XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day 11)

Paris 2024 medals leaders:

1. United States 21 gold, 30 silver, 28 bronze (79 total)

2. China 21, 18, 14 (53)

3. France 13, 16, 19 (48)

4. Australia 13, 12, 8 (33)

5. Great Britain 12, 13, 17 (42)

6. South Korea 11, 8, 7 (26)

7. Japan 10, 5, 11 (26)

8. Italy 9, 10, 6 (25)

9. Netherlands 7, 5, 5 (17)

10. Germany 7, 5, 4 (16)

Previous reports:

-- I Olympic Summer Games, Athens 1896

-- XXX Olympic Summer Games, London 2012 

-- XXXI Olympic Summer Games, Rio 2016 

-- XXXII Olympic Summer Games, Tokyo 2020

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day -2-Day 8)

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day 9)

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day 10)

Netherlands v. Argentina (World Cup Quarter-Final)

Here are the starting rosters.  I like seeing what clubs everyone plays for:

NETHERLANDS:

GK:  Andries Noppert (Heerenveen) (NED)

D:  Jurrien Timber (Ajax) (NED)

D:  Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) (ENG)

D:  Nathan Ake (Manchester City) (ENG)

D:  Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan) (ITA)

MF:  Marten de Roon (Atalanta) (ITA)

MF:  Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona) (ESP)

MF:  Daley Blind (Ajax) (NED)

MF:  Cody Gakpo (PSV Eindhoven) (NED)

F:  Memphis Depay (Barcelona) (ESP)

F:  Steven Bergwijn (Ajax) (NED)

I'm rooting for any team with a striker named Memphis Depay.

ARGENTINA:

GK:  Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa) (ENG)

D:  Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid) (ESP)

D:  Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur) (ENG)

D:  Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica) (POR)

D:  Lisandro Martinez (Manchester Utd) (ENG)

D:  Marcos Acuna (Sevilla) (ESP)

MF:  Rodrigo de Paul (Atletico Madrid) (ESP)

MF:  Enzo Fernandez (Benfica) (POR)

MF:  Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton & Hove Albion) (ENG)

F:  Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain) (FRA)

F:  Julian Alvarez (Manchester City) (ENG)

At the age of 35, this is probably Messi's last chance to make a difference at the World Cup.

They've been playing for 25 minutes so far, and almost nothing has happened.  Even in the world of international soccer, where almost everyone puts defense first, Argentina is known for really putting defense first.  So we could be here awhile.

On the other hand, Brazil likes to attack, and they were just bounced out on penalty kicks by Croatia.  So defense may be the way to go.

The Cycling GOAT?

In 2006 Marianne Vos took her first professional win in road cycling at the Gracia - Orlova stage 5.  On Monday she took her 241st win at stage 2 of the Tour de France Femmes.  On top of that she won an Olympic gold in 2008 on the track and in 2012 on the road.  She won the road world championship in 2007 and 2014.  She won the track world championship for women's scratch in 2012, 2013.  She won the world championship for track points in 2009, she won the cyclocross world championship in 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2022. 

She has also been one of the most vocal pushing for a women's Tour de France and now it's here and here is what she's done so far in the race.  

Stage 1 (sprint finish 2nd place)  

Stage 2 (uphill fast finish 1st place, takes the yellow jersey)

Stage 3 (steep fast finish 2nd place, keeps the yellow jersey)

Stage 4 (breakaway group takes the top 4 spots, Vos takes 5th place keeps the yellow jersey)

Stage 5 (sprint finish 3rd place keeps the yellow jersey)

No one is expecting her to still be in yellow at the finish, she is not a pure climber and the last two stages are big mountain stages, but she has been all over these first five stages.  For someone who is 35 years old and been doing this since 2006 it's amazing.  She is easily the greatest female cyclist of all time.  Maybe she's the greatest professional cyclist of all time.

Cycling Update: Tour of Flanders

 

Men's Edition:  For the 3rd year in a row it came down to a sprint that included Mathieu van der Poel.  He's now won 2 of the last 3 editions of this race and this year came as a real surprise as he had just been able to return to racing after some injuries.  It looked like for the 3rd year in a row it would be a two up sprint, but he and Tadej Pogacar started playing games in the last kilometer and were caught by the two chasing behind with about 100m to go.  Pogacar ended up getting boxed out and van der Poel was able to sprint to the win.  

