I am starting early on my blog this evening as I plan on watching the U of M women’s basketball team battle Louisville for a berth in the women’s Final Four. Earlier in the year, Louisville beat U of M handily in the ACC/B1G challenge. Michigan’s players called that game a “wake-up call” for them. They realized how far they needed to go to be considered an elite team. Tonight, we will see what they learned.
The ”Blue Bloods” are alive and well in the men’s Final Four. Villanova, Duke, Kansas, and North Carolina are probably the best programs in college basketball since the early 90’s. Villanova, will be without one of their best players, point guard Justin Moore, a high school teammate of Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson. Moore played 39 minutes against Michigan and scored 15 points. More importantly, at this stage of the tournament, the most important player on any team is the point guard so this is a big loss to Villanova.
President Biden said what me and many others have been thinking over the last month when he said, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.” When I first heard the words, I realized they were very strong words coming from Biden, when one considers how every word and punctuation mark has meaning in the world of international diplomacy. I also realized that Biden is pissed. I am not sure how the words will eventually playout in international diplomacy, but I sure do agree with what he said.
I wasn’t watching the Oscars last night, so I only saw the clip of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on YouTube this morning. What Will Smith did was wrong and what Chris Rock said was wrong. Comedians making fun of others is part of the routine, but Chris Rock was wrong to make fun of Jada Pinkett Smith and her bald look, which is due to a medical condition. No comedian, including Rock, would ever considering making fun of a person who was bald because of chemo treatments. This is one of those situations where there are no winners, only losers. Smith apologized during his acceptance speech and Rock chose to not press charges. At least Jada knows her husband will defend her honor.
Today I read a feature article in Sports Illustrated about Lia Thomas, the transgender swimmer, who competed with the U of Pennsylvania men’s swimming team for three years. After taking a year off from competition, she went through hormone replacement therapy and competed this year as a member of Penn’s women’s team. Not only did she compete, but she also dominated her competition, by shattering the NCAA record in the 500-yard freestyle event. Her victory has raised many questions about transgender athletes and what is fair to the transgender athlete and to those the transgender athlete competes against. I thought Sports Illustrated did a nice job of presenting both sides of the story.
I am not sure there is a solution that will appease the masses, as strong feelings exist on both sides. If I was a parent of a transgender athlete like Lia, I would put my full support behind her and feel she has every right to compete as a woman. At the same time, if I was the parent of Emma Weyent, the woman who finished second to Thomas, I would feel my daughter has been cheated. Weyent has successfully competed on the biggest stages of swimming. Weyant, 20, won the silver medal in the women’s 400-meter individual medley at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo and she is a three-time national champion. This issue is not going away, so the NCAA, the International Olympic Committee, and the National Federation of High Schools Athletics are going to need to develop a solution. Good Luck!!!!!
Pray for peace and tolerance. What are you doing to stop the violence? Get vaccinated and get your booster.
Orchid of the Day: U of M men’s hockey team for making their 28th Frozen Four with their victory on Sunday.
Additional Orchid of the Day: Western Michigan Bronco’s men’s hockey team for almost making it to the frozen four this year. They lost to Minnesota on Sunday in the regional final
Onion of the Day: The Detroit Red Wings for losing to the Pittsburg Penguins 11-2 on Sunday. I do not recall a NHL game in which one team scored 11 goals. To be on the losing end of such a fiasco must be frustrating to Wings’ president Steve Yzerman.
Quote of the Day: “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.” President Biden about Putin.
Video of the Day: The Slap.
Video of the Day: The Slap.