Inside the Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center, a mobile shopping mall was assembled for the 3,466 race participants who began arriving in Augusta on Friday. First, they check in and sign a waiver. Then, they pull out the credit card.
St. Louis athletes Julie Ellis and her training partner, Kierstin Coovert, filled several shopping bags with gear. A trophy for their efforts was the official Ironman Augusta race shirt that includes every preregistered participant’s name. The two squinted their eyes to read the tiny writing.
“You busted your butt all season training. You know you gotta get it,” Ellis said.
Mobile vendors sold running shoes, bike racks and tires, energy food, hats, shirts, wetsuits and anything with an official Ironman logo. Some athletes lined up for a stretch with a chiropractor.
Dennis Geiser, the mobile store manager for Inside-Out Sports of Cary, N.C., said the products available have advanced far beyond what was on the market when he began triathlon training in the early 1990s. Jelly beans were his energy source then, not the endless variety of power bars he sold Friday.
“You don’t need any of this stuff except a helmet and a set of clothing to cover yourself up,” Geiser said.
The most popular item in Geiser’s store Friday was a $3.99 cartridge of carbon dioxide used to inflate bike tires. The tiny bottles don’t pass airport security regulations.
Geared up and ready, Nick and Barbara Vetere, of Pennsburg, Pa., pedaled from the hotel entrance for a 17-mile bike ride. With less than two days until the race, the athletes are shortening their exercise time.
“It’s hard not to train hard. The body is used to it,” Nick Vetere said.
His strategy for the swim, bike and run: one leg at a time. “Just like a workout,” he said. “Hope I make it through the whole thing.”
2012年9月28日星期五
2012年9月27日星期四
Alternate uniforms make bold statement
When Mark Daniels and his team of designers at Adidas America laid out a number of alternate uniform options for Nebraska Athletic Director Tom Osborne, they discovered something that seems fitting after Osborne’s retirement announcement.
“He can very quickly assess what he likes and doesn’t,” said Daniels, the director of football for Adidas. “And he gets his point across. He can yell in a whisper.”
They discovered something else: Osborne didn’t opt for the safest choice. Not the boldest one, either — the design of which Daniels, with a chuckle, declined to disclose. But considering the black helmet, black accents and all-red uniform, Osborne’s pick went far beyond vanilla.
“If 10 was phenomenally aggressive and one was phenomenally conservative, this was a seven,” Daniels said. “It’s a bold use of color and a bold use of the logo.”
And it’ll be on national TV — along with Wisconsin’s all-white alternate look in the new Adidas “Unrivaled” uniform game. NU-UW — dubbed “The Quick and The Red” — is the first in the series, and Adidas will be bringing a number of reps from its Portland, Ore.-based headquarters for the game.
If Nike grabbed the early alternate uniform spotlight with its guinea pig at Oregon, Adidas — which outfits NU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas A&M and UCLA, among other schools — has taken some of the attention with its own spin on the alternate look. The Adidas “Techfit” uniforms — which Daniels said are 30 percent lighter than regular uniforms and offer 17 percent better range of motion — provide the substance behind the style.
The design emphasis: Building on traditional school logos and concepts with bold color, accents and special accessories, like the new Smoke gloves and shoes that Nebraska and Wisconsin players will wear Saturday. Daniels said a specific department with more than 50 designers, marketing experts and administrators manages the handful of alternate looks each year.
“It’s an all-hands-on-deck effort,” Daniels said.
When the Wolverines showed off their futuristic throwbacks vs. Notre Dame last September — the first night game in Michigan history — Daniels thought Adidas had “nailed it” in concept and design. The centered school logo. The number on the shoulder pad. Bright. Identifiable on TV.
Daniels said that not long after that game Adidas America pinpointed the Nebraska-Wisconsin matchup as an opportunity to build on Michigan’s look. The plan solidified by the end of the last season, and Adidas started showing Osborne design concepts. Nebraska coach Bo Pelini, Daniels said, wanted to make sure players and high school prospects would like it.
“Bo asked a lot about athlete feedback,” Daniels said.
Although Adidas didn’t specifically survey Husker players, Adidas reps occasionally attend practice and pose questions about look and fit in that environment. Osborne rejected a few ideas, approved the current look and the final version was uploaded to YouTube in late July, while Nebraska attended Big Ten media days.
Of all the 2012 YouTube videos featuring alternate uniforms — by Adidas, Nike, any brand — Nebraska’s look remains No. 1 in viewers, Daniels said. Maryland, outfitted by Under Armour, is No. 2. Notre Dame, which is ditching its classic all-gold helmet for a two-tone look in its “Shamrock Series” game vs. Miami, is No. 3. Oregon is fourth.
“He can very quickly assess what he likes and doesn’t,” said Daniels, the director of football for Adidas. “And he gets his point across. He can yell in a whisper.”
They discovered something else: Osborne didn’t opt for the safest choice. Not the boldest one, either — the design of which Daniels, with a chuckle, declined to disclose. But considering the black helmet, black accents and all-red uniform, Osborne’s pick went far beyond vanilla.
“If 10 was phenomenally aggressive and one was phenomenally conservative, this was a seven,” Daniels said. “It’s a bold use of color and a bold use of the logo.”
And it’ll be on national TV — along with Wisconsin’s all-white alternate look in the new Adidas “Unrivaled” uniform game. NU-UW — dubbed “The Quick and The Red” — is the first in the series, and Adidas will be bringing a number of reps from its Portland, Ore.-based headquarters for the game.
