"The Great One"

As I'm watching the Olympic hockey final (Canada vs USA) as we speak, I need to mention "the great one", Wayne Gretzky: he is widely considered the greatest hockey player of all-time. At the time of his retirement at the end of the 1998-99 NHL season he was the NHL's all-time scoring leader in Goals, Assists & Points in both the regular season & Stanley Cup Playoffs. He led the NHL in scoring a record 10 times, was Captain of 4 Stanley Cup Championship teams, and was named the league's MVP a record 9 times. He is the only NHL player ever to score 200 Points in a season, and did so 4 times in the span of 5 years. A great ambassador of pro sports, he was also named the NHL's Most Gentlemanly Player 4 times and received the Order of Canada (their highest civilian honor) in 1998. Upon his retirement in 1999, his trademark jersey No. 99 was retired by the NHL.

Cape Town Countdown

Tomorrow I will be leaving holland for Cape Town. There are worst places to go to.
Prepared myself and looking forward to some poloshirt and t-shirt weather...

Traumatic

Vancouver, Olympics 2010. Sven Kramer.


England, European Cup 1996. Clarence Seedorf.


Oslo, World Cup 1981. Hilbert van der Duim.


Germany, World Cup Final 1974.

Lost my Virginity

Yesterday I lost my running virginity. After some stretching I started with 1 minute of running and 3 minutes of walking. I did this 5 times. I feel the legs today but the first time always hurt a little bit, they say. Now I like to do it again, and again and again...

King's Head

Most dart cabinets got a King's Head Pub and lodging logo. King's Head refers to King Henry the 8th. I learned this yesterday in the pub from my English friend Joe. Despite 7,5 hours of drinking beer, the following morning I remembered the story:

Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lord of Ireland (later King of Ireland) and claimant to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII.
He married six wifes (Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Paar) and 2 of them (Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard) got their head chopped off, charged for adultery.

Kennedy Green House

After a flood, the beautiful, historic home of Mary Richardson and Robert E Kennedy, Jr was ravaged by black mould. Concerned about the effects of their home on their family's health and the environment, the Kennedy's partnered with Robin Wilson Home to turn their 'sick home' into an eco-healthy home - one that promotes the health of the family and the Kennedy's' commitment to the preservation of our planet.

Interesting? Hell no. But since GANT Home is shooting their catalogue pictures Fall 2010 in this house, it's worthwhile mentioning.

Mijn Johan Cruijff

Today I was complainig not getting a book for my birthday, to make the trip to South Africa more comfortable. The wife got me this book. Good wife.

Ruud van Nistelrooy: Yes or No?

He may have retired from international football after Euro 2008 but the Dutchman is determined to force his way into Bert van Marwijk's plans, hence his move to Hamburg in January. In only his second appearance for the club at the weekend, Van Nistelrooy came off the bench to score twice in two minutes and give Hamburg a 3-1 victory over Stuttgart. Quite whether he deserves a place in the Dutch squad having failed to play a single qualifier is up for debate, but the fact that his predatory skills remain undiminished is not. With Van Marwijk sure to take note of his decisive performance, Van Nistelrooy said: "I do hope that I will be able to help him a bit in South Africa."

Björn Borg vintage shirt

Björn Borg is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the sport. He won 11 Grand Slam singles titles between 1974 and 1981. And if you think that’s a big deal, get this: in March of 2009 The Vintage Aficionado named him World’s No. 1 in terms of vintage tennis shirts. Despite being the most reproduced tennis shirt on the planet, the originals continue to fetch top dollar.

And guess what..........? I got one for my birthday yesterday!!

1 DOWN, 7 TO GO !!

Sports Illustrated: Holland brings home 8 medals

According to famous SI predictions, Holland will bring home 8 medals during the Olympic Games in Vancouver (4 gold, 4 Bronze).

Sven Kramer (Ice speed skating): 3x Gold
Nicolien Sauerbreij (snowboard): 1x Gold
Bob de Jong (Ice speed skating): 1x Bronze
Ireen Wüst: (Ice speed skating): 2x Bronze
Annette Gerritsen: (Ice speed Skating): 1x Bronze

New York Fashion Week: Michael Bastian / GANT

Los Angeles Times:
New York Fashion Week: Michael Bastian scores with lacrosse-themed sportswear collection for Gant

For the debut Gant by Michael Bastian collection, aimed at what the designer envisions as the more casual "younger brother" of his existing customer, Bastian chose a lacrosse motif.

What's that? Not familiar with one of the oldest team sports in the Americas?

Neither was Bastian, who told me at the fall/winter 2010 presentation (appropriately enough staged at St. Anthony's Memorial Gym in New York's SoHo district) that he'd never played it -- or even attended a school that fielded a team.


GQ MAgazine:
Lacrosse-inspired gear. Gant by Michael Bastian #nyfw

WWD:
In a much-anticipated collaboration with Gant, Michael Bastian worked a lacrosse theme and staged a presentation inside a gymnasium. All the elements of a stylish post-collegiate wardrobe were shown...

Huffingtonpost.com:
The buzz at the presentation was that what Ralph Lauren did for Rugby, Bastian is doing for lacrosse (note: Barneys has already bought the entire collection for all its Co-op stores nationwide). FOGO anyone? (That'd be "Face Off, Get Off.")

(un) COOL RUNNINGS

Today, I got myself the ugliest running shoes I could find; The Saucony Progrid Triumph 7. Why? Seems this shoe is the best for my way of running. Why? because the wife told me to go running. Why? to loose some weight probably. Need a stopwatch now. New York Marathon, here I come!!

Countdown Cape Town

From March 1st till 7th I'm off for Cape Town, South-Africa. As you can understand getting familiar with this city and area by internet is fun. Safari, Golf, Robben Island, Nelson Mandela, The Great White, Greenpoint Stadion (World Cup 2010), Charlize Theron, Cape Point and of course Table Mountain are some famous products of Cape Town. Moenie Mounie!