|-- THE BEST SPORTS DEBATE IN BERMUDA --|

An evening with Ana and Gustav

By James Whittaker in Grand Cayman
It's just after 7pm in Grand Cayman and the Bermuda squad - the players, the management and the media - is on lockdown in the hotel as Hurricane Gustav approaches.
Its far from dramatic. Sitting in a hotel room, eating Doritos (I didn't do well on emergency supplies) and waiting for the storm to arrive.
Thank God ESPN is showing a re-run of Ana Ivanovic's US Open game.
The wind had picked up on Seven Mile Beach earlier this afternoon and five-foot waves were crashing into a shore fringed with buildings still under reconstruction from the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
Nobody seems quite so worried about this storm, though, despite the fact that it has claimed an estimated 71 lives on its path through Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.
For us, it seems to be a case of surviving the boredom and pestering the team's industrious kit-man Stan Bean, whose room is stacked with ready meals, water, bananas and everything else I didn't think to get for myself.
The worst part about Friday's game with St Martin being postponed (and I can't see it taking place Saturday either) is that Bermuda have to wait even longer for a chance to redeem themselves after the Antigua defeat. If you're only as good as your last performance, then the next game can't come soon enough for the lads to get that result out of their systems.
The really frightening bit, for me, is that power is about to be shut off and with it the US Open. When that happens all I've got for entertainment is three hours of laptop battery and a DVD of Wednesday's game.....

Experiences that will last forever

By Roy Burch
This experience continues to get better as every day brings many new things. I have continued to meet the greatest of athletes with the likes of Ronaldinho and the 8 scull rowing gold medal team.
I got to feel how heavy those medals really are.
I played a football game with some people from Argentina and Korea which was interesting because all the communication was in different laguages.
To me that's what the games are all about. Those experiences will last forever

Young bike racer dies after racetrack crash

By James Whittaker
Toriano Wilson – ‘the golden child’ of Bermuda motor racing — has died after being involved in a high-speed crash at the Virginia International Raceway yesterday.
The 14-year-old racing prodigy was involved in a three-way crash on turn six of lap one of the Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup series race.
He was airlifted to UNC Hospital in North Carolina by helicopter but later died from his injuries.
A spokesman for the Red Bull race series confirmed: “Toriano Wilson, a road racer from Bermuda, fell on the track during the first lap and was accidentally struck by another rider while attempting to get out of the way.
“Toriano was airlifted to UNC Medical Center for treatment, but later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead early Monday morning.”

Olympic Blog: Itching to compete

By Tyrone Smith

I have now been in the Olympic Village for over a week.
The village is very nice as I said before and there are even arcades set up for the athletes along with numerous Internet cafes.
However even with all this I’m very bored due to the fact that I'm so anxious to compete.
It has now been six weeks since I last competed at the CAC championships and I'm itching to get on that runway!
Training has been going very well and I believe my coach and I have finally resolved my fouling problem, and I’m ready to put these corrections into effect.
The opening ceremony on Friday was amazing. Walking in to the stadium was of course breathtaking — I mean 204 countries of the world and 6,500 different languages and every one was thinking the exact same word...dream.
Every single person in that parade was realizing a dream walking into the stadium and at that moment I felt connected to every Olympian in history.

Olympic Coverage

By James Whittaker
Any thoughts on ZBM's Olympic coverage?
From what I've seen so far if you're a fan of beach volleyball, bad commercials and grainy footage that makes the Commodore 64 version of Daley Thompson's Decathlon seem state-of-the-art then you are in heaven.
If you want the kind of Olympic coverage, US sports fans are getting on channels that are normally available to you through you're regular cable subscription then you're out of luck.

