Olympics Bidding

For many who know me, in addition to all my other interests, I’m an Olympics fanatic. I know where all the future Olympics will be located. I know what cities are bidding on future games. I know what those cities chances are. I even know all the sports currently participating, those that are being or thought of being dropped (don’t get me started about the International Olympic Committee dropping baseball and softball), and those sports trying to get onto the Olympic program (such as golf, rugby, squash, karate and roller sports). I really don’t know why I’m so fascinated by the Olympics, but it really does tie into my interests in sports.

The current bids being made to the IOC are for the 2014 Winter Olympics. There are currently seven cities making bids: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Borjomi, Georgia; Jaca, Spain; PyeongChang, South Korea; Salzburg, Austria; Sochi, Russia; and Sofia, Bulgaria. Recently IOC president Jacques Rogge urged these cities to control costs and focus on the essentials in making their bids. Any guesses on who the odds on favorite is right now with reports not due from the cities until February 1, 2006? Let’s break it down by looking at past and future Olympics sites:

The 2002 Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was a very successful Games, but one mired in controversy before the games even started.

The 2004 Summer Olympics were held in Athens, Greece. Again, another successful event, one that many thought Greece would not be able to pull off.

The 2006 Winter Olympics will be held in Turin, Italy. This event is fast approaching in February, 2006. This should be a fun event for all, both participants and viewers.

The 2008 Summer Olympics will be held in Beijing, China. All signs say that the plans are ahead of schedule. This has the potential for being the best presentation of an Olympic Games ever.

The 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver, Canada. Too early to tell how the games will be, but definitely a great achievement for Canada.

The 2012 Summer Olympics were recently granted to London, England. Let’s hope the IOC doesn’t regret their decision.

Where does this leave the 2014 bid cities? Here’s my opinion, based on nothing but my perceptions of the process.

With the 2006 Winter Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics being held where they are, I think it is unlikely that Spain or Austria will then be granted the games without a phenomenal bid. For this same reason, the 2008 Games in China will work against the South Korean bid.

Georgia and Kazakhstan suffers from not being as widely known and Olympics powerhouses and may not have the economic and physical infrastructure to handle such a big event.

This leaves us with Russia and Bulgaria. My guess is Russia. This would be the first time they would host since the dissolving of the Soviet Union. This would be a way to make a statement that they have moved past their communist roots and are further becoming a viable world power.

But, again, it’s only my opinion.

Sometime soon I'll list the possible bid cities for the Summer Olympics in 2016 and the Winter in 2018. They're definitely some intersting lists.

The Season's First Victim

We are not even officially three weeks into the new television season and already we have had the season's first cancellation. At the end of last week FOX cancelled it's new legal drama Head Cases, starring Chris O'Donnell and Adam Goldberg.

The program only aired two episodes before FOX pulled the plug.

The program wasn't very well reviewed by critics. It also took a drubbing in the ratings, but that was expected since it was up against ABC's juggernaut Lost.

I just wonder why network executives are so quick to cancel series nowadays. I understand that there are severe financial consequences by keeping a series around that does not flourish, but is two airings up against one of the top-rated programs out there a way for a series to find its audience?

Sometimes I just wonder why TV programmers are so quick on the trigger to pull such programs. In this case, do they really think the replacement program (Nanny 911) will do any better up against Lost?

What a Good Morning

My morning today was filled with some really good news.

First, my Mom made it through her colonoscopy with flying colors. The cancer that she has is extremely localized. They told her that it was actually very strange. The doctor had never seen it where the cancer is strictly around where the appendix. Typically cancer starts elsewhere in the colon and then spreads to be by the appendix is. At this point my Mom has to wait to heal from her first surgery before they can go in and remove the small part of her colon that is infected. The doctor says that while she will have to be in the hospital for 7-10 days, she should pull through with absolutely no problems.

Second, I went to pick up my car today from some extensive repairs. I was originally quoted that it would cost me approximately $3,000. When I went to pick it up it was nearly $300 cheaper than I was quoted. I know that $2,700 is a lot to spend, but I was thrilled to save about 10% of the original quote.

Lets hope the good news keeps on coming!

