real thing was performing in Soldier Field.

Switching gears, in her second week as a sports reporter, my girlfriend interviewed Shaquille O'Neal. He was in Port Arthur for a charity with East Texas-native Stephen Jackson. She has photos and video to prove it. The story ran on the front-page but has not yet been posted online.

Click here for photos of the Palmer House Hilton, Millenium Park and the Bean.

Click here for my latest press release for the USOC August Athletes and Team of the Month.

Days until my weekend trip to Texas for the UT-Central Florida football game: 53

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Halloween on Wheels

Fort Collins, Colo. is home to New Belgium Brewery, which is famous for Fat Tire Beer. Once-a-year the brewery hosts the Tour de Fat in the college town. The event is also held in other cities across the country but this one is the first and foremost bike-riding beer-drinking festival in the nation. Vanessa and I made the drive up I-25 to meet up with my cousin, Emily, and her friends. The only time I've seen more bicycles, I was in Amsterdam. The only time I've seen more elaborate costumes, I was at Carnaval in Austin. But it's safe to say, I've never seen so many costumed cyclists. The trip did nothing to change my perception that Fort Collins is the coolest little city in Colorado. I am already looking forward to going back for Halloween.

Meanwhile, the Texas Longhorns kicked off their 2009 football season with a bang. Although I was not able to watch the game (it was available only on pay-per-view), I have read enough game recaps to know what went on. The word of the day was "speed" as freshmen D.J. Monroe, Marquis Goodwin and Alex Okafor featured prominently. I cannot wait for game two versus Wyoming, although I might be working in Chicago and unable to watch it. I leave tomorrow morning for the Windy City for the 2010 Olympic Team Media Summit at the Palmer House Hilton. I will be working long hours but if I can find time for one deep dish pizza, I will be happy.

Click here for photos of the Tour de Fat.

Click here for the latest Going for the Gold vodcast, featuring speedskater J.R. Celski. This is the second vodcast for which I've written the script.

Click here for Teresa's first article as a professional journalist with the sports section at the Beaumont Enterprise.

Monday's weather in Chicago: high 72, low 65, partly cloudy

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

My Olympic Credential Photo

This mug is gonna have the golden ticket to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. I just filled out my accreditation with the U.S. Olympic Committee. I will be volunteering with Media Relations at the Olympics in February. I will most likely be stationed in Whistler, the ski resort outside of Vancouver where half of the sports will take place. It's the opportunity of the lifetime.

After two long weekends with friends and the girlfriend, I took it relatively easy this weekend. Friday night Vanessa, Katie and I introduced some of the new interns to the Finish Line for cheap beer and karaoke. Saturday I walked around the Air Force Academy. It was a rainy day and hardly anyone else was around. The campus is amazing and very unique. It's tucked away, literally at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, and all the buildings look like they were built in the same year in the 1950s. The main attraction was the Chapel, which is a large metallic structure with a recognizable, spired roof. The coolest thing was that it was split up into four places of worship: Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Buddhist. Each was a different size with its own design. The Protestant Church was the biggest while the Buddhist room was tiny.

Sunday I volunteered with doping control at a USA Weightlifting event. After that I covered the event in place of the weightlifting PR person. I had never been to a weightlifting competition so it was very interesting. I got to interview 2008 Olympian Kendrick Farris, which was cool.

This weekend marks the beginning of the Texas Longhorn football season. The game is on pay-per-view and I plan on going to the Tour de Fat with my cousin in Fort Collins. It will pain me to miss the game, and the next one versus Wyoming in Laramie. Next week I will be working at the Olympic Team Media Summit in Chicago and probably unable to catch the game. It will be a great experience but still bittersweet.

Click here to see photos of the Air Force Academy, the weightlifting event and more.

Click here to see the press release I wrote for the weightlifting event.

Days until the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games: 162