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| very profound thoughts from the Sports Guy
There's one other factor here, and I guarantee it's playing a bigger role than just about anyone can understand …
When
you dream about doing something for a long time, and then it happens,
it's never actually as good as you think it would be. There's almost a
surreal letdown of sorts after the fact. And it's impossible to explain
unless it's happened to you. For instance, ever since I was in college,
I dreamed of having my own sports column and covering a Boston team
when they won a championship. That's all I wanted. In the spring of
2001, ESPN found me. Nine months later, my beloved Patriots went to the
Super Bowl and shocked the Rams in New Orleans. I wrote about it every
day, and on the morning after they won, my column ran on the front page
of this Web site. Greatest professional moment of my life, right?
Well,
something weird happened. After that game, I couldn't stop thinking,
"All right, what happens now? What do I do? How can I top my dream
moment?"
And the thing is, you can't. The moment
happens, it ends, you celebrate and feel good about yourself … and then
it's on to the next day, and you have to figure out what the next
challenge is, and deep down, you're wondering why you didn't enjoy that
watershed moment more than you thought you would. I don't know Theo, I
have never met him, and the experience of being the general manager of
the first Red Sox championship in 86 years was roughly 100,000,000
times more profound and important than my experience in New Orleans.
But the fact remains, after that Super Bowl column, I struggled writing
this column for the next seven to eight months; eventually, I ended up
moving to California to write for a fledgling late-night television
show. That Super Bowl trip changed everything for me.
Did
something similar happen to Theo after winning the World Series? Is
this what happened to David Caruso when he said, "Screw it, I don't
need 'NYPD Blue' anymore?" On a much, much larger scale, is this what
happened to talents like Dave Chappelle, Eddie Murphy, Kurt Cobain,
Michael Jordan and everyone else who either walked away from their
alleged dream job or sabotaged it in their prime? Is that why the Peggy
Lee song "Is that all there is?" rings especially true in moments like
these?
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| http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/
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| Why I prefer the Yankees Over the Phillies
First let me say that I am first and foremost a Phillies fan.
They are my team along with the Eagles and Flyers. I would like
nothing more than to see the Phillies win. My most memorable
sporting moment is when I was at game 1 of the 1993 NLCS. Nothing
like playoff baseball. BUT, that never happens with the Phillies
except for a fluke season in 93.
I am tired of losing and not making the playoffs. It's not about
spending money and having nice stadiums. It's about winning and
often. All the players on the team bitch and moan about the
criticism they face. Well, you make a lot of money and really
have nothing to show - being in the hunt isnt the goal and shouldnt
be.
I blame all of the ineptitude on the ownership not Ed Wade or the
manager or the players. Losing comes from the top and owners of
this team are losers. I hate and despise them. The
f*ckers. They got a shitload of money from us taxpayers for that
nice money making machine that is Citizens Bank Park. They owe us
something for that and I dont ever see that happening with these
losers. They dont know how to win or create a winning atmosphere
because they are losers.
The only way for them to leave is for the fans to stay away from the
park in mass. Support the team from the newspapers, but no TV or
going to games. These losers got to go.
The Yankees are everything I just said, but the complete
opposite. Now, I am not a bandwagon Yankess fan. They have
always been my #2 team after the Phils. Grow up with Italians and
you would understand why. My grandfather loved the Yankees who
passsd that on to my dad and then to me. I love my yearly trip to
Yankee stadium.
This is a team that demands winning and nothing else. Jeter is
the ultimate sportsman, period! It's fun to be Yankees fan
because of the culture of winning. Not just winning
championships, but the demand to win. They can handle the
criticism if they dont win because they demand that same. That
attitude comes from the top - Steinbrenner. He may be crazy, but
that that son of bitch wants to win and will do so at all costs.
People say they win b/c they have so much money. Well
Steinbrenner built the empire, think YES, etc. They still make
more money than anyone else. Go Yankees!
This is my response to Naimoli.
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| Lost is absolutely amazing. I watched all 24 shows last week
while recovering from my hernia surgery. Tonight was even more
ridiculous. If you don't watch this show, start now.
Go Yankees.
