If they awarded medals after each bobsled run at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, former Florida track and field athlete Steve Mesler would have two golds in his pocket – or around his neck.

A pusher on the USA I four-man bobsled piloted by Steve Holcomb, Mesler was in the winning sled in each of two runs Friday at the Whistler Sliding Centre.

However, the Florida graduate must make it through two more runs Saturday before he can claim a medal. Total time from the four runs determine the order of finish.

The United States has not won an Olympic four-man bobsled gold medal since 1948 at St. Moritz.

Mesler, an alternate on the 2002 Olympic team and part of Todd Hays’ seventh-place team at the 2006 Games, graduated from Florida in 2000. As a Gator, his sport was track and field, his specialty the decathlon.

As a right-side pusher and third man in the sled, the 6-foot-2, 206-pounder’s job here is to push like crazy, load quickly and hang on.

Both starts were strong, with emotions in check.

“We don’t stand at the top of the hill and say ‘this is it, this is the Olympic Games.’ That’s not gonna get us anywhere,” said Mesler, 31. “It’s pretty obvious. We don’t need to tell each other. All you’ve got to do is open your eyes and see the (Olympic) rings everywhere. So we just act as if our goal is to win the race today. That’s what we did, so we’re going to hope to go out and win the race tomorrow.”

USA I’s start time of 4.75 seconds, briefly a track record, ranked second overall on the first run, behind Germany I’s 4.73.

USA’s second start matched the 4.73, but ranked fourth overall. Germany I again was faster with a track-record 4.70.

USA I reached a top speed of 95 mph, flying through a wet snow on a 33-degree day.

Holcomb, who placed sixth in the two-man competition here that ended Sunday, simply outdrove Germany I’s Andre Lange. No easy task, as Lange already bagged the two-man gold here and is the two-time defending champion in the Olympic four-man competition.

USA I finished first first run in a track-record 50.89 seconds, the second in an even faster 50.86. The combined time of 1:41.75 leads Canada I by 0.40 seconds, with Lange’s Germany I another four-hundredths back. The next-best American sled, Mike Kohn’s USA III, is in 12^th place, 1.36 seconds behind USA I.

“I’m going to sleep well,” Mesler said. “When you go to bed the night before (the first runs), you’re not sure if you’re going to be fast, you’re not sure how it’s going to go. You feel like you are.

 “We know we’re fast on this track now. We know we can start. We know ‘Holcy’s’ driving. We know the equipment’s running. So we can go to bed knowing all we have to do now is come out and do our job.”

Others may not sleep as well. Six of 25 sleds crashed – three on the first run and three on the second. USA II, driven by John Napier, turned over on the second run but slid across the finish line to put the team in 17^th place.

Four sleds withdrew earlier in the week. Three of those were because of injuries suffered in crashes either in the two-man competition or four-man practices. A Dutch team dropped out because Edwin van Calker said he wasn’t confident in his driving ability on the track.

Two weeks earlier, a luger from the country of Georgia was killed on the same track.

Mesler, who came to the Gators from Buffalo but has resided for the last seven years in Calgary, respects the track. He does not fear it, though.

 “No, because we’re having good trips. We see those but Holcomb still has that same feel and it’s not going to change just watching other people crash.”

Between Holcomb and Mesler, in the No. 2 spot, is Justin Olsen of San Antonio. The brakeman and last in the sled is Curt Tomasevicz of Shelby, Neb.

“We’re right where we want to be,” Holcomb said. “We had a great day today and we’ll have another great day tomorrow.

“It’s not over yet. We’ve got another race ahead of us. This is basically like halftime.”

Steve Mesler, Curtis Tomasevicz, Justin Olsen and Steven Holcomb

They do work well together!

People keep asking me, “Doc, what do you think about the Tiger situation?” , “Doc, did you listen to the speech?”  and I can say is this….

I don’t give a fuck about what he did!  I don’t care about his speech!  And I don’t care if his woman stays by his side or not!  I don’t care how many chicks he was banging or in how many cities!  All I care about is watching the man play golf!

