Welcome! This is an unapologetic, agenda-free zone. Just commentaries on current events that’ll move you to think, laugh, rage, and even cry.
I am pooped. What’s more, I risk permanent damage to my already failing eyesight if I watch another event. Never mind the irony that my addictive interest in watching healthy people compete is making me unhealthy. Frankly, I deserve a gold medal — not just for watching so many events but for writing so many… Read more.
I noted in “Diplomatic Brinkmanship Upstages the Opening Ceremony” on February 9 that supervening events might limit my commentary on Olympic events. That has been the case, most notably last week with the Parkland mass shooting and the resignation of South African President Jacob Zuma, and this week with the death of Billy Graham and… Read more.
Men’s Speedskating 500 (Long Track) Norway is dominating skiing events at these Games much as the Netherlands is dominating skating events. Therefore, it looked like a scene from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly when one Norwegian took on three Dutchmen and … iced them. Okay, for a more athletic analogy, this is rather… Read more.
Women’s Super-G Lindsey Vonn is easily the most successful female skier in history. She racked up a record-setting 81 wins on the World Cup tour between 2002 and 2018. But, despite opportunities at five Olympic Games over that period, she has only one career-crowning gold medal. To be fair, untimely injuries, which she chronicled with… Read more.
Unfortunately, bad weather is continuing to upstage the athletes at these Games. Most notably, it forced cancellation of Alpine events for a third day yesterday. Men’s Halfpipe Here is what I wrote about Shaun White in “Sochi Olympics: Day 4,” February 11, 2014: ____________________ I joined the peanut gallery of those heaping scorn on Shaun White… Read more.
Women’s Halfpipe Chloe Kim is a phenom – whose breathtaking athleticism is surpassed only by her endearing personality. But I can think of no better way to hail her Olympic performance than to say it was every bit as awe inspiring as Shaun White’s was at the 2006 Turin Olympics. White won gold at those… Read more.
Bad weather forced the postponement of more Alpine events. On Day 1, I hailed the grit Cross Country skiers display as a matter of course. Sure enough, they competed despite the weather. Women’s Biathlon 10km Pursuit Again, you really have to watch one of these Cross-Country events to fully appreciate the athleticism and skill these… Read more.
Bad weather is forcing postponement of events at these Olympics in ways it used to force postponement of matches at Wimbledon. The Men’s Downhill and Women’s Giant Slalom are among the casualties. Except that no amount of preparation could insulate Alpine events from disorientating and dangerous wind gusts. Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle This event debuted four… Read more.
The United States did more than any county to establish norms in every aspect of international relations. This is why it seems so surreal to watch it flout them in ways one would expect only of a rogue nation. US Vice President Mike Pence continued that flouting today as he executed his boorish mission to… Read more.
The 2018 PyeongChang Olympics get underway tomorrow. Yet the media are dedicating relatively little coverage to the Opening Ceremony or the athletes. Instead, they are focusing on the nuclear brinkmanship between North Korea and the United States, which will hover over South Korea (and these Games) like a Damoclean sword. But one can hardly blame… Read more.