Reality Show Jinx

What an unfortunate night it was for me last night while relaxing at home and watching some TV. My affinity for reality TV allows me to root for those I would like to win and to root against those I think least deserving. I tend to have a history of rooting for people that never ever win any of the competitive reality shows. Last night those I liked the very least on two of my favorite summer shows won the grand prizes.

First, on Big Brother 6, I was disappointed to be faced with Ivette and Maggie as the final two competitors. Unfortunately, none of my favorite players (Janelle, Kaysar, or Howie) made it to the final two. Both of these women were members of a cult-like group called the Friendship, which committed allegiance to each other with no reservations whatsoever. Their attitude to the other houseguests were deplorable, and never giving any thought what their actions might look like to those watching them on TV or on the 24-hour live Internet feeds. When those not in the Friendship won contests voted on by viewers, they could not understand why. They threw tantrums. A member of their alliance called the American public “pieces of sh*t.” They then showed no remorse once the game was ending. I do not know how the final jury (the seven houseguests last voted out) was able to choose between these two to determine who would get the $500,000 grand prize and who would get the $50,000 second prize. I wish there was a “none of the above” category, or that America got some kind of say in how the game turned out, just so that these two would understand how their playing of the game was horrible. Maggie walked away with the money, by a 4-3 vote. Unfortunately, due to this, what I thought was a great season ended on such a sour note.

Second, on Rock Star: INXS, the band chose a new lead singer to replace Michael Hutchence after his suicide in November of 1997. The final choice came down between J.D. and Marty. (Again my season favorite Jordis did not make it to this stage.) While both have great stage presence and really seemed to know who they were musically, J.D. and his action just left a bad taste in my mouth. He made comments, ever when not realizing it, really were slaps in the face to the other musicians. His belief in himself crossed the line of conceit, and made me as a viewer root against him. Of those remaining I hoped that Marty would prevail. Alas, that was not to happen. J.D. won the coveted spot as INXS’ new lead singer, and Marty was left with the opportunity to possibly open for INXS on their national tour. I just wonder if there is a future for this program next summer; is there a popular band out there looking yet again for a lead vocalist?

What did I learn from this? I’m not exactly sure, except that I shouldn’t verbalize who I’m rooting for and against because my favorites tend to lose and those I like least tend to prevail. So don’t ask me who I’m rooting for on Survivor: Guatemala or on The Biggest Loser 2. I’m not telling!

The Newest Pro Golfer?

In an interesting turn of events in the world of professional golf, 15 year old Michelle Wie (seen in the accompanying photo with her dad B.J.) will announce her intention to move into the ranks of professional golf. She will be doing so before October 11th of this year, which is when her next scheduled LPGA event is (the LPGA Samsung World Championship).

This move will make Michelle Wie the highest paid female athlete in the world of golf, surpassing the endorsement deals held by the world’s number one female golfer Annika Sorenstam. Wie’s Nike deal alone will be worth 5 million dollars per year.

While many expected Wie to turn pro sooner rather than later, many are critical of her father and his business sense. They believe that he is looking too much in the present and not enough at the future. But there are supporters out there saying that B.J. Wie really is doing what is best for his daughter and is much more savvy a business man than he his given credit for.

Over the past couple of years I have done an extensive amount of research on professional golf, specifically the LPGA. This was a sport that I had very little interest in beforehand, but am now a bit of a fan. I believe my fandom can be attributed to the performances of three golfers in particular: Annika Sorenstam, Grace Park, and Michelle Wie. Wie is a phenom and a prodigy upon which many new fans will be brought to the sport that would not have actually watched golf.

I just wonder if it will be too much too soon. Is this too much to put onto the shoulders of one adolescent? While Michelle Wie is one of the best female golfers in the world, and appears to be a very mature 15 year old, will all of this pressure turn out to be too much for her to handle? Hopefully she won’t follow the path of tennis’ Jennifer Capriati, who was considered to be a prodigy in her sport, turned pro in her teens, burned out, was arrested for drug possession, and only later in life turned into the great tennis player that she had the potential to be.

