Pyeongchang 2018, Week Two: Triumphs and a Tragedy

The Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea is over.  The two Koreas have been getting along so well that they're planning on talks to maybe improve relations, and have invited the United States to join in.  President Donald Trump, who has sent the noted diplomats Vice President Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump to put in appearances during the Games, has sent a qualified reply.  So maybe the next time we hear the word Pyeongchang, it won't be in reference to a battlefield.  But we digress.

Here are the top five nations in the final medal count:

Norway  14 gold, 14 silver, 11 bronze=39 total
Germany  14 gold, 10 silver, 7 bronze=31
Canada   11 gold, 8 silver, 10 bronze=29
U.S.          9 gold, 8 silver, 6 bronze=23
Netherlands  8 gold, 6 silver, 6 bronze=20

The United States moved up to fourth place from the first week, thanks to the efforts of the following:

• Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall were the first American women to take home gold in cross-country skiing.
• The women's hockey team won its first gold since 1998, defeating Canada in a shootout.  Isn't that like winning the Wimbledon singles championship on tiebreaks?
• Lindsey Vonn closed out her Olympic career with a bronze medal in the women's downhill.  Or did she?  Mikaela Shiffrin, who won two Alpine golds herself, isn't sure Vonn's skiing off into the sunset just yet.  You'll see Vonn in China in '22 all right--as an NBC commentator.  Hey, she can't be any worse than Bode Miller, right?
• Now that the U.S. men's curling team won the gold medal in curling, will that sport end up being as popular as hockey was after the 1980 "Miracle on Ice"?

The Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) ended up in seventh place with 17 medals.  One of their two gold medals came in men's hockey, when they defeated an upstart German team in overtime.  It was a game that was better than it had any right to be, given that NHL players sat these Olympics out while Russian KHL players dominated.  Their last gold was in 1992 when, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, they were known as the Unified Team.

This doesn't mean that the OAR, the remnants of a Russian state-sponsored team that was disqualified from these Olympics for alleged doping violations, had cleaned up its act completely.  Two athletes were kicked out of the Games for testing positive for banned substances.  But they'll be given a hero's welcome in Moscow by President Vladimir Putin anyway.
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We hate to end this on a low note, but this bears watching in future Olympics.

Recently Dr. Larry Nasser, a Michigan-based sports physician, was sentenced to spend the rest of his life (and then some) in prison.  He was convicted in that state for sexually abusing hundreds of female athletes, including members of the U.S. gymnastics team. 

The next time you watch a sports event involving teens and/or young women, think about what it took for them to get to where they are.  There are people who train these athletes and care for their well being in a responsible manner.  But there are also some individuals who see a captive audience for their personal pleasure, and the damage they inflict can last a lifetime.

If you are a parent of these young athletes, your support and responsibility to them rests on your shoulders.  For the rest of us watching, we need to be more aware of the price of victory.

Pyeongchang 2018, Week One: Welcome to the Real World

The first week of competition for the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea began with an Opening Ceremony that included (A) North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un's sister and Vice President Mike Pence sitting in close proximity, with neither acknowledging the other, (B) an appearance by a shirtless, oiled-up Tongan dude in the Parade of Nations, and (C) the presence of NBC's Asian expert Joshau Cooper Ramo on their telecast, whose declaration that Japan had a lot to do with the transformation of South Korea as a nation (while neglecting to mention that they were under Japanese occupation from 1910 to 1945, and that many of their women were used as sex slaves) got him fired.  And with that, let the Games begin.

As of February 19, the top three medaling countries are:

• Norway with 28 (11 golds, nine silvers, eight bronzes)
• Germany with 20 (10 golds, six silvers, four bronzes)
• Canada with 17 (six golds, five silvers, six bronzes)

The United States has 10 medals (five golds, three silvers, two bronzes), which puts them in a tie for sixth place with Australia, France and Japan.

Most of those American golds have come from snowboarding (Jamie Anderson, Chloe Kim and Red Gerrard), which is the Olympics' attempt to get millenials interested in the Games.  In a more traditional sport, Mikaela Shiffrin won the women's Giant Slalom.

Shaun White also won gold in the snowboarding category for the third time in as many Olympics.  Unfortunately for him, the MeToo movement managed to overshadow his accomplishment as he got hit with questions about a sexual harassment settlement with a former female rock band member of his, claiming it was all "gossip".  White used the following day's appearance on the post-Matt Lauer "Today" show to apologize for using the word "gossip".  Crash and burn.

