Fight On! USC-UCLA Track Meet!

USC and UCLA 2007 Track And Field Press Conference!

Very few track meets pit one great team against another now-a-days and this is unfortunate… most meets feature many schools together. However, the USC-UCLA dual meet has always been a historical event… and competing in it retains city bragging rights…. forever. When alumni meet years later… they will always ask,” how did you do in THE dual meet?” Some folks will say,” I never lost… or it took me four years to win one…”… but everyone KNOWS who did what and when… also WHO didn’t.

Last year, Karen PR’d in 3 events winning the Shot Put at 57-07.5. The key word in the entire sentence is that ‘she won.’ She also left as the Trojan record holder.

I participated in the meet in my time and won… although I was on the other side as the Bruin recordholder for roughly 10 years or so. It was always so much better to meet alumni when you won. However, I picked up my two masters at Southern Cal… and that always ment a lot to me.

The latest press conference brought out a lot of ‘talk’… but the match-ups are set and all that is left is the meet. USC’s take on the meet. It’ll be a fun meet to watch.

Fight On!

Roger Freberg

Buying Books or Sending books to our troops in Iraq

a group of avid book readers in Iraq

I have always found it interesting in seeing what people enjoy reading when under pressure… recently, one of my favorite on-line stores ABEBOOKS.COM wrote just about that… they even provided a list of the types of books that Westerners in Iraq — be they civilians or military — bought while they were there.
Most of the books aren’t too different from what the rest of us read, although I don’t know how many translation books anyone buys… say English -Ukrainian or English- Turkey… but Harry Potter is one of the big sellers…. as are practical books on military issues. Here’s a list of some of the books… but check the site for a more complete listing!
 
Books of Fiction
 
The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
·  Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
·  Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry
·  Mostly Harmless, Douglas Adams
·  The Collector, John Fowles
·  The Devil’s Guard, George Robert Elford
·  The Unwanted, John Saul
·  The Alchemist, Ken Goddard
·  Apollyon: The Destroyer is Unleashed, Tim LaHaye
·  Master of Dragons, Margaret Weis
·  The Illuminati, Larry Burkett
I have also send VHS and DVD movies to Iraq and Afghanistan…also a big hit.
Roger Freberg
 
 

 Books of Fiction , JD Salinger·  , JK Rowling·  , Larry McMurtry·  , Douglas Adams·  , John Fowles·  , George Robert Elford·  , John Saul·  , Ken Goddard·  , Tim LaHaye·  , Margaret Weis·  , Larry BurkettRoger Freberg 

American Women in Combat

Kristin is on the far leftMy daughter Kristin ( on the far right with her troups during the Invasion of Iraq) has written an excellent article on women in combat … there are many women in today’s military doing the hard job required.

Asked why they are fighting… some women will tell you it is to protect their rights to live free as well as yours.

Here’s Kristin’s article.

My heart felt appreciation to all our military personnel for their continuing contribution to preserving our way of life…

Roger Freberg

 

American Great Parry O’Brien Passes On…

1957 finds former Trojan and Olympic Great Parry O'Brien throwing the discus in Iowa 

I was reading on one of the track sites in a post by Harold Connolly that Parry O’Brien passed away. I first learned to throw the shot by studying frame-by-frame pictures of his efforts.

In the photo above, Parry competes in the discus in 1957 in Iowa. O’Brien held the world record in the shot put from 1953 until 1959. At the Drake Relays in 1954 he broke his own world record in the shot put. O’Brien won 18 National AAU championships, 17 of them in the shot and one in the discus.

He was inducted and honored many times… most importantly — to me — he was a Trojan Hall of Famer. He will always be remembered as an inspiration in track & field.

Fight On , Parry.

Roger Freberg

a “GATOR” at TENNESSEE??

Karen becomes a 'Volunteer'!My daughter competed for the University of Florida earning a Bachelors in Public relations, before (happily for me) she finished her last year of eligibility as a graduate student at the University of Southern California as a Trojan… however, it seems very interesting to me that she is now going to one of Florida’s arch rivals as a doctoral student in Communications. Karen has good memories of Tennessee as this was the place where she won her first SEC Championship.

In business, we used to call this varied experience ‘cross polination’… learning skills from different businesses and industries and applying them to your world. A friend once told Karen in Tennessee Spiritme… ‘what might seem trite and cliché’ in one industry when applied to another may be considered innovative!’ He was right. So, I can really see the beauty in attending a variety of universities and communities, learning from each and building a wealth of positive experience.

Karen has a little more time at ‘SC before she finally completes her two year degree and receives her masters later this summer… that is, after her Public Relations internship in South Africa for a couple of months.

What do I personally remember about Tennessee? Well, they beat us in 1974 for the NCAA Championship… I was captain of the other guys. My experience with their athletes was a good one and we traded school t-shirts… I think you’ll be alright. 

Although I know that Karen will love Tennessee, and she has said nothing but great things about them… please forgive me, Karen… but you will always be a Trojan to me! 

Fight on!

Roger Freberg