2009 Michigan Cup...

...wow is it really almost 2009!?  The 2009 nordic ski season is shaping up to be an awesome one.   Is everyone on snow already?  I think the whole state has been skiing for a while.  I know here in SE Michigan we have been sliding around for close to a month, is that right?  Are we getting back to the winters of the late 70's??  I sure hope so...it makes living in SE Mich somewhat bearable in the winter when you can actually get out and ski :)

Well....onto to the 2009 Mich Cup predictions.   Its going to be one of the greatest Cups ever.  Everyone is on an even playing field this season as their has been a fair distribution of the white stuff all over the state.  I say winter is here to stay and we have a battle on tap every weekend for the new few months.  Lets get ready to rumble!!!

OK...on the men's side we have a bit of the same ol' same ol'...will these old guys ever give way to the youngsters?  Doubtful...the kings of the cup will not give the crown away. The kids on the tour will have to fight for it if they want it.  Wait a sec....do we have any "kids" on the tour?  

2009 Men's Mich Cup

1. Milan Biac(tie, but Milan wins the tie breaker)
2. David MacLean(tie)
3. Todd Vigland
4. Denny Paull
5. John Gravlin
6. Andrew Triebold
7. Cliff Onthank
8. John Morgan
9. Steve Smigiel, Jr
10. Dave Fanslow

I hope all you guys have been training!?  Others I see close to the top 10....Yvon DuFour, Dell Todd, Mike Muha, and maybe Christian Byar??  

Now for the ladies....  Last year I missed the boat with a very fast lady and I hope I don't repeat that again this year.  

2009 Women's Mich Cup

1. Tracy Hardin
2. Kellie Kirk
3. Emily Flynn
4. Kelly Mikolajczyk
5. Amy Todd

The team standing will see the cream rise to the top with a new face coming out on top at the end.

2009 Mich Cup Team Standings

1. Hanson Hills/CCSS
2. XCSkiHQ
3. GRNST
4. NSR
5. SS

Hanson Hills will have the numbers as well as the speed to take the 2nd edition of the Brumbaugh Cup.

Remember this is all in good fun....no offense to anyone that I left off the list.  To all thinking about doing a race this season...just do it!  Join a team, get in 5 races and have a few beers at the relays with some of the greatest people on the planet....NORDIC SKIERS!!

Be safe and train hard...see you on the white stuff!

Pssssss.....

....that's the air hissing out of my training for most of November :(  I was rolling pretty well up until the time change then I went into hibernation mode.  So, not too much excitement to write about.  We have had snow for close to 3 weeks now, so that has been great to get out on the white stuff on a somewhat regular basis.

 All the talk of the "Big 3" "bailout"/"loan" has been rather entertaining.  Working for GM, I can tell we have made huge changes in our product line and cost structure since I started in 1999.  If we were still at those levels of employment and structure we would be done already.  All the talk about how inept the leadership is just plain false.  Sure, we have made some really bad decisions but people need to look at the cars on the dealer lots TODAY and tell me we are not as good or better then the transplants.   The thing I love the most is how their is ZERO coverage of the huge mistake Toyota made in launching their brand new BILLION dollar Tundra plant in Texas at the exact time gas prices skyrocketed this year.  Why is that not plastered on the front page of every newspaper?  Why is Congress not calling for Toyota's CEO to step down for such a terrible business decision.  Man if a US company had made that move we would have been cooked by the media.  Well...maybe nobody, not even the mighty Toyota could see the gas price rise on the horizon??   And if you want to talk GREEN, take a look at GM's hybrid bus's that are in many US cities....that save way more in emissions than all the Prius's ever made.  GM made a choice to go after bus's first with our hybrid tech to make the biggest impact on the problem...emissions.  I guess that's really not newspaper selling news though is it.....do some research, check out the facts.   Anyway....my rant is over.    If any0ne is looking for a vehicle I can give a GM discount to 2 people...

Next up I'll have to think about the 2009 Mich Cup predictions...