blog.benvankat.com

Golden boy

2008-08-17T05:03:00.002-05:00

Two really great Michael Phelps-related finds here. I've kind of stayed away from Phelps this week because there's nothing I can say that Rowdy Gaines hasn't already screamed into a microphone, but just know it takes a lot to get an entire sports department excited in the newsroom. We're a pretty reserved bunch, and there's the unspoken rule of "no cheering in the pressbox." Tonight, though, there was clapping.

First, the Sports Illustrated frame-by-frame underwater capture from his crazy victory in the 100 butterfly on Friday. Here's my favorite of the eight pictures in the series.

I've watched the replay a bunch of times and heard the explanation of HOW he came back to win, but I still don't BELIEVE it. My eyes just won't let me. I have no idea how he got to the wall that fast.

[SI.com - Phelps frame-by-frame]

And here's a PDF link to the New York Times article about Mark Spitz's seventh gold in the 1972 Olympics. (Sidenote: Interesting to see that doping was an issue for swimming even then.)

NY Times - Spitz swims to his seventh gold medal (PDF)

Overshadowed in all this? Supermom losing by .01 and Usain Bolt's silly-fast 100 meters. I could watch that race 50 more times and not get tired of seeing him pull away like everyone else was running in slow motion.

George goes to China

2008-08-13T03:56:00.003-05:00

I missed the first couple days of Olympic action while in KC, and upon my return, I was treated to cubicle walls plastered with pictures of George Bush performing official duties in Beijing. And it looks like he had a good time. A recap of GW's week with the athletes:

Lots of awkward looks in this one. Not sure who's laughter is more nervous, George's or Carmelo's.

"OK, food time. Who need's a hot dog? Dad? How about you down there, you need some popcorn?"

Surprised to learn that China manager Jim Lefebvre will likely win more games in the Olympics than he did during his major league career.

"And he picked up the torch and then, all the sudden, he was like FLYING up to the top of the stadium."

"I guess this is the one time it's ok to wear something that says made in China, eh?"

Just saw Natalie Coughlin in person for the first time.

There really aren't words for this one. Someone PLEASE explain to me what's going on here.

Bodies of work

2008-08-08T12:45:00.003-05:00

Nice little slideshow showing you don't have to have a body like LeBron to make it to the Olympics. But it probably wouldn't hurt.

[NY Times - Bodies of Work]

Here we go.

2008-08-07T06:40:00.001-05:00

It's Olympics time. I'm freaking pumped.

So far, we've had the U.S. women lay and egg against Norway and the U.S. men getting what is likely their only points of the tournament with a win over Japan. Brian Freakin' McBride is on this team. Didn't he play in WC '94?!

Marcelo Balboa and JP Dellacamera called the game this morning from the studio in New York while watching on a live feed. Let's just hope they've got a little stronger connection than ESPN did during Euro a couple months ago. It's obvious that they're still in the testing phase with this whole "live studio in Manhattan" : during halftime, some dude in a suit struggled through some highlights of other games without the benefit of a teleprompter or, you know, the NAMES OF ANYONE PLAYING. "Here's a close one. That shot almost went in. *silence* Good first half. No goals yet." Bob Costas, if he could be bothered for criticism at this early hour, would have just shaken his head.

But, while I'm at it, I must say there's something oddly soothing about setting the TV to the NBC Olympic Soccer channel (Cox 706) and just listening to the sounds of the stadium filling up while teams practice. I wondered how they were going to fill 12 hours of programming a day with soccer since there's not games going constantly, and now I get it: just turn on the camera and let it run. So far, I've seen the inside of a Spanish TV announcer's nostrils while he did vocal warmup exercises and heard them play Celine Dion over the loudspeakers at Shanghai Stadium.

*Edit: And now there is angry African chanting going on in the background somewhere very close to the camera. This is awesome.

Black hole machine

2008-08-03T22:56:00.003-05:00

I only had to take two science classes in college, so I won't even pretend to know what this thing DOES, but the Large Hadron Collider is close to finished in Switzerland and it looks pretty awesome.

Apparently, they'll be doing particle acceleration experiments with this thing, starting in the next couple weeks, so make sure you get your picks in for the "Apocalypse Pool" at work.

[Boston.com, The Big Picture blog -- Large Hadron Collider nearly ready]

A beatdown of epic proportions

2008-07-29T01:43:00.005-05:00

Let's just call it the most fun you can have in a massacre.

