International Sports Overload

World Cup

What an incredible matchup in the World Cup quarterfinals: Argentina vs. Germany. Maybe the two best teams in the tournament, a final-worthy game, and it went the distance, with Germany winning in the shootout. They were helped by Argentina's idiot coach, a pompous tool who had his best players on the bench during Germany's decisive run, including the wunderkind Lionel Messi and their possession machine Riquelme. They were totally in control before Riquelme was pulled, and Messi, who Maradona called "the next me," never saw the freakin' pitch. How does the next Maradona not play? Reminiscent of Monty playing Tony over Julius, or Trent playing Mitch over Anthony. Painful.

A few months ago, I told my brother that this year's finals would be a rematch of the 2002 finals, when Brazil topped Germany. Brazil, okay, but Germany? They'd been playing terribly (some said if they weren't the hosts, they might not have even qualified), but you can never count out the home team, no matter how poorly they've been playing leading up to the tournament. Time after time, the home team overachieves. Korea in '02 (semis), France in '98 (champs), the US in '94 (2nd round). Now that Germany has gotten past Argentina, they are looking like a solid bet to hold up their end of the bargain, with only Italy or Ukraine standing in their way, and a raucous home crowd behind 'em.

Brazil is the heavy favorite on their side of the bracket, but they'll have to beat two European teams in a row on European soil just to make the finals, also against a European team. I'm picking them to take down England in the semis, and then we'll see if they can do better than in '98, when they lost in the finals to the host nation France.

Tour de France

Absolutely SHOCKING news. And a huge letdown. With the retirement of Lance Armstrong, this year's Tour was highly anticipated for the showdown between the two overwhelming favorites, Jan Ullrich, former Tour champion and five-time runner up, and Ivan Basso, last year's runner up. Both were on form, with Ullrich winning the Tour de Suisse and Basso winning the Giro d'Italia. Also figuring into the mix were Francisco Mancebo, who finished fourth last year, and Joseba Beloki, who finished second to Lance in '02 and finished third twice.

Now on the eve of the Tour, all four have been suspended for being implicated in a in a large-scale doping investigation. And Alexandre Vinokourov, another top contender with top-five finishes in his last two Tours, is out of the race because so many of his teammates were suspended that he no longer has enough of them to stay in the race. Unbelievable. I guess the opportunity opened up by Lance's departure got these guys a little too excited. To be fair, it's still just an investigation, but regardless, this takes a lot away from this year's race. None of last year's top five will be returning.

The fallout of this massive scandal may result in an American winning the Tour for the eighth straight year. Levi Leipheimer is now looking like the favorite, with Floyd Landis (a former Armstrong lieutenant) perhaps his biggest rival. George Hincapie could also be a darkhorse. We could have two Americans on the podium for the first time ever, and yet the accomplishment would feel somewhat dampened by the circumstances. I'll be watching to root for them anyway. Levi recently won the Dauphiné Libéré, so he's on point. Hopefully he can handle the pressure that has suddenly been thrust upon him.

Wimbledon

Bleepin' James Blake. That's all I have to say.

Two Years Down, Two to Go

For those who are counting, that would be 730 days that Gina and I have been engaged! Which means it's been 729 days since we were last in the beautiful city of Venice. :(



There is a light at the end of this very long tunnel, and that light is summer of 2008, so save the season, folks!

Unspoiling the Walk

Wednesday was the first of my new golf lessons, through Summitpointe Golf Club. For $200, I get 6 hours of instruction, 5 rounds of golf, one 30-minute warm-up session/round of golf with a pro (this might be the coolest part of the deal), one practice-with-a-pro session on a specific topic, $50 of free range balls, 10% off everything at the club for a year, and a club fitting. It's a steal at twice the price!

My classmates are Hubert and Dave, though Jen's beginner class is right next to ours, so it'll be fun to heckle her. We kicked things off at the park adjacent to the Googleplex, starting with the basics. Grip, stance, ball position, and half swings. Nothing new, but still plenty to correct. Apparently 95 percent of mistakes are caused by setup. For instance, Hubert found out that he was consistently aiming about 20 degrees right of target! And this whole time we thought he had an open face. :) My problems were ball position and the starting angle of my backswing. There's always something.

We get the 4-day weekend again for Independence Day, so Hubert and I are heading to Milpitas on Monday to use one of our free rounds and put our learnings in action. Last year we went to Hawaii, so life is regressing. :(

Apparently this course is a tough walk, so we're gonna go with the cart. But the only thing that's really gonna make this or any other walk on a golf course easier is more game. Or more cowbell.

