Sports - Oct. 3, 2008
Olympian kicks off Lakefront Marathon
Popularity of the marathon has exploded over the past few years, and this weekend's Lakefront Marathon is a prime example. This year's race expanded by 10 percent to accommodate 2,750 runners, and it still reached capacity in record time nearly four months ago. Now it has attracted the holder of the fifth fastest American marathon in history.
Tags: lakefront marathon, dick beardsley, olympics, dick beardsley foundation

Kids & Family - Sept. 9, 2008
Kissing kids on the lips: Endearing or disturbing?
The Olympics came and went, but I continue to ponder the relationship between U.S. gymnast Nastia Liukin and her father.
Tags: Nastia Liukin, Olympics, gymnastics, father / daughter relationship, kissing

Sports - Aug. 27, 2008
A basketball reality check for the "Redeem Team"
The gold medal is nice. The final game in Beijing was thrilling. Coach K did a solid job and he and his players deserve credit. But, shouldn't we expect greatness from NBA superstars on the international stage?
Tags: us basketball, olympics, redeem team, kobe, coach k, dick vitale, pau gasol, gold medal

Sports - Aug. 26, 2008
When the Games end, the second-guessing begins
After consuming wall-to-wall coverage of the Beijing Olympics, sports columnist Dave Begel has an idea what should be considered a sport and what should not. Fans of rhythmic gymnastics (pictured) may not want to click this story.
Tags: olympics, taekwondo, rhythmic gymnastics, ping pong, fencing, synchronized swimming, boxing, angel matos, chakir chablat

Sports - Aug. 24, 2008
A look at how Wisconsin athletes fared in Beijing
With the 2008 Summer Olympics coming to an end, here's a look at how Olympians with local ties fared at the games.
Tags: olympics, beijing, team usa, Chellsie Memmel, dwyane wade, Garrett Weber-Gale

Arts & Entertainment - Oct. 1, 2008
Fourth Quarter Fast Start
Wednesday October 1st, 2008 - Lake Villa, ILPretty good effort today. I put in a solid 16 hour work day trying to figure out how to do all the things I’ve let stagnate the past few months. I knew I couldn’t do them all in a day but I did at least get started on a few of them. It felt ...
Tags: Olympics, King Of Uranus

Sports - July 18, 2008
Falling Short, but Pressing On
After winning his legal battle to be allowed to compete against able-bodied athletes, double amptuee sprinter Oscar Pistorius was unable to qualify for the upcoming Olympics in individual races. It was also announced today that the South African was not chosen as an alternate on his country's rel...
Tags: disabled athletes, Olympics, prosthetics

Sports - May 19, 2008
A victory for common sense
South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius has won his appeal to compete in the Beijing Olympics this summer, after it was decided that track and field's governing body didn't sufficiently demonstrate that his carbon-fiber prosthetics give him a competitive advantage over able-bodied sprinters. Pis...
Tags: disabled athletes, Olympics, prosthetics

Sports - April 26, 2008
Running Down a Dream
I recently got selected to serve on the Youth Steering Committee for persons with disabilities in Wisconsin, created through an agency known as Wisconsin Facets. It’s an intriguing, developing project, but I have to admit I’m not exactly certain what it entails. We’ll find out...
Tags: disabled athletes, Olympics, prosthetics