1. The deified U.S. women’s soccer team lost to Sweden and exited the World Cup in the round of 16, its worst performance ever. Megan Rapinoe, the ostensible leader of the squad who made the team’s image at least as political as it was athletic, was substantially responsible for the loss, shanking a penalty kick that could have secured a victory.
Good.
U.S. soccer fans shouldn’t mourn the team’s defeat because this team never represented the United States honorably or respectfully. It has “taken a knee” during the National Anthem’s playing on foreign soil; this time, its members slouched, looked down, and behaved like 10-year-old jerks before a baseball game (“Take off your cap, Billy!“) while a few of the women mouthed the words. They compete in international tournaments as our representatives, and don’t have the option of wokey, anti-American self-indulgence. When asked about potentially accepting an invitation to be honored by at the White House when Trump was in residence, Rapinoe spoke for her team, spitting out, “I’m not going to the fucking White House!”
I wonder if these women ever read “Casey at the Bat.” Casey, the home town hero, behaves like an ass as the crowd cheers. He taunts the opposing pitcher as he comes to the plate with the game on the line n the 9th inning. His hubris is palpable. And he strikes out. When Babe Ruth(the legend says) pointed to center field when he “called his shot” and immediately hit a home run off Cubs pitcher Charlie Root in the World Series, the Babe knew he would look like a fool if he popped out to third. Annoying and arrogant superstars from Ruth to Joe Namath to Dennis Rodman understood the perils of their in-your-face attitude: it only works as long as you win. The truly great athletes dare the Fates and succeed: Ted Williams hit a home run in his last at bat: no Casey he. But Bobby Riggs mocked female tennis players, and had his metaphorical head handed to him in the challenge match against Billy Jean King. As the saying goes, his mouth wrote a check that his body couldn’t cash.
So did the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team. Next time, shut up and kick, ladies. Naturally, since we now know that if you “come after” him, he’s coming after you, Donald Trump had to punch down at the women, ranting,
“The ‘shocking and totally unexpected’ loss by the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team to Sweden is fully emblematic of what is happening to the our once great Nation under Crooked Joe Biden. Many of our players were openly hostile to America — No other country behaved in such a manner, or even close. WOKE EQUALS FAILURE. Nice shot Megan, the USA is going to hell!!! MAGA.”
Is Trump getting worse, or does it just seem that way??
2. Oberlin College memorably and despicably decided to defame a local bakery and tar it as racist because the school didn’t have the integrity or courage to oppose student activists who rallied to the defense of a black shoplifter. It was a particularly ugly story, documented thoroughly by Legal Insurrection. In December of last year, Oberlin, which tried to bully and out-lawyer a small local business that had done nothing wrong and certainly nothing racist, finally paid Gibson’s Bakery $36 million, representing a judgment of approximately $32 million plus interest.
Now the college wants its insurance companies to cover the loss, and the insurance companies are balking because, as the primary insurer argues, “If it is established that the defendants knew the alleged statements were false, or if the defendants knew their alleged acts would violate plaintiffs’ rights, the Lexington policy would exclude coverage for any resultant damage.” Oberlin, having paid the damages, is now suing its insurers.
In his post on these developments, Prof. William Jacobson writes, “Have you ever rooted for insurance companies ever? There’s a first for everything.” Indeed. If any college ever deserved to pay for its warped priorities and values, it’s Oberlin.
Ethics Alarms 
Perhaps the Dallas FC Boys 15U can now all identify as women and take the USWNT to the final.
In all fairness to Casey, there is a poem that gives him a second chance.
Casey’s Revenge
There were saddened hearts in Mudville for a week or even more;
There were muttered oaths and curses — every fan in town was sore.
“Just think,” said one, “how soft it looked with Casey at the bat!
And then to think he’d go and spring a bush-league trick like that.”
All his past fame was forgotten; he was now a hopeless “shine.”
They called him “Strike-out Casey” from the mayor down the line,
And as he came to bat each day his bosom heaved a sigh,
While a look of hopeless fury shone in mighty Casey’s eye.
The lane is long, someone has said, that never turns again,
And fate, though fickle, often gives another chance to men.
And Casey smiled — his rugged face no longer wore a frown;
The pitcher who had started all the trouble came to town.
All Mudville had assembled; ten thousand fans had come
To see the twirler who had put big Casey on the bum;
And when he stepped into the box, the multitude went wild.
He doffed his cap in proud disdain — but Casey only smiled.
“Play ball!,” the umpire’s voice rang out, and then the game began;
But in that throng of thousands there was not a single fan
Who thought that Mudville had a chance; and with the setting sun
Their hopes sank low — the rival team was leading “four to one.”
