After Atalanta

How long have you been covering women's basketball?  The weirdness around Azzi Fudd being drafted to the Wings and thus rejoining her girlfriend, Paige Bueckers, is perplexing. The commentators at the draft and the press room afterwards did not mention the relationship, rather they asked Fudd about being back with her teammate.  How was this not discussed beforehand? Was Fudd prepped? It is clear Dallas was not prepped. A team rep at the press conference with Fudd, who was asked about her romantic relationship with Bueckers, shut down that questioning, leaving Fudd with an odd expression on her face. Hope folks figure this out soon--it is not as if they haven't had over a year to prepare.  Also, we should remember that these are 20-somethings.  The Coach of UConn Speaking of the past year...UConn had a stellar season before losing to South Carolina in the tournament semifinals. Will the season be remembered or will it be the loss--which was marked by atrocious behavi...

 One of my favorite podcasts, P op Culture Happy Hou r, does a weekly segment on Fridays when all panelists/hosts are asked what is making them happy this week. I find it both enjoyable to listen to and am reminded that this practice that should be more widely undertaken.  So this week, what is making me happy is Elana Meyers Taylor and her gold medal win in monobob at the Milano Cortina Olympics. This win makes her a six-time medalist (with one event to go)--and the most decorated woman bobsledder.  Sidebar: I was slightly disturbed, when looking for stories to link, to find this one from Savannah with the headline Who is Elana Meyers Taylor? Le sigh, Georgia. [Also, it is getting more and more difficult to find media outlets to link to that don't make me ill, and I still feel like I am not doing a great job at this. Still, FU CBS. No clicks for you!] This USA Today piece provides some history on her athletic career--including how she got into bobsled--and her legacy. ...

 It is not at all surprising that the IOC disqualified Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych for refusing to change his helmet. The helmet had pictures of Ukrainian athletes who have died in the conflict with Russia.  As I noted when Kirsty Coventry was made IOC president, she was not about to change the culture of the organization. And this decision--which did not have to be a decision--was in keeping with how I expect she will govern. (For clarification, the IOC issued the warning about the helmet and engaged in "negotiations" over it, but International Bobsleigh and Skeleton made the decision. Heraskevych appealed to the the Court of Arbitration for Sport which turned down his appeal.) Coventry did report that she cried over the decision. #whitewomantears The helmet broke the rules over athlete expression on the playing field, they all said. He was told he could wear a black arm band before and after his runs. But political expressions on the field of play are ...