Sitting in the airport waiting for my flight to Dallas, I saw a news report that Lake Tahoe got a bunch of snow dumped on its peaks just in time for closing weekend at many of the resorts. It made me wish I was headed there for some last-chance snowboarding instead. Earlier in the season, I took a road trip to Northstar-at-Tahoe to learn how to snowboard at Burton Academy, a non-traditional school that manager Chris Hargrave says allows pros to “share the sport with the world in a way that is fear free and pain free.”

Sensational skier? Black-diamond bragger? Or are you someone who’s always wanted to take to the slopes but just never tried before? Right now, the mountains are calling you. Usually at this time of year, the peaks are packed with gleeful people crossing elevations like streets, schussing down and riding up the slopes and reeling at the grandeur of it all. But if Squaw Valley, on the north side of Lake Tahoe, is anything to judge by, the slopes and lifts and cable cars have a wonderful amount of elbow room, allowing experts extra room to practice their tricks, and beginners plenty of space to make their mistakes.

I have a bum knee and haven’t gone skiing in years, so my Canadian friends offered a solution that’s equally as exhilarating: tubing. The best part is that it requires very little physical exertion. Now, that’s my kind of sport! Tubing is the next big thing, and it only requires snow and gravity. If you're a beginner like me, you should just keep a few things in mind:

Tip #1: Keep your bum up!
The snow may be soft when you touch it, but not when you’re going fast. To avoid a sore bum, rest your legs over the front of the tube, hold onto the loops and keep your bum up.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member AussieBrad.

With the closing ceremonies behind us it’s time to say bye-bye to Beijing. Though these games were a spectacular in many ways your memories are already starting to fade. Of course there are things we will never forget…The US swimming champ Michael Phelps winning a phenomenal 8 gold medals; the brilliance of the Chinese in sweeping the sports most other countries ignore boosting China to a fantastic high of 51 gold medals; and Usain Bolt breaking the world record for the 200. But there are many things that are better left behind: the possibility of some of Chinese athletes competing under age; the fact that the Chinese conducted the games like the Great Oz manipulating everything from a “cuter” singer to digitized effects; or the that the bold-faced lie promising a totally open and free media. Ah well, it’s time to look to the future. And so I turn your attention to the Winter Olympics s'il vous plait. It is now Canada’s turn.

Don’t for a second think they aren’t aware of the tremendous pressure that comes with the privilege of hosting. I travelled to Whistler while the Beijing Games were in full-swing and got a close look at the prep.

If you’re a sports fan, a news junkie, or basically not living under a rock, you’re probably aware that today marks the first day of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. And while I’ve never been one to catch Olympics fever (the odd assault or bribery scandal excepted, of course), I can’t help but notice how especially momentous this year’s proceedings have been.

Since 2001, when Beijing was awarded the honor of hosting the 2008 Summer Games, China has been going all out to make the Games an occasion to remember--so far with resounding success. A new stadium was constructed, the city’s subway system overhauled, and an ambitious torch relay route, one leg of which included the summit of Mt. Everest, proposed and executed.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member TwoIdiots.

For my countless fans who have reveled in my accounts of soccer, shooting, and the Super Bowl XLII Champion New York Giants, and who have already read and memorized my profile, you already know about my obsession with sports (and penchant for dressing like the Unabomber). Perhaps it’s better to say it’s an obsession with “athletics.” The “sports” debate is never-ending, but even I know that running is an athletic endeavor, not a sport. Anyway, of my many athletic obsessions, lacrosse is the most over-arching and severe. I have changed flights, ditched school, ignored illness, and infuriated loved ones for the sake of making a game on time. Over the course of any given year, I’ll play in up to nearly 10 different “seasons,” not including a variety of tournaments and one-off games. I’m not sure what it is about the game, but I’ve always gone above and beyond for the sport. This is often necessary in New York City when trying to play a game that requires a large field, 20 people, and a lot of liability.

For anyone watching any of the Euro 2008 Cup, I don’t need to explain how exciting some of the games have been. From Turkey’s monumental upset over the Czechs, Croatia’s win over Germany, or the Russian ouster of the Dutch in the quarterfinals, the tournament has been compelling. I really don’t know what it is about international football (referred to as ‘soccer’ from here on out. Sorry, old habits…), but I love it. I have great memories of watching World Cup play since Maradona’s Hand of God, but this particular Euro Cup has been amazing, despite England’s embarrassing absence. With no team to root for outright, I’ve been able to just sit back and watch, celebrating good play and pulling for the underdog.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member onesundaymorning

This past weekend, I stole away to Long Island for some seaside biking with my family. I spent the first hour-and-a-half jaywalking my bike across parkways, a quarter-mile behind my father (who, incidentally, was alternating between illegal sidewalk-riding and erratic wrong-way riding), because it turned out that a bicycle trailhead was nowhere to be found.

From the time we found the path, though, the ride was gorgeous: winding over sailboats and sea, with marsh grass blowing alongside, the route was well-maintained and not too crowded. I enjoyed the foray beyond my usual Brooklyn bike route so much that I’m determined to take this show even further afield. And what better time to plot a path around the world than today, Earth Day? I can’t think of a more enjoyable, healthy, and eco-friendly way to explore a new town than on bicycle, and I’m not the only one: W Hotels are offering free PUMA bike rentals to guests to mark Earth Day.

Here’s the situation: I have only skied twice in my life in conditions that many West Coasters would sneer at. Both times were many, many years ago, in fake machine-generated snow, on soft and forgiving East Coast slopes. In one case, I fell so spectacularly (cartwheeling head over skis into the air) that a person on the ski lift above actually shouted down at me to make sure I was okay.

In a couple weeks, I head to Vail, Colorado, where the snow is the real deal, and the mountains are thousands of feet higher than those in Pennsylvania’s White Tail and Virginia’s Wintergreen. I’ll be going with friends who currently reside in Colorado, and who spend every weekend that they can snowboarding. While they shred the triple-zillion black-diamond runs and conquer the K-12 a la Lane Myer, my plan is to take a lesson and baby my days away on the bunny slope. But what I can’t decide regarding my lesson is, skiing or snowboarding?

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member NSXEatr.

How can one possibly talk about football on a travel blog, you ask? Well, I’m not sure, but I’m going to try. Besides, reindeer running and paintball have already been done. To begin with, my experience with this year’s NFC Championship game was an international one. The New York Giants were playing the Green Bay Packers in frigid Wisconsin, and I convened with my brothers, Max and Will, at Will’s apartment. Also present were Will’s fiancée and her two friends, all three of whom are Canadian. While we Davidson boys sweated and swore and tried to sweet-talk the game in our favor, the ladies chatted and enjoyed some wine, and watched, more or less dumbfounded, at the depths of obsession that they were witnessing from three blue-bedecked, grown men on the couch. As my brother once said, “We’re not religious, but we watch the Giants every Sunday.”