Olympic Blog: I couldn't be happier

By Kiera Aitken

Yesterday was race day. I just swam in the Olympics! And I couldn't be any happier with myself. I had an amazing swim. It exceeded all my expectations, and by a lot. I would have been happy to take one tenth of a second off my personal best, and I dropped almost a second and a half.
The last couple of days preparing for my event I was feeling so overwhelmed by the whole thing. It doesn't get much bigger than the Olympic Games. Then this afternoon when I stopped to think about how I was going to swim my race, I remembered how hard I have worked this year and it gave me a lot of comfort. All the hard stuff I had already done, I just had to keep my mind from sabotaging it all. I did a pretty good job at that and it felt great to swim fast when everybody is watching.

Now I'm ready to enjoy the rest of the Games without any stress and I know I deserve it. I can't wait to go stand on the China Wall!

Olympic blog: A birthday I'll never forget

By Tyrone Smith
Well today is August 7, it’s my third day here in Beijing in my preparation for the games and also my 24th Birthday! This will surely be a birthday that I will never forget.
I didn't do anything special just the regular training session and hung out with some friends in the dining hall. Since arriving here I have just been trying to get adjusted to the time zone and it has been a challenge.
The last few nights I have woken up at 5am and not been able to get back to sleep so that's when my days have been starting.
Today I was actually able to get some sleep so I rested until 8:30am!
The people here — volunteers and athletes alike — are all so very friendly and the atmosphere is great.
The one thing I do have to say is all the media attention to the level of pollution here was spot on.
I have honestly seen the sun here just once and have yet to see the blue sky. It constantly looks foggy!
I'm not going to let that stop me! Training has been going really well and I am very anxious to compete. I'll be sure to wave to you all at the opening ceremony tomorrow!

Olympic blog: Grey skies but everyone is happy

By Kiera Aitken
Hi Bermuda!

I'm so excited to be in Beijing. I can't believe that I get to be a part of all this. Everyday I eat in the same cafeteria as the best athletes in the world. And in the pool I am training with World Champions and World Record holders. Yesterday I swam in the same lane as Aaron Peirsol, the mens Olympic Champion in Athens in both backstroke events. During workout I spend a lot of time watching some of the famous swimmers. The pool is pretty impressive. So far everything is going great as I'm preparing for my race.

I haven't seen much else in Beijing except the Olympic Village and the pool. The sightseeing will have to wait until after my race. The sky is always grey here, but its hard to get depressed by it because everyone is so happy and friendly. I can't wait to walk out in the Opening Ceremonies tomorrow and for the games to begin!

Sincerely,
Kiera

Olympic blog: Swimmer meets contenders

Roy Burch
So far the Olympic experience has been surreal. Living amongst the greatest athletes in the world presents a indescribable feeling. In my few days here I have managed to see and meet many of the major swimming medal contenders.
I had the pleasure of meeting the 50 freestyle World Record Holder Eamon Sullivan and I also met the first African American World Record Holder Cullen Jones who took the time to speak to me about his club team. I find myself taking in all the sights even if I have seen them twice. The atmosphere of the pool has a euphoric feeling that only brings positive energy to the experience.
So far so good.

NOTE: Roy Burch is competing for Bermuda in the 100 metre freestyle. He will be blogging for us throughout the Games.

Time to change Cup Match format?

By James Whittaker
An entertaining Cup Match ended in a thoroughly predictable anti-climax, prompting widespread calls for a change in the format of the annual Classic.
Those who defend the current form of the game cite tradition as their primary exhibit for the defence.
It's a defence of sorts, but it's a weak one.
Nobody's suggesting making it a 20-20 game, but adding a third day or turning it into a three-match one-day series, would make for a much more entertaining spectacle.
Nowhere else in the world, do you see a two-inning match squeezed into two days.
People look forward to this game for months, they sit in the sun for hours and they deserve better than the limp display of poking and prodding that brought this game to it's conclusion.
Where Somerset to blame for not taking those extra 12 overs?
Where St George's to blame for deliberately blocking for the draw?
Or should we blame the 'tradition' that dictates to the Champions that a draw is as good as a win?
Either way a change in the format, would bring about a change for the better. And if it means an extra day's holiday, who's going to complain?