Dodge Challenger commercial

Of course the awesomest car in the world would have the awesomest commercial in the world.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows full trailer

The final chapter of the Harry Potter saga hits theaters in November 2010 and the second half in June 2011.

Check out the new trailer.

2010 Tour Divide winner

Earlier this year we told you about the Tour Divide. Well, Matthew Lee claimed his sixth Tour Divide victory in the early hours of today.

He covered the 2,745 miles, through snow, rain, hail, winds and intense heat, in 17 days, fifteen hours and 13 minutes.

Oh, and a bike thief.

While in Grants, New Mexico Lee stopped for a burger.

To paraphrase the story as I understand it (as reported on the race forum), Matthew was eating a burger, watching his bike out the window, when an unsavoury character strolled up, stared Matthew in the eye and cycled off. Thankfully, the bike was recovered during a chase through town and brought back to McDonalds, where it was recovered by Matt.

You can keep track through the official SPOT leaderboard as the rest of the racers attempt their finish.

As for the Washingtonians in the race, three of the original six remain. Those are Dave Preston, Seattle, WA; Mike Prochaska, North Bend, WA; and Derek Richert, Seattle, WA.

Prochaska is ahead of the other two, with all three having recently crossed into New Mexico.

Farrar sprint training

Tyler Farrar works on his top-end speed. Think you could keep up with him? His top speed was 78 km/h. That's 48.47 miles per hour. Fast!

Snoop Dogg message to Lance Armstrong

Snoop Dogg is a cycling fan. Who knew?

Lance Armstrong's final Tour de France

Today Lance Armstrong sent out a Tweet that had a lot of meaning in it.

lancearmstrong: And yes, this will be final Tour de France. It’s been a great ride. Looking forward to three great weeks.

Noticing a spelling error, he then added: Doh, sorry, meant “my” final Tour.

The seven-time Tour de France winner, who is 38, will lead his RadioShack teammates in the Tour which starts on Saturday.

Monday’s announcement comes just one month after the Texan found himself embroiled in new doping allegations, dismissing accusations leveled by his former teammate Floyd Landis.

Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title after a positive drug test, pointed the finger at numerous cyclists, including Armstrong. Armstrong was quick to attack Landis’ credibility.

Armstrong beat cancer in 1998, then went on to win seven consecutive yellow jerseys from 1999-2005. He then retired, but then returned to the sport last year. Armstrong placed third at the 2009 Tour.

This year he finished second in the Tour of Switzerland and third in the Tour of Luxembourg. He crashed out of the Tour of California on home soil in May.

Armstrong will line up at this year’s Tour with a team that includes former Tour runner-up Andreas Klöden of Germany, Americans Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner, plus several other experienced stage race campaigners.

We'll keep you updated on the Tour as it gets going this weekend.

Team Garmin-Transitions announces Tour de France roster

Tyler Farrar of Wenatchee, Washington will be making his 2nd appearance in the Tour de France this week. Farrar rides for Team Garmin Transitions. And today Team Garmin Transitions made the official announcement of the team.

Here's the Team Garmin-Transitions 2010 Tour de France roster:

Tyler Farrar (USA)
Christian Vande Velde (USA)
Julian Dean (NZL)
David Millar (GB)
David Zabriskie (USA)
Ryder Hesjedal (CAN)
Robbie Hunter (SA)
Martijn Maaskant (NED)
Johan Van Summeren (BEL)

Farrar has been having a great year so far with two stage wins in the Giro de Italia and is looking for his first stage win in the elite Tour de France.

Not bad for a kid from Washington. I'll keep you updated on how Farrar's Tour goes throughout the race.

Sounders drop a big one

The Sounders served as first blood for the Philadelphia Union in the home-opener of their brand new stadium. It was tied 1-1 last and then Seattle decided to take a big, steamy crap.

CHESTER, Pa. (AP)-- Fred scored the go-ahead goal in the 79th minute to help the Philadelphia Union open their new stadium with a 3-1 win over the Seattle Sounders on Sunday.

Sebastien Le Toux, who assisted on the Brazilian's goal, scored on a penalty in the 55th for his team-leading sixth goal. Seattle's Tyrone Marshall took down Alejandro Moreno in the box.

Five minutes later, the Sounders were also awarded a penalty, but Noonan's shot was saved by Chris Seitz.

Rookie Danny Mwanga added a goal in the 85th minute to seal the win at $122 million PPL Park, where some of the crowd of 18,755 arrived four hours before the game.

The Sounders are second to last in the conference standings and we're just par for the course with Seattle sports at the moment right now.

Park Rangers are bad ass

While most of us live in our air-conditioned domiciles, occasionally venturing outdoors for a run or to get a ten, there are still modern-day John Waynes rolling around our nation's parks.

Yes, park rangers. Learn to respect them.

Why? Cause they have stories like this...

"There is the ranger now!" someone called, and two men ran off the ice and into Liebig's camp. A woman had fallen into a crevasse, they reported, and was wedged tight, 35 feet below the surface.

Liebig grabbed his axe, chopped down a small fir, cut his horses loose, strung the lash ropes together, and then hacked a hole in the glacial ice.

