Grassmarket

Wow, they take their fishing seriously in Ohio! Two men who admitted to cheating in an Ohio fishing tournament last fall have been sentenced to ten-day jail terms and other penalties, including the forfeiture of a boat valued at $100,000. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12077049/Fishermen-caught-cheating-Ohio-tournament-10-days-jail.html

Yeah, first week Grand Tour with not-very-strong domestiques, so nobody doing much.

Hmmmpph, well Planet Canoe on YT does have all today’s races, just in the annoying chopped-up one video per event format. If you want the single deluxe live stream, it’s on Recast. Forgot that I’d put in £10 into Recast to watch the Curling a while back, so here’s a review! It’s well cheaper than the Curling, say about €0.20 - €0.40 cents for a single session. (Curling is €1.00 - €2.00). Picture quality, sound, comms (random Aussie, like the Olympic Channel) all look fine to me. So depends how much you’re willing to pay to escape the usual annoying YT ads-every-five-minutes format.

Wow, kind of like the North of Scotland here! Davide Vais wins his first-ever pro race! No serious action from the big lads.

Here we go - 25km of final climb, freezing cold at the top, group of three small team rabbits have 8 minute lead…. Looking good so far…15km & seven mins. Peloton has given up, so there’s a win for the newbies for free! Maybe a last couple of km burnup for the big boys…

OK, just throwing a hand grenade & running away here. Starting a war on multiple fronts. 1. Pizza invented in not , says (North) Italian Prof. 2. Pineapple on Pizza invented in not . 3. Correct combination is Pineapple + Canadian bacon, not ham. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12076531/Pizza-know-invented-America-NOT-Italy-declares-Italian-professor-food-history.html

No worries: their predecessors famously arrived by glider & parachute.

At least one big-name meet this weekend - the Kip Keino Classic from Nairobi. Here’s the Preview. https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-continental-tour/news/nairobi-kip-keino-classic-fraser-pryce-moraa-wlodarczyk Also, it is the NCAA Regional Final weekend, so very high standards, likely WLs in lots of events esp relays. Most prestigious meets spread across various pay services, but some free.

More crashes today, but beautiful thick grass to fall into!

Curling is a bit different because with their streaming service they can show 4 simultaneous games 3 times per day ie 12 games, so probably do have a reason to be there if that makes money for them. But I agree, it is crazy for canoeing or many other sports where there is only ever one single focus, although a lot of heats, para etc which don’t get shown on TV.

There’s not really a clear Start Week for summer sports like there is for winter sports, but this week feels a bit like we’re starting a new one. Canoe Sprint WC from Szeged Mountain Bike from Nove Mesto ie the biathlon stadium Triathlon World Series from Yokohama (OK, not the first, but regular schedule) now Athletics - Kip Keino Classic from Nairobi, always an enthusiastic crowd. Cycling - Men from Italy & Hungary, Women’s Itzulia ie Basque Country.

Was a good one, just heartbreak for the breakaway guys, looked like they had it till -800m, when they started playing around.

Always an important moment - Mascot revealed! With 100 days to go, the mascot of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 has been unveiled | News | Budapest 23 | World Athletics Championship

Good news is that World Cup I from Szeged is on ES/D+ as usual this weekend, so I guess it is only people from countries like & who will have to shell out their micro-dollars.

The men in women’s cycling story won’t go away, even if people want it to. US Cycling development team Cynisca Cycling fires woman for opposing men in women’s sport. https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/after-claims-of-intimidation-and-personal-attacks-cynisca-cycling-and-board-member-and-anti-trans-advocate-inga-thompson-part-ways

Not the organisers’ fault - they’d picked a nice wide road to finish. But all the big TdF sprinters & their lead-out men were present so…..

Multiple sprint crashes in the rain in Italy. Multiple sprint crashes in the dry in Hungary. Haven’t watched the Women’s Navarra Classic yet.

Secondly - this Singapore site looks very good, has 3 live streams & lots of highlights you need 1. VPN set to Singapore 2. Username / password registration. Seemingly neither are very strictly policed. Highlights are a bit stir-fried ie chopped up into small bits. So you get one dish of 400m heats, one side order of shot put final, extra plate of 3000m steeplechase final etc etc. https://www.mewatch.sg/seagames

Two options for streams. 1. This Vietnamese site has lots. https://www.youtube.com/WEBTHETHAOVN/streams

Global media attention! Cambodia's Bou Samnang finishes 5,000m in torrential rain six minutes behind winner - BBC Sport

& have had these laws since the EPO era, but this is a first for . A Texas man faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to supplying performance-enhancing drugs to Olympic athletes. Eric Lira, 43, is the first defendant to be charged under a new US law introduced in the wake of Russia's state-backed Olympic doping scandals. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/65531036

8 from 2022 & Top 8 in the World Ranking. And then after that heading to Paris. https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-relays/bahamas24/news/press-releases/qualification-system-relays-nassau-24

Women’s cycling often a bit lacking in drama, but two great stages to round off the Vuelta yesterday & today. Even down to the bit where riders emerge suddenly from the clouds at the top of mounrains to save or lose their jerseys! Not quite oxygen tanks, but pretty near.

Sadly track cycling got exactly zero media coverage in those days.

Good quality road races from Atlanta tonight.