Joanne C. Gerstner

– I was very humbled to learn that a story I wrote last year, on fan safety at ballparks and ice arenas, earned a national top 10 award from Associated Press Sports Editors. The story, which is unfortunately behind the archive paywall of the Detroit News, discussed the risks of attending baseball and hockey games. Fans do get hurt, despite the precautions taken by the clubs.

Or maybe, better said, happy tease of spring. The snow has melted, there is blue sky, and I have the windows open. Ahh. Hey, 50 degrees is practically a heat wave for me. I know winter is not over yet, and there are more nasty blasts to come. I will take things as they come 🙂 Go spring!

– I am still writing for the NY Times Olympics blog, as there are still things going on with the athletes.

this and that:
– any other 24 fans out there notice how Jack has now lectured two younger men this season about how he’s the elder statesman of badass? He told the officer at CTU that he didn’t want to start anything with him, because Jack would end it quickly. And the young suicide bomber was threatened by Jack, telling him that the kid didn’t even know what he’d all done in his career. Way to open the can of whup ass Jack!

– Anybody else bored with Project Runway this season? I don’t know, none of the designers have captured my interest. Mila’s always doing modular stuff with black and white, and she’s the only one I remember! C’mon PR – make it work!

– Was watching the U.S. v. Serbia in Davis Cup – yes, I realize I was probably one of 5 people doing that – and was marveling at how deep the red clay was on the court. Looked like a litter box. How do you play in that footing? Wow. And love how Novak Djokovic turned it on and off vs. Sam Querry. C’mon Novak. If you don’t want to be there, don’t RSVP.

– My tennis is coming back, as I’m working hard on my head and body to gain confidence. Suffering a serious knee injury sucks more than you know. But slowly, like the melting of snow in spring…..things are coming back!

– if the Canadian (or American) men’s hockey teams celebrate winning the gold the way the Canadian women did…would there be an issue? Are people up in arms that women were smoking stogies, drinking, and celebrating? Women will never get the pleasure of winning the Stanley Cup. Every Stanley Cup celebration, from the ones I have witnessed live being in the locker room to the ones I saw on TV, have had beer, champagne and stogies. And argument is raised that one of the Canadians is a month shy of her 19th birthday, making her underage to drink in Alberta. Whatever people, this is not a controversy. It may be more of a reveal of the different standards for male and female athletes.

– why President Obama called all the Senators and Representatives by their first names during the Health Care Summit, while everybody honored his position by calling him Mr. President? It was just a small thing, but made an impression on me about Obama’s ego and how he was trying to reinforce his power and position both in the room and for the TV cameras. And if you are secure, you don’t need to do those parlor games.

– why if skating is the top event, in terms of ratings, for the Olympics, why wouldn’t NBC show more of it? I think they showed all of 10 of the 24 skaters in the long program. I agree, there are about 4-6 skaters who can be skipped. But there were others who were entertaining and wonderful, and NBC didn’t show they because they weren’t American.

– Here’s a story I did for the NY Times about the American angst over no CBC for the Vancouver Olympics.

– Does it mean anything that my cat, Oreo, puked during Tiger Woods’ address to the nation? For the record, Oreo is fine. I can’t attest for how Tiger is….

– My latest on the Olympics, on Hannah Kearney’s gold medal-winning team around her. Every athlete has somebody behind them, helping them achieve their best.

– Stephen Colbert made me cry with laughter with his bit on NBC last night. He was hilarious talking about how he motivated Shani Davis by screaming at him during his gold medal-winning race. And then, the piece de resistance, crawling inside of the fakey-fake fireplace on the NBC set. Best thing shown all day!
Save for Shaun White and the crazy-cool ladies downhill.

– Here’s a story I did on inline skaters who made the transition to Olympic stardom on Olympic ice.

Want to see possibly the best ice dance routine – ever? (Not to say that what’s coming up can’t be good too…). Everything was perfect: the costumes, the music, the emotion, the flow, the technical moves. Bravo, bravo, bravo. And now…. Torvill and Dean.

Things that are kicking around in my head, in no particular order:

– Serena Williams is nothing short of a real warrior. She had more bandages than a mummy during the final rounds of the Australian Open, but clearly her heart and will were at full strength. She was amazing to watch as she gutted out the wins over Li and Henin. Wow. Not sure about Justine Henin’s strategy in the final. I understand playing aggressively and going for it. But you still need to get your first serve in. I was surprised she didn’t figure that out. Still, a wonderful final.

– Roger Federer is equally amazing. He is so calm, so in control out there. And the shotmaking is insane. Drop-shots in a third set tie-breaker for a Grand Slam? Yikes. Yes, Andy Murray, you’re so right. We can all cry like Roger, but we can’t play like him.

– Shame on anybody who wasted valuable minutes of their lifespan watching the Pro Bowl. What a waste of time. I don’t think anybody would mind if the Pro Bowl and the NHL All-Star game disappeared. NBA can be entertaining, and the MLB show isn’t bad. At least is means something for the World Series. But boo, boo, boo on the Pro Bowl. Yawn.

– I wish Lady Gaga would take off the crazy costumes and just be the amazing singer and musician she really is. She can sing, she can play piano. But everybody is going to get caught up in the freak show she’s putting on.

– I would love to give Rhianna a make over. She’s pretty, and yet, somebody has made her into this futuristic alien from Barbados. Please stop.

– Beyonce is beautiful and has a slammin’ body. But could you add like 2 inches to your neckline and 4 to your skirt? Classy is not being 3/4 naked. Besides, you looked a bit cold.

– And finally….c’mon spring! I am tired of being cold!!!!

I’ve been a busy bee:

– got to do a fun story for the NY Times on the amazing stuff happening in Gaylord, Mich. The tiny town is snowboarding central right now, with a lot of Olympians from around the world hanging out to train there. Never have gotten to stand on or at the top/bottom of a half pipe while people who are at their best zipped by. They’re brave, amazing, and yes, a bit nuts. But very, very fun to watch. Good luck to all of them in the coming weeks.

Here’s the story.

– And here is another story from Gaylord, on the amazing Aussie Torah Bright.

– You never know how lucky you are to live in freedom and be able to live your life…Margaret Lambert, a track star from Germany in the 1930s, had her Olympic dreams cut off by the Nazis. Now Germany is trying to make it right, for as much as they can.