Brian and I golfed Sunday morning at Tiburon. We teed off at the crack of dawn (Seriously, I think I heard a rooster crowing on my way up to the clubhouse), out of necessity rather than choice. Tiburon was having some kind of tournament, so they only had really early and late times available.

They decided to pair us up with a couple other dudes. Younger guys, but the tucked-in shirts with sponsor names told us they weren't just your everyday golfers. And they had accents.

Playing from the tips, they both crushed drives through the fairway on the first hole, and as we were looking for their balls, one of them asked a question I had never heard before on a golf course.

"Do you guys know the altitude here?"

Brian and I looked at each other and ventured a guess. "Two thousand feet?" "Fifteen hundred?" "Who knows, why do you ask?"

"Well, we're used to playing at sea level and our ball is flying a lot farther here than we were expecting."

*Thinks to self* "Oh crap. I'm worried about making bogey from the middle of the fairway, and these two are worried because their ball is flying 5 YARDS more than they're used to?! This is going to be a long day."

What followed was easily the most impressive 17 holes of golf I have ever witnessed. One guy was six under ON THE FRONT NINE. He made a 60-footer for his second eagle before the turn and just shrugged, giving us a little laugh. Every single drive was 300, down the middle. I'm serious when I say I don't think they missed more than four fairways combined. One hole, a dogleg left, both guys hit drives over a patch of trees to a blind spot in the fairway no more than 10 feet wide. And if it hadn't happened on nearly every green on the course, we would have been convinced that landing their balls within six feet of each other every time was some sort of crazy coincidence. And they had never set foot on the course before this.

Come to find out, these two were in town for Monday's Cox Classic qualifying tournament. Their morning with us was a practice round. They were both from South Africa, spending the summer in the U.S., flying all over trying to qualify for tournaments. One guy was headed back to his hometown after this week, only to return in the fall for Q School.

Having never seen professional golf in person, I had no idea how good these guys really are. Everyone who plays recreational golf thinks about the possibilities of playing at his best. "All I need is a couple more drives in the fairway and a couple more putts to drop for me to shoot par. Then I could compete with anyone." After seeing a couple pros first hand, I'm convinced that these guys think these same things. Straighter drives, better chips, smoother putts. But rather than hoping for a 72, these guys aren't happy with anything more than 59.

In today's qualifier, one of the guys made it into the Cox Classic field, one didn't. So, when you see Tyrone Van Aswegen on the course at Champions this week, cheer a little louder. Then one day when he wins the Masters, we'll all be able to say we knew him when he crushed my dreams of playing professionally.

Best. Picture. Ever.

2008-07-26T18:08:00.002-05:00

Welcome to Las Vegas, where the players play.

Warren. Bill. Luda.

(Clickable for your desktop background needs.)

48 days to go

2008-07-19T09:33:00.002-05:00

The wedding's finally getting close. Invites should be arriving in our mailbox this weekend and should be in arriving in yours by next. Now, the panic sets in.

http://www.benvankat.com/wedding/

In-freaking-credible

2008-07-18T03:14:00.004-05:00

There's something special about seeing a movie at midnight. There's a buzz in the crowd that you don't get with your typical Thursday evening show. No one decides to go to a midnight premiere because there's nothing else to do. It's an uncertain energy. The thrill of the new. And there's clapping. Lots of clapping.

Throw in a guy wearing a cape, two mimes, about 20 Jokers (including one real enough to make you swear Heath Ledger isn't really dead) and three random gladiators, and the premiere of The Dark Knight had about enough pre-show entertainment to make you forget that you were actually there for a movie.

But ho-lee crap. What a movie it was. If Ledger doesn't win an Oscar, it's a travesty. Eat your heart out, Mr. Freeze.

So, this is Banksy?

2008-07-16T21:57:00.002-05:00

The Daily Mail in London did a year-long investigation, and claims to have outed the famed street painter Banksy. The guy is responsible for some of the coolest graffiti murals in the world, but his identity has always remained a secret, until now.

He is the Scarlet Pimpernel of modern art, so adept at leaving false trails that even his own agent has claimed that he is not certain of his identity.

But you get the sense from the article that even the Mail isn't sure of the assertions in its own story, leaving the door open to the possibility that Banksy may once again be painting over his own tracks, much to the enjoyment of many of his fans who would rather have an anonymous hero.

