I don’t want to think about how Hardy must feel right now. I hope that she clears her name and that we see her in the pool in London.

Press Releases

• USA Swimming statement on Hardy’s withdrawl
• US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) Press Release
  Click on “August 2008″ then on “U.S. Swimmer, Hardy, Withdraws From Olympic Team” to download a .pdf file with the full text of the release.

Blog Entries

• USA Swimming indifference sinks Kirk
  Chicago Tribune blog entry. “USA Swimming should be ashamed of itself,” writes Philip Hersh. “And the U.S. Olympic Committee doesn’t look good on this one, either.”
• Jessica Hardy Has Removed Her Name…
  Analysis of the situation at the Southern California Aquatics blog. Excerpt:
  

  This whole episode has been a definitive fiasco in planning by both US Swimming and the US Olympic committee…. A deal must have been struck. I am NOT saying that Hardy is dirty; that is for WADA and USADA to judge, I just have a strong suspicion that a lot of people really want this to episode to go away and to do so quickly. Now, Jessica Hardy has provided an out.

• Hardy withdraws, USA Swimming affirms: No athletes added to Beijing roster
  Seattle Times blog Ron Judd’s emphasizing Hardy’s deal with USADA.

Articles

• Jessica Hardy withdraws from Olympic swim team
  Excellent story from Lisa Dillman at the LA Times.
• A late Jessica Hardy update
  Update of the LA Times story, with a full statement from Hardy’s lawyer. “Based upon information obtained as recently as today, August 1,” the statement in part says, “she accepts the fact that the testing was properly done and the results properly reported. She sadly accepts the fact that this necessarily means she will not be able to compete in the upcoming Olympics in Beijing….”
• Swimmer Pulls Out, Upsetting Her Rivals
  Another excellent story, this time from the NY Times, emphasizing the impact of Hardy’s decision on Tara Kirk and Lara Jackson.
• Swimmer Hardy accepts suspension
  Only article to mention possible action against AdvoCare, the supplement maker that Hardy endorsed. From Mark Zeigler at the San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Jessica Hardy Stops Positive Test Appeal
  Coverage at Swimming World Magazine’s site. Has full text of USADA press release as well as that of Hardy’s lawyer.

• Hardy Requests Confidentiality for Hearing
  July 30 NY Daily News article giving latest on Hardy’s upcoming hearing. A little more about the confidential hearings at the LA Times’ Ticket to Beijing blog.
• Hardy tells of anguish over positive drug test
  July 28 Long Beach Press-Telegram interview with Hardy at her parents’ home.
• Hardy’s test leaves questions
  July 24 Seattle Times “Olympics Insider” blog entry.
• Some background on drug testing
  July 28 SwimNetwork.com post addresses a number of issues, including how tainted supplements messed up Kicker Vencill’s swimming career.
• Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) Sets Up Shop in Beijing
  Next stop for Hardy if her arbitration hearing doesn’t go her way.

AdvoCare

• Hardy’s page at AdvoCare
  Cached (via google). AdvoCare apparently deleted the original.
• A Sports Drink for Children Is Jangling Some Nerves
  September 2005 article from the NY Times about AdvoCare’s KickStart SPARK™, a caffeinated sports drink which the company aimed at kids as young as 4. You may need to register to view article.
• Maker of Kids’ Caffeine Drink KickStart Spark Defends Itself
  Blog entry which quotes AdvoCare’s response to above NY Times article and critically analyzes that response.
• CARU Reviews Advertising For ‘Kickstart Spark’
  Following the link will download a .pdf file containing May, 2006, recommendations from the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. CARU recommends that AdvoCare “modify or discontinue its advertising claims [for KickStart SPARK] for lack of substantiation.” You can find an HTML version here. Excerpt:
  

  CARU was concerned that ingestion of the amount of caffeine contained in SPARK is not safe for children (ages four years of age or older) to whom one page of Website advertising was directed, and that many of the statements contained in the advertising were inaccurate and/or misleading.

  For the direct link, see the Children’s Advertising Review Unit’s 2006 News page, and look under the May news releases.

• Why is there caffeine in the KickStart (kid’s) SPARK™ Smart Energy Drink?
  From the AdvoCare site. The document answers many questions, but not the one stated.
• Kids’ Sport Drink Under Fire: ‘Kickstart Spark’ Has Vitamins, Minerals, ‘Concentrated’ Caffeine
  Piece from CBS News about the drink, along with a video of pediatrician Karen Hopkins talking about the wisdom of plying young children with caffeine.
• No more KickStart
  At this AdvoCare-related site, clicking on the “AdvoCare Kickstart Products” link directs you to a generic AdvoCare page. Presumably, Kickstart got kicked out. No more questionable products aimed at 4-year-olds.

Fallout So Far — Tara Kirk, Lara Jackson, USA Swimming, et al.

• Three U.S. swimmers left out to dry by suits
  July 30 USA Today article about mess USA Swimming has apparently created for themselves.
• U.S. Swimmer Feels Betrayed by the System
  July 25 NY Times blog entry.
• Swimming World Magazine Media Round Table: Jessica Hardy, NCAA Swimsuit Decision
  Even-handed discussion of the Hardy issues (and of those suits that could make Gisele Bundchen look like a chubby seal).

