Top Track Trials Takeaways

Just in case you were wondering, DeAnna Price and Brooke Andersen were the other two women in the hammer throw picture.  You probably didn't know that, since their names weren't mentioned ONCE!  And that's sad.  Especially since Price is the defending World champion, set an American record to win Trials, and is probably the gold medal favorite in Tokyo.  But that situation's already gotten way too much oxygen, so the less I say about it, the better.

Wadeline Jonathas was similarly ignored after the women's 400 final...and she wasn't happy about it.  So unhappy, in fact, that she took to Twitter to voice her frustration.  She gets it.  Allyson Felix making her fifth team (and first as a mom), and being joined on the team by fellow mother Quanera Hayes is definitely quite a story.  But Jonathas made the team, too, and it would've been nice if people had at least acknowledged that.

Then there's Whitney Ashley, who doesn't seem to understand the concept that having the Olympic standard means absolutely nothing if you don't, you know, make the team!  Ashley, who finished fifth in the women's discus, threw herself a little pity party on Twitter because she wasn't selected for the team despite having the standard, even though two of the women who finished above her don't.  I'm not gonna get into the complexities of the qualification process, but the fourth-place finisher has a high enough world ranking to fill out the field, and the U.S. qualification process has always been very clear.  Your finish at Trials take precedence.  Either you make the team or you don't.  And Ashley didn't.  Plain and simple.  It's been that way for years.

Another person who didn't make the team was Donavan Brazier in the men's 800.  Neither did Justin Gatlin in the 100, likely ending his Olympic career.  Or Jenny Simpson, who's won a medal at seemingly every global championship in the women's 1500 for a decade.  Other than that, though, the surprises at Trials were pretty limited.  The people who were supposed to make the team did, and the stage was set for the U.S. to take home quite a medal haul from Tokyo.

As for the new Hayward Field, that place is fast!  Records were being set left and right.  I can't wait to see what happens at next year's World Championships, when it hopefully won't be uncomfortably hot.  Although, their decision to move the final night's session to the evening wasn't just a smart one from a safety perspective.  It also led to two of the meet's signature moments.  What were the others?  Here's my list...

10. JuVaughn Harrison makes the team in both the high jump & long jump: He won both at the NCAA Championships, but I thought there was no way he'd actually be able to make the team in both.  Boy was I wrong!  Not only did he make the team in both, he won both at Trials!  The last American man to do both the long jump and high jump at the same Olympics?  Jim Thorpe in 1912.

9. That women's 1500 finish: Elle Purrier (one of my favorites) was going to make the team, so her dominant meet record wasn't much of a surprise.  Spots 2 and 3 definitely were, though.  They ended up going to Cory McGee, who hadn't made a U.S. team since 2015 and had never been an Olympian, and Heather MacLean, who didn't even have the standard until she ran it in the final!  McLean finished just .09 seconds ahead of Shannon Osika.  The difference between a trip to Tokyo and waiting three years.

8. Keni Harrison's redemption: In 2016, Keni Harrison didn't make the team, then set the world record two weeks later.  (The three Americans who did go to Rio swept the medals.)  So one of the big questions heading into Trials was whether she'd finally make her first Olympic team.  She did.  Emphatically!
 
7. Allyson Felix's Trials farewell: There was a good reason why NBC played up Felix's final Olympic Trials so much.  She is America's most decorated female track & field athlete in history, after all!  When she decided to run the 400, it seemed like a lock she'd be on the team because of the relay, but when she finished second and made the team individually, it definitely was something!  So what that she finished fifth in the 200?  A double in Tokyo wouldn't have been possible anyway.  Besides, I think she ran the 200 just to say goodbye and thank you to the fans.

6. Rai Benjamin blows everyone away: I think Karsten Warholm is still probably the Olympic favorite in the men's 400 hurdles, but Rai Benjamin's definitely gonna give him a run for his money.  His time in the final was 46.83 seconds.  How absurdly fast is that?  It's the second-fastest in history.  Just .05 seconds off Kevin Young's 29-year-old record from the Barcelona Olympics.  Young may not be the world record holder anymore post-Tokyo.

5. Grant Holloway dominates: Holloway ran a very easy 13.11 in his heat.  Then he ran a 12.81, one-hundredth of a second off the world record, in his semi!  The final wasn't that fast (12.96), but Holloway's message was very clear.  The defending world champ is the one to beat in Tokyo.

4. Sha'Carri Richardson has arrived: It's been 25 years since an American has won Olympic gold in the women's 100.  That could change in Tokyo because of a dynamic personality who has made her presence known.  Sha'Carri Richardson reminds a lot of people of FloJo.  It's easy to see why.  She's just as flashy and just as fast.  Richardson ran a ridiculous 10.64 in her semi, then won the final by five meters.

3. Athing Mu makes it look easy: Athing Mu has been the "next big thing" in American track & field for a few years now.  The 800 is her main event, but she didn't even run it at all for Texas A&M during the outdoor season.  She returned to the 800 for Trials and put on a show.  With 2019 World Championships medalists Raevyn Rogers and Ajee Wilson in the field, Mu ran away with it.  She won by more than a second and set a Trials record of 1:56.07.

2. Sydney McLaughlin's world record: Because of the excessive heat delay, the women's 400 hurdles final wasn't until after midnight on Sunday night/Monday morning.  It was well worth the wait!  Every time Dalilah Muhammad and Sydney McLaughlin square off, something special happens.  This showdown was no different.  It was the third straight time they went 1-2 and a world record was set.  This time, it was McLaughlin who became the first woman ever to break 52 seconds.  This rivalry will now head to Tokyo, where McLaughlin is now the likely gold-medal favorite.

1. Ryan Crouser's world record: The first day, the first final, and we already knew it would be an incredible meet.  Ryan Crouser, the 2016 Olympic champion who set an indoor world record in February, has been chasing the outdoor record for a while.  In the fourth round of the final, he got it!  And he knew it, too!  You could tell by his reaction when the ball left his hand!  He didn't just break the record, either.  He obliterated it!  23.37 meters, more than 25 centimeters further than then 30-year-old mark.

Plenty of other moments could've been on this list, too.  Because, once again, Trials lived up to the hype.  It's the hardest team in the world to make, and you need to earn your place on it.  And that's exactly what the U.S. Olympic track & field team did.  Look out, Tokyo!  Because that was just the start.

Le Coupe Stanley Cup Finale

Only in the NHL can you have a team make back-to-back Final appearances, then be in the same division as its opponent the following season both times.  Yet, thanks to our COVID-inspired 2021 realignment, that's exactly the situation the Tampa Bay Lighting will have.  The Stars were their temporary division rivals this season, while the Canadiens will rejoin the Atlantic in 2021-22 after spending this season in the all-Canadian North Division.

It was obviously a possibility when the NHL decided to do away with conferences for this season, but it's still beyond weird that two teams normally in the same division are playing for the Cup.  Especially when one of those teams had the 18th-best record in the league this season!  Yet, this was the format, and Lightning-Canadiens is what we've got.

And, I've gotta admit, seeing Montreal in the Cup Final is cool.  They've won the Cup 24 times, by far the most in history, but haven't even been to the Final since they last lifted it in 1993!  That was actually the last time any Canadian team won the Cup!  Will that streak be extended to 28 years?  Or will the Canadiens finally put the "Curse of the Forum" behind them once and for all?

How awesome will it be for the Stanley Cup Final to be played in Montreal again?!  The Bell Centre opened in 1996 and has never hosted a Final game.  Thank God the Canadian government allowed them to play home games for the Final!  Because it would've been a shame if they had to play at a neutral site.  And it almost doesn't even matter that it's still very limited capacity.  Because no matter how many fans are there, it'll still be a madhouse!

Montreal is a huge underdog entering this series.  But they were against Toronto, Winnipeg and Vegas, too, so I don't think that's gonna bother the Canadiens one bit.  Plus, they've taken advantage of the one thing that has made a difference in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for years--the hot goalie.  And there's no one hotter than Conn Smythe favorite Carey Price right now!

I don't want to give Price all the credit, but there's no way the Canadiens would be in the Cup Final without him.  They're 11-2 since going down 3-1 against the Leafs, and, frankly, they were by far the better team in each of their last two series.  And, I'm not sure if it's luck or something else, but they're 5-1 in overtime games during that stretch.  That's unheard of!  But, hey, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good!

Not to be outdone, Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy has had a shutout in all three of the Lightning's series-clinching wins this postseason.  And, let's not forget, the Lightning haven't lost a playoff series since they were shockingly swept by Columbus in 2019.  Now they've got a chance to win their second Cup in 10 months...and keep that ridiculous streak for Champa Bay's pro sports teams alive!

The Lightning's return trip to the Final isn't nearly as unexpected as Montreal's.  Even after finishing third in the division, I don't think there was any doubt that Tampa Bay was capable of making another run, which is exactly what they've done.  In fact, if possible, I think the Lightning might even be better this season. 

Tampa Bay played three very good teams and figured out what to do to beat each of them.  Montreal will present a different challenge, though.  The Canadiens' defense has been suffocating, and, of course, they have Price.  And they'll almost certainly rely on that same tactic against all of Tampa's dynamic scorers--much like they did against the Knights, when they turned Marchessault and Karlsson into non-factors.

