Around the world in (less than) 80 days

The Ocean Race and SailGP are both prestigious sailing competitions, but they differ significantly in their format, boat type, and overall objectives. The Ocean Race is a fully crewed, round-the-world yacht race with stopovers in various ports, emphasizing endurance and offshore sailing.  SailGP, on the other hand, is a high-speed, foiling catamaran racing league with short, intense races at one port for each event, focused on maximizing speed and technology.  Think of SailGP like Formula 1.  The Ocean Race is more like the Paris-Dakar rally.  

McLaren are on track, but are their drivers?

It seems that McLaren's leadership, their drivers, and their entire team in Woking (County of Surrey, southwest of London) are doing it again. The McLaren team created a car, the MCL39, that is widely considered to be the current benchmark for F1.  It has been praised for its high aerodynamic efficiency and balance. There are even whispers of "tricks", that's how dominant this car is.  But the McLaren's edge largely comes down to excellent downforce and a well-tuned set up.  Relative to the other teams, it appears their current car is particularly good in managing rear tire temperatures.  And the results on track this year speak for themselves.  After the British F1 GP this weekend, the McLaren drivers have won 9 of the 12 races so far this season.

OKC's Thunder is Seattle's Lightning

In the history of the NBA the finals have been decided in game 7 of the series 19 times before this year. The 2016 Finals were the last edition to go the distance. The Cavaliers’ comeback from a 3-1 series deficit was the headline, led by Finals MVP LeBron James en route to securing Cleveland’s first NBA championship. That game went down to the final possessions. Game 7s in the NBA Finals are normally closely contested with low-scoring and an average margin of victory of less than 7 points. In the last 50 years no team has won the Finals Game 7 by double-digits. And no team has reached 100 points in Game 7 of the Finals since the Lakers beat the Pistons 108-105 in 1988. Well, the Oklahoma City Thunder just rewrote the history books. 

Coco conquers the clay courts

American tennis sensation Cori ("Coco") Dionne Gauff from Atlanta has once again etched her name into tennis history, securing her second career Grand Slam singles title with a thrilling victory at the French Open. On Saturday, June 7, 2025, the 21-year-old triumphed over current world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a hard-fought final, showcasing remarkable resilience and unwavering mental fortitude on the iconic red clay of Roland Garros in Paris.

Growing pains for SailGP

 

The world of SailGP, renowned for its cutting-edge F50 catamarans and blistering speeds, recently faced a significant challenge that underscored the intricate balance between high-performance engineering and athlete safety. The abrupt cancellation of the highly anticipated Rio SailGP event, slated for May 2025, sent ripples through the sailing community, drawing attention to a critical defect in some of the F50 wingsails and a series of concerning incidents.

Does Wrexham's Hollywood Script go all the way to the Premiership?

Buying a soccer team in Europe is an extremely high risk investment. It is not like investing in an American franchise where positive returns are not only achievable, but are more likely than not. The English Premier League is a different story. The league is not structured in the same way as the American sports leagues. For instance, it does not have salary caps; and the worst three teams literally get kicked out of the league each season. There are gains to be made but there is also a huge downside risk. That said, with high risk comes high reward. 

Can the Gunners break the curse?

Arsenal Football Club just beat Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. They won 2-1 in the second leg at the Bernabéu Stadium last week after winning 3-0 at home in London the prior week. This win secured Arsenal's place in the semi-finals for the first time since 2009. This victory over the Spaniards was very unexpected. Real Madrid is by far the best team in Champions League history. They are, many would argue, the best team in the world and have the best player in the world in Kylian Mbappé. Despite these odds against them, Arsenal just beat Real Madrid not once, but twice in a row. After completing this 5-1 aggregate victory they now face French team Paris Saint-Germain F.C (PSG) in a two legged Semi Final, at home on April 28th and away in Paris on May 7th. 

The British are coming!

A small brigade of British golfers is leading the charge at Augusta this week. As the Masters Tournament unfolds at the iconic Augusta National in Georgia, many flags on the leaderboard are displaying the red St. George’s cross. With two rounds complete in the prestigious major, an impressive three players high up on the score board hail from Great Britain, setting the stage for a thrilling weekend of national rivalries intertwined with individual competition. 