The last half of the ninth came round, with no change in the score;
But when the first man up hit safe the crowd began to roar.
The din increased, the echo of ten thousand shouts was heard
When the pitcher hit the second and gave “four balls” to the third.
Three men on base — nobody out — three runs to tie the game!
A triple meant the highest niche in Mudville’s hall of fame;
But here the rally ended and the gloom was deep as night
When the fourth one “fouled to catcher” and the fifth “flew out to right.”
A dismal groan in chorus came — a scowl was on each face —
When Casey walked up, bat in hand, and slowly took his place;
His bloodshot eyes in fury gleamed; his teeth were clinched in hate;
He gave his cap a vicious hook and pounded on the plate.
But fame is fleeting as the wind, and glory fades away;
There were no wild and wooly cheers, no glad acclaim this day.
They hissed and groaned and hooted as they clamored, “Strike him out!”
But Casey gave no outward sign that he had heard this shout.
The pitcher smiled and cut one loose; across the plate it spread;
Another hiss, another groan. “Strike one!” the umpire said.
Zip! Like a shot, the second curve broke just below his knee–
“Strike two!” the umpire roared aloud; but Casey made no plea.
No roasting for the umpire now — his was an easy lot;
But here the pitcher whirled again — was that a rifle shot?
A whack! a crack! and out through space the leather pellet flew,
A blot against the distant sky, a speck against the blue.
Above the fence in center field, in rapid whirling flight,
The sphere sailed on; the blot grew dim and then was lost to sight.
Ten thousand hats were thrown in air, ten thousand threw a fit,
But no one ever found the ball that mighty Casey hit!
Oh, somewhere in this favored land dark clouds may hide the sun.
And some where bands no longer play and children have no fun;
And somewhere over blighted lives there hangs a heavy pall;
But Mudville hearts are happy now — for Casey hit the ball!
Ah, I know that poem! Good fetch.
Arf! Arf! 😀 🐶
2. Health Insurance companies don’t pay out if you injure yourself due to your own malfeasance, such as driving while intoxicated or committing a crime. Oberlin’s insurers shouldn’t be required to pay up because the school itself did the equivalent of a drunken swan dive into the deep end of the pool.
Can you explain to me how Trump’s comment is different than one taking glee at the loss because of their behaviors. Is any critique by Trump “punching down”? I am truly confused at the punching down point. Is this a differential power issue or because he is highly influential?
Yes, of course. He’s supposed to be a statesman and a leader. Criticizing a women’s soccer team like that is supposed to be beneath him….but then, well, nothing is.
Presidents don’t go, “Nyah, nyah,nyah!” Or didn’t used to….
I did not see it as an Nyah nyah. This is where I have to say ( to use your phrase) “stop making me have to defend Trump.”
My understanding of his comment was that the team’s behavior was what is wrong with so much in America. I don’t think he takes any comfort in the US losing. In fact I believes he is lamenting that this group led by a snobbish and arrogant fool of a person is representing us on the world stage.
That was my takeaway. I wonder who else has the ability to shine a bright spotlight on Rabinoe’s arrogance and pettiness . I don’t hear of any other notable figures giving her the requisite dressing down she rightly deserves. Rabinoe’s politics need to remain off the field while not wearing the uniform.
Rapinoe has the entire government-media-academic establishment behind her. Trump has Trump and his supporters. It is hardly ‘punching down’. Rabinoe can get airtime to spout her anti-American ideology on any major network much easier than Trump can. Trump is just saying what we all were thinking. It is why he is popular. His points are:
(1) The media hyped them as favorites, lying to you again.
(2) They took a knee and insulted the US on foreign soil.
(3) Tied this to the wider ‘woke’ movement that has been so successful in making our cities safe and clean and making our economy fantastic.
He just says them the way Trump does. He speaks to the average American, not the elites, which is why they are trying to destroy him.
But Michael, this is why we have a republic, not a pure democracy. Our Presidents are supposed to behave and speak better, more carefully and more maturely than “the average American,” who has an IQ of 97 and thinks Adam Sandler is hilarious. That’s why they are role models, a Presidential and leadership function that Trump has abdicated completely. And it’s not an unimportant one.
I doubt that even 20% of average American have ever heard of Rapinoe. She a a big, obnoxious fish in a tiny pond. Kaepernick was beneath Trump; Rapinoe is too.