Further Signs of Life

For a long time now, many skeptics have been saying that the WNBA is on its last leg nearing death. Crowds in many cities are waning, and some were saying that this lack of public interest is an indication that the WNBA would soon be closing its doors.

Developments yesterday have proven this theory wrong.

The new and official WNBA franchise for Chicago, which was awarded to the city last February, announced its team name and team colors. After much thought, and looking at such names as the Loopsters (named after Chicago’s business district) and the Deep Dish (named after Chicago’s most famous pizza), the name Chicago Sky was chosen, with team colors being sky blue and yellow.

Congrats to those responsible for the team in Chicago and long live one of the best professional women’s sports leagues around.

New World Champs!

Yesterday the WNBA crowned its newest world champions, the Sacramento Monarchs.

With a 62-59 win over the Connecticut Sun last night, it carried the Monarchs to a 3-1 series win.

This is the Monarchs first WNBA title. Congrats to the new world champions!

They're Actually Winning!

Who would have thought it? IU football, under the tutelage of Coach Hoeppner, has won their first three games of the season.

This is the first time since 1994 that the IU Hoosiers has won their first three football games. And this is the first time since 1905 that a new Hoosier’s coach won three games during their first season as coach.

And to top it off last night’s game brought in a crowd that topped 40,000!

It seems that Coach Hoeppner’s efforts in bringing in the crowd and inspiring the team are really working. There is a buzz around campus that hasn’t been there in a while. For the first time since moving to Bloomington I notice that the town really is excited about IU football.

I guess it’s just a matter of time before we know if this will translate into a winning season, something that I haven’t known in my eight years here in Bloomington.

The Big-C

It is a definite shock when a family member tells you when they are sick. It is especially a surprise when a family member tells you that they have cancer. You mind races to the worst case scenario, fully aware that you have to stay positive when you talk to them because no matter how scared you are they are feeling the same thing but only magnified 100 times.

This week my mom told me that she has colon cancer. Last week she was rushed to the hospital with abdominal pain that reminded me of when I had appendicitis in high school. She went to the hospital and they did indeed remove her appendicitis. It was inflamed and oddly colored; one nurse went so far to tell my mom that it was the worst looking appendix that she had ever seen. They went so far to say that it looked gangrenous.

I guess with the condition of the appendix, in addtion to what he saw in my mom’s abdomen and the results of the various tests and x-rays the doctor was able to diagnose colon cancer. He believes that it is stage 1 cancer, which means they believe they have caught it early, but does not yet know for sure. Further tests are needed.

It is very difficult you hear these things about your own mother. I know that no one lives forever, but facing the mortality of a parent is very difficult. It is even more difficult when you live 600 miles away. The feelings of helplessness are overpowering. But I put on a brave face (OK, brave voice) every time I talk to her. I assure her that she can not give up. She needs to fight and live a long life.

It really is amazing how one word such as cancer can send your whole life into a tailspin.

Reality TV

As many people know, and if you don’t know you can tell my looking at my interests in my profile, I am a very big reality TV fan. While I don’t watch each and every reality show (let’s be honest, some are ridiculous-I’m talking to you America’s Next Top Model and Fear Factor) I do watch a wide slate of shows.

People often ask me why I like these programs so much. I just like that we have “real” people put into contrived situations and we get to see how they react. I find that to be riveting, and if it includes plotting or deceit all the better. These shows can definitely show some of the worst sides of people, and who doesn’t want to see that?

You’ll notice that I put the world real in quotes. I know as well as anyone else who is a fan of this genre that for every actual person you have as a contestant you have someone who is a wannabe model or actor trying to break into show-biz by being on the show. Even knowing this, the experience is not diminished for me in any way.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be tuning in to the finales of Big Brother 6 and Rock Star: INXS. And in the coming months you can count on me either watching or TIVO-ing Survivor: Guatemala, The Amazing Race Family Edition, Wife Swap, Dancing With the Stars, Donald Trump’s Apprentice, Martha Stewart’s Apprentice, The Biggest Loser 2, The Surreal Life, The Battle of the Network Reality Stars, My Fair Brady, and come January American Idol.

You have fun your way, I’ll have fun mine!

