Good Morning Vail!

Get Up!

Get ready to start your day,
The mountains are calling you out to play

Come on!

We'll make you feel right at home.

Good Morning, Vail!

See what lies in store for you,
there's so many things to see and do.
Summer, Winter, Spring or Fall
Your home in the Rockies has it all.

So Get Up!

Get ready to start your day,
the coffee's brewing, you're on your way
The fun is waiting outside your door.

Good Morning, Vail!

7 inches of natural at Vail this morning,
click on the picture for a link to the "Good Morning Vail" theme song.

Colorado Ski Resort Opening Dates:

Arapahoe Basin: Open
Aspen Highlands: December 9
Aspen Mountain: November 23
Beaver Creek: November 22
Breckenridge: November 10
Copper: Today, November 3
Crested Butte: November 18
Durango (Purgatory): November 23
Eldora: November 17
Keystone: November 10
Loveland: Open
Silverton: November 23
Ski Cooper: November 23
Steamboat: November 22
Telluride: November 23
Vail: November 17
Winter Park: November 15
Wolf Creek: Today, November 3

Tennesse 31, South Carolina 24: Anybody else notice backup QB and redshirt freshmen Jonathan Crompton try to call an audible with 2:00 left in the game? Love his confidence, but he's played maybe three series all year. Fulmer had to waste a timeout and stop the clock. "Crompton must see something in the defense he doesn't like". Hah! What was he gonna change the play to, a Hail Mary?



Nebraska 29, Oklahoma St 41: Crys of "The Blackshirts are back" have died down somewhat with all eyes looking towards next week's game against Missouri.

Ole Miss 17, Auburn 23: Either the Rebels are one step away from being a contender in the SEC West or this is as good as they'll ever be under Orgeron. One thing we know for sure is that they knocked Auburn back a spot in the BCS rankings.

BCS Computers Reek of BS

Obviously the main problem lies within the CPU polls. Prime example: they have Cal listed as #3. WTF! The so called "built-in" strength of schedule factor is nothing but a fluke. USC loses to Oregon State and the CPU's only knock them back to 6? Tennessee's only loss is to #4 Florida and they have UT ranked #10? Simply ridiculous. Based on this, one would think the Pac-10 is the toughest conference in the nation. I think I might throw up.
By the way, I was under the impression each of the human polls and the CPU poll counted as 1/3 towards a team's total BCS ranking. As described by the official site, "All three components shall be added together and averaged for a team's ranking in the BCS standings." No doubt I'm missing something here, but if UT is ranked as #8 by both the Harris and USA Today polls and #10 by the CPU polls, how in the world does this average out to #11?
Bottom line: I love it. Bring on the chaos! While all those mindless idiots are chanting for a playoff, the South may just secede again. The notion of an SEC super conference is starting to grow on me.

"Every Man For Himself" 3x04

Tonight's episode of LOST is a Sawyer-centric episode, in which according to the preview will reveal "a secret so shocking, it'll change everything they know about this island." The official Lost ABC website says that tonight, "Sawyer finds out how serious his captors are in making sure he and Kate don't attempt to escape."

Ya'll should definately check out this website. Especially the Nate & Tyler show. Pretty funny stuff. Also, the video of Coach Orgeron is hilarious.

Further Instructions
What's the deal with the picture of an upside-down bridge? Sawyer was holding a picture of it in Locke's vision from last nights episode and it also appeared in Rose's flashback last season.

BCS Rankings Released

College Football Pick'Em
I've started up a league on Yahoo Sports for anyone interested in picking the games for the remainder of the college football season. Go to http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/college and search for group id (32839). If you want to join let me know by posting a comment to this blog and I'll send you the password.

iTunes 7.0 Blows!
If any of ya'll have iPods, whatever you do, don't upgrade to the new iTunes 7.0 software. It's got dozens of bugs including freezing every freakin' two seconds...like mine. Apple needs to get their shit together and issue a patch for this quick. Here's more:

iTunes 7 and iPod 1.2 update confound users by ZDNet's Jason D. O'Grady -- When Steve Jobs announced iTunes 7 I couldn't reload the download page fast enough. I was anxious to try out the first whole number upgrade to Apple's venerable jukebox application in almost a year. In the 10 or so days that I've been using the new iTunes I've had little or no problems with it. Unfortunately others haven't been so lucky.

Week 5 Picks

Click here to submit your college football picks for week 5.

Early Winter Dusting?

Let me rephrase that...barfing might be a better word. Are you kidding me? 11 inches at PHQ?

Couldn't have asked for a better snowfall last year. Hell, it broke numerous records allowing Vail to stay open an additional week. But wouldn't you know that the first winter we move away may prove to be the most brutal yet.

Ahhh, Memories

(webcam provided by TOV)

Vail's first dusting of the season.
Ski Swap's in a month or so.

#15 Tennessee 20, #5 Florida 21
Ainge had flashbacks of last year in what I would consider a small bump in the road to the SEC Title.


