Monday, May 26, 2008

A Better Way to Live

A few years ago while teaching a kayak clinic in Alaska, I passed a beautiful lake with a signage board and rack full of personal flotation devices (PFDs) just beside the boat ramp. I figured this was a summer camp but our host told me it was a public lake and the PFDs were available for kids to borrow whenever they play near or in the water. “Do people every walk away with the PFDs?” I asked. “Never, kids just put the PFDs back on the rack when they’re finished,” our host replied.

I often speak about the many positive attributes I’ve seen and observed in kayaking and around the water in Alaska but none more than “Kids Don’t Float,” an active water safety awareness campaign that reaches out to young people and promotes a healthy respect of the water. Two years since I learned about the program and thanks to a partnership with Safe Kids, “Kids Don’t Float” is growing nationwide with 38 new PFD loaner stations constructed at 19 locations across the country. Additionally, I am honored to join the campaign as a spokesperson and ambassador.

With the unofficial start of summer this Memorial Day Weekend, the team at Safe Kids launched the evolving “Kids Don’t Float” program in Savannah, Georgia alongside the Intracoastal Waterway. We had a great turn-out of students, media, and volunteers including my seven year-old daughter who launched her television career in good style with a great message: (Click "Video)

http://www.wsav.com/midatlantic/sav/news.apx.-content-articles-SAV-2008-05-23-0019.html

At its core, “Gold Medal Living” celebrates living better through enjoyment of outdoor and adventure sport activities. Supporting the efforts of and ideals behind “Kids Don’t Float” is simply one of the most effective ways I know to sustain a better way to live:

http://www.usa.safekids.org/tier3_cd.cfm?content_item_id=25871&folder_id=300

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Joe's Baseballism - The Sequel: A Little More Baseball Talk... & Starbucks too...

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Baseballisms.com! You have provided me with a special broadcasting experience that could very well prove to be as useful as any other to do date while on assignment at the Olympics in Beijing this summer. The only question that remains is will you be there to comfort and support me with Starbucks coffee?

For the "rest of the story" on my first Baseballism, click here:

http://baseballisms.com/the-day-everything-changed-for-baseballisms.html

Monday, May 12, 2008

My Turn on Baseballisms.com

My friend Tony Kornheiser says video blogging -"yapping" non-stop in front of a camera - is a lot harder than it looks. Actually, I haven't found that to be the case yet in my broadcasting pursuits and my latest here at Baseballisms.com is no exception. No prompts, questions, or leads - just straight-talking about baseball:

http://baseballisms.com/olympic-gold-medalist-joe-jacobi-on-dc-baseball.html

Of course this posting, following my wife's Baseballism, inevitably sets up a round of "Baseballism Crossfire."

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Olympic Whitewater Trials this weekend on MSNBC

We've just finished production work on the Olympic Whitewater Trials. Please tune into the broadcast airing this Sunday, May 11th on MSNBC at 12 noon eastern time. We had a great time calling this race and working with play-by-play broadcaster Craig Hummer was fabulous. Not only is he excited to be a part of the whitewater events in Beijing this summer, but Craig joined me for a kayak lesson on the Kern River today in Kernville, California. More about our kayak outing coming next week.

Also, please check out some excellent photo galleries from the Olympic Trials in Charlotte shot by our good friend, Bob Hollifield:

http://colemanroadproductions.smugmug.com/

Sunday, May 4, 2008

The Last Word On Trials....

Although the Olympic Whitewater Slalom Trials concluded a week ago, I've been slow to recover from an emotionally draining weekend in Charlotte. Back at home in Tennessee, a few runs down the Ocoee River and a few mountain bike rides with friends have helped to re-energize me but I hadn't quite found the right way to resolve my own participation at the Trials - as a coach, spectator, and as part of the media.

For me, when it comes to the last word about anything whitewater paddling, it begins and ends with Jamie McEwan. Known in whitewater cirlces as the "living legend," Jamie won America's first-ever Olympic medal in whitewater slalom at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Equally impressive, he competed and competed well at the 2008 Olympic Trials in Charlotte at the age of 55.

In a weekend of huge emotional ups and down, nobody offered more stability and good in the world of whitewater racing than Jamie. Competing with vigor, passion, and respect, his participation continues to set the standard of what it means to be an Olympian in Whitewater Slalom racing. Check out Jamie's essay about his Olympic Trials experience.

http://jamiemcewan.com/unpublished.html

Well done, Jamie.