“I got some good news earlier today before the show. Thanks to Alex Rodriguez, I am no longer the most overpaid disappointment in New York City.”
– David Letterman

Call this karma…
Call this Boston Bliss…
Call this the curse of Peyton…

Go Gostkowski!

From the Indy Star:
Indianapolis Colts placekicker Adam Vinatieri has a broken bone in his left (non-kicking) foot, but whether that will keep him out of the team’s regular-season opener Sept. 10 at the New York Giants is unclear.

“That’s what he told us about a week and a half ago,” Vinatieri’s mother, Judy, said of the injury. “They sent him to a specialist. They found a small broken bone in his foot.”
The Colts continue to characterize the Aug. 14 practice injury as a damaged ligament in the ankle, not a fracture, and say he’s “day-to-day.” They have expressed optimism that he’ll be able to play against the Giants.

Vinatieri never discussed his return to action with his family.

“Probably day-to-day or maybe week-to-week,” said Judy Vinatieri. “He never said a word to us about that.”

Varitek. Willy Mo. Coco. Trot. Wakefield. Wells. Clement. Foulke. Now Lester.

Its been an awful year of injuries for the Sox and the recent developments regarding Ortiz and Jon Lester (being tested for cancer) are quite scary. Best of luck to both! Here is a great picture from the always good-read Boston DirtDogs

Is race car driving a sport?
Is ping pong a sport?
I’ll reserve my opinion and simply say that drinking at this speed must be a sport!

This post isn’t about sports… but I drink a lot of coffee and Starbucks has been in the news regarding the new coupon they have virally released for a free grande iced anything. Apparently Starbucks didn’t anticipate (or acknowledge) the power of email and is stunned at the number of coupon redemptions. The coupon is slated to run through September 30th - though there are rumors that they are going to end the promotion.

So I had to test it out myself. Brendan (who is swimming Alcatraz with my this Saturday) joined and we printed out the coupons. To our surprise, there were 15 (no exaggeration) other people in line at Starbucks - ALL of them carrying the same coupon. Starbucks made zero dollars on any of us as everyone ordered a free iced drink… and the coupons all worked. I told the barista that this was the greatest promotion ever - his response was, “Yeah. We are losing hella money on this.”

… And you didn’t expect that?!

In preparation of this Saturday’s Alcatraz 100 swim (in which Team beRecruited.com will be competing), here is a guide to swimming the frigid water of Alcatraz. This Saturday, Ryan Spoon and Brendan Mclaughlin will be among the 350 competitors thats take part in the Alcatraz swim. As most Alcatraz races begin, they boat us out to the Rock, blow a shotgun, and the swimmers dive into the water and race to land.

Alcatraz Courses
There are two Alcatraz courses - the most common is from the rock almost directly south into the Aquatic Park beaches. This swim is (if swum perfectly) 1.25 miles long and the last quarter mile is actually protected (Aquatic Park is a cove near the wharf with a concrete opening for boats). The second course, shown below, is into the beaches of Chrissy Fields. This course is roughly 1.75 miles long and is far more difficult because it requires better sighting and mapping - in addition to better conditioning. The mixture of currents makes the Chrissy Fields swim very difficult. As an example, I swam the Aquatic Park course as part of the Alcatraz 100 race in 2004 and placed 2nd with a time of 28:14. Of course conditions were not equal, I swam the Chrissy Fields course in July 2006 and it took 39 minutes.

Alcatraz Currents
Other than the cold, the most challenging aspect of the Alcatraz swim are the currents. On an average day, if you jump in next to the rock and lay back - you will be under the Golden Gate Bridge within 45 minutes! The currents push out towards the bridge, so you must sight east of the landing spot. For the Aquatic Park course, its far easier and you will notice a large Orange building that you aim towards. Once inside Aquatic Park, its a protected swim and a sprint to the finish. Chrissy Fields is far more difficult because the sighting spots are not as clear - it is recommended that you aim for the west side of Aquatic Park and, as you approach Chrissy Fields, aim towards the furthest east point of the beach.

