Olympics
OK, not much in the way of head-turning results as the Rio Games began the turn for the finish line.
It's fair to ponder, as we did on Press Row on Monday, if these Olympics have peaked. The pool is dry. Usain Bolt bolted to his third consecutive fastest man on the planet moniker. Golf holed out. Tennis has been set-tled. The Biles lass has one more event, and NBC's mandate that gymnastics be a tape-delay enterprise has made day-old news.
Think of it this way, everyone at one point or time has stopped by Antiques Roadshow on PBS. Everyone. Be it at the wife's request or because it's the really bad summer TV time and the choices are a "Law & Order" you've seen 12 times or the replay of the 2001 Georgia-Tennessee game on the SEC Network. (Yes, Georgia fans are taking the latter option; Tennessee fans, not so much.). So you stop by the Antiques Roadshow and you have a good idea that the 16th Century table and chairs have a lot of value, and everyone makes guess. Sure the process to the end is not always filled with must-see TV, since some dude in some snazzy suit from some shoppe (yes, the extra p and e at the end are required in the antiques world) some where up north details how and why it is or is not actually a setting royalty used. And we all stick around, make your guess about the net worth and want to see how it turns out, whether the owner lugged that freight 200 miles to hear she has a six-figure retirement nest egg or can start let the grandkids coloring on that piece of junk in the garage.
It's a fair transaction in most cases because the pay-off is there when the estimated value pops up. (Now don't even get us started on Mr. Snobby McEvaluator's 'price at auction' because if we know anything about the business world, it is this: Value is determined by the market. Period. Snobby can say those table and chairs are worth $45 grand, and that's great. But if the best offer on the table is 12 TV dinners, a box of Krispy Kremes and a year-long membership in the jelly of the month club, you know what those table and chairs are worth? Yep, 12 TV dinners, a box of Krispy Kremes and a year-long membership in the jelly of the month club.)
But now image said transaction on the Antiques Roadshow if they flashed the price right at the beginning and expected you stick around for the details of art owner and Snobby, with the antique one-liners and repartee flowing.
No thanks. And that's what NBC has done with almost all of the women's gymnastics to this point.
So the main story line from last night was the social media outrage at Jamaican sprinter Shaunae Miller, who edged an American for gold by diving across the finish line.
There were calls of the sportsmanship and the ethics of such a move.
Our question is when did we get to this point that we have edited the back half of the classic Lombardi quote to read "How you win is the only thing."
C'mon people.
It's clearly within the rules that a sprinter can do that provided he/she does not impede another racer.
Like the gasbag comments from Hope Solo, these are the sounds and excuses of losers, plain and simple. (And to be fair most of the athletes - including the Americans - have backed the sprinter's decision to lay out at the finish line Monday night.)
In the Kennedy household, even the thrill of watching the U.S.' Michael Phelps best the world sometimes can't bring the family together for a shared viewing experience. (AP photo/Matt Slocum)He did what?
Speaking Olympic head-scratchers, Monday afternoon came the story that as a 10-year-old Michael Phelps was only the second best swimmer in the country.
Yes, Phelps has dominated more foes in the water than anyone or anything this side of Jaws, but when they were 10 here are the details of how NBA journeyman power forward Kris Humphries did to Phelps what Phelps has been doing to everyone else on the planet since.
From Hawks.com in this story, here are some of Humphries accomplishments as a junior swimmer:
"What may be more surprising is that in the same year, 10-year-old Kris Humphries clocked the fastest times in six different events: 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle, 50-meter butterfly, 50-meter backstroke, 50-meter breaststroke and 200-meter individual medley (the last of which is an event that Phelps has won at the past four Olympics)."
Humphries told People magazine 13 years ago that he focused on basketball because he got burned out on swimming.
It turned out OK for each, considering Phelps became the most decorated Olympian ever and the greatest swimmer of all-time with a net worth estimated between $50-55 million. (He's made more than $600,000 in medals won alone, and according to this unbelievable story, he's going to owe Uncle Sam roughly $55,000 in taxes on the medals won last week in Rio.)
As for Humphries, well, he did have about a 45-minute marriage to a Kardashian, and believe it or not the money in the NBA is so staggering right now, the 12-year journeyman has made $58 million in his basketball career.
FILE - In this Jan. 16, 2016, file photo, Green Bay Packers inside linebacker Clay Matthews (52) chases a play during an NFL divisional playoff football game against the Arizona Cardinals, in Glendale, Ariz. Matthews, Julius Peppers and James Harrison will be interviewed next month by NFL officials in connection to a media report that linked them to the use of performance-enhancing drugs. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File) Beyond the headline
This story is interesting on several levels.
