My team is the University of Lethbridge Intramurals water polo champions again this semester! We just won our final game against the “lifeguard” team. Now we’re going out as a team to celebrate.
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Category: Sport
If you’re wondering about how the announcing went… it started out a little rough and got better as the afternoon progressed. I was kind of nervous at first, just speaking into the mic and hearing my voice echo across the pool. The stands were pretty full and there were swimmers and officials all over the deck. I was sitting at a desk up in the stands. I welcomed everyone out and then I said, please stand for the playing of our national anthem.
And then it happened. Probably the most embarrassing thing possible. In my nervousness I didn’t even realize anything was wrong. I could hear my friend Vicki laughing from the pool deck and I had the sinking feeling she was laughing at me. The song played on. Then about 30 to 45 seconds into the song, Vicki walks out where I can see her and yells up to me, “Jeff that’s the American National anthem!” Could my face be any more red?
Apparently when queuing the music I rewound the tape on the wrong side. Now the decision had to be made, do I just play the rest of the song out and have the Canadian National Anthem play after, or do I stop it now and fast forward to the next song? I elected to stop the tape and just announce my mistake, “Oops, that was the American Anthem”. The people of laughed politely at my blunder but I was more worried that the meet would get started late because of my fumbling around with the tape player.
There I was trying to find the Canadian National Anthem on the tape meanwhile everyone else was just standing there, waiting for the music to play. Finally I realized I needed to flip the tape over and rewind it, and once that was on its way I used the moment to announce some of the money winners from the races yesterday.
I have to say, it was really embarrassing but things did pick up after that. I slaughtered quite a few names but by the end of the meet while I was still butchering their names, however, I just did it confidently and quickly so that most people probably didn’t notice hopefully didn’t care.
I’m glad I went; I had a good time. I’ll be doing the announcing for the finals again today.
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Water Polo Champions
Here is the photo of my water polo team after winning the 2005 Intramural Finals.
My team won the University of Lethbridge’s intramurals water polo championships for this semester tonight!
Shaun Eden, one of the guys on the team, is trying to organize a club team next semester that will play against the University of Calgary’s and University of Alberta’s teams. Too bad I most likely won’t be around.
This Monday will be the last intramurals water polo game of the semester. My team is in the finals and it’s going to be quite the match. We’re going up against the number 1 team and to my knowledge I don’t think they’ve lost a game. The last time we played them we barely lost but I happened to be held up and missed the first half, so maybe things will be different this time.
As for last Monday’s semi-final game, it started out pretty rocky when they scored on us twice right off the bat. We came back strong though and in the end we won 15 to 5. Not a bad score for a semi-finals match.
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Busy with Work, Swimming, and Eating
I’ve been keeping myself busy today. So busy in fact that I never even had a chance to discuss my student loan situation with the people at student finance. I’m guessing I’ll actually have to call some 1-800 number but I didn’t even have time (or more accurately the good sense) to grab it before I left the University.
I did spend some time in the pool this afternoon and tonight the swim team is having a big pot-luck which I have already begun to salivate for. Tomorrow is the Horns Classic Swim meet which I’ll be out for to cheer on the team as well I need to get some web design work done, so it looks like my weekend is going to be full.
And now your moment of zen: 250,000 super balls.
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Roy Disney Buys Globetrotters
This is kind of strange. Apparently Roy Disney (Walt’s Nephew) has purchased 80% of the Harlem Globetrotters.
There used to be a Harlem Globetrotters animated cartoon back in the 70’s. I wonder if Roy can bring it back — stranger things have happened.
From The LA Times:
An investment fund led by Roy E. Disney has purchased an 80% stake in the Harlem Globetrotters, the parties said Tuesday.
Shamrock Holdings’ Capital Growth Fund, based in Burbank, said it hoped to develop merchandising and other new revenue sources for the Globetrotters, who have blended basketball and entertainment for nearly 80 years.
Manny Jackson, a former corporate executive who acquired the Globetrotters in 1993 and nursed it back from near bankruptcy, will retain a 20% ownership stake and stay on as the Phoenix-based company’s chairman and chief executive.
The purchase includes the New York Nationals, the squad that has served as the Globetrotters’ opponent and comedic foils since 1995 when the Washington Generals were retired.
From the Associated Press:
AP
BURBANK, Calif. – An investment company controlled by Roy E. Disney has bought 80 percent of the Harlem Globetrotters and will help expand the basketball team’s merchandising and licensing activities worldwide.The Shamrock Capital Growth Fund bought the controlling interest from Mannie Jackson, the team’s chief executive, who will continue to own 20 percent of the team. Jackson will continue to serve as the team’s chairman and CEO.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Shamrock manages the investments for the family of Roy Disney who is the son of Roy O. Disney and nephew of Walt Disney. The company, managed by president and CEO Stanley Gold, has invested more than $550 million in media, entertainment and communications businesses in the United States.
Jackson bought the team in 1993.
The closely held Globetrotters will celebrate their 80th anniversary next year.
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Winning the Heat
Last night I ran into some swimming friends of mine and so today I decided to upload a plethora of old swim meet photos to flickr. Here is one of me in early 2003 winning my heat in the 50 meter freestyle. (Back then I didn’t swim in the fastest heat).
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White Water Kayaking
My brother scanned some old photos he took of me kayaking down the Kananaskis white water and posted them on Flickr. I’m still cold.
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Free Stanley Update
I got a response from Philip Pritchard, of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He sent along an attachment from the Globe and Mail which explains why the Stanley Cup won’t be awarded to any team this year even though the NHL isn’t having playoffs.