* Spring training games across Florida won’t start until—at least—March 5 because of the lockout.
* Much has been made of the citizenship—not just the incredible talent—of 18-year-old, San Francisco-born, freestyle skiier Eileen Gu, who won Olympic gold in Beijing. Her mother is Chinese and her father is American. She chose to compete for China—although China officially does not allow dual citizenship. “When I’m in the U.S., I’m American,” says Gu, “but when I’m in China, I’m Chinese.”
We get the duality of hyphenated Americans. But, let’s be honest. Nobody would be calling Gu a “traitor” or “ungrateful”–as some, alas, have–if she were, say, half Danish or Irish. But China is now the world’s avatar for authoritarianism and genocide. It has an increasingly adversarial relationship with the United States. That’s unfortunate. As is the possibility—or likelihood—that China will try to exploit her image for propaganda purposes.
“She was recruited to compete on behalf of China, but she was not recruited to become the spokesperson for China’s toxic patriotism,” notes CCNY political scientist Ming Xia.
* The next Summer Olympics: 2024 in Paris. The next newest sport: break-dancing. Seriously. Still not yet Olympic sports: The Bristol Stomp, Hop Scotch and The Limbo Bar.
* ESPN recently estimated that “under the table” (via a bookie or off-shore gambling site) bets on NFL and college football games exceed $95 billion per year.