If Nike grabbed the early alternate uniform spotlight with its guinea pig at Oregon, Adidas — which outfits NU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas A&M and UCLA, among other schools — has taken some of the attention with its own spin on the alternate look. The Adidas “Techfit” uniforms — which Daniels said are 30 percent lighter than regular uniforms and offer 17 percent better range of motion — provide the substance behind the style.
The design emphasis: Building on traditional school logos and concepts with bold color, accents and special accessories, like the new Smoke gloves and shoes that Nebraska and Wisconsin players will wear Saturday. Daniels said a specific department with more than 50 designers, marketing experts and administrators manages the handful of alternate looks each year.
“It’s an all-hands-on-deck effort,” Daniels said.
When the Wolverines showed off their futuristic throwbacks vs. Notre Dame last September — the first night game in Michigan history — Daniels thought Adidas had “nailed it” in concept and design. The centered school logo. The number on the shoulder pad. Bright. Identifiable on TV.
Daniels said that not long after that game Adidas America pinpointed the Nebraska-Wisconsin matchup as an opportunity to build on Michigan’s look. The plan solidified by the end of the last season, and Adidas started showing Osborne design concepts. Nebraska coach Bo Pelini, Daniels said, wanted to make sure players and high school prospects would like it.
“Bo asked a lot about athlete feedback,” Daniels said.
Although Adidas didn’t specifically survey Husker players, Adidas reps occasionally attend practice and pose questions about look and fit in that environment. Osborne rejected a few ideas, approved the current look and the final version was uploaded to YouTube in late July, while Nebraska attended Big Ten media days.
Of all the 2012 YouTube videos featuring alternate uniforms — by Adidas, Nike, any brand — Nebraska’s look remains No. 1 in viewers, Daniels said. Maryland, outfitted by Under Armour, is No. 2. Notre Dame, which is ditching its classic all-gold helmet for a two-tone look in its “Shamrock Series” game vs. Miami, is No. 3. Oregon is fourth.
2012年9月26日星期三
who always owns her dress and the Giambattista
Sofia Vergara and Heidi Klum ramped up the sizzle Sunday night on the Emmy Awards red carpet that already had TV's biggest stars talking about just how hot they were because of the sweltering temperatures in Los Angeles.
Vergara wore a teal gown by Zuhair Murad with beads all over and a cutout reverse halter neckline, and Klum chose a seafoam-colored gown by Alexandre Vauthier with plunging Vs from every angle on the top and super-high slits that left very little in the middle.
They helped fuel the trend toward bright, bold color that was also worn by pregnant Claire Danes in strapless daffodil-yellow Lanvin, Julianne Moore in a long-sleeve, stretchy gown by Raf Simons for Christian Dior and Nicole Kidman in a blue-on-white-beaded gown by Antonio Berardi. All brought bona fide fashion credibility to the Nokia Theatre, even if they weren't necessarily the favorites.
Hayden Panettiere plucked her sari-style Marchesa straight from the runway, and Ginnifer Goodwin's flame-red-on-sheer-champagne strapless gown by Monique Lhuillier announced there's a new generation of style stars to reckon with.
Goodwin "went out on a limb — and it could have gone wrong — but it was great," said Stacy London, co-host of TLC's "What Not to Wear" and co-founder of Style for Hire, a personal fashion service. "It had the biggest impact on me."
Lhuillier had a banner night with Julie Bowen's strapless, trumpet-hem gown and Padma Lakshmi's orange strapless dress.
Goodwin and Klum also were early favorites of Louise Roe, Glamour editor-at-large and "Fashion Star" host. She wasn't crazy about Elisabeth Moss' printed, peplumed Dolce & Gabbana gown, which she said had a little too much "fussy detail."
And, Roe said, Emily VanCamp could have gone edgier than her still-lovely J. Mendel gown with pleats and hints of sexy sheer fabric. "She's young and has a killer body — she could have played around a bit more."
Hal Rubenstein of InStyle magazine, however, saw the beauty of VanCamp's gown up close and — like Moore's gown, which was Simons' red-carpet debut for Dior — needed to be appreciated for the details. "Julianne's will be the one to remember," he said. "It's a lot — and it's a blazing, flaming color — but if you saw the dress, the construction was extraordinary."
Moore said before the show: "I love the color. It's so fresh."
It didn't hurt that she also got to wear European-cut diamond earrings, weighing in at 5 carats each, and an 8.5-carat Art Deco bracelet — both by Fred Leighton.
Vergara's gown was over the top and not as sophisticated as some of her earlier red-carpet looks, but she has mastered a va-va-voom character and she consistently gives the audience what they want, the experts said. "If Sofia Vergara showed up in a tuxedo or a boatneck gown in sable brown, you'd be furious," Rubenstein said.
When stars go for gowns that they seem more comfortable in, which is itself a trend, they look better, Rubenstein explained. Julianna Margulies is someone who always owns her dress and the Giambattista Valli strapless brocade floral fell into her pattern of making fashionable choices.
London felt the same way about Julia Louis-Dreyfus and her dark red, ruched and draped Vera Wang that she paired with Irene Neuwirth's one-of-a kind black opal and rose-cut diamond earrings set with turquoise. "She can show the little girls how to do it. She's nuanced and talented. You never feel like her acting and you always like her, and I feel that way about her dress choices."
