Russian Ice Dancers Recieve Unwarented Racism from Australian Aboriginal Leaders

(source) Macleans Magazine Canada-Feb 8th edition. Section: Newsmakers

CoachCanada, I quote;

"Russian champion ice dancers Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin wowed European judges with their program based on Australian Aboriginal music and dress, but they face a uncertain welcome at Olympic competition in Vancouver. Their costumes, dark-toned bodysuits decorated with paint, eucalyptus leaves and red loincloths, have enraged Australian Aboriginal leaders. Spokesman for four Olympic host First Nations in B.C. have already said they want to meet with the skaters to discuss issues of cultural sensitivity."

I am part Native Cree, born in B.C. And this is what I have to say about this story. Firstly, I will speak about the "Truths".

I use the word Free for understanding to all non-Natives, and some Natives as well. Neither the word 'free' nor any corresponding term occurs in the root languages of North America, in the primal concept: there never was anything for the Native to free himself from. When one was taken from one tribe, if you adopted their ways you became son, daughter, husband or wife with all rights. If not escape in the way of your choice. But for easier understanding here are some truths that were so ingrained they never had to be discussed; They were Known.

All the People have the right to Live Free- this is a Sacred Truth.
All the people have the right to Freedom of Choice- this is a Sacred Truth.
All the people have the right to Freedom of Expression- this is a Sacred Truth.
All the people have the right to Pursue and Express their Spirituality- this is a Sacred Truth.

All the people have the right to Sing, and to live a life Worthy of Song.

"If it is not of the Spirit, it is not Native." The Grandfathers have said so.

These are just a few of the "Truths" relating to this story. I believe the four spokesman from the B.C. First Nations should visit the Aboriginal leaders to teach them our "Truths". And remind them of theirs; unless they themselves have forgotten them. I will relate this story to the path as I have learned.

As a man, if I spend time with a different Tribe, or just see a person from a different Tribe. And something about the Tribe's appearance (hairstyle, dress, art, songs, dance etc.) appealed to me. I can without a second glance from my Tribe adopt this new way of looking, singing, or dancing etc. In fact some of my Brothers and Sisters would also like the new way I look or dance and join in. This is one of the Sacred Truths and one of the most important parts of (our), at least my Native Cultural; path.

"No one Man's way is better than another." The Grandfathers have said so.

The American Native, before Columbus, was one of the remnants of a very Ancient race. A race that had started spreading across the world some 100,000 to 60,000 years ago depending on who's scientific theory you adhere to. We are truly "One Race" with different skin tones, facial features, and beliefs; but at one time the "Truths" were known to all Tribes of Human-Beings." The American Natives had attained perhaps the highest working concept of individualism ever attained and practiced by a group of Human-Beings on earth.

Secondly, this applies to "US" all. In the past (and now), whatever we needed to know, nature sooner or later revealed to us. And that what we desired to know--the best way to achieve our maximum spiritual potential--was the only mystery we choose to investigate, not the way of the mystic, or psychic powers but only our own spiritual growth.

In conclusion, if the two ice dancers from the Russian Tribe choose the ice to "sing their song" and they choose Aboriginal music and dress to sing (skate). No Tribe, man or women has the right to judge and say this is not good, or culturally insensitive. Painting your face Black and acting the fool. Now that was culturally insensitive. Big difference.

I would hope that the Australian Aboriginal leaders would talk and think about their position. If they are still angry I would understand and respect them. But they must understand the Olympics are in Canada; a free country. And I hope the Native leaders from B.C. respect the Russian's right to freedom of choice and expression in their choice of dance music and costume.

In My Village I Stand Alone--Together
When Hunting I Stand Alone--Together
In Battle I Stand Alone--Together

The Grandfathers have said so.

My thoughts, thank you for reading.

The Final Basketball Sim Review and Winner Bballzone.net

CoachCanada,

I decided not to write about the Sim I did not like because there is a team of developers working on it. They also have other sports Sims that are successful. So I will try them another time and see if they listened to the many suggestions they are receiving.

Basketball Sim Review Summary.