Be warned - NEVER aim for the swimmers ahead of you. They will most always be to the your right and, by following them, you will be much further west than they are by the time you reach that point! They have already fought the currents to get to their current positioning - if you must follow a leading swimmer, aim EAST.

Also of note, it is ALWAYS better to overshoot East rather than West. Take a look at the images below used by GPS tracking - you will notice how off course some of the swims are. There is nothing worse or more difficult than having to fight the currents and swim upstream to correct earlier mistakes. It is always easier to swim downstream!

Alcatraz Waters & Cold
Sure - the currents are tough… but the waters are frigid! The two times I’ve swum it, its been 57 and 59 degrees. And you will feel much colder pockets of water. My two swims were with wetsuits - but plenty of people swim without wetsuits… its pretty remarkable. If you are able - take the opportunity to swim in Aquatic Park at least once before the race. The water is freezing cold and it shocks your body. If you are particularly worried, you can wear ‘wetsuit’ caps - if you don’t have one, you can wear multiple latek caps. Always make sure that your cap is neon colored as its much safer should you need attention or assistance. If you can’t practice in Aquatic Park, it is recommended that you prepare by showering in cold, cold water.

The Alcatraz Swim Around the Rock
And if you are particularly crazy… there is a new course for Alcatraz swimmers - a swim from Aquatic Park to the Rock, around it, and then back! It took the top swimmer in last year’s inaugural swim ~1 hour and 20 minutes. It took the last swimmers over 3 hours!! That’s a lot of time in the cold waters! This is a ridiculous challenge that is impressive in its audacity and its stupidity!

Si.com and Sports Illustrated are typically pretty good with their NFL season previews. But the Dolphins in the Superbowl? Seriously? I love the Panthers pick - even though the best NFC team probably sits within the NFC East (but that division is so tough that the top seed will be bruised by playoff time). But mark my word - the Dolphins won’t even win the AFC East.

DOLPHINS RAVENS	BEARS COWBOYS
BRONCOS PATRIOTS	GIANTS REDSKINS

DOLPHINS STEELERS	GIANTS SEAHAWKS
COLTS BRONCOS	PANTHERS BEARS

DOLPHINS COLTS

PANTHERS GIANTS

PANTHERS DOLPHINS

If you are aching to see highlights of Team USA play in the World Championships, here is a low budget video of their route against Australia. This was their most recent game and they now move on to play Germany - a much more polished team.

This is the video of Hansen’s world record performance August 5th at the Clovis US Nationals. He finished in a 2:08.74.

Yesterday team beRecruited.com had Ryan Spoon, Chris Fleizach and Brendan Mclaughlin compete in the El Sobrante Triathlon in Northern California. The race features a very difficult 23mile bike that goes through the famous “3 Bears Loop” road - it’s called the 3 Bears because it features a series of three very difficult hills (Mama, Papa, and Baby). I will attest to their steepness since I rode the last 5 miles almost exclusively in gears 1-1.

From the bike we moved on to a 5 mile run that was similarly uphill for about 90% of it. After the run, the triathlon finishes with a three mile kayak. Seems relatively easy - but the kayak is on an inflatable kayak that holds NO direction and waggles from side-to-side.. The kayak was ridiculously hard - not because of fatigue - but because the kayaks were awful and a dog swims faster. The kayak took over 30 minutes.

Chris Fleizach finished the bike second and was able to hold that same position - finishing 2nd overall. Ryan Spoon finished 4th (4th in the bike, 3rd after the run, and 4th overall) and Brendan placed 5th with a strong run and kayak.

Also of note - while kayaking next to Brendan, one competitor went about 300 yards (obviously a small fraction of the 3 miles) and then pulled a U-Turn directly into the finish line. Meanwhile, the organizers cheered him on and gave him a medal. Ridiculous. He maybe completed 600 yards.

This is the San Pablo Reservoir which we biked completely around and ran alongside.

Bear Creek Bike: This is a photo of one of the ‘flat’ sections of Bear Creek Road - the last leg on the bike route.

Three Bears Loop Bike: And this is a map of the actual bike.