We have to take a minute to talk about Tadej Pogacar here.  He is the defending two time champ of the Tour of France.  The last time a Tour winner won Flanders was when Eddy Merckx did it in 1969.  Normally the kind of rider who can win the Tour is not the same kind of rider who can win Flanders, but Pogacar was by far the strongest rider in this Flanders and should have at least gotten second place.  He lost because van der Poel was able to barely hang on time and again on the steep sections when Pogacar would distance everyone else.  Check out the video to see the finish as well as the moment where Pogacar went up a cobbled climb like everyone else was sitting still.  

Here is the top 10 taken from CyclingNews. 

Pos.	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix	6:18:30
2	Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers
3	Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
4	Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
5	Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ	0:00:02
6	Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain Victorious
7	Fred Wright (GBr) Bahrain Victorious	0:00:11
8	Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo	0:00:48
9	Christophe Laporte (Fra) Jumbo-Visma
10	Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux

XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Tokyo 2020 (Days 7-15)

Medal standings:

 

1. China 15 gold, 7 silver, 9 bronze
2. Japan 15, 4, 6
3. United States 14, 14, 10
4. Australia 8, 2, 10
5. Great Britain 5, 7, 6
6. South Korea 4, 3, 5
7. France 3, 5, 3
8. Germany 3, 3, 7
9. Italy 2, 7, 10
10. Netherlands 2, 7, 4
11. Canada 2, 3, 5
12. Hungary 2, 1, 2
13. Slovenia 2, 1, 1
14. Croatia 2, 0, 1
15. Kosovo 2, 0, 0
16. Brazil 1, 3, 3
17. Switzerland 1, 3, 2
18. Romania 1, 3, 0
19. Chinese Taipei 1, 2, 3
T20. Czech Republic 1, 2, 1
T20. New Zealand 1, 2, 1
22. Georgia 1, 2, 0
23. Serbia 1, 1, 2
24. Austria 1, 1, 1
T25. Hong Kong 1, 1, 0
T25. Tunisia 1, 1, 0
T27. Estonia 1, 0, 1
T27. Ireland 1, 0, 1
T27. Uzbekistan 1, 0, 1
T30. Bermuda 1, 0, 0
T30. Ecuador 1, 0, 0
T30. Fiji 1, 0, 0
T30. Iran 1, 0, 0
T30. Latvia 1, 0, 0
T30. Norway 1, 0, 0
T30. Philippines 1, 0, 0
T30. Slovakia 1, 0, 0
T30. Thailand 1, 0, 0
39. Spain 0, 2, 1
40. South Africa 0, 2, 0
T41. Indonesia 0, 1, 2
T41. Mongolia 0, 1, 2
T43. Belgium 0, 1, 1
T43. Denmark 0, 1, 1
T45. Bulgaria 0, 1, 0
T45. Colombia 0, 1, 0
T45. India 0, 1, 0
T45. Jordan 0, 1, 0
T45. North Macadonia 0, 1, 0
T45. Poland 0, 1, 0
T45. Turkmenistan 0, 1, 0
T45. Venezuela 0, 1, 0
53. Ukraine 0, 0, 4
54. Kazakhstan 0, 0, 3
T55. Egypt 0, 0, 2
T55. Mexico 0, 0, 2
T55. Turkey 0, 0, 2
T58. Argentina 0, 0, 1
T58. Cuba 0, 0, 1
T58. Finland 0, 0, 1
T58. Israel 0, 0, 1
T58. Ivory Coast 0, 0, 1
T58. Kuwait 0, 0, 1
T58. Portugal 0, 0, 1
T58. San Marino 0, 0, 1

Also, they’ve given 28 medals to competitors from Russia, which actually cheated in Olympics that it hosted.