Lets be real here!  Most of the analysts, experts, people on the board at these marketing companies, any body and everybody that is giving there opinion has cheated or done something wrong in their life.  I’m tired of listening to these hypocrites put the man down, over analyze his every word, and second guess if his model wife is gonna stick around.

I can’t condemn the man for pulling out the driver on every hole.  It just proves he’s human.  He’s one of the most recognizable people on the planet.  I heard a comedian describe it best, “A man is only as faithful as his options.  He can stop chasing the poo-nanny, but if the poo-nanny is chasing him —-He can’t run fast enough!”……..Is it funny, YES.  Is it true, ABSOLUTELY!

Think about it fellas, if a chick walked up to your sorry ass right now and said, “Drop your pants, I’m dying to blow you”, you wouldn’t know how to act.  The first thought in your head would be, “WTF, is this a game show?”.  Second thing you would do is look around and see if anybody knows you.  Third thing you would do…..you would say “Let the facial begin”!

In Closing…Don’t hate the man for being a man!  And ladies, when you marry a high profile person such as this, you might as well accept that he’s going to cheat on you.  Afterall, you only married him for the money anyway, so what do you care if he bangs a chick or 200 on the side?

Ancient Chinese Proverb says:  “Man who live in glass house, should change clothes in basement”……..Think about it!

This has been another enlightening message from The Doc!
Peace!
I’m out Bitches!

2009 — Position — 2010
Avery Barnes — LF — Tyler Thompson
Matt den Dekker — CF — Matt den Dekker
Riley Cooper — RF — Daniel Pigott
Brandon McArthur — 1B — Preston Tucker
Clayton Pisani — 2B — Josh Adams
Mike Mooney — SS — Nolan Fontana
Josh Adams — 3B — Bryson Smith
Buddy Munroe — C — Mike Zunino
Preston Tucker — DH — Austin Maddox

Rounding the bases Friday night, Austin Maddox wasn’t sure if he was going to wake up before he reached home plate.

Moments earlier, Florida’s freshman designated hitter had just belted the second collegiate pitch of his career over the right-center field wall for a two-run home run to give the Gators (1-0) a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

His trance ended after he touched home and realized what happened.

“First (at-bat). That doesn’t happen to many people, but it felt really good,” Maddox said.

It felt pretty good for the Gators all night in their season opener against South Florida at McKethan Stadium. Along with Maddox’s debut, junior infielder Josh Adams showed off some power by clearing the left field bleachers twice as the Gators defeated USF 6-2 in front of a crowd of 3,309.

While Maddox felt like his at-bat was a dream, Adams, who has won consecutive All-SEC accolades, said he had goosebumps after his first at-bat when he hit a two-run homer off Randy Fontanez in the first.

He was giddy after the hit, but he wasn’t very nervous coming into the game.

“Honestly, for a lot of us it felt like another scrimmage game because we’ve been scrimmaging so much,” Adams said. “About five minutes until game time everybody started getting that look like, ‘All right, it’s here. We’re ready to go.’ Everybody was ready and it was a good night.”

Besides Florida’s offensive explosion in the first, Friday meant the return of a familiar face. After spending the 2009 season sidelined after shoulder surgery, sophomore right-hander Tommy Toledo made his first appearance on the mound in more than a year.

He started strong as he struck out his first batter, but admitted jitters caught up to him while facing his third batter, Stephen Hunt, who saved the inning with a single to center. After Hunt stole second, Toledo walked Sam Mende off a wild pitch, putting runners at the corners.

Toledo then calmly struck out the next batter on a 3-2 count.

Toledo’s nerves didn’t leave him. His control problems landed him in a bases-loaded situation in the second, but like the inning before, he escaped with a strikeout and the clean sheet.

“It was definitely good to get my feet wet a little bit with the guys on and get those situations out of the way,” Toledo said. “I’m sure its going to be like that for the rest of the season, so I’m glad I got the first one out of the way.”

Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan pulled Toledo after 3 1/3 innings with four strikeouts, two walks and an unearned run off 71 pitches. He was replaced by lefty Alex Panteliodis, who picked up the win after 3 1/3 innings and three strikeouts.

