Like lists? Time magazine has lists. Here’s a sampling:
• Top 10 embarrassing things that didn’t stop people from getting elected.
• Top 10 unfortunate political one-liners.
• A cheapskate’s gift guide to Valentine’s Day. (OK, so this is a little late. But you can see how you did.)
The Super Bowl is history. Pitchers and catchers report next week. March Madness is around the corner. The Masters will be played in two months. The NBA playoffs … OK, it’ll be May before Kobe and LeBron play any meaningful postseason games.
With that backdrop, the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games begin Friday and run through the end of February. As we brace for another round of alpine skiing and Nordic combine, and a little curling and skeleton, the question 30 years after the “Miracle on Ice” in Lake Placid is whether there are any compelling storylines to grab our attention?
Forbes points out that American snowboarder Shaun White is among the highest paid Olympic athletes, pulling in a cool $7.5 million last year. And we’re told to watch for his double McTwist 1260, and so yawn.
The networks don’t really count on us guys for ratings, anyway. Figure skating draws the female audience, except in my household, and that always provides the biggest spike in the Nielsens. Is there anything that will entice you to watch? A little luge competition, perhaps?
Michelle Obama arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark, today to lend her support to Chicago’s efforts to win the 2016 Summer Olympics. However, there are people in the Windy City who would rather see the games awarded to Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo or Madrid when the announcement is made around noon on Friday.
A poll released earlier this month by the Chicago Tribune showed residents almost evenly split, with 47 percent in favor of the bid and 45 percent against; that’s a drop from the 2-1 support the newspaper found in a February poll.
The Associated Press reports a new Web site — Chicagoansforrio.com — features the game “Match the Olympic host with its estimated budget overrun.” About 170 protesters marched outside Chicago City Hall on Tuesday night, many insisting that no matter what organizers say, the games will push people from their homes, lead to more corruption and raise taxes.
CNNMoney.com reports games could cost $3.8 billion, including a “rainy day” fund of $450 million in case of unforeseen increases. Members of a group called No Games Chicago are headed to Copenhagen to tell the IOC that Chicago is in such financial straits that it cannot afford the games and is such a hotbed of political corruption that it doesn’t deserve them.
That’s what happens when one former governor is in prison and another was impeached and is awaiting trial on corruption charges, notably for trying to sell President Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat.
Of course, Chicago also has Ozzie Guillen. Click here for his latest rant, with an oldie shown below.