There was plenty of red to go with the carpet, including a cleavage-baring Kat Dennings of "2 Broke Girls" in J. Mendel and Tina Fey, who has mastered the awards-show look as she nears the end of the run of "30 Rock," in a dark red strapless with gold bust details by Vivienne Westwood.
Vergara wore a teal gown by Zuhair Murad with beads all over and a cutout reverse halter neckline, and Klum chose a seafoam-colored gown by Alexandre Vauthier with plunging Vs from every angle on the top and super-high slits that left very little in the middle.
They helped fuel the trend toward bright, bold color that was also worn by pregnant Claire Danes in strapless daffodil-yellow Lanvin, Julianne Moore in a long-sleeve, stretchy gown by Raf Simons for Christian Dior and Nicole Kidman in a blue-on-white-beaded gown by Antonio Berardi. All brought bona fide fashion credibility to the Nokia Theatre, even if they weren't necessarily the favorites.
Hayden Panettiere plucked her sari-style Marchesa straight from the runway, and Ginnifer Goodwin's flame-red-on-sheer-champagne strapless gown by Monique Lhuillier announced there's a new generation of style stars to reckon with.
Goodwin "went out on a limb — and it could have gone wrong — but it was great," said Stacy London, co-host of TLC's "What Not to Wear" and co-founder of Style for Hire, a personal fashion service. "It had the biggest impact on me."
Lhuillier had a banner night with Julie Bowen's strapless, trumpet-hem gown and Padma Lakshmi's orange strapless dress.
Goodwin and Klum also were early favorites of Louise Roe, Glamour editor-at-large and "Fashion Star" host. She wasn't crazy about Elisabeth Moss' printed, peplumed Dolce & Gabbana gown, which she said had a little too much "fussy detail."
And, Roe said, Emily VanCamp could have gone edgier than her still-lovely J. Mendel gown with pleats and hints of sexy sheer fabric. "She's young and has a killer body — she could have played around a bit more."
Hal Rubenstein of InStyle magazine, however, saw the beauty of VanCamp's gown up close and — like Moore's gown, which was Simons' red-carpet debut for Dior — needed to be appreciated for the details. "Julianne's will be the one to remember," he said. "It's a lot — and it's a blazing, flaming color — but if you saw the dress, the construction was extraordinary."
Moore said before the show: "I love the color. It's so fresh."
It didn't hurt that she also got to wear European-cut diamond earrings, weighing in at 5 carats each, and an 8.5-carat Art Deco bracelet — both by Fred Leighton.
Vergara's gown was over the top and not as sophisticated as some of her earlier red-carpet looks, but she has mastered a va-va-voom character and she consistently gives the audience what they want, the experts said. "If Sofia Vergara showed up in a tuxedo or a boatneck gown in sable brown, you'd be furious," Rubenstein said.
When stars go for gowns that they seem more comfortable in, which is itself a trend, they look better, Rubenstein explained. Julianna Margulies is someone who always owns her dress and the Giambattista Valli strapless brocade floral fell into her pattern of making fashionable choices.
London felt the same way about Julia Louis-Dreyfus and her dark red, ruched and draped Vera Wang that she paired with Irene Neuwirth's one-of-a kind black opal and rose-cut diamond earrings set with turquoise. "She can show the little girls how to do it. She's nuanced and talented. You never feel like her acting and you always like her, and I feel that way about her dress choices."
There was plenty of red to go with the carpet, including a cleavage-baring Kat Dennings of "2 Broke Girls" in J. Mendel and Tina Fey, who has mastered the awards-show look as she nears the end of the run of "30 Rock," in a dark red strapless with gold bust details by Vivienne Westwood.
2012年9月25日星期二
Armani stuck to an androgynous style for his collection
Designers at Milan Fashion Week delivered lightweight and flowing dresses for the thrifty woman seeking a timeless look that will last more than a season in the age of austerity.
Sheer dresses in pastel colours dominated the 2013 spring/summer shows, which ended yesterday with a call for restraint on the catwalk from designer Giorgio Armani.
“Our work as designers is to suggest what people wear. What’s the point of showing 30 pieces that don’t go into the stores?” Armani asked reporters.
Fashion executives meeting in Milan acknowledged that the economic environment was getting tougher for luxury makers as growth slows in China and recession hits southern Europe.
Sales of Italian fashion are expected to fall 5.6 percent this year after growing 6 percent last year, according to the National Chamber of Italian Fashion.
The decline makes Italy the worst performing market in a global luxury industry expected to grow 7 percent this year.
Luxury goods makers Salvatore Ferragamo and Prada dismissed concerns of a sharp slowdown among global players with retail exposure to emerging countries.
“We follow China with great attention. But the (growth) trend remains,” Ferragamo Chief Executive Michele Norsa said on the sidelines of his label’s show.
Global economic concerns were echoed on Milan catwalks where most designers opted for wearable shapes and neutral shades.
Armani stuck to an androgynous style for his collection, where flowing trousers were cut above the ankle and masculine jackets were tailored to fit like a glove.
Trend-setter Miuccia Prada however surprised her audience with a Japanese-inspired collection that confirmed the designer as one of the most independent creative minds in the industry. Prada stitched white flowers on kimono-like dresses, while shoes were either impossibly high or replaced by leather socks.
“I thought of a woman who is strong and sweet,” Prada told reporters after her packed show in a black-and-white theatre.
Asked whether her bold creations were to be found in stores, Prada said everything she showed would be on sale.
Italian brands insisted on the value of craftsmanship, a quality for which Italy is famous.