There are almost too many scorers on the Lightning for Montreal to take them all out of the game, though.  One of Tampa's greatest strengths is its balance.  The Lightning's fourth line is just as scary as the big names.  So are their top two defensemen--Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh.  Don't forget about the experience factor, either.  These guys won the Stanley Cup less than a year ago!

Although, while it's been a long wait for the Canadiens' franchise, Montreal isn't completely lacking in experience.  Tyler Toffoli, Corey Perry and Eric Staal are all veterans who've already had their names engraved on the Cup.  So has backup goalie Jake Allen, who was on the 2018-19 Blues.  Price and captain Shea Weber, meanwhile, were on Canada's gold-medal-winning team at the 2014 Olympics.  So playing for the Cup won't be completely foreign to them.

You also can't discount this crazy momentum the Canadiens are riding.  As they've been saying throughout the playoffs, they got healthy at the right time, and this is the result.  So maybe this isn't a fluke.  As the Maple Leafs, Jets and, especially, Golden Knights learned, underestimate this team at your own risk.  Which is a message I think the Lightning have definitely received.

My track record during this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs is not very good.  I had Montreal losing each of its three previous series.  I've also had a knack for picking the losing team in Mike Ferraro's "Who You Got?" game on Facebook (you pick who's going to score the game-winner for every OT game).  But I still compelled to make a pick here.  And I've gotta go with the defending champs.

Carey Price has been brilliant all playoffs.  I'm not taking that away from him.  Montreal wants it to be low-scoring so Price can make the difference.  That's easier said than done against the Lightning's offense, though.  And Tampa Bay has Vasilevskiy, so even if they are low-scoring games, they feel pretty good about their goalie, too.

Welcome Back Wimbledon

Last year, there was no all-white dress code.  There was no strawberries & cream.  There were no perfectly-manicured grass courts or royal boxes.  There were no Championships!  But now, after the tournament's first cancellation in 75 years, Wimbledon is back in all its glory!

And, it'll feel like Wimbledon too!  They're not allowing 100 percent capacity until the finals, but it'll be a full house at Centre Court on championship weekend!  July 11, the date of the men's final, should be a crazy one in London, too.  The final of Euro 2020(1) will be played in front of 60,000 fans at Wembley Stadium later that evening.  (Slowly but surely, the world is getting back to normal!)

The last Wimbledon match was so long ago that people might forget that it was a historic one.  The 2019 men's final between Djokovic and Federer was the first time that the final-set tiebreak was used, with Djokovic winning 13-12 in the fifth to capture his fifth Wimbledon title and keep Roger at 20 career Grand Slam titles.

Now, after his remarkable comeback in the French Open final, Djokovic enters the 2021 Championships sitting at 19...one behind Roger and Rafa for the all-time record.  And, I've gotta admit, I'm actually rooting for Novak over Roger this year.  I just think it would be so cool if they go into the US Open in a three-way tie!  (A win here would also mean Djokovic heads to New York with a chance to complete a calendar-year Grand Slam again...and, wins at both Wimbledon and the Olympics could give him the chance to join Steffi Graf as the only players in history with the Golden Slam.)

It's also hard to say anybody but Djokovic is the men's favorite.  He vanquished Nadal at Roland Garros and is the two-time defending champion here.  There are also few, if any, players who can challenge him on grass.  So, Djokovic not making it to at least the final would be considered a major upset.  Really the only thing that I can see holding him back is his recovery from the French Open.  That run was a grind, and it took a lot out of him.  He hasn't played since the final, though, so you'd have to figure he's had enough time to recover.

That's the exact reason why Federer withdrew from the French Open after the third round.  His match was Dominik Koepfer was brutal physically, and Roger knew the longer he played in Paris, the worse his chances at Wimbledon.  I don't want to say Roger's putting all of his eggs in his Wimbledon basket, but grass has always been his best surface, and at this point in his career, he knows Wimbledon is his best chance to add to his career total and stay the all-time Grand Slam leader (at least for now).  Then, you throw in the fact that the French Open was his first tournament in more than a year, and his decision to withdraw makes even more sense. 

Fortunately, the tennis gods have smiled on us and the two legends are on opposite sides of the bracket.  That means they can't meet until the final (unlike that ridiculousness in Paris where all three of them were on the top half).  And I'd be surprised if we don't see that matchup.  Because as much of a favorite Djokovic is on the top half, Federer is equally as big a favorite on the bottom half.  Roger probably needs more to go his way than Novak, but I'm fully expecting Serbia vs. Switzerland to be the first final in London on July 11.

Most of the other top men have historically struggled at Wimbledon.  Daniil Medvedev has never been past the third round, Stefanos Tsitsipas lost in the first round in two of his previous three appearances, and Alexander Zverev has only been to the fourth round once.  However, they're all much better players now than they were the last time Wimbledon was played, so I don't put a deep run past any of them.

Just like Roger Federer, Serena Williams knows Wimbledon is her best chance to get that elusive record-tying 24th Grand Slam title.  Serena has been to the final in each of her last four appearances, although the last two were losses to Angie Kerber and Simona Halep.  Halep won't be defending her title, though, so that has to make Serena the women's favorite.

Although, Wimbledon has seen a similar trend to the French Open on the women's side in recent years.  While a Williams sister has been to the last five finals, there have been four different champions--Serena, Garbine Muguruza, Kerber and Halep.  The latter three were unexpected, as have most of the French Open champions.  So, an "unexpected" winner wouldn't be totally unsurprising at all.

We've seen a lot of players emerge and rise to the top of the women's game since the last Wimbledon.  Bianca Andreescu, for example, has only played one career Wimbledon main draw match--a first-round loss in 2017.  She's got the perfect game for grass though!  Same with Sofia Kenin, who's lost in the second round in each of her two previous Wimbledon appearances.

Or will it be a veteran who's had Wimbledon success in the past?  Petra Kvitova has won Wimbledon twice and did the same thing as Federer at the French, withdrawing from the tournament after her first-round win to focus on Wimbledon.  It seems to have worked.  She reached the semis at her Wimbledon tune-up tournament.  Her draw isn't a slam dunk.  But she has to be the favorite on the bottom half.

Players joining Serena on the top half of the draw include third-ranked Elina Svitolina, a semifinalist in 2019, and Coco Gauff, whose major breakthrough was a fourth-round run in her 2019 Grad Slam debut that included a first-round win over Venus.  Gauff made the quarterfinals at the French and has qualified for the U.S. Olympic team, so you know she's got a ton of confidence.  She'd play Serena in the fourth round in what figures to be a must-see matchup.

French Open finalists Barbora Krejcikova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova are both on the top half, as well.  Krejcikova has actually never played in the Wimbledon main draw before (she did win the doubles title in 2018, however), so I'm especially interested to see how she follows up her French Open title.  Pavlyuchenkova, meanwhile, has one quarterfinal appearance mixed in with a lot of early-round losses in her Wimbledon career.  But how will she play now that she's finally reached a Grand Slam final?

Hometown favorite Johanna Konta also has a chance to make some noise.  A quarterfinalist in 2019, she's one of three seeded British players.  The others are both men--Daniel Evans and Cameron Norrie.  Andy Murray also returns to the site of his greatest triumph for the first time since 2017.  He's no longer a contender for major titles and his ranking has slipped so far that he needed a wild card, but none of that matters.  There's something right about seeing Andy Murray on Centre Court Wimbledon.  This might be the last time, too, so you know the fans will savour it (yes, I spelled it the British way on purpose!).

There's something right about tennis being played on Centre Court Wimbledon period!  That's really the biggest thing about this year's tournament.  Whoever wins will be secondary.  We're all winners because Wimbledon is back.  It's been a long time since July 2019...in more ways than one!  For that reason alone, Wimbledon 2021 will be one of the most memorable ever.  Regardless of the results!

Selfless, Not Selfish

The biggest question entering this weekend's Olympic Gymnastics Trials is who'll join Simone Biles on the four-woman American team.  We do know that Jade Carey won't be one of those gymnasts.  That doesn't mean Carey won't be going to Tokyo, though.  She already qualified as an individual, and she's using that spot.

They changed the entire gymnastics qualifying process for this Olympics.  The biggest change is that the number of athletes per team has been reduced from five to four (which would ideally free up spots for single gymnasts from countries that didn't qualify a full team).  Countries can have up to two additional gymnasts on their Olympic roster if they earn an individual spot through the qualification process, but those gymnasts who qualify individually can't be a part of the team event.

So, what does all this have to do with Jade Carey?  Well, because Carey made a decision a few years ago to opt out of the World Championships so that she could pursue the Olympics via the individual path.  The 2018 World Championships were also the first qualifying event for teams, and had Carey been on that U.S. team, she wouldn't have been eligible to try for the individual spot.

While some people questioned it, it seemed like the right move for Carey at the time.  She was very strong on vault and floor, but not as good on the uneven bars and balance beam.  So, with the depth of U.S. women's gymnastics, her chances of being selected for a team of only four weren't that great.  If she could make it as an individual, though, that seemed like a much more direct path to Tokyo.

It was a risk, but ultimately it paid off.  She finished first in both the vault and floor at the World Cup series, thus doing what she set out to do and clinching an individual Olympic berth.  Here's the catch, though...it was an Olympic berth for Jade Carey, not an Olympic berth for the United States.