Skiier Lindsay Vonn (she once dated Tiger Woods, in case you didn't know) botched a gate during her run for gold in the women's Super G.  Then she heard from the thousands of not-so-well-wishers who'd rather see her break a leg than bring home a medal.  All this is because Vonn joined the list of athletes who have vowed not to be in the same room with President Donald Trump when it comes time to visit the White House.

And, oh yes, the International Olympic Committee's ban on doping Russian athletes, which has resulted in the country's official removal from these Games, and has forced its remaining (clean) athletes to compete under a different name and flag--well, how's that working out?  A curler just had his bronze medal in mixed doubles taken away for alleged doping violations.

One more week of all this.  What's going to happen next?

The Eagles Have Landed

The Philadelphia Eagles are the new Super Bowl champions, which is their first pro football title of any kind since they won the league crown in 1960.  They outscored and outsmarted the defending champion New England Patriots 41-33 in Minneapolis Sunday night.

It was an offensive show, with both teams combining for 1151 rushing yards, the most in Super Bowl history.  Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw for 505 yards, which is also a record.

Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, who until recently was an understudy to starter Carson Wentz before his season ended due to injuries, threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns.  For that, he was named the Super Bowl MVP.  Oh yes, and he's also going to Disney World.

The Eagles are pretty much no-names next to the Patriots, but they did their job--keeping Brady out of the end zone with the game on the line in the final seconds, which is something he's done so many times before.  It's also not easy to outcoach the Patriots' Bill Belichick, but that's just what Eagles coach Doug Pederson did.

In the grand scheme of things, the Eagles are a one-season wonder, coming back down to Earth next season.  The Patriots, having won five Super Bowls in the first two decades of this century, will likely be remembered for as long as football is still played.

But for now, let the Eagles soar.

Among other things . . .

• There were a couple of plays in which receivers made spectacular catches in the end zone, but the excitement dissipated as they were subject to seemingly endless and nitpicky video reviews of whether or not it really was a catch.  This kind of thing has been going on all season, wasting everyone's time.  Even NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he's in favor of modifying the "catch/not a catch" rules.  Over 103 million of you watched this year's NBC telecast of the Super Bowl, which is the lowest audience since 2009.  Paralysis by video analysis may be one reason why some folks are tuning out.
• You've heard this before, but it bears repeating with the country in the middle of a flu epidemic:  Can we please end the ritual of the Vince Lombardi Trophy going through the gauntlet of players from the winning team fondling and kissing the trophy before it gets to the podium?  Gross!  
• Justin Timberlake's halftime show didn't bring much of anything back, much less sexy.  It was just meh.  He tried to perform with a giant video image of Prince on what looked like the world's largest bedsheet, which only made him look and sound small.  And there was no Janet Jackson, the woman whose career he helped ruin the last time he played a Super Bowl by uncovering her nipple on live TV.  But Timberlake did mention several times that he was in Minneapolis, so there's that.
• The commercials that companies spent tons of money on to be broadcast during the Super Bowl weren't that great, though the ones from Amazon (celebrities subbing for an ailing Alexa) and the NFL (Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. of the New York Giants spoofing "Dirty Dancing") came close.  But the people who run the estate for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. must have been hard up for money when they sold one of his speeches to Ram Trucks for use in a commercial.  Isn't money also the reason why we haven't heard the full version of King's "I Have a Dream" speech?
• The Twin Cities declared itself a success in hosting this carnival intended for the rich and famous.  But it will mainly be remembered as the coldest Super Bowl ever, and visitors just couldn't wait to get out fast enough.  Over to you, Atlanta.

Vikings 2017-18: Saving Their Worst For Last

Up until Sunday, there was the strong possibility that the Minnesota Vikings could have become the first NFL team to play a Super Bowl in its home stadium.  Even the league hadn't anticipated something like this, judging from the scramble to get U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis ready for the big event.

Now the Vikings are back to being merely hosts, having concluded their season by losing the NFC championship game to the Eagles in Philadelphia 38-7.  The way they played, they might as well not have shown up.

The Eagles proved why they were the NFC's top seeded team for most of the season with a better defense, a serious chip on their shoulders from being overlooked, and Nick Foles turning out to be the better substitute quarterback than the Vikings' Case Keenum.  The Eagles will now face the defending champion New England Patriots, who continue to make history by coming back to defeat the upstart Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC title game.