From Roberto Cavalli to Roccobarocco, designers elaborated embroideries difficult to copy by fast fashion chains.
Florentine designer Cavalli, known for making his own animal prints, created deco motifs for his robes in natural shades.
Gucci’s creative head Frida Giannini proposed aristocratic looks in bright colours with matching shoes. Bell sleeves and ruffles added movement to her sophisticated looks.
Lightweight dresses returned at Blumarine and Versace, where platinum-blonde designer Donatella Versace turned mini-dresses in intimate wear tie-dyed in pastel colours.
Almost every collection offered mixed lengths from mini shorts to flowing trousers in a wide appeal to differing body shapes and styles.
Brands such as Gianfranco Ferre, Genny, Versace and Frankie Morello cut new shapes from trapezoidal to A-shaped dresses.
Although the clothes were linear, practical and the most dramatic catwalk excesses toned down this season, handbags and shoes with gold and silver details stole into the limelight.
The fashion pack descend on Paris next for the finale of the spring/summer 2013 catwalk season.
Sheer dresses in pastel colours dominated the 2013 spring/summer shows, which ended yesterday with a call for restraint on the catwalk from designer Giorgio Armani.
“Our work as designers is to suggest what people wear. What’s the point of showing 30 pieces that don’t go into the stores?” Armani asked reporters.
Fashion executives meeting in Milan acknowledged that the economic environment was getting tougher for luxury makers as growth slows in China and recession hits southern Europe.
Sales of Italian fashion are expected to fall 5.6 percent this year after growing 6 percent last year, according to the National Chamber of Italian Fashion.
The decline makes Italy the worst performing market in a global luxury industry expected to grow 7 percent this year.
Luxury goods makers Salvatore Ferragamo and Prada dismissed concerns of a sharp slowdown among global players with retail exposure to emerging countries.
“We follow China with great attention. But the (growth) trend remains,” Ferragamo Chief Executive Michele Norsa said on the sidelines of his label’s show.
Global economic concerns were echoed on Milan catwalks where most designers opted for wearable shapes and neutral shades.
Armani stuck to an androgynous style for his collection, where flowing trousers were cut above the ankle and masculine jackets were tailored to fit like a glove.
Trend-setter Miuccia Prada however surprised her audience with a Japanese-inspired collection that confirmed the designer as one of the most independent creative minds in the industry. Prada stitched white flowers on kimono-like dresses, while shoes were either impossibly high or replaced by leather socks.
“I thought of a woman who is strong and sweet,” Prada told reporters after her packed show in a black-and-white theatre.
Asked whether her bold creations were to be found in stores, Prada said everything she showed would be on sale.
Italian brands insisted on the value of craftsmanship, a quality for which Italy is famous.
From Roberto Cavalli to Roccobarocco, designers elaborated embroideries difficult to copy by fast fashion chains.
Florentine designer Cavalli, known for making his own animal prints, created deco motifs for his robes in natural shades.
Gucci’s creative head Frida Giannini proposed aristocratic looks in bright colours with matching shoes. Bell sleeves and ruffles added movement to her sophisticated looks.
Lightweight dresses returned at Blumarine and Versace, where platinum-blonde designer Donatella Versace turned mini-dresses in intimate wear tie-dyed in pastel colours.
Almost every collection offered mixed lengths from mini shorts to flowing trousers in a wide appeal to differing body shapes and styles.
Brands such as Gianfranco Ferre, Genny, Versace and Frankie Morello cut new shapes from trapezoidal to A-shaped dresses.
Although the clothes were linear, practical and the most dramatic catwalk excesses toned down this season, handbags and shoes with gold and silver details stole into the limelight.
The fashion pack descend on Paris next for the finale of the spring/summer 2013 catwalk season.
2012年9月24日星期一
Michael Jordan brings charisma and cigars to help cart off Ryder Cup
Is it possible that the only person on the USA side in the Ryder Cup who will not hit a single drive, line up one putt, play out of any bunkers or have his name written on a solitary page of the Ryder Cup record book could end up playing one of the most pivotal roles this week at Medinah Country Club?
It does not require an extreme bend of the imagination for such a scenario to come true, at least not in the mind of the USA captain, Davis Love, who is stirring a special ingredient into his team mix – a bald, 49-year-old, cigar-chomping, billionaire former basketball player named Michael Jordan.
He plays neither pro basketball nor Ryder Cup golf but make no mistake, Jordan's presence as one of Love's assistants will somehow affect the outcome. We've seen this before. This is not the first occasion that Jordan, the one-time superstar of the National Basketball Association, has been brought on board by a USA captain in international golf competition. Fred Couples had Jordan as an assistant in the 2009 Presidents Cup, a 19–14 victory for USA over the International team.
Couples said Jordan had one mission to accomplish and one mission only. "His role was to have fun with the guys," Couples said. "That's it. He's certainly not telling them how to hit a chip shot." And Love envisages a similar outcome happening again, this time on the tree-lined layout of Medinah's famed Course No3 in suburban Chicago. "Air Jordan," said Love, invoking Jordan's nickname earned by the manner in which he seemed to play the game above the court. "Michael's going to be hanging around … and be an influence."
Working out the details on exactly how that happens is probably going to be more extemporaneous than planned. At best, Jordan, motivator extraordinaire, is on hand to keep the players loose, to serve as possibly the greatest role model for success in sport and to pass out cigars. At worst, the USA lose for the fifth time in six Ryder Cup matches since 1999 and the Michael Jordan Experiment comes to an abrupt conclusion.