Other notable scores:
#3 USC 28, #23 Nebraska 10
#2 Auburn 7, #10 LSU 3
Ole Miss 14, Kentucky 31
#6 Michigan 47, #12 Notre Dame 21
Princeton 14, Lehigh 10

#13 Tennessee 31, Air Force 30

In a spectacular game this past Saturday evening, one can't help but give credit to Air Force for an incredible performance and be thankful that UT came away with the win. Neyland hasn't seen crowds this amped up or noise levels this high since '99 or '00. The air in Knoxville is electric heading into the weekend's game against #7 Florida. While UT's offense is running on all cylinders, the defense will certainly need to man up after losing starters "Inky" Johnson (cornerback) and Justin Harrell (tackle). Since having the piss smacked out of him by Cutcliffe, Erik Ainge is looking to be the quarterback everyone was expecting him to be and took SEC Player of the Week.

Other Scores Across the Country:
#19 Nebraska 56, Nicholls St 7
Ole Miss 7, Missouri 34
#25 Penn St 17, #2 Notre Dame 41
#8 Texas 7, #1 Ohio St 24
Lehigh 31, Villanova 28

Three Decades Of Agassi

#23 UT 35, #9 CAL 18

While many may have expected Tennessee to beat Cal in their season opener, very few expected them to do so in such convincing fashion. During the 3rd quarter, Tennessee quickly blew the game wide open jumping to a 35-3 lead before putting in their second team squads in the fourth. UT held the Golden Bears to only 64 yards rushing for the game. Erik Ainge had this to say, "This game tonight wasn't just Tennessee versus California. It was for the South versus the West Coast, the SEC versus the Pac-10."

With only two races left, the Sony 'Zipperhead' 500 at California Speedway and the Chevy 'CSA' 400 in Richmond, the field for the Chase has all but been determined. At 540 points back from Martin, Kasey Kahne's chances are looking pretty slim. On a seperate note, with drivers' wanting to 'play it safe', the race to the Chase has completely wussified the Bristol Sharpie 500 night race.

WEEK 1

Thoughts?

IT'S FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!!!

Farewell, Vail

"Well this life that Ive lead has took me everywhere
There aint no place I aint never gone
But its kind of like the saying that you heard so many times
Well there just aint no place like home...
Did you ever see the beauty of the hills of carolina
Or the sweetness of the grass in tennessee...
Well you can take a boy out of ol dixieland
But youll never take ol dixie from a boy"

Holy Smokes!
Are you kidding me with this? Who would've thought that a month after Roland Garros we would have the treat of seeing a Federer-Nadal rematch in the final of Wimbledon? The same finalists haven't met back to back at the French and Wimbledon since 1952.
All the pieces are in place to make this an epic match. Should Federer win it will be his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title in a row and he will be one closer to tieing Borg's record of five. He will prove that, although Nadal has a winning record over him, he truly is the king of grass.
On the other hand, a Nadal victory would turn the tennis world upside down. It's been thirty years since a Spanish player has won Wimbledon and over twenty years since Borg won the French Open and Wimbledon back to back. Rafa's transition to grass in so short a time and relentless pursuit for #1 is nothing short of unbelievable. A month ago, the talk of the town was that if Federer won the French he may just be the best ever. Now, a month later, Rafa has a chance to take over the top spot.
Ever since Federer showed up on the radar in 2001 by ending Sampras' streak at Wimbledon, I've been a fan of his flawless style of classic tennis...but I can't help but pull for Nadal. Perhaps it's because he's considered the "underdog" (despite owning Roger so far) or perhaps its because it would cement these two champions into true rivalry status. Either way, "Vamos, Rafa!"

The End of an Era Vs. The Beginning of a New One
"The Punisher" Vs. "The Raging Bull"
Agassi Vs. Nadal

With this being Andre's last Wimbledon and Rafa striving to break free from being known only as a dirt baller, tomorrow morning's match should be nothing short of epic. In order for Andre to stand a chance, he needs to close the match out early. If it turns into a 4 to 5 setter, Agassi will have a hell of a time physically and mentally, as it seems Rafa's intensity usually goes into overdrive during late sets. Rafael was the victor in their only previous meeting.

Wimbledon: June 26 - July 9
With the 120th Championships at Wimbledon only a couple weeks away, I'm happy to see that the All England Lawn and Tennis Club (AELTC) has announced it will be providing free audio feeds of live action from three different courts. In addition, it appears wimbledon.org will also be carrying live video coverage throughout the tournament as a subscription service. This is great news because if NBC's coverage of Wimbledon is anything like their coverage of Roland Garros, it'll be crap.
Where to begin? Let me start by saying I thought ESPN2's coverage of the French Open was excellent and to go from ESPN during the week to NBC on weekends was gut-wrenching. First off, NBC only has a narrow time slot for their coverage which, for a good deal of the time, over-lapped with live coverage. Why then, would anybody want to watch a replay of a Federer/Nalbandian when Nadal is playing Ljubicic live? Show the live action first, then if there's time, come back to the replay. What does NBC do? They switch to the Nadal match eventually (not live) and then cut away for 'Day's Of Our Lives.' Reeediculous. Their selection of matches to replay during down times was horrible and I don't even want to get started on Mary Carillo as I'm off-topic enough as it is. The only good thing NBC has going for them is John McEnroe.
Oh yeah, James Blake moved up a spot in the rankings to #7.

