Rough Haus

Hubba was featured on Season 2, Episode 2 of Rough Haus earlier this month.

I can not tell you how much I enjoy sharing my life with this amazing person.  :-D

Rough Haus is a locally produced television show, airing on KCDO - Denver/Sterling, CO.

Enjoying the Paralympics

Hubba and I have been enjoying the Paralympic coverage on paralympic.org.

Aside from one morning where I messed up on the timezone math and missed the event I wanted to see by an hour, we've been getting up early to see some events.

After the live coverage, the Paralympic Broadcast is posted to YouTube on the ParalympicSportTV channel.

There have been so many amazing things put forth, but one in particular is the men's T54 (wheelchair) 5000m Final.  This is Hubba's class, so we know something about most of these guys.

The race starts at about 3:16 into this video.



The 5000m on the track is a chess game.  It's all about knocking the others off balance and being in the right place at the right time.

One of my favorite athletes to watch is Kurt Fearnley of Australia.  He is so relaxed and patient while he's racing and hometown boy, David Weir, won gold in front of a packed house.  Definitely an event to watch.

If you scroll back to 2:37 then you can also see the amazing Oscar Pistorius be surprised by the young Brazilian athlete, Alan Oliveira, in the 200m.

In my mind, there is little better for the Paralympic Movement than seeing the brilliant Blade Runner, who did so well at the Olympics, have real competition at the Paralympics.

The Paralympics are Starting Soon

If you happen to be in countries other than the US, I suspect there's a good chance you will be seeing some Paralympic Coverage on your local television channels.  However, if you're in the US, you will need to go to YouTube, USParalympics.org, or Paralympic.org.  Or if you have cable TV, then NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) will air one-hour highlight shows on September 4,5,6 and 11 at 7pm ET.

Finally on September 16, NBC will broadcast a 90-minute special from 2-3:30pm ET.

The London Paralympics run from August 29 - September 9.  In London, at the same venues, playing most of the same sports.

While this is more coverage than we expected and more than has ever been provided in the US before, it is still very little when compared to the Able-Bodied Olympics.

USOC Press Release

If you still don't know what I'm talking about, the Paralympics are just like the Olympics, but way more exciting.  Consider, if you will...Blind Sprinting or Long Jump, Amputee Soccer, Wheelchair Basketball or Racing, Archery without arms, Swimming without legs or arms.  If you haven't seen (or done) these things, then you have no idea what you're missing.

Certainly you have all now considered Amputee Sprinting and are perhaps now reconsidering the idea of a Disabled Athlete.  As cyclist, Greta Neimanas recently stated, "We compete to win, not for hugs."

You'll be able to see Oscar Pistorius race again and see how he performs against other amputee sprinters.

For us, we'll be watching Hubba's Training Partner compete in the 5000m, 800m, 400m and Marathon.  She already has a gold medal in Basketball from Beijing (#12, white).  Her former team mates are going for a 3-peat in Women's Wheelchair Basketball in London this year.



I hope you will take time to catch some of the events that are most interesting to you.  If you do, please let me know what you think.  Or better yet, let NBC know what you think. :-)

The opening ceremonies start in one week... 21:00 London time, Wednesday, August 29th.

USOC and Ravelympics

I am far from alone in being offended by the tone of a letter sent to the leaders of Ravelry by the USOC.

Being a business owner, entrepreneur, knitter, life-long fan of the Olympic Games and wife of an aspiring Paralympian, I have mixed feelings.

I absolutely agree with the issues related to trademark infringement.  I completely disagree with stating that the Ravelympics inappropriately represents the ideals of the Olympic Movement or is disrespectful in anyway.

I have not participated in the Ravelympics before and was not planning to participate this year.  However, I do plan to knit something specific to commemorate the London Paralympics, if my Husband is fortunate enough to be invited to participate.

While the first apology was also offensive, the update made me feel that the fiber community had been heard.

I know first hand the level of effort, commitment and expense required to bring yourself to the very top of your game.

Yes, it's true.  My husband is the one doing the work... pushing the miles, focusing his intention and peeing in a cup in front of witnesses.  But I am the one supporting him.

I will, of course, watch the London Olympic Games.  Because I love sport.  I love that the athletes have dedicated themselves to becoming as good as they can be.  And I love that they respect excellent performances by their competition regardless of where that competition happens to be from.

I will, most likely, be knitting.  Because that's what I do when I'm watching TV.

I would love to knit while watching the London Paralympic Games as well, but sadly there will be no domestic broadcast on the networks of NBC for those Games.

National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament

My husband's buddy, Pete Hughes, coaches the University of Arizona's Women's Wheelchair Basketball team.  They were in the national tournament this weekend in Denver.

The National Wheelchair Basketball Association's championship game between the University of Illinois and University of Alabama is scheduled for Saturday at 11:30 am MDT.  It will be broadcast online here.

Earlier today, we went to Denver to see the Arizona Wildcats compete against the Wisconsin-Whitewater WarHawks in the 5th place game.  The WarHawks lead most of the game, but the Wildcats pulled it out in the end.  It was a very exciting game to watch.