Grand Canyon

Like Big Game, it needs no article. Grand Canyon. Says it all. Gina and I headed there this Tuesday for our annual summer vacation, this time accompanied by her parents. It was their first visit ever, and my first since I was 5 or 6.

Our trip started with a flight into Vegas, followed by a 290-mile drive to Grand Canyon. On the way, we stopped at the second most famous structure named after our 31st US President, the most famous of course being:



How does the guy who presided over the start of the Great Depression get two prominent structures named after him? Goes to show, it's better to be the most spectacular failure in your field than to be inconsequential. Anyway, here's me and Gina on top of his dam:



When we arrived in Tusayan that night, it was a lot nicer than expected (a lot earlier, too...we forgot that Arizona doesn't observe Daylight Savings). We thought it was going to be a podunk town, but it actually had some good restaurants, as well as the most expensive McDonald's in America (second in the world to some place in Europe). And located just two miles outside of the park entrance, it was a very convenient launch pad for our adventures.

Grand Canyon Airplane Tour

I signed up Gina, her dad, and myself for a tour that started at 6:30am Wednesday, with an airplane ride over the canyon. It was spectacular. Next time, I want to do it by helicopter, which gives an even closer vantage point, but we still got some incredible views (and the ride ended in Page, AZ, which is only cool to Matt Haryasz fans):




Antelope Canyon

Next up was a bumpy jeep ride to Antelope Canyon, a small canyon about 100 yards long and shaped by sandy floods. It was honestly an afterthought stop on the tour since we had never heard of it before, but it turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip and provided some of the prettiest views, and we were very fortunate to have had it included:




Boat Float

The long day ended with a 15-mile float down the calm part of the Colorado River. The rapids, the only ones in the world to be graded beyond the standard 5-point scale (all the way up to 10!!!) require a multi-day camping trip, which takes you into the heart of the canyon (and in view of waterfalls, gigantic caves, and 2500-foot walls), but we'll have to save that for another time. This trip started at the Glen Canyon Dam/Powell Lake and wound through the youngest part of the canyon (1500-foot walls), with a brief stop to see Native American petroglyphs:





South Rim Trail

The following day, we decided to hike as much of the 13-mile South Rim Trail as we could. The beauty of hiking this particular trail, besides the spectacular views throughout, is the tram that runs constantly up and down the adjacent road, so if you ever get tired at any point, you can simply hop onto the tram.

We managed a total of 10 miles on foot, starting around 8:30am and ending at sunset (with a break for dinner and the Grand Canyon IMAX movie).

You'll probably be seeing this picture again come Christmas time:



Some of the angles provided views of the Colorado River weaving through the canyon:



Grand Canyon is one of two California Condor habitats, and we were lucky to glimpse one of the giant birds (6-foot wingspan!). It really is an impressive sight in person:



I just really like this picture:



We would have loved the chance to hike deeper into the canyon, but that also requires multiple days, so it'll have to wait for the next trip as well. You can see the many grueling switchbacks in this shot of the popular trail leading to the base of Bright Angel Canyon. Brings back memories of the infamous Half Dome hike:



There were a lot of fires burning in the surrounding areas, the biggest in Sedona. You can see the smoke rising prominently on the horizon, which made the air somewhat hazy at times:



The haze did make for a nice sunset though (much like the pollution in SoCal). Maybe you'll see this one around Christmas time instead:




It was a great trip, and the two thoughts I am left with are 1) we are lucky to have so many national parks to enjoy in this country, and I need to see more of them, 2) but before I do, I need to head back to Grand Canyon again, because there were so many times when I thought to myself, I'm going to have to do that next time. It would be incredible to get a big group together for a rafting/hiking trip, with a helicopter ride to Havasu Falls mixed in!

Las Vegas

Our trip ended where it began, in Vegas with a night at the Paris Hotel. Gina and I lost a combined $14 gambling, but we spent much more than that at the Forum Shops in Caesar's. Somehow the walking I did while shopping tired me out much more than the ten miles of hiking along the rim of the canyon. Must be psychological.

It was great to spend so much time with the fiancée, and I'll miss her as she begins her rounds on Monday (with obstetrics). Good luck, G!

If you are interested, check out the full album of our trip here (and sign up for your own Picasa web album!).

I Sheared the Sheep

Everyone's got a list of things they have to do before they turn 30. I just checked off another item on mine: shear a sheep.

Gina's second-cousin Leanne and her husband Joseph have two sheep on their property (the Palo Alto limit on hoofed animals in their neighborhood), and Jesse, the domesticated one, needs to be sheared each summer (Dolly, the wild one, shears herself against the trees). I didn't know what I was getting into when I offered to help, but it was actually kind of fun!



