Monzanator

9 hours ago, NearPup said:

Looks like the FIS has also approved making the alpine combined a team event starting next season, so still one run of Downhill and one run of Slalom but now with a different athlete skiing each leg.

Yeah, Team Alpine Combined will be included in the World Cup from next season.

The alpine skiing team event only has any sense if they make it a combined event with athletes in speed/tech events. The parallel format has been exposed as a joke, one course is always better and makes it completely unfair and prone to manipulating especially since they ditched the real time gaps after run 1. Just kill this format off and move on...

@owenp_23You talk about the finals?  Funny how suddenly US media are walking back on the Jokic MVP slander from the past two years. Most experts suddenly think Nuggets are the favorites and the longer it takes for Heat to put away Celtics those odds are probably going to grow.

32 minutes ago, Olympian1010 said:

There’s been a lot of withdrawals for various reasons. Covid took one of the main favorites out.

 

In general, I feel like the Giro has been the “weakest” of the grand tours for last few years. It just doesn’t seem to get the riders and attention that the Tour and Vuelta do, in my opinion.

I believe it happened because Belgium & Netherlands have found new front page stars (vd Poel, van Aert, Evenepoel) and this means spring is suddenly about the one-day classics again rather than Giro. This is my amateur theory anyway, Giro gets more attention when the supposed faces of the cycling don't come from the one-day classics backyard (Benelux). And yes, I know Evenepoel took part in the Giro and was the one who pulled out but maybe he kinda wants to add to the resume to distance himself above the vd Poel vs van Aert rivalry).

I hardly see the Giro news out there so guess this edition is overshadowed by weather and otherwise boring?

It's whomever wins the ITT wins the whole thing or is there a real mountain still possible?

@GrassmarketWhen it comes to being born on the island the probably yes. Otherwise Nigel Mansell would like to have a word

Sona Kenin beat Aryna Sabalenka in Rome and two weeks later she lost to Margaux Rouvroy in Q1

Viktoria Hruncakova (nee Kuzmova) came back from 2-6 1-5 down to beat Sonay Kartal in women's Q1 @hckošice

Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship two strokes ahead of Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland. That's his 5th major (3x PGA, 2x USO) and kinda sets him as the best post-Tiger era golfer even though McIlroy has all the fanbase and PR numbers behind him (but he hasn't won a major in almost a decade now).

Adrian Meronk finished tied 40th which isn't bad given the circumstances. There was lousy weather with rain for most of the play, PGA being moved to May suddenly means it could have terrible weather whenever they play on East Coast course (I believe the US Open is held in warmer states more often?).

PGA club pro & coach Michael Block stole the headlines making the cut and hit a hole in one on the last day even overshadowing McIlory who played in the same pair. He finished 15th so gets an automatic invite for next year's PGA Champs without having to play these endless qualifiers.

Bayern Munich lost to RB Leipzig yesterday and Borussia Dortmund beat Augsburg just now so there's a change at the top of Bundesliga before the last match

Elena Rybakina won Rome 1000 after Anhelina Kalinina retired injured in the final down 4-6 0-1.

Overall a disaster of a tournament in what was the first edition of the expanded draw and two-week format. The weather delays, then long stretches of no actual play, bottom half collapsed early, Świątek injured and there was next to zero buzz from the semi-finals except Ostapenko bitching about the SF not being stopped on her request but then stopped on Rybakina's request.

Strasbourg & Rabat 250s are next week and then it's Roland Garros. It can't possibly get any worse than the past two weeks...

Denver Nuggets take a 3-0 lead over LA Lakers in West finals and are on the verge of their first ever appearance in NBA finals

Heat lead the Celtics 2-0 in the East finals.

Adrian Meronk made the cut at the PGA Championship +5 in Round 1 and -1 in Round 2.

Horrible logo all around. The 1994 logo was nautical miles better

For the first time since 2004 there will be no Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic in the Rome final as Djokovic lost to Holger Rune in QF

Iga Świątek retired with injury in third set vs Rybakina. Overall a tough second week in Rome with many rain delays.

Semi-Finals:

Elena Rybakina vs Jelena Ostapenko

Anhelina Kalinina vs Veronika Kudermetova

The Soviet Union Championships in full swing here

I have a feeling they will move Imola around Spa and therefore shorten the summer break.

Hornets are like the new Grizzlies. #2 in the lottery...

And your #1 aka Victor Wembenyama lottery winner is...

Didn't take long... Rivers is fired from 76ers. Monty Williams fired from Suns as well (he could end up with Bucks?).

The Victor Wembanyama draft lottery is tonight. I don't think he ends up being that good mainly due to his size (2.19 m) being a recipe for injuries but the hype will carry around for some time. My bet is Hornets actually win the #1 lottery

IBA announced the 2024 Women's World Championships will be held in Astana, Kazakhstan. Gold medallists will receive 200k US dollars so it's 100% raise from the 100k prize at the last WCh in New Delhi. Money is always one thing that could make athletes reconsider the potential boycott...

Probably because "far right" in Europe is almost always against the immigrants & Islam as a religion

Meanwhile in a Muslim country the left/right wings still operate within the Islam itself - even if Turkey is a laicist country in that regard.

Jason Day has won a PGA Tour event again! I almost forgot the guy still existed

Celtics beat Sixers in Game Seven of East SF 112-88 I wonder if Phila has the guts to fire Doc Rivers after his latest trademark playoff bungle...

Nothing to report from Poland. Our judo has been dropped from the pack