Sports Samplers
Consider this the 2026 launch and the reemergence of Dad’s Desk Drawer. After a bumpy 2025 and sporadic posts with no threads running through them. I’d like to jump back in with a nod to the many Super Bowl buffets that were held over this past weekend. Yes, though the main meal left a sour taste in most New Englanders mouths; the food and the party is always a winner. In dedication to the buffet, I give you a smorgasbord of sports thoughts.
This platform has always been about one man’s opinion. These are some random ramblings during a long, cold Winter.
The Olympics are here!! I for one love them, give me a red, white and blue anything and I’m all in. Speed Skating, Ski Jumping, Curling and Luge. I’ll take them all, I think it’s amazing to think of the amount of hours that these athletes dedicate to get to this point, kudos to all of them. By the way, if you’re not a ski fan; you may not realize that the greatest women’s skier of all time is an American, Michaela Shiffrin who is part of these games. She has won more races than any male or female skier in history. 110 victories in her career with the next most 86 and that skier retired 35 years ago, a legend in our midst…
I got caught up last week watching the semi finals and finals of the Australian Tennis Open; one of the 4 majors of their season. Am I a big tennis fan? Not really. Am I a fan of great matches and rivalries? You bet. Carlos Alcaraz has 7 Major victories at the age of 22 years old. He is creating the latest in great rivalries with Jannik Sinner a nice Italian chap. This young man may very well end up being the greatest tennis player ever. I think that the elite tennis players of the world just may be the best conditioned athletes of all… check out a final someday in a major and tell me it was boring…
I am a closet fan of amateur wrestling…yes… I follow the NCAA wrestling season. Here is a fact and tidbit….in the wrestling world they have meets not games as in most team sports. Meets are typically conducted with at least 3 different schools and points are scored throughout the individual matches leading to a team score. The Penn State wrestling team has not lost a meet since 2020; they have won an NCAA record 85 consecutive meets and 6 straight NCAA Championships. They do not look to be close to losing again soon!! I love watching greatness!!
Lastly, I’d like to jump on a topic I’ve talked about before, Scottie Scheffler. I’m not sure if the casual fan of golf realizes when they tune in on occasion to a golf tournament on the tube that winning is not as easy as Mr. Scheffler makes it look. I’m starting to feel a Tiger vibe in the viewing golf world. It’s not necessarily who’s winning, its where’s that guy Scheffler?? Now I am very well aware that the 2 men couldn’t be any different. Scottie’s is the wholesome family guy and Tiger was ahhh not…
Tiger’s bravado was famous and Scottie give off a little aw shucks, Tiger was power and Scottie is precision. Having said all that, he is in the midst of the same type of heater that Tiger was on back in the early 2000s. He’s already won once in 2026 and who knows what lies ahead but I for one will be not only do some scoreboard watching but I’ll keep an eye out for Scottie at all times. Twenty wins over the past 4 years with 4 Majors and he hasn’t turned 30 yet….just another legend among us.
So much to watch and so little time…