Zidane

Enough with the Zidane business... I have to make a few confessions to make first!

1. There are two teams in the World Cup I didn't want to win and they were Italy and Portugal.
2. If you wondering if there are underlying racial reaons for this sentiment, well there are. I have many Portuguese and Italian friends, so I have come know just how much they love, well... being Portuguese and Italian.. They don't need any more help.
3. I love just how good a soccer players Zidane is and I wish I could have watched more of him.

Anyways, Zidane decided to lose his cool on possibly the biggest stage possible. I can't think of any other sporting event that is put on such a pedestal as the World Cup. That being said... it should be expected that every media outlet in the world is going to gab on and on and on about it, it is the nature of the beast. There are two arguments that I just plain don't agree with and don't feel that they should weigh into the debate at all.

1. France did not lose because Zidane got red carded... PERIOD! Zidane was able to participate in 1h50m of a soccer game that could have been finished in 1h30m. Yes he also missed the penalty shots, but the last time I checked Zidane was NOT about to play goal and I have never seen a team in any sport lose a penalty shootout without missing a shot. Zidanes impact on the game was tremendous, however, on that day his impact was not good enough.
2. Oh what about the kids who were watching.. what will they do? The are clearly tarnished for life. No there are not tarnished for life! Kids see lots of stuff, both good and bad. Sure over the long haul the things these kids see will have an affect on who they become because each person will sort out their experiences and mold them into the person they are. However, on head butting is not going to change a person for life and if it did there are far bigger consequences that should be weighed here. Those consequences being that the person in question is so easily influenced that they will inevitably be smoking crack in the next few years.

The guy made a mistake... leave him and his legacy be. Besides there are much bigger sports celebrities who have done far worse, such as Brad Mitchell.

Have you ever sneezed while bending over trying to pick something up? I am not talking the proper knees bent work, health and safety type of bend, but rather the type of bend where your back is torqued at 90 degrees. I'm going to guess you haven't because you are still alive to read this blog. I did such s sneeze this afternoon (or avro as they say here is Aussie Land) and let me tell you... no, no, no.. LET ME TELL YOU!!! My eye balls just about popped right out of the sockets and I am going to blame this on Einstein and gravity because only he could explain the feeling of a slimy ball trying to slither through a hole much too small... yes thats right it wasn't a good one.

My orientation at Uni SA came and went last week. Quite boring as most of the stuff was catered more towards the Asian student with little or no english skills. Did surprise myself and went to a wine and Cheese that they put on for us International Students (apparently 20 grand will buy you two hours of free wine and a pen). I met a few people who seemed nice enough that I went to a pub with them after and had a pretty good time, but unfortunately for me I was also reintroduced to an old friend named Hang Over, whom I hadn't seen for some time and certainly did NOT miss.

Other than that everything seems status quo... I ran a 30KM race the other day, which went wel, but I have been a little tired and sore since. I was not overly pleased having to run 3 km to the start of the race, so that I could start on time, however, that is the life of the Public Transit taking man!

THINGS I LIKE THIS WEEK

• School starting soon.
• Going golfing tomorrow.
• Only a month of cool weather for me and only a month of hot weather for you!

THINGS I DO NOT LIKE THIS WEEK

• Raptors 1st round draft pick... that is one team thats destiny is intertwined with sucks.

End of an Era

I have a list of "things to do before I die" and I am saddened to know that one of the ones near the top of the list is going to go unaccomplished. I have for a number of years wanted to see Andre Aggasi play tennis and unless I stumble upon a small fortune nd get my hands on a ticket to see him play in the US Open it looks like I'm not going to get to see him play. The same sort of thing happened to me and getting to watch Wayne Gretzky play live. Once the Jets left Winnipeg I thought there was no chance, but good fortune and destiny brought me to Montreal for soccer nationals and I was able to watch him play the season opened in Montreal... MAGICAL.

Just got back from a very fun trip to Melbourne where we did such things as shop (lots of it), Footy game, Aquarium, Coldplay convert to name a few things. It was nice to get out of Adelaide and relax. For as much fun as I had I must admit that Melbourne itself was a little disappointing. In terms of rating it against other cities I don't think I would put it in my top 10. yes it was nice and all, but there was no "wow" factor. It was just a regular run of the mill city. It seems that people compare Sydney to Melbourne here in Oz land listing both good and bad for both, but I have the feeling that Sydney will provide more of a "wow" factor than Melbourne did for me.

Some of the people Erin goes to school have raised the "loser" bar just a little bit higher than I thought possible. Erin is in a study group where they take turns basically doing each others homework... Well members of this exclusive group have confronted other members of the quality of their work. Let me think here... If you don't like their work why don't you do your own. This little group has gone so far over the top that a constitution has been written. I repeat the bar is just a little higher than it was before.

THINGS I LIKE THIS WEEK

• getting close to being able to get my student card so I can get a discount on public transportation.
• that the Bombers are 2-1

THINGS I DO NOT LIKE THIS WEEK

• the beginning of the end of Andre Aggasi's career
• public transportation
• the small hot water tank in our flat that provides memories of having cold showers at Sisler high school where they had no hot water tank.