The Masters leaderboard on the first day of play 

A Humble Southern Hemisphere Hero #5: Kirsty Coventry

Kirsty Leigh Coventry, a name synonymous with swimming excellence, etched her place in history as Africa's most decorated Olympian and one of the most celebrated female swimmers of all time. Her Olympic legacy boasts seven medals – two gold, four silver, and one bronze – a feat unmatched by any African athlete. She holds the (joint) most individual medals in women's Olympic swimming, and remains the sole Zimbabwean to win individual Olympic gold. She has earned seven of the eight Olympic medals ever awarded to the country of Zimbabwe. 

McLaren's best team in a quarter century

Formula One officially began as a world championship competition less than 5 years after the end of World War 2, with the first race held in the United Kingdom, marking the start of the sport's official championship.  That first race took place at the Silverstone Circuit in the UK on May 13, 1950.

Silverstone is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station, and it is not surprising that the racing started there.  Several prominent figures in Formula 1, including drivers, engineers and team owners, had prior experience in the RAF as e.g. pilots or aircraft engine mechanics.  This expertise was put to good use and no doubt contributed to the sport's early engineering and organizational success.  

Six Nations Rugby Points Permutations

The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union tournament contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales.  It holds the distinction of being the oldest international rugby tournament and one of the world's oldest sporting competitions.   

Philly Eagles win the Super Bowl in New Orleans

"Show. Me. The. Money!" was a popular line from the 1996 film Jerry McGuire starring Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding Jr.  In that movie the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles NFL team, Jeff Lurie, made a cameo appearance as himself.  At that time, he declared his intent to win multiple Super Bowls.  Well, he just achieved that.  He won his second Super Bowl as owner of an NFL team.  

A Humble Southern Hemisphere Hero #4: Ernie Els

Ernie Els, affectionately known as the "Big Easy," is a South African golfing legend whose career is marked by his big powerful golf swing, and his humility.  A four-time major champion and former world number 1, Els captivated audiences worldwide with his long drives, accurate iron play, and a calm demeanor that belies his fierce competitive spirit.  His relatively slow, yet powerful swing earned him the nickname, the "Big Easy".  Ernie did make the game look easy and never got rattled on the golf course.  He invariably had a smile on his face as he conquered each course he played, even in the toughest conditions and against the best opponents (normally Tiger Woods).

Solo sailing race supervised from space

The Vendée Globe is a single-handed, non-stop, and unassisted round-the-world yacht race. It's considered the ultimate test of human endurance and sailing skill. The race takes competitors through some of the most challenging waters on Earth, including the Southern Ocean with its fierce winds and dangerous icebergs.  The first race was run in 1989–90 and has been run every four years ever since. 

F1 heats up as Verstappen joins the immortals

Max Verstappen secured his fourth consecutive Formula 1 World Championship title at the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix this Saturday night. The 27-year-old Dutchman finished fifth in the race, which was won by George Russell of Mercedes. This historic achievement places Verstappen alongside the immortals, legendary drivers like Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Juan Manuel Fangio, Sebastian Vettel, and Alain Prost who have all won at least four world championship titles.

Here are the main take aways from the race in Vegas:

SailGP 2025: A New Era of High-Stakes Racing

The new SailGP sailing series is a go.  The season just started yesterday, November 23rd 2024, in Abu Dhabi with the first of 14 events getting underway. There will be one event in 2024 and the rest in 2025 culminating next November.  Team NZ beat Team USA in the finals yesterday.  This new season is off to a thrilling start, with new teams, new technology, and heightened competition.

Several significant changes have reshaped the SailGP landscape:

Now professional athletes can invest in their own leagues

Ever dreamed of owning stake in the sports team or league that you play for or work for?  That is beyond the means of most of us.  But what if you could invest in a team as an accredited investor, would you do it?  Now may be your chance.  Over the last ten years or so team valuations, salaries, and athletes’ own brands have grown tremendously, but not everyone has the ability to capitalize on this.  That may be about to change.  Specifically because the professional athletes themselves want to share in this equity upside and are pushing for ways to do that.

