The Formula One of the Skies is Coming to Canada

By Sheiban Shakeri… On the 13th and 14th of June, the Red Bull Air Race will make their first trip to Canada. Already a successful series in Europe, the Middle East, parts of the United States, and Australia, Canada is new territory but definitely not one that is alien to the concept of air racing.

The first Red Bull Air Race in Canada will take place in Windsor on the Detroit River where 15 of the world’s best pilots will be racing in two countries simultaneously in this cross-border classic.

The Red Bull Air Race can easily be described as the Formula 1 for the skies. In its short history, it has achieved the distinction of being the top tier of aerosports and has garnered attention from many in the motorsport community including Formula 1 and NASCAR drivers.

What is the Red Bull Air Race?

The Red Bull Air Race is a high-speed, low-altitude race against the clock for the world’s best pilots.

The aircraft are light, nimble and custom-built for the job that they’re supposed to do: navigate a low-altitude track at high-speeds and tolerate g-forces as high as 12. That means that they push 12 times the force of gravity on their body and their aircraft.

In comparison, when taking off on an airliner, they push a maximum of 1.5 g’s; a Formula One driver will feel a maximum of five to six g’s when cornering; and going downhill on some rollercoasters will be about three g’s.

The pilots have to be mentally and physically strong and the planes have to be able to take the pressure that they’re subjected to in order to avoid the unthinkable.

The Track

A Red Bull Air Race track is denoted by a series of inflatable pylons, or ‘air gates,’ which have to be navigated through in the fastest time possible. They are two different colours – red and blue – with the former meaning that the pilot will have to fly at a knife edge of 90 degrees, or a ‘knife-edge,’ between them while the latter means that the aircraft has to be perfectly horizontal, or a ‘level-flight.’

There are also different types of air gates that are utilized.

The chicane is a series of three pylons that are lined up. The pilot and his aircraft have to fly in a slalom style around these pylons.

Rookies Matt Hall of Australia and Pete McLeod of Canada have both said to me that this is the most enjoyable gate.

Another gate is known as the quadro. This is four gates arranged in a square formation and is flown through twice per lap.

The way that this is done is the pilot will attack the gate in a knife-edge formation, make a steep 270-degree turn and then go through again from the other end.

These are the most common gates that are seen in a Red Bull Air Race. In some races, the odd gate will be absent, but that is due to space and safety constraints.

As well, navigating a gate with an incorrect knife flying (IKF) or incorrect level flying (ILF) will add a penalty of two seconds to a pilot’s time, and with fastest time being key, two seconds has the potential of being the difference between first and fifth place. Should a pilot hit a pylon with their wing or any other part of their aircraft, six seconds are added to their time.

Windsor

The third round of the Red Bull Air Race will take place in Windsor on June 13 and 14.

This will be the first time that a Red Bull Air Race will be hosted in Canada, but it won’t be the first time that it has been exposed to Canadian audiences. Last year, Detroit hosted a Red Bull Air Race and it was a hit in Southern Ontario, even though only about a quarter of the actual race was held over the Canadian side of the Detroit River.

Still, history was made in two respects: the fact that the Red Bull Air Race broke into Canada and also that a sporting event was held in two countries simultaneously.

The Canadian debut of the Red Bull Air Race also coincides with the centennial of the first flight of the Silver Dart and marks the homecoming of Canada’s first air racing pilot and the youngest man to participate in the series, rookie Pete McLeod at 25 years of age.

So far, the seventh season of the Red Bull Air Race has been anything but predictable. The 2008 world champion, Hannes Arch of Austria, has been keeping his diligence in staying at the top.

By winning two qualifying sessions out of two and taking victory in the season opener in Abu Dhabi with a third place due to a seagull hit in San Diego, Arch has the overall lead in the world championship, but barely.

Paul Bonhomme of Great Britain, last year’s championship runner-up, has not lost his touch just yet and is very much in the hunt behind the Austrian. He currently has one of the heaviest aircraft in the field but the aerodynamic modifications to his Edge 540 are impeccable.
The biggest surprise of 2009 so far is Nicolas Ivanoff of France. After a terrible 2008 season due to an aircraft that was just too slow, the Frenchman has upgraded his wings to a brand new Edge 540. After just two races, Ivanoff has stood on the podium twice and on the top step in the previous round in San Diego after setting the track record in the final round.

The Red Bull Air Race in Windsor will take place over the Detroit River with the temporary runway – the airport where all air racing pilots and aircraft are located – located at a nearby airport on Canadian soil.