That brings us to the present and this weekend's Olympic Trials.  The top two finishers automatically qualify for the team, with the other two team members chosen by a selection committee.  Over the past two years, Carey has improved dramatically in the all-around.  So much so that she would realistically have a shot at being selected, which would leave her individual spot unfilled.

Heading into Trials, nobody knew what Carey was thinking.  She said in April that she was planning on going to Trials and "see what happens," and U.S. Gymnastics National Team High Performance Director Tom Forster made it clear that the choice would be hers alone if Carey earned a spot on the team by finishing in the top two.

And, make no mistake, things are very different now than they were three years ago when she started this qualifying process.  Going it individually was the more direct path to the Olympics, but being a part of the team is a more direct path to Olympic gold.  The U.S. will be the overwhelming favorite in the team event.  But, with Simone Biles in the picture, there's no guarantee of anything as an individual.  So the choice really must've been a difficult one.

However, Carey has made her choice.  In an Instagram post on Tuesday, she said that she has "every intention to accept the individual spot that I worked very hard to earn."  So that put the question to rest.  Carey will compete at Trials, but will forego the team event in Tokyo, thus opening the door for another American gymnast to be an Olympian as well.

When Carey first opted to go it alone, it probably came off as a selfish move to many.  She was more concerned with making sure she got to go to the Olympics than what type of an impact her absence would have on the team (BTW, they still won the 2018 World Championship as a team without her).  While I don't necessarily agree with that assessment (all athletes are a little selfish...they need to be!), I can see why some people would feel that way.  

I'd argue that Carey's decision this week, however, was the exact opposite of selfish.  She could've decided that she wanted to be on the four-woman team, get her gold medal there, and give up her individual spot.  But she didn't do that.  By taking the individual spot she earned, Carey made it so that somebody else can be on the team AND that the U.S. can send the maximum number of gymnasts to Tokyo.  It really is a situation where everybody wins.

Besides, once they get to Tokyo, things won't be much different for Carey than it will be for the rest of the American gymnasts.  Everybody has to compete on the first day anyway, since that's the qualifying round not just for the team final, but for the all-around and apparatus finals, as well.  The only difference is that Carey won't compete in the team final and can't win a medal in that event.

Even though she isn't a member of the team, she can still qualify for the all-around if she's the second American behind Biles.  Likewise, there's no guarantee Carey makes the apparatus finals (although I'd say the chances in vault and floor are probably pretty good).  She'll still have to finish in the top eight (and be one of the top two Americans) to do that.  So, literally, the only thing that's different is her scores don't count for the team!

Jade Carey earned an individual Olympic berth.  There's no reason for her not to use it!  And by doing so, she's putting somebody else on the team.  Carey may not win a team gold in Tokyo.  But, by making a decision only she could make, she's proven herself to be as big a part of the team as anybody.

Cole Beasley, You're An Idiot!

Cole Beasley is right about a couple things.  It's 100 percent his choice whether he wants to get vaccinated or not.  No one is forcing him to or can force him to!  He's also entitled to his own opinion, whatever that is.  Even if that opinion is completely wrong and makes him look like an idiot!

Beasley, of course, made headlines last week for his Twitter rant complaining about the NFL's new separate protocols for vaccinated and unvaccinated players.  He starts it by saying "Hi, I'm Cole Beasley, and I'm not vaccinated!" and it only gets worse from there.  Beasley proudly wears his anti-vax stance as some strange badge of honor.  Worse, he comes off as an arrogant you-know-what about it!

There's really no point in breaking down the rest of Beasley's post, which only proves that he either doesn't understand or doesn't believe in the science.  Probably a little bit of both.  (His "examples" make absolutely no sense!)  What he doesn't do, however, is give an actual reason why he chose not to get vaccinated or why he's so opposed to them.

At the very end of his post, Beasley claims that "a lot of other NFL players hold my position as well but aren't in the right place in their careers to be so outspoken."  Are you sure about that?  Because, once again, it looks like you didn't get your numbers right.  Sure, there are some who are hesitant or have indicated they won't get the vaccine.  But they're in the minority, as the vaccination numbers clearly show.

One of my favorite lines, though, was this one, which I think was in response to a comment (the ESPN article wasn't clear): "You still think I'm trying to persuade people not to do it.  I don't care if you're vaccinated or not."  That's exactly what you're doing!  Otherwise, why would you be so proudly touting your (incorrect) anti-vax stance? 

As you correctly pointed out, it's everyone's individual choice.  If you don't care whether people get vaccinated or not, why speak out then?  Because you clearly ARE trying to influence people!  Let them make their own decision!  Some people may agree with you.  The vast majority do not.  (I got my first shot as soon as I was eligible and have been fully vaccinated for nearly two months.)

What brought this all on was the fact that the NFL will have two separate sets of protocols next season, and the vaccinated players will have far more freedom than unvaccinated players.  Unvaccinated players will have to follow many of the same restrictions as last season, while vaccinated players won't have to wear masks, get tested daily, etc.  That's what he's not happy about.  He feels like unvaccinated players are being "discriminated" against.  Which they're not!

The NFL and NFLPA obviously want players to get vaccinated.  That's the whole point!  They can't require it, but they're making it clear what they'd prefer.  If you get vaccinated, you can go back to pre-2020 normal.  If you'd rather not, that's your choice.  But you have to live with the consequences of that decision. 

That's why Beasley's upset.  He wants to have it both ways.  He doesn't want to get vaccinated, but also wants to enjoy the same privileges as the vaccinated players.  These are the same protocols he didn't seem to have a problem with in 2020, by the way.  The only difference now is that he's supposed to follow them (even though he likely won't) while other players won't have to, so he's pouting and calling it "unfair" like a spoiled baby!

During his rant, he also called out the NFLPA, saying: "This is crazy.  Did we vote on this?"  Whether or not there was a vote is irrelevant.  The NFLPA obviously wouldn't have agreed to the new protocols if a majority of players weren't on board with them.  And, had there been a vote, I bet the results would've been shocking to Beasley, who also doesn't seem to grasp the concept that just because you don't agree with something doesn't mean everybody feels the same way as you.

It probably shouldn't come as a surprise that this is Beasley's stance, though.  When the CDC made the long-awaited announcement last month that fully-vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks outside, he smugly responded to the CNN story by saying: "I do that without being vaccinated.  Is this illegal now?"  Spoken like a true anti-vaxxer!  (And, by the way, the answer to that question is "Yes," just like it was before the CDC lifted the mask mandate.)

Now Beasley says he's done talking about it because he "doesn't want to be any more of a distraction to my team."  Well, Cole, I hate to break it to you, but that ship has already sailed.  The vaccine issue has already divided the Bills locker room, and that problem isn't getting any better.  It's actually a big concern for GM Brandon Beane and Head Coach Sean McDermott.  

And that's not the reason why Beasley's "done talking about it" either.  He's got 5.2 million reasons for shutting up!  Beasley has said that he'd pay any fine he's issued for not following the COVID protocols (as it stands, he figures to receive a lot of fines this season), but there's also nothing stopping the Bills from cutting or trading him.

Bottom line, you can't undo stupid.  And that's exactly the way Cole Beasley is acting.  Beyond that, he's being incredibly selfish.  Not that he cares, though!

Maybe, Just Maybe, She's Guilty

If you're confused by the Shelby Houlihan situation and how was handled by USA Track & Field, you're not alone.  Just days after Houlihan very publicly announced that she had received a four-year doping ban and blamed it on a burrito, she was listed on the start list for both the 1500 meters and 5000 meters at Olympic Trials.

Predictably, there was a considerable amount of blow back when the start lists were posted and her name appeared.  A group of self-proclaimed "clean" athletes posted a letter on social media asking why she was being allowed to compete and demanding she be withdrawn (more on that in a minute).

USATF offered an "explanation" that basically amounted to they were waiting for the official paperwork to come through.  Once they got the paperwork (which must've been sent in the middle of the night in Switzerland), Houlihan's name was removed.  However, there are also articles implying that it was actually the USOPC who forced the issue, reminding USATF that, as a member of WADA, they're bound by WADA's decision.  I'm not sure which is true, but I have a feeling there's some truth to both versions.

Meanwhile, Brianna McNeal, the defending Olympic champion in the women's 100 meter hurdles, was allowed to compete at Trials while her appeal is pending.  McNeal wasn't just allowed to compete.  She made the team!  Her spot is conditional depending on how her appeal goes, and the CAS has said that they'll have a final decision on McNeal's case before the Olympics.  But the point remains.  She's suspended, but was still allowed to compete at Trials and potentially in Tokyo.

Of course, the situations are different.  Houlihan actually failed a test, while McNeal did not.  Her violation is a whereabouts failure (the same thing that cost Christian Coleman his Olympic shot), and her appeal is based on confusion regarding the dates of her missed tests.  If it's upheld, this will be McNeal's second whereabouts suspension (she missed the 2017 World Championships because of the first one), and it will keep her out of both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, as well as next year's World Championships at Hayward Field.

In the case of McNeal, the CAS agreed that she should be allowed to compete pending her appeal because it was cause "irreparable harm" if her appeal was successful.  Basically, they didn't want to deny her her only chance at making the Olympic team, just in case.  With Houlihan, however, there's no doubt.  She won't get an appeal (at least not before the Olympics), so it would've been inappropriate for her to run at Trials for a spot that she wasn't even eligible to accept...while also potentially denying someone else that spot.