Grading

Having not been an instructor of any sort for more than two years, I had forgotten how much time and effort actually go into grading. And when you have sixty papers to do in a week’s time, finding the time to do it is quite difficult.

Fortunately I am an AI for T206 as taught by Dr. Susan Kelly, in which the assignments appear to be very straightforward. Virtually all students are doing a very good job. That definitely makes my job a lot easier. And will save me time later on because I won’t have as many students coming to me to ask why they received the grade that they did.

It also helps that I have a supervising professor that will back me up with any decision that I may make.

Let’s see if I’m singing the same positive tune when I’m grading exams later in the semester.

Biggest Money Winner Ever

Here’s an update: last evening Kim Clijsters did indeed beat Mary Pierce 6-3, 6-1 in the final of the women’s draw at the U.S. Open Tennis Championships.

Not only was the 2.2 million dollars Clijsters won the largest monetary award in women’s tennis, but it was the largest monetary award ever in all the history of women’s sports.

Congratulations to Kim Clijsters for now having the honor of both winning the largest purse in women’s sports history and winning her first major tennis title.

Biggest Purse in Women's Tennis Ever

Tonight marks the final night of the women’s draw at the U.S. Open tennis championships. Facing off are number 12-seed, France’s own Mary Pierce (above) and number 4-seed, from Belgium, Kim Clijsters (at left). While this could be a great match if Mary Pierce can hang in on such an unforgiving surface, what is interesting to note is the possible historical ramifications for women’s sports.

Leading up to the U.S. Open players competed in the U.S. Open series. This was a series of tournaments leading up to the U.S. Open during which players received points for how they finished in each tournament. The ultimate winner in the point standings, for both the men’s and women’s draw, would receive the ultimate prize: double the prize money if they were to win the U.S. Open.

The men’s winner of the series and fourth-seed at the U.S. Open , Andy Roddick, shockingly exited the tournament in the first round to current 69th-ranked player in the world Gilles Muller of Luxemburg. The women’s winner of the series, through skill and determination, is Kim Clijsters. That means this evening, if she is able to prevail over Mary Pierce, Clijsters will win the largest purse in the history of women’s tennis: 2.2 million dollars.

It is also interesting to note that, due to Mary Pierce being second in the U.S. Open Series points rankings, instead of playing for 1.1 million dollars tonight she will be playing for 1.65 million dollars. Not a bad piece of change!

Back in 1973, the U.S. Open became the first tournament in sports that awarded equal money to their men’s and women’s tournament champions. Now they have the opportunity to award the largest sum ever in the history of women’s tennis.

While I tend to favor Mary Pierce as a fan, there is definitely a bit of me rooting for Kim Clijsters just so that I can see history be made.

Sleeping Problem

In addition to my many other quirks and oddities, I currently suffer from sleep apnea. I was diagnosed with the condition back in 1999. In essence, I stop breathing multiple times through the night while sleeping; I stop breathing for periods between 10 and 40 seconds. It is a debilitating condition that can cause damage to the heart and can lead to other medical conditions.

I am supposed to sleep while wearing a mask connected to a machine that forces air into my lungs. (I’ve attached a picture of the mask I use, though the picture is not of me.) This machine, called a continuous positive airway pressure machine (or CPAP), can make it very difficult to sleep comfortably. I recently started using the machine with some regularity. Using this machine makes it very difficult for me to sleep soundly. While I may breathe easier, I don’t sleep well because I just can’t get comfortable.

I know it is for my own good. I do not want to have a heart attack at 33 just because I don’t sleep well. I just wish that there was another option at this point to help me live with this disorder.

What If You've Lost Interest?

For those that do not know, the world of higher academia places quite a bit of value on the publishing of your research in major academic journals. This can be a long and arduous process, and still the journal editor may decide to decline your manuscript. This can be a heart wrenching experience, particularly when you feel like you put so much time and effort into what you thought was a great piece of writing. But what do you do when something that you don’t care as much about is rejected?

