Art Imitates Life...

[csquared]

...but truth is stranger than fiction:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060802.wxbcross02/BNStory/Sports/home

[Allee]

... or perhaps he thinks he should be the only party boy in town.

[nils]

quoted from the article:

The International Olympic Committee reversed its decision the very next day. Mr. Rebagliati has always maintained that he ingested second-hand smoke at a farewell party in Whistler, where he still lives.

second hand smoke is cheaper i assume?

N.

[willywhit]

I think the buds are just that much more potent up in BC. Have you seen that show "Weeds" on HBO/SHO ? Pretty funny what sitcoms are getting away with on cable. "Entourage" is great too (Exec Prod Marky Mark from Boston) they all wanna be the next Sopranos.

[C5 Golfer]

quoted from the article:

The International Olympic Committee reversed its decision the very next day. Mr. Rebagliati has always maintained that he ingested second-hand smoke at a farewell party in Whistler, where he still lives.

second hand smoke is cheaper i assume?

N.

Is there such a thing as second hand synthetic testosterone, Landis may want to know?

[LeeW]

:lol:

[Jack M]

See... this is why you can't trust the media.

Ross's marijuana scandal bears no relevance to the story at hand whatsoever, yet they threw it in there anyway for no apparant reason. Perhaps the author wants us to think that Ross deserves to be cast as an unsavory character, or maybe he has something against snowboarders in general.

I find that whenever the media turns their attention on something that I am intimately knowledgeable about, 90% of the time they get it wrong.

[Justin A.]

See... this is why you can't trust the media.

Ross's marijuana scandal bears no relevance to the story at hand whatsoever, yet they threw it in there anyway for no apparant reason. Perhaps the author wants us to think that Ross deserves to be cast as an unsavory character, or maybe he has something against snowboarders in general.

I find that whenever the media turns their attention on something that I am intimately knowledgeable about, 90% of the time they get it wrong.

The author was probally browsing Burton's webstore and thats why he threw it in...subconciously.

________

Launch Box

[skategoat]

See... this is why you can't trust the media.

Ross's marijuana scandal bears no relevance to the story at hand whatsoever, yet they threw it in there anyway for no apparant reason. Perhaps the author wants us to think that Ross deserves to be cast as an unsavory character, or maybe he has something against snowboarders in general.

I find that whenever the media turns their attention on something that I am intimately knowledgeable about, 90% of the time they get it wrong.

Huh? Do a quick Google search for "Ross Rebagliati". Every *single* story about him from a credible news source mentions his marijuana scandal. How could you mention Ross and *not* mention the scandal? It's like writing a story on Ben Johnson and not mentioning the fact that he tested positive for banned substances in Seoul.

[csquared]

Controversy just seems to find this guy and follow him.

Skategoat: I think what Jack was alluding to was the rather fractured and incorrect account of what happened to Ross in the '98 Olympics. Everyone knows the basic facts. The press just have a penchant for mangling the details as Jack points out.

[skategoat]

Controversy just seems to find this guy and follow him.

Skategoat: I think what Jack was alluding to was the rather fractured and incorrect account of what happened to Ross in the '98 Olympics. Everyone knows the basic facts. The press just have a penchant for mangling the details as Jack points out.

Right. Sorry Jack. I don't trust the media either.

As for Ross, he's a sad story. The guy just can't move on and is obviously desperate to stay in the limelight. First the "comeback" story, now this. Come on Ross, get a life.

I swear, the Tony Soprano character is based on me. Other than the fact that he's a mob boss and he's Italian. I should sue.

[Jack M]

Actually, I meant both. The account was less than accurate, but it was also completely unnecessary to include it. All that needed to be said was "Ross Rebagliati, 1998 Olympic snowboarding gold medalist, says..." That's all the history that bears relevance to the story. If the IOC reversed their decision, then there is no need to put an asterisk next to his name forever. But instead the author decided to paint him with the same brush as any other pot-head. Why? What purpose does that serve? Nothing, other than the author's agenda. Everyone has an agenda, only the very best journalists are capable of hiding it. Unfortunately I can't think of a single one these days.

[skategoat]

Jack, you must be suffering from over-exposure to Fox News and CNN. Not every journalist has an axe to grind.

And again, I'll disagree with you on the Ross article. He is and will be forever linked to the pot scandal. And he milks it too. Witness his recent Kokanee tour. Do you think a beer company would hire Ross if he didn't have a party-hearty image? Didn't the Kokanne ads have some tagline about it being "legal"?