I only sheared about a third of her. Joseph did the rest, and he also took care of bringing Jesse down to the ground with an impressive wrestling move. After that, it was basically like shaving Alan's head, only easier, because I didn't have to do a clean job. Sheep aren't vain; they just want to be cool during the summer.

Next on my list? Tour the Grand Canyon! I have a good feeling about this one.

FCCA II

With Gina coming to town, we were able to convince Jeremy to stay through the weekend, which meant more country clubbing (tennis and golf).

Gina flew in Thursday night, but before she landed, Jeremy, Gerald, Andrew, and I squeezed in a 9-hole round at Sunken Gardens in Sunnyvale, a par-29 with 7 par-3s and 2 par-4s.

Jer got off to a great start, with three pars and two bogies over the first five holes. He was on pace for a really nice score, but he doubled three of the last four holes to finish with a solid 8-over 37. Still better than bogey per hole!

Here's some video of his swing on the tee at the 267-yard par-4 6th (with a brilliant cameo from Andrew):



Despite faltering a bit at the end, his score was still good enough for first place, two strokes ahead of my 10-over 39. I started poorly with a triple on one, but then I ran off seven straight holes of par or bogey, including pars on both par-4s, before finishing with a disappointing double (damn three-putts). Bad bookends, but I'm happy with everything in between, and I managed to get through the course on one ball and no mulligans. I'm not hitting with great distance, but my swing is fairly consistent now, and I'm ready to focus more energy on my short game.

Here's a video of my tee shot at the same par-4:



Gerald managed four bogies on the round and finished 15-over, one stroke ahead of Andrew, who also managed four bogies but stumbled with two triples as well, finishing 16-over.

I'm taking the next week off to tour the Grand Canyon with Gina, but when I get back, Hubert and I will begin our lessons in an attempt to become as good as Jeremy! :)

FCCA (Future Country Clubbers of America)

Jeremy flew up on Friday, and boy are my arms tired.

Barely an hour after he landed, we were at Taube Tennis Center on campus to play some doubles: Hubert and Jer vs. me and Andrew. We don't waste time around here.

Apparently this was a rematch from a while back, though I only vaguely remember it. At the time, Hubert was just getting started with tennis, so we paired him with Jeremy, who is hands down the best among us. Andrew and I won the first meeting, but it was fairly competitive, so this time around, with an improved Hubert and a no-longer-rusty Jeremy, it was gonna be a battle.



Andrew and I ended up prevailing this time around as well, 6-0, 7-6 (7-5), but after the rout in the first set, things got very competitive in set 2, which was back and forth all the way through the tie-breaker. A lot of the momentum shift could be attributed to Hubert's marked improvement. He went from double-faulting games away in the first set to winning his last two service games in the second. When he's on, his tall frame allows him to pound on us little guys...and after a slow start, he was on.

But Andrew was on, too, and he carried us to victory. I was just there to hit the shots he couldn't reach.



Afterwards, Hubert had to check out for a birthday party, so Jer, Andrew, and I started rotating singles games, with the winner staying, the loser sitting, and the incoming player serving. Jeremy ended up winning the first six before I was able to finally knock him out and end the discouraging bagel. I ended up going on a streak of my own, winning four in a row, then Jer and I exchanged a few games before Andrew got into the winning mix as well. All in all, a four-hour day of tennis.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention that Dick Gould (greatest college tennis coach EVER, and it ain't close) was on the courts doing some work on the ball machines during our doubles match, so he caught a few of our points. After Andrew hit a hard service winner, Mr. Gould said to him, "Nice serve." Nice serve! From Dick freakin' Gould! It was the high point of the afternoon. Just for that, Andrew, you deserve your own logo:



Rounding out our country club credentials, Gerald, Jeremy, Andrew, and I headed to Deep Cliff Golf Course in Cupertino on Sunday, an executive 18-hole par-60, made up of twelve par-3s and six par-4s.



After a rocky start involving a water hazard and many lost balls, I shot a satisfying 10-over through the front nine, including three pars (one on a 20-foot chip-in). I ended up 25-over on the day, an 85, with 4 pars, 5 bogies, 7 doubles, and 2 triples. I played as well as I ever have off the tee, but I had my problems around the green. My best shot of the day, besides the surprising chip-in, was my tee shot on the 185-yard par 3 13th, the longest par 3 on the course. I expected to play the hole like a par 4 due to my lack of distance off the tee, but I managed to smack my 4-iron dead straight, just short of the green, and Andrew captured the moment (he even caught the ball in flight):



Andrew shot 28-over, and he really started to find his swing by the end of the day. He also got off to a fast start with a par on the opening hole, a 242-yard par 4. In between he had some struggles, but he managed the course well and finished with a good score.



