USA WINS!

I had to title the blog that! Although, keep it a secret. I'm supposed to be impartial.

USA beat Team Canada today 5-4. It was a great game.

Overall, I must say that I'm thoroughly impressed with the caliber of competition I have seen thus far. Obviously I wish that USA didn't have the two losses, but the competition has been fierce. I do have to say though, that I'm positive USA will medal... as long as we don't lose any more players to injury.

Today has been pretty uneventful thus far apart from the game. Beth (Boo Boo) arrived safely so I can't wait to get back to the hotel to see her!!!

I really haven't done much of anything to do. I came to the park, watched USA win (the game made me nervous since it was so close), hung out and watched a lot of ping pong. Oh, before I continue, all I have to say is that these Olympic Table Tennis teams have NOTHING on me and my sister, Heather. Oh snap, I said it. Heather, if they had co-ed table tennis, you and I would dominate on the international circuit just as we did at Matt's mom's basement! HOLLA!

Anyway, I met some cool people that are member of the IOC and the company of Mizuno. That was pretty cool. Other than that, it's been a pretty smooth day. The weather is still nice but I have a feeling tomorrow will not be. Oh well, what can you do, I guess?

The Netherlands are taking on China right now and it's going so slow that I want to poke myself in the eye for entertainment! Haha.

I took some cool pictures of the field I work at and some of the USA game so I'll have one of them posted a little later, hopefully. I wish I had more to write about but today was pretty low key! I am just ready to get back to see my sister! It'll be nice to have someone that I know and can hang out with in my hotel! Oh, by the way, there is a bowling alley in my hotel! HOLLA!

Alright, I'm going to go and eat my dessert of pound cake and ice cream. YES!

Loves to all, tomorrow I will have tons to write about as it's my first rest day and Beth and I are going around the city! Be nice to me, it may depend on if you get a present from Beijing! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA... especially from the silk market :-D

HOLLA!

Beijing can be beautiful...

Alright, so, yes, there is a load of smog and pollution in Beijing. However, Beijing is an extremely beautiful city. But you'll never know until you've visited after it rains. Yesterday it rained for pretty much half of the day. It rained out one game that has to be finished on my rest day, and finished another early. It pushed back the other games so I didn't get home until well after midnight. But when I looked outside this morning, it was totally worth it. For the first time that I've been here there was a blue sky! It is absolutely gorgeous outside. There is a breeze and it's about 77 degrees outside. It's a blue sky with little cloud coverage and for the first time, I saw the sun shine. Normally the sun is just a lightly glowing orb in the clouds that you can stare directly at and only see a hint of orange and mass of smog. But today, I could barely look up without being blinded.

What's most noticeable is the skylines of all of the hotels and buildings as you drive home. The colors and buildings are amazing. I never thought I would have seen Beijing like this. I was never really impressed with the city. It ranked lowest on my "Big Cities I've Been To" list, but to see it in it's cleanliness made me think otherwise. It's not better than Chicago, though... not even close. Anyhow, it is gorgeous outside and I have had the privilege of sitting outside all day watching baseball! How lucky am I?

Well, the USA dropped a heart-breaker of a game today to Cuba. As some of you know, and others do not, Cuba is absolutely dominant in international baseball. They have won three of the four gold medals (baseball has only been an Olympic Sport since 1992) -- the other going to the USA. Lately, USA has been beating Cuba often and pretty handily. But today, we hit a snag. We've lost one player to injury before today's game and after today's game it looks like we've lost one of our best for the rest of the Olympics as well. He was bunting and a ball hit him in the head. The coach thinks he through it at his head on purpose, Cuba disagrees... pretty typical USA v. Cuba baseball game.

There is a new tie-break rule that assisted in the USA loss. If the game goes into the 11th inning, a runner is placed on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Also, the managers meet and they can start at any point in their order. So, generally, as I saw twice today (yes, both morning games went into the tie-break) you put your best bunter in, advance the runners, and then let your best hitters knock them in. Cuba scored two runs in the top of the eleventh and USA scored one... our last out came on a foul ball that almost made it out of the park... disappointing. I was not working that game, I work only on Field 2. So, I was here for the China v. Chinese Taipei game.