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| James Carney
by
Peter Gambaccini
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| James Carney at the 2005 USA 8K Championships in NYC |
photo by Victah Sailer/Photo Run |
James
Carney was fourth in the 10,000 at the 2005 USA Championships in
28:35.95. In March, Carney had been fourth in the USA 15K in
Jacksonville in 44:17. In July, he was third, and the top American, in
the Wharf to Wharf Six-Mile, which begins in Santa Cruz, CA, in 27:48.
Carney, 27, is a member of the Big Sur Distance Project; he is coached
by Bob Sevene and his roommate is Ryan Bak. He was sixth in the 10,000
at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials. Carney is a 2005 RRCA Roads Scholar.
He attended Millersville University, a Division II school, and Penn
State, where he earned a masters degree in finance and logistics. He
has run 28:31.16 for 10,000 meters and 13:37.66 for 5000. As he reveals
below, Carney plans to make his marathon debut at Twin Cities in
October; his longest race to date was the New Haven 20K in 2003.
Runner's World Daily:
When Matt Downin, who'd gotten third in the 10,000 at the USA
Championships, made it clear he wasn't going to race another 10,000 to
seek the "A" standard for the World Championships, did you give any
thought to trying to give it another shot?
James Carney:
I guess it crossed my mind initially, but I also realized my fitness
level wasn't high enough to run 27:49. I had to be a little realistic.
I figured it was probably best just to back down a little bit and start
gearing up for this fall.
RWD:
You've been pretty consistent in the 28:30s for two years. The results
indicate you stayed at the same level, but you don't get many shots at
a 10,000 on the track. Do you think you're actually capable of a lot
better than that at this point?
JC:
I really felt my fitness level was at the 28:10 range this year. It
just didn't happen. It's a little bit frustrating, but I just have to
keep battling day in and day out, and I know it will come eventually.
Running's not something that happens overnight. You have to keep
working at it. I know it will eventually happen. Everything just has to
click.
RWD: What kinds of things had you done in the last year that made you think you were in 28:10 shape?
JC:
My 5k PR's down to 13:37 right now. I think that at least translates to
28:15. I figure I was in a little bit better shape than the 13:37, so I
figured I could run around 28:10. And also, I was competing with guys
like (Chris) Graff and Matt (Downin), and they've run in that range. So
I figured if I'm competitive with those guys, I should be able to run
similar times.
RWD: One result
in March that had to be encouraging was the fourth at the USA 15K. You
beat Abdi Abdirahman and Anthony Famiglietti, among others. That must
have made you feel "hey, I'm doing something right here."
JC:
Yeah. I think I'm starting to get to the point now where I can compete
with anybody nationally on the roads. I definitely think it's a step in
the right direction.
RWD: Have
you given thought to running other longer races, or are you pretty much
dedicated to being a 10,000-meter runner right now?
JC:
Actually, I'm running my first marathon in October at Twin Cities. I
thought about doing Chicago last year, but I was feeling pretty tired
after the Olympic Trials and the long season so I decided take my break
in early August last year and do my base in the fall. But right I
decided not to do it last year, I said next fall would be the time to
try my first one. And I'm 27 now, so I'm trying to get to that age
bracket where I want to give it a shot. Especially for 2008, I've got
to have a few under my belt before then.
RWD: For the marathon, are you getting your base mileage up higher than it's been in past years?
JC:
I've ramped it up a little bit, but I haven't increased it dramatically
like a lot of people have done, because at this point I've been putting
in high mileage for several years, so I don't think there's any reason
to really jump it up in the eight weeks leading up to marathon. Some
people do that and by the time the marathon comes, they're dead tired
because they're not used to it. I've jumped it up maybe five miles a
week, but nothing drastic. The last four to six weeks, I've probably
done 125 to 130.
RWD: Do you have plans to race again before Twin Cities?
JC:
Right now, I don't have any plans, even though I'm still really fit.
I'd really like to do the 20K Championships (the USA 20K in New Haven)
or some of the stuff on the East Coast, but the biggest problem is just
the travel. Sometimes the travel beats you up more than the race. If
there was something on the West Coast, I'd probably really, really
consider it.
RWD: So your
longest race of the year will have been a 15k. Will you be doing any
time trial or long runs in practice to give an indication of your
strength for the longer distances?