Florida’s bats went silent after Fontanez found his rhythm. He retired six straight after giving up those four runs and went 6 2/3 with five strikeouts in the losing effort.

Adams, who went 3-for-3 on the night, hit his second homer in the fifth and drove in his fourth run with a double in the seventh that scored senior center fielder Matt den Dekker.

The early bat work proved too much for the Bulls, but nerves kept the game from getting out of hand as Florida committed two errors on the night and only five hits after the first inning.

Still, O’Sullivan was pleased with the solid opening.

“There’s nothing like opening day,” he said. “Everybody’s anxious and everybody’s kind of amped up. I could tell our (batting practice) was a little different. It’s always good to get the first one out of the way.”

His wounds must have healed up nicely, huh???…I can’t WAIT to hear what his Lawyer/Publicist, uh I mean, HE, has to say! I can only imagine his Families are gonna get back together!….His NIKE family (which is the most important of course) AND his “wife” family! (I hear Nike will NEVER “F” Tiger!….and, well, Elin might not either,????….Well, at least not “double penetration” style, like he’s now use to having!)

How much Nike is looking forward to this can only PALE in comparisson to what WE the public are expecting! NOW all you Tiger fans can watch Golf again!…YA,YA,YA,YA,YA,YA!!!!!!

Tiger Woods will end nearly three months of silence Friday when he speaks publicly for the first time since his middle-of-the-night car accident sparked stunning revelations of infidelity.

However, his agent said Woods will not take any questions from a small group of media.

“This is not a press conference,” Mark Steinberg said Wednesday.

It will be Woods’ first public appearance since Nov. 27, when he crashed his SUV into a tree outside his Florida home. Woods’ only comments since then have been made through his Web site.

“It will be good to see Tiger’s face again, and see that he’s actually out there somewhere,” Stewart Cink said. “I think this is the beginning of the comeback process for him.”

Woods is to speak at 11 a.m. Friday from the clubhouse at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., home of the PGA Tour.

“This is all about the next step,” Steinberg said. “He’s looking forward to it.”

Still, there was strict control over the appearance, typical of Woods’ career.

Steinberg described the gathering as a “small group of friends, colleagues and close associates,” who will listen to Woods apologize as he talks about the past and what he plans to do next. He said three wire services have been invited — The Associated Press, Reuters and Bloomberg — and he asked the Golf Writers Association of America to recommend pool reporters.

Only one camera will be in the room to provide live coverage via satellite. Steinberg said other writers with proper credentials could watch from a hotel ballroom more than a mile away.

“The first time out, he’s better controlling it,” Padraig Harrington said. “Over time, there will be questions. At the moment, the best thing is a more controlled environment and gradually ease his way back into it.”

Steinberg said in an e-mail announcing the public appearance, “While Tiger feels that what happened is fundamentally a matter between he and his wife, he also recognizes that he has hurt and let down a lot of other people who were close to him. He also let down his fans. He wants to begin the process of making amends and that’s what he’s going to discuss.”

The timing is peculiar. It will be held during the third round of the Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona, sure to steal attention away from the first big event of the year. Accenture was the first sponsor to drop Woods when he became embroiled in the sex scandal.

“He’s got to come out at some point,” Rory McIlroy said. “I suppose he might want to get something back against the sponsor that dropped him. No, I don’t know. It just went on for so long. I’m sick of hearing about it. And I’m just looking forward to when he’s getting back on the golf course.”

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said he did not think Woods’ appearance was going to undermine a World Golf Championship event.

“We have tournaments every week,” Finchem said. “I think it’s going to be a story in and of itself. A lot of people are going to be watching golf this week to see what the world of golf says about it, my guess is. So that will be a good thing.”

As far as the PGA Tour’s part in the Woods event, Finchem said: “We were asked to make the facility available and to help with the logistics. That’s what we’re doing.”

Steinberg said only that Woods’ appearance during the championship was “a matter of timing.” Asked if it could have waited until Monday, he said, “No.”

