The year in review and 2009 perview

Hello my friends, I’M back with my end of the year thoughts and a look ahead to 2009.

2008 was the best year in sports in a very long time. We had the best Super Bowl and biggest upset in the game’s history. We had the greatest Olympics of my lifetime. To highlight a few events, the spectacular opening ceremony, Michael Phelps and his eight gold medals, Usain Bolt’s 100 meter dash, and the women’s gymnastics, this was truly the greatest Olympics that I have ever seen. We also had the Boston Celtics returning to the top of the NBA and win title number 17 in an old school finals against the L.A. Lakers. We can’t forget Tiger Woods winning the U.S. Open on virtually one good leg. We had the longest and best Wimbledon Men’s final of all time. I don’t think you can get any better than 2008. Oh my, what a year.

2009 will be a transitional year in sports because it will be a non-Olympic year. There will be a World Track and Field Championship and I’M looking forward to what Usain Bolt will do for an encore. I’M also looking forward to the World Swimming Championship to see what kind of magic Michael Phelps has in store for us. Not to mention the Confederations Cup in Soccer, not only is the U.S.A. playing in the event, but it will be a warm up to the 2010 World Cup with South Africa as the host of both events. South Africa’s sports history is something I’M very interested in.

Domestically I’M looking forward to the return of Tiger Woods at the Masters. Hopefully some of the young guys like Anthony Kim and Sergio Garcia can step up and challenge Tiger. On the tennis front I’M looking forward to more of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal renewing their rivalry. I’M of course looking forward to the NCAA Basketball tournament; both UCONN men and women have a great change to go far in the tournament. The Celtics and Bruins are doing very well; can they win their respected championships? We will see.

Personally and professional this year I have a few goals. One is I would like to lose weight and get back on the wagon, I was losing weight in the first part of 2008 and I what to get back there. Professionally I would like to get a job, either as a sports reporter or as a self-advocate for people with disabilities. As a sports reporter the three events I would like to cover are the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa. Like I said before South Africa’s sports history is something I’M very interested in and I would like to cover it. I would like to cover the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in London. London is a very historic city and I have always wanted to cover an Olympic Games like my idol Jim McKay. The third places I would like to go and cover sports is Australia. Ever since I was a young boy I have been fascinated by Australian sports, in one word I would call then crazy.

I hope every one has a HAPPY NEW YEAR. See you in 2009.

Jamie Lazaroff