Looking back, the Vikings' 13-3 division title winning regular season and playoff push hinged on a few factors:  Keenum having a career year in relief of Sam Bradford, an improved offensive line and a great defense.  They also benefited from getting breaks such as sending Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the sidelines with a collarbone injury, having a relatively weak schedule, and the so-called "Minneapolis Miracle".  That one involved Keenum throwing a last-second heave to Stefon Diggs for the game-winning touchdown in the divisional playoff over New Orleans.  Of course, if the Saints hadn't come back from a 17-point deficit to take the lead, none of this would have been necessary.

For next season, the Vikings have a lot of decisions to make, such as which quarterback to keep or say goodbye to.  Keenum, Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater are all eligible for free agency, along with several other players on the roster.  Coach Mike Zimmer also has to decide who his next offensive coordinator will be, because Pat Shurmur has been named the New York Giants' new head coach.

Was this Vikings season a fluke, or is this the best the team is going to get for the foreseeable future?  It's been four decades since they last played in a Super Bowl, and they've lost the conference championship game six consecutive times.  It would require another miracle to break the habit of turning in bad performances when a championship is on the line, and your fan base is subjected to yet another year of "wait 'til next year".  This is where the Minnesota Vikings are today.

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Now our official Super Bowl pick:  Patriots over Eagles.

Keith Jackson and Dick Enberg: Giants of the Mike

Keith Jackson and Dick Enberg were two of the most important voices of sports on TV in the late 20th century.  Much like Curt Gowdy, Chris Schenkel and Jim McKay in a previous generation, and Joe Buck, Al Michaels and Jim Nantz are in this one.

Both Jackson and Enberg covered the NFL, college football, the NBA, the Olympic games, boxing and golf.  Both had their trademark catchphrases.  For Jackson, it was "Whoa Nelly! and "Fum-BLE!".  For Enberg, it was "Oh My!" and "Touch 'em all".

Both men had different career paths.  Jackson was best known as ABC's voice of college football, covering many a big game from Michigan's "Big House" to the Rose Bowl aka "the granddaddy of them all", and everywhere in between.  He was also behind the mike for three World Series, the first season of "Monday Night Football" (1970), the United States Football League, and many other events for "Wide World of Sports".

Enberg began as a local sportscaster in Los Angeles in the 1960s, broadcasting Rams football, Angels baseball, and UCLA football and basketball during the John Wooden era.  Then for three different networks (NBC, CBS and ESPN, in that order), he called eight Super Bowls, nine Rose Bowls, and many Wimbledon tennis championships.  He also helped usher in college basketball as a TV sport with his coverage in 1968 of the Houston-UCLA game at the Astrodome, the first to be seen in prime time.  Later he did the NCAA Final Four men's tournament for NBC with Al McGuire and Billy Packer.

Both men did other things on TV besides sports.  Jackson appeared in commercials.  Enberg did game shows, most notably "Sports Challenge", along with a few acting roles in which he mostly played himself.

Both men chose to end their careers on a high note:  Jackson with the Rose Bowl national championship game between Texas and USC in 2006, Enberg with local San Diego Padres baseball telecasts.

And both men died within a few weeks of each other:  Enberg on December 21 at age 82, Jackson on January 12 at 89.  In an era where today's play-by-play announcers are anonymous by comparison and more likely to talk about "walk-off" home runs and "two touchdown" football games, they could have learned a thing or two from Dick Enberg or Keith Jackson on how to call a sports event without sounding like a corporate drone.

Alabama Gets Away. Again.

The University of Alabama's Crimson Tide won the national college football championship for the fifth time in nine years Monday in Atlanta, overcoming a 13-point halftime deficit to defeat the University of Georgia's Bulldogs in overtime 26-23.

Tide coach Nick Saban made the fateful halftime decision to replace his starting quarterback with a first-year student named Tua Tagovailas, who then proceeded with his teammates to complete the comeback by throwing the winning touchdown pass in overtime to DeVonto Smith, another first-year player.

For Saban, it was his sixth national title, tying him with another Crimson Tide coaching legend named Paul "Bear" Bryant.  For the state of Georgia, this is the second time in the past year that a local football team blew a big lead to lose the big game in overtime to a dynasty.

So the Tide rolls once more, even though other institutions of higher learning (including Georgia) spent tons of money to lure away some of Saban's assistants to be their head coaches.  But they still haven't learned how to defeat the master.  Saban is now 12-0 against his former assistants.

