Olympics Time
With yesterday's Opening Ceremonies, it is time for me to enjoy one of my favorite things - endless sport coverage from the Olympics. Currently I'm watching the coverage of swimming and gymnastics, and before that was a bit of biking (go Dygert!) and USA vs Greece women's water polo.
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USA gets gold in 4x400 mixed relay at World Championships
I only follow track and field during major sporting events (aka the Olympics) but it's always impressive to see. My heart goes out to the Netherlands and Femke.
From a YouTube comment:
48.82 officially on the final leg for Holmes.
Justin Robinson 44.47 (fastest 1st leg of all the finals competitors)
Rosey Effiong 50.38 (2nd fastest 2nd leg of all the finals competitors)
Matthew Boling 45.13 (6th fastest 3rd leg of all the finals competitors)
Alexis Holmes 48.82 (fastest 4th leg of all the finals competitors)
The current top comment as of posting:
That was crazy. For those who don't know who Alexis Holmes is (yet), she was part of the Kentucky team that set the NCAA 4x400 record with Abby Steiner. She is legit! Get ready to see more.
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Interview with the organisers of Major League Cricket
I knew it was coming, as I remember hearing Seattle had a team (the Seattle Orca) but I haven't been following it. I don't understand cricket yet, I'll have to try and understand it. But I do think that it will do moderately well. The Desi community around Seattle love cricket. Every weekend you will drive by a park and see a group out there playing cricket including just down the street from my home.
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American businesswoman Michele Kang buys the OL Group to form first female sports group
I've been aware of this story for a bit because it affects my local women's team, the currently named OL Reign.
So, the tldr: Seattle Reign launched with the NWSL. A few years ago the owners sold the majority steak to Olympic Lyonne in France. They are a powerhouse and already own several other teams (both mens and womens.) Since the sale though, they haven't really done much visibly with the club other than help loan us players from their Europe teams.
It came out a few months ago that this deal was in the works. The rub? Michele Kang owns another NWSL team, the Washington Spirit (after having taken control after the previous owners were ousted for, let's say - problematic views.)
So now that she owns two NWSL teams, clearly one needs to go. So the Reign are up for sale as this deal finishes. No word on buyers. The hope is either the Sounders, or the female owner group for the Seattle Storm take them on. We'll see.
Aside from the negative (kind of) impact on the Reign, I'm glad to see this business develop and hopefully Kang has a successful (in all ways but beating the Reign) result.
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Some of the greatest ever
Found on Facebook and put here because, well, Facebook. Originally taken in 1999 by Walker Iooss at Madison Square Garden.
Back row: Billie Jean King, Evander Holyfield, Christine "Chris" Evert, John Elway, Bill Russell, Michael Jordan
Front row: Jim Brown, Muhammad Ali, Pele, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Joe Montana, Jack Nicklaus
The first name I wish was there: Gretzky.
Just imagine getting a photo like this today. Lebron, Biles, Sue Bird, Messi, etc.
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Thinking of Damar Hamlin
Didn't watch the game, but seeing coverage online. My thoughts go out to Hamlin, his family, friends and teammates. Here's hoping he recovers.
An important note in this story:
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US vs England this weekend was the most watched men's soccer game in the US, ever
As it turns out there are some details and exceptions, etc. The reddit thread dives into them.
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Wikipedia entry on 'Three Points for a Win'
A brief look into what is now a very common scoring system, but it only began to come around in the 1980s.
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An idle thought I had: I wonder how much of America's backsliding on education bleeds over to its sports. Obviously many amazing athletes still find ways to excel and reach a global stage. But with the fewer teachers, some number of them were coaches who likely would have helped drive young people to pursue sports and excel.
Zero proof. Just a random thought as I watch the World Cup and work this morning.
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Serena Williams retires from Tennis
From 1999 to 2019, Serena played in 33 Grand Slam finals, winning 23 of them. One of the all time greats of tennis.
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"Amazon is teaming up with Dude Perfect for alternate Thursday Night Football streams"
Reminds me of the Nickelodeon streams done for the last few seasons. NFL trying to pull in younger audiences.
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Quadball, not Quidditch
I love me some off-kilter sports. And quadball is definitely one of the sillier ones.
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"ESPN Plus price is increasing from $6.99 per month to $9.99"
Anyone surprised by this has not been paying attention. ESPN+ has been rapidly expanding its offerings and it was without question they'd have to raise prices to cover it.
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Born in Somaliland as Hussein Abdi Kahin, Sir Mo Farah reveals his story
Sir Mo Farah has revealed that he was illegally trafficked into Britain under the name of another child as a nine-year-old and forced into domestic servitude.
The four-time Olympic champion had previously claimed he had left Somalia aged eight to join his father, after his parents made the agonising decision to send three of their six children to London for the chance of a better life.
“Most people know me as Mo Farah, but it’s not my name or it’s not the reality,” he says. “The real story is I was born in Somaliland, north of Somalia, as Hussein Abdi Kahin. Despite what I’ve said in the past, my parents never lived in the UK.”
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The World Games 2022 going on now in Birmingham AL
I learned tonight that the World Games A) exist and B) are going on now in Birmingham. They're like the white-label version of the Olympics, they cover a lot of sports which both are and aren't part of the Olympics. For example it has both baseball and softball, aikido and other martial arts, bodybuilding, lacrosse, rugby, as well as a bunch of unique stuff: life saving, orienteering, korfball, and others.
As of this posting, Colombia is leading the medal count with 6 golds and 13 total. USA, thus far, has only one gold (as well as three bronzes) - the gold medal is Travis Mills for Parachuting, "Canopy Piloting Mixed." Go USA!
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It is honestly shocking to me how ESPN+ has almost no algorithm in its offering of sports to viewers. I have never, in any way, desired to watch golf, and yet I have to wade through their streaming of it to get to the sports that I actually want to watch.
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How Rickey Henderson Became a Baseball Legend
Rickey Henderson is one of those athletes I worshiped as a kid growing up. This was a fun recap of his career and pointing out how absurdly good he was through his career.
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Hall of Famer Henry "Hank" Aaron dies at 86
I have to admit, I did not realize he was alive still. But now that he is gone I am reminded of one of the greats of baseball. Do yourself a favor and watch this clip as Hank hits his famous 715th homerun, the moment he surpassed Babe Ruth. Narrated by another great of the sport, this time a famed commentator: Vin Scully who gave a memorable quote of the era: "A black man is getting a standing ovation in the deep south."
[{embed}]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjqYThEVoSQ\[{/embed}]
[{embed}]https://twitter.com/NBCSports/status/1352641181730091008\[{/embed}]
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