All of that sounds pretty reasonable.  But that hasn't stopped Houlihan's supporters from claiming that she's "totally innocent" and "definitely not a doper."  Even though these are many of the same people who do consider McNeal (and Christian Coleman) a "doper," even though WADA has made it clear both times she's been suspended that she wasn't being accused of taking any banned substances.

Prominent Olympic journalist Alan Abrahamson called out all of these Houlihan apologists pretty harshly for their double standard.  His argument that the people in Houlihan's corner now are the same ones who think every Russian is "dirty" and are quick to question the legitimacy of any new record or the results of somebody who came seemingly out of the blue, with "he/she must be doping" being the common refrain.  (In fairness, sometimes they are, but how many times is that unfair assumption automatically the first thing anyone thinks?)

Abrahamson also made a very good (and often unspoken point) in another post.  The whole argument about why Shelby Houlihan "couldn't possibly" be guilty of the doping violation she's accused of is because she's the stereotypical white girl distance runner, and the white girl distance runners are the clean ones!  That's why all the outrage was directed at WADA this time.  How dare they accuse innocent little Shelby?!  They must be out to get her!

Except there's one problem with that argument, Houlihan's defense is pretty weak.  She tested positive for nandrolone, one of the most common anabolic steroids.  Both Houlihan and her coach, Jerry Schumacher, claimed to not even know what nandrolone is!  How is that even possible?  As a world-class athlete who's subject to random drug testing 365 days a year, she should know what substances are on the banned list.  And nandrolone has been on the list for a while now.  Not knowing what it is isn't just a display of ignorance.  It's a display of stupidity.

It's true that some athletes have been able to prove that they unwittingly ingested nandrolone from contaminated meat, and had suspensions reduced or completely dismissed as a result.  So, Houlihan also tried the contaminated meat defense.  It must've been something in the pork burrito she ate the day before the test!  Problem is, according to her lawyer, she had a steak burrito.  How did the contaminated pork get into the steak burrito then?

Also, sorry, but the whole "I love running" defense rings hollow too.  No one doubts that Shelby Houlihan loves running.  She likely wouldn't have made it her chosen profession otherwise.  That's not really the point!  That's also not the issue here.  You can love your sport and still take a banned substance (either intentionally or not...it really doesn't matter)!  Does anyone think Lance Armstrong doesn't love cycling or Alex Rodriguez doesn't love baseball?

And, forgive me for saying this, but it's entirely possible that Shelby Houlihan actually is guilty.  Everyone proclaims their innocence in public and vows to fight.  Then the facts come out and it's a different story.  The bottom line is she failed a test, her explanation for that failed test wasn't accepted, and she was suspended as a result.  That suspension may or may not be reduced or overturned on appeal.  Judging by the publicly-available facts of the case, though, it seems unlikely any appeal would be successful.

So, as confusing as the situations regarding Shelby Houlihan and Brianna McNeal may be, it actually makes sense why McNeal was allowed to compete at Trials while Houlihan wasn't.  McNeal has an active appeal and the presumption of innocence.  The newly-suspended Houlihan doesn't have that presumption.  She has the failed test to prove it.

Running, Jumping and Throwing to Tokyo

I've got plenty to say about Shelby Houlihan, but that'll have to wait until another day.  Because the Olympic Trials are about to start!  Ridiculously, Houlian was still entered in both the 1500 and 5000 at Trials until the USOPC stepped in and said no.  (The fact that someone who literally just received a doping suspension was going to be allowed to compete for a spot on the Olympic team was preposterous, and I'm glad it won't happen.)

Houlihan's not the only big name who won't be at Trials.  Christian Coleman and Brianna McNeal are also serving doping suspensions, while Christian Taylor, Shannon Rowbury and Molly Huddle are injured.  Which isn't to say Trials will be lacking star power, though.  Not by a long shot.

Allyson Felix will be there, looking to make her fifth Olympic team...and her first as a mother.  She's evidently only running the 200, which I think is a mistake because her chances aren't only better in the 400 individually, but the 400 also has extra spots for the relay.  And, frankly, I don't think she makes the team in the 200!  Finishing in the top six in the 400, though, would definitely be possible.

Noah Lyles, meanwhile, stands to become the breakout star of the Tokyo Games.  Track fans know him, but the world will soon be introduced.  If you're looking for Usain Bolt's successor, he might just be that guy.  Lyles ran away with the 200 at the 2019 World Championships and anchored the U.S. 4x100 relay.  With Coleman suspended, he'll also be the favorite in the 100 at the Olympics.  But he, of course, needs to make the team first.

Ask Keni Harrison about that.  In 2016, she didn't make the team, then set the world record in London a week after Trials.  But she had to sit at home and watch three other American women sweep the podium in Rio.  And the women's 100 hurdles is still one of the most competitive events out there.  She could just as easily not make the team as she could win gold in Tokyo.

That's why Trials are so great.  The stars are just as likely to dominate as they are to miss the team entirely.  And random people who are completely off the radar will end up becoming unlikely Olympians.

Trials are once again being held at Hayward Field...expect Hayward Field is now a completely new facility, having been entirely rebuilt for next year's World Championships (which were originally supposed to take place in a few weeks).  It hosted the NCAA Championships last week, so those collegians haven't left and have already taken part in a major competition on this track.  That's a huge advantage.

There were some outstanding performances at the NCAA Championships, too.  LSU's JuVaughn Harrison won both the high jump and long jump, and he could quite possibly make the team in both events this week.  Tara Davis from the University of Texas, meanwhile, had the world-leading mark in the women's long jump.  It'd be a shock if three women beat her.

Harrison and Davis are just two examples of people who might not have made the team if the Olympics were held last year as originally scheduled.  As was the case with swimming, the delay helped some athletes and hurt some athletes.  And the team we'll be picking over the next 10 days is definitely not the same as it would've been at this time last year.

This is the first Olympics where qualifying is different, too.  It's still first three go to Tokyo.  That hasn't changed.  However, you also need to already have the Olympic standard or get it at Trials.  That isn't really different, either.  What is different, though, is that World Athletics now has the world ranking list, which will be used to complete the field if not enough athletes have the standard.  They used to just base it on the world list.  Not anymore!  If you don't have the standard and your world ranking isn't high enough, you aren't going even if you finish in the top three.  (And fourth or fifth-place can replace you.)

Fortunately, enough Americans have the standard in enough events that this won't be an issue.  In fact, there are so many Americans with the standard in some events that no one will even have to worry about the clock and it'll be all about the racing.  Because this is what it's all about.  The Olympics are the pinnacle, and everybody had to wait an extra year for them.  Now's their chance to make Team USA for Tokyo.

Here's who I've got earning those tickets.  The US has enough people either with the standard or high enough in the world rankings to send a full three-person team in every event except the 20 kilometer walks.  The runners in the mixed 4x400 relay, meanwhile, will be taken from the regular 4x400 relay pools...

Men
100: Noah Lyles, Trayvon Bromell, Justin Gatlin
200: Noah Lyles, Kenny Bednarek, Terrance Laird
400: Fred Kerley, Michael Norman, Michael Cherry
800: Donavan Brazier, Bryce Hoppel, Clayton Murphy
1500: Matthew Centrowitz, Craig Engles, Hobbs Kessler
5000: William Kincaid, Paul Chelimo, Emmanuel Bor
10,000: Lopez Lomong, Ben True, Shadrack Kipchirchir
110 Hurdles: Grant Holloway, Daniel Roberts, Freddie Crittenden
400 Hurdles: Rai Benjamin, TJ Holmes, Amere Lattin
Steeple: Hillary Bor, Andy Bayer, Mason Ferlic
Long Jump: Jeff Henderson, Isaac Grimes, Marquis Dendy
Triple Jump: Will Claye, Omar Craddock, Chris Benard
High Jump: JuVaughn Harrison, Shelby McEwen, Trey Culver
Pole Vault: Sam Kendricks, Chris Nilsen, KC Lightfoot
Shot Put: Ryan Crouser, Joe Kovacs, Darrell Hill
Discus: Sam Mattis, Mason Finley, Reggie Jagers
Hammer Throw: Rudy Winkler, Sean Donnelly, Conor McCullough
Javelin: Michael Shuey, Curtis Thompson, Riley Dolezal
Decathlon: Garrett Scantling, Harrison Williams, Solomon Simmons
20K Walk: (Nick Christie)
4x100 Relay: Mike Rodgers, Cravon Gillespie, Marvin Bracy
4x400 Relay: Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon, Nathan Strother

Women
100: Sha'Carri Richardson, Aleia Hobbs, Javianne Oliver
200: Angie Annelus, Cambrea Sturgis, Gabrielle Thomas
400: Phyllis Francis, Wadeline Jonathas, Shakima Wimbley
800: Ajee Wilson, Raevyn Rogers, Hanna Green
1500: Elinor Purrier, Jenny Simpson, Kate Grace
5000: Karissa Schweizer, Vanessa Fraser, Rachel Schneider
10,000: Emily Sisson, Emily Infeld, Elise Cranny
100 Hurdles: Keni Harrison, Anna Cockrell, Chanel Brissett
400 Hurdles: Dalilah Muhammad, Sydney McLaughlin, Shamier Little
Steeple: Emma Coburn, Courtney Frerichs, Colleen Quigley
Long Jump: Tara Davis, Brittney Reese, Sha'keela Saunders
Triple Jump: Keturah Orji, Tori Franklin, Jasmine Moore
High Jump: Vashti Cunningham, Rachel McCoy, Jelena Rowe
Pole Vault: Sandi Morris, Katie Nageotte, Olivia Gruver
Shot Put: Chase Ealey, Maggie Ewen, Raven Saunders
Discus: Valarie Allman, Whitney Ashley, Laulaga Tausaga
Hammer Throw: Deanna Price, Gwen Berry, Brooke Andersen
Javelin: Maggie Malone, Kara Winger, Ariana Ince
Heptathlon: Erica Bougard, Kendell Williams, Annie Kunz
20K Walk: Robyn Stevens (Maria Michta-Coffey, Miranda Melville)
4x100 Relay: Twinasha Terry, Tamara Clark, Kayla White
4x400 Relay: Quanera Hayes, Kendall Ellis, Lynna Irby

A Sticky Situation

Baseball has a long history of pitchers doing whatever they can to gain an advantage over the hitter.  The spitball was banned in the 1920s, and Gaylord Perry was infamous for doctoring the ball throughout his Hall of Fame career.  Joe Niekro was ejected from a 1987 game for having an emery board on the mound, and we've seen other pitchers use things like sandpaper and Vaseline.