"I selected a place on the lower side of the crevasse and set the green post into the hole and packed ice all around to make it fairly solid," Liebig later wrote.

Then, with the men anchoring his post, he tied off and lowered himself into the crack. At the bottom was the poor woman, "dead as a doornail."

Liebig sent the rope back up, with orders to lower his axe back down, and when it arrived chiseled footholds into the icy walls so he could work with both hands.

"I started to pull the woman loose and nearly pulled her arm out, she was wedged in so tight."

He finally wrangled the rope around her waist and the men up top hauled her out. When they lowered the rope again Liebig was too frozen and exhausted to climb, so he tied it around his chest and they pulled him up, too.

That's just part of the story. Check out the entire write-up on how being a park ranger has changed but has stayed largely the same. With the modern-day person becoming more and more indoorsy, it's nice to know there's still some people out there that know what the heck they're doing.

Morning Coffee for... June 27, 2010

(Photo by Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake) Emily von Jentzen at Flathead Lake near Somers on Friday morning. Jentzen is training to become the third person to swim the length of Flathead Lake, and the first woman to do so. The 30 mile swim is scheduled for July 17th. Jentzen said they would begin the swim at 4 a.m. starting from Somers. READ THE FULL STORY FROM THE INTERLAKE

Mark this down as something I'll never do, swim over 25 miles in the water. Now if somebody pops up on the beach somewhere in Polson with a wetsuit and completely out of breath, it's probably Emily. Buy her a drink because she deserves it.

College News

Bobcats, Eagles to be spoilers in the Big Sky Conference this year?
That's right, your EAAASSSTERRRNNN EEEEAAAAGGGGLLLLEEEES!

University of Montana Western signs 13 players
Two of those players are from Montana.

National News

Germany knocks England out of the World Cup
Another bad exit in the World Cup for the Brits. Perhaps they should take up basketball instead?

World Cup is doping free for fourth consecutive tournament
I don't know if this means that the testing sucks, but I mean really, soccer players doping? Really? That's like horse jockey's doping.

Local News

Mission Valley Mariners in Libby Tournament Finals
Alright boys! Lets get some work done!

Shock win seventh straight

It's officially starting to get exciting for the Spokane Shock. They avenged their opening season loss to the Milwaulkee Iron last night, smacking the cheeseheads around 62-48.

Spokane had travel issues Friday and eventually had to bus from Minneapolis to Milwaukee, arriving at 4 a.m. Saturday. It didn’t seem to bother the top-ranked Shock on the field as they toppled Milwaukee 62-48 Saturday night to improve to 9-2.

The Shock’s seventh straight victory sets up a big showdown with No. 2 Arizona, which knocked off Jacksonville 66-50 on the road Saturday night. Arizona (8-3) has won six straight after a 63-56 loss to Spokane in Phoenix.

Well after all this talk about whether or not the Shock belong in the AFL, well, I mean this pretty much answers those questions right?

Mission Mountain Rodeo in Polson, MT

Here are some shots I took from the Mission Mountain Rodeo in Polson, MT.

Helmets save lives

Think that helmets are dumb and not cool? Well you might want to think again. Helmets do work.

World Cup Live Game Blog

Alright, I am pumped for this World Cup match-up against Ghana. So pumped, in fact, that I'm going to do a live game blog. Follow along! (Keep in mind that times aren't Pacific Time but rather Mountain Time since I have moved)

Click here for the live game blog.

Enumclaw guide summits Mount Rainier 400 times

The Tacoma News Tribune ran a great article yesterday about Brent Okita.

Under clear, sedate skies, mountaineering guide Brent Okita ushered a party of five to the top of Mount Rainier on Thursday morning.

It was their first time reaching the summit. It was his 400th.

The 49-year-old from Enumclaw hit the peak about 6:30 a.m., becoming the third climber to summit Mount Rainier 400 times.

“I had a great group of climbers with me, great weather … all my dreams have come true,” said Okita, who has been a guide for Rainier Mountaineering Inc. since 1986. At first, he viewed the milestone as “just another number,” but the enthusiasm of co-workers, friends and strangers rubbed off on him.

Read the rest of the article on the Tacoma News Tribune site.

The US wore these jerseys?

No wonder it took so long for soccer to catch on in this country... look at these soccer DUDS.

But hey! This years team and uniforms are no duds. They won their group and have an easy road to the... dare I say it... WORLD CUP FINALS.

Morning coffee... June 24, 2010

The Washington Wizards took Kentucky's John Wall with the first pick on the 2010 NBA Draft.
- Story from ESPN.com

College News

Griz basketball player Anthony Johnson nominated for ESPY
That's what happens when you score 34 points in the second half of a championship game.


National News


Three Cleveland Indians minor-league players accused of beating up bouncer
Probably the most hits the Indians have gotten all year...

Rasheed Wallace is going to retire
... about three seasons too late.

Backpacking Middle Fork of Snoqualmie

The Northern Rangers headed out to the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River last weekend for a backpack trip. We camped, did some day hikes and took video of the trail/area.

Hope you enjoy the newest video!

