Yeah, I've gotta go with the WSJ on that one. Washington had 15 medalists among current and former students, not 3 (2G, 3S, 10B). So - Texas to the podium!
The Romanians recommended all three get bronze (the two Romanians tied on score, with the tiebreaker being degree of difficulty - but of course the judges hosed the second Romanian out of 0.1 when she didn't actually go out of bounds). This seems eminently fair to me, but the IOC said nah, fuck off.
Perhaps the IOC delegation to LA can be shown to their rooms at the Royal Roach in San Bernardino when they arrive in 2028, with a heartfelt apology: "We're so sorry, but your room requests arrived 4 seconds too late."
Yeah, this. I imagine at the flag transfer during the closing ceremony the LA rep is seriously thinking about backing away going "Nope nope nope we don't want this but merci mille fois."
On a scale of Paris 2024 to F1 Las Vegas, I fear a whole lot of Vegas + Hollywood. Hopefully not - LA if done well could also be a great event in its own right.
Yeah, that's exactly what it's like - just running into people from everywhere all over. The bigger countries have "houses" for their fans and if you can get in (not always that hard) they're a blast. Pretty epic parties. The King of Norway was at their house in Park City when I was there and I think everyone there actually knew him.
I've always loved the Olympics and have been fortunate enough to have attended 3 Winter Games (Cortina 2026 is a bucket list one and hopefully will make that as well). Not been to the Summer Games yet but LA is just down the coast so hope to make that too.
Do yourselves a favor - if you have any chance at all to go to any Olympics, do it. Go to some rando events - generally speaking they're quite affordable - and soak up the fact that the entire world is there and it's a party. Normally transportation to the events is straightforward once you're there. I regret not having gone to Paris, but the TV spectacle has been amazing. Well done to the French!
Look'ee there's my privateer
She's small but she can sting
Licensed to take prizes
With a letter from the King
I love the streets and taverns
Of a pretty foreign town
I tip my hat to the dark-eyed ladies
As we sally up and down
To lay with pretty women
To drink Madeira wine
To hear the rollers thunder
On a shore that isn't mine
(Yeah, I'm in, and I too know a few little island boltholes from Mindelo to Port Vila where the grog flows freely. Yarrrrr, fuck Russia.)
As someone partially through the interminable Portuguese residency process and knowing what wonderful people the Portuguese are, it's tough not to root for them in general (despite the antics of CR7). OTOH, NYE in Ljubljana was epic (tied with Mindelo in Cabo Verde) and Slovenians are great, so pretty much a win-win here.
Congratulations, Horns! UT has built a hell of a program. I wish I knew what has happened to UW's women's program, but there you are.
(On the men's side, UW's "Boys in the Boat" won their 20th national title. I'll take that and Texas beating Stanford any time.)
Kim Jong-un in a little toy shop
Sees a bag of balloons; it's all they've got
Thinks a moment - "I've got it!"
"Load these up with trash and shit!"
Checks the wind, it's blowing right
To take the rubbish out of sight
Floating past the watchful eyes
Two hundred sixty poop balloons go by
Two hundred sixty poop balloons
Floating past the DMZ
Does North Korea really not
Have Amazon delivery
You'd think their waste
Had value there
More than here, where we have food
(Except on Tuesdays, when it's bird)
Two hundred sixty poop balloons go by
----
Two hundred sixty rancid spheres
In every one a gift from Kim
It seems that it was pretty shitty
To drop those on our lovely city
If I could know why they came here
The next time I fill up on beer
Fearless Leader, in due time
I'll take a shart, and think of you
RIP, Bill. I always enjoyed your weird yet educated take on everything under the sun, expounded upon seemingly at random, but always with kindness and humor.
He loved our west coast and our conference as much as any of us did, and I loved him for it. Perhaps it is fitting that he passes at the very end of its existence. I cannot imagine him enjoying him watch his beloved Bruins and the rest of the west coast teams scattered to the winds.
RIP, Bill. Truly an end of an era in so many ways.
Took the hour drive up to the pass and it was amazing (also several hundred other people decided to go to the exact same spot, lol). The camera picks up a lot more of the reddish wavelengths than the eye does. Even after returning home and walking down to the waterfront in downtown Seattle, there was still quite a visible show directly overhead. Really amazing to see.