The latest is Spider Tack, a sticky substance that was originally designed for World's Strongest Man competitors.  It's a benefit to pitchers because it helps the ball stay on their fingers a fraction of a second longer, thus increasing its spin rate.  And that increased spin rate is one of the things that has resulted in the increased number of strikeouts across baseball in recent years, which is something MLB is desperate to address.

You knew that with those two factors and the amount they had been talking about it over the past few weeks that, sooner or later, MLB was going to do something about Spider Tack and other grip-enhancers that pitchers commonly use.  So it wasn't really a surprise when they announced a crackdown on any and all of those substances.  What was surprising, though, is that it was basically effective immediately, giving pitchers virtually no time to adjust. 

Not surprisingly, pitchers aren't happy about it.  No distinction was made.  Any type of foreign substance, whether it's Spider Tack or sunscreen and rosin or anything else, is now illegal.  (Use of the rosin bag on the mound always has been, and will remain, legal.)  If a pitcher gets caught, it's ejection from the game and a 10-game suspension (during which he can't be replaced on the roster).

This isn't a new rule by the way.  Rule 3.01 states: "No player shall intentionally discolor or damage the ball by rubbing it with soil, rosin, paraffin, licorice, sand-paper, emery-paper or other foreign substance."  Rule 6.02(c), meanwhile, lists all of the pitching prohibitions.  There are nine of them, most of which deal with the same things listed in Rule 3.01.  So, this isn't about creating a new rule.  It's about actually enforcing the existing ones.

It's been a few days since MLB sent a memo to all teams explaining the new policy, although enforcement won't begin until next week.  The pitchers who use these substances will have until then to adjust.  Many have simply quit cold turkey and need to come up with a new grip on the fly.  Needless to say, the results have been mixed.

Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer, the two highest-paid pitchers in baseball, have both been singled-out by hitters as Spider Tack users.  They both struggled in their first start after it became clear a crackdown was coming.  They weren't the only ones, though.  The Red Sox have seen their team ERA skyrocket.  In fact, the leaguewide batting average is up 10 points and the leaguewide spin rate on fastballs has significantly decreased over the past two weeks.

What's worse, though, is that forcing pitchers to make these adjustments midseason could lead to injuries.  Rays ace Tyler Glasnow, who used a combination of sunscreen and rosin, suffered a partially torn UCL in his first start after MLB's announcement and will likely need Tommy John surgery.  He definitely thinks the fact that not being allowed to do that was one of the reasons, as he was quick to point out in his postgame press conference.

There's plenty of concern throughout baseball that Glasnow won't be the only one.  It's not an unfounded fear, either.  Arm injuries are fairly common whenever a pitcher tries to change how he throws, whether it be adjusting his arm angle or his grip.  Especially since the solution to getting the same spin rate without the foreign substance will likely be throwing harder.

Of course, that's not the only reason pitchers are unhappy.  Carlos Rodon of the White Sox was very vocal about the fact that this can yield you a 10-game suspension while the Astros got off scot free after their cheating scandal.  It also doesn't sit well with the players that there's no appeals process.  It's based entirely on the umpire's judgment.  If he determines the pitcher violated the rule, it's automatic.

Another thing that the players (both pitchers and position players) don't like is the fact that everything is being treated the same.  They did a survey of player reps from all 30 teams and they all agreed that substances like Spider Tack were over the line, but none had any issue with something like Glasnow's sunscreen/rosin combination.  In fact, hitters would like to know that the ball is gonna end up somewhere near the plate, so they'd prefer having pitchers use something to guarantee it does rather than not using anything and having no idea where the ball is going!

Mostly, I think the players would've preferred if there had been some sort of discussion between MLB and the MLBPA.  They could've gotten that input and used that to help determine what's allowed and what isn't.  In a way, it's like pine tar.  Hitters are allowed to use pine tar to grip the bat, but if they use too much, it's illegal.  It should be the same for pitchers, who have basically been told they can't use anything to help with their grip.

Then there's the timing.  It certainly appears to be a bit of a knee jerk reaction by MLB.  Why now?  It's the middle of the season!  Why did this have to be done immediately?  Especially something this significant.  Send out the memo and let them know that it's coming so they're prepared for it, then spend the offseason coming up with what the exact policy will be and have it take effect in 2022.  That's the option that would've made the most sense.

Instead, the crackdown will begin immediately.  It'll likely help MLB's strikeout problem and hopefully lead to more offense, which is likely a big reason why it was done now.  But it's definitely gonna be a major adjustment for the pitchers.  And we've already seen how much it has impacted them.

Three Out of Four, No Surprise

Three of the four teams remaining in the Stanley Cup Playoffs are exactly the same as they were back in September.  Meanwhile, in the NBA, all four of last season's conference finalists have already been eliminated.  The Lakers, Celtics and Heat didn't make it out of the first round.  Only the Nuggets did...and Denver was promptly swept by Phoenix in the second round.

That's not a coincidence.  In fact, with the way each league set up its 2020-21 schedule, it was entirely predictable.  Because the NHL's schedule was designed to give teams an appropriate amount of time off.  The NBA's was not.  This is just one of the (entirely foreseeable) results.

I said it then, and I'll say it now: the NBA played way too many games this season.  They started two months later, yet only took 10 games off the schedule, all while having an offseason that was just 10 weeks long.  This after teams spent 10 weeks living and playing in a bubble just to finish last season.  It was a lot to ask.  It was too much to ask.

After the Heat were eliminated, Pat Riley told everyone in the organization to take some time off.  And by "time off" meant actual time off away from basketball.  Because for the Heat and Lakers especially, the 72-day offseason wasn't really an offseason at all.  They went right from the bubble to preparing for the draft and free agency to preseason to playing a condensed season that had all these extra COVID protocols involved.  Needless to say, it was a lot.  Especially for a team that had only 10 weeks "off" after last season.

And not only did they play too many games, there was way too much travel involved.  We were still very much in the midst of a pandemic, yet they had teams repeatedly flying cross-country for absolutely no reason!  Sure, they had the occasional two-game series in the same city, but not many.  And, was there any need to play interconference games?  Sorry, but the answer is "No!"

Do you know how simple it would've been for the NBA to draw up a schedule that didn't include interconference games, thus significantly reducing the amount of travel teams would have to do?  They play two games against each of the 15 teams in the other conference.  That's 30 games.  You take those out, you've still got 52.  Which would've absolutely worked. 

So, of course, they didn't do it.  Instead, they took out 10 conference games...even though playoff qualifiers and seedings were done on a conference basis, and even though record in conference games is one of the first tiebreakers!

Is it really a surprise then, that the Heat were the 6-seed in the East and the Celtics and Lakers both had to play in the play-in round?  Credit to the Nuggets for being the same boat and still finishing with the fourth-best record in the league, but having the MVP (who played all 72 games) sure helped.  And they certainly appeared tired against the Suns.

Meanwhile, the NHL gave its teams three-and-a-half months off, not starting the season until mid-January.  That's only a little shorter than the typical NHL offseason.  Part of the reason for that was because they were trying to figure out the logistics and negotiating with the union, but it's also because they valued the quality of the product and knew the product would suffer if the players weren't at 100 percent.

Their reduced schedule was 56 games, which was enough to be representative.  And they played only within their temporarily-realigned divisions.  Not only that, the schedule consisted almost entirely of two-game series (or longer), reducing travel even further.  Was it weird?  Yes!  But I don't think anybody had an issue with it, either.  (I actually really liked the back-to-backs.)  Sure, we would've liked to see the Canadian teams be able to cross the border, but everyone understood why that wasn't possible and accepted this one-year situation.

Even the first two rounds of the playoffs were exclusively within the division, which, again, was done to reduce travel.  It unfortunately led to the two best teams in the league, Vegas and Colorado, playing in the second round, but everyone knew about that possibility from the start and was OK with it.  The whole point of all this was to make it easier on the players.  Which it did.