Previous reports:

-- XXX Olympic Summer Games, London 2012 

-- XXXI Olympic Summer Games, Rio 2016 

-- XXXII Olympic Summer Games, Tokyo 2020 (Programming Note) 

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Tokyo 2020 (Day 0) 

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Tokyo 2020 (Days 1 and 2)

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Tokyo 2020 (Day 3)

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Tokyo 2024 (Day 4)

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Tokyo 2024 (Day 5)  

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Tokyo 2024 (Day 6)

Oh, Kentucky

Back to school? Yes, with social distancing, face coverings, health screenings, sanitation and contact tracing.

Back to baseball? Yes, at Brooks Stadium starting Monday with a league of two.

Upon further Fancy Farm review ... picnicking, yes; political speaking, no. Posted the priest, per The Mayfield Messenger: "The parish of St. Jerome has been in existence for 184 years. During those 184 years, the people have lived and prayed through times of drought, wars, pandemics, times of plenty and times of scarcity and have held steady to the faith and depended on God's providence. We will continue to do the same in our time and in the future."

Expanded racial-bias training for officers and community policing were said to be among the topics of discussion at a second closed unity meeting in Paducah, report Abisola Adeyemo and Mason Watkins of Channel 6.

The state attorney general: "Strong, empowered communities and safe policing are not mutually exclusive; in fact, they must go hand-in-hand in order for the Commonwealth to thrive."

The state ag commissioner: "We must do something to ensure rural Kentucky get its fair shake at connectivity."

The governor: "In Kentucky, we’re going to reopen and rebuild our economy even stronger than it was before COVID-19."

Drive-through hiring today in Lebanon, for Marion and Washington counties.

XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Day 2)

So we've got a Team USA guy in contention in some live luging going on a little after 10 Sunday night in Pyeongchang County, but I've got to finish up getting ready for Sunday school here in a couple hours this morning in Madisonville. Hmmm ... challenging ...

Previous reports:

-- I Olympic Winter Games, Chamonix 1924
-- II Olympic Winter Games, Saint Moritz 1928
-- VIII Olympic Winter Games, Squaw Valley 1960
-- XII Olympic Winter Games, Innsbruck 1976 
-- XVII Olympic Winter Games, Lillehammer 1994
-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014
-- XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Preface)
-- XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Introduction/Day 0)
-- XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Day 1)

World Cup Update -- Two Games to Go

In 1978, Argentina and Netherlands met in the final of the World Cup in Argentina.  The Argentines won, and the Dutch still have yet to lift the trophy.

The British bookies like Argentina to go through today.  They will give you odds of 3 to 4 on Argentina.

That's all for the preview.  Gotta run!

World Cup Update -- Four Games to Go

A long time ago, Mexico were leading Netherlands 1-0 in the 88th minute with a great chance to go to the quarter-finals for the first time since 1986.  The Dutch responded with two quick goals to eliminate Mexico and grab the quarter-final place for themselves.  That was the last time in this tournament where the results of any match were seriously in doubt.

From the commentary in England, I get the sense that most neutral fans are growing frustrated with this procession of stately, low-scoring victories for the favorites.  But my main goal, in any soccer match, is to see that the match ends after 90 minutes of regulation time.  I don't care who wins so long as we don't go to extra time.  Then, if we do go to extra time, I want the match to finish before we go to penalty kicks.  I HATE PENALTY KICKS!

So far, we've had 11 elimination games in this tournament, and only two have gone to penalty kicks.  So I've been pretty happy with the knockout rounds.  And I don't mind seeing the big powers go through.

Since 1950, Brazil, Germany, and Argentina have combined to win the World Cup 10 times, and it now seems clear that one of them will do so again.  Spain was supposed to join those three in the Final Four, but they were drilled by the Netherlands, and so now the Dutch are likely to capture the fourth semi-final slot.  If the Dutch don't make it they have only themselves to blame; playing Mexico and Costa Rica for a chance in the semi-final is a pretty good deal.

