Thanks for the heads up, DJA!

Whether the Games go well or not...the folks at the top still get paid:

Click on pic for huge-ificationmenting:

via The Washington Post

Quote of the Day

The accomplice to the crime of corruption

is frequently our own indifference.

Bess Myerson

Doping Rant

via Daily Mail

Do y'all think doping in our sport only changes the outcomes at meets?  Think again!

There's a "trickle down" effect to doping.

Imagine how many clean swimmers fall just short of "A" or "B" cuts for the Olympic Games or NCAA's.

Remember, those cuts are determined by performances and some of those performances were drug-enhanced.

Dopers don't just take away podium opportunities from clean athletes - they take away competition opportunities!

via Daily Telegraph

Also, it's been shown that cheaters benefit from their doping even after they're caught, serve suspensions, and return to the sport as "clean" athletes.

They compete and take away competition and podium spots from the kids who were always clean.

We need to:

• Kick out dopers for life,
• Delete tainted records,
• Strip medals from dopers,
• Award those medals to clean athletes, and
• Shame other sports into doing the same!

 Swimming can't do it alone.  We need all sports to clean up their acts.

via Richest Celebrities

When Johnny Homer fails his PED test, what if his team had to forfeit all games he appeared in that season?

Penalizing a team for one jerk's personal failings sounds pretty harsh, doesn't it.  Wouldn't it work, though?

You can bet it would clean up MLB in a big hurry.  Ball clubs would do plenty of in-house testing and get rid of dirty players on their own, knowing missing out on playoff spots would cost them millions in revenue.

If only owners would get serious.  Stop with the slap on the wrist for a first offense.  Go straight to lifetime bans and forfeited games.  If folks want to see more home runs, use a livelier ball and/or shorten up outfield wall dimensions.

Anyone out there still watch le Tour?  Rampant doping in cycling has turned their sport into a joke.

via iesmontesorientales

Swimming needs to be better - much, much better...

Quote of the Day

It is not enough to be industrious;  so are

the ants.  What are you industrious about?

via Maine Woods Discovery

Henry David Thoreau

Quote of the Day

I have forced myself to contradict myself in

order to avoid conforming to my own tastes.

via tumblr

Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp

Quote of the Day

We don't complain when women

dominate subjects like nursing.

We shouldn't complain when men

dominate subjects like physics.

via Breitbart

Milo Yiannopoulos

Quote of the Day

A consensus means that everyone agrees to say

collectively what no one believes individually.

Abba Solomon Meir Eban

Callin' All HS Coaches!

Have some returning senior brainiacs?

It doesn't matter if they're "sub-twenny in the fitty free" or "watch battery runs out in the five hunnert free" - they can still be ACADEMIC All-Americans.

If you want to get your kids recognized as such, you need to join NISCA.  Print a paper application here

In addition to making your athletes eligible for Academic A-A recognition, you'll also get a million bucks in liability insurance, along with six (6) issues of the NISCA Journal.

Quote of the Day

I refuse to leave our children with a debt

that they cannot repay, and that means

taking responsibility right now, in this

administration, for getting our

spending under control.

via Daily Kos

Barack Hussein Obama

Misc.

via USC News

USC head coach Dr. Dave Salo will speak at the September TISCA clinic.

Also presenting will be The Woodlands HS head coach Kent Kirchner and Olympic platform champion Laura Wilkinson.

Vote for the Fitter & Faster Tour 2016 Age Group COTY here

Register for the ASCA Regional Coaches Clinic in Midland here

The Coppell Family YMCA needs an aquatics director

John Paul II HS (Plano) needs a swim coach.  Contact Kent Turner at 972-867-0005

The West Orem Family YMCA (Houston) needs a youth development director - sports & aquatics

Energy Core Swimming (ECS) needs an assistant coach

From 1958:

Quote of the Day

Leave this world a little

better than you found it.

via Ovguide

Robert Baden-Powell

Quote of the Day

I grew up in Dallas, Texas, drinking

sodium fluoridated water.  All the

scientific studies show my IQ has

been reduced by at least 20 points.

via The Austin Chronicle

Alexander Emerick "Alex" Jones

Polo Assault

We all know "polo" and "assault" go together, right?  The game's all about what you can get away with when an official isn't looking.

Unfortunately, this story's about more than just yer average suit-pullin', nut-kickin', elbow-in-the-teeth water polo match.  Read more here and here

Dabrowski, now a student at Monmouth College, said she let out a yelp but continued playing, though she then fouled the player in question and served a time out. Footage said to be from the match appears to show Dabrowski later crying at the edge of the pool, and she said she reported to a female coach that "he touched me."

"I was angry because I couldn't think anyone could do that," Dabrowski said on the show. "He has a mom. He probably has a sister. ... How could he even try to do something like that?"

