The Romans named the first month of the year after Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and entrances. He was always depicted with two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back. Thus he could look backward and forward at the same time. At midnight on December 31, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to the new.New Year’s resolutions are for people who want to begin the new year with focused goals, detailed plans, and firm commitments to their individual, family, business, and community success.
What is your New Year’s resolution?
- Enjoy life more (25%, 18 Votes)
- Exercise more (20%, 14 Votes)
- Stop a bad habit (14%, 10 Votes)
- Battle the bulge (13%, 9 Votes)
- Take up a new sport/activity (8%, 6 Votes)
- Change relationship status (7%, 5 Votes)
- Be a kinder/gentler person (6%, 4 Votes)
- Get organized (4%, 3 Votes)
- Take a vacation (3%, 2 Votes)
Total Voters: 71
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Filed under: General, Quiz by jane
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Dec. 31, 2007 - The United States women’s national team opens its 2008 schedule on Jan. 16 against Canada at the Four Nations Tournament in China. The United States, ranked second in the world, also plays Finland on Jan. 18 and China on Jan. 20 in the four-team competition in Foshan, China.
Pia Sundhage will make her coaching debut for the U.S. in the match against Canada.
The United States will be making its ninth trip to China since 1998 and the tournament serves as continuing preparation for the 2008 Olympics, which are in China. The U.S. has played in the Four Nations seven times, winning six of those tournaments.
Sundhage has called 16 members of the United States’ 2007 World Cup team for a training camp in early January, including recent U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year winner Abby Wambach.
Defenders Kate Markgraf and Heather Mitts, and midfielder Aly Wagner will not train with the team due to injuries. Veteran Kristine Lilly has not decided if she will pursue a spot on the Olympic roster.
Sundhage also invited 11 more players to the training camp, but only 20 will make the roster for the Four Nations Tournament. Among those invited was 2007 U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year Lauren Cheney.
The United States starts qualifying for the Olympics on April 2-13 in Mexico.
Filed under: Int'l Soccer, News Bytes, Soccer by jane
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Dec. 29, 2007 - It may be the year of the Golden Slam for tennis in 2008 and realistically only one women player is in the running. Justine Henin finished the year as clear No.1 in her sport and is set to dominate again.
What, you may ask, is a Golden Slam? It’s winning all four Grand Slam events plus Olympic gold in the same calendar year. And it’s is a huge challenge.
To date only Steffi Graf has achieved the rare feat in 1988 when tennis returned to the Olympic fold in Seoul. Since then, in Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996), Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004) - no-one has come close.
The 25-year-old Henin won the French and US Opens in 2007 to break clear of the chasing pack and put her on top of the rankings. But she slumped badly at Wimbledon and that will be her biggest challenge once again as well. Her long-time coach and mentor Carlos Rodriguez says they are fully aware of how taxing the year is likely to be for her.
Who her main rivals will be remains to be seen. The Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, are major threats, especially at Wimbledon, while Maria Sharapova and Amelie Mauresmo can both trouble her if they are fully fit. But it is maybe from rising Serb stars Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic that the main threats to Henin’s predominance will come.
Filed under: News Bytes, Tennis by jane
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WHISTLER, BC, Dec. 29, 2007 — With construction of the ski jumps and Nordic trails now complete for the 2010 Winter Games, Whistler Olympic Park is ready to welcome the first Nordic combined and ski jumping competitions on January 1-5, 2008.
“To see some of the world’s best ski jumping athletes literally flying at Whistler Olympic Park will be inspiring,” said Cathy Priestner Allinger, VANOC’s Executive Vice President, Sport, Paralympic Games and Venue Management. “Ski jumpers and Nordic combined athletes from around the world - both men and women - now have another world-class facility where they can train and compete, and where women ski jumpers in particular can continue to develop their sport in pursuit of their opportunity to compete in future Olympic Winter Games.”
For more information on the sports of Nordic combined and ski jumping and for more complete details on the operations at Whistler Olympic Park, visit http://www.vancouver2010.com/ and/or http://www.whistlerolympicpark.com/.
Filed under: News Bytes, Olympics, Ski, Vancouver Winter Games 2010 by jane
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Dec. 26, 2007 - Belgian tennis star Justine Henin and Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre were named the 2007 United States Sports Academy Female and Male Athletes of the Year after a worldwide online vote presented by USATODAY.com and MSNBC.com.
Henin was named Academy Female Athlete of the Year after completing a year in which she lost only four of 67 singles matches. She won 10 tournament titles in 2007 including two majors, making the 25-year-old Belgian the first player since Martina Hingis in 1997 to record double-digit victories in a season. Henin became the first woman to pass $5 million in season earnings.
American tennis player Venus Williams took second in the women’s voting just ahead of American swimmer Natalie Coughlin who took third place.
The ballot was open to voting from 1-25 December. Overall, the ballot received hundreds of thousands of votes from sports fans around the globe. The Academy Athlete of the Year presented by USATODAY.com and MSNBC.com is the culmination of the Academy’s yearlong Athlete of the Month program, which recognizes the accomplishments of men and women in sports around the globe.
To view results from the Academy Athlete of the Year, please visit http://www.usatoday.com/sports/front.htm, http://athleteoftheyear.msnbc.com or http://www.ussa.edu/aoy/index.asp.
Filed under: News Bytes, Tennis by georgia2
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From backcountry snow camping to snowshoeing, there’s more to winter than skiing and ice skating.
Cross Country Skiing With origins in Scandinavia 4000-4500 years ago, cross country skiing has come a long way from being the sole method of transportation for snow and ice-bound Northerners.
Today, cross country skiing (aka Nordic Skiing or XC Skiing) is, in the opinion of many, the world’s best aerobic fitness activity. The sport involves simultaneous use of arms and legs utilizing ski equipment including boots, poles, and skis. Because you can XC Ski just about anywhere with snow, you can match the terrain to suit your fitness level and interests.
Dog Sledding It’s that time of year, many distance mushers are focused on training for the Iditarod - the “Last Great Race”. Of the 71 mushers who have already signed up for this dog sled race, 56 are veterans, 15 are rookies, 15 are female and 56 are males. Mushers have until Dec 1st to sign up for the 2008 race.
(more…)
Filed under: 101-Basics, Action, General, Ski, Snowboard by jane
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The Romans named the first month of the year after Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and entrances. He was always depicted with two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back. Thus he could look backward and forward at the same time. At midnight on December 31, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to the new.New Year’s resolutions are for people who want to begin the new year with focused goals, detailed plans, and firm commitments to their individual, family, business, and community success.