Last year at this time I was enrolled in a class about content analysis, a research methodology used frequently in my field. As a class we worked on this project together. This project entailed looking at the websites for all of the broadcast networks’ prime-time programs and coding the demographics and salience of each the character visibly featured. This sounded like an interesting project and was fun to do at the time. Fast forward one year. This paper has been presented at a major conference and was submitted to a journal. We’ve all since moved on to other projects, but yesterday I received a rejection letter from the journal’s editor. While the letter was very positive, and even suggested another possible journal to submit it to where the piece may fit in better, since I’ve moved on from this project I really am not sure how much time I want to devote to whipping this piece into shape so that it is in the condition it needs to be so that it can be submitted elsewhere.

This is a problem that plagues me all the time. How do you wrap your mind around a project/topic/idea that you thought was long finished, particularly when your personal interests are now focused on something new? How can that spark be renewed?

WTA

As the second week of tennis' U.S. Open begins, I want to reflect back on some recent advertising strategies used by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA).

For those that do not know, my recent research interests are in how people process messages about sports. More specifically, I am really interested in how men and women process messages from sports that feature female athletes as compared to sports that feature male athletes. While my primary focus thus far has been television sports, I do have some cursory interest in sports advertising.

Here is a recent print advertisement used by the WTA featuring one of the best female tennis players in the world, Venus Williams. What message is such an advertisement trying to put forth? It appears to me that it is playing into the stereotypes that have plagued women for many years. The association is made between women being gossips as much as it is making a connection between women's ability to play good tennis.

And we know that such advertisements would never be made if the focus was on a male tennis player. Can you imagine what would happen if such an ad featured Andy Roddick or Andre Agassi?

Viewing ads like this really do make me wonder how the encountering of such advertisements featuring female athletes impacts individuals, particularly young girls and women, when it comes to what they believe about their athletic abilities and the abilities of other women.

Coach Hepp Wants You!

On Friday night IU football got their first win of the season. The Hoosiers defeated Central Michigan, 20-13. This is great when you consider that Central Michigan has won their last eight home openers!

Could it be that IU football is going to be winners this year? Will IU’s new football coach, Coach Hoeppner, make the difference necessary to get the team a few more wins? Only time will tell.

Different Classes, Different Personalities

This past Friday marked my first time in front of classes of my own. I’ve guest lectured classes before. I’ve even taught a class with another graduate student for a short time will the class’ professor was in the hospital. But this is the very first time that all the responsibilities of the class are mine. Granted these are discussion sections of a larger lecture, which is supervised by a faculty member, but this is unlike any experience I’ve had before.

What was definitely interesting was that each of the three sections had their own individual identities. The first class seemed very creative and laid back. The second class was a bit more uptight, but seemed to be a group of real thinkers who examine ideas thoroughly. The final group is just fun, looking to spice up the class whenever possible. It will be a fun experience for me trying to relate the same information and do the same activities with three classes that are very different.

Hurricane Katrina

With all of the devastation in New Orleans, Mississippi, and the surrounding areas my thoughts go out to all those affected by this disaster. I encourage everyone that reads this message to contribute to relief efforts by any means possible.

Click here to visit the American Red Cross website.
You can also donate through Amazon.com.

And a story from UNICEF that directs you to other organizations that are helping the relief effort.

You're Studying What?

If anyone has taken a small sized class you know that the first day of class often begins with introductions by everyone in the room. As a graduate student you go through it so many times that you have a spiel worked out ahead of time that you just regurgitate for every class you go to. Here is mine:

“My name is James. I’m a second year PhD student in the Department of Telecommunications with minors in both Cognitive Science and Gender Studies. My research interests are the gender differences in cognitive and emotional responses to mediated messages, particularly to televised sports.”

This year, however, I had a response in two classes that I don’t usually have. Right after I mention my minors I had someone pipe in and ask why.

This is something that I have to wrestle with all of the time. My area of research, in conjunction with my minor in Cognitive Science, is a very quantitative approach while the Department of Gender Studies is a very qualitative one. It really is a difficult road to follow when your areas of interest appear to be very theoretically and methodologically incompatible. A question I often get is how I am able to straddle such opposing areas.

I guess my ultimate goal is to bridge the quantitative world of one class to the qualitative world of the other and build out my own niche between the two from which my research will flourish. Will I succeed? I guess only time will tell.