Light The Cauldron

Often we hear Americans complain about "first world problems." We know that our issues aren't as bad as those who live in smaller, poorer countries, and we acknowledge it with that phrase. But let's be honest - even though we might convince ourselves that we get what they go through, we don't.

The things that I read in Lopez Lomong's book, Running for My Life: One Lost Boy's Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games were eye opening. As a six-year-old, Lomong was taken from his parents by Sudanese soldiers in the People's Liberation Army in order to be trained as a child soldier.

The boys were stuck in one large room, ate terrible food out of one bucket, used the bathroom wherever they could, and watched as fellow boys died around them. With the help of some boys from his village, he escaped the camp and literally ran for his life to Kenya.

At the UN refugee camp, we would assume that Lomong's life drastically improved, but it…

It is so common for us to turn on the television, watch a sport, and think, "Man, it would be really cool to be there."

Well, not all the time. If there's blistering heat or freezing cold, it might be more comfortable to watch on the couch than in the stadium. But be real: if an incredible event in sport took place, don't you want to say that you were there?

As a lover of the Olympics, it has become a goal of mine to not only watch more Olympic events outside of the two weeks of Winter and Summer Games, but also attend more stuff. And with not one, but two national championships coming to the great state of Michigan, I would be remiss if I didn't try to attend a session or two.

The first is the US Figure Skating Championships in January. Those are taking place at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Unlike this year's Stars On Ice show, this is a competition, so the athletes will be giving their all and trying hard stuff so they can go on to the world championshi…

A few years back I lived in Wisconsin. Because I'm originally from Michigan, the transition from one Midwest state to another wasn't that big of a deal. However, there were just enough little things all over the place to remind me that I wasn't in my home state anymore. It felt like a parallel dimension; everything is the same, but everything is just a tad different. 
I have that feeling as I try to watch the Youth Olympic Games that are taking place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, right now. For all intents and purposes, this is an Olympic event. The official logos and colors and designs are plastered all over the place. Athletes are wearing their countries' colors (and sometimes the exact same uniform as two years ago). Omega is still displaying the screens. There's even the same English announcers! 
But it all seems different.
For one thing, I don't know anyone. Due to my constant intake of Olympics news, I am well familiar with athletes from many of the differ…

Last week I was flipping through Netflix and was reminded that the documentary I Am Bolt was there. It seemed like the perfect night for a documentary, so I turned it on! I was only thinking I'd be watching half of it, but I ended up watching all of it in one sitting!

The documentary follows Jamaican track star Usain Bolt as he prepares for the 2016 Olympics in Rio - his last Olympics. In between life, training, and injury recovery (more on that later), the doc inserts highlights of Bolt's early career and Olympic moments. It was crazy seeing him as a 15-year-old!

This was originally put together for German television and aired in late 2016. If you've been a fan of Bolt, this documentary will only make you like him more. He's not always shown to be omniscient - leading up to 2016 he actually suffered a hamstring injury early in the year which postponed his training. It also reared up in the national championships, and if you remember, he didn't race in them but wa…