Just to preface -- baseball is a brand new sport in China. They've never participated in international baseball before getting an automatic bid to the Olympic Games. I witnessed what people are saying is one of the most defining moments of Chinese Sports History as China won their first-ever Olympic Games Baseball Tournament game today in the 12th inning, 8-7. You should have heard the cheers and the screams! It was an amazing adventure to be a part of something that big for a country!

The game itself was crazy. It was 3-3 going into the twelfth. Chinese Taipei scored 4 runs and looked to have sucked the wind from the China sails, but China came back and scored 5 runs in the bottom of the twelfth to win the game. It was an amazing site to see! To be a part of a game that means so much to a country is sensational.

Anyhow, work is work! Nah, I'm just kidding. Everything is going fantastic over here! The weather is perfect today and the games have been wildly entertaining (/disappointing... don't worry USA still has a great chance for a Gold medal) and I couldn't love my job any more! Well, that's a lie, I would love it even more if everyone could be here sharing this with me and I got paid more ;-). Anyway, Korea and Canada are going head-to-head right now for what looks to be a brilliant baseball game. So, I'm going to get back to watching it/doing my job. Yes, I watch a baseball game and get paid. I do have to write a recap (this takes me about 10 minutes, tops--sometimes I'm finished before the game is over) and man the mix zone (press zone--10 minutes).

Oh, something I'm excited about! Beth is going to be here tomorrow!!! For those of you who aren't in my family, Beth is one of my amazing sisters and one of my five WONDERFUL siblings (you've probably heard me call her Boo Boo) and she is coming to China to visit me and do some site-seeing. She'll be here to celebrate my birthday!!! Yes, my birthday is coming up! I'm turning 22 -- I'm not old, though. Alright -- the inning just ended so I have a few more minutes.

Oh, I left my laundry for the hotel to do... pretty normal procedure. It cost me $50.00! It was 324.00 RMB. That's INSANE! Had I known it was going to be that much I would have gotten some laundry soap and washed them in my tub instead of sleeping. Sheesh!

Where did all of my readers go? I know I'm not doing as amazing of things as I was before, but I've been taking part in some amazing moments people! I'll try to do more exciting things.

Oh, last night I fahnoogled (that is how I say it, don't know how to spell it) my way into an Olympic transport service! We usually take shuttles to and from the hotel but last night I missed mine while I was helping with the press conference. So, I went up to these Chinese girls and talked to them. I smiled a lot and laughed and talked to them for awhile and they hooked me up with a private car to get home... hmm, China girls think I'm cute... where are all of the American ones?!?!

Alright, back to game time. I swear to goodness, the Korean fans are blowing whistles and it's about to drive me ballistic. My streak of not causing an international incident could come to an end at 8 days while the 9th day is when I break.

Here is a picture of the baseball stadium here after the rain!! Michael Zarrilli took it... he's the photographer that I met at the party that we tried to find a McDonalds... still no luck in that department. I haven't brought my camera to any games yet because it's been gross, hopefully tomorrow will still be clear!

Oh, some other things... The food here is not that bad actually! I had some awesome stuff for dinner tonight as my appetite has finally gotten back to normal. Secondly, the people here love the song "You are my sunshine". They have 4 different versions -- including rock and rap that they've played while I was here in the baseball stadium.

Oh, I had a fun adventure in a cab ride today. I missed my shuttle this morning and had to take a taxi and they took me to the softball field. Then as I tried to explain in the Chinese that I know (none) that I wanted baseball, he started driving and got lost. It was a 40 minute ride altogether. Sheesh.

Wow, that was a lot of extra stuff.

Love to all!

SO BUSY!

First and foremost, I'm freaking psyched that the Baseball Tournament has finally started.

This will be a short post, just an FYI.

Yesterday it all began and boy was it stressful and busy and dramatic.