By the way, Scott Murray of the Guardian reports that according to the Guardian Style Guide, Holland "should not be used to mean the Netherlands (of which it is a region), with the exception of the Dutch football team, who are conventionally known as Holland."  NOT IN AMERICA, GUARDIAN!  They're still the Netherlands to us:

NETHERLANDS:
Goalkeeper:  Jasper Cillessen (Ajax) (Netherlands)

Defender:  Stefan de Vrij (Feyenoord) (Netherlands)
Defender:  Ron Vlaar (Aston Villa) (England)
Defender:  Bruno Martins Indi (Feyenoord) (Netherlands)
Defender:  Daley Blind (Ajax) (Netherlands)

Midfielder:  Memphis Depay (PSV) (Netherlands)
Midfielder:  Georginio Wijnaldum (PSV) (Netherlands)
Midfielder:  Wesley Sneijder (Galatasaray) (Turkey)
Midfielder:  Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich) (Germany)

Forward:  Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbahce) (Turkey)
Forward:  Robin van Persie (Captain) (Manchester Utd) (England)

COSTA RICA:
Goalkeeper:  Keylor Navas (Levante) (Spain)

Defender:  Cristian Gamboa (Rosenborg) (Norway)
Defender:  Johnny Acosta (Alajuelense) (Costa Rica)
Defender:  Junior Dias (Mainz '05) (Germany)
Defender:  Giancarlo Gonzalez (Columbus Crew) (MLS)
Defender:  Michael Umana (Saprissa) (Costa Rica)

Midfielder:  Celso Borges (AIK) (Sweden)
Midfielder:  Yeltsin Tejada (Saprissa) (Costa Rica)
Midfielder:  Christian Bolanos (free agent)

Forward:  Bryan Ruiz (Fulham) (England)
Forward:  Joel Campbell (Arsenal) (England)

World Cup Update -- 13 Games to Go

Today's first game is Netherlands v. Mexico.  (In Britain, by the way, they call this game Holland v. Mexico.)

For a few weeks in 1974, Netherlands was the greatest soccer team in history.  The Dutch came to the 1974 World Cup in West Germany with a beautiful, flowing style of soccer known as "Total Football."   This strategy rested on the idea that any non-goalkeeper on the team should be able to take over the role of any other non-goalkeeper.  Defenders could become midfielders; midfielders could be forwards; forwards could be defenders; and so forth.  It was to soccer what the Princeton offense was to basketball in the 1980's; a dramatic and beautiful approach that looked unstoppable when it worked.  Using Total Football, Netherlands rolled through the first group stage:

06/15/74:  Uruguay 0 - 2 Netherlands
06/19/74:  Netherlands 0 - 0 Sweden
06/23/74:  Netherlands 4 - 1 Bulgaria

They were even better in the second group stage, crushing Argentina and Brazil with ease:

06/26/74:  Netherlands 4 - 0 Argentina
06/30/74:  E. Germany 0 - 2 Netherlands
07/03/74:  Netherlands 2 - 0 Brazil

In six World Cup games, Dutch Total Football had outscored opponents 14 to 1.  And in the final, against home-standing West Germany, the Dutch roared into a 1-0 lead after only 2 minutes.  However, as others have learned before and since, Germany has a power all its own.  The Germans stunned an all-conquering team from Hungary in the final of the 1954 World Cup, and they repeated the trick in 1974, coming from behind to beat the Dutch 2-1.

The events of that manic summer -- the sublime beauty of the first six games, and the crushing disappointment of the last -- have haunted Dutch soccer ever since.  For soccer fans, Total Football in 1974 was like Jimi Hendrix at Monterey, or Joe Namath in the AFL, or the 1978 Trail Blazers before Walton got hurt -- a spectacular beautiful legend that could only be fully appreciated by those who were there.  Ever since then, soccer fans around the world -- including the Dutch themselves -- have expected Dutch soccer to be beautiful, experimental, thrilling, and doomed.  Remarkably, the Dutch have pretty much lived up to this reputation.  This tiny nation has been the World Cup final two other times in 1978 and 2010, but has never taken the title.  (To be fair, however, in the 2010 final the Dutch appeared to be more interesting in kicking Spanish players than the ball.  So it's not all beauty.)

Naturally, therefore, the Netherlands' 5-1 victory over Spain was greeted with the sort of rapturous transport Springsteen fans used to feel whenever the Boss would announce another tour with the E Street Band.  The Dutch were back!  The beautiful game!  Maybe this will be the time!

And maybe it will be.