Jordan and the Ryder Cup began their association in 1997 at Valderrama, where USA's captain, Tom Kite, plucked Jordan out of the gallery, invited him on to his golf cart and spent a great deal of time driving him around the course.
Europe won by one point and one of the lasting images is that of a worried Kite behind the wheel chauffeuring Jordan while Europe's captain Seve Ballesteros charismatically steered his team to victory through sheer will.
Of course, not everyone feels that way. Love thought the Jordan-Kite thing was an inspired moment then and continues to do so now. "I thought one of the neatest things I ever saw in the Ryder Cup was Michael riding in the golf cart with Tom Kite," Love says. "One of the coolest things. I want him to be seen and I want him to be in our team room."
Certainly Jordan's influence has been broad and even unprecedented, not only in the world of professional sport, but also in the world of commerce, brand marketing and global reach. Jordan's brand of Nike sneakers have surpassed $1bn in sales and made Jordan a major contributor to Nike's $19bn worldwide empire. It was Nike who took a gamble in 1984 on the first-year pro basketball player when it signed the 21-year-old Jordan to a 5-year, $25 million contract.The more Jordan's legend grew, the more success he had, his fans wanted a piece of him, and so that translated into sales of his sneakers. A phrase arose, 'Be Like Mike.' And one of the best ways to be like Mike was to wear the shoes he wore
With Jordan as the star attraction, the Chicago Bulls won six NBA championships, he was the league's most valuable player five times, a 14-times All-Star and he also led the NBA in scoring 11 times. Jordan was considered a great team-mate, although he demanded excellence of others, because he made his fellow players better. The Lakers' Magic Johnson was the same. Jordan brought out the best in his team-mates, perhaps in no greater case than that of Scottie Pippen, a little-known college player who went from a bit-part performer to a Hall of Fame career that never would have happened without Jordan's influence bringing it out of him.
Although he has not had much success in his current job as head of basketball operations for the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats – their 7-59 record last season was the worst of any team in NBA history – Jordan remains an iconic figure and enjoys cult status, which is important to Love. And he retains a love affair with golf, which is important to Jordan.
His only public stumble in recent years was possibly his 2009 speech when he was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame, curiously turning the occasion into an opportunity to say something bad about everyone he perceived to have wronged him somewhere along the way.
But in the golf world Jordan is unassailable and also valuable for what he seems to offer to captains such as Love and Couples. Jordan is devoted to golf, he represents success and he gains even more traction with the players because he is both instantly recognisable and authoritative. He established a bond with the younger USA players Sean O'Hair and Hunter Mahan at the Presidents Cup, although neither are in the team at Medinah.
Tiger Woods, however, is in the USA team and Jordan was one of Woods' earliest friends and boosters, largely because of their business affiliation with Nike. Woods still refers to Jordan as MJ and considered him a close confidante because of their shared superstardom in their particular sports. They are no longer as close, largely because Woods tightened his inner circle after his personal meltdown in 2009.
But as the ultimate professional from a team sport, this week Jordan may fill a major need to help bring together as a team golfers who are accustomed to playing the game purely as individuals.
As for Jordan's view of what he brings to the table, he offered a rare insight into his thoughts about individuals in sports and team sports at the Presidents Cup. "When I walk away from this … I know that as a team you have leaders, you have followers, you have certain role players within a team … any championship team I ever played on, everybody makes their own contribution," Jordan said. "That means a lot when you talk about winning. It's about bringing that guy up … to take guys who had not really been successful on certain days … giving them confidence to help them rebound and get back to their game form. That, to me, symbolises what a team is all about."
That may be the way the play is drawn up on paper for the USA side. If Jordan can influence one extra putt to disappear into the hole, it may all be worthwhile and he will be then free to pass out more cigars.
It does not require an extreme bend of the imagination for such a scenario to come true, at least not in the mind of the USA captain, Davis Love, who is stirring a special ingredient into his team mix – a bald, 49-year-old, cigar-chomping, billionaire former basketball player named Michael Jordan.
He plays neither pro basketball nor Ryder Cup golf but make no mistake, Jordan's presence as one of Love's assistants will somehow affect the outcome. We've seen this before. This is not the first occasion that Jordan, the one-time superstar of the National Basketball Association, has been brought on board by a USA captain in international golf competition. Fred Couples had Jordan as an assistant in the 2009 Presidents Cup, a 19–14 victory for USA over the International team.
Couples said Jordan had one mission to accomplish and one mission only. "His role was to have fun with the guys," Couples said. "That's it. He's certainly not telling them how to hit a chip shot." And Love envisages a similar outcome happening again, this time on the tree-lined layout of Medinah's famed Course No3 in suburban Chicago. "Air Jordan," said Love, invoking Jordan's nickname earned by the manner in which he seemed to play the game above the court. "Michael's going to be hanging around … and be an influence."
Working out the details on exactly how that happens is probably going to be more extemporaneous than planned. At best, Jordan, motivator extraordinaire, is on hand to keep the players loose, to serve as possibly the greatest role model for success in sport and to pass out cigars. At worst, the USA lose for the fifth time in six Ryder Cup matches since 1999 and the Michael Jordan Experiment comes to an abrupt conclusion.
Jordan and the Ryder Cup began their association in 1997 at Valderrama, where USA's captain, Tom Kite, plucked Jordan out of the gallery, invited him on to his golf cart and spent a great deal of time driving him around the course.
