Madrid Victorious, Cup Crushed, King Disappointed

Real Madrid won the 2011 Copa del Rey ("The King's Cup") during extra-time thanks to a brilliant header from Cristiano Ronaldo. Largely a scoreless (although not without opportunities) event, the match was a battle of tactical precision (Guardiola's creative and possession-oriented passing game vs. Mourinho's patient and flow-disrupting, anti-Pep approach) and emotional scuffles between players very familiar with each other's play. Despite all the pomp and fanfare, after the final whistle blew and well into the next day, Madrid would become as somber (if only momentarily) as runners-up Barcelona.

Highlights from "Cup Got Crushed by a Tire? Real Madrid Gets a Spare" (Andrew Das for The NY Times):

“I always make a spare in case something unexpected happens, lest (King Juan Carlos) be left with nothing to give out. The spare has been ready for a long time,” the owner of the jeweler that made the cup, Federico Alegre, told the newspaper El Mundo.

Alegre said told the newspaper that he would attempt to repair the original, which was dented and had its base destroyed in the fall. “I am not sad or even angry,” he said. “These things happen.”

"Aftermath" from Wikipedia entry, "2011 Copa del Rey Final":

Real Madrid players celebrated their victory that evening by riding a double-decker bus through Madrid where they were greeted by cheering crowds. While holding the trophy aloft, Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos dropped the cup in front of the bus, where it was crushed.[6] Ramos later joked that he hadn't dropped the cup but that the cup jumped down to meet the fans.[7] The cup was replaced immediately with a spare version and placed in the Real Madrid museum.[6] 

A skillful and energetic defender (both in league play and for the Spanish national team), let's hope this doesn't turn out to be Ramos' most memorable video highlight. 

gentlemen and the essence of cycling

In the event that the new über team - Leopard Trek - fails to win as expected (and let's be realistic, their coterie of supercyclists must be considered protagonists in every race the team enters), they are at the very least doing wonders for the image of cyclists (professional and otherwise). With an effortless grace these gentlemen achieve what so many others feign and posture to convey.* All of the panache with none of the pretension. I for one am excited to watch Cancellara, Voigt, Fuglsang, the Schleck brothers, and the rest of "true racing" Leopard-Trek animate races throughout 2011. Kudos to you gentlemen.

Team Leopard Trek stop for a mid-ride coffee somewhere on the beautiful

island of Mallorca (photo courtesy of Robert Wagner @ http://twitpic.com/3o5gv8).

* Whereas another group of far more demoniacal and diabolical cheaters (not to name names or place blame, but use your imagination [or the internet] to scour doping headlines from the past few years) just don't give a damn, sullying the sport and embarrassing its advocates.

Giving Thanks

As we prepare for the annual celebration surrounding the fall harvest, tradition encourages us pause, reflect, and gives thanks for those people, places, and things that we so dearly appreciate. Although the sentiment is not given voice as often as it should, I am forever thankful for my wonderful family and dear friends. Each of you is sincerely inspirational.  Surrounded by such compassionate and intelligent people, I consider myself incalculably fortunate. I also wish to express my thanks for bike rides full of sun complimented by a light breeze, Alterra Coffee, epic soccer matches, gourmet picnics, and Danny MacAskill. MacAskill's "Way Back Home" is perhaps the most impressive trials video since Hans Rey's old stuff for GT (and its in Scotland!). Thanks to (and for) you all. Happy Thanksgiving.

BCN & TDF

Walking home from work during a rather warm afternoon a few weeks ago, I made a pivotal discovery. Strolling down Salem Al-Mubarak, I noticed a rather unassuming stretch of businesses for the first time. The branding of one business (which has since closed and reopened as a currency exchange) was particularly intriguing.

Assuming this to be more than simply a sign of retail offerings, I decided to travel to Barcelona. Coincidentally (as you may recall from my initial blog post), Carmen in spending her summer in Barcelona conducting research and enjoying all things Spanish (or, to be more precise, all things Catalan) with her twin sister Christa. Lucky for me, Barcelona was bustling with activity during early July.