Meanwhile, in Mexico, the fans are hoping that this is finally the year their guys go deep into the tournament.  Mexico almost always makes the Sweet 16, and then almost always loses in the Sweet 16 -- despite having one of the largest populations of any major soccer-playing nation.  I've never really understood that, and I don't think the Mexican fans do either.

Tale of the Tape:

NETHERLANDS:
Population:  16.8 million (63d in the world)
2014 GDP (est.):  $838.0 billion (17th in the world)
Per capita GDP:  $49,765 (13th in the world)

MEXICO:
Population:  118.4 million (11th in the world)
2014 GDP (est.):  $1.33 trillion (14th in the world)
Per capita GDP:  $11,224 (62d in the world)

Here are the teams:

NETHERLANDS:

Goalkeeper:  Jasper Cillessen (Ajax) (Netherlands)

Defender:  Paul Verhaegh (Augsburg) (Germany)
Defender:  Ron Vlaar (Aston Villa) (England)
Defender:  Stefan de Vrij (Feyenoord) (Netherlands)
Defender:  Daley Blind (Ajax) (Netherlands)

Midfielder:  Nigel de Jong (AC Milan) (Italy)
Midfielder:  Giorginio Wijnaldum (PSV) (Netherlands)
Midfielder:  Wesley Sneijder (Galatasaray) (Turkey)

Forward:  Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbahce) (Turkey)
Forward:  Robin van Persie (Captain) (Manchester Utd) (England)
Forward:  Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich) (Germany)

MEXICO:
Goalkeeper:  Guillermo Ochoa (Free Agent)

Defender:  Francisco Javier Rodriguez (Cruz Azul) (Mexico)
Defender:  Carlos Salcido (Guadalajara) (Mexico)
Defender:  Rafael Marquez (Leon) (Mexico)
Defender:  Miguel Layun (America) (Mexico)
Defender:  Hector Moreno (Espanyol) (Spain)
Defender:  Andres Guardado (Bayer Leverkusen) (Germany)
Defender:  Paul Aguilar (America) (Mexico)

Midfielder:  Hector Herrera (Porto) (Portugal)

Forward:  Giovani dos Santos (Villareal) (Spain)
Forward:  Oribe Peralta (America) (Mexico)

Note:  These are the positions as they are listed in Wikipedia, but Google reports that Salcido and Guardado will be playing as midfielders.

World Cup Update

The Group Stages are now complete, and here are the match-ups for the next round.  Only 15 games left:

Saturday, June 28:
1.  Brazil v. Chile (in Belo Horizonte)  (Brazil is favored to win at 8 to 13)
2.  Colombia v. Uruguay (in Rio De Janeiro) (Colombia is favored to win at 1 to 1)

Monday, June 30

3.  France v. Nigeria (Brasilia) (France is favored to win at 8 to 15)
4.  Germany v. Algeria (Porto Alegre)  (Germany is favored to win at 6 to 17)

Sunday, June 29
5.  Netherlands v. Mexico (Fortaleza) (Netherlands is favored to win at 15 to 13)
6.  Costa Rica v. Greece (Recife) (Costa Rica is favored to win at 17 to 11)

Tuesday, July 1
7.  Argentina v. Switzerland (Sao Paulo) (Argentina is favored to win at 8 to 15)
8.  Belgium v. United States (Salvador) (Belgium is favored to win at 11 to 13)

If you want to bet on the United States to win outright, the Brits will give you odds of 4 to 1.  If you want to bet that Belgium/U.S. will go to penalty kicks, the Brits will give you odds of 13 to 5.

Here are the latest odds on who will win the tournament:

Brazil:  3 to 1
Argentina:  7 to 2
Germany:  4 to 1
Netherlands:  15 to 2

No one else is better than 9 to 1.  Mexico is 33 to 1.  The USA is 80 to 1.

XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 8)

Medals table:

1. Germany 7 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze

Five of the Germans' 12 overall medals and four of their golds have come in the luge. Otherwise, Germany has scored a couple of medals in alpine skiing and one each in biathlon, cross-country skiing, figure skating, Nordic combined and ski jumping.