I won't go into detail right now, as I am currently in the middle of covering a game, but we had problems with press and game day procedures and blah blah... typical stuff to go wrong on the first day. It was a little stressful and made me extremely happy to go home and sleep. Especially since USA lost to Korea on the first night 8-7 in one of the most intense games I've ever watched.

Just a reference, Korea was up 6-4 going into the ninth. USA scored three runs in the top of the ninth to force them to go to the bottom of the inning to beat us... and they did. The whole game was just CRAZY. It was a heartbreaking loss for USA but as a baseball fan, those are the types of games you want to see when you come to a game of this magnitude. However, I just wish there was a different outcome.

Anyway, today was better and ran smoother, except the tumultuous rain. USA won 7-0 against the Netherlands and right now I'm covering the Cuba v. Canada game. Canada just scored two runs and are now only down 3-2. It's going to be a good game.

I will update a little more when I get home... maybe, depends on how tired I am.

Loves to all!

So much to write about!

I didn't get a chance to really write anything yesterday other than the little blurb about meeting George, so I have two days to write about.

Yesterday was, well... amazing! I finally got to see the baseball stadium. There are three fields: one Main Field that holds 10,000 people, Field 2 that holds 3,000 people and Field 1 that is the practice field. During the games, Jake will be manning the Main Field while I'll be manning Field 2. So we had a pretty long meeting and then took a little bit of a tour of the stadium. It was pretty uneventful. Oh wait, just kidding!

After the meeting was a circus! President Bush was stopping by to see the USA Baseball team right before he left to go home. Yes, we saw him right before he jumped on Air Force One. It was ridiculous. People were crazy and it was a mess. It was amazing though.

It was terribly difficult to get a picture with him, but President Bush is an amazing guy. He is very, very personable. It honestly surprised me. He is very laid back and so much of a people person that it is unreal. How you see him while giving speeches is totally unlike how he is while he's meeting people and having a conversation. He was great. The secret service was trying to get him to do all of these different things and what not and he was just shoving them off (not literally, metaphorically) saying that he was there to talk to the team and hang out with them--and he did.

We finally got our picture as we kind of snuck up there. The picture is of Jake, my boss, his wife, Page, and me with George. We shook hands and introduced myself. He said, "Nice to meet you, Brad." We took some pictures and shook my hand as we walked away and said, "Nice meeting you, Brad!" WORD! HOLLLLLLLLA! HOLLLLLLA!

Anyway, after that USA was playing an exhibition with China. In the third inning, after Bush left. Yes, Matt and for other admirers, Barbara was in attendance. His other daughter, was not though. She was in Beijing, just not at the baseball stadium. Yes, she's amazingly hot in person. She does not look even close to 25. Anyhow, after he left there was a seriously scary moment at the game when a photographer got slammed in the forehead with one of the hardest hit foul balls I've ever seen. At first I thought the ball hit her camera because it sounded like plastic had cracked but it was her forehead. She was fine though and walking around soon after.

So, after that I came back and we had an IBAF Reception at the fancy Westin Hotel. This reception made me feel like I was in a movie. It was one of those parties that you see that is in a courtyard and it's got all kinds of fancy people, fountains and they are all drinking champagne. That was the party I was at. At that moment, my idea of working in the sports world had been turned upside-down. I never expected this. Literally, I felt like I was in a movie. So, I drank some champagne and talked with the others in attendance of the reception. It was fancy!

After that Michael Zarrilli, a photographer for the IBAF, and I tried to find a McDonalds (No, I have not eaten at a McDonalds yet) but had no luck. So, we went back to the hotel and I passed out. It was a great day!

So... for today! First off, Happy Birthday, Chris! (My roommate). I feel bad because this is the second year in a row that we have lived together and I have not been there for his birthday either time. Sorry bro!

Today began with a longer, similar meeting at the baseball stadium since the Baseball Tournament starts tomorrow!!!!! FINALLY! We are all freaking ready for this to begin! So, after the meeting we just did some work and I came back to the hotel. I walked around the city a little bit more and it was awesome. The people here are amazing! They are extremely friendly and try so hard to make it easy on us to get around and get what we need. They are extremely hospitable and all-in-all have just been phenomenal. They are way more friendly than most people you'll meet in a big city in the states. But anyway, I just walked around and soaked in my last free day (other than the two rest days) that I could.

