Are there any second- or third-year players at Fremantle that have been training the house down over the pre-season that you think could really step up this Dream Team season?

The guys that made their debut last year and who are pretty good Dream Team point scorers are Greg Broughton, Stephen Hill and Nick Suban. They’re all second-year players who have had really good pre-seasons. The other two who are third-year players now and had injury interrupted seasons last year are Chris Mayne and Rhys Palmer, and they should be well positioned to have a really strong year. These five players I think will be really important for us this year and will score well in Dream Team too.

Is there anyone at Fremantle who may be shifted into a role that might boost their Dream Team value?

Hayden Ballantyne is in his second year and, this year, may spend a little bit of time in the midfield. David Mundy has been around for a little bit longer and looks to be playing more permanently as a midfielder. Those two players will be spending a bit more time around the ball and should be able to rack up a few Dream Team points.

Who is the must-have player in your Dream Team this year?

From Fremantle, Aaron Sandilands. He’s had a really good pre-season this year. He’s been the All-Australian ruckman the last two seasons so I think with that in mind I can’t see him not having a lot of hit-outs and playing some really good football for us.

Outside of Fremantle, it’s very hard to go past those players who are historically very good ball winners. It’d be hard to look past guys like Lenny Hayes, Gary Ablett, Dane Swan and Chris Judd in your Dream Team.  nike shoes  Speaking of must-have players, West Coast's Dean Cox said you were his must-have player in his Dream Team. What are your thoughts on that?

I’ve had Coxy in my Dream Team the last couple of years, and last year he let me down because of his injury so I might need to have a word to him about that. It’s nice to have an opposition player putting you in their side, but I think he might just be trying to put the jinx on me!

Which of your club’s 2009 draftees look set to spend a lot of time in the seniors?

Anthony Morabito will be given every opportunity to play senior footy this year because he’s a pretty mature player. There’s another couple who may bob up throughout the year in Nat Fyfe and Dylan Roberton. They’ve both had pretty good pre-seasons and are possible chances to play earlier on in the year. There’s also a couple of rookie players that we’ve had come onto the rookie list recently: Alex Silvagni and Michael Barlow. Given that Dean Solomon has just retired, those two players along with Matt de Boer, Jay van Berlo and Clancee Pearce, who all played games for us last year, will be fighting it out for a spot on the senior list.

If all you needed was one mark for your Dream Team to win, which of your teammates would you want to be hitting the pack?

I’m going to go with Luke McPharlin on that one. His aerial skills have been well highlighted in the past and he’s got a great ability to read the ball in the air. He’s also got one of the best leaps going around the AFL so he can take a good hanger ... he’d be the man for the job.

You’re priced at $404,900 -- do you think you offer good value?

Oh, I’m a bit expensive so no, I’m probably not very good value. I guess historically I’ve been able to get a few Dream Team points but that’s a fair bit of money to be spending. I’m not entirely sure that I’m a good buy.

Which player in your Dream Team League are you keenest to get one over?

Probably the Bird (Brett Burton) or Coxy; Coxy because of the rivalry over here in the West between West Coast and Fremantle. But the Bird and I played in the SANFL together so there are some bragging rights up for grabs there as well.

In a little more than a week I'll be photographing the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. To say I'm feeling overwhelmed and totally intimidated would be an understatement. Just the other night I had a horrible nightmare about my upcoming assignment.

In the dream, it's the day our lone local athlete, speedskater Jordan Malone of Denton, competes for a medal. I've overslept, missed the early shuttle out to the venue and am stuck riding for hours in the hopes of at least making one photo of the guy. Of course that makes no sense, since speedskating is in Vancouver and probably not that far of a shuttle ride. But hey, this is a nightmare. Do the ever make sense?

Anyway, I get to the venue just in time to see Malone, standing on the #1 block, gold medal in hand, sobbing like a baby. He's shouting to his mother, who's just fainted in the stands.

No kissing the medal, no mugging for the cameras, no "I'm going to Disney World!" -- just genuine, amazing emotion. I lift a camera up to my eye just in time to realize I've left all my batteries and CF cards back at the hotel. I am horrified. Nobody around me will help; they only heckle and throw used hand warmers my way. Also nearby is Smiley Pool, inexplicably dressed as the devil and wielding a red-hot trident, laughing maniacally.

And of course, for some reason I'm wearing no clothes in this nightmare ... as usual.

I'm nervous, yes, but pretty humbled and excited. In addition to this being my first Olympic Games ever, it's by far the biggest assignment of my career. As a "youngish" photojournalist -- 30 going on 101 -- and as someone who's been fortunate enough to earn part of his living shooting sports, this is the assignment of a lifetime. I honestly can't wait to see how many different ways I can screw this up.  ugg outlet

One thing that struck me the other day is that, as far as I know, I've not photographed a single winter sport in my life. About the closest I've come to anything like that is the snowstorm of 2006 in Columbia, Mo., where I spent the better part of a day watching folks accidentally slip and slide down Campusview Drive. Even I took part, losing my balance at the top of the hill and making it most of the way down in about 10 seconds.

The German judge only gave me a 6.0.

