Jamie's view

Last week I went to Washington D.C for Special Olympics Capitol Hill Day and it was an awesome experience. We meet with all of the Connecticut Congressional delegation, or their staff. We had photo ops with Senator Lieberman, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, Congressmen John Larson, Congressmen Jim Himes, and Congressmen Joe Courtney. At one point in the day we saw former NFL great Herschel Walker, who was on the Hill lobbying for the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. Herschel was there with the request to make physical activity a priority for our nation by making it more accessible and more affordable to all. At the end of the day we had a reception in one of the committee rooms, the highlight of the evening was meeting and listening to Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy.
Of all the experiences I have had with Special Olympics this was the most fun. At first I was pretty nervous because I did not know what to expect, but everyone was so nice and it was just like having a conversation with any one. They all are really champions of rights for people with disabilities. It also helps that Connecticut hosted the 1995 World Special Olympics Games in New Haven and everyone had a connection, in someway to the Special Olympics.

Now back to the sports beat. The big news while I was away was that Al Michaels will be NBC’s daytime and weekend host of the Winter Olympics next year in Vancouver. I think this is a good fit, Al Michaels is one of the all time best play-by-play men in the business and deserves to host an Olympics. Al is synonymous with the Winter Olympics because he was the man behind the mic for the "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!" call of the U.S. hockey victory over the Soviet Union at 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York. I think it was time to replace Jim Lampley as daytime Olympic host as I believe that he “mailed it in” and did not show enthusiasm at last years Olympics in China. If Lampley doesn’t take a hockey role (it is rumored he turned it down) at the games this will end a string of working 14 straight Olympics. “Bob Costa and Al Michaels”, two Hall of Famers working the same Olympics, I can’t wait!

Here are my thoughts about Jim Calhoun ‘s Press Conference from a few weeks back. I think the “Reporter” ambushed Calhoun. The “Reporter” should have stopped after Calhoun told him to "shut up" after the question about his state salary (which is public knowledge) but the "Reporter" continued to ask about his deal with Comcast. This is a personal issue and has nothing to do with the University. I think Calhoun went a little over board, but if I were in his shoes I would do the same thing.
Talk to you next week at the start of the madness.

Good night and good luck.

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Jamie Lazaroff