Europe won by one point and one of the lasting images is that of a worried Kite behind the wheel chauffeuring Jordan while Europe's captain Seve Ballesteros charismatically steered his team to victory through sheer will.
Of course, not everyone feels that way. Love thought the Jordan-Kite thing was an inspired moment then and continues to do so now. "I thought one of the neatest things I ever saw in the Ryder Cup was Michael riding in the golf cart with Tom Kite," Love says. "One of the coolest things. I want him to be seen and I want him to be in our team room."
Certainly Jordan's influence has been broad and even unprecedented, not only in the world of professional sport, but also in the world of commerce, brand marketing and global reach. Jordan's brand of Nike sneakers have surpassed $1bn in sales and made Jordan a major contributor to Nike's $19bn worldwide empire. It was Nike who took a gamble in 1984 on the first-year pro basketball player when it signed the 21-year-old Jordan to a 5-year, $25 million contract.The more Jordan's legend grew, the more success he had, his fans wanted a piece of him, and so that translated into sales of his sneakers. A phrase arose, 'Be Like Mike.' And one of the best ways to be like Mike was to wear the shoes he wore
With Jordan as the star attraction, the Chicago Bulls won six NBA championships, he was the league's most valuable player five times, a 14-times All-Star and he also led the NBA in scoring 11 times. Jordan was considered a great team-mate, although he demanded excellence of others, because he made his fellow players better. The Lakers' Magic Johnson was the same. Jordan brought out the best in his team-mates, perhaps in no greater case than that of Scottie Pippen, a little-known college player who went from a bit-part performer to a Hall of Fame career that never would have happened without Jordan's influence bringing it out of him.
Although he has not had much success in his current job as head of basketball operations for the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats – their 7-59 record last season was the worst of any team in NBA history – Jordan remains an iconic figure and enjoys cult status, which is important to Love. And he retains a love affair with golf, which is important to Jordan.
His only public stumble in recent years was possibly his 2009 speech when he was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame, curiously turning the occasion into an opportunity to say something bad about everyone he perceived to have wronged him somewhere along the way.
But in the golf world Jordan is unassailable and also valuable for what he seems to offer to captains such as Love and Couples. Jordan is devoted to golf, he represents success and he gains even more traction with the players because he is both instantly recognisable and authoritative. He established a bond with the younger USA players Sean O'Hair and Hunter Mahan at the Presidents Cup, although neither are in the team at Medinah.
Tiger Woods, however, is in the USA team and Jordan was one of Woods' earliest friends and boosters, largely because of their business affiliation with Nike. Woods still refers to Jordan as MJ and considered him a close confidante because of their shared superstardom in their particular sports. They are no longer as close, largely because Woods tightened his inner circle after his personal meltdown in 2009.
But as the ultimate professional from a team sport, this week Jordan may fill a major need to help bring together as a team golfers who are accustomed to playing the game purely as individuals.
As for Jordan's view of what he brings to the table, he offered a rare insight into his thoughts about individuals in sports and team sports at the Presidents Cup. "When I walk away from this … I know that as a team you have leaders, you have followers, you have certain role players within a team … any championship team I ever played on, everybody makes their own contribution," Jordan said. "That means a lot when you talk about winning. It's about bringing that guy up … to take guys who had not really been successful on certain days … giving them confidence to help them rebound and get back to their game form. That, to me, symbolises what a team is all about."
That may be the way the play is drawn up on paper for the USA side. If Jordan can influence one extra putt to disappear into the hole, it may all be worthwhile and he will be then free to pass out more cigars.
2012年9月23日星期日
Games need to stop telling us where to go
If you’re playing Resident Evil 6, BioShock, or any Modern Warfare title, stop and pause the game for a second.
Do you feel someone holding your hand? Does it seem like that person is pushing you toward your goal?
Hit start and return to the game. Take a look around as you battle your way to your objective.
You see it? That big arrow? That target?
Yeah, it’s that reoccurring and seemingly in-demand destination pointer.
I’ve seen them in in the Call of Duty franchise. And that was OK. I didn’t mind being told where the goal was. The games presented straightforward campaigns.
BioShock featured something similar. The arrow, working like a compass, helped me figure out where to go next, but at the same time, it didn’t help me get past the threats that plagued me along the way.
Recently, I took a stab at the Resident Evil 6 public demo. And once again, this GPS thingy was lurking around in Capcom’s latest survival-horror adventure.
Resident Evil is all about making it on your own. You have to figure out its puzzles and endure its hellish counterpoints. You find hints along the way, but without an arrow swinging around your radar, the experience feels more realistic. You don't have a big, bright icon indicating where to escape from an army of zombies. You have to find out yourself.
A majority of current-generation games are more forgiving. They hold your hand no matter the consequences. The game’s difficulty doesn’t count. You see, when I grew up, video games kicked our asses. The only alternative (or nice pedestrian who helped us cross the road) was the third-party Game Genie add-on. And that was more than a pointer. It was what I like to call “El Cheapo.” Think of it as the equivalent of hacking at its finest.
Titles were less complex and more straightforward back then, but you didn’t see this absurdly big arrow in role-playing games or platformers. It was more like, “Have fun and good luck. Call Nintendo Power’s Counselors’ Corner if you need help."
I also believe that modern-day navigation takes away fun, and it slaps our general logic in the face.
If you’re going to point where to go, you might as well point to the secrets and off-trail scenery I’ll probably miss out on. Why? Because you’re telling me where to go, stripping me away from what I should be doing: questing off as the hero I’m supposed to be.