[The Daily Mail -- Graffiti artist Banksy unmasked]

Midweek longform

2008-07-15T13:43:00.004-05:00

We're headed down I-29 this afternoon, en route to Columbia, Mo., where I'll be spending a little time on the witness stand tomorrow, hopefully wrapping up my involvement in the trial of the semi driver that hit me a couple years back. So, while Steph and I are in the car, you get to spend some time with a couple links I found yesterday. Clear your schedule:

After Josh Hamilton's pretty sweet first round in the Home Run Derby, the SI article from a few weeks ago shot up to the top of the Vault's most-read stories. Anyone know of a better profile of the guy? This one's good, but not great.

[Sports Illustrated -- The Super Natural]

(2) The Washington Post this week started a 12-part series (12!) on the disappearance of former D.C. intern Chandra Levy. This one will probably win a Pulitzer.

[Washington Post - Who Killed Chandra Levy?]

Swimming, or, how I almost drowned at the Olympic Trials

2008-07-07T06:51:00.004-05:00

The email came into work pretty late on Saturday night, and the offer was pretty amazing. Not enough reporters had signed up for the official Olympic Trials Media Swim on Sunday morning, and they were looking for bodies to fill the extra spaces. It took a little convincing, but I got Nick to agree to join me in the fun.

Come to find out, it's not just some "bring your trunks and we'll let you dip in the warmup pool" kind of event. This is a full-on time trial, wearing Speedo's LZR Racer suit, in the competition pool at the Qwest Center. Same water, same suit that they're breaking all the records in this week. It's Olympic glory vs. constant teasing from coworkers. How can you say no, right? I was pretty pumped. We left work and went straight to Wal-Mart to buy goggles.

Just getting in the door on Sunday morning was quite a treat, but after getting the runaround from security for not having credentials (I think we did more exercise just GETTING to the sign-in desk that we did swimming), we found ourselves in the locker room, wondering how exactly we were supposed to put on these $500 swimsuits. I'm pretty sure most of the soreness I'm feeling today is from stretching myself INTO the suit, which took close to 10 minutes after all the adjusting and zipping was said and done.

So, we head out to find our escorts to the pool, realizing that no matter how ridiculous we felt and THOUGHT we looked in these suits, we were hardly out of place being that it was, you know, a SWIM MEET. (Well, OK, maybe we DID look ridiculous.) Walking up the stairs onto the deck is quite a surreal feeling. Not only are we being led out to the fastest swimming pool in history by an Olympic gold medalist (Pablo Morales), he's encouraging us to take some practice laps to get accustomed to the water.

The timers are set up. We're diving off the blocks. They have the announcer there. Names on the scoreboard. The works.

Too bad I forgot about all that as soon as I hit the water.

Nick and I aren't great swimmers, but we both knew HOW to swim. We came to the event expecting to warmup with a few laps and just work on getting close to our predicted 50-meter time of 45 seconds. Didn't happen. Not even close.

Fifty meters is a long way to swim. And for anyone who hasn't had the practice, it feels like a marathon. You're going along, feeling pretty good about yourself. "Wow, this isn't that bad," I remember thinking. Breathing was good. Kicking hard. Arms not tired yet. Gonna finish pretty quick.

And then I looked down in the water and saw the HALFWAY POINT. Twenty-five meters. At that point, panic sets in a little and your leisurely swim becomes less about a fast time and more about survival. You get to the end and the demoralizing realization sets in that you're in way over your head. This isn't going to be easy.

The rest of the day was mostly a blur. I finished in sixth place out of seven in my heat and there were plenty of laughs watching everyone else struggle to the line. There was a press conference with Michael Phelps and a tasty lunch. But once the initial amazement of being HERE and NOW was washed away on the first (and only) practice lap of the day, it was difficult not to shake your head in awe of the Olympians.

I swam the 50 meter freestyle in 56 seconds and could barely climb out of the pool, I was so exhausted. Michael Phelps could do two laps in less time than that and be justifiably disappointed. We got to the arena trying to decide whether we wanted to wear the full body suit or just the pants. Once we hit the water, reaching the wall at the other end of the pool became the priority. Maybe the real choice should have been between a kick board and a life preserver.