I then went to the USA v. Angola men's basketball game. It was awesome! Let me tell you, they LOVE Kobe here. It is insane. I wish I could have taken a picture of every Chinese person I saw that had a Kobe jersey or had something spray painted, painted or sewn on. It's crazy.

We dominated! Of course! We're going to win the Gold in basketball. Period. We have to. It was awesome getting to watch them as it was my first Olympic event. The atmosphere is amazing and again hearing the national anthem nearly brought me to tears. There is just something about hearing the Star Spangled Banner in a different country. It's phenomenal. I got some great pictures of the game but I will only upload one.

Anyway, I'm beat! I've been doing a lot of work on a new media guide and I finally finished before writing this EXTREMELY LONG POST! Anyhow, I love you all! I miss you like crazy! You definitely understand how much you miss everyone when you're a world away from everyone. However, this experience is AMAZING and I'm loving every minute of it!

I hope everyone is doing well and I love the comments and emails. Keep them up!

Baseball starts tomorrow! It's going to be great!! My articles will be on www.ibaf.org and www.beijing2008.com I don't think my name will be on there but they will be the recaps of the baseball games (2 of them, Jake does the other 2).

Alright, I'm really ending it here, time for bed! Also, I have found that I'm not taking enough pictures. I've only taken pictures of Opening Ceremonies and the basketball game. I have none of the city. I'll work on it!

I met the President of the United States!

Holy Crap! I met President Bush today in Beijing as he was at the baseball complex meeting team USA. I shook hands with him TWICE and took a few pictures.

I will write more a little later with pictures hopefully! WOOT!

Rain!

Today was a little gloomy in Beijing. It was raining when I woke up and it rained on and off throughout the day and night. I was pretty wet by the time I just got back to my hotel but it was a great day overall.

I hung out in the room after a quick breakfast, watching "Happy Feet" on the only American speaking channel in my room. It was pretty relaxing and it helped with the anxiety I still felt because of the attacks the day before. However, I got really sick of sitting in the hotel room.

So, I went to the IBAF office and hung out there for a bit and watched some of the events on TV while getting to know a few members of the IBAF staff and just helped out around the office as much as I could. I actually was able to pick up a few tickets to some events. I picked up some tennis tickets for tomorrow, a ticket to the USA v. Angola Men's Basketball game for Tuesday night and some tickets for the Quarterfinals of the Women's Beach Volleyball. So, I kind of scored big! Thanks, IBAF for giving me those tickets!

After that I came back to the hotel to change as Jake, his wife, Page, and I were going to the USA House in Beijing for dinner. It was at a resort called Jasmine, something or other. It was a nice place. It was all American decorations and it was an all-American staff that the USOC actually flew over. I mean, they flew over waiters, retail cashiers, hostesses, the works... so it was nice to be surrounded by only English for an evening. So, we ate some dinner and had a few drinks with the other USA Baseball people in attendance. I, however, am not here working with USA Baseball. I am only working with the IBAF while I'm here but there are some guys from our office here and some other helpers that I have met while working with USA Baseball so it was nice to see them.

While we were there I was able to catch some of the USA v. Argentina field hockey (women's) game. Now, some of you don't know this but I have truly grown to love the sport of field hockey. It helped, though, that I went to a school that has an amazing field hockey program. I watched my first field hockey game this past year when our girls team went 25-0 and won the national championship. In fact, three of the girls from that team are on our Olympic team. While I've never actually met them face-to-face, it was nice to see them playing for team USA. It's a great sport that I've grown to love and it was nice to see our girls tie Argentina. Just as a side note, USA field hockey has never been a staple of International greatness for the sport. In fact, we hadn't qualified for the Olympic Games since 1996 and that was because we were the host country. But these girls have turned around the USA Field Hockey program and have represented well, beating a lot of the best teams in the world.

Anyway, talk about a tangent.