Rafa rolls through Roland Garros
Federer's hopes of a Grand Slam were once again dashed within the walls of Roland Garros by none other than Rafael Nadal. Nadal won the French Open title in the fourth set at 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(4). On paper it would seem Nadal's victory came fairly easily, however there were several key instances during the match where the momentum stood on razor's edge. After splitting sets, Nadal's first test came at 2-1 in the third set. Down 0-40 and facing triple break-point, Nadal showed incredible fortitude by battling back to level the set at 2 all. After winning out the 3rd, Nadal's second test came after Federer broke the young 20 year old's serve to even the fourth set at 5-5. The crowd was chanting "Roger, Roger" and it seemed Federer had found the window he was searching for to push this thing into a fifth...but Rafa wasn't having it. Both players held serve forcing the set into a tie-breaker and as quickly as Federer's window had appeared, Nadal slammed it shut. The Raging Bull has come a long way since last year and I think this shows that not only is he talented enough, but he has the mental toughness to start winning major tournaments on other surfaces.

Roland Garros
As we're nearing the semifinals it appears there could be a meeting of all top four seeds which hasn't happened since 1985. Federer (1), Nadal (2), and Nalbandian (3) are already in. Currently Ljubicic (4) is up a double-break, 5-2, in the first set and appears to be rolling.

Alex Honks Kate's Hooters

Arctic Jack?
The credits say otherwise, but it sure as hell looks like Jack.

EDIT: In the post-finale Official Lost Podcast, Executive Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse put this one to rest...but he still could be kin to Jack. I doubt it though.

Live Together Die Alone:> Biggest Reveal - The world still exists outside of the island
> Desmond's boat - "The Elizabeth" named after Libby by her late husband, David
> Fake Henry obviously pushed the button, but why try and convince Locke otherwise?
> How does Des know the "hostiles." Has he had a run-in before?
> There appeared to be at least 100 letters from Des to Penny in the box Widmore had. If Desmond wrote 1 letter a week, that's roughly two years in prison.
> The Incident - there was a leak and now the charge builds up & the button needs to be pushed in order to discharge it before it gets too big
> Whispers - "Elizabeth"
> High-Tech Stun Darts - Zeke & Company are still connected to outside world to have such state of the art weapons
> "You've killed us. You've killed us all". -Desmond
"No, I just saved us all". -Locke
Is this an allusion to Penelope being able to pinpoint the Island's location as a result of the magnetic pulse?
> Fake Henry tells Michael to follow the compass bearing, 325, or NNW. Is this the way out from the island? Or, if he travels in this direction will he reach the ferry mentioned in the Pearl Orientation video?
Or, maybe it's just a reference to one of J.J. Abram's favorite movies, "North by Northwest".

The Teva Mountain Games return to Vail next week for it's 5th anniversary.
With the incredible snowpack this year river's are up, fishing is down, but the kayaking ought to be spectacular.

http://www.letyourcompassguideyou.com/
The same code from the Swan station Dharma food stores (DI 9FFTR751), appears in the S.E. corner of the compass face.

EDIT: The code on the Dharma food is DI 9FFTR731.

Fishin' the Blue
Fished on the Blue yesterday below Dillon Dam. I started around 7:30 behind a subdivision called The Ponds and worked my way downstream for about 5 hours. I got completely shutout throwin' Hairs Ears, Copper Johns and various midges. I'm gonna try and head back to Summit County next week, possibly below the Green Mtn Reservoir, armed with Prince Nymphs and Mysis Shrimp and there's going to be a slaying.

Kentucky Derby Party Weekend
Another weekend of debauchery in the mountains. From kicking off at the derby to late night pool hopping and an early morning exit, we crushed it. For some the weekend didn't stop there, but carried the party right on up to the Ritz for Sunday Funday. More pics here

"From the dawn of our species, Man has been blessed with curiosity."
-Alvar Hanso, Address to the U.N., 1967

"You know, somebody a whole lot smarter than anybody here once said: 'Since the dawn of our species man's been blessed with curiosity.' You know the other one about curiosity don't you, Jack?" -Zeke, S2E11: "The Hunting Party"

East Vail BC with Bro - 3/26/06

"It was the type of day worth an entire season, maybe more. Just when you think skiing is about to loosen its obsessive grip on your life, a day like that sneaks up and seduces you again so completely". -Stephen Drake

Easter Weekend w/ the Folks

Possible relation of the graph from ERI page of the Hanso site
to the Blast Door Map