Games are meant for enjoyment, and a large portion of that fun (for certain genres) is exploring. We are diving into another dimension. We want to put ourselves into the shoes of the hero or heroine while navigating into the vibrant world so many digital offerings provide.
Marines sure as hell don’t have a target icon to follow during a real-life war, so maybe if developers want to be accurate, they should make experiences more lonesome and not remind me that I’m playing a game.
In-game navigation seems to be mandatory now. Sure, technology has changed tremendously. We all have trackers on our iPhones and carry our GPS devices while traveling. But I still cringe at the idea of current adventures providing these helping hands.
I mean, why make your game so complex if it’s not worth the time to scour all of its pixelated environment?
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is great, and it is how long-enduring RPGs should be. But please, give us the opportunity to delve into its complexity without any help.
Do you feel someone holding your hand? Does it seem like that person is pushing you toward your goal?
Hit start and return to the game. Take a look around as you battle your way to your objective.
You see it? That big arrow? That target?
Yeah, it’s that reoccurring and seemingly in-demand destination pointer.
I’ve seen them in in the Call of Duty franchise. And that was OK. I didn’t mind being told where the goal was. The games presented straightforward campaigns.
BioShock featured something similar. The arrow, working like a compass, helped me figure out where to go next, but at the same time, it didn’t help me get past the threats that plagued me along the way.
Recently, I took a stab at the Resident Evil 6 public demo. And once again, this GPS thingy was lurking around in Capcom’s latest survival-horror adventure.
Resident Evil is all about making it on your own. You have to figure out its puzzles and endure its hellish counterpoints. You find hints along the way, but without an arrow swinging around your radar, the experience feels more realistic. You don't have a big, bright icon indicating where to escape from an army of zombies. You have to find out yourself.
A majority of current-generation games are more forgiving. They hold your hand no matter the consequences. The game’s difficulty doesn’t count. You see, when I grew up, video games kicked our asses. The only alternative (or nice pedestrian who helped us cross the road) was the third-party Game Genie add-on. And that was more than a pointer. It was what I like to call “El Cheapo.” Think of it as the equivalent of hacking at its finest.
Titles were less complex and more straightforward back then, but you didn’t see this absurdly big arrow in role-playing games or platformers. It was more like, “Have fun and good luck. Call Nintendo Power’s Counselors’ Corner if you need help."
I also believe that modern-day navigation takes away fun, and it slaps our general logic in the face.
If you’re going to point where to go, you might as well point to the secrets and off-trail scenery I’ll probably miss out on. Why? Because you’re telling me where to go, stripping me away from what I should be doing: questing off as the hero I’m supposed to be.
Games are meant for enjoyment, and a large portion of that fun (for certain genres) is exploring. We are diving into another dimension. We want to put ourselves into the shoes of the hero or heroine while navigating into the vibrant world so many digital offerings provide.
Marines sure as hell don’t have a target icon to follow during a real-life war, so maybe if developers want to be accurate, they should make experiences more lonesome and not remind me that I’m playing a game.
In-game navigation seems to be mandatory now. Sure, technology has changed tremendously. We all have trackers on our iPhones and carry our GPS devices while traveling. But I still cringe at the idea of current adventures providing these helping hands.
I mean, why make your game so complex if it’s not worth the time to scour all of its pixelated environment?
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is great, and it is how long-enduring RPGs should be. But please, give us the opportunity to delve into its complexity without any help.
2012年9月20日星期四
Memory of freestyle skier Sarah Burke fills loved ones with life
“I just remember holding her within seconds of her being born, and holding her hand on her last breath, and everything in between was perfect,” said her father, Gordon Burke, his eyes drooping and bright. “I’m not saying this now because she’s not here, or because memories are different or anything, but it’s just as her dad I was always stunned by the amount of what she sought to do for everybody.
“I never had a bad day in my life with her. It truly was like something magical fell into our lives. It left a little too soon, but she was just awesome every day.”
Her mother, Jan Phelan, told the the story of cooking in the kitchen when she heard four-year-old Sarah tumbling down the stairs, crash-crash-bang, and she ran to check on her daughter and Sarah was getting up, and said, “I meant to do that.” Rory remembered how last week, at the ski camp at Whistler where Sarah had created a Girls’ Week, the kids would go silent when her name came up, all these girls, instantly reverential. All three of them tried to explain what they had lost.
“It breaks your heart,” said her mother, an artist who separated from Sarah’s father when they were young, and who moved to Squamish in 2008 to be closer to Sarah and Rory. “I know I run away from home. I keep going away, and I know I’m going back soon, but … there’s a part of you that wants to sink into the despair and sorrow of it, and it would be so easy to do.
“But you would be doing a disservice to Sarah, to everybody. So you figure out a way to get through the next week, get through the next few days, get through the next month. Something you can deal with rather than looking at the whole expanse of life without Sarah. You can’t go there.”
Jan shudders when she says the last few words. Rory is the same; it’s like he can’t talk too deeply about Sarah because he might shudder and break, but he does his best. They lived in a world of mountain biking and hiking, skiing and daring, backcountry and bush planes. They were married in 2010, and they looked beautiful and young and limitless, and he was the luckiest man in the world.
On this day Rory was dressed all in black — slightly rumpled black dress shirt, black pants, black shoes. And he wore a button on his chest and this little purple ribbon pinned to his sleeve. Purple was Sarah’s favourite colour. The button had her picture on it. He carries her around a lot, literally and figuratively. He had never really lost anybody before.