Elsewhere, the University of Central Florida declared itself national champions with an undefeated season.  But because they're not a Power Five school (Big 10, Pac-12, ACC, SEC and Big 12), they were ignored by the people who run the College Football Playoff and had to settle for a Peach Bowl appearance on New Year's Day.  Alabama, by the way, ended up with a 13-1 record.

The CFP turned out to be another Southern affair, with all four teams from the same geographical area (Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Oklahoma) participating, with two of them from the same conference meeting in the final.  Those who complained about this lack of regional diversity have advocated for an eight-team playoff, which isn't going to happen at least until the CFP's TV deal with ESPN expires in 2025.  Until then, if you want to find the best college football anywhere, go south.

Sports 2017: What We Missed, and Who

If you've been reading this here blog at any time during the past year (and if you really have, we thank you), here's a recap of what we've already covered:  Players taking a knee.  President Donald Trump criticizing players who took a knee for his own political gain.  Players refusing to appear with Trump at the White House.  New England Patriots getting away with another Super Bowl in the most dramatic way possible.  The Los Angeles Chargers and the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders.  No Olympics for the NHL.  The decline of ESPN.  Low NFL TV ratings.  The United States men's soccer team will not be in the World Cup.

And now, here's what we didn't cover in 2017.

• LaVar Ball is one of those stage parents whose actions overshadowed the accomplishments of his children, making them all look like fools.  Ball was the driving force behind eldest son Lonzo being the Los Angeles Lakers' top draft pick.  His other two sons, LiAngelo and LaMelo, are playing for a pro basketball team in Lithuania.  But that was only after LiAngelo and another UCLA teammate were caught shoplifting sunglasses in China while the team was there for exhibition games,  They might still be there if President Trump, who was visiting Asia at the time, hadn't intervened to get them home.  When the President insisted on being properly thanked for the gesture, Ball chose to pick a fight with him, resulting in Trump wishing he had just left the players in China.  Whether it's promoting his overpriced sneakers and reality show, telling women to stay in their lane or clashing with his sons' coaches, the one thing LaVar Ball seems to be selling is LaVar Ball.
• The International Olympic Committee has banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Games, which are scheduled for South Korea in February, because of evidence that their athletes had been violating the IOC's anti-doping rules.  This means the Russians really didn't win those medals on their own merits.  Some of those athletes who tested clean will be allowed to participate, but only under the Olympic banner.  While the rest of the world cheers this development, we shouldn't underestimate Russian President Vladimir Putin.  If he can manipulate the results of a presidential election in the U.S., what's to stop him from trying the same thing at the Olympics?
• Like the NBA in recent years, baseball players have gotten in the habit of choosing to spend at least part of their careers with contending teams in big markets.  Japanese star Shohei Ohtani, sought after by several teams, chose to go with the Los Angeles Angels,  Slugger Giancarlo Stanton, using his no-trade clause to turn down offers from other teams, finally left the sinking ship that is the Miami Marlins to accept a trade with the New York Yankees.  It didn't hurt that the guy who engineered the trade, former Yankees legend Derek Jeter, is now an executive of the Marlins.
• A pregnant Serena Williams sat out most of this year after winning the Australian Open.  That left the door open for two African-Americans--Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys--to face each other in the U.S. Open women's final, with Stephens winning in straight sets.  Guess that answers the question of where American tennis is headed in the post-Williams sisters era.
• Jordan Spieth continued his dominance in golf.  Sergio Garcia finally won a major tournament by conquering Augusta National.  Nobodies continued to win the other majors.  And Tiger Woods is back out on the course, hoping not to throw out his back in the process.

Finally, here's who took their final bows in 2017:

Frank Lary, Tommy Nobis, Steve Jones, Jana Novotna, Pancho Segura, Roy Halliday, Connie Hawkins, Dave Strader, Bernie Casey, Jake LaMotta, Don Ohlmeyer, Gene Michael, Rollie Massimino, Jud Heathcote, Frank Broyles, Bryan Murray, Don Baylor, Ara Parseghian, Lee May, John Kundla, Bob Wolff, Babe Parilli, Frank Kush, Jimmy Piersall, Jack Mc Closkey, Roberto De Vicenzo, Frank Deford, Jim Bunning, Cortez Kennedy, Steve Palermo, Aaron Hernandez, Dan Rooney, Dallas Green, Jerry Krause, Charismatic, Mike Ilitch, Milt Schmidt, Ferdie Pacheco and Ralph Jon Fritz.