Tyler Farrar Versus interview

Washington's very own professional cyclist, Tyler Farrar, sat down for an interview with Versus' Brian Pinelli. It's a pretty good read.

Rookie sprinters don't win stages at the Tour de France. It just doesn't happen. Too many experienced riders, too much pressure, too many variables - the reasons are endless.

Last July, American Tyler Farrar came painfully close - twice! And he was in contention for a handful more. Needless to say, the 26-year-old rider's debut at last year's Tour de France sufficiently exceeded expectations.

"The Tour is kind of its own beast - it's the biggest race in the world and no other race is quite like it," said Farrar during an interview while training in Girona, Spain. "Last year I rode in the Giro, but it's not quite the same and I didn't really know what I was in for (at the Tour). It ended up going pretty well."

At stage two in Brignole, Farrar turned some heads finishing second, three bike-lengths behind Britain's Mark Cavendish. Despite a crash four days later, which resulted in bruised ribs, the American continued to challenge for wins. Come stage 11, Farrar was second yet again to Cavendish, this time narrowly being edged to the line by less than a bike's length.

Read the rest of the article on the versus cycling site.

Eastern red turf camera

Eastern Washington University has been hard at work installing the red turf of soon-to-be Roos Field.

You can keep an eye on the progress at goeags.com and their Turf Cam.

Game Photos: Mission Valley Mariners vs. Glacier Twins (AND VIDEO!)

The Mission Valley Mariners had a good Thurday Night, sweeping the Glacier Twins 11-5 and 10-0 in a doubleheader. Click here for photos and video highlights of the game.

Lance Armstrong training with cattle

Saw this video on the Team Radioshack site today. I thought it was pretty funny. The Tour de France runs from Saturday July 3rd to Sunday July 25th 2010. This is the 97th Tour de France and will be made up of 1 prologue and 20 stages. It will cover a total distance of 3,600 kilometres.

Biking Snoqualmie Falls

Today was another beautiful day in the Seattle area so I decided to continue my training for the People's Coast Classic with a bike ride.

I headed out of the Lake Sammamish area up to Fall City. From there I headed up to Snoqualmie Falls.

There is a lot of construction going on up there. But don't worry, it's on the generators and not the visitor area.

Seth Truscott wrote an article about the Snoqualmie Falls upgrades for the Snoqualmie Valley Record.

After snapping a few pictures up there and getting asked if I bicycled up the road (keep in mind I'm wearing biking gear and pushing a bike) I headed back down the road.

The toughest part was the climb out of Fall City toward Klahanie. That hill kicked my butt coming up it. If you know the area it's the one by Duthie Hill Mountain Bike Park. (Jeff and I still have to head out to Duthie Hill. Just been busy with training for other hikes but we'll head out there and get a video up soon.) However, my buddy Paul over at Washington Adventures wrote a review a few weeks ago so check that out.

After much determination, I made it up the hill and headed on down through Issaquah and out to Poo Poo Point. I turned around there and made my way back home.

The ride ended up being 41 miles with lots of climbing. It took me a little over 2 1/2 hours to complete. So I was happy about that.

And I couldn't ask for a more beautiful day. It was awesome.

(This is from Just Northwest)

Soccer juggling dude

With the World Cup currently going on I figured we'd share an awesome video with futbol in it.

North Korea may send soccer team to coal mines after losing

You lose in World Cup? You work in coal mines for the rest of your life!

The North Koreans beat a hasty retreat to the team hotel after their 7-0 gubbing at the hands of Portugal on Monday. However, when they find out what mental leader Kim Jong-Il could have in store for them once their World Cup dream is over, they'll probably be taking the short journey back home verrry slowly indeed.

Despite winning round skeptical fans with a spirited performance against Brazil (and still having a chance to pick up their first points of the tournament against Ivory Coast tomorrow), one former North Korean coach is claiming when the players get home they'll be given new occupations. Shoveling coal for the rest of their lives.

Boob-tastic German tabloid Bild reports Moon Ki-Nam, a former Korea DPR senior coach who fled the country and defected to South Korea in 2004, reckons the beaten players' future lies down a dark hole with only a canary and memories of ‘that night in Johannesburg' for company.

Gosh North Korea, way to play into the stereotype as a ruthless communist regime. Although, I can't say enough how much stories like these give the world of sports so much more fodder to talk about. Love it.

The NK being a bunch of buttheads, not the coal-mining part.

Game Photos: Mission Valley Rockies vs. Clark Fork Cougars

The Mission Valley Rockies pulled out a walk-off 7-6 win last night against the Clark Fork Cougars. Here's some photos I took of the game.

Click here to see the photo gallery.

Morning coffee... June 24, 2010

Sam Bowie was taken by the Portland Trailblazers in the 1984 NBA Draft one pick in front of Michael Jordan. His career was shorten by injuries and was largely considered one of the biggest busts in NBA history. Bowie played his last NBA game in 1995. He has since made hundreds of thousands of dollars betting on horse racing. Read the full story here.

National News

According to Madden 11, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning are the best quarterbacks in the game.
However, Matt Hasselbeck has a 99 rating in baldness.