A Humble Southern Hemisphere Hero #3: Diego Elias

27-year-old Peruvian Diego Elias is the current squash world champion.  In Cairo, Egypt, in May 2024, this young athlete won the CIB PSA World Championship for the 2023-24 season.  Despite coming from a country with a small squash scene, Elias has defied the odds to become one of the best squash players in the world.

New Zealand take America's Cup for the 3rd time in a row

The America's Cup, at 173 years old, is the oldest international sporting trophy and stands as one of the hardest trophies for anyone to win in any sport.  It takes a dedicated team, significant resources, and a lot of time and effort to win this trophy.  The New York Yacht Club had those resources and put in the effort and won the event from its outset in 1851 and then held the trophy for 132 years up until 1983.  Since then only Australia, Switzerland and New Zealand have been able to wrestle the trophy away from Team USA.  Despite the US dominance for a long period of time, in recent years New Zealand have held the Cup, and they were certainly the team to beat last week.  

The Rippers of Oz win the LIV Team Championship title for 2024

The LIV Golf season concluded with a thrilling team victory for Cameron Smith's all-Aussie Ripper Golf Club. In the final round of the Team Championship in Dallas yesterday, September 22nd, 2024, Smith and Lucas Herbert delivered clutch putts to secure the win for their team. Ripper GC's triumph capped off an impressive season that included a home victory in Adelaide, a team playoff win in Singapore, and several other podium finishes. The other two team members of Ripper GC are Matt Jones and Marc Leishman. Smith, Leishman and Jones were all part of the same Australian team that competed on the LIV tour last season. Their team name was previously Punch GC.

A Symphony of Sound at the Paris Paralympics

The Paralympic Games, a global sporting event for athletes with disabilities, have a rich history dating back to the mid-20th century. The Games originated after World War 2 at a military hospital in London, where sports competitions for paraplegic war veterans were held. Since then, the Paralympic Games have evolved significantly, expanding to include athletes with various disabilities and gaining international recognition. 

Looking back at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games were a spectacle of athletic prowess and international camaraderie. While every event offered its own unique thrill, some stood out as particularly popular among spectators and athletes alike. Here's a recap of some of the most incredible moments from the Games.

OLYMPICS SUMMARY (AFTER PARIS)

Here is a summary of some of the biggest medal winning countries at the Paris Olympics: 

	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	40	44	42	126
2	China	40	27	24	91
3	Japan	20	12	13	45
4	Australia	18	19	16	53
5	France	16	26	22	64
6	Netherlands	15	7	12	34
7	Great Britain	14	22	29	65
8	South Korea	13	9	10	32
9	Italy	12	13	15	40
10	Germany	12	13	8	33

And here is the revised aggregate medal count from all Summer Olympic Games in modern history (last 128 years): 

	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	1101	874	780	2755
2	Russia	608	515	501	1624
3	Germany	450	470	499	1419
4	China	303	226	198	727
5	Great Britain	298	340	343	981
6	France	239	277	299	815
7	Italy	229	201	228	658
8	Japan	189	162	191	542
9	Hungary	187	161	182	530
10	Australia	182	192	226	600

Below are the medal winners at Paris 2024 for the sports covered on this site, namely: 

         soccer, rugby, golf, tennis, and basketball. 

There is no baseball or squash at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, but they will both appear in LA 2028, along with flag football.  

OLYMPICS SUMMARY (BEFORE PARIS)

Here is a summary of statistics and results from the Summer Olympics over the course of history (last 128 years).  The first table is the historical medal count for all Modern Summer Olympics prior to Paris 2024:

	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	1061	830	738	2629
2	Russia	608	515	501	1624
3	Germany	438	457	491	1386
4	Great Britain	284	318	314	916
5	China	263	199	174	636
6	France	223	251	277	751
7	Italy	217	188	213	618
8	Hungary	181	154	176	511
9	Japan	169	150	178	497
10	Australia	164	173	210	547

Pre-Paris historical number of medals per million of population for the top countries (Russia includes former USSR, Germany includes former East and West):