I'm still in the middle of prepping (yes, middle, with less than a week before I leave), so I don't have much to offer right now beyond what I've gathered from the kindness of others. Seriously, I owe a lot of people a LOT of thanks; what little preparedness I have for this assignment is due totally to the friends and fellow shooters who've graciously spent hours with me on the phone and online answering questions of every shape and size, such as ...

"Will we have to worry about bears at Whistler?"

"I don't really have any good winter weather shoes, but it'll work just as well to layer my feet in old cardigans and Saran Wrap, right?"

"Can I use the crampons to fight off bears, if there are any in Whistler?"

"Is there yellow snow in Canada?"   ugg 5833

"How many golds do you think Michael Phelps will win this year??"

So anyway, it goes without saying I have a lot of work cut out for me in the next several days. As per colleague's suggestions, I'm getting as much sleep as I can, boning up on all the pre-Olympics stories I can find in print and online, and making sure I DON'T put my passport some place I think I'll remember but end up forgetting (same place the den DVD remote and my last two wedding rings have ended up, I'm sure). In addition, I've taken to doing some prep work I've come up all on my own: hand-to-paw wild bear combat with only a monopod and granola bar for defense; adding "eh?" to the end of every sentence; and of course, gaff taping large storage bags of ice to my crotch.

That's all for now, amigos and amigas. More to come.

Thanks to Brad and the rest of the SportsShooter.com gang for letting me write a little about my experiences during (and before) the Winter Olympics. In addition to here, there will be content on the Dallas Morning News' Winter Olympics blog, which is coming soon.

Lastly, thanks in no particular order to Chris Detrick, Scott Strazzante, Trent Nelson, Erich Schlegel, Nhat Meyer, Smiley Pool and Dave Eulitt (as well as many others) for all their helpful info and support. Likewise, thanks to my bosses Leslie White, Chris Wilkins and Irwin Thompson for the opportunity to shoot such a cool gig. I apologize in advance for letting you all down.

Los Angeles-based freelance photographer Dustin Snipes won the title of "2009 SportsShooter.com Photographer of the Year," marking the third time he has won the title. His prize, a Canon EOS 1D Mark III.

The "Clip Contest" is a yearlong series of monthly contests in which photographers submit their best photos from the previous month to be rated by fellow SportsShooter.com members.

Each month points are awarded to the highest scoring images in four categories: Sports Action, Sports Feature, News, and Feature.

At the end of the year all the points are tallied and the member with the highest score is declared SportsShooter.com's Photographer Of The Year.

"I never went to photojournalism school," said Snipes. "I learned from people like Donald Miralle, Robert Seale, and Al Bello right here on SportsShooter.com. Those guys were my teachers."

Snipes is primarily shooting more commercial and advertising assignments than editorial these days. He's done work for Gatorade, Nike, and Reebok, in addition to ESPN The Magazine.

"The monthly SportsShooter.com contest really pushes me to be more creative," he said. "Last year, I didn't enter the contest at all, and I felt like I was lacking creativity. I'm a really competitive person, and I think the contest made me make better pictures."

Patrick Smith, a photojournalist at the Provo Daily Herald finished second place in the contest, and wins a Canon ImagePrograf IPF5100 large format printer.

Snipes says he was paying attention to Smith throughout the year.

From his winning portfolio, High school football player Robert Woods poses for a portrait at Sand Dune Park in Manhattan Beach California. Woods practices at the park every morning during the summer. June 25, 2009.  cheap ugg

"He was scaring me for a little while," said Snipes. "He is constantly putting up great stuff, and he did a great job this year."

Darryl Dyck, a freelance photographer from Vancouver, Canada, won third place and a Canon EOS 50D camera with an EF 28-135 IS USM lens.

Snipes, having won this contest three times, also won the 2006 SportsShooter.com Student Photographer of the Year contest. He is no stranger to entering, and winning contests. His tactic? Don't give up.

"Every month you've got to keep submitting," he said. "It's a year-long competition, not a sprint. It's important to keep pushing yourself each month."

The 2010 SportsShooter.com Monthly Clip Contest will also mark the first time that students will be competing side-by-side with the rest of the membership. Confirmed full-time students who enter the clip contest will have their votes counted in an additional "student contest." At the end of the year, the student with the most points in the Monthly Clip Contest will with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital camera.

As a result, the original SportsShooter.com Student Portfolio of the Year contest will end when the panel of judges select the 2009 winning portfolio. The winner of that contest will also receive a Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

"We decided to make it easier for students to enter the contest," said Grover Sanschagrin, Executive Producer of SportsShooter.com. "The old method involved entering a full portfolio, and then entering a week's-worth of work each month, which proved to be too difficult a process for many students. With this change, we will be able to involve more students, and they'll be able to compete against seasoned professionals in addition to other students."

Canon has agreed to continue their support of the 2010 Monthly Clip Contest, and supply high-end professional equipment to the winners.

"Canon has been a steady, enthusiastic supporter of the SportsShooter.com community," said Sanschagrin. "These prizes are highly coveted professional workhorses, and we're proud to be able to provide such impressive prizes to the winners."