Red Sox prospect improves after brian surgery
Ryan Westmoreland was a promising ballplayer, then they found a malformation in his brain. (Things you dont want to see in the same sentance "brain" and "malformation"), but hopefully he makes it back out on the field. You all should root for this guy.

Italy is upset, knocked out of World Cup
France and Italy are out, meaning my two least favorite European companies are gone from the World Cup. And the US is still kicking! Oh Happy Day!

Longest tennis match ever is finally over - Daily Interlake
It lasted over 11 hours and stretched over three days. Holy crap.

Indians lose in extras

Oh poop.

The Spokane Indians haven't exactly started the season on a tear. But considering it's a BASEBALL SEASON and we've got like 72 more games to go. Don't panic. But this is a suck-tastic way to lose...

VANCOUVER, B.C – Wade Kirkland’s one-out RBI single to left field in the 10th inning Wednesday gave the Vancouver Canadians a 2-1 win over the Spokane Indians in Northwest League baseball at Nat Bailey Stadium.

The hit came off Spokane’s fifth pitcher, Johan Yan (0-1).

Vancouver scored an unearned run in the third on Kirkland’s bases-loaded walk. Indians starter Miguel De Los Santos left the bases loaded, striking out the next two batters.

Let's hope they don't decide to pull a Seattle Mariners...

The gulf is dicked

Ran across this little nugget of good news...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Tens of thousands of gallons more oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday after an undersea robot bumped a venting system, forcing BP to remove the cap that had been containing some of the crude.

The setback, yet another in the nine-week effort to stop the gusher, came as thick pools of oil washed up on Pensacola Beach in Florida and the Obama administration tried to figure out how to resurrect a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling.

When the robot bumped the system just before 10 a.m. Wednesday, gas rose through the vent that carries warm water down to prevent ice-like crystals from forming, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said. 

What the hell is going on down there? I just got this photos via the Associated Press of BP officers hard at work on the oil spill.

... we're dicked.

Morning coffee... June 23, 2010

Billings Mayor Tom Hanel, left, shows Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer the damage caused by a tornado that hit the city's Rimrock Auto Arena, Monday in Billings, Mont. Schweitzer on Monday declared a state of emergency for the area hit by the tornado on Sunday. - Daily Interlake

I'm still stunned by this, and were a few days after the fact. There is talk that they will have to gut the arena and perhaps raze it if necessary. Again, thank god nobody was in the arena at the time. If there was an event going on it could have been a whole lot worse.

College News

Globetrotters draft Griz B-ball player Anthony Johnson and his wife Shaunte Nance-Johnson
I was unaware that the Globetrotters have a draft but I will soon declare myself eligible for it.

University of Colorado transfers to play volleyball at Montana State
And she's pretty darn good. My Eags are screwed.

National News

US defeats Algeria, advances in World Cup
USA! USA! USA! Who said the World Cup wasn't exciting!

Lawrence Taylor indicted on rape charges
And so this long courtroom drama begins.

Charlie Brown tree

We went on a walk today and found that Charlie Brown had been kite flying there earlier.

JustSON at the Movies: The A-Team

So Casey sends me this text message "Go see 'The A-Team' it's the best movie of the year."

I chuckled at the absurdity of the text. The remake of The A-Team is a good movie? What's next? Mel Gibson's resurgence as a likable movie star?

Luckily, there is a movie theater right by my apartment and luckily, they were showing the movie. Going in, I had no expectations whatsoever except that it must be somewhat entertaining. The lights dimmed, the volume was turned up and for the next two hours I was pleasanty suprised.

It was a good action movie. There hasn't been a good, tongue-in-cheek action movie in a looooong time. It definitely stays true to its 80s TV series roots and feels like the kind of flicks you used to get when you were young and got to rent an Arnie movie from the video store.

It's pure entertainment. That's for sure. The action scenes are ridiculous but there's never a point during the movie where you think to yourself "well that's just cheesy" even though if I described the action scenes it would sound like a big bag of cheddar. It's not going to win any Oscars or anything along that line but the movie is cast well with Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton Jackson and Sharlto Copley.

The A-Team probably wont get high marks from the critics, but as a casual movie-goer I was very happy with what was delivered. The highlight was definitely Copley's portrayal of H.M. Murdock, the insane pilot of the A-Team. It wasn't just a gimmick that he was crazy but rather it was a wonderful quirk in his character.

Another thing the movie does well is excuting the "We have a plan, we're going to carry it out" segments that will probably piss off critics. It's been done roughly 1,238,452 times in movies, but it still is fun how this movie shows how a plan is formulated and how they carry it out. Usually the planning and executing footage happens at the same time, giving the action a very interesting and intelligent flow to it.

Anyways, Casey was right, go see The A-Team.

Carbon road bike stunts

My dad sent me this video and it was just too cool not to share.

It's not every day that you see a carbon road bike being used as a stunt machine -- hopping over boulders at the beach and styling it up at the skate park.

British trials legend Martyn Ashton does just that and more in his latest video, The BikeRadar Roadie.

