I wish I had good news for everyone, but the Canada U-20 Rugby Squad fell to the Japanese last night.  The Canadians played hard and very well at times, but our lack of game experience seemed to be one of the major factors in the loss.   I actually think I am going to move forward from this game as it is done!  We play Uruguay in 3 days and they are one of the toughest teams in the tournament.  They lost in the 8^th minute of injury time to the Italians yesterday and saw their hopes of making the finals disappear with the Italians being awarded a penalty try in the dying moments of the game. 

            Here are some more observations.  Keep in mind that my sarcasm may be at an all time high as I normally like to push things that bother me down, but they want to come out as the tour continues. 

• Stray Dogs-They are everywhere and they are awesome.  They are the smartest self-trained dogs on the planet.  They have been known to even ride the Metro or subway to get to places with more food.  They also have systems of scaring the crap out of people as they buy food from street vendors.  The strays sneak up on you from behind and bark loudly in hopes that you will crap your pants and drop the food so they can snatch it up.
• We went to another mall that sucked today.  I brought my laptop bag to try it out and see if I want to take the plunge and actually buy a man purse.  A little trial run if you will.
• Murdy (head coach) was whistling and a guy came up to him and said that it was rude for you to whistle in Russia.  When Murdy told me this I was dumfounded.  I have at least ten incidents of rudeness that if in Canada would warrant a kick to the groin and this guy says whistling is rude!  It's hard not to be the "Ugly American" this late in the tour.  Little things start to aggravate the heck out of you.  I whistled my way out of the mall in shear protest.
• If it is acceptable to be rude in a foreign country (by our standards), should you; A.) Stay true to your home countries standards or B.) Become a man of the people and try to fit in as much as possible.  I think it's rude NOT to try to fit in.
• Quentin (backs coach) bought 3 packs of smokes (for a few buddies back home), a pack of gum and a chocolate bar for 120 Rubles (Under $3 Canadian).  With these prices, how can you afford NOT to smoke?
• How do you know when scurvy is setting in?  I eat bread, cheese, peanut butter and my only source of vitamin C is tomatoes.  
• "The Ricard"-Unlike social tours, the coaches do not go out every night.  We get together every night in my room to have 2 or 3 beers to talk about the day and what the next day holds for us.  All of us have been feeling sick (stomach, head-you name it), so Tony (forwards coach) whom played professional rugby in France for years recommended trying some Ricard.  For those of you that do not know, Ricard is similar to Pernod and has a strong licorice flavour.  In France, it is used as a cure all; In Russia we have all been "Ricarded" at least once to help fight whatever bug was ailing us. 
• Safety first-Not so much a concern here.  I have seen construction workers wearing sandals, welders and grinders with no ear or eye safety wear and all outdoor workers using the toilet I took a picture of.  Not a huge deal, but when you think about our safety standards, this is the complete opposite.
• Konstantin-Our awesome bus driver had the last two days off.  We missed him terribly.  The guys call him "Billy the Exterminator" because he looks like Billy from the A and E show.  He is what some might call "an aggressive driver".
• I make the cleaning ladies smile every day when I see them.  I am working on the kitchen staff, but they seem much harder to crack.
• We went on the Metro the other day.  Since the nutrition is so bad, we have been forced to go grocery shopping.  Sue (our interpreter), myself, Tony and Myles (team manager) did the 45 minute trek to try and get some decent snacks for the guys to eat.  This was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had.  The trains look fairly dodgy, but the mosaic work, sculptures and art work that adorn the ceilings and walls of every station are amazing.  If you ever get to Moscow, this is a must see!!!
• We went to see the Red Square and Kremlin.  We got stuck in Moscow traffic ended up NOT getting to see either.  Instead, we spent 4 hours on the bus and kind of drove by the two tourist spots.  Billy (Konstantin) was cool enough to pull a super dangerous move on a bridge and stop so we could take pictures from the bus.
• The Children-Victims of Adult Vices- I absolutely loved this. It is a series of sculptures of depicting the 12 major vices that are affecting the youth of today.  The pictures are on my facebook page and they are pretty spectacular (mainly because they are not taken through a bus window)
• The Vices: 1.) Alcoholism, 2.) Exploitation of Child Labour, 3.) Indifference, 4.) Drug Addiction, 5.) Prostitution, 6.) Sadism, 7.) Ignorance, 8.) Irresponsible Science, 9.) Those With Out Memory, 10.) War (note the head of the war head), 11.) Theft, 12.) Poverty.   
• I don't want to make Russia sound bad.  There have been some great sites and some really interesting people to cross our paths.  I think we are just in a bad spot compared to being in downtown Moscow.  The IRB (governing body for Rugby) has not allowed any team to travel by the Metro for safety reasons.  We are 20 minutes away from downtown if you ride the Metro, or a 2 hour bus ride if you don't. We understand their concerns, but it would be kind of cool to see 2 of their most famed sites!

     Ultimately, we are here to compete and not site see.  Part of the ability for our athletes to perform is our ability to balance training, recovery work, nutrition and keeping them sane!  So a little site seeing acts as a necessary means to help them recover.  We have a tough last came coming up followed by a punishing day and a half journey home.  I will keep you posted how things turn out!

Yours in Strength,

Joe