As a result, the teams that went deep into the playoffs nine months ago have gone just as far again.  The Lightning, Islanders and Golden Knights are clearly still just as good as they were in September, which is a big reason why.  But the NHL also set things up for them to be successful again.  They still had a proper offseason, which allowed them appropriate rest and preparation for this season.  And they've all reaped the rewards.

Had the NHL rushed back and insisted on playing so many games like the NBA did, I'm not sure they would've made it back to the semifinals.  In fact, I think it's likely they would've suffered the same fate as the Lakers, Celtics and Heat.  Likewise, if the NBA had waited, started later and played a shorter schedule, I bet the Lakers, Celtics and Heat wouldn't have exited as early as they did.  They might even still be playing now.

The two leagues took very different approaches for the 2020-21 season.  I'm not saying one was right and the other was wrong.  What I am saying, though, is that those different approaches had a direct impact on what teams are left standing.  The NHL's final four looks very familiar.  The NBA's does not.  And the season setup was a big reason why.

Swimming to Tokyo

In Tokyo, for the first time in 25 years, Michael Phelps won't be a member of the U.S. Olympic swimming team.  Although, while the Greatest Olympian of All-time may be retired, that doesn't mean the team will be lacking stars.  Not even close.  Caeleb Dressel stands to inherit that mantle and win a ton of medals.  But first, he needs to make the team.  Which he will.  In a ton of events.

Katie Ledecky will also likely add to her medal haul in Tokyo.  In fact, she'll have an extra opportunity to medal with the addition of her best event--the 1500 freestyle--to the women's Olympic program.  In the past, the women only swam the 800 at the Olympics and the men only swam the 1500.  Now both genders do both distances.

There's a third new event: the mixed medley relay.  The U.S. will be the gold medal favorite in that event, especially because they'll have gold medalists to choose from left and right.  My early guess is Ryan Murphy (Back), Lilly King (Breast), Caeleb Dressel (Fly) and Simone Manuel (Free).  Of course, that's assuming they all make the team.  Which shouldn't be a problem for any of them.

It's also worth noting that this team will look vastly different than it would've in 2020.  That's what happens when you have a team as good and as deep as USA Swimming.  Only the top two in each event at Trials go to Tokyo, but there are a lot more than two swimmers who could medal at the Olympics.  And those who might not have made the team last year have had an extra year of training.

They say that the pressure's greater at Trials than it is at the Olympics themselves.  Because once you get to the Olympics, the hard part is over.  You've already made the team.  It's the hardest team in the world to make for a reason.  Especially when it's only the top two who go.

As for the Trials themselves, USA Swimming has set them up so that the schedule is exactly the same as what it'll be in Tokyo.  The only difference is that the finals will be at night (unlike at the Olympics, which will have morning finals so that they're live in prime time here).  So, there'll be eight days of competition instead of nine.  Starting on Sunday.

So, who will be the stars over the next week in Omaha, as well as next month in Tokyo?  Again, I think Dressel, Ledecky and Manuel are safe bets.  NBC sure is expecting them to be.  Otherwise they wouldn't be featured in all of their Olympic marketing.  But they won't be the only ones. 

Lilly King and Ryan Murphy are 2016 gold medalists.  Nathan Adrian is also back, trying to make another Olympic team after overcoming testicular cancer.  Ryan Lochte is also trying to make another Olympic team as he tries to rebuild his reputation.  I don't know why they're hyping him up like he has a chance, though.  He'll be lucky to make the finals at Trials.

We're also likely to see some of the "next generation" Americans qualify to make their Olympic debut.  That includes 19-year-old Regan Smith, the world record-holder in both women's backstrokes.  On the men's side, the breakout star could be a fellow 19-year-old, University of Georgia freshman Luca Urlando. 

This is also an opportunity for a lot of men in their mid-20s to finally make a U.S. National Team in Phelps and Lochte's events.  And for them, it might be their last best shot.  Even though the next Olympic Trials are just three years away, that's a long time in swimming.  Especially when you consider junior swimmers who are only 15 or 16 now will just be hitting their primes as we get ready for Paris.

All of this is what makes the Olympic Swimming Trials so compelling.  There are so many stories to be told, but there are only two Olympic spots up for grabs.  These athletes have had to wait five years for this moment.  Representing the USA and winning medals at Worlds or Pan Pacs is nice, but they're not the Olympics.  Those meets aren't career-defining.  This one is.  Because this is the only one where you can say afterwards whether you're an Olympian or not.

Who will get the chance to say that?  Your guess is as good as mine.  But, for the record, here's who I think will make it in all 28 individual events, as well as the extras who'll be on the freestyle relay teams:

Men
50 Free: Caeleb Dressel, Ryan Held
100 Free: Caeleb Dressel, Zach Apple
200 Free: Andrew Seliskar, Kieran Smith
400 Free: Zane Grothe, Kieran Smith
800 Free: Jordan Wilimovsky, Zane Grothe
1500 Free: Bobby Finke, Zane Grothe
100 Back: Ryan Murphy, Shaine Casas
200 Back: Ryan Murphy, Austin Katz
100 Breast: Cody Miller, Nic Fink
200 Breast: Will Licon, Nic Fink
100 Fly: Caeleb Dressel, Maxime Rooney
200 Fly: Luca Urlando, Zach Harting
200 IM: Chase Kalisz, Carson Foster
400 IM: Jay Litherland, Chase Kalisz
4x100 Free Relay: Ryan Held, Blake Pieroni, Nathan Adrian, Maxime Rooney
4x200 Free Relay: Townley Haas, Blake Pieroni, Luca Urlando, Zach Apple

Women
50 Free: Simone Manuel, Claire Curzan
100 Free: Simone Manuel, Abbey Weitzel
200 Free: Katie Ledecky, Kate McLaughlin
400 Free: Katie Ledecky, Leah Smith
800 Free: Katie Ledecky, Leah Smith
1500 Free: Katie Ledecky, Ashley Twitchell
100 Back: Regan Smith, Kathleen Baker
200 Back: Kathleen Baker, Phoebe Bacon
100 Breast: Lilly King, Annie Lazor
200 Breast: Lilly King, Annie Lazor
100 Fly: Torri Huske, Kelsi Dahlia
200 Fly: Hali Flickinger, Katie Drabot
200 IM: Madisyn Cox, Kathleen Baker
400 IM: Melanie Margalis, Emma Weyant
4x100 Free Relay: Mallory Comerford, Torri Huske, Erika Brown, Claire Curzan
4x200 Free Relay: Allison Schmitt, Madisyn Cox, Leah Smith, Simone Manuel

Copa Europa 2020(1)

We've reached the first of the two major events that were postponed last year but kept their name to (a) confuse us all and (b) remind us that 2020 really sucked!  I'm, of course, talking about the Euro, which had some COVID-related logistical hiccups between its original date and now, but not nearly as many as Copa America!  Dublin lost its games because they can't have fans and Spain had to switch its host city for the same reason.  But the important thing is that the games will all have fans.  Which is huge on so many levels.

The one-year delay has also made this an incredibly difficult Euro to forecast, for a number of reasons.  For starters, no one has really played, so we have no basis for comparison between teams.  They've all had friendlies, but for many of these teams, their last competitive fixture was at the end of qualifying...in November 2019!  Then you throw in the condensed league schedules and you've got guys who've played a lot of soccer over the past year. 

Finally, the lack of a single host country is the biggest wild card.  No single team has the advantage of playing home games.  Because nine teams do!  Likewise, in groups that have two home teams, the other two teams have to play on the road twice.  And, as we've seen in qualifying, there's a big difference between playing at a neutral site and playing a true road game.

I'm also curious to see how much of an impact all the travel has.  I know what you're thinking.  "There's travel between games in every tournament."  That's true.  But travel's a lot easier in Group D, where you're playing in England and Scotland, than it is in Group A, where three of the four teams have to go back-and-forth between Italy and Azerbaijan, while Italy gets to stay in Rome the whole time.

But I guess all of this is the trade-off for the pan-European tournament, which was supposed to celebrate UEFA's 60th anniversary last year.  I give them credit for trying something different, but it's weird to have so many "host" countries.  I hope it doesn't lose that tournament feel, but I worry it might, since most of the top teams will be playing at home, just like in qualifying.

Another thing I'm curious to see play out is the third-place teams advancing.  In 2016, that made a huge difference.  Portugal played like crap in the group round, tying all three of their games.  But, thanks to third-place teams advancing, they made the round of 16, wound up on the side of the bracket that was much easier, and ended up winning the whole thing (against a France team that would win the World Cup two years later).  That scenario could easily end up playing out again.  Especially since Portugal, France and Germany are all in the same group!

Group A: Italy was given the honor of hosting the opening game, and you know they want to have a good showing after the embarrassment of not qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.  They shouldn't have a problem getting out of this group, especially since all of their games are in Rome.  Switzerland might give them a game and should also come out of the group in second place.  For some reason, I think Turkey beats Wales and is the bubble team out of Group A.

Group B: In Group B we've got Belgium, a team that is somehow ranked No. 1 the world.  I'm not gonna get into this again, but the FIFA rankings make no sense and Belgium is incredibly overrated!  Regardless, they'll have no trouble getting out of one of the weaker groups.  Denmark should join them.  And, that Belgium-Denmark game is in Copenhagen, so don't be surprised if the Danes win it.

