Ohno Zone: August 5, 2007 - August 11, 2007 Archives

« July 29, 2007 - August 4, 2007 | Main | August 12, 2007 - August 18, 2007 »

August 11, 2007

Dancing With the Stars Hits Vancouver

Here are some more of Tina Koenig's awesome pics from Vancouver. She took these when the short track team went to watch Apolo perform with DWTS there last month. Enjoy!

Posted by noelle at 7:35 AM | Comments (40)

August 10, 2007

Vote for Apolo in the Teen Choice Awards!

Apolo is nominated for a Teen Choice Award. The awards show will be televised live on Fox on August 26 at 8PM ET. I can't seem to figure out where to find the info about his nomination and how to vote, but the official web site is here: Teen Choice '07

Posted by noelle at 11:29 AM | Comments (2)

August 7, 2007

Apolo and DebbieF in San Diego

Thanks to Debbie for sending in her pic with Apolo taking at the Golden Moments on Ice fundraiser held this past Saturday night!

Posted by noelle at 10:03 PM | Comments (18)

August 6, 2007

Lori's report from San Diego

Lori (aka Girl Next Door) attended the Salvation Army's Golden Moments on Ice fundraiser Saturday night in San Diego, where she had the chance to meet Apolo (and verified that the OFF is alive and well!). Many thanks to her for sharing her report and photos with us! Lori's pics and report follow:

Apolo making the keynote speech

After a maddening drive to San Diego, we checked into our hotel with just a little breathing room before we had to get ready for the dinner. When we got to the Kroc Center, I was surprised at how huge and beautiful it was. It had a gymnasium, pools, a theater and the ice rink, and it was all made possible by an $80 million dollar donation from Joan Kroc, the widow of Ray, the McDonalds founder. In 5 years, more than 3 million people have used the facility, and the money we donated for the dinner would enable disadvantaged kids to use the facility who couldn't afford the $100 yearly fee.

When we got to the poolside reception, I found 2 familiar faces right away. There was Debbie (DebbieF at OZ), and Kasey (who had the 'speaking' role on the 1st DWTS clip - from Nationals in Cleveland). Kasey's husband Chris was also there - a bit of a male support system for my very skeptical husband! We had arranged ahead of time to be seated at the same table. We got acquainted, and it was so nice meeting them - you're beautiful, fun ladies, and I look forward to seeing you again in Salt Lake City in February!

I had visited GotApolo.com for the first time recently while Noelle has been taking her much-deserved break, and one of the first things I read was a post from a girl named Callie who had driven about 30 hours to the Atlantic City DWTS show with messages that she hoped to deliver from GA members. Everything went wrong for her, and since I had tickets to last night's events, I offered to help make it happen if I was able. I put them in a card and I was hell-bent to deliver the goods. Because I'd been told we wouldn't have a chance to meet Apolo, I felt that my best chance at getting the card to him was through Maria Todaro, the P.R. Director. When I gave her the card and told her what it was, she said she would "personally give it to Apolo." Mission accomplished!

click for the rest of Lori's report and pictures...

When we went into the rink, there were formal tables set up on the ice, which had been carpeted. There was a woman at our table who looked quite familiar to us, and we found out it was Maria Garcia, who I had communicated with a couple of times about her amazing skating videos. During the salad course, somebody at our table noticed that Apolo was seated a few tables away from us, sitting with the Salvation Army execs and the other people in the program. Didn't notice him come in, but there he was!

During dinner we were entertained by local ice skaters at each end of the rink - from little kiddies to teens, and they were quite good. At some time during the program, they called our attention to a long row of hockey sticks that decorated the arena just behind their banners, and we could see from the Jumbotron that each of our names was on one, and they would remain there in our honor.

Then it was time for Apolo's speech. First off, let me say that he's a gifted speaker. You could see his passion for the subject in both his hands and his facial expressions, and you could tell he believed every word. He told the story of his rebellious childhood, his loving and patient father, and the sport that won his heart. He drew plenty of applause when he said "I AM
committed to skating in Vancouver in 2010". He said that the beauty is not in winning or losing, but in continuing the struggle, and he commended the Salvation Army for giving kids the chance to find that self-expression within themselves. I was somewhat surprised that he didn't mention DWTS, except to say that his dad was happy to learn he can dance. I loved the way he ended it by tying his own story in to the mission of the Kroc Center, and how they continue stories like his with new kids every day.

