McKee's McThoughts: Things to ponder

A few things from the summer to ponder:

Can Lara Gut survive being coached by Dad at the World Cup level? There are reasons to believe it could work; Marc Girardelli comes immediately to mind. But as a father who raised three daughters (raised might be too strong, but I was in the same house) I freely admit I didn’t have a firm grasp of much of anything having to do with young female minds, emotions, needs or wants.

I’m just saying, “It won’t be easy.”

With the vast amounts of rain seen in the East I can’t help wondering how much snow it would have translated to had it been winter.A few things from the summer to ponder:

Can Lara Gut survive being coached by Dad at the World Cup level? There are reasons to believe it could work; Marc Girardelli comes immediately to mind. But as a father who raised three daughters (raised might be too strong, but I was in the same house) I freely admit I didn’t have a firm grasp of much of anything having to do with young female minds, emotions, needs or wants.

I’m just saying, “It won’t be easy.”

With the vast amounts of rain seen in the East I can’t help wondering how much snow it would have translated to had it been winter.

If it wasn’t mono that sidelined Carlo Janka from training a while back, then what was it? A big ole strong athlete being constantly exhausted and unable to train sounds like something that could be serious.

Does anyone else get the feeling Bode Miller has left the building?

Danny Albrecht’s recovery is a great story isn’t it?  – And it helps us all keep the most positive thoughts for Cody Marshall. Speaking of which, what a rare privilege and educational experience it has been to monitor Marshall’s progress via the family blog. Thank you for sharing so intimately.

It’s also nice to learn how supportive the ski racing community has been. We are an amazing group of people.

French slalom coach, Jacques Theolier, has moved to Italy. Is that the biggest real ski news of the off-season? With the recent successes of Jean-Baptiste Grange and Julien Lizeroux we have to wonder. Neither guy was a new young stud, but rather mature racers who brought their skiing up a couple of notches under Theolier. Maybe not miracle quality results, but certainly quantifiable improvement. And now he works with an Italian team that’s been – shall we say – underachieving. His mere presence has been enough to convince the nearly 34-year old Giorgio Rocca to extend his career through 2010. That statement alone carries some weight.

Could be tough for most any other men’s speed team to score big this season with Austria returning Johan Grugger, Andreas Buder and Mario Scheiber from injury. That was a lot of talent that spent last season sidelined. On the other hand, seems like Austria usually has a lot of talent on the sidelines.

World Cup Dreams has helped some pretty stellar athletes make their impact (Like Todd Lodwick), so it was good to hear the annual Portland fundraiser went well. Among items auctioned: a week in the Cayman Islands at a poolside penthouse; two nights in Vegas at the Palms Place; Mikasa Crystal Stemware; Volkl, 4Frnt, Atomic and Dynastar skis; Bogner Jackets; and a seven-night stay in Sun Valley. Wow.

“Overall it was both a success for the event itself and a great step in establishing the brand and support in the area,” said Scott Macartney, a foundation liaison director. “The people at Multnomah were incredible helping us with the event, organizing and bringing it all together. Truly an amazing group of people there.” Like I was saying about the people in skiing earlier.

One last McThought: It seems like a shame the women ski jumpers lost their lawsuit and won’t be competing at the Winter Games. At least it seems like there ought to be some shame spread somewhere. The first time a woman out-jumps the men – which aerodynamically seems a sound postulate – there’s going to be some scrambling to stand in their corner.

Safe speed my friends.