***********************************

My Overall Rankings:

1) Bballzone.net

2) Buzzerbeater.com
3) Basketsim.com
3) Charazay.com

These 4 are simply the best I have found so far. Each has it's own strengths and weaknesses. All are worth trying and once you have your teams set-up, and you understand how to get your team's players to train. Find what offense and defense are your strengths. How to scout the opponents. You will be ready to win some titles. After the initial time needed to learn the basics it takes a small amount of time per/day to keep your teams improving. And who knows you could be running your countries National Team eventually.

Graphics winner:

1) Buzzerbeater.com- free player faces, and the whole site is nicely done; to bad about the forum.
2) Bballzone.net- with player faces in the works, detailed user pages; and the best forum format.

Tactics winner:

1) Bballzone.net- the only Sim where you can set to double team. All the settings you would want.
2) Charazay.com- team game broken down to control the individual. Everything but double team option.

Training winner:

1) Bballzone.net- all players train. Many options to choose from. Private trainers free for over 30 players.
2) Charazay.com- all players train. Nice player skill numerical rate. But costly to have trainers.

Game Engine:

1) Bballzone.net: complete current player stat line with the play description, clock between 1/4's. And nice team comparison after game. Full game chronology to look through as well.
2) The other 3 are also very good.

Forum winner:

1) Bballzone.net- no comparison. the format, set-up, easy to find topics.
2) The other Sims... I have no idea why they use the formats they do. I have been in a guild in different RPG games and we decided to set up a non-game forum and had better easier to use forums than the one's offered by these Sims. Takes 5 minutes to set up a basic forum.

Supporter winner:

1) Bballzone.net- no advantage in any way. they are working on incentives to entice you to become a supporter, we will see how it goes.
2) All the others give advantages to supporters, be it more games, stats, trophy rooms, player faces, uniform choices etc. But these games are for profit so it seems fair to me. No advantages in game-play that are measurable to the normal player, but there could be small advantages in player training etc. Who knows besides the developers.

Up-Coming Improvements: All the developers in all 4 sims are working hard to improve their product. And the online gamer is the benefactor.


Fun winner: All these Sims are fun, and if you like basketball try them. I lean towards Bballzone.net because off their Christmas Tree Promo, And overall well thought-out game.

Bballzone.net the only game where you can **name and pick the position of your franchise player**. New Season starting in 9 days. Own your Team NOW!

Last Basket Sim Review Basketsim.com

CoachCanada,

This week I move from my favorite Basketball Manager Sim Bballzone.to the other ones I have tried and play. My reviews will be mostly positive because I like all but 1 of these 5 Sims I found; that I thought worth trying. This review is on the simulator Basketsim.com.

League games and Country Cup matches. National Teams

I will rate it out of 10 in these 8 areas. Graphics, Tactics, Training,
Game Engine, Forum, Supporter Advantages, Fun, Up-coming Improvements.

*******************************

GAME REVIEW:

#3 Basketsim.com (8) Overall Rate

Graphics: (9) good graphics. easy to move around and find what you need.

Tactics: (9) are good, simple to learn, but to match the right defense and offense to your opponent is hard. You pick player positions, team defense and offense choices are yours.

Training: (10) you can train all players at once, training really depends on the quality of your coach, only thing you need to do is make sure a player starts 1 game a week to train. You can also buy a gym and train players BMI, and this effects power and speed.

Game Engine: (9) is good. Easy to read when you watch games. "Very Descriptive play calling and funny comments by announcers". Players are rated at the end of game out of 5 stars. You pick your starting 5 and away you go, the only time there are subs is if a guy foul outs.

Forum: (9) the players are really active and the Mods as well. I have never had a question go 10 minutes with-out a reply. It would get a 10 but again ugly format.

Supporter: (9) there are some advantages to being a supporter. Player faces more games is one. more stats, But as far as game-play no real advantage. Also can make new uniforms, logo, and trophy room etc. Usual safe ways to pay.

Fun: (10) They have many 3pt contests for free supporter time, and these are sponsored by teams owners. There is almost constantly contest showing Very Generous players in this Sim. Another Sim where once you get a good coach you are set in this Sim to make some noise.

