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):

Simultaneous sporting success for Spain

This past Sunday, July 14th, 2024, has to go down as one of the most incredible single day achievements by a nation in modern sports history. Spanish sportsmen and sportswomen won four major titles that day across four different sports.  In my previous article I wrote about the young Spanish tennis prodigy, Carol Alcaraz, winning Wimbledon for the second time.  Little could he have known that after his victory in London, later that same day, his countrymen would go on to win the European Championship soccer tournament versus England, then the LIV Golf tournament in Spain later that afternoon. And then that evening, the Spanish sailing team won the San Francisco Grand Finale and thereby were crowned SailGP Champions for the season. A remarkable sequence of events.

Spanish sensation Alcaraz beats Djokovic at Wimbledon for the 2nd year in a row

                  

Today Carlos Alcaraz dominated Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon Men's Singles final, winning 6-2, 6-2, 7-6. Alcaraz's powerful serve and improved net play overwhelmed Djokovic, who was limited by recent knee surgery. This victory marks Alcaraz's second Wimbledon title and his fourth Grand Slam overall. He joins an elite group of players to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year. He is also the youngest ever to achieve the "Surface Slam" by winning Grand Slams on all three major court surfaces - clay, grass, and hard court. For Djokovic, this loss marks his first straight-sets defeat at Wimbledon since 2013.

A Tour de France legend in the making

Slovenian cycling prodigy Tadej Pogačar is currently leading the Tour de France. He has taken the sport of cycling by storm, winning the Tour de France in both 2020 and 2021, he achieved the incredible feat of claiming all three jerseys (yellow, polka-dot for mountains, and white for young rider) each time, a rarity not seen in decades. 

First-time Floridians win Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, boasts a rich history dating back to 1892. Donated by Lord Stanley of Preston, the trophy was originally awarded to Canada's top amateur team. Over time, it transitioned to professional leagues, becoming the NHL's championship prize in 1926. Witnessing dramatic comebacks, heartbreaking defeats, and legendary performances, the Stanley Cup remains a coveted symbol of hockey excellence.  The 2024 winners were decided this week.

The Boston Celtics win an unprecedented 18th NBA Championship title

The NBA professional basketball league in the US represents one of the most exciting and evenly balanced sporting competitions on earth.  There is no way one can predict the winners at the start of a season. This league showcases sporting competition at its finest. In the last 12 years, 9 different teams have won the Championships.  This week it was the turn of the Boston Celtics, but it is not their first time. They have, in fact, won more titles than any other team.  Let's look at this win in the context of history shall we.

A breakdown of who'll qualify for the Champions Cup rugby

Today, Saturday May 25th, 2024, saw Leinster's woes continue as French side Toulouse emerged victorious in a thrilling extra-time battle in the 2023-24 Investec Champions Cup Finals. This 31-22 victory marks a record-extending sixth European title for the French giants, leaving their Irish counterparts heartbroken for the third year running.

Manchester dominance of English Football continues

Manchester, a city in the north of England, has a proud football (soccer) tradition. There are two professional teams based in the city. Manchester United Football Club is commonly referred to as Man United, or just United.  United's nickname is the Red Devils and they were founded in 1878.  In 1880, Manchester City Football Club was founded.  They are referred to as Man City, or just City.  I've written about these two teams before, for good reason.  Last year Man City won the "continental treble" - the English Premier League, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League final.  The only other English team to have achieved that are their local rivals, Man United.

Female athlete inks groundbreaking NIL Deal

Livvy Dunne, a 21-year old gymnast from New Jersey, is now by far the highest paid female collegiate athlete in the US.  She just signed a deal with Passes (www.passes.com), a small internet publishing company based in Miami and LA.  This content creation company offers a platform that allows for creators to engage with their audiences via subscription, paid DMs, 1-1 calls, and livestream, etc. As recently as one month ago the company raised $40 million in a Series A funding round, enabling them to go after athletes like Dunne with multi-million-dollar deals.  

The best club rugby in the world gets complicated

A big weekend of global sports is upon us. 

Singapore hosts the Rugby Sevens and LIV Golf. F1 comes to Miami.  SailGP comes to Bermuda. There are NSL events in Rhode Island and Nashville.  The Investec Champions Cup rugby semifinals happen in Ireland and in France.  Finally, the Challenger Cup semifinals take place too on Saturday.  This is the second division of European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR).  

The EPCR Challenger Cup semis are both being contested in England.  The matchups are the Sharks (Durban, South Africa) vs Clermont (Central France) and Gloucester (west of England) vs Benetton (outside Venice, Italy).  After the finals are played on May 24th one of these four teams will emerge victorious and thereby qualify for the Investec Champions Cup next season, the "Champions League" of European rugby, and the strongest club rugby competition in the world.

But how does it all work, you may wonder?

Your chance to own a professional sports team

If I told you there was a new professional sports league in the US where the teams were named the Tornadoes, the Colts, the Grizzlies, the Crushers, the Knights, and the Dragons, what sport would you think of?  The US big four sports certainly come to mind.  And the new LIV Golf tour has team names like that.  Pickleball and Padel are growing fast, but they are not really fierce enough to warrant names like that, are they?  So, what sport could it be, maybe they are rugby team names. 

A Ryder Cup of Squash?

The view greeting you when you fly in to Bermuda

(Author's note:  First published in November 2012)

Every November for the last five years, I have attended the Bermuda Squash Challenge. This year there were 64 amateur squash players from various countries around the world in attendance. The nations represented were the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, South Africa and Bermuda of course. It is never very hard for those that travel to enjoy everything the island has to offer. There is world class golf, sailing, snorkeling and diving; and at the end of one of these long hard days in the sun one can enjoy a nice refreshing 'dark and stormy' or two, or more.

LIV looms large as the Masters tees off in Augusta

Yesterday at Augusta National Jon Rahm hosted the Masters Champions Dinner, an annual event for all the prior winners of the golf tournament. The golf itself kicks off today at 10.30am EST after a rain delayed start. It promises high drama both on and off the course. While 13 LIV Golf players are set to tee off among the 88-man field, their participation remains a contentious issue within the sport.

SailGP ignites NZ with record crowds, crashes and a dolphin delay

The SailGP season is exciting and complicated.  The most recent leg in Christchurch, New Zealand, saw the Black Foils (the home team) win and take the top spot on the leaderboard from Australia.  The US team lies 6th after 9 events. There are only 4 more events this season, all 4 of which are in the North America region, so at least one is a drive or short flight from you if you are based in the US or Canada.   

A Humble Southern Hemisphere Hero #2, Siya Kolisi

"Rise: A Siya Kolisi Story" is a powerful and inspiring documentary that chronicles the journey of Siya Kolisi, the first Black captain of the South African national rugby union team, the Springboks. The film delves into Kolisi's remarkable rise from poverty and adversity to become a national hero, leading the Springboks to a historic victory in the 2019 Rugby World Cup. He also led the team to victory in the subsequent Rugby World Cup last year in 2023.  He is one of only two captains to have achieved this in the history of the sport of rugby. 

Liverpool's Quadruple Hopes Dashed by Man U

The FA Cup, also known as the Emirates FA Cup due to sponsorship, is a storied knockout tournament in England.  It's the oldest national football competition in the world, dating back to 1871.  

The FA Cup is unique and distinct from the Premier League itself in that it involves professional teams from both the Premier League and English Football League, but also some semi-professional clubs. That means hundreds of teams vying for glory!