Quote of the Day

If you fall in love with someone gay

and you're the opposite gender,

it's not going to work.

via Breitbart

Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell

Kris Kubik Retiring

Pretty shocking stuff.  Read the Texas Sports release here

"Our program is in a very good spot," Kubik continued.  "Eddie continues to amaze me with his ability to keep things fresh and new, and the team we have returning might be up there as one of the best teams we've ever had, in terms of personalities, in terms of caring about one another and in terms of continuing on the tradition that was established well before we got here.  Whoever replaces me will inherit a fantastic group of students who are exceptional athletes, and, more importantly, are exceptional people."

Cannot put into words how much Kris Kubik has meant to all Longhorn swimmers and, in particular, to our very own Bobby Button.

Pics from 2014 swim banquet:

Question on mind of every UT guy entering senior year:

Who will take over as UT Swim Banquet Master of Ceremonies?

Quote of the Day

Don't fear the terrorists.

They're mothers and fathers.

via YouTube

Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell

Quote of the Day

I was amazed that what I needed to survive

could be carried on my back.  And, most

surprising of all, that I could carry it.

via Cheryl Strayed

Cheryl Strayed

Quote of the Day

It's one thing to have talent.  It's

another to figure out how to use it.

via listal

Roger Dean Miller, Sr.

Quote of the Day

Sport is about seeing how good you are, not

seeing who has the best medicine cabinet.

via Texas Sports

Jill Ann Sterkel

The Last Gold & Making Waves Interviews

Surviving members of the relay featured in The Last Gold:


Shirley Babashoff's co-author Chris Epting talked with Peter Anthony Holder (9:30 through 22:30).

Short AP piece with Shirley at '16 Trials:

Quote of the Day

Truth's like a dollar-piece, it's got two sides,

and both are wanted to make it good currency.

via The Peerage

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir

Making Waves:

My Journey to Winning Olympic Gold and
Defeating the East German Doping Program

is Shirley Babashoff's new book.

Most in the swimming community know - at least we think we know - Shirley's story.  We know she's that kid from California who got cheated out of medals/records in Montreal back in 1976, right?

Babashoff, along with Chris Epting, gives us, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story.

Shirley's been on a real roller coaster ride.  Without giving away too much from the book, let's just say she had a very, very tough childhood.

Babashoff was a regular in Swimming World magazine as a teenager.  We all read about the training under Mark Schubert at Mission Viejo.  Remember hearing about those Animal Lane workouts with guys like Brian Goodell?

The '72 Munich Games had been highlighted by Mark Spitz's seven golds.  Both our men's and women's teams had performed very well.

via NBC Sports

Shirley teamed with Jane Barkman, Jenny Kemp, and Sandy Neilson* to win the  400 free relay with a world record of 3:55.19, shaving three seconds off their previous best.

Over the next few years, Shirley went on a record-breaking spree, shattering World and American records.  Her performances at national championships and the '76 Trials were outstanding.

Expectations were very high for Shirley & the rest of our swimmers in the '76 Montreal Games.

Leading up to those games, the media was all over Shirley.  A young Skip Bayless got his feelings hurt when he actually had to work (and wait) for a chance to interview Babashoff.

It was Skip who got the whole "Surly Shirley" thing going.

Since the '72 Olympics, some writers have found shy little Shirley to be big surly Shirley.  As records fell in her wake, she seemed more and more aloof.  Her smile, always Mona Lisa crooked, appeared to be a scowl.  Her laugh, before quick and warm, seemed rusty.

Her obsession for supremacy had curtailed her bike-riding, softball- and volleyball-playing and body surfing.  All work and no play made Shirley a very cranky girl.

What a first-class jerk!  Take it back, Skippy!!

Click to enlarge the pic below and read the entire article.

For the Spitz-less US men, it turned out to be one of the most dominating performances in Olympic swimming history.  Unfortunately, a doped women's squad from East Germany stole what would have been a gold rush for our gals.

DDR got the gold, USA got the shaft.

"Official" results for those games are here

Read more about East Germany's State Plan 14.25 here

The highlight for our women's team in '76 was the 400 free relay.

Up against the heavily favored DDR men women, they came out on top, taking back their world record in the process.

via The News Tribune

Kim Peyton, Wendy Boglioli, Jill Sterkel**, and Babashoff took The Last Gold in 3:44.82, more than ten (10) seconds faster than the record set in Munich.


Shirley's Olympic medal count (combined '72 & '76):

Gold = 2
Silver = 6
Bronze = 0

If When the IOC corrects Montreal results, the medal count becomes:

Gold = 6
Silver = 2
Bronze = 1

Maybe this new movie will get those outside the swimming community on board with the movement to correct the record:


Upcoming Texas showings of The Last Gold:

Tonight - AMC Loews Spring 10***

Thursday - Alamo Drafthouse Lakeline***

August 25 - Aggieland Premiere Cinema 16

October 6 - AMC Gulf Pointe 30

October 6 - AMC Stonebriar 24 & IMAX

Want to host a screening in your community?  Click here

Now, back to Making Waves.  Get your copy (eBook or Hardcover) at amazon

via Swimming World

Shirley's is a story that's not just for the competitive swimming community.  It's a story y'all should share with your "non-swimming" friends.

