It’s official: Rio in 2016 for the Olympic Games. When I first heard the news that President Obama was flying to Copenhagen to plead that Chicago be tapped as the venue for the 2016 Summer Games, I was flabbergasted. Despite … Continue reading →
Yesterday’s post about compelling life stories brought to mind the great runner of my youth, Wilma Rudolph. Slender yet strong, with a fluid grace; exhibiting dignity without haughtiness, and self-possession to spare; she deserves at the very least a post … Continue reading →
The Red Sox are doing very well against the Yankees this year. Very well indeed: …[I]t might be many years — probably even decades — before the Red Sox open their season series against the Yankees with eight straight wins. … Continue reading →
I don’t follow horse racing, but I do take an interest in fillies. And so I’m very happy to hear that Rachel Alexandra (doesn’t really sound like a horse, does it?—even a girl horse) has won the Preakness, the first … Continue reading →
Only this time it’s his staff. And they’ve only been in place two and a half weeks: I’ve written about the theme of Obama and exhaustion before, here and here. It’s a theme that’s been coming up more and more … Continue reading →
Ever see a person fly? The play on this video, by a lowly ball girl at a minor league game between Tacoma and Fresno, qualifies as not only perhaps the best catch in baseball history, but the only human levitation … Continue reading →
I’d much rather write about the Red Sox. They’re doing great, up two in the best of five series against the Angels. Watching the game last night reminded me of one of the many things that’s so wonderful about sports: … Continue reading →
I’ve long had a soft spot in my heart for Neanderthals. The ancient ones, that is, those early humans who’ve gotten a bad rap as powerful heavy-browed vulgarians, but about whose culture we really know very little, and who seem … Continue reading →
I hereby object to the obvious pulchritudinous inequities of the Olympian sport of beach volleyball. To wit: why is it that the women’s torsos are relatively unclad while the men’s are coyly covered in tank tops?
Continue reading →Used to be people stayed put and didn’t venture onto mountains unless they were an especially hardy breed of adventurer—or goatherders or sherpas or Heidi. But somewhere during the 80s and 90s, perhaps due in part to the growing popularity … Continue reading →
I grew up playing a fair game of tennis on the public courts of New York. Just to show you how long ago that was, the courts were made of reddish clay that had to be rolled after the games … Continue reading →
I used to follow the Celtics back in the heady days of the 70s and 80s, when they were the basketball franchise and their matchups against the mighty Lakers or Knicks rivaled the Red Sox/Yankees series’ for excitement. Then there … Continue reading →