[lonerider]

Actually, I meant both. The account was less than accurate, but it was also completely unnecessary to include it. All that needed to be said was "Ross Rebagliati, 1998 Olympic snowboarding gold medalist, says..." That's all the history that bears relevance to the story. If the IOC reversed their decision, then there is no need to put an asterisk next to his name forever. But instead the author decided to paint him with the same brush as any other pot-head. Why? What purpose does that serve? Nothing, other than the author's agenda. Everyone has an agenda, only the very best journalists are capable of hiding it. Unfortunately I can't think of a single one these days.

I agree with skategoat. I don't think it's some vast right/left wing media conspiracy. The pot scandal gave Ross his fame and money (it certainly was not his gold medal that did it). The wild party boy character is based on his now infamous pot smoking exploits more than his gold medal achievement, so it only makes sense to mention it to show why the two personas are connected. Only someone who is an alpine rider would care that he was a world-class snowboard racer as well.

[willywhit]

so which one is the pothead ?

btw, I've been told that I bear a striking resemblance to "the dude" in "The Big Lebowski" and the movie may be based on my life. Can I seek compensation here ? ...because, I do mind, the Dude minds. This will not stand, ya know, ... :lol:

[Rob Stevens]

If there's no connection, then why is Ross suing these people and the CTV?

I read the article (thanks for the scan-job) and it didn't seem like they were trying to burn him, they were just telling a story about what he's up to.

Without prefacing it with his weed connection, though, there's no context and no basis for his suit.

If the "media" were stirring s#!t up, they would have gone to him, quietly living in his cave, to ask him what he thought of network TV getting over on his story.

As it happens, though, he went to them, holding his story out in front of himself, asking us all to scrutinize the whole thing again (which I had to do already as the CBC snowboard commentator for Nagano).

A frivoulous suit, to be sure, but without his "inspiration" mere creative writing could have never devised a plot so compelling.

[skategoat]

Now I've never seen the show but looking at that photo posted by whillywhit, I don't know any Whistler snow bums who look like that. Not enough facial hair and way too clean.

[csquared]

As you say Rob:

"A frivoulous suit, to be sure, but without his "inspiration" mere creative writing could have never devised a plot so compelling." Hence my original message: truth is stranger than fiction.

I can almost hear your CBC commentary during Nagano in my head. I have rerun my video tape of that race so many times. That was one of the most exciting events in sports... ever. The suspense was incredible with Fawcett's board blowing up, Jasey coming into the second run with best time from the first run but running last in the first seed, and Ross putting it all together for one and apparently final time. Its great to have you here hanging out on Bomber.

[kipstar]

Actually there is some guy suing michael Jordan at the moment, because he has suffered emotional hardship from looking like MJ for the last 15 years.

I think he is asking for $300m USD.

There is something broke in a system where people cannot look at a little hardship and laugh, rather than looking to cash in on it.

And based on my friends who went to Whistler, none of them looked remotely close to those people.

Even in Mammoth on President Weekend, I saw hardly anyone looking like that.

Do people that look like that ride well?

[Jack M]

There is something broke in a system where people cannot look at a little hardship and laugh, rather than looking to cash in on it.

Clearly, it is too easy to become a lawyer.

[csquared]

Its not that its so easy to become a lawyer, its that lawyers in the US can take a case on "contingency". This means that a lawyer can take on a case without an hourly fee but instead receive a percentage of any settlement the court awards to his client. In essence, this means the speculative practice of legal services and it is one of the major reasons that US society is so litigious. Until recently in Canada, this practice was not permitted and I believe it still proscribed in most of the other former Commonwealth countries.

I'm not a lawyer but that's the way I see it.

[lonerider]

And based on my friends who went to Whistler, none of them looked remotely close to those people.

Even in Mammoth on President Weekend, I saw hardly anyone looking like that.

Whistler now a days is like Disneyland in terms of crowds and the diversity of people in all respects (nationality, age, ability, attractiveness). Memorable quotes the last time I was there "That's right! how did that porn movie shoot go?" This was said while walking through the village in one of those unexpected conversation gaps where you use more volume than needed and everyone in a 20 feet radius overhears what you said. Turns out it was much less interesting than it sounds, basically the person was a video technician (?) and was setting up some rented video/sound equipment for a "film" and then realized what type of film it was.

I have been to a secluded mountain where a large percentage of the locals are unusually attractive (unusual in its consistency from restaurant to restaurant to coffee shop to ski shop)... Mike T has been there too and can vouch. Even the alpine snowboard instructors were rubbing their eyes a lot.