Rapinoe’s behavior is but one of the thousands of cuts inflicted on western – specifically American culture. At some point someone has to take the knives away from those wielding them. We are at the point that people look to Trump because other leaders were playing Chamberlain and trying to appease. Had our leaders shown some backbone and stood up to those trying to tear down the United States instead of engaging in point voting Trump would have never gained traction
I’m curious if there is such a thing as macroethics versus microethics. The ethics of individuals versus the the ethics of large groups. I feel like there is this tipping point where the ethics of large groups starts eroding the efficacy of individual ethics. From an ethical standpoint, an individual should always behave ethically. From a practical standpoint, a small number of individuals acting ethically within the larger system starts to look counterproductive because it enables the larger society to pretend like the society hasn’t completely lost its marbles. If people are no longer motivated to act ethically because they are consistently punished by the larger group for doing so, a couple of outliers just enables normalcy bias.
Tragedy of the Commons meets Prisoner’s Dilemma.
A couple of comments:
1) I highly doubt the average American has IQ of 97, and we have the US education system and teachers’ unions, thus Dems and lefties, to thank for that; either IQ is yet another inflationary victim of Dems/lefties, or this is based on selective testing;
2) regarding Trump, while I agree with you in principle that a person who was POTUS, and who is running again, should behave better, I think the time we can expect that has come and gone. The Dems/lefties have shown that respect no one (see how they treated Romney and McCain, until they were no longer a threat); plus, the Obamas are just as petty, vicious, and divisive in their commentary on everything since leaving the WH (and while they were there). Obama destroyed many norms and Trump is a result of that—he’s nothing but a big huge middle finger to the left, and pretty good at it
“Criticizing a women’s soccer team like that…” but equality and equity. If he had criticised them less harshly a disrespectful USMNT it would have been sexistly belittling to their greatness, no ?
Michael West – well played.
For my part, I’m delighted by the idea that Rapinoe and Company might just have had a bit of an epiphany. As a hockey fan, I’m bemused by the fact that the top NBA players make four or five times what the top NHL players make, and hockey is a far faster and more difficult game. And, arguably, more physically punishing than the NFL – and despite that, only baseball players (also very well paid at the top end) play more games per season and top NHL players can last as much as twenty years in the league.
Hey, gals – you know why you don’t make squat? Nobody wants to watch you. Especially now.
I think clown-haired Megan and company are way beyond having an epiphany. They have also essentially moved beyond being athletes first. They are activists, plain and simple. They have no more business representing the United States on the soccer field than a bunch of guys from Ghana or New Zealand. You can’t represent a cause that you hate well, and they don’t just disagree with this country, they hate it. That is okay, no one is going to compel allegiance from someone who does not want to give it, but it is not okay to act that way while wearing the uniform of the nation you hate. I say it’s time to recruit an entirely new team, from women who actually love this country and will do their best effort for it rather than use the game of soccer as a platform for hatred and wokeism.
As for Oberlin college, well, the place has always been hyper liberal. At this point, they overreached, and it cost them. In fact it cost them dearly. Insurance is designed to cover when things go wrong through no fault of one’s own. There is, of course, professional malpractice insurance, designed to ensure against errors and omissions, but even that is designed to ensure against mistakes, not intentional acts. Your insurance will cover you if you accidentally hit someone with your car, it will not cover you if you go up to someone and punch his lights out. There is no way insurance should cover this blindly stupid behavior on the part of Oberlin college. Let them explain to the board of trustees and to the families and students who will now have their tuition raised because putting a neighboring business out of business was apparently more important than educating students.
Oberlin’s the only college that rejected me outright, and it was supposed to be my “safety school.” Loved the campus. I’m not bitter…
“Oberlin’s the only college that rejected me outright”
That go in the Moral Luck column…?
You wouldn’t have been happy there.
Could anyone top the breathtakingly arrogant Megan Rapinoe and Womens’ Soccer’s epic choke on a galactic stage?
ESPN: Hold_Our_Beer!
ESPN Bashed For Megan Rapinoe Tribute After World Cup Exit
I think the focus on Rapinoe misplaced. Soccer is a team effort and only when you have a fully inept team, save one really good player, can you blame outcome on one player. Yes, Rapinoe shanked the tie-breaker kick, but through their brief appearance in the tournament, she pretty much rode the bench. The players on the field are responsible for the outcome of the games. Reports on the games, I did not watch any, described lackluster overall performance. Might it be considered that had they taken seriously the idea that the represented the entire nation, warts and all, and played hard for the sake of the people at home following the games, instead of what they seem to have done, and said by others up thread: used the games to push their flawed political agenda, things might have been different. If they had played as well as they claimed to be, there would have been no “kick-off” (not sure what that is actually called) necessary; they could have won outright.
For the record, I was not the slightest bit disappointed by their elimination.
