Fabulous Story from NRAH

Blog purveyor extraordinaire, Paul Levy, shares a great story regarding how a referee can really ruin a moment if they let the LOTG and a lack of common sense get in the way.

Check out Paul's story, Sportsmanship Supreme, at his blog, Not Running A Hospital.

It is a classic!

Failure is not an option here

The cyclist diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease who is inspiring others to ride

Viv Mackay is one of life’s joiners.

She is a member of numerous political and activist groups and used to be an active trade union official.

So it is not particularly surprising that her love of cycling led her to set up a cycling group, an event and, more recently, become an ambassador for women’s cycling.

And given her seemingly boundless energy, perhaps it isn’t surprising that she has done her best not to let Parkinson’s disease stop her from doing what she loves – cycling. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Daily Echo.

Kicking Back Comments: When I was in NH the other week completing my training for the White Mountain Gran Fondo, I saw a mountain biker with one arm, churning out the miles.

It was staggering.

It is hard enough just going out and riding a bike when things are all working the way they should, but just imaging throwing in a serious medical condition on top of it and imagine how hard it gets.

Now, in addition to all of that, to become an advocate for the sport she loves just blows my mind.

Inspiration, thy name is Viv.

And if this one does not jerk at your heart strings ...

... you may want to check your pulse.

Inspiring sports story week continues with:

St. Charles 8th-Grader With Cerebral Palsy Scores His First Touchdown

The actions of the coaches, players and opposing team bring tears to more than one eye as a 13-year-old achieves his dream in scoring his first touchdown.

Eighth-grader Jack McGraw has dreamed of scoring a touchdown for his football team at Haines Middle School in St. Charles. His was a dream, however, that seemed unattainable. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of The Patch.

Kicking Back Comments: Inspiring indeed. We should always strive to be so kind.

Inspiring sports story week continues with this ...

Iranian Referee Gets a Long-Awaited Call: He’s In

Adel Borghei spent Saturday at the United States Open, inside Louis Armstrong Stadium, clad in the navy blue uniform of a referee. He wore sunglasses and made line calls and blended into the background, even if this was far from a normal day at work. ...

See the whole story here, from the NYT.

Kicking Back Comments: There are many, many kudos to go around here for so many to make this happen.

Of course I could rail about the lunacy of something so simple made so complex ... but I won't, as in keeping with the week, for Mr. Borghei to be "called up" and serve his sport, cutting through all the lunacy, is to me, an inspirational story.

With so much bad news out there recently ...

... let's try a week of some truly inspiring sports stuff.

I think it appropriate we begin with this:

Diana Nyad completes record-setting Cuba-to-Florida swim

American 64-year-old long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad today became the first person to swim across the Florida Straits from Cuba without a shark cage, succeeding on her fifth attempt at the feat.

Nyad came ashore about 1 p.m. Chicago time, 53 hours after she set off from Havana, completing the estimated 110-mile journey and setting a record for the longest ocean swim without a shark cage or flippers, according to her crew. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of the Chicago Tribune.

Kicking Back Comments: I recall first introducing this topic back in 2011 with "What a crock" where I take particular aim at the FIFA age restriction of 45 years.

This more than ever resonates with me as I turn 45 later this year.

That said, now is not the time for that particular discussion, just wait until December.

Now however is the time to celebrate, a truly inspiring moment in modern sports history.

She did have one comment among many that resonated with me ...
“There is, it looks like a solitary sport, but it’s a team," Nyad concluded.

Every feel that ay in the center circle waiting to start the game?

Congratulation to Ms. Nyad!