Before the Turin Olympics fades entirely out of view, I wanted to share a thought about the women's figure skating.  Like many of the skating events in this Olympics -- driven perhaps by the mysterious new scoring system? -- the women's figure skating was roiled by falls, but Sasha Cohen, the silver medalist, picked herself up from her fall in the ( Read more... )

As a general rule, portents and signs are storytelling devices, not reality.  However, I'd love to look back a week from now and say that the Boston Red Sox World Series four-game victory meaningfully presaged a win by someone else from Boston.

According to a well-written, evocative overview of the spectator's experience at the ancient Olympic games in this month's Smithsonian magazine, the ancient games had no torch.  In fact, the torch was added at Hitler's 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin ( Read more... )

Today is the Belmont Stakes, and Smarty Jones has a shot at the Triple Crown estimated rather better than others in recent years.  Post time is about 3:38 pm Pacific, and NBC's coverage should run 2:30 to 4:00 pm Pacific.  Enjoy!

Smarty Jones, the Derby winner, ran away with the Preakness.  Eleven and a half lengths he won by, smashing the previous record win distance of ten lengths (Survivor, 1873 ( Read more... )

Today is the 129th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico, in Baltimore, Maryland.  NBC begins its coverage at 2:00 Pacific, and ends at 3:30 Pacific.  Post time is 3:05 Pacific ( Read more... )

The BBC has an article about the discovery of what may be the earliest surviving written reference to baseball (1791), in an ordinance prohibiting its play within 80 yards of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts meetinghouse -- and its then brand-new glass windows.

I turned the calendar, and saw that it's Derby Day.  I had forgotten.  Forgotten!  Oh, dear.  I suppose that's what happens when the first Saturday in May falls on May Day, and you're busy, tired -- and old?  When I was exceedingly young, I cut out newspaper articles about the Derby for weeks beforehand, and knew the names and capabilities of ( Read more... )