“No, I haven’t, man,” he said. “That was the toughest part; I mean, I’m so blessed with my life, and so lucky to do everything that I get to do, and Sarah — as you can tell, [she] is the most amazing girl ever. I just basically … I had it all.”
Then it was gone, and it has been a long road alone. Rory, an extreme skier, has spent some time running away in his own fashion: touring Australia as part of an extreme-sports traveling show called The Nitro Circus, skiing in Nepal as part of a film. He is trying not to say no when people ask him to do things, because she wouldn’t want him to say no. It took him a while to do anything after she died, but he is distracting himself, when he can. He thought about her the first time he was back on skis, back in a dangerous place. He didn’t stop.
“Sarah passed away doing what she loved to do, and to be honest, that’s what I want to do,” Rory said. “To be able to give it your all, and live completely in the moment, absolutely. I don’t know. Absolutely it crosses your mind that it’s dangerous, but every risk is weighed, and it’s always worth it.”
His old roommate — their old roommate — just came back to Squamish and moved back in, and that helps. Rory is working on Sarah’s soon-to-be-launched foundation, and tries to ignore the rain, and goes for hikes that he and Sarah used to enjoy. He takes Duckster.
“Sarah and I had a dog, and I’m so thankful,” Rory said, “because I never wanted a dog, and Sarah brought Duckster in. I love dogs, but we travelled so much, and she always wanted a dog. She waited until I was concussed, and then gave me this dog. She said, ‘He was abandoned, under a car. We could take him to the pound.’ ” He gave in. He laughed. “So happy to have him.”
He was asked if this year has made him stronger, and said he doesn’t know. It was suggested that this was a terrible, beautiful day; having to remember, getting to remember, but Rory smiled. “A beautiful day,” he said. Jan murmured agreement; Gordon nodded. A beautiful day. They walked out laughing at something, all three of them, trying not to break without the one person who brought them together.
“I never had a bad day in my life with her. It truly was like something magical fell into our lives. It left a little too soon, but she was just awesome every day.”
Her mother, Jan Phelan, told the the story of cooking in the kitchen when she heard four-year-old Sarah tumbling down the stairs, crash-crash-bang, and she ran to check on her daughter and Sarah was getting up, and said, “I meant to do that.” Rory remembered how last week, at the ski camp at Whistler where Sarah had created a Girls’ Week, the kids would go silent when her name came up, all these girls, instantly reverential. All three of them tried to explain what they had lost.
“It breaks your heart,” said her mother, an artist who separated from Sarah’s father when they were young, and who moved to Squamish in 2008 to be closer to Sarah and Rory. “I know I run away from home. I keep going away, and I know I’m going back soon, but … there’s a part of you that wants to sink into the despair and sorrow of it, and it would be so easy to do.
“But you would be doing a disservice to Sarah, to everybody. So you figure out a way to get through the next week, get through the next few days, get through the next month. Something you can deal with rather than looking at the whole expanse of life without Sarah. You can’t go there.”
Jan shudders when she says the last few words. Rory is the same; it’s like he can’t talk too deeply about Sarah because he might shudder and break, but he does his best. They lived in a world of mountain biking and hiking, skiing and daring, backcountry and bush planes. They were married in 2010, and they looked beautiful and young and limitless, and he was the luckiest man in the world.
On this day Rory was dressed all in black — slightly rumpled black dress shirt, black pants, black shoes. And he wore a button on his chest and this little purple ribbon pinned to his sleeve. Purple was Sarah’s favourite colour. The button had her picture on it. He carries her around a lot, literally and figuratively. He had never really lost anybody before.
“No, I haven’t, man,” he said. “That was the toughest part; I mean, I’m so blessed with my life, and so lucky to do everything that I get to do, and Sarah — as you can tell, [she] is the most amazing girl ever. I just basically … I had it all.”
Then it was gone, and it has been a long road alone. Rory, an extreme skier, has spent some time running away in his own fashion: touring Australia as part of an extreme-sports traveling show called The Nitro Circus, skiing in Nepal as part of a film. He is trying not to say no when people ask him to do things, because she wouldn’t want him to say no. It took him a while to do anything after she died, but he is distracting himself, when he can. He thought about her the first time he was back on skis, back in a dangerous place. He didn’t stop.
“Sarah passed away doing what she loved to do, and to be honest, that’s what I want to do,” Rory said. “To be able to give it your all, and live completely in the moment, absolutely. I don’t know. Absolutely it crosses your mind that it’s dangerous, but every risk is weighed, and it’s always worth it.”
His old roommate — their old roommate — just came back to Squamish and moved back in, and that helps. Rory is working on Sarah’s soon-to-be-launched foundation, and tries to ignore the rain, and goes for hikes that he and Sarah used to enjoy. He takes Duckster.
“Sarah and I had a dog, and I’m so thankful,” Rory said, “because I never wanted a dog, and Sarah brought Duckster in. I love dogs, but we travelled so much, and she always wanted a dog. She waited until I was concussed, and then gave me this dog. She said, ‘He was abandoned, under a car. We could take him to the pound.’ ” He gave in. He laughed. “So happy to have him.”
He was asked if this year has made him stronger, and said he doesn’t know. It was suggested that this was a terrible, beautiful day; having to remember, getting to remember, but Rory smiled. “A beautiful day,” he said. Jan murmured agreement; Gordon nodded. A beautiful day. They walked out laughing at something, all three of them, trying not to break without the one person who brought them together.
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