I stopped at the USOC store in the USA House and got a jacket and a souvenir for the trip. Afterward when we were ready to bail I got to sit out in the rain and watch the thunder-less thunderstorm that Beijing was throwing down while waiting for a taxi. The lightning was incredible and the rain was amazing. I love sitting in the rain so it was a plus for the evening.
So, we got back and now I'm just sitting here ready for bed, paying attention to the USA v. China men's basketball game. GO USA! Also, I just have to point out: Kobe Bryant is probably more popular here in China than any other Chinese athlete. The reaction to him during the Opening Ceremonies and on TV is insurmountable in comparison to other athletes at the games.

Anyway, not too much happened today but it was a great day. Tomorrow I have a meeting at the Baseball stadium early in the morning and then team USA is playing in an exhibition against China, where a certain predominant political figure in the world will be stopping by. Hmm... After that will be the game and I am so ready to watch some baseball!

Anyway, I'm off for some sleep!!! HOLLA!

A day of mixed emotions...

Well, yesterday was a day of mixed emotions.

The day started off really well! I got up and had some breakfast and then did some work in the hotel room. Then, when I was finished I decided that I was going to wonder the city a little bit and get some lunch. So, I walked around Beijing for about 2 hours. There really isn't much of anything in my area so I kind of just wondered and ended up in a really nice, expensive, area that had a lot of America restaurants and stores. So, I had lunch at Pizza Hut! I know! Try new things! But I will tell you it was the nicest Pizza Hut that I have EVER been in!

It was a great experience for me! Going through a big city that I have never been, where I do not know the language and finding my way around and seeing all kinds of new things. I almost was just going to ask a taxi-driver to take me to a restaurant, however I just decided to walk around a little bit. It was eye-opening to see how some of the people in Beijing live. I saw some people who literally live in a hole in a wall. Then I saw some extremely nice places. I saw a lot of the little restaurants that served terrible things on their menu (dog) and I saw some extremely fancy restaurants.

Overall, my ventures was a good one that was topped with a meat-lovers personal pan pizza and diet pepsi for a total of 58 RMD, which is about $9.25 in the U.S.

After that I walked around that area a bit more and it was very Americanized, it ended up being in the area of the hotel that my boss is at. So, after about a 3 hour venture, I went back to my hotel to rest a little bit. This was when I heard the bad news.

In case some of you have not heard, an American was killed and another wounded, as well as their Chinese tour guide, in downtown Beijing. First of all, please keep their family in your prayers. The man and woman involved in the attack were the in-laws of one of the men's volleyball coaches for team USA. The coaches wife was with her parents, but not at the same spot at that time.

So, this was a little scary. Especially since I had just wondered the city for so long. However, I found out at this time that Beijing is one of the safest cities on the Earth for Americans to be in. As they were talking about it, officials from America and China were talking about how attacks on foreigners are extremely rare because they hold extremely harsher punishments than if they were to attack a native of China. So, that eased my nerves a little, oddly.

So, I stayed in my hotel room the rest of the night. I had opportunities to go and do stuff, but I just felt a little bit more relaxed staying in the hotel. So, I did a little bit more work and watched some movies on the China HBO, which annoys the crap out of me because it is in all English but with tons of Chinese subtitles on the bottom.

It was a relaxing evening and I enjoyed the change of pace since we've been going non-stop since we've gotten here.

Right now it is 9:06 am on Sunday. It is raining in Beijing right now so I don't think I'll be venturing out to do anything touristy. I will probably head over to the other hotel to the IBAF office and do a little work just to get out of my room.

Anyhow, hopefully today will be a better day, not that yesterday was terrible or anything. It was just, as I said in the title, a day of mixed emotions. I plan on watching some TV and getting some last-minute stuff ready for the baseball tournament which starts on Wednesday (I can't wait!)! If the weather clears up I might see what Jake and Page are doing and see about getting some dinner with them.

Anyway, I hope all is well back home! I miss it like crazy!! I miss being able to go anywhere and speak in English!!! However, a lot of Chinese speak English fairly well.