It's The Olympics, Baby!

  I’m not going to talk too long about the Yankees. The slide into oblivion has become too much for even a devout follower to take. I don’t care that the team is only 1.5 games behind the AL East-leading Orioles. That gulf might as well be as wide as the Indian Ocean. 

After getting humiliated by the Mets—a team definitely on an upward swing and with a lineup that has some pop in it —there simply isn’t a cure for the ailments that the Yankees have. Even with Giancarlo Stanton nearing a return from his hamstring injury or last season’s phenom Jason Dominguez readying for a rehab stint in the minors, that’s not going to be enough. The starting pitching is woefully inconsistent, and last year’s Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole was blasted by the Mets for a second time this season. Relief pitching is even worse. 

Whatever trades GM Brian Cashman makes are likely not to be enough to right this ship. Fan Duel might have given the Titanic better odds of not sinking than the Yankees having a meaningful revival. 

Maybe a managerial shakeup is needed. Aaron Boone has tried hard to turn the tide on losing. The team hasn’t gotten his calming message. Even doing that is a shot in the dark which likely won’t help. 

But somebody needs to take the blame for this debacle and it isn’t going to be Cashman at this time. One cannot hide behind injuries and believe that losing Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, Jose Trevino and reliever Ian Hamilton among others is simply the root cause of the problems. 

A team which looked like world beaters earlier this season is a shell of that image. No matter how hard Aaron Judge and Juan Soto try by themselves to carry the team, they simply can’t. The Mets pitched around Judge and he looked lost at the plate when they chose to pitch to him. 

As for Soto, despite being bothered by a recurring had/wrist injury, the guy is showing why he will be so valuable when free agency occurs. It’s just a question of whether staying in the Bronx is the answer, no matter how well he gets along with Judge and the rest of the team. Having seen the Mets in four games and knowing that owner Steve Cohen would open the vault to pay him, is it really possible that Soto will remain a Yankee after this disaster?

This Saturday is my annual trip to Baltimore. The Orioles host the San Diego Padres, series winners over AL Central leader Cleveland and a below .500 Washington team on the current road trip. The Padres are virtually tied with St. Louis for the final NL Wild Card slot. I expect some inspired baseball with the O’s mired in a 3-7 slide while the Padres are playing solid ball. At least the Yankees won’t be playing until the 4:05 contest is over on Saturday so that I won’t be scoreboard watching and be angrily distracted. 

No matter that baseball is the summer game. The Summer Olympics return to Paris for the first time in 100 years. These games have the potential to be spectacular. 

Understand that I am not an Olympics zealot. I will not be glued to my TV or seeking constant updates on many of the myriad of events on the docket. It’s just not me.

I have seen the remnants of Summer Olympics venues in Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Rome, London, Atlanta, Montreal and most recently in St. Louis, and I have visited Winter Olympics sites in Lake Placid, Salt Lake City, Vancouver, Calgary and Squaw Valley. Our family has an upcoming trip to Barcelona. I am hardly immune from recognizing the greatness of these Games. A college classmate shared his adventure running on the Olympic turf in Athens—how cool was that!. 

While it is a worldwide spectacle of peaceful competition, politics is always a part of it. Look at the US boycott of the Moscow Games as evidence of how the world’s geo-political forces can disrupt such a majestic event. 

For instance, boxing used to be a staple of the Olympics coverage. We knew who Cassius Clay was or knew about Teofilo Stevenson and Sugar Ray Leonard. I cannot name one boxing hopeful from the US or in the world. That’s how times have changed.

Will I be watching basketball? Of course. Yet with much trepidation given how the US men have flirted with losses in three exhibition games and the women’s team soundly beaten by the WNBA All Stars. 

Are the Americans favorites in these Games? Yes. However, the world has nearly caught up with the US dominance in this sport. Look at the NBA—how many teams are dotted with non-Americans who are the most capable stars? That should have been the first marker of how difficult this and future chances for Olympic gold might be. 

With Lebron James steering the ship, we should be in good hands. The Americans are very talented if lacking a little in size. The wild card to winning is encapsulated in one calf—that of Kevin Durant. If Durant is healthy and plays like himself, the Americans could even dominate. Right now, that is a big if. 

On the women’s side, as long as Diana Taurasi is playing well, the Americans will have a superior team. What she, like Lebron, brings as leadership to a group which is talented but still needs to coalesce, is the greatest intangible. 

Of course, there is women’s gymnastics. There is one performer who should capture gold—Simone Biles. All eyes will be following her as she tries to add more medals to an already full bucket. And will the highly talented Americans with Biles prevail in the team competition? My daughter, my resident gymnastic “wonk,” believes so. 

On betting sites, the United States is heavily favored to win the most medals and take home the most gold. China is expected to finish second, followed by Great Britain. We are heavy favorites in swimming and track and field. The stars are Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel in the water and New Jersey’s own Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone on the track.

There are 329 events in 39 sports. Breaking—a.k.a. Break Dancing—makes its Olympics debut. There will be competition in Marseilles and Tahiti, and the triathlon will have swimmers immersed in the bacteria-laden Seine River. Ooh la la. 

Moreover, there is the competitiveness of the sprinting involving the Americans and the Jamaicans. The Chinese receive a pass on doping for their swimmers. Russia will send only a dozen to France amidst its ongoing war in Ukraine. The Canadians were cited for flying a drone over a rival’s practice. A top Japanese female gymnast was sent home for violating the team’s ban on smoking.

There will be protests. There will be potential strikes. This is, after all, France we are talking about. 

NBC has the coverage on its networks and via streaming. Opening ceremony hosts include Kelly Clarkson, Peyton Manning, Mike Tirico and the tireless duo from The Today Show, Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb. 

Lebron and tennis player Coco Gauff will carry the US flags in the Opening Ceremony. Why Snoop Dogg is in this pageantry baffles me. 

It should be great theater. The Olympics always has its drama. Get ready for some non-baseball excitement. 

This beats watching the Yankees flounder or read about the daily machinations of the Jets, Giants and Travis Kielce in training camp. 

To paraphrase the great Dick Vitale, who once more is locked in a battle with cancer: It’s the Olympics, Baby! Enjoy.