From the first time I saw Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir, NBC's figure skating analysts and their outrageously glittery and coordinated clothing, I made certain never to miss their opening performances. The heck with the skaters. Considering our American skater's poor showings, Tara and Johnny turned out to be our Gold Medal winners. It occurred to me how Johnny's outfits must have seemed to all the homophobic Donald Trump supporters, which made me smile even more. Costumes aside, the pair's analysis was professional and entertaining. Let's hear it for creativity and diversity.
Ester Ledecka deserves more love from the press than she's getting, in our paper, one tiny rectangle at the bottom of page 3C. To remind folks, Ledecka won two separate Golds in two separate events, the women's Super G and the snowboarding parallel giant slalom. That's sort of like winning the batting championship in cricket and baseball. Or like winning Olympic Gold in the hop-skip- and jump and the long-jump.
Women's Hockey winning the Gold over Canada was, as I've mentioned before, a WOW down to the wire victory, and American Curlers defeating the Swedes for a Gold was awesome. After this, can the Olympics' big shots keep bowling out of the Summer games?
I'm still grooving over the enchanting and physically demanding performances of the Russian women skaters as they won Gold and Silver for their unmentioned country. Bet the Russian are celebrating anyway.
I've left out a bunch of winning performers, but congrats to all. I enjoyed the Olympics a great deal, even while suffering through endless and stupid commercials.
On another subject: it looks like college basketball is going to go through another scandal; bribery this time. Back in my day, it was point shaving. Lonzo Ball was quoted as saying just pay the guys, they are all getting paid anyway, assuming that will stop the under-the-table money agents are handing out to college players. It might help, but probably not because colleges can't compete, even if there was the slightest chance the NCAA would let them, with some of the big bucks being offered.
Sean Miller of U of Arizona, what were you thinking? Were any of these guys you were fronting for bucks worth your career? Tip of the iceberg, someone told me.
March Madnes coming up. My wife is planning a vacation.
Skier by Robert Francis
He swings down like the flourish of a pen
Signing a signature in white on white.
The silence of hsi skis reciprocates
The silence of the world around him.
Wind is his one competitor
In the coool sinding and unsinding down.
On incandescent feet he falls
Unfalling, trailing white foam, white fire.
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