Group C: Welcome to the party, North Macedonia!  Unfortunately, their chances of pulling an Iceland appear slim.  North Macedonia was the beneficiary of that idiotic new qualifying system where teams can get in through their Nations League performance (an attempt to validate the Nations League).  They're the weakest team in the tournament, though.  This is also, on paper, the weakest group.  The Netherlands, ranked No. 16 in the world and No. 11 in Europe, is the highest-ranked team in the group and playing all three matches in Amsterdam.  I'll take Ukraine as the second-place team.

Group D: This is one of the groups where I can see some crazy stuff happening.  England and Croatia play each other in the first game at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.  The winner has the inside track on being the group winner.  But they also both know that three teams will likely come out of this group, and Scotland's gonna be a tough out.

Group E: Spain is the best team in Group E by a wide margin.  The real story here is that, while they'll play at home, the others all have to travel to St. Petersburg for their other two games.  It's Poland who has the trip to Spain in the middle, but the good news for Poland is that (a) they're likely gonna lose to Spain anyway and (b) St. Petersburg is much closer to Poland than Dublin is, so they'll have plenty of fans at the other two games.  It'll come down to them and Sweden, but Sweden is also close to Russia, and they play Spain first, so they don't have to travel back-and-forth.  I think that'll make the difference when they play each other.  Sweden second, Poland third, both advance.

Group F: Every tournament has its "Group of Death," and there's no question this is it.  Somehow, you've got the World Cup Champions and the reigning European Champions, who are ranked second and fifth in the world, in the same group as Germany, another of the pre-tournament favorites, who'll be playing both of them at home.  Poor Hungary has no chance against these three heavyweights!  Those three will obviously all come out of this group, but I'm curious to see how it all plays out.  Germany's last game is against Hungary, so they'll know exactly what they need to do while the other two are facing each other in a rematch of the 2016 final.

So, here's who I've got advancing in first and second place: Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Ukraine, England, Croatia, Spain, Sweden, Germany, France.  Joining them in the round of 16 as the four best third-place teams will be: Turkey, Scotland, Poland, Portugal.

One of the things I hate about third-place teams advancing is how you don't completely know the bracket until you know all of the teams.  But, assuming the third-place teams come out of the groups I think they will, these would be the round of 16 matchups: Belgium-Poland, Italy-Ukraine, Germany-Turkey, Croatia-Sweden, Spain-Scotland, England-France, Netherlands-Portugal, Switzerland-Denmark.

My quarterfinals are: Belgium-Italy, Germany-Croatia, Spain-France, Portugal-Switzerland.  In the semifinals, I've got: Italy-Croatia and France-Portugal.  Then my UEFA Euro 2020(1) final is a rematch of the 2018 World Cup final three years later: Croatia vs. France.  And France will do exactly what it did in 2000 once again...follow up a World Cup title by winning the Euro.

And, for what it's worth, I've got Brazil in Copa America.  They were probably the favorites in that dysfunctional tournament before it changed host countries twice!  Now that it's being played in Brazil...on short notice...that gives them an even bigger advantage.  I'll say they beat rival Argentina in the final because, well, why not?

What Ails the Yankees

What's wrong with the Yankees?  It's both obvious and hard to answer.  Because it isn't just one thing!  They can't hit, they can't beat teams in their own division, and their bullpen blows way too many leads.  Worst of all, they have absolutely no swagger!  This is a team that many experts thought would be a World Series contender, but right now I'm not even sure would hold their own in the College World Series.  

Two years ago, when they had all the injuries to deal with, they didn't miss a beat.  It was "Next Man Up," and the next man up consistently did the job.  That most certainly has not been the case in 2021, though.  Each guy they call up is worse than the last, and it doesn't help that they have to give regular playing time to multiple guys who aren't producing.

Their most glaring problem has been a glaring problem for a while, but is even more glaring these ways.  They're way too right-handed!  They play in freakin' Yankee Stadium, which is 314 feet down the right field line and has always been a haven for lefty power hitters!  Yet they have only two quasi-regular starters who are left-handed, and nobody would call either Brett Gardner or Rougned Odor a power hitter!

That was actually one of the main reasons why they signed Jay Bruce in Spring Training.  (Does anyone even remember that anymore?  It seems so long ago!)  Then Luke Voit got hurt right around the time they had to make a decision on Bruce, so he didn't just make the team, he became the starting first baseman...until he couldn't hit, got benched, and ultimately decided to retire.  Guys not hitting will be a recurring theme here.

During Spring Training, it looked like it would come down to a choice between Bruce and Mike Tauchman for a roster spot.  When Voit got hurt, they both ended up on the team.  That only lasted a few weeks before Tauchman was traded to the Giants.  The trade made some sense at the time.  Tauchman wasn't getting much playing time as a fifth outfielder, which made him expendable, and Wandy Peralta gave them another lefty reliever.

Well, yeah, about that...there's obviously no way they could've known it at the time, but as it turns out, they would've been smart to wait before pulling the trigger on that one.  Because how much could they use Mike Tauchman now?  Aaron Hicks hurt his wrist and is out for the year.  So, the only center fielder on the team is Brett Gardner, who's 37 years old and having the worst season of his career.  In games where they have to pinch hit for Gardner, it's Tyler Wade who ends up going out there.  Meanwhile, Tauchman is tearing it up for first-place San Francisco...as their starting center fielder!  Oh, and he's left-handed, too!

Meanwhile, Clint Frazier, who has been anointed a full-time starter, is one of the many Yankees not hitting.  Miguel Andujar is.  At least more than Frazier and Gardner.  Which is why he's getting more and more playing time in left field (a position he's still learning).  Throw in the fact that Giancarlo Stanton has struggled since coming off the IL, and that's one of the five Yankee outfielders--Aaron Judge--who contributes anything that resembles offensive production.

For me, the most obvious thing they need to do is something that needs to be done as soon as possible.  Trade Frazier or Andujar for a left-handed hitting center fielder, preferably one with enough of a power bat to put in the middle of the lineup!  Ketel Marte of the Diamondbacks has been mentioned.  He's a switch-hitter, which is fine, too.  (Or how about talking to their favorite trade partner--the Rockies--about Raimel Tapia?)

It's somewhat understandable that they've been hesitant to pull the trigger on a move thus far.  All season, the thought has been that they'll come around.  After all, these are the same guys who went to Game 7 of the ALCS in 2019 and Game 5 of the Division Series last season.  They haven't come around, though.  And you're running out of time to wait for them to and still hope to turn it around.  Also, it's everybody.  It would be one thing if it's one guy, but no one on the team is hitting!  So you've got to do something!

Depending on what's up with Voit, I'd also consider a left-handed first baseman.  Because none of the non-Voit options have worked.  Bruce couldn't hit and retired.  Mike Ford couldn't hit and got sent down.  Chris Gittens hasn't hit yet.  DJ LeMahieu is your second baseman.  Putting him at first at the end of games is fine, but he shouldn't be starting there a few times a week like he has been.

And, sorry, but I think hitting coaches Marcus Thames and P.J. Pillettere deserve a lot of the blame here.  Some personnel changes among the players are definitely necessary, but Thames and Pillettere may need to take the fall.  Because it's not like this is a new issue.  And, beyond that, whatever adjustments they've tried to make aren't working.  So, this might seem fairly obvious, but when the entire team isn't hitting, maybe it's the hitting coaches' fault!

Over the past few years, the Yankees have built themselves on hitting the three-run homer, which is something they haven't done this season.  What they have done well is strikeout and ground into double plays.  The lack of clutch non-home run hitting has always been a problem, but it was hidden by the number of homers they hit.  But when they're not hitting homers, that weakness is exposed.

The bullpen is a concern, but less of an issue.  Chapman has been as dominant as ever.  It's they guys in front of him that are the problem.  However, Darren O'Day and Zack Britton are both on the IL, so it's basically just Chad Green and Jonathan Loaisiga right now.  Once everybody else is back and the Minor League guys are in Scranton instead of New York, the bullpen will be OK.  (I'd even consider using somebody like Nick Nelson or Michael King as a trade chip.)  I also can't place too much blame on them for the blown saves when the offense gives them absolutely no margin for error every night!

This year seems a bit like bizarro world.  It's usually the offense covering up terrible starting pitching, but this year, it's been the exact opposite!  They're above .500 with a nonexistent offense because of their starting pitching!

I actually feel bad for Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon, Jordan Montgomery and Domingo German.  Because, for the most part, they've been excellent.  And the rotation only figures to get stronger when Luis Severino and Corey Kluber return from their injuries.  There's only so much the pitchers can do, though.  They have to be perfect if they want any chance of winning.  How many games have they had a quality start and lost because the offense didn't score any runs?  Or came out of the game with a lead and ended up with a no-decision because the bullpen gave it up?  (Is this what it's like for Jacob deGrom?)

As bad as the offense and bullpen have been, the biggest problem is how they've been utterly dominated by their own division.  It's a combination of the familiarity and the fact that they have really good hitters, but Toronto and Tampa Bay especially have owned the Yankees over the past two seasons.  (If you look back, whenever they've gone into a bad stretch, it usually started against one of those two...or both.)  So, they've gotta figure out how to beat the Blue Jays and Rays or nothing else they do will even matter!