All eyes will be on Pete McLeod in Windsor. He may be a rookie but he is making an impact with the Red Bull Air Race. Currently, the 25-year old Canadian is currently in last place with no points after finishing 15th and last in the first two rounds.

However, after completing the previous round in San Diego, he has had special modifications made to his Edge 540 racing plane which will make their debut in Windsor. Perhaps the first points for the first Canadian in the first air race in Canada?

Overall, the first ever Canadian round of the Red Bull Air Race is looking to be really unpredictable for the main championship protagonists. With many modifications made both to Pete McLeod’s aircraft and that of the other 14 pilots, anything is possible.

Do You Believe In Miracles? The Story Of The 1960 Philadelphia Eagles

By Bryn Swartz… They are my favorite team in NFL history and I never even saw them play.

The Eagles entered into their third season under head coach Buck Shaw. The 1958 season had marked disaster, as the club won just 2 of 12 games. The 1959 campaign produced five more wins than the previous campaign, and sparked excitement for the 1960 season.

Quarterback Norm Van Brocklin had already announced that the 1960 season would be his last. Aging center and linebacker Chuck Bednarik, the last of the NFL’s two-way players, had reached the age of 35. The Eagles were under immense pressure to contend for the league crown. However, many experts viewed the Eagles as nothing more than a slightly above average football team.

The season began with a disappointing blowout loss against Jim Brown and the Cleveland Browns.

The Eagles then turned in a team-record nine game winning streak.

They squeaked out two-point road wins against the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns. The Browns’ game ended with an improbable walk-off field goal by kicker Bobby Walston, and is described by Hall of Fame analyst Ray Didinger as the game that launched the Eagles toward their championship crown.

They won back-to-back games against the New York Giants, both times coming from behind in the fourth quarter.

The first of the two Giants’ victories is remembered for the massive hit that Bednarik laid on running back Frank Gifford, now called one of the most incredible hits in NFL history. Bednarik described the hit as a “Volkswagon going down a one-street, with a Mack truck coming the opposite way.” The Mack truck won.

The image of Chuck Bednarik, right fist clenched, standing over Gifford’s unconscious body, is arguably the most memorable image in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Giants’ kicker Pat Summerall remembers the incident: “They carried Frank off the field on a stretcher, and unknown to us, some fan that day had had a heart attack in the stands. The man had unfortunately died in our locker room. They were taking him out with a sheet over his face, just as we started to walk in, and we all thought that Bednarik had killed Gifford.”

In all, the never-say-die Eagles turned six potential losses into six fourth quarter victories.

“We would bite, scratch, kick, gouge, anything we could do to win a game. It just seemed like we had a guardian angel over us or something.,” said wide receiver Tommy McDonald.

The team’s Most Valuable Player–in fact, the league’s MVP–was Norm Van Brocklin. “If ever a single player lifted a team that was average into winning a championship, it was him, and he did it by the sheer force of his personality, his will, and his skill,” said Philadelphia sports columnist Larry Merchant.

Despite ranking 10th out of 12 teams in defense, Bednarik’s men forced an incredible 45 turnovers in 12 games, including six each versus the St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Lions, and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Buck Shaw’s powerful Eagles’ squad won 10 of 12 games on the season and captured the NFL East championship.

They earned the right to host the Green Bay Packers in the NFL championship. The Packers featured an absolutely awesome lineup, including ten future Hall of Famers. They were coached by Vince Lombardi, who many consider to be the greatest coach in the history of the National Football League.

The Eagles were underdogs for the championship game, despite winning two more games in the regular season than the Packers, and playing at home.

The Packers outplayed the Eagles for virtually the entire game, until Ted Dean’s five-yard touchdown run gave the Eagles a 17-13 lead with five minutes to play.

With eight seconds left, the Packers had the ball on the 25-yard line. Running back Jim Taylor caught a short pass and quickly broke two tackles. He was promptly leveled by Bednarik, who held Taylor down on the ground as the last few seconds ticked off the clock. When the clock reached zero, Bednarik stood over Taylor and exclaimed, “You can get up! This f—— game is over!”

The Philadelphia Eagles were the champions of the National Football League.

The 1960 Eagles have been called “a team with nothing but a title.”

“The 1960 football season was like a genie that came out of a bottle in City Hall courtyard, and for one year, it granted Philadelphia’s football fans their every wish,” said Didinger.

“It was just a strange, unique group of guys that suddenly decided that the most important thing in the world to them was to win a championship,” says tight end Pete Retzlaff.

No Eagles team in history has ever taken its fans on such a thrill ride as the 1960 team.