JC:
Yeah, we've already been doing some of the longer strength type
workouts on the road and on the track. On the track, we've been slowing
it down but doing longer intervals. We do a lot of mile, two-mile, mile
and a half repeats, a total of six or seven miles. I'm doing 4:30 or
4:35 mile pace.
RWD: You went to
a Division II school, Millersville, to start with, and then switched to
Penn State. What were some of the reasons for that? Was track very
important to you when you first went to college?
JC:
I kind of just walked on at Millersville. I wasn't even sure I really
wanted to stick with it (running), but I really enjoyed it my last year
of high school, so I decided to give it a shot in college and I started
to fall in love with it. I still had one year of eligibility left when
I graduated from Millersville in 2000. I wanted to use the last year of
eligibility, so I went to graduate school at Penn State and used up my
last year there.
RWD: Were you one of the better high school runners?
JC:
No man, I sucked in high school (laughs). I think my two-mile was 9:48.
I was terrible. I more or less just wrestled in high school. I ran
track a little bit.
RWD: What weight class were you in wrestling?
JC: (Laughs) 103.
RWD:
In a lot of states, 103 pounds is the lowest weight class. Some teams
just put whatever kid they can find that small in there, because there
might only be one or two in the school.
JC:
Yeah, it was our lowest weight class. It was pretty cool, though,
because half the matches, you could just show up, get a forfeit and get
the win. You'd just run out on the mat, they'd raise your hand, and
you'd run off again.
RWD: You said you had a late growth spurt. When did that start?
JC:
Probably not until my senior year. I wrestled 103 my junior year My
senior year, I probably weighed about 125. I still weigh 125 now.
RWD: How tall are you?
JC: 5' 10." If I'm 125, I'm heavy. I usually weigh between 120 and 125.
RWD: Those are, like, female supermodel statistics, you know?
JC: That's right. I'm hoping maybe I can be a male model after my running career ends (laughs).
RWD:
When you finished up at Penn State, what made you sure you wanted to
keep running, and how did you end up with the Big Sur Distance Project?
JC:
I kept improving little by little each year. Even though my times
didn't drop consistently, I felt stronger. I got a little bit out of
each season as a positive. I kind of mulled around for a couple of
years after Penn State, just training on my own. I had my roommate
coach me and stuff like that. I applied for the team out here and kind
of hoped it would come through, and eventually it did. If it hadn't, I
probably wouldn't be running right now. Everything started to click out
here. Coaching's great. My training partners are great. The
environment's perfect. Everything is just really coming together.
RWD: What was your 10,000 personal best when you went out there?
JC:
After school, my PR was 29:15. During those two years on my own, I
actually dropped down to 28:48. And then I got out here and it's
dropped down to 28:31.
RWD: Does the $5,000 you get as a Roads Scholar make a big difference for someone at your level?
JC:
Oh yeah, it makes a big difference. The thing about track and field
athletes is, there's money in the sport, but it's really really top
heavy. So various top guys are getting 90 percent of the money and then
the rest of the athletes are getting ten percent. The sport's tough for
those kids on that developmental level. After the top people retire,
where are they going to get the next great athletes?
RWD: Was your most recent serious race, the Wharf to Wharf Six-Mile in late July, in the midst of some of your high mileage weeks?
JC:
Yeah, exactly. Funny enough, I thought the race was the next weekend.
We did a ridiculously hard workout that week, and we finished it and
there was a guy at the track, a random guy, who asked "you going to
Wharf to Wharf." I said "that's right, man, next week, I'll be there."
He was like "no, the race is this week." I checked and said "that guy
was right, it is this week."
RWD: Twin Cities is your first marathon. Have you been talking about a target time at all?
JC:
A little bit. But here's so much that could go wrong, I don't want to
spell out any times because then if I don't feel well, I'll just make
myself look bad (laughs). So many people say they can go out and run
5:00 pace, which comes out to 2:11 or whatever (actually, faster), but
how many people have actually run 2:11? Not that many. Not many
Americans, anyway. We'll see. You don't want to write any checks your
legs just can't cash, you know what I mean. If I run great, afterwards
you can interview me again.
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