The clip sees Mountain Biking Hall of Fame member Ashton hit the tarmac on his carbon Raleigh Avanti Team on his way to the UK's premier bike festival, BikeRadar Live -- which takes place on 10-11 July.

Reasons why you're single... Mets fan

New York fans don't have a high place in my heart but something tells me that this would be a hard sell for perspective significant others.

Larry Nadelson's arms are covered with tattoo art commemorating the Amazin's -- including the names of about 35 of his favorite players.

His inside right arm shows numbered jerseys belonging to Mike Piazza and Tom Seaver. Gary Carter's name is on Nadelson's left arm, along with K-Rod and a giant foam finger.

"I want to add some more, but I'm running out of room," he said.

Some people spend their money on things like car insurance. This guy apparently thinks outside the box and treats himself like a walking baseball lineup. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is another reason why you're single.

Shock are tops

Hands down, the Spokane Shock are the best team in the AFL. They proved that last night when they rolled past the Tulsa Talons 63-42, and the formerly No. 1 ranked Jacksonville Sharks fell 70-48 to to Orlando. Spokane improves to 8-2 on the season.

“You have to give all the credit to the guys, they’ve been working so hard to be No. 1,” head coach Rob Keefe said. “If we are No. 1, there’s a responsibility that comes with that. Everyone is going to be gunning for us. We can’t let up.” Spokane (8-2) has had easier wins this season, but Friday’s may have been its most complete effort.

“Our guys are starting to understand what we expect of them, that non-stop aggressiveness, that inner drive. A lot of arena football is just being aware of what’s going on around you and having stamina. Our guys understand it’s four quarters, not two and a half.” Rowley bounced back from a three-interception performance last week with 307 yards passing. Vijil had another big night with 11 catches for 103 yards. He has 1,029 yards receiving and 31 TD catches this season.

They'll travel to Milwaukee next week, the same team that handed them an opening season loss. Time for redemption? 

Epic Video: I love the whole world Discovery Channel

This weekend the Northern Rangers are heading into the wild for a backpack trip. So check back next week for a new video.

But for now, in honor of 25 years of the Discovery Channel, here are the coolest commercials ever:

Back to the future, NBA-style

Check out the new (or old) logo that the Golden State Warriors are going for. It hearkens back to the day of when sports uniforms weren't gawdy Star Trek uniforms.

Awesome. I'm so pumped about this. You can read the full story here.

Morning coffee... June 18, 2010

Down 2-0 at halftime to Slovenia in the World Cup, the US battled back to get a tie and keep its hopes to advance to the next round alive.

I also heard via text that the US scored another goal but it was called offsides, something the replays show wasn't the case. Is it me or are refs getting worse and worse? Or perhaps replays are getting better and better?

College News

Montana State head football coach Rob Ash expects a breakthrough this year
And having nearly bit my nails off watching EWU play MSU year after year, I fully expect this to happen. By the way, remember when MSU was screwed out of a playoff berth after beating the Griz, having the same record and yet EWU and UM got the bids to the playoffs?

National News

Missing North Korean players show up a practice
Is North Korea not one of the most entertaining countries in the World Cup? I think we need more communist countries in this international events.

LA bursts out into riots after Lakers win NBA Championship
Because what would a championship be without a good riot.

Ron Artest gives the best post-game interview ever
No really, watch this video and try not to laugh, I dare you.

Utes to the Pac-10

It's official, Utah has joined the Pac-10. Or should we call it the Pac-12 now?

The rumors, projections, closed door meetings and dealings are over and the celebration has begun.

The University of Utah is officially part of the Pac-10. The move from the Mountain West Conference to the elite league was quickly approved Thursday by the unanimous vote of Utah's Board of Trustees in a public meeting at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

"This is an absolutely great day to be a Ute," said longtime Utah athletics director Chris Hill.

Even though the super conference idea with the Big 12 South is deader than Michael Jackson, the idea that the Pac-10 has added more schools makes me like the situation that the conference is in. It's at least good they were proactive with expansion instead of reactive like the Big-12 errrr.... Big 10 now.

They didn't get the prettiest girl at the prom, getting schools like Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State would have blown up the Pac-10 to epic proportions. It also wouldn't have made a whole lot of geographical sense but whatever. It would have been great to get those big schools and big money into the conference but WSU fans... you wouldn't have been competitive ever again.

Colorado and Utah make sense though. First you capture the Denver and Salt Lake City markets which gives you an even bigger stranglehold out west. You give the Arizona schools somebody closer to develop rilvaries with. You keep the "travel partner" system together and you can hope and pray that Colorado and Utah develop into bitter rivals.

(Can somebody go and defecate on a John Elway statue in Denver and then put a Utah Jazz jersey on it?)

This gives Utah a chance to show that they're a national program after getting snuffed by the BCS for years. It's a very underrated school and has both strong football and basketball programs. It's also not BYU... thank god. That whole leaving for years on a mission trip is such an unfair advantage, I really think the NCAA should do something about it.

Colorado was one of the weaker schools in the Big 12 but I think it will do better since the bottom half of the Pac-10 is a lot worse than the Big 12. 

Pac-10 fans might find the not becoming the Pac-16 might of been the best thing to happen to it.