Not the 1991 squad playing without a quarterback. Not the 1980 team that reached the franchise’s first Super Bowl. Not even the 2004 team that dismantled all but one of its opponents before resting its starters and reaching a second Super Bowl.

In Philadelphia, winning is everything. It’s not optional. It’s not a bonus.

It’s a necessity.

Before 2008, people would ask me my favorite Phillies team and I would tell them that I didn’t have one. Sometimes I would choose the ‘80 team. Now I have seen a world championship from our baseball team.

I have never seen a winner from our football team.

I’ve seen a team that I will argue was the best team in the NFL (2004). I’ve seen a true-life Rocky team (2006). I’ve seen extreme roller-coaster rides (2008). I’ve seen overachievers (2003) and underachievers (2007). I’ve seen one-man teams (2000).

But I have never, in my 19 years, seen a champion. I can’t even remember 1960. My dad doesn’t even remember 1960.

I would give anything to have lived through the times of Van Brocklin and Bednarik.

The 1960 season produced the most memorable, wild, roller coaster ride in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles, culminating in dramatic fashion, with the arrival of the team’s third NFL championship.

And their last, to date.

Hail to The King

By Brady Rynyk…

With one second left in regulation, Lebron James nailed a clutch 3-pointer to give the Cavaliers the win and tie the conference final series at one game a piece.  In what was possibly James’ biggest shot of his career, the buzzer-beater could very easily be the turning point for the Cav’s as the series heads back to Orlando on Sunday.  The phenom was fully aware that losing back-to-back home games could have potentially devastating for the Cleveland who had only lost two games the entire season.  “We just couldn’t afford to go down 0-2,” James said, “That’s just a great shot. Now we have to get ready for Game 3. There’s a lot to clean up.”  Having missed his previous attempts behind the arch, James’ game winning 3-pointer was simply another demonstration of why he was voted this years MVP.  Lebron’s play throughout the game was unstoppable as he drove to the lane at will, finishing with 35-pts., and for those who saw, were certainly witness to his greatness.  After 2 costly turnovers with under a minute left to play, The King kept his composure and did with great player do – win.
After the game Cavs coach Mike Brown commented on his superstar, “To have the wherewithal to have that type of confidence in yourself, to know there’s one second on the clock and you’re ending this thing right now…not many people could do it.  An amazing shot by an amazing player. That’s what great players do.”

In addition to James, the Cavaliers got strong contributions from All-star Mo Williams that sparked the team to a 12-pt. half-time lead.  The Cavaliers would build on their offensive output as the Magic trailed by as much as 23-pts in large part due to The Big Z, Zydrunas Ilgauskas who put up 12-pts, 15 rebounds and help limit Orlando’s all-star Dwight Howard to only 10-pts.

Although Howard’s presence on the offensive end was absent, the 2009 defensive player of the year brought down 18 rebounds (14 defensive) and added 2 key swats, coming up big when it counted. After shutting down King James with big block, Howard’s defensive stop allowed the Magic to transition up the court for Hedo Turkoglu to knock down a 3-pointer to tie the game.  On the ensuing play with Cavaliers in possession and Lebron driving like a beast to the net, the MVP was called for travelling on his somewhat signature crab dribble, nullifying the basket with 30 seconds to go.

Gunning for the last shot of the game, Orlando worked the ball to Turkoglu with the hot hand and backed in on Cav’s Sasha Pavlovic, draining a quick jumper to put the Magic ahead 95-93.  With only one second remaining, the arena fell dead silent as visions of Jordan’s buzzer beater from almost 20 years ago came out from under the rug.  But the silence of 20,562 Cavaliers faithful would quickly morph into a seismic eruption in just one second.

After the game James said, “You couldn’t hear anything but a roar. That was the biggest shot I’ve made in my career. A second is a long time for me, for others it’s very short.”

Adjustments certainly need to be made by both teams as the Eastern conference finals move onto game 3.  After losing significant leads in both games, Coach Mike Brown needs to find a way to motivate his Cavaliers defensively in the second half and stop 3-point threats from Rashard Lewis, Mickael Pietrus, Turkoglu and JJ Reddick (if he happens to see any playing time in game 3).  As for his counterpart, the master of panic, Coach Stan Van Gundy has the more difficult task of finding a way to defend Lebron James.  With both games being decided by only one point, Sunday’s match-up is sure to be a battle as Cleveland looks to build off the momentum of their win while Orlando looks for redemption and avoid any carry-over from the teams fourth buzzer beater loss of the playoff’s.