The big, flashy headline is about the NFL having questions about PED use for veterans Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers and James Harrison. And the league has even said the players face possible suspension if they do not respond by Aug. 25.
On its face, this is likely just some preliminary base-covering for a supremely image aware league, considering that a) these accusations were originally part of Al Gore's now-bankrupt Al-Jazeera news agency; and b) after speaking with Peyton Manning, another player named in the report earlier this year, the NFL cleared the future Hall of Fame quarterback rather quickly.
Beyond the dates and dialog, this is less about PED accusations and the NFL expanding its reach in terms of investigations and questioning. In a lot of ways, this is another attempt by Goodell's gestapo to circumvent the NFLPA and the collective bargaining agreement.
The league says that the players' decision to avoid as many as seven interview requests underscore the importance of the interviews, using the old "if you don't have anything to hide, why not answer a few questions" tactic that has cemented the fate of more than one TV criminal.
The NFLPA says the players have made statements and there's really no evidence out there since the main witness in the Al-Jazeera story has recanted his version. Plus, the NFLPA rightly points out that the league does not have the best track record of fairness when it comes to investigations such as these.
But know this: This is not about PEDs; this is about power.
Period.
This and that
- As TFP all-around ace David Paschall tells us here, McCallie grad Sean Ryan will take to the open waters of Bathroom Bay for 6.2 miles of filth-invested swimming this morning. War Sean. Good luck and may your mettle be sound and your medal be gold.
- The Cubs have apologized - and fired the guilty DJ - for an employe playing a rap song that has the words "Smack" and a, shall we say a derogatory word for women that sounds like stitch over the loud speaker after Aroldis Chapman finished an inning. This is certainly not appropriate since Chapman was suspended for the first 30 days of the season because of domestic assault allegations. Now let's move on. Buckets, man, the hand-wringing after the fact is expected, but this faux moral outrage that spins on and on, and this is after the fact, after the reaction and even after the action has been taken.
- Man, this may be the biggest Olympic story that you have not heard about. That's right an Egyptian judoka being sent home from the games after refusing to shake hands with an Israeli competitor after their match because of obvious political differences. There have been several examples of anti-Israeli behavior in these games, and to be fair, the Egyptian Olympian Committee sent Islam El Shehaby home after his loss. Still, the questions about personal beliefs being regulated by the IOC - a corrupt and shameless organization at its core - under the universal umbrella of sportsmanship seem at best hollow..
- We mentioned Monday about the Air Force special helmets this year that the team will wear that look like old-school World War II fighter planes. They are boss. Now comes great news that the Pittsburgh Panthers will wear the throwback style of the bright blue and yellow with those cool "Pitt" helmets in cursive. Good stuff.
- We're pretty sure baseball is happening. You'll have to double check that for your self, though.
- And the next wave of social media faux outrage has been sparked by an Italian restaurant in New Mexico that has printed T-shirts with the phrase "Black Olives Matter" to help promote a new tuna dish with a black olive tapenade. Release the hounds - and in some cases the humor, considering that some of the back-and-forth includes the expected outrage being met with a lot of "If you think all olives matter, you're a racist." (Stewwie, your thoughts, other than the dude who came up with those T-shirts need to be ready for a flood of orders from all around the country?)
Today's question
Today, is a special day for a few reasons.
Today is national tell a joke day. If you have one, fire away. Here's one I got from one of my 8-year-old baseball players earlier this year:
"If you are an American when you go into the bathroom and you're American when you leave the bathroom, what are you when you are in the bathroom?"
. "Eur-o-pean." (Proving that clean or dirty and regardless of age, dudes big and small like a good potty joke.)
Today 39 years ago the Mrs. 5-at-10 was born. That was a great thing. (Happy birthday to my wonderful wife, partner and best friend.) This time next year, we are pretty sure she will turn 39 again. And that's well within her rights.
Today, 39 years ago, Elvis Presley died. That was not a great thing.
Which celebrity deaths make the Rushmore of all-time "I remember" moments?
Elvis is there for me - I actually remember where I was when I heard the news and the adults being really upset. Princess Diana is on there. So and John Lennon and Thurman Munson, believe it or not, in large part because each was broken on a Monday night sporting event, believe it or not.
Who else is out there?
Go, and remember the mailbag.