Thankfully, the horse doesn't care.

On Medina Spirit....

 

It's late February now.  The Derby was last May.  So 10 months?

 

Is there any sport that can reach a verdict in anything CLOSE to a reasonable manner?  It's a freaking joke.

 

A sidelight coming up here is that those who bet on Medina Spirit, get to keep their winnings.  Fine;  getting it back from them would likely be VERY hard, if the tickets were bought with cash.  But, those who bet on the horse declared the winner, are stuck with losers.  They aren't happy about that, and they shouldn't be.  They've filed a class action lawsuit.  The prize money was held back all this time...but not the bet payouts.  

 

I think Churchill Downs is about to be stuck for the bill.  

 

NYT story also suggests that Bob Baffert may see some SERIOUS heat now.  Multiple failed blood tests in the last, IIRC, 13 months.  NY racing assoc is looking to suspend him.

 

 

<chortle>

 

I don't want to be gracious, I want to gloat.  So I will.

 

Novak Djokovic lost in the QFs of the Dubai event.  To a Czech ranked 132 in the world...who had to qualify.  (He's moved up nicely to #96.)  

 

In the process?  He's lost the #1 world ranking.

 

Bwaaahahahaaaa!!!!!!

 

Mind, now the #1 is Medvedev, and I'm not a fan of his either.  

Champions League final moved from Saint Petersburg to Paris, UEFA announce

Haas F1 Deletes Putin-Linked Russian Sponsor Livery, Will Test In All-White Car

 

Russia is scheduled to play some World Cup qualifiers in late March in Moscow.  Russia plays Poland, Sweden plays Czech Republic.  Winners play for the World Cup spot a few days later.

 

Poland, Sweden, and Czech Republic national soccer associations have refused to go to Moscow, in a joint statement.  That was reported yesterday;  no word yet, that I've seen from FIFA.  

 

 

Also recently announced:

 

Jokerit Helsinki, a Finnish hockey team, pulls out of KHL playoffs due to Russia's invasion

 

From that article:

Quote

"We're very sorry to lose Jokerit, an excellent and vibrant team, with a recognizable style. Jokerit plays in our league since the 2014-2015 season and has constantly reached the playoff. Games with all the teams in the league have always been interesting. It's very unfortunate that the Jokerit's departure is due not to sporting reasons, but to political ones." ~KHL President Alexei Morozov

 

 

IOC urges sports bodies to cancel events in Russia, Belarus

 

...which would represent the first useful thing the IOC has done in a long time.

 

F1 says it's 'impossible' and won't race in Russia this year after Ukraine invasion

Oh, Mr. P, you just reminded me.

Gonzaga and USF played last night in basketball, in a conference game.  Gonzaga won.  

 

One of the USF players is Ukrainian.  His dad is a police officer.  He's got a mother and sister there.  *Right now*...none of em are directly threatened.

 

Yeah, he's having a hard time focusing on school and sports.

 

Yeah...right now, voluntarily travel into Russia feels like the apex of foolishness.

A few of those Jokerit Helsinki players are members of the Finnish Olympic Team that just denied the USSR Russia the gold medal a week ago. Not that I'm saying that Russia would be petty enough to take revenge or anything like that....

Highly idiosyncratic MLS team previews for the coming season

The NHL's Phoenix Coyotes, who were in danger of being homeless after their arena declined to renew their lease with the team, have found a new home. They will be playing at the new arena on the campus of Arizona State University. According to the article I read, that arena has a seating capacity of around 5,000.

 

At this point, why keep the team in Arizona? Hamilton, Ontario or Quebec City would undoubtedly support this franchise better than the Phoenix Metro area has.

They may have some sweetheart tax deals with state & city that they don't want to renegotiate with a new sucker locale.

That's entirely possible.

14 hours ago, Pariah said:

The NHL's Phoenix Coyotes, who were in danger of being homeless after their arena declined to renew their lease with the team, have found a new home. They will be playing at the new arena on the campus of Arizona State University. According to the article I read, that arena has a seating capacity of around 5,000.

 

At this point, why keep the team in Arizona? Hamilton, Ontario or Quebec City would undoubtedly support this franchise better than the Phoenix Metro area has.

Heck, send them to Portland. A lot of folks here would love top-flight pro hockey, and we would have an instant I-5 rivalry with the Kraken.

 

Te only problem is thath they would have to share the (yuk, Moda Center) Rose Garden (to me, it will always be the Rose Garden) with the Blazers. And with Paul Allen deceased and the ownership of the Blazers uncertain, it might be be hard finding an Oregon billionaire to pay the bills. Phil Knight is out (sadly or not depends on your opinion of sweatshops and child labor), because he does business with all 32 current NHL teams already. Being an actual franchise owner, even though he is officially retired, would hurt Nike a lot. As for Intel, nobody even knows who owns Intel, and owners require a degree of charisma starting out.

Ukrainian choir performs national anthem ahead of Canadiens/Jets game

On the Coyotes:  for some bizarre reason, Gary Bettman wants them there.  That's the league commissioner.  WHY?  I have no clue.  Every team in the league probably loses money...I'm basing that on an assumption that the visiting teams get a cut of the gate.  They're the lowest-valued team in the league by a fairly substantial margin, too.

 

That said:  this is explicitly expected to be a temporary deal.

 

I think they *had* a sweetheart deal...with Glendale, for using Gila River Arena.  Stories I saw suggested the city was taking a *bath* on it...ticket sales were so pathetic that their operating expenses were higher than the tax revenues generated.