[Flickr -- Omega Media Swim, July 6, 2008]

Olympics is coming, don't pollute the internet

2008-06-30T12:05:00.005-05:00

China's state news agency has released a list of 57 behavioral no-nos for the the public during the upcoming Olympics. And I don't know whether it's just a case of awkward translation by the New York Times or if the Chinese government is actually that awesome. Here's some of the list:

1. Friends, national flag is not a seat cushion
2. The bad habit of speaking loudly should be corrected
3. Unruly noises are not Olympic sounds
4. Garbage pileup after sport event, not a Chinese strong point
5. How hard is it to stand in line in a civilized way?
6. When there's a big meal, there's a lingering problem
7. Be enthusiastic and polite Chinese
8. Olympics is coming, don't pollute the internet
9. When watching sport event, behave well

There's also a set of four publicly supported hand gestures, officially known as the "Olympic Four Step". The government has hired 448 official cheerleaders to teach the Four Step to the 800,000 children around the country who have been brought in as seat fillers for events where they haven't sold enough tickets:

1. Clap twice and chant "Olympics!"
2. Close both fists tight, raise thumb, hold both arms in front and chant "Go!"
3. Clap twice and chant "China!"
4. With both fists closed, raise arms above the shoulder and chant "Go!"

Luckily for the rest of the world, China is allowing fans from other countries to "substitute the name of their favorite athlete or country where appropriate at each event." How democratic of them. But leave your opium and blankets at home. Because drugs and sleeping outdoors are banned at the games.

And what about rain, you ask? Don't worry, they have that covered, too. They're giving the villagers guns. Big ones.

Beixing is one of 21 sites around the capital where the Government has set up man-made hail-prevention and rain-increasing work stations, each with up to four anti-aircraft cannon from the 1960s. They will be backed up by three aircraft, which can also scatter rain-inducing chemicals, and by hundreds of experts who will use radar and other equipment at the Beijing Meteorological Bureau.

Seriously, people, how great are the Olympics?

[NY Times - The Olympics are coming, it's time to behave]
[Times of London - Olympic Four Step will show people how to support athletes]

Nice and rotten

2008-06-30T03:23:00.002-05:00

Uploaded a few photos to Flickr showing some of the damage on our street from Friday's storm.

[Flickr - My photostream]

Google closer to home

2008-06-25T04:16:00.002-05:00

Google Street View has come to Omaha. (Well, parts of Omaha, anyway.)

And not even the bums are safe. Someone should have told this guy he was going to be on camera. Maybe he would have put a shirt on.

View Larger Map

Nature's fury

2008-06-25T03:45:00.004-05:00

In my never-ending search for cool stuff on the internet, I came across a feature the Des Moines Register did on the May 25 Parkersburg, Iowa tornado. They have a bunch of photo galleries and a nice tornado history map, but the incredible part is this interactive aerial view of the city that lets you click on individual properties and see before and after pictures of the damage.

You see plenty of natural disaster video on the nightly news, but I had no idea how thoroughly parts of the town were destroyed until I saw some of this. It's terrifying.

[Des Moines Register -- Parkersburg tornado, the aftermath]
[Des Moines Register -- 2008 tornadoes special section]

Hole in the ground

2008-06-23T03:54:00.002-05:00

They're clearing all the old buildings out of downtown, just in time for the new stadium to arrive. First was the Old U.P. headquarters. (They moved across the street to the south). Now, it's World-Herald Square. (The paper moved south, too.)

Finally, a place to sit

2008-06-19T12:51:00.001-05:00

Our couches were delivered today, which means that our free loveseat from Natalie is about to hit Craigslist.

Say goodbye to Tiger ... for now.

2008-06-18T10:19:00.003-05:00

So, now you're telling me Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open after 91 holes with A BROKEN LEG?

What terrifies me about it is how the injury is being called "a small stress fracture" after it was earlier termed a ligament injury. I know Woods' people have a history of downplaying injuries and how much the pain is bothering him, so all I can think about is how Amare Stoudamire missed an entire season for microfracture surgery in 2006.

And to take Tiger away from golf for a year RIGHT NOW is just unfair.