2. Switzerland 5, 1, 1

A couple of golds each in alpine and cross-country skiing and one in snowboarding have Switzerland on track for its best-ever Olympic Winter Games medals-table performance. The Swiss have also earned a silver in biathlon and a bronze in alpine skiing.

3. Canada 4, 5, 2

Freestyle skiing has been Canada's area of dominance: three gold, two silver and one bronze. The other Canadian gold was in short-track skating. There also have been a couple of silvers in figure skating and one in speed skating and a bronze in snowboard.

4. Netherlands 4, 3, 6

The Dutch have a bronze in short track skating. Other than that, it has been a lackluster Olympics for the Netherlands … oh, except the speed skaters have four gold, three silver and five bronze.

4. Norway 4, 3, 6

Cross-country skiing is the Norwegians' thing: three gold, one silver, three bronze. The biathlon (cross-country skiing with guns) has yielded a gold and silver, too, for Norway. Otherwise, there's a silver in snowboard and a bronze each in alpine skiing (cross-country skiing, only the country is sloped downward), Nordic combined (cross-country skiing, plus ski jumping) and ski jumping.

4. United States 4, 3, 6

Five of Team USA's medals (including one of the golds) have been in freestyle skiing; four (including the other three golds) have been in snowboarding. The other medals have come in skeleton (silver), alpine skiing (bronze), figure skating (bronze) and luge (bronze).

7. Russian Federation 3, 6, 5

Good medal distribution for the home team: three (and two gold) in figure skating, three (and one gold) in short track, two in biathlon, two in luge, two in speed skating, one in freestyle skiing and one in skeleton.

8. China 3, 2, 0

The Chinese have scored two gold medals and a silver in short track, a gold in speed skating and a silver in freestyle skiing.

9. Belarus 3, 0, 1

Belarus has two golds and a bronze in biathlon and a gold in freestyle skiing. Surely, Darya Domracheva--who has two golds in her two biathlon events so far in Sochi, with two to go--must be a national sports hero.

10. Austria 2, 4, 1

Four of the medals (two gold, a silver and a bronze) have come in alpine skiing, and then the Austrians have a silver each in biathlon, luge and ski jumping.

11. France 2, 0, 2
12. Poland 2, 0, 0
13. Sweden 1, 5, 2
14. Japan 1, 2, 1
15. Slovenia 1, 1, 2
16. South Korea 1, 0, 1
17. Great Britain 1, 0, 1
18. Slovakia 1, 0, 0
19. Italy 0, 2, 3
20. Czech Republic 0, 2, 1
21. Finland 0, 2, 0
21. Australia 0, 1, 1
21. Croatia 0, 1, 0
24. Latvia 0, 0, 2

25. Kazakhstan 0, 0, 1
25. Ukraine 0, 0, 1

Previous reports:

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 7);
-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 6);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 5);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 4);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 3);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 2);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 1);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 0);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day a);

-- XII Olympic Winter Games, Innsbruck 1976;

-- II Olympic Winter Games, Saint Moritz 1928, and

-- I Olympic Winter Games, Chamonix 1924.

XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 1)

After some early-morning calisthenics, we're back to action in Sochi. Comments, as warranted.

Previous reports:

-- I Olympic Winter Games, Chamonix 1924;

-- II Olympic Winter Games, Saint Moritz 1928;

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day a), and

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 0).

I Am Watching the Olympics (Day 2)

Twenty-four sports on tap today, with medals to be awarded in archery, cycling, diving, fencing, judo, shooting, swimming and weightlifting.

It's so fantastic that the London organizers held off the women's 100m butterfly final until 1:30 p.m. Central so that all of us Hilltoppers have time to get home from church before WKU's Claire Donahue gets in the pool. Go, Claire Donahue!

In terms of the medal standings, one of the most interesting events today is shaping up to be women's archery. China beat Italy in a round-of-16 match early this morning, and, at 10:15 this morning, it is scheduled to face the United States in the quarterfinals. China (1), Italy (2) and the United States (3) were atop the medal table after yesterday's first finals.

Previous reports:

-- watching Day i (July 25)

-- watching Day ii (July 26)

-- watching opening day and the opening ceremony (July 27)

-- watching Day 1 and the men's cycling road race (July 28)