Just My Opinion, But It’s Fact

• Suggested training supplements
  Some wise words from cyclingnews.com. Aimed at cyclists but applicable to everyone. Excerpt:

  Most of us could finish further up in the pack if we trained more often or at a higher intensity, lost a few extra pounds of body fat, ate better, or got more sleep. If you feel you need to spend some money, a set of racing wheels or lighter frame would be a better investment. At least you’d have something to show for your money other than supplement-enriched urine.

• Snake Oil Salesmen Were on to Something
  In this Scientific American article, author Cynthia Graber writes that snake oil contains omega-3 fatty acids. Therefore, calling supplements snake oil (as I am inclined to do — see above) unnecessarily denigrates snakes.

The only person who looks good in this so far — as long as she stays away from those Speedo LZRs — is Lara Jackson. She hasn’t badmouthed anyone and just keeps quiet, apparently waiting to see what happens next.

Thanks to yadavop for the adorable snake.

The folks at National Geographic say that their article, the emptied prairie, was “never intended to be an in-depth look at the economy of North Dakota. But I don’t find anything in the article to support that claim.

My friend Wendy up in Williston, North Dakota, sent a link to No Love For NoDak?, a response to the article (on ABC News).

With its insipid lyrics and unsingable melody, why do we Californians get saddled with “I Love You, California“?

I love you, California, you’re the greatest state of all.
I love you in the winter, summer, spring and in the fall.
I love your fertile valleys; your dear mountains I adore.
I love your grand old ocean and I love her rugged shore.

Gag me with a garibaldi! In a 1984 New York Times article, “Cacophany in the Search for a Melody,” Robert Lindsey writes that California democrat Dan Hauser, at the behest of some of his district’s fourth graders, tried to replace “I Love You, California” with “California, Here I Come” as the state song. However, according to Lindsey,

…the proposal has run into angry resistance from traditionalists, especially an organization called the Native Sons and Native Daughters of the Golden West. Among other things, their members say that “California Here I Come” conveys an undesirable message that Easterners should migrate here.

In 1988, the California legislature made it law: “‘I Love You, California,’ a song published in 1913 with lyrics by F.B. Silverwood and music by A.F. Frankenstein, is an official state song.”

That’s a big “an.” Now that the horse is out of the barn (i.e. those undesirable easterners — myself included — are already here or are on their way whether we want them or not), maybe we can dump Frankenstein and enlist Jolson. Or, at the very least, add a second state song. Tenessee has six; we’ve just got our crumby, measly single song (and an “an” to boot).

California, Here I Come,
Right back where I started from
Where bowers of flowers bloom in the spring
Each morning at dawning birdies sing at everything
A sunkissed miss said, “Don’t be late!”
That’s why I can hardly wait
Open up that golden gate
California, Here I Come

The protesters complained that the statue depicts explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark looking into the distance as their guide, Sacagawea, crouches in a subordinate position behind them.

As I have a buckskin-vested interest in Sacagawea statues (see below), I looked around for images of the one in question. From what I saw, I don’t like it either. The best view I could find is the one above right, from Alexander Kurashev. There’s another good one from Bob Travis, and this one from pursuecharlottesville.com.

Here are some photos of less controversial Sacagawea statues. Various Slosbergs accompany her.

Sacajawea in Salmon, Idaho, 2005
Sacagawea in Portland, Oregon, with Hannah and Noah, 2005
Sakakawea in Bismarck, North Dakota, with Noah, 2004
Sakakawea in Bismarck, North Dakota, with Ben and his grandma, 2000

You just put one word after another. If you do it long enough, you get some pages.

Thanks to Toon Tracker for the Magoo/Scrooge picture.

Unfortunately, the full-page ad for “Martian Child” in the Sunday LA Times flaunts blurbs from three people I’ve never heard of, along with the “Heartland Truly Moving Picture Award” logo. Scarier and scarier.

You be the judge:

One way or the other, I have to see the film because I like John Cusack and I like my heart warmed. And, of course, I need to find out if the kid really comes from Mars.

the disparity between the lives of the few who are fighting and being killed, and the many who have been asked for nothing more than to continue shopping.

It took awhile to dig up the piece — you won’t find it under Most E-mailed or Most Blogged, next to things like “Apple Limits Sale of iPhones” or “Five Easy Ways to Go Organic.”

Thanks to the Honolulu Advertiser for the photo.

What a voice Chenoweth has: gorgeous and rich, yet quirky and fun. “Kristin’s singing interludes complete me,” writes Rickey Yaneza, which feels just about right.

Chenoweth’s voice reminded me of a song, “Popular,” that my daughter Hannah learned for her elementary school chorus a few years ago. The unnamed voice on Hannah’s practice recording had the same mix of delightful qualities. Turns out it was Chenoweth too, playing her Tony-nominated role as Glinda in the musical Wicked:

Here’s “They Might Be Giants” doing all of “Birdhouse in Your Soul”:

And finally, iTunes links to TMB Giants’ “Birdhouse…” and Chenoweth’s “Popular.”