Yes, even those divers and water polo players!

Tell them it includes Shirley's account of a creepy one-on-one meeting with OJ Simpson, if that's what it takes to get them interested.

You won't be lyin'!





*We know her now as Austin's Sandy Neilson-Bell.  She and husband Dr. Keith Bell put on numerous open water events and raise big bucks for local causes.

**Yes, the same Jill Sterkel who swam and coached at UT and is still with the Longhorn athletic department.

***Sold Out!

Quote of the Day

It's hard for me to reach over and shake

the hand of someone standing there who

just cheated me out of a gold medal.

Shirley Frances Babashoff

Tyler ISD Update

via Tyler Morning Telegraph

A pair of new pools are being built in Tyler.  Above is a shot of what will be the TISD outdoor long course facility.  Read more here

The Tyler school and club swimming community have hoped for years to have a pool in the Rose City capable of hosting swim meets.

With Tyler ISD and Tyler Swim Academy opting to build separate projects, Tyler soon will have two pools that fit that bill.

Tyler ISD’s $3.9 million Olympic-sized (25 yards by 50 meters) outdoor aquatics center is nearing completion, located next to the Career and Technology Center on Earl Campbell Boulevard, and it's scheduled to open in mid- to late August.

Tyler Swim Academy, which is partnered with Metroplex Aquatics of Dallas, also expects to complete construction in the fall of its own 15,000-square-foot enclosed indoor swimming facility (25 yards by 25 meter pool) at a cost of $750,000, located on the corner of Bascom Road and Spur 248.

The two groups both had been using the district's aging swim facility, but the district's decision to build a new pool and form its own swim club meant Tyler Swim Academy and other non-TISD groups needed to find a new pool.

Quote of the Day

Hot heads and cold hearts

never solved anything.

via Billy Graham

Rev. William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr.

Quote of the Day

I would admit I'm an introvert.  I don't

know why introverts have to apologize.

via CNN Money

William Hunt "Bill" Gross

Quote of the Day

In civilized life, law floats in a sea of ethics.

via Supreme Court

Earl Warren

Quote of the Day

There should be no bank too big to fail,

and no individual too powerful to jail.

via The Wall Street Journal

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton

Bring Back Syracuse Swimming!

via Syracuse.com

Wouldn't it be great if new Syracuse AD John Wildhack did that?

via Idiots on Sports

Former athletic director Daryl Gross Negligence announced he was canning the men's and women's swim teams in 2007.  It was a slow death.  The end came in 2011.  The Daily Orange article on the program's demise is here

The program got the axe June 1, 2007, when Athletic Director Daryl Gross announced Syracuse would cut the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams and add a women’s hockey program beginning in the 2008-09 season.

Gross pointed to the outdated facility and the financial difficulties of building a new one as reasons for the cut.

‘If we are going to have a swimming program here, then it’s very important that we have the resources to do it the right way,’ Gross said in an article published in The Daily Orange on June 1, 2007. ‘Part of those resources would be getting a new natatorium, a new pool facility, diving and all those type of things. The cost for those is enormous, and they’re costs that we can’t put into it right now.’

Gross was such a danged fibber!  ASCA's John Leonard pointed out:

‘In my opinion, they made a poorly informed decision and didn’t want to hear from their own alumni and community folks about why those decisions were wrong,’ Leonard said.

Among their concerns: The price tag Gross quoted for the new facility, $35 million, was ‘way too high,’ Leonard said. 

Mark Coyle did nothing as "interim" athletic director.  He was 'Cuse AD for just eleven (11) months after the Gross departure.

Let's hope that someone with upstate NY ties and big-time connections in the sports world can fix things at Syracuse University!

Team USA Training Camp

via American Galvanizers Association

Team USA will train for the Rio Games at San Antonio's Northside Swim Center, July 11 - 21.

Observation Day will be Saturday, July 16 (10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.).

Starting tomorrow, you can pick up Observation Day passes at the Northside Natatorium (click on pic to see details):

via NISD Aquatics

Trials Results + 2016 Rio Games Roster

2016 Omaha Results

Quite a few swimmers with Texas ties on the Rio roster.  Roster includes Twitter info for most swimmers.

2016 USA Swimming Olympic Team

Quote of the Day

Life shrinks or expands

according to one's courage.

via The Red List

Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa

Edelmira Nin y Culmell, a.k.a. Anaïs Nin

Quote of the Day

Do it right or don't do it at all.

via The Funk & Soul Revue

Ray Charles Robinson, a.k.a. Ray Charles