Ski

And none of us have mom's that are at KMart ski racing right now...except you.

I'm probably blowing off opening day, which just feels wrong...but I can't get hyped for Mainline after Blue's opening and four days at the Bush. What the hell does it take to open a diamond?

It's also the largest mid-wage employer as well. Do the math. It's also among the largest employers of independent and contract truckers. And where do you imagine all the products sold at WalMart come from? It's easy to see WalMart as evil, but if you take the time to understand the big picture, there is an enormous economic machine that is involved. It's simplistic to say that because the cashiers make minumum wage, then WalMart sucks. Perhaps if cashiers don't like their wage, they can go work for one of the 10,000 better paying suppliers of WalMart goods.

You do know that New York City is part of New York? So saying New York is the message parlor capitol of the world (at least parts of it) would be a brilliant observation? I'm still trying to figure out that whole "brand new bunny skiers don't find White Lightning challenging" thing...

The best companies are filled with people having divergent opinions. So are the best MB's. Rob firmly believes I'm an *sshead...and that's perfectly okay with me and I'll still be ringing a cowbell for his son, Ridge.

I am speaking of my experience with the Pelican owner when I was a kid. He did indeed get very rich off the sweat of shop kids. And 300% markups are pretty common. $800 skis? C'mon...$129 junior helmets? Try $40 wholesale. Isn't that a300% markup? The root of the problem is that ski manufacturers refuse to sell large quantities to retail chains. If Atomic sold 500 sets to my local Dick's Sporting Goods, you stop hearing the crying like you from shop owners about all their overhead and tiny margins. Dick's would sell those $800 Atomic GS:11's for $325 and make $50 per pair. Do you buy computers from a tiny mom and pop shop? Do you buy your cars from the smallest dealers in town to keep them in business? Hey, if you guys drive out of your way to pay more at all the small shops to get groceries and prescriptions and everything else, then that's your decision. My family has several charities we contribute to each year. I like the guys at my local shop, but I'm not giving the owner an extra $400 for a pair of skis...I'd rather send it to Feed the Children. Why not? WalMart is seen as the Evil Empire to some people. It's America's largest employer and in a free-trade society, they've been amazingly successful. If you bash WalMart then go out and shop at a chain grocery store, mall, or watch a movie at a metroplex-type theatre, you're a hypocrit, aren't you? Oh, and is your car American made? If not, then keep in mind all the good folks in Detroit your screwing.

Oh, so they haven't donated anything to the CAT team? 'Dude and I assumed differently from your post. How about YOU stop bashing eBay ski dealers? Maybe some more kids can get decent gear without 300% markups. I don't think it's so honorable to overcharge everyone, then give away a free set of skis as swag at a comp. And, Jeff, this sounds like the beating of a dead horse, but it's only just begun on MB's...the discussion over the next few years is only going to ramp up because there's going to be some panick going on at shops and people are going to start wanting answers as to why skis are available online for 1/2 the price as shops. The industry is about to change for the better. There were 48 racers at my camp and at least 20 had bought gear online since last year. And these are mostly men and women with six-figure incomes. So maybe we can keep it respectful in the future (sorry I called you an old grandma, Rob), but everyone has been talking about online gear and it's hard to pretend it doesn't exist just for the benefit of a few ski shop owners.

Wow, it's great that they don't expect anything in return! Awesome. They're breaking some new ground by donating a huge, expensive item like that and not getting anything in return whatsoever. Especially since it's an item they don't carry and would have to have what it is explained to them.

Edited? Oh, man...

Hey, Phil, great deal. It's the FUTURE. It's coming and can't be put back in the bottle. Shops that have ripped people off for years and made huge sums of money for the owner off the sweat of under-paid shop kids have it coming. Not your shop, Rob---the one I had experience with as an under-paid shop kid. And, Rob, I think it's funny that little old ladies in their mid-80's use our library computer all day long successfully buying needed items off of eBay and you can't seem to not find yourself in a war buying the simplest of things. A shop buying stuff for a race team? Or throwing stuff in the pot for door prizes? That's noble? Jeez, it's ADVERTIZING. Nobody sponsors ANYTHING out of the goodness of their heart.

It's not an arguement, it's just the way it is. You use the same body position, including hip and knee angulation. The difference is how quickly you roll from turn to turn. SL is a hyper version of a GS turn. The shorter skis with tighter radius is part of the faster pace.

Ridge will be looking to qualify for the J4 State Championships at Roundtop, at the end of February. J4's are scored by best run finishes, so a racer only needs to complete one fast run. Ridge has a couple of years to go before even thinking about points. The USSA points, that is. The earliest is second year J3, which was only started a couple of years ago---it used to only be J1/2's. It gives top J3 racers a chance to better position themselves with the ability to earn lower bib numbers when their J2 race careers really begin. A J1/2 race course sometimes ruts out so bad that even dropping five bib numbers can be huge. Invitation---in weird ski-speak---means meeting all the qualifications, including age. That's also why when your kid goes to college and makes Carnival, it's a really good thing. Ridge will be able to qualify for J4 State's, not PA Cups; PA Cups are J1/2 only. The J4 State's are also "by invitation", which means meeting all the qualifications.

Sorry, but we're still out tracking it out...just not loving it as much...

Ideally, slalom and GS are the same turns, just without the delayed transition.

But slalom? Bode is fastest in slalom because of his closed stance. Pallander, Raich and the others were covering too much territory in a wide stance and just now making changes. Bode even rides the flush with knees glued and on his tails. I've seen 'Dude do it, so I know it's being taught at summer camps.

And you are always welcome at Montage, Zonked...

I can just hear Gus saying, "More time for practice and drills."

And now there's Bode being thrown into the formula. We had a one hr. lecture from Al Hobart (founder of GMVS) on the topic of "what makes Bode fast". He broke down his 2nd run GS video at Beaver Creek, where Bode won, but was on his ass 4 times. Bending the uphill knee more and pressuring it into the hill allows you to get the uphill ski more on edge. And Bode is unique in how much he uses his tails in rescue and recovery. Coaches are trying to pick apart what's good and what's just crazy error and recovery.

Snow sucks. We had 6" or so before daybreak here at Sugarbush and slalom training has been in foot-deep ruts. A nice little drizzling rain just before freeze-up is ideal. Back to my sandwich and then those freaking ruts.

Snowboarders not welcome at Alta...

It's now part of my tape collection...today's races will be shown as highlights at 5pm tomorrow, on OLN. Men's GS and women's DH.

You barely scratched the surface of that list, POC.

The combination of what happened TODAY at Beaver Creek and at Lake Louise (the women's tour) made today the single best day for America in World Cup history...amazing!

Ah, it's all still DaveK's fault. Jerkball.

Oops, sorry, Glen. I'm still getting over them watching Star Wars Episode Whatever instead of football on Thanksgiving. They cheered when Yoda had some light sabre fight with the extra-bad dude that cut off whathisnames arm. But, then again, they don't understand my Chris Farley movie collection.