Going For The Gold.

First the good stuff. The first link is to a video on you tube. It really tells you what I like about Portland, Oregon. See what the staff at Providence St. Vincent Hospital here is doing for breast cancer awareness. The second link is to a good story. What the woman did wasn't all that difficult but in today's society if she hadn't stepped in something awful could have happened to the poor kid. Makes her a hero in my book.

The video that will make your day:

http://www.aolhealth.com/condition-center/breast-cancer/pink-glove-dance?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl3|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolhealth.com%2Fcondition-center%2Fbreast-cancer%2Fpink-glove-dance

The story that will make you both cringe and be thankful for citizens like the guardian angel:

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/11/stranger_who_helped_3-year-old.html

Have you ever gone for a championship? We all dream of that moment when the crowd chants our name as we hit the winning basket or make the winning recipe, or win the race against all odds. I've been there once. A church league basketball game my senior year in high school. I had quit the high school team for what I thought was unfair expectations. I went from the sixth best player on the high school team to the best player in the church league. The Fighting Methodists went from a so-so team to being in the league championship game. Two days before the game my grandfather had died. Grampa Goldy was really a step grand-dad but he was the only grandfather I knew. In his honor I was going sit out the game until my grandmother said I would honor him more by playing. Game starts and our center, Randy, wins the tip. The ball always went to me, I was the court general. I was standing a good distance from the basket, when the opposing coach yelled to the player that was guarding me, "don't go out there, nobody in this league can make it from there." I looked at my coach, who shook his head indicating yes. I shot. Swish. The next time we got the ball, I went to the same place on the court. Nobody came out to guard me. Coach says yes. Swish. Third time we had the ball. Nobody comes out to guard me. Coach says yes. Swish. Granddad would have been proud. Then I made a dumb mistake. I turned to the opposing coach, "are you going to guard me or not?" Every time the rest of the game that I touched the ball there were two or three people around me. I couldn't breath let alone shoot. We lost, we finished second. While I did set a league record for rebounds in that game I only made two more baskets. Had I kept my mouth shut we could have won the gold. I could have been a hero. I am pretty sure my granddad would have still been proud of me but I always thought I could have honored his memory more by following his example of quiet excellence.

Why am I writing about championships on Update Day? Because in all of the reality shows that I have been writing about we are at crunch time. The Amazing Race and Top Chef are in the semi-finals. The championship of Dancing With The Stars is this week. Crunch time. Going for the Gold. Who will win? Who will blow it? Who is going to beat the stress and take home the gold?

The finals on Dancing With The Stars will be between Kelly, Mia, and Donny. Mia is probably the favorite. My odds for her to win are about one to one. Her strength is that she is an incredible dancer. Her weakness is she has the furthest to fall. Donny is probably five to one to win it all. His strength is that he is an incredible entertainer. His weakness is that he is the worst dancer of the three remaining contestants. Kelly is the underdog, probably ten to one to win it. Her strength is drive and determination. Her weakness is that she sometimes takes a step back to where she was before she started the show. Who do I want to win? Kelly. Why? Because she has improved the most. Because she is the only one in the finals without dancing experience. Because it has been absolutely enchanting watching a woman going from being a woman rough around the edges with the vocabulary of a sailor to being a somewhat elegant lady. Who are you rooting for?

On Top Chef this week they move to Napa Valley, California for the semi-finals. The four finalists are the V brothers, Kevin, and Jennifer. Jennifer started her comeback this week winning the Quickfire Challenge. Eli was eliminated just short of the semi-finals. Kevin won the night and thirty grand. I think Michael is the favorite and I place him at two to one to win it all. His strength is creativity. His weakness is overconfidence. In my ratings Kevin comes in second at five to one. His strength is simplicity. Simple dishes done well. His weakness is the lack of creativity. Bryan comes in third at ten to one. His strength is quiet excellence. His weakness is that he would rather beat his brother then win. The underdog is Jennifer at fifty to one to win it all. Her strength is sea food. Her weaknesses are the lack of confidence and the ability to let stress beat her. I want Jennifer to win. Why? Because I have a crush on her.

This week on The Amazing Race the father and son team was eliminated. The final four are the interracial couple, the globetrotters, the gay brothers, and the dating couple. The favorites are the brothers in my ratings. About ten to one to win it. Their strengths are good athletic skills. Their weakness is letting emotion and anger beat them. Coming in second are the Globetrotter at fifteen to one. Their strength is physical fitness. Their weakness is a tendency to have to much fun. Coming in third are the married couple at twenty to one. The strength is really her because of how competitive she is. The weakness is how damn nice he is. I love him for being the nicest dude in the race but this is a competition and when at the finish line go for the win not the niceness. Bringing up the rear are the dating couple at twenty-five to one. Their strength is they work really well together. Their weakness is that they will often choose the wrong of them to do a road block. I really want the interracial couple to win. Niceness rules. I just don't think it will happen.

Have you ever gone for a championship? If you have, have your ever blown it like I did in that church league game? If you are watching any of the reality shows who do you want to win? If you are not watching youn can still tell me if it is more important to be nice or competitive in a competition? And since it is Update Day, catch me up on your lives. What is going on with you? It is your day so post anything you damn well pleas.

TODAY'S WHO AM I ?

Yesterday's answer: Azie Taylor Morton

TODAY'S

I died of natural causes in 1973. I was born in 1880 in the same state that the owner of The Dahn Report was born in. I was the first of seven children born to a rancher/lumber merchant and a former school teacher. In 1902 I graduated from college with a B.S, in biology. In 1908 I moved to New York where I started a career as a social worker. From there I moved to Seattle where I enrolled at the University of Washington and joined the suffrage cause. I lead the efforts that gained women in Montana the right to vote, which they gained n 1914. Two years later the Big Sky state sent me to Washington D.C. to represent their state in a famous house. The first female to do so. I was often referred to as The Lady Of The House. A lifelong pacifist, I voted against the entry of the United States into both World War I and World War II, the only member of Congress to vote against the latter. Despite my vote against entering WWI I devoted myself to selling Liberty Bonds and voted for the military draft. While serving as a field secretary for the National Consumers' League I campaigned for legislation to promote maternal and child health care. I was the founding Vice-President of the American Civil Liberties Union and a founding member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. An admirer of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1968 I led more than 5,000 women who called themselves "The Brigade" to the United States Capitol to demonstrate their opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Coretta Scott King and Judy Collins were among the other well-known women who attended. I bequeathed my property in Watkinsville, Georgia to help "mature, unemployed women workers." I am still the only woman from Montana to serve in Congress. Who Am I?