I sang along with the national anthem. Natalie and I both were singing. We both were singing softly, because I don’t know that either of us is a very good singer.
–Huntsville swimmer Margaret Hoelzer after taking the bronze in the 100 meter backstroke
Marge, if you take the gold in the 200 meter backstroke and they play that song just for you, we expect you to belt it out, girl!… Read the rest
Huntsville’s Margaret Hoelzer finished third in the finals of the women’s 100 meter backstroke competition today, capturing her first Olympic medal.
Well done, Marge. All of Alabama, even the Roll Tide types, are rejoicing.
Now it’s on to the 200 meter backstroke later this week (she’s the current world record holder) where she will be the favorite.… Read the rest
Huntsville’s Margaret “You Can’t Holz ‘er Back” Hoelzer kept her cards close to her chest yesterday and cagily made her way into tonight’s 100 meter backstroke final (9:23 pm Central).
This is not her best race (she is one of the favorites and the current world record-holder in the 200 meter back, however), so gold-medaling is still somewhat of a longshot, especially with teammate Natalie Coughlin and Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry in the race too.
Speaking of Coventry, she set a new world’s record in her heat last night, and there’s an interesting side story developing there. Even though Hoelzer and Coventry raced side-by-side last night, there seemed to be little of the usual inter-lane congratulations between the two after the heat was over.… Read the rest
I’m taking time out from our regular Olympic programming for a special bulletin to my Abilene readers. Please be on the lookout for this man:
He was last spotted headed west “on the road to Abilene” with his wife Janet and a van full of kids. But don’t worry, he’s not dangerous; he’s just a little wordy sometimes.
You see, Doug is headed there to fulfill a lifetime dream of teaching in the journalism department at his alma mater, Abilene Christian University. For years, he’s been working at The Huntsville Times and writing a regular column “Soul Food,” which he also turned into a book, How Jesus Ended Up in the Food Court: Seventy-seven Devotional Thoughts You Never Thought About Before.… Read the rest
I was out soccering last night with Numbers Two and Three and their teams in the opening tournament of the year, so I haven’t caught much of the opening ceremonies yet. Scrolling through the 4-plus hours of recording on my DVR and hitting the highlights is on my to-do list today, after more soccer matches, mowing the lawn, my weekly elliptical trainer workout at the gym…phew, I should get a gold medal for doing all that.
Number One, who was watching at home, called during the soccer matches and said it all seemed a little “creepy,” in a “if 1.3 billion people are capable of putting on this kind of show, what else are they capable of doing?”… Read the rest
How bad is the SMOG in BEIJING? THT‘s Mark McCarter weighs in (in between gags).
Pass me my respirator and the Visine, please.
The Huntsville Times‘ very own sports reporter and columnist Mark McCarter is wheels down in Beijing and already up and reporting.
I may check in with our intrepid man on the ground in the Olympic village a little later and have him check to see if Ocular Fusion has been blocked by Chinese censors.
With all the crap I’ve been throwing their away about that LUNG-CHOKING SMOG, I wouldn’t be surprised.
UPDATE: No need to check with McCarter after all. I checked here, and it looks like Ocular Fusion is still up and running behind The Great Firewall of China:
Website Test Results
… Read the rest
Tested From: Beijing, China Tested At: 2008-08-06
16:28:37 (GMT -04:00)URL Tested: http://WWW.OCULARFUSION.NET
I suddenly realized a few minutes ago that I have an appointment to get my teeth cleaned at noon today. Long time readers may recall how I feel about that.
I’m really (ahem) “way too busy” to make that one this time, so I called and left the following message:
… Read the restHey, Cindy (the receptionist), it’s Mike the Eyeguy. Look, you know how much I value good dental hygiene, probably as much as the next guy, but I was looking at my teeth last night, and really, the coffee stains aren’t that bad (sort of a light beige rather than the usual dark brown) and they’re only a few pieces of the previous six months’ meals stuck in the crevices, so really, I’m in pretty good shape.
We were in Singapore for slightly over a week. I’m glad that I am from Alabama and know what humidity is because it was really, really humid. I got a big kick out of watching the majority of the team (who are all from the West Coast) wilt like flowers when outside for more than 10 seconds. Yes, we Southerners are tough!
–Margaret Hoelzer, US Olympic Swim Team
Margaret Hoelzer, Huntsville native and US Olympic swimmer, gets it right.… Read the rest
The Huntsville City Recreation Service’s Concerts in the Park summer series continued Monday night on an unseasonably cool and dry July evening. Citizens turned out in droves at Big Spring Park near the Huntsville Art Museum to the listen to the chillin’ sounds of two local bands, Anchor’s Eye and Band of Moose:
Man, you know you’re getting old when the kids that you used to coach in t-ball and soccer are performing live on stage and recording a session in Nashville next week to boot. Where did the time go?
It was a time to bring your camp chair and beverage of choice, enjoy the music and meet and greet old friends:
And new friends:
The politicians were out in full force, including long-time Huntsville Mayor Loretta Spencer who is running for re-election and is seen here talking to a constituent:
She even gave me this cool fan, although I didn’t really need it that night:
No, that’s not the Mother Ship from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.… Read the rest
Number Two is “wheels down” in Huntsville after his three week tour of Germany/Austria/Switzerland. Huzzah!
We were expecting more of a grungy, grizzled Euro-backpacker look upon his return. Instead, we got this:
I guess he got a good night’s sleep and a chance to freshen up a bit at that Ho-Jo in Philly.
He also brought back a handsome stash of stuff that included Euro ’08 t-shirts, candy galore, soccer mini-balls, shot glasses for all his friends, a lovely wooden miniature Christmas tree for Eyegal and this little jewel for me:
That’s not just any Swiss Army Knife. That’s one that came direct from Switzerland.… Read the rest
We had the perfect evening planned: Attend the opening night party at the new Barnes and Noble at Bridge Street Plaza and then head out to Huntsville International Airport (that’s right, international airport) to meet Number Two Son as he returned home from Germany.
But then he called from Philadelphia. They had flown from Frankfort, made it through customs, checked their bags again (which made their way onto their flight to Charlotte), and then ran to the gate only to find that the US-Air agent had just sold all sixteen of their seats to standby customers.
Again, mind you, their bags made it onto the plane, but they didn’t.… Read the rest
Sorry, but this one was just too sweet not to post again.
I have big, big plans for the 4th:
If those aren’t All American plans, I don’t know what is.… Read the rest
Huntsville’s Margaret Hoelzer booked passage to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games yesterday with a strong second place finish in the 100-meter backstroke event at the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials in Omaha.
Her 59.21 seconds would have tied the world record 2 days ago. But the winner, Natalie Coughlin, swam the first sub-59 second 100-back ever, her second WR in as many days.
This will be Hoelzer’s second trip to the Olympics. She represented The Rocket City and the rest of the U.S. in Athens in 2004 where she finished fifth in the 200 backstroke.
Competitive swimming and diving are a big deal in Huntsville, and we’ve long served as a seedbed for collegiate swim programs such as the University of Alabama and perennial NCAA powerhouse Auburn.… Read the rest
The Huntsville Times’ Patricia McCarter tells the story of Aaron Josiah Miller and nails it.
Let’s remember him this way instead.… Read the rest