There was so much action on the field during the 2 hour battle of athletes! Up and down the field the competitors slogged. Bold turn-arounds in fortune! Nail biting tension as plans came to fruition and others were dashed against the solid defense! Offense! Offense! Offense! Defense! Passing! Shooting! I’ve never seen such a display of action!
What was the score?
1-0
The tie breaker shoot outs are referred to as “penalties,” which is short for “penalty kicks,” i.e., a kick from the spot in front of the goal where only the goalie is allowed to defend. Using penalties to decide tournament games (where a winner has to be determined) is perhaps the largest weakness of soccer. So fluky. Regular season games end in draws, as in ice hockey and points are given. Three points to a winner, none to a loser and a point to each team in the event of a tie. The team with the most points at the end of the season wins the championship.
Other Bill: ties are a thing of the past in hockey. If after three periods the game is tied, the game goes into a five-minute overtime period with three-on-three (plus goalies) play. If still tied after OT, they use a shootout series much like soccer.
That’s regular season, by the way. In the playoffs, they play as many full-length 20-minute overtime periods as it takes for one team to score.
Did not know that. Thanks AIM. Not sure why they felt the need to eliminate ties. I’ve never been able to watch hockey. I loved it when they lit up the puck on telecasts, but the purists hated it. It is fast and the skating is tremendous (I grew up in Miami, Florida and have never been much on winter sports) but it’s just way too random for my taste. I’ve come to enjoy EPL soccer, but it’s pretty darned random as well.
I HATED the lit puck.
There are plenty of folks who have trouble watching the game, as you describe. Part of the problem, I think, is that the puck is so small it can be hard to see it – an issue that’s been partially solved, IMO, by the advent of large-screen high-definition televisions. Then again, I used to watch hockey games on a 12″ black-and-white TV getting a UHF signal through a pair of foil-draped rabbit ears! The puck was invisible and the only way you could figure out what was happening was by where the players were.
If one watches the game long enough, it’s not at all hard to figure out what’s happening and why. Hockey has its structure, certainly, but it’s also an incredibly spontaneous game. The speed with which it’s played is astonishing – the great players don’t think about “what this play is supposed to look like” the way football or baseball players do. Though there are a handful of set plays available for each team, and certainly strategy and tactics that are called from the bench, the actual play tends to be highly improvisational. It needs to be, because that puck can go just about anywhere and players need to adjust on the fly as it does.
To an extent, a similar improvisational quality can be seen in basketball and football, as players know their assigned zones and react to that happening with it. But not at the speeds of hockey. Basketball, especially, I find intensely boring, even though the top players are incredibly skilled at what they do.
And, with apologies to Jack and his passion for baseball, that game just has too languid a pace to keep me interested. Unless I’m in Fenway Park, where the experience of being in Fenway Park itself almost obviates whatever happens on the field.
HERETIC!!! HERETIC!!!
snort.
Oberlin’s endowment is over a billion dollars. https://oberlinreview.org/23201/news/college-endowment-surpasses-1-billion/ Amazing. I’m sure the administrators consider themselves bulletproof having that much of other people’s money at hand.
Who gives money to Oberlin?
I watched the replay of the singing of the National Anthems in the match between the USA and Sweden. In the Swedish National Anthem I could see the lips moving in all eleven players. For the USA I saw only five player’s lips moving. The other six players looked like they did not want any part of their National Anthem.
When your National Anthem is playing you have a choice; if you can sing then sing, if you sound like Roseanne Barr then mouth the words so it looks like you want to be there but keep the volume down very low so as not to ruin it for anyone within earshot.
The USA played very poorly in the group stage and did not look like a team that could defend their title at all. But in the match against Sweden they played much better and were easily the better team on the day. The only thing that kept them from scoring was the spectacular goalkeeping performance of the Swedish goalkeeper Zećira Mušović, easily the best goalkeeping performance of the tournament so far.
And Megan Rapinoe smiling after missing in the penalty shooting; disgusting!
She said she was amused by the irony of her making such a poor shot in her final moment with the team. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt on that as one who has occasionally been amused at how spectacularly I have fallen flat on my face…
Okay, but it still looks bad.
Like a pimple on the face of Medusa!!!
I’ll give her a pass on that willingly. A wry smile is perfectly acceptable in the event of a catastrophic failure. There’s no significance to her smile at all. Anyone who’s offended by that has never done anything competitive.
I was just listening to a podcast including someone who has done sports broadcasting. Basically what he said was that it really, really takes a lot of effort for American fans to turn against a US National team. But these women accomplished that, turning American sports fans against them.
I can recall a lot of excitement back about 10 or so years ago around both the men’s and women’s soccer teams entering the World Cup competition. But that was before the women’s team decided it was more important to be woke than to be Americans.