Jeremy finished one shot back of Andrew, at 29-over. He actually had the prettiest shots off the tee, but he wasn't playing with his own clubs, so his distance control was lacking. At least he's a wizard chipping the ball.



Gerald ended 42-over, but he improved a lot over the back nine and scored a par. The ball trajectory looks good here!



More tennis tomorrow! We'll probably hit the driving range afterwards, too. And if we convince Jer to stay through the weekend, I'll post a follow-up. :) Gina's coming, too!

Countdown: 3 days!

3 more days until my United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 (a.k.a "boards"). Man, I can't believe that I've been studying for this thing non-stop for 2 1/2 months for 10-12 hours a day! Crazy! The MCAT is nothing compared to this. :(

Funny story: I got a warning placed under my windshield wipers when I was studying at a local shopping center Starbucks. It told me to park in employee parking next time! I guess I was there for 7 hours...

Ole, Ole Ole Ole!

The madness has begun! The world's best sporting event kicked off today, with home team Germany beating CONCACAF's Costa Rica 4-2, followed by Ecuador shocking Poland! What a start!

I'm going to catch as many games as possible, but the teams I'll be following most closely in the coming month:

1. Korea - Can Korea prove that their 2002 semifinal run was more than just home cooking? They got a lot of breaks from the refs that year, which is common for the home team, and they lost their coach, Guus Hiddink, a proven World Cup winner who left for Australia (more on them later).


Korea celebrates their 2002 semifinal bid after defeating Spain

This year their group isn't too tough. Switzerland is one of the more favorable European teams to draw, and France is as vulnerable as they've ever been. I think they'll pull it off, but they'll need Park Ji Sung, the Man U mighty mite, to come up big. He's frequently been their lone goal scorer in the qualifiers.

First Match: June 13, 6am, ESPN2, vs. Togo (an absolute must-win)

2. US - Can the US follow up its international breakthrough from 2002, when it reached the quarterfinals and got screwed out of the semis by a blind ref? The outlook is bleak. They are in the group of death, with world power Italy and #2 FIFA World Ranked Czech Republic. If they do get out of the group and onto Round 2, it'll be perhaps the greatest achievement in US Soccer history, and a huge step towards international legitimacy. But most experts are counting them out.


They must do segregated runs. I swear the team has black players!

The names you probably already know are Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley (a former teammate of Park's at PSV Eindhoven), and stalwart Claudio Reyna, who is making his fourth and final World Cup appearance, a US record. Some big-time up-and-comers are Oguchi Onyewu and Bobby Convey, both of whom are looking to land at bigger European clubs next year. And don't forget about Brian Ching, the first Hawaiian native to ever play for the national team (and the guy who dominated me, Ayeh, and Hpan on FIFA '05)!

For goal scoring, it's all about Brian McBride, by far the team's best finisher, who scored the critical game winner vs. Portugal last time around:


McBride scoring the decider in 2002 vs. Portugal

These guys are legit, and they'll be fun to watch. A couple of ties and a big win over Ghana could be their ticket to Round 2. An upset over Italy or the Czechs can seal the deal.

First Match: June 12, 9am, ESPN2, Czech Republic (must get at least a tie)

3. Brazil - Is this year's Brazilian squad the greatest ever? It may have the greatest player ever in Ronaldinho, who fans know from numerous online videos. Click to be amazed. If you aren't a soccer fan after half an hour, you're hopeless.


#1 in the world Ronaldinho, with former #1 Ronaldo in the background

The Brazilians are the overwhelming favorites to win it all, even though the event is in Germany, which would seem to favor the Euros. Assuming they don't run into Korea or the US, I'll be rooting for them, just because they're so damn fun to watch. Even if they lost Ronaldinho, they'd still be the overwhelming favorites. That's how deep they are, that they can lose the world #1 and dominate.

First Match: June 13, 2pm, ESPN2, Croatia (probably their toughest opening round match, but that's not saying much)

4. Australia - Why the men down under? Because of Tim Cahill, of Everton! Go Tim!


The pride of Everton

They're unlikely to get past the first round, but I gotta root for my Chang boys.

First Match: June 12, 6am, ESPN2, Japan

For the first time ever, every single game will be televised in the US on national TV (ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2), so be sure to tune in! Futbol Mania has hit the states! Don't miss the passion, the creativity! (that was for you, Jer)

What Happens in Vegas...

It’s been a tiring week, as conference weeks usually are. And as usual, I had a good time but am grateful to be back home.