Now if they could just fix those refs. Woof!

What loss to Brazil?

So lets say that North Korea loses 2-1 to Brazil. Nothing really to fret about, Brazil is one of the world's best soccer countries ever. North Korea is North Korea. However, if you read the game recap from the Korean New Service, they don't even report the final score.

Pyongyang, June 16 (KCNA) -- The league match of the 2010 World Cup between the DPRK and Brazil took place at dawn (Pyongyang time) on Wednesday.

From the outset of the match the two teams fought a seesaw battle. The DPRK footballers created good shooting chances, not losing their confidence even after losing two goals.

At about the 88th minute of the match Jong Tae Se headed the ball before passing it to Ji Yun Nam who powerfully kicked it into the rival's goalmouth, scoring a goal.

The DPRK team will meet its Portuguese rival on June 21.

What would happen if they did this for Detroit Lions games or season recaps. "The team played with heart and tenacity and even though they dropped sixteen games, they finished the season on a high note."

Classy. Another reason not to live in North Korea... crappy SportsCenter segments.

Raising bucking bulls

Since I'm in Montana, I've been doing a lot of rodeo stories. Here's a story I wrote about raising bucking bulls for rodeos.

The bull ride has been romanticized as eight seconds of glory. It’s a true test of someone’s meddle and toughness. Who’s brave enough to get on a bucking bull?

Have you ever stopped to think, “Where do the bulls come from?”

Watch one ride and you’ll realize they aren’t just your run of-the-mill cattle; they’re specifically breed to knock brave cowboys britches over tea kettle. Most bucking bulls are part of lineage, as they’re bred from other rodeo bulls and cross-bred with desirable strains. With over 100 different breeds of beef, there is certainly a large selection to choose from.

READ MORE

Morning coffee... June 17, 2010

Phil Jackson and the LA Lakers will take on the Boston Celtics tonight in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Some say this could be the last game for Jackson as head coach of the Lakers.

College News

Montana State football games will be broadcasted in high-def
I think I get my EWU Eagles broadcasts in You-Tube quality broadcasts.

Montana to the WAC? 
Otherwise known as the Big Sky Conference Apocalypse.

National News

Canceled training camps might mean bad things for the NFL
Otherwise known as the impending labor strike that will ruin professional football.

Man vs Wild Video Game, E3 2010: Debut Trailer

Here is the official trailer of Man vs Wild Video Game released at E3 2010 yesterday.

Man throws puppy at Hell's Angels

This is not a joke. I repeat. Not a joke. Although it really does seem like a really bad skit done by SNL. Nope. Real Life. Man throws puppy at Hell's Angels and escapes on a bulldozer.

A German student "mooned" a group of Hell's Angels and hurled a puppy at them before escaping on a stolen bulldozer, police have said.

The man drove up to a Hell's Angels clubhouse near Munich, wearing only a pair of shorts and carrying a puppy.

He dropped his shorts and threw the dog, escaping on a bulldozer from a nearby building site.

He was arrested later at home by police. The 26-year-old is said to have stopped taking depression medication.

After making his getaway on the bulldozer, he had driven so slowly that a 5km tailback built up behind him on the motorway.

After driving about 1km, he had abandoned the bulldozer in the middle of the motorway, near Allershausen. He continued his journey by hitchhiking.

"What motivated him to throw a puppy at the Hell's Angels is currently unclear," a police spokesman said.

The puppy is now being cared for in an animal shelter.

My question is, how lame is this Hell's Angels group if he got away on a bulldozer? A slow bulldozer.

Man vs Wild video game E3

Earlier this year I told you about the Man vs. Wild video game.

The release is getting closer. According to Bear's Twitter:

Bear Grylls: Off to LA now for launch of man vs wild playstation and wii then to Death valley, Nevada for HALO skydive into desert show.

It appears that Bear will be gracing E3 with his presence. E3 is of course the Electronic Entertainment Expo that is held every year to introduce the latest in electronic awesomeness.

Here's what the official press release said:

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The game offers five authentic situations in a role play-style adventure, featuring seasoned survival expert Bear Grylls.

The action begins when players are dropped into extreme conditions and forced to demonstrate indigenous survival techniques such as escaping quicksand in the desert, exploring dangerous jungles, traversing ravines in the mountains and navigating some of the world's most treacherous waters.

The core gameplay of Man vs. Wild is a dynamic mix of exhilarating action adventure, role playing and puzzle solving tasks throughout five extraordinary expeditions. Players gather materials to accomplish tasks such as building fires, catching food, and creating the necessary tools for survival while traveling across miles of diverse landscapes.

Key features of Man vs. Wild game:

• Role Playing Adventure: Players will explore and survive wilderness destinations and discover hundreds of items while maintaining the health and well-being of Bear Grylls;
  
  
• Strategically Positioned Survival Challenges: Depending on location and skill level, players will be tested with hundreds of "Survival Challenges" ranging from the simple (building a fire) to the wildly insane (dodging a Grizzly bear);
  
  
• Wild Weather: Players will experience a wide range of weather conditions including snow storms, intense rain, sand storms and more while traveling through five challenging landscapes around the globe;
  
  
• Survival: Refuge, food and water are the constant priority for all players. Players must hunt and collect food, even if it means eating deer eyeballs, and water to keep Bear nourished and healthy for the challenges that lie ahead. When night closes in, the player must create a sturdy lean-to to protect Bear from potential animal attacks and the harsh elements.
  