And Phoenix is one of the uncommon 4-league cities.  I don't think it's a rabid Cardinals town, but the NFL is still the NFL...unless it's LA, the NFL draws.  The D'backs get reasonable support.  The Suns are hot right now, and get quite good support.  The Coyotes don't feel like a fit.  At all.  That said, I'm not sure *where* to move them.  NYT story from a couple months ago mentioned Houston...but the same interest problems would exist...4th fiddle in a non-hockey city.  Portland might work *if* there's sufficient local ownership interest;  the biggest problem is likely to be the shared facilities.  That always bites.  

 

The Paralympics have started and Britain has its first medal, a bronze.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/60628945

And Britain has a Gold medal at the Paralympics

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/60636157

Holy moly....

 

I didn't hear about this until just a bit ago.

 

Saturday, at a La Liga (top Mexican soccer league) match, a brawl broke out between fans of the home team and visiting team.  A MAJOR brawl.  As in 26 injured, 3 critically.  That's officially;  some claim there were people killed, and the government's statements may well be...less than honest.  

 

The league came out with the punishments.  From the Sporting News:

Quote

• NO TEAM BAN: Queretaro men's, women's and youth teams will not be banned, but they will play their home games behind closed doors for one year (through March 7, 2023);
  
• STADIUM BAN (conditional): Queretaro's La Corregidora Stadium is banned from hosting matches for a year. But the Queretaro teams can still play in that stadium as long as the matches are played behind closed doors and a three-kilometer security radius is established by state officials;
  
• SUPPORTERS GROUP BAN: The Queretaro supporters will be banned for three years from home games and one-year from away games;
  
• OWNERS & MANAGEMENT BAN: Queretaro current owners and management are suspended for five years (Gabriel Solares, Adolfo Rios, Greg Taylor and Manuel Velarde);
  
• QUERETARO IS FINED: The amount is a total of $70,000; 
  
• TEAM UP FOR SALE: Queretaro ownership reverts to its former owner (Grupo Caliente's Jorge Alberto Hank of Club Tijuana) on the condition that it is sold by the end of 2022. (The franchise could also move to another city, in which case the home supporters ban will only run for one year instead of three.);
  
• QUERETARO LOSS VS. ATLAS: Visiting team Atlas, which had a 1-0 lead at the time of the riot, will be handed a 3-0 win by Liga MX and the match will not be replayed;
  
• ATLAS FANS BAN: The Atlas supporters group is banned for six months from away matches (through Sept. 8, 2022);
  
• LIFETIME BAN FOR FANS: Lifetime ban from any match in Mexico for all individuals convicted of wrongdoing in the March 5 riot.

 

 

Youch.  The league didn't pull their punches.  The major target is the club management, which feels correct.

 

 

On 3/4/2022 at 8:18 PM, unclevlad said:

On the Coyotes:  for some bizarre reason, Gary Bettman wants them there.  That's the league commissioner.  WHY?  I have no clue.  Every team in the league probably loses money...I'm basing that on an assumption that the visiting teams get a cut of the gate.  They're the lowest-valued team in the league by a fairly substantial margin, too.

 

That said:  this is explicitly expected to be a temporary deal.

 

I think they *had* a sweetheart deal...with Glendale, for using Gila River Arena.  Stories I saw suggested the city was taking a *bath* on it...ticket sales were so pathetic that their operating expenses were higher than the tax revenues generated.

And Phoenix is one of the uncommon 4-league cities.  I don't think it's a rabid Cardinals town, but the NFL is still the NFL...unless it's LA, the NFL draws.  The D'backs get reasonable support.  The Suns are hot right now, and get quite good support.  The Coyotes don't feel like a fit.  At all.  That said, I'm not sure *where* to move them.  NYT story from a couple months ago mentioned Houston...but the same interest problems would exist...4th fiddle in a non-hockey city.  Portland might work *if* there's sufficient local ownership interest;  the biggest problem is likely to be the shared facilities.  That always bites.  

 

While I would love to see a team in Portland, my first choice would be Quebec City. They got a raw deal when the Nordiques pulled up stakes and went to Denver.

Or Hartford, where they actually care about hockey.

 

 

On 3/9/2022 at 6:21 AM, Pariah said:

Or Hartford, where they actually care about hockey.

 

That would put five teams very close to the New York market, which may be why the Whalers left in the first place (they might have been pushed).

Plus, I can't see the NHL returning to a market in which it didn't do well.  Trying to establish a new fanbase when the locals already have strong ties to existing franchises is a Bad Move.  The Clippers took forever to get anywhere;  AFAIK the Chargers are bombing in LA as well.

Nine people killed in crash involving University of the Southwest golf teams

Italy beat Wales in Rugby Union to clinch their first win in the Six Nations since 2015

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/60805189

 

France beat England in Rugby Union to win their first Grand Slam since 2010

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/60809510

 

Mark Cavendish wins Milano-Torino for 159th career title

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/60769895

On 3/10/2022 at 1:10 PM, unclevlad said:

Plus, I can't see the NHL returning to a market in which it didn't do well.  Trying to establish a new fanbase when the locals already have strong ties to existing franchises is a Bad Move.  The Clippers took forever to get anywhere;  AFAIK the Chargers are bombing in LA as well.

The Clippers got nowhere because their owner didn't care about the product on the court. It's been a lot better under Ballmer, but they are still "the other team" in LA. Which is what the Chargers face now. It's somewhat better for the Chargers since the team has gotten closer to football respectability but being dragged kicking and screaming back into the LA market can't have been good for them.