[Golf Channel -- Tiger Opts for Another Knee Surgery]

Summer begins; snakes take the lead

2008-06-15T12:56:00.002-05:00

There are definitely no 15 seconds greater than these for anyone that's been to Rosenblatt on the first day of the series:

And the snakes in our yard have officially taken the lead. Steph was outside this morning and saw one slither along the door frame, then take a right turn INTO A CRACK IN THE WALL. Let's just hope the weed killer I flooded his home with does the trick. Here's the updated scoreboard: Snakes 2, Ben 1

This is my job

2008-06-12T04:51:00.002-05:00

Here's my day "at the office":

Noon: Drive across town trying to find a USC baseball cap for a photoshoot. Apparently, the Reggie Bush and OJ Mayo scandals have soured Omahans on the Trojans, because I couldn't find one anywhere. (Or maybe it was that beatdown in Lincoln last year ... Hmmm.)

3 p.m.: Standing in the middle of Capitol Ave., swinging a baseball bat, wearing a full gorilla suit. Feet and all. I'm getting strange looks from most passers-by, as they're surely not used to seeing primates near downtown intersections. The Red Bull Girls stopped by to inquire (and drop off free drinks) after driving around the block.

5 p.m.: Back in the monkey suit, this time walking across the newsroom into the managing editor's office to ask about some changes to our CWS preview section. He thought it was funny enough that it was worth an escort up the elevator to the 15th floor, where we wished happy birthday to the executive editor and tried to find the publisher.

7 p.m.: We decide there's about a 20-minute window before the severe weather makes its way downtown, so I went and picked up a pizza for dinner. Made it back just as the tornado sirens started going off.

8 p.m. - 3 a.m.: ACTUAL work.

Welcome to College World Series Week, everyone.

Greg Oden on Rhianna

2008-06-09T08:41:00.002-05:00

How many NBA players has this happened to this year? From Greg Oden's blog:

I also had the chance to meet Rihanna and Kanye. I have been a fan of theirs since they both came out, but I have had a crush on Rihanna since I first saw her on TV. When I met her i froze up. I had all this great stuff in my head about what i was gonna say to her, but none of it came out. I ended up saying the cheeziest thing ever: "umm, who are you," I could of punched myself.

GO's blog: Rihanna and Kanye

A celebration; a recommendation

2008-05-30T03:03:00.002-05:00

We're finally in the new house! And as you can see, there's a bit of work to be done yet. Steph cleaned out the living room and kitchen tonight while I was at work, and now it's my job to assemble the desk. Wish me luck.

I'm stealing internet from a neighbor with unsecured wireless right now, while we wait for the Cox Cable guy to drive his little truck over here and flip the switch. (What do they DO exactly, that turns the internet on? I don't get it. I signed up and got a cable box, so we're watching TV (but only up to channel 27), and there's a signal to the modem, but no connection. And they're not coming until Monday. Sweet.)

As for my recommendation: Used golf clubs.

In what I assume is an effort to combat vicious club pirates like me and Mike, Callaway has an online store where they sell pre-owned drivers, putters and irons on the cheap. No worries for the non-Callaway fans, either, as there's plenty of Ping and Nike to go around. If you don't need the 2008 model to be happy, there's some pretty ridiculous deals to be had. Like my birthday present: A Titleist 975J driver. There's barely even a mark on it. Originally like $300 bucks. Steph paid $33.75 shipped.

[Callaway Pre-owned and Outlet]

Home on the range

2008-05-26T03:28:00.002-05:00

In my efforts to prepare myself for the day when the newspaper can't pay all the bills anymore, I'm exploring other potential career paths. Plenty of ideas, none of them serious. I have "computer guy" days and "professional degree" days and plenty of "why can't I just win the damn lottery?" days.

Lately, though, I've been practicing for my PGA Tour debut. I don't think they have too many spots available for guys who struggle to break 80, but I hear just working for corporate gets you a membership at TPC Sawgrass. And the PGA commissioner gets paid $4.5 mil just to fly around and hand out trophies, so there's plenty of money to be made on the links. I wonder if there's any jobs open for 24-year-old cart washers ...

Subliminal Snacker

2008-05-22T00:27:00.002-05:00

The commercial isn't nearly as annoying as that Subway "5 dollar footlong" one, but KFC's starting to get on my nerves with the three kids talking about dollar sandwiches.

"I found a dollar in your couch."
"Dude, keep it, what can you get for a dollar?"

Ok, you know the one. But now there might actually be a reason to save up: the Colonel is putting money in the lettuce! Check out this screenshot of the commercial ...