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The game is scheduled for a Fall release. And I can't wait!!!! Definitely buying that one.

Bigfoot sighting

I was watching the local news last night when a story from North Carolina came on about a Bigfoot sighting.

Now of course the Northern Rangers went Bigfoot tracking last year in the Ape Caves near Mount St. Helens last year.

But check out this guy's tale of the Sasquatch he saw:

Morning coffee... June 16, 2010

Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers tied up the NBA Finals 3-3 with a 89-67 victory over the Boston Celtics last night.

Is this series over? Do you realize that if Kobe wins this championship he'll have five rings, one short of Michael Jordan? Where does he rank among the greats in the game then?

College news

Former UM basketball player gets workout with Nets - MontanaGrizzlies.com
Word of advice for Anthony Johnson, don't make any jokes about Russia.

National News

Switzerland upsets Spain 1-0 in World Cup - The Daily Interlake
And those annoying horns are still blaring.

Izzo not headed to Cavs, stays with Michigan State
Lebron... why are you packing your bags....?

Don't promote beer at the World Cup...

Reasons to watch the World Cup? Weird stories like this...

Thirty-six female fans were ejected from Holland's World Cup match against Denmark and interrogated for hours for allegedly wearing orange dresses to illegally promote Bavaria beer, though there's no branding on the dress and the company denies hiring them.

Could they do this sort of thing during a NASCAR event if anyone is promoting beer? Is it possible to detain thousands of fans?

Canadians like their PEDs

Those dastardly Canadians are up to no good. The steroid problem has gotten so bad up there, they've had to suspend an entire football team.

The University of Waterloo Warriors football team will miss the entire 2010-2011 season over steroid violations.

As many as nine potential doping violations were discovered during a mass test of 62 football players from the University of Waterloo, resulting in suspension of the team’s activities for the upcoming season.

In addition, two players from the team received suspensions and a former player faces charges in a police probe into steroid trafficking.

The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, Canadian Interuniversity Sport and the University of Waterloo held a news conference Monday to announce the findings of a sweeping probe of players in the university’s football program on March 31. More than 80 urine and blood samples were taken, resulting in nine infractions. The test was instituted by the school.

As for the NFL... move along.... nothing to see here. Go make fun of baseball...

Famous Eagle Scouts

This weekend I attended an Eagle Scout court of honor. And being an Eagle Scout myself, I always love to see another young man earn this prestigious award.

As Mike Rowe said, "The Eagle Award is not really meant for people who need to be dragged across the finish line. It's meant for a select few..."

Rowe is of course the awesome host of Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel.

And he's an Eagle Scout.

That got me to thinking, what other famous Eagle Scouts are there.

Here's a short list of some famous Eagle Scouts:

• Neil Armstrong: First human to step on the moon

• Austin Collie: Wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL

• William Hanna: Animator, director, producer, cartoon artist, and co-founder of Hanna-Barbera

• Ewing Kauffman: Founder of Marion Laboratories and owner of the Kansas City Royals

• Howard Lincoln: CEO of Seattle Mariners baseball team; chairman of Nintendo of America; in 1956 he posed as one of the Boy Scouts for The Scoutmaster painting by Norman Rockwell

• George Meyer: Writer and producer of The Simpsons

• Harrison Salisbury: Journalist who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize (1955); twice received the George Polk Award for Foreign Reporting (1957 and 1966)

• Chuck Smith: President and CEO of AT&T West

• Shane Victorino: Major League Baseball player, current member of 2008 World Series and 2009 National League Championship Series-winning Philadelphia Phillies.

• Ken Whisenhunt: Head coach of the Arizona Cardinals NFL football team

There are a WHOLE lot more than I can list here. Yet, one thing is for sure, the rank of Eagle Scout is an elite award. Only 4% of all boys that enter scouting earn the rank. That's not very many.

Bear destroys camp

REI's co-op blog had a great post today on what a bear can do to a campsite that is unattended, sloppy and a just plain invitation to wildlife.

Each spring the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle sets up a demonstration to show what can happen if your camp looks like the above mentioned camp. They do this to educate the public on how we can camp and stay bear safe.

The video, which shows a previous year’s demo, offers a good reminder to secure your food and other scented items whenever you’re in bear country. While blueberries are typically a bear's favorite meal, they will make quick work of a campsite with poorly secured food.

Make sure that if you are in bear country that you either use a bear canister or a campground bear box and keep your tent away from your food.

For more information check out our earlier post about staying safe in bear country.

Freddie Ljunberg interview

The New York Times had a great interview with the Seattle Sounders FC's Freddie Ljunberg.

And since we're huge Sounders FC fans at JustSON, we pretty much think that Ljunberg is the coolest.

Check out the interview.