For two days I have been thinking about what to write that could express just how I feel about completing the Brazil 135 Mile Ultra Marathon. The experience has changed my life. When I think about the race, I remember the mountains but they are not first in my mind. What I will always remember first is the relationships. I will remember the love.

First and foremost, I am proud that TEAM USA all finished the race while raising more than $15,000 to support Casa Nossa, a local mission that serves homeless and low-income girls, helping to educate them, teach them productive skills and keep them off the streets and safe from prostitution, crime and drugs. The funds will pay for the construction of a gymnasium to be used for education and sports activities.

I was fortunate to have in my opinion one of the world’s greatest endurance runners and two time winner of the Brazil Jungle Marathon, Jacqueline Terto, as my pacer for the race. She did not speak English. I did not speak one word of Portuguese. During the 57 hours and 50 minutes it took us to travel the 135 miles we became more than friends. We developed a bond beyond words because we didn’t need them. We are both the same and we knew each other's hearts. I will always remember crying on the trail in the middle of the night. Both of my feet completely covered in blisters. I will remember Jacqueline praying for my feet and us moving forward – always moving forward. Jacqueline would look me in the eye, squeeze my hand and say "Focus, Finish." I will remember Jacqueline always going ahead before me to make sure there were no Cobras in our path. I will remember us hugging and crying together surrounded by the mountains in the most beautiful place I have ever seen on earth. I will remember us laughing hysterically after we were chased by a bull.  Cheap watches  The Brazil 135 is the most difficult foot race in Brazil, it is run on the hardest, most challenging segment of the Caminho da Fé (Path of Faith or Way of Faith), the most difficult Brazilian pilgrimage path. The primary objectives of the Caminho da Fé pilgrimage are the experience of moments of reflection and faith through the exercise of walking - the integration of man with nature and with religion. The Way of Faith is a route marked by yellow arrows and consists of stretches of dirt roads, asphalt, trails within farms and railroad tracks. It takes, on average, 12 to 15 days to finalize the pilgrimage on foot, or, if you choose to participate in the Brazil 135, you have 60 hours. The course boasts about 30,000 feet of cumulative ascent and 28,000 feet of cumulative descent. With only ten flat miles in the race, by the finish line the runner will have completed a course that is analogous to climbing up and down Mt. Everest.  UGG Bailey Tom's name left on the Path of Faith by Jarom Thurston and Tony Portera.

There were moments of clarity on the Path of Faith that will forever define me. My faith led me to run this race and it’s my faith that saw me through. It’s my faith that I take with me from the mountains of Brazil and it’s my fear of sharing my faith with others that I leave behind. My life is one of a constant seeking of God, but before the Brazil 135 many of my closest friends did not know this about me. It’s an area of my life I have kept private except for those that I have been drawn to share it with. I have never felt comfortable sharing my relationship with God with others. I am always in fear of turning others away from the greatest joy I have ever known.

I believe a simple truth and it’s what brought me to run the Brazil 135. I believe Jeremiah 29-13 "If you Seek Me with all your heart and all your soul, you will Find Me." That is what brought me to Brazil. It's why I ran my first 100 miler in October. It’s the reason why I run. When I run I feel close to God. In the mountains of Brazil I felt connected to God in ways I have never dreamed but not just in the experience of the race. More so in the people I met. People like Ashley Loucks & Michelle Purcell who were meant to be part of my journey.

I will always remember them praying for me as I began my descent to the finish line and our ride together to the start. People like Jimmy Dean Freeman who met me on the trail and ran the last five hours or so with me and who has a knack for knowing what you need to hear when you need to hear it. Jimmy gave me his socks off his feet to cover my blisters that were now in Crocs because the pain had become to much for my running shoes. My amazing crew Antonio and Christina who met to my every need and who also became like family to me. Pizza in the middle of nowhere is not easy to find but they found a way. I will remember them always. I will also remember the simple acts of love that moved me so deeply. Like Tony Portera and Jarom Thurston leaving my name in the dirt so close to the end of my journey. A simple gesture such as that will forever be one of the greatest memories of my life. These people and so many more were strangers a week ago but are now in my heart forever and I say with no hesitation that I love them all.

There are other moments from this experience that I am still processing. Like the giant Bible in the hotel lobby at the finish line opened to the book of Jeremiah and lit beautifully in the window light. The sight of it almost brought me to my knees.

When I began this journey I thought it may be a test of faith. Possibly to see if I had the courage to attempt what I thought was impossible but knowing for some reason God wanted me there. I thought it might be a lesson in humility and that I would fail miserably. It was somewhere during the race I learned that this experience was a celebration. It was once again me running with my friend. This time we had others along for the journey – something new to me and a new beginning.

Photo by Tom Sperduto

Photo by Tom Sperduto

So I guess, here I am making an open declaration of my faith and my love of God. There is nothing more important to me. That is my journey. It is one that will never end.

I’d like to end with the first thing I read once my eyes opened after being awake for more than 59 hours and moving forward for 57 of them and 50 minutes. I no longer believe in coincidences and I can never describe what reading these words did to me. But I can say this – God’s greatest joy is our company. It’s our reason for being and it’s a choice. I have made mine and I am moving forward.

"I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move."