Shorts: Oooops!!!!

Hero to Zero

     In the recently concluded Winter Olympics, Sven Kramer of the Netherlands won a gold in the 5,000 meter long track speedskating event, and he was well on his way to winning his second gold in the 10,000 meter version.  Then, he didn't.  An apparent miscommunication with his coach and an unforgivable mental error cost him, as he forgot to switch lanes at the race's halfway point.  The error effectively disqualified him, leaving him with no medal for this event.  Furthermore, it became apparent that he lost a world record time as well.  Kramer, in the heat of the moment, first blamed is coach for telling him to take the wrong lane, but in the end, he did admit that he had no one to blame but himself.  Ooops.










Foot in Mouth Disease

     Even with an upcoming match against the fearsome Shane Carwin (who has a habit of destroying opponents in the first round), former UFC Champion Frank Mir was preoccupied with arch enemy and current UFC Champion Brock Lesnar.  In a recent radio interview, Mir was all bravado and he had this to say.


"I want to fight Lesnar. I hate who he is as a person. I want to break his neck in the ring. I want him to be the first person that dies due to Octagon-related injuries. That's what's going through my mind."


     Days later, Mir did apologize (probably, as Lesnar later said, "after his wife apologized."), but the damage has been done.  In a sport that is striving to gain mainstream recognition and acceptance, it needs this wanton and careless act like a hole in the head.  Several states in the U.S. and Canada have not legalized it, and the Australian press even went as far as calling it "bloodsport" when the UFC held a show there.  What the UFC needs are instances where hardwork, dedication and sportsmanship are championed, not threatening lines fit for an action movie.  Mir may be great in the ring, making very few errors, but behind the mic? That was a big ooops.


Bad Time for the Good Times 

     Canada's Women's Hockey Team made millions of Canadians delirious with their gold medal victory in the 2010 Winter Olympics on their home soil, beating the U.S.A., 2-0.  They were pictures of true champions, politely accepting their gold medals and acknowledging the adoring crowd.  Over half an hour later, they buckled down to business, the business of celebrating.  They went back on the ice and partied.  In typical hockey fashion, they were seen guzzling down champagne and beer, and puffing on some stogies for good measure, all with their gold medals hanging around their necks.  While a lot of writers and fans (and even my friends) are quick to point out that this type of celebration is very typical in the hockey world, two things make it not.  Firstly, the celebration was done in British Columbia, where the legal drinking age is nineteen.  That becomes a sticky situation, as one of the team's players, Marie-Philip Poulin, who had a beer can in her hand, is still eighteen. Secondly, they were celebrating during the Olympic Games, where health and clean living is promoted heavily.  Olympic sports are supposed to capture the imagination of the youth and engage them enough to want to join a sport and live healthy.  Downing Duffs a la Homer Simpson is not exactly in the Olympic Charter.  While it doesn't take away the hard-earned victory of the Canadian lasses, the celebration could be considered an ooops moment too.