If the evening had ended right there, it would have more than fulfilled my expectations. When the official program ended, and everyone got up to leave, a small crowd was gathering around Apolo, and I could see that some people were getting pictures with him. My husband and I were chatting with the Salvation Army lady, and she nudged me, saying "Aren't you going to go get a picture???" I shook my head and said "Naw, I don't think so." My dear husband proceeded to take my coat and purse, shoved my camera in my hands and said 'go'. Well since I 'sometimes' do as I'm told, I trotted along after Kasey and Debbie, who were already headed in Apolo's direction.

When Deb came away, I asked her if she would take my picture. She agreed, and I took the next opening to ask Apolo if I could get a picture with him. I told him that I was the one who had sent the card back with Maria Todaro, and he cocked his head to the side, smiled, and said "Awwww, thanks!" I blurted out that I'm from Ohnozone, and he looked at me and said "Really! - What's your name??" I told him Lori, and I 'think' I mentioned that I post under Girl Next Door, but I can't be entirely sure of anything I said at that point!

Anyhow, I stood up next to him for the picture, and he put his arm around my waist. I wasn't expecting that, but I thought "Allrriigghhttyy then!" and I took his lead and put mine around him, too! Then guess what happened??? Yeah, I'll give you one guess. The OFF went into effect. The camera didn't fire. Apolo said "The flash didn't go off." Debbie tried again. And again. I realized that in my haste I hadn't really told her how to work it, so I gave her a couple more instructions. Still no luck. I felt awful about taking up so much of his time, so I just told him 'thank you' and gave up. But he sort of giggled and said "No-no-no, we'll GET this, just hang in there!" I checked the camera and we posed again. Nothing. By now, I was ready to dig a hole in the ice and crawl in, and by the looks of Debbie, she would have dived in right behind me. Apolo just seemed amused by the whole thing, but I was about to die. I was afraid that the rest of the people waiting would start throwing leftover tiramisu at me, and Apolo might get caught in the crossfire,
so I shook my head and said "This just isn't working." I thanked him again, and was about to beat a hasty retreat, but he kept his hand on my elbow, looked right at me and said "We'll get one before I leave."

When I turned to go, I saw that a man had taken over the camera, and wanted to give it another go. Apolo was game, so we posed again. The first one was another misfire, and by the time the guy gave it a second try, I was SO sure that it would fail that when the doggone thing finally 'fired', I had my eyes closed and my mouth open, but there was no way in h*** I was gonna ask for a re-take! I thanked Apolo profusely and got the heck out of there.

When I finally got back to Debbie, she was so apologetic, but I just looked at her and said "Are you KIDDING???? Did you see how long I got to STAND there with him???" I didn't know who to kiss first for that blessed misfortune - Debbie, my camera, or BOTH. "We definitely made a memory, girl!"

BTW: That photo was perhaps the single LEAST flattering pic that has ever been taken of me.

Apolo, looked great, though, as always. So I've included the 'pretty' half of the picture, after cropping out the goofy-faced, stressed-out blonde on his left. The unabridged version shall have an honored place in my family photo album, and NOWHERE else...

Apolo smiles big for his photo with Lori

Postscript: I've heard one word about Apolo many times, and that word is 'gracious'. I agree. You can see in that last photo, in his eyes, that after nearly a dozen misfires, he still appears to be getting a kick out of our misadventure. The other impression I got was eye contact. That was one of the first things I noticed about him in his Torino interviews, and what made me sit up and take notice. And last night, every time he said something to me he was looking straight at me, as if I were the most important person in the room. He was like that with EVERYONE he spoke to. Thank you, Apolo and Debbie, for being such good sports, and the un-named cameraman for coming to our rescue, otherwise I might STILL be standing there...*thud*

Posted by noelle at 10:41 PM | Comments (19)

August 5, 2007

Vancouver training camp photos

Many thanks to Tina Koenig for sharing her photos from the U.S. team's recent training camp in Vancouver. Tina is recovering from ankle surgery (performed by none other than 5-time Olympic gold medalist Dr. Eric Heiden) - as a result she wasn't able to get on the ice herself but she got a lot of fun shots! Best wishes to Tina for a speedy and full recovery.

U.S. team shot - click to enlarge

back row, l-r: Mary Grace, Lana Gehring, Sonia Milan, Kimberly Derrick, Cherise Wilkins, Travis Jayner, Anthony Lobello, Alex Izykowski, Ryan Bedford
front row, l-r: coach Jae, Katherine Reutter, Tina, Jeff Simon, Carly Wilson, Jordan Malone, Allison Baver, Apolo Ohno