Up-coming Improvements: game improvements are transfer market has been changed, tiredness levels have been adjusted so depending on what tactic you use some make you more tired. Tactics have been tweaked. Another hard working group of people offering a good time running a basketball team.

Next Basketball Sim Review Charazay

CoachCanada,

This week I move from my favorite Basketball Manager Sim Bballzone.to the other ones I have tried and play. My reviews will be mostly positive because I like all but 1 of these 5 Sims I found; that I thought worth trying. This review is on the simulator Charazay.com.

League games and Country Cup matches. National Teams

I will rate it out of 10 in these 8 areas. Graphics, Tactics, Training,
Game Engine, Forum, Supporter Advantages, Fun, Up-coming Improvements.

*******************************

GAME REVIEW:

#3 Charazay.com (8) Overall Rate

Graphics: (7) basic graphics. Supporters get player faces, easy to find what you are looking for.

Tactics: (10) are really good. Tie with Bballzone for the best; You pick player positions, frequency of looks, player defense and offense intensity, and what kind of shots they look for. Out-standing. Offense and Defensive tactic choices are yours.

Training: (10) you can train all players at once, training really depends on the quality of your coach, a good feature is you can set your young recruits to a development league and then set their traning eg. rebounds, defense, speed the same as for your guys on your main team, and they still get playing time. Another good thing is players are given a skill index eg.200.234 is a good player and even if his skill that you train does not "pop" you see him growing. You can also send all players to trainers to improve their BMI. Fantastic.

Game Engine: (10) is good. Easy to read when you watch games. Descriptive play calling. Shot Chart, Box Score, and Quick Link to current game stats. Games are done very fast with no breaks between periods.

Forum: (8) the players are really active and the Mods as well. Also they use a ticket system to deal with questions and bugs so a reply is assured.

Supporter: (9) there are some advantages to being a supporter. Player faces, more games is one, more stats, set up your own tournaments and prizes. But as far as game-play no real advantage. Usual safe ways to pay. Very cheap to pick up game money used to set up tourneys, friendly matches, games against all-star teams etc.

Fun: (10) They have many contests, It is probably the 2nd largest amount of users off all the Sims I play. Eg. of a contest. Members are asked to vote for the game on a specific voting site and the whole server got some game money for reaching the set ranking. After you get a good coach you are set in this sim to make some noise.

Up-coming Improvements: right now they are raising money for Haiti. Game improvements are team rebounding all players are more involved in crashing the boards, to test the changes they are giving all players a chance to set up their own tournament to test changes, small change to number of blocks per/game. Allot of work being done to keep improvements going.

Newest Basketball Sim Review Buzzerbeater

CoachCanada,

This week I move from my favorite Basketball Manager Sim Bballzone.to the other ones I have tried and play. My reviews will be mostly positive because I like all but 1 of these 5 Sims I found; that I thought worth trying. This review is on the simulator Buzzerbeater.com.

League games and Country Cup matches. National Teams

I will rate it out of 10 in these 8 areas. Graphics, Tactics, Training,
Game Engine, Forum, Supporter Advantages, Fun, Up-coming Improvements.

*******************************

GAME REVIEW:

#2 Buzzerbeater.com (9) Overall Rate

Graphics: (10) are the best of all 5 Sims I play. Even non-supporters
get player faces, with user friendly links to stats and information.
The whole game is very well designed.

Tactics: (9) are good. You pick player positions,and can also pick the position they guard. The offense you choose combined with the defense they are facing determines who gets the most looks. You set 1st, 2nd string, as well as reserves. Then you tell your coach how you want him to sub your players or give him free reign to decide. Offense and Defensive tactic choices are yours.

Training: (8) you can choose Team or Individual training. The thing with this Sim is you should decide "which of my players have the most potential combined with youth" and pick specific positions to train. Work your bigs, back-court, or SF's, and then concentrate whole seasons to your choices. I understand the concept but I hate to go whole seasons with-out working all my players. You do get results and can switch more often if you like.The level of the Trainer you have is a big factor in training results.