Worst of all, the other AL East teams are entirely too comfortable playing against the Yankees.  That's something I've noticed every time they've played Toronto, Tampa Bay and Boston.  The Blue Jays, Rays and Red Sox walk into Yankee Stadium like they own the place.  They're confident.  They play with swagger.  But, instead of punching back, the Yankees let them.  They're defeated before the game even starts.  So, yeah, the attitude needs to change, too!  Big time!  Don't let your rivals walk all over you!  Fight back!

Keep in mind, the Yankees also had a few bad stretches last season (they were 5-15 at one point!).  But this is different.  Because they were never a BAD baseball team in 2020!  In 2021, however, they have been for most of the season.  And they won't turn it around unless and until they do something about it!

A Month Full of Trials

The Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics is just seven weeks away!  These Olympics, of course, will be much different than any other, but the closer they get, the more real they'll feel.  Especially since they were delayed a year!

Part of why the Olympics start to feel more real as they get closer is because they're still just an idea until people start qualifying.  Sure, there are the stars you know you can expect in Tokyo, but you don't actually know the makeup of the 500-member plus U.S. team until a few weeks before the Games.  Once the team fills out, the Olympics are no longer just an idea.  They're reality.

That's especially true in the U.S., where there are more Olympic-caliber athletes than places on the team.  It's become cliche to say that, in many cases, making the team is harder than the Olympics themselves.  But it's a cliche because it's true!  That's what makes the U.S. Olympic Trials must-watch TV.  And, after five long years, the U.S. Olympic Trials are finally back...and they'll be going all month long!

Things got started today with Wave I of the Olympic Swimming Trials.  This whole "Wave I" thing is new, and, yes, it's because of the pandemic.  The idea was to reduce the number of swimmers at Trials (and the ridiculous number of heats in some events), so the lower-ranked swimmers are competing this week, with the top two in each event advancing to "Wave II" next week, when the team will actually be chosen.

You know what, though?  I kinda like this two-wave format.  It's something I can see becoming a permanent fixture moving forward.  Because it really is a good idea! 

Most, if not all, of the swimmers competing in Wave I have no realistic chance of making the team.  They know that.  For them, qualifying for Trials was the big deal.  But their trip to Trials is usually a short one, consisting of a morning heat that may or may not make its way onto the TV broadcast.  With Wave I, however, these second-tier swimmers get their spotlight and there's still a tangible reward...a spot against the big names at the second phase of Trials.  And, who knows, maybe the swimmers we see at Wave I this week will be those big names come 2024?

Up next will be diving, where the top two in each event go to Tokyo.  Then it's Wave II of the Swimming Trials.  Swimming will go for eight consecutive nights, with the event schedule exactly the same as it will be in Tokyo (minus the relays, of course).  Just as swimming wraps up, track & field begins (kinda like the Olympics themselves).  Gymnastics then serves as the grand finale.

What's so incredible about this year's Trials is the amount of time NBC is committing to broadcasting them.  Now, to be fair, they always have extensive coverage and do a great job with it, but I can't remember this many hours of prime time being dedicated to the Olympic Trials.  (NBC is even including them in their summer programming promotions.)

Pretty much the entire Olympic team in those four sports will be determined on the NBC broadcast network.  The only two exceptions are the synchro diving finals, which will be on Olympic Channel, and two nights of track & field, which will be on NBCSN.  The swimming heats and some of the track & field heats will be on NBCSN, but all of the other finals will be on NBC itself.

And, in this world of streaming, it's wonderful to know that this will all be on actual TV.   They'll simulcast it on Peacock, but that's different than only being available online.  More and more events are being moved to streaming services behind paywalls, including some NBC events.  But that won't be the case here.  They're not making you pay extra for Peacock Premium just to watch the Olympic Trials.

Starting next Saturday, NBC will have 10 consecutive nights of Olympic Trials live in prime time.  Then four more nights after a two-day break.  On most of those nights, it'll start right at 8:00 (later on Father's Day Weekend because of the U.S. Open).  On eight of them, they'll go directly from one sport to another.  It's basically a mini version of what we'll see for 17 consecutive nights seven weeks from now.

In total, it's more than 85 hours, with more than 50 of those in prime time.  That's six hours more than their previous record for Trials coverage, which was five years ago.  It shouldn't come as a surprise that the coverage will primarily feature four traditionally marquee sports that will also feature prominently during Olympics, too.  But, when you consider how much coverage they dedicated to the Olympic Trials in other sports earlier this year, it really is remarkable their level of commitment.

With all these Olympic Trials going on, it's easy to forget that NBC also has the Stanley Cup Playoffs this month.  I'm actually left wondering where they'll have room in the schedule for the hockey!  Fortunately, the Stanley Cup Final probably won't start until the end of June, when the Olympic Trials are complete.

We were forced to wait an extra year for the Tokyo Olympics.  But they're getting close.  So close, in fact, that we'll be spending the better part of this month building Team USA.  It's the hardest team in sports to make.  So, you'd better believe every minute of Trials will be worth watching!

The Best Decision For All

In the end, Naomi Osaka did the thing that was probably best for everyone by withdrawing from the French Open.  She wasn't gonna give press conferences, no matter how much she was fined.  The tournament organizers weren't gonna let her get away with it, so they were gonna keep fining her and threaten her with even stronger discipline.  And the story, which had taken on a life of its own, wasn't gonna go away as long as she was still playing.

Personally, I think a lot of people did a lot of things wrong here.  What did Osaka expect when she released her preemptive statement on Twitter?  She had to know that it would draw a reaction and that not everyone would take it kindly.  For all the support she got (from a lot of people who didn't bother to try and understand the whole story), she had to expect the negative response from others.

Likewise, she was putting the tournament between a rock and a hard place.  The fact that she's Naomi Osaka, the winner of the last two Grand Slam tournaments and the most well-known women's player this side of Serena is irrelevant.  The rules are the same for everybody, and the rule is that players must make themselves available for press conferences if asked.  They don't all like it, but they also know it's part of the job, so they do it.

Meanwhile, the FFT (French Tennis Federation) was left with an unpleasant choice of imposing the penalties that are on the books and everybody knows or letting her get away with it and suffering no consequences at all.  Neither option was great.  The first makes it look like they don't care about the mental health of players.  The second could be interpreted as giving her special treatment, which could potentially prompt resentment and claims of favoritism.

Worse, it would've opened up a dangerous can of worms.  If Osaka was given a "Get Out of Jail Free" card, what would stop other players from wanting the same treatment on days they didn't feel like speaking with the media?  And if everybody's skipping press conferences, what's the point of even having them?

And, yes, it would've given her a competitive advantage.  The press commitments can be burdensome, especially after a long match.  But everyone has to do them!  Novak Djokovic, for example, played the night match yesterday.  Between his press commitments and his postmatch routine, he probably didn't get back to his hotel until well after midnight.  It obviously would've been much easier if he didn't have the press responsibilities and could just leave right after the match, but that's not how it works.  But, by simply ignoring that press responsibility part of the job, Osaka would've been able to do exactly that...while everybody else had to add that extra half-hour to their list of things to do.

I'm not gonna get into her mental health issues and whether or not I think they're legitimate.  It's not my place to even try and make a diagnosis.  If she says they are, then they are.  But her initial statement came off as selfish and self-indulgent.  She was taking the easy way out because she didn't want to answer tough questions.  It's obviously not that simple, as Osaka and her sister both explained in separate statements, but that's the way it looked to a lot of people.

Osaka's also doing herself a great disservice with her media boycott.  She's the only one out there on the court, so she's the only one who can explain certain things or her mindset in a particular situation.  It's the press's job to try and understand so that they can promote the sport...which is something they can't do if they don't have that access!  And if they don't have that access, they can't do their jobs and they'll stop covering the sport.

Blaming the media wasn't the answer, either.  None of this is their fault.  They have a job to do, which most players understand.  And, again, the only reason players have to give press conferences is because there are members of the working press their covering the tournament.  Press conferences exist so they can do their jobs.  Are they sometimes unpleasant?  Yes.  But they're also your only chance to have your say and give your perspective.

The four Grand Slams have suggested they'd like to work with her to come up with some sort of solution moving forward, but I'm not sure what that would be.  Because press conferences are necessary.  They aren't just necessary, they're very important for the sport.  What type of alternative would there be that still achieves the same objective?  I'm not sure there is one.

A lot of articles about this have made an interesting comparison between Osaka and Ronda Rousey.  Ronda Rousey was a media darling until she lost and didn't know how to handle it.  They've suggested that the same thing is happening here.  Osaka has known so much success early in her career.  She's 4-0 all-time in Grand Slam finals.  But those are all on hard courts.  Clay is a different story, though, and her struggles on clay could very well be in her head, which only adds to the problem.

So, I agree with Osaka that the best thing for everyone involved would be for her to withdraw from the tournament.  Frankly, she should've done it earlier.  That way, her media boycott wouldn't have taken on a life of its own the way that it did.

She said that she's gonna take some time away from tennis, which may be the best thing for her, too.  It's anybody's guess how long that break will be, but when she comes back, she'll need to have a different approach.  Because she'll still be expected to give press conferences.  Just like every other top player.

Things didn't have to happen this way.  Osaka shouldn't have made the media out to be the enemy.  The FFT and WTA Tour should've been more willing to have a conversation and address her concerns.  But, in the end, Naomi Osaka's withdrawal from the French Open puts the attention back where it should be.  On the tennis.