And now that they showed a picture of his house, I'm pretty sure Brandon might wait outside for a glimpse of this Seattle sporting hero.

Epic Video: Men without pants

I hate pants. I really do.

Wii Bowling Tournament

This weekend was very productive around here on Just Northwest.

Saturday Jeff and I hosted a Wii Bowling Tournament with the proceeds going to our ride with the People's Coast Classic.

Here's our site if you couldn't make it but would like to donate.

We had a number of great prizes that local businesses had donated or Jeff and I picked up in our journeys.

Here's the prize table from that night:

Everyone seemed to have a great time (I know I did) and enjoy the "all you can eat" taco bar that we provided.

Sunday I headed out to my parents house for a 20 mile training ride with my dad. It was beautiful weather with mid-70's and sunny. It was perfect riding weather.

Thanks to everyone who made the Wii Tournament a success! And congrats to all our winners.

Gulf of Mexico... meet old quarterbacks

The two former pro-bowl quarterbacks have a plan to solve this whole mess in the Gulf of Mexico. Lets hope the oil spill doesn't bring a blindside linebacker up to blitz.

Troy Aikman and Drew Bledsoe, both former Pro Bowl quarterbacks, are part-owners of a new technology that they claim can help clean up the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Their company, Ecosphere, has had meetings with BP. Bledsoe talked about the technology at a recent press conference. From FS Southwest:

According to Bledsoe, Ecosphere would set its filtration systems on barges in the gulf and on beaches to clean the water.

"This is not technology sitting on the shelf waiting for a disaster," Bledsoe said. "This is technology out in the field satisfying contracts for well over a year, so it's proven. ... When you watch it, it is magic seeing dirty, nasty water go in one end and then crystal, clean water out the other end." 

So wait, they have a Brita filter?

New jerseys are wonders of science

Check out the new threads for Team USA. And as usual, Nike has gone scientific on us.

When the United States men's national basketball team heads to Turkey for the FIBA World Championships this summer, they're going to look pretty cool. It's hard to mess up red, white and blue, and the various manufacturers who have supplied their uniforms throughout the years haven't made very many missteps. But this year, they're also going to feel cool thanks to a couple tweaks by Nike.

Through some kind of clothing wizardry, Nike has eliminated more than 13 inches of fabric from a typical basketball jersey, and probably double that when compared to Allan Houston's tarp-like mid-90s shirt. The back of the jersey will once again feature "Aerographics," which you probably know as those intricately-designed perforations that make it look like everyone has a super sweaty back like Patrick Ewing. And yes, that's two zings on the New York Knicks, who have been the antithesis of on-court aesthetics for two decades running. Make that three.

Aside from the extra tailoring, the jerseys are about the same. The shorts are the big story, as far as international basketball clothing news goes. Thanks to Nike's new Hyperelite design, the shorts are about half as light as a normal basketball short when dry. Get them wet — like, you know, from sweating during a game — and they're even better, weighing less when soaked (10.1 oz.) than a normal pair does when dry (13.6).

Don't ask me how that's done, I think they're defying the laws of physics.

Epic Photo: US vs England

Ha! We tied the Brits! And ESPN had this very cool ad. Epic eh?

Tastin' n Racin'

Looking for something to do today then head on out to Issaquah, Washington for Tastin' n Racin'.

Yes, it's so cool that it's name doesn't even need the "g".

When: June 12 - 13, 2010

Hours: Saturday: 9:00am – 7pm Sunday: 9:00am – 6pm

Where: Lake Sammamish State Park, 2000 NW Sammamish Road, Issaquah WA 98027

Admission: General Admission: $10.00, 5 yrs & under: FREE, Juniors (6yrs - 16 yrs) and Seniors (65yrs+): $5.00

Here's what the event has to offer:

• Delicious food in the Food Walk
  
  
• Live music on the O'Brien Law Firm Main Stage provided by Car Toys with a great tribute bands and Northwest favorites!
  
  
• Arts and Crafts offering unique items from Northwest artisans.
  
  
• Lots of other vendors with things to see and buy
  
  
• Family Fun, presented by Washington Health Program, area with inflatable children’s rides, face painters, pony rides, giant slide, and huge park play area!
  
  
• HYDROPLANE DISPLAYS and Exhibitions with some of the several current and classic Unlimited hydros and vintage Hydros on display. See Unlimiteds run on Lake Sammamish: Miss O'Berto, Miss Thriftway & U-17 Miss Our Gang Racing, & U-25, Superior Racing!!
  
  
• KZOK listener mandated Beer Gardens featuring Miller, Haywire and Snoqualmie Brewery Brews on Tap at the Main Stage and on the Beach - so you don't miss the racing action.
  
  
• Hot Boat and Bike Show Saturday presented by Skagen Boats & XLSR Racing!
  
  
• Custom Car & Hot Rod Show Sunday presented by Issaquah Reporter
  
  
• XLSR Hunger Ride - Motorcycle Pledge Ride Saturday benefiting NW Harvest
  New boats to buy from Lake Union SeaRay and PWC's from I-90 Motorsports to name a few.
  
  
• Spectator Pit Pass - see the racers and boats up close in the thick of action!