Game Engine: (10) is good. Easy to read when you watch games. Descriptive play calling. You can chat with other players during games. Shot Chart, Box Score, and Quick Link to current game stats. Sometimes things happen that are hard to understand; like scoring in short amounts of time, and player shot selection. But I enjoy watching games.

Forum: (7) I do not like the format and rarely use the forum. Subjects are here and there, to me its a mess. I suggested Forum formats from other Sims, and non-sport Sims for them to look at. The Mods/GM's are active and so are the players. I take my issue's or questions to other team managers using pm's.

Supporter: (9) there are some advantages to being a supporter. More games is one. More stats, Join Private Leagues. But as far as game-play no real advantage. Usual safe ways to pay.

Fun: (10) They have many contests and I really enjoy this Sim. It is probably the largest amount of users off all the Sims I play. Eg. of a contest. right now members are asked to pm a Sports writer and try to get him to mention the Sim in his articles. I off-course have tried.

Up-coming Improvements: defensive strategy is becoming more user-friendly not only can you pick 2-3 zone etc. but even decide the spots the player defends.Revised bankruptcy rules, New Ads for players your selling, new fair revenue incomes from TV contacts and Team merchandising. They are working very hard to keep improving the game.

More Sim Reviews

CoachCanada,

I will be reviewing 4 other Basketball Manager Sims this week that I have tried or am still playing. I will let you know the one I quit and why.

Season 15 Champs Bballzone.net

CoachCanada
4 time Canadian Champ,

Season 15 winds down in the popular basketball Manager Sim Bballzone.net. Only end season Tournaments left to play. Thousands of Basketball and online Gaming enthusiasts built their teams to win the coveted 1.1 titles for their countries. But only 98 Managers can claim the prize. 10 days until a New Season starts so it is a perfect time to sign up and test your basketball know how and learn the game. In this sim you are not spending all your in-game money trying to afford coaches, arena expansions, trainers. This sim is all about players, tactics, recruitment, and training. Developers are working on those other areas of the game, but right now its all about basketball players, and you the manager/coach. Take up the challenge in this tough virtual hardcourt, and become your countries Champion, and then the WORLD.

Thousands and Thousands Try for National Bragging Rights
But only 98 Managers claim the Prize.

BBallZone.net Season 15 Champions

USA: Miami Rain--(2nd Title in a row)
Canada: Westwood Trojans—(4th Title in a row)
Lithuania: Linksmai. It—(9th Title 1st in 4 seasons)
Latvia: CSKA Moscow—(3rd Title 1st in 5 seasons)
Estonia: Tartu Rock—(1st Title)
France: Gabo Jumpers—(2nd Title in a row)
Indonesia: BC Loleda--(1st Title)
Greece: Kavala BC—(2nd Title in a row)
China: Dream 2009—(2nd Title in a row)
Russia: Baltic Master—(6th Title in a row)
U.K.: Kings of Tomorrow—(3rd Title in a row, 4 Total)
Italy: Juvecaserta—(3rd Title in a row)
Philippines: GSMblue—(1st Title 4 silvers)
Turkey: Istanbul Gunners—(2nd Title in a row)
Belgium: Football--(1st Title 2 silvers)
Brazil: Uberlandia Red Lobster—(1st Title bronze last season)
Croatia: KK Dubrava Zagreb—(2nd Title 1st in 3 seasons)
Finland: Kyroskosken Parske—(2nd Title in a row 3 Total)
Germany: Kraftwerk Saar—(1st Title Bronze last season)
Hungary: Albaster KC 2009—(1st Title 2 silver 2 bronze)
Poland: Zryw Gizewo—(1st Title 2 bronze)
Portugal: National Team—(6th Title in a row)
Romania: Pucioasa Worms—(6th Title in a row)
Serbia: Old Boys—(6th Title in a row)
Slovenia: Ljubljana Dragons—(3rd Title in a row)
Spain: CB Torremolinos—(1st Title silver last season)

And 72 other Owner/Managers have won their countries 1.1 League Title for Season 15.

Bballzone.net Free Basketball Sim. where you name your Franchise Player and set his Position.

1 Game every day. League Games and 2 Tournaments per season. New season starting soon.Perfect time to sign up and learn the game with friendly matches before the start of Season 16.