No other news conference this week drew a larger crowd of reporters than the 20 who surrounded Finchem, a testament to how Woods has dominated the conservation at the Match Play.

“We’re all better off when he’s playing,” Adam Scott said. “I’m curious as to when he’ll return to golf.”

As for the timing?

“It’s his choice,” Scott said. “I guess the tour is hosting it there.”

Woods made a spectacular fall from his perch atop golf. He was believed to have been the first athlete to gross $1 billion in earnings and endorsements and, at 14 majors, was closing in on golf’s record of 18 majors held by Jack Nicklaus.

It all collapsed in the early morning hours the day after Thanksgiving.

Over the last few months, Woods has been on the cover of gossip magazines and the butt of jokes on national talk shows.

In the days before Woods’ accident, a National Enquirer story alleged the world’s No. 1 golfer had been seeing a New York nightclub hostess. Following the crash, a stream of women came forward to claim they had romantic relationships with Woods. One woman provided Us Weekly magazine with a voicemail she said Woods left her three days before the crash, asking her to take his number off her phone.

Woods admitted to “infidelity” in a statement on his Web site in mid-December and has been on an indefinite break from golf ever since.

Ian Poulter, who went extra holes to win his opening match, was among those curious to hear what Woods had to say. His only hope was to hear about it later.

“Hopefully, I’ll be on the golf course and not listening to it,” he said

From the constant back disabling shoveling to the dog dooty floating 3 feet above the buried grass on a blanket of white “canvas”, I’ve more than had enough of this snow. For the love of global warming, when did we become North Dakota!?!?….Vancouver wishes they got what we got.

SO for YOU!…my bretheren inthe northeren, I give you THIS!

• Cleaning up after winter storms can be a lot of work. Of course there are options – like paying someone else to do it. Snow blowers help too, but even using those can be strenuous and exhausting. So, if you end up having to do it yourself, here are some things you need to know to make the chore easier and safer.
  • Do light warm-up exercises before shoveling and take frequent breaks.
  • If possible, push snow in front of you. If you have to lift it, pick up small amounts and lift with your legs, not your back. Do not toss snow over your shoulder or to the side.
  • Don’t drink alcohol before or while shoveling snow. Do not drink before shopping for vintage snow blowers. Come to think of it if you shop for vintage snow blowers people will think you are drunk anyway.
  • Do not use rock salt it will ruin the paint on your newly rebuilt vintage snow blower.
• If you use a snow blower (also called a snow thrower), follow these safety guidelines:
  • Do not collect too many snow blowers. You won’t have enough time to clear your own driveway and you will have to hire it done.
  • Do not get a vanity plate of your favorite snow blower brand. People will think it is your last name.
  • Read the owner’s manual before starting your snow blower, and make the necessary corrections on your snow blower website.
  • Make sure all your friends and relatives are invited when you start your newly renovated snow blower. You may have to disobey the rule about no alcohol, because free booze is the only way you will get them there to see it.
  • Do not put your hand in the snow blower to remove impacted snow or debris. Turn the machine off and wait a few seconds. Then use a stick or broom handle to remove the material. If this does not work, remove the chute and spend your kid’s college fund to have it Teflon lined.
  • Do not leave the snow blower unattended when it is running. Always try to have a crowd around to show it off.
  • Never let a child beware that their father collects snow blowers, it could be embarrassing.
  • Fill up with fuel before you start, when the engine is cool. Budget at least 10% of your yearly salary to keep your collection in new gas.

This clip is only 18 seconds long, but it’s the funniest shit you will ever see!

I love how he  plants his mug in the dirt, then tries to get up and continue his routine as if nobody saw it.

So, you’re probably wondering if the Day is gonna PAY OFF for you…..well, you should! Look at your ass! You can’t EVEN be sure!. So, I found this VDay Chart to help you KNOW! Don’t thank me, its all in the chart!

 The Chart never fails…..it worked for me when I was with….

http://guyism.com/2010/02/your-guide-to-the-sexy-olympians-of-vancouver-2010.html

Ladies, if you’re not doing laundry like this…You’re doing it WRONG WRONG WRONG!!!!

Caption this picture!