The conference opened Monday night with dinner, followed by an improv performance by the guys from Whose Line Is It Anyway? A cool entertainment choice, and they were hilarious, despite lackluster audience participation. Let this be a lesson to them. Take volunteers, who are obviously willing to ham it up, rather than choose audience members randomly at the risk of picking the most uptight people there, especially when those people didn't make a conscious choice to attend.

After the show, we hit the hotel casino, and over the course of the night, I lost 30 bucks playing craps, which sounds like a small amount, but there were wild fluctuations, which stressed me out, not to mention the fact that I simply hate gambling. And they kept bringing me complimentary drinks, which doesn’t mix well with me, and I was surrounded by guys blowing second-hand smoke in my face! So at that point I decided I had had enough…for the week. What was I doing there? At least I got the gambling out of my system quickly, I suppose, and without too much damage to my wallet (my lungs were another matter).

Tuesday night was another dinner, this time followed by Google Idol 2. The first one (at the prior conference) was a traditional singing contest, but this time the format was wide open, and the winner was a spot-on (and I mean spot-on) rendition of the famous More Cowbell SNL skit (thanks for the link, Russ). Brilliant work by the Boston office, especially the two guys who filled the Will Ferrell and Chris Walken roles. People were crying with laughter, and I’m not sure who found it funnier: those who knew of the SNL skit, or those who didn’t.

After Idol, people once again flooded to the casino and bars (who the hell decided to have this thing in Vegas???), but I opted for the gym with Amer, and surprise surprise, we had the run of the place. Where did all the social interaction go? This was our best option for the night?

For me, the thing I enjoy most about these events is getting to see friends from the other offices that I’ve visited over the years, but over the first two days, the conference had failed in this regard. The days were jam-packed with events, but there was very little opportunity to just hang out with everyone, and the nights scattered people everywhere. So Wednesday was a nice change of pace. The sessions (including the always popular Upcoming Products session by the PMs) finished early in the day, and dinner was very informal, so I was finally able to catch up with a lot of folks. Now I'm no schmoozer, but I'm talking about friends that I hadn't even seen up to that point. It made me feel much better about the event, which up to that point had been fun and action-packed but still left me cold (and it was 105 degrees!).

That last night, they loaded up a bunch of buses to take people to the Strip, but I was more excited about the spectacular lightning storm that hit the area. This was the best shot I could manage, overlooking the lake:



I did end up hitting the casino with Tomas and Amer for an hour, but only to play some video poker, because the guys had never played before, which was unbelievable to me, so I had to teach them the game. :) I ended up winning 45 bucks to finish + $15 for the trip. Woo hoo! I still hate gambling.

Anyway, back to 75-degree weather, no-smoking laws, and general sanity. No more Vegas conferences, please!!!

Back in Action

Amusing anecdote: Alan gave me a call this Friday to tell me that he had just birdied a par five during his round of golf, and he had to let someone know. He then hung up to tee off at the next hole. It made me laugh, but I could completely relate to the impulse to make such a call, which is probably why he chose to make his to me. That, and I could truly appreciate the accomplishment (I wish I'd done it). A single great golf shot can be enough to carry the entire dinner conversation later that night.

My own "golf shot" came Saturday morning, when I hit my first ever home run in softball! And I did it without the help of BALCO, though clearly all of my lifting at the office gym with Hubert has been paying off (never mind that it was an inside-the-park job).

In addition to softball on weekends (three games last Saturday) and working out a few times a week, I've also been playing a lot of tennis at Stanford with Andrew and Hubert (five sets this week), usually followed by a session at the neighboring driving range (three this week).

It's been a while since I've been this active. When I first moved in with Andrew, Gerald, and Hubert, we were doing stuff seemingly every night. Then Andrew's body started its inevitable break down, the weather got crappy, Hubert moved out, and inertia took over. Now the weather is glorious, and we're back in action. Just in time, too. Jeremy is coming out for a few days next weekend, and whenever he's in town, there's always something going on (even if it is just shooting Gerald in the ass with rubberbands).

So far on the agenda: doubles rematch on Friday (Hubert/Jer vs. me/Andrew), tentatively followed by an eating competition that night (Hubert vs. Jer, details to come), and a round of golf on Sunday (Jer, Andrew, Gerald, and me...no Hubert, because the bastard is leaving for a two-week boondoggle, er, work trip, to Europe). I'll be sure to blog the results of the visit. :)

In the meantime, I'm off to Lake Las Vegas tomorrow for my own boondoggle, er, national sales conference. I'm sure I'll have some fun experiences to share, but in the meantime, check out the resort at which I'm staying!



I'll be sure to blog the results of this trip, too. :)