67 minute read
Mar
year, more than an average Manhattan librarian, but Benoit countered that a library director in New York City would routinely make $500,000.
Benoit concluded the letter by asking the board to “publicly admonish Councilperson Tim Powers for his deliberately misleading statements on social media.”
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The board did not admonish Powers during the meeting.
After the meeting, Benoit said Powers’ issues with the library date back to a book he wrote not being placed in the library.
“Mr. Powers wrote a book and he felt slighted that they didn’t include it,” she said. “They had a council opinion that the book was full of inflammatory stuff and so he harbored a grudge against the library the entire time. To the point that he hired an attorney that nobody knew about to try to foster that vendetta. The library operates above board, exactly the way it’s supposed to.”
Powers denied that his book, “Chronicles in History: Windows into the Future,” had anything to do with his interest in the library’s funding.
“That’s got nothing to do with it,” he said on Tuesday. “They’ve got a copy of it in the library.”
A search of the Cairo Public Library’s catalog did not reveal Powers’ book in the library’s system.
During the meeting, resident Susan True questioned the board on whether town money was spent on lawyers’ fees pursuing the library matter.
“Was $2,400 spent out of the town’s coffers?” she said.
Watts said town money was paid to labor attorney Elayne Gold but could not specify the amount. When True asked if the entire board had voted on the expenditure, Watts said no.
“That money was authorized by (then-Supervisor) John Coyne,” Powers said. “I asked him and he told me that I could move forward.”
Coyne declined comment on the matter Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Powers said the debate over the library’s financing remains an open issue.
“It’s not over because there’s still an issue with the way the library is funded,” he said. “Essentially, the way that they’re operating right now is that they’re operating independently from the town, but they’re still submitting a budget to the town to get their big check. They’re getting a big donation from the town every year for operating expenses and we have no control of where that money is going or how it’s being used. The town board has no control over salary setting, hiring, firing, nothing.”
For his part, Watts said the matter is closed.
“To me it’s done,” he said following the meeting. “We’re not spending any more money to fight the library. Not under my watch.”
Watts, who fought to keep the library’s funding static during the fall budget season, said he has come to realize the library’s outsize influence in the community.
“At first I was not a big fan of the library, but then I started to speak to people in the community and I found out that people liked it,” Watts said. “I had customers who come up from Florida tell me that it’s the most beautiful library that they’ve seen. I guess I needed to get educated a little bit to realize how good it really was. I support the library 100%.”
At one point during Monday’s meeting, Watts attempted to cool the tension in the room, gesturing that he wanted people in the town to stop shaking their fists at each other and that they should shake hands instead. “I want to stop the fighting in these town meetings,” he said.
Powers said he wants to see the library come back under the town’s auspices and act as a town department or receive money from the state education department instead of being funded by the town.
Powers said that he has been requesting a group meeting between the town board, the library board and the MidHudson Library System to discuss the library’s funding, but said that his request has fallen on deaf ears.
Benoit defended the library’s staff and added that the library was being run exactly as it should be.
“Our director is beyond reproach,” she said after the meeting. “Her commitment to the library is amazing. She was very upset to have a public attack like that on Facebook. How do you think it’s OK to not let us have a rebuttal? People have a right to know what the truth is.”
Center
Supervisor Jason Watts said of the project. “It would be a community center where t h e y c o u l d d o M e a l s o n Wheels and the seniors can come in and we’ll put a TV up and have some games there that they can do. We’ve talked about putting some gardens outside for people to work with.”
Watts said he wanted to employ the town’s building and grounds crew to eventually work on renovating the site on rainy days when they can’t work outdoors.
“ T h e c o u n t y s a i d t h e y would give us a dumpster,” he said. “So I’m going to try to do it with whatever money we’ve got and hopefully moving forward Barton & Loguidice can get us a grant. If they could get us a grant, they said it could be over $1 million. That would put us right where we need to be to start really moving forward. A kitchen is going to be $70,000 to $80,000. Just by ourselves, we might be able to afford to do the community part with the help of the county. The ambulance part might have to wait, because we definitely don’t have the money for that. But we do have to do something.”
Councilman Tim Powers does not have a timeline for when the community center could be completed.
“We really don’t. It depends on how fast the grant money comes in and how fast we can get the ball rolling on it,” he said. “We’re at the very beginning. We haven’t done anything beyond purchasing the building at this point.”
During Monday’s meeting, a public hearing was set for the board’s meeting on March 7 for a local law that would establish alternate side parking on Main Street in the town.
With cars currently parked on both sides of Main Street, Watts said it was difficult for the town’s snowplows to clear the main thoroughfare.
“It’s very hard for the plow trucks today to come down and swing one way then the other and to miss all of the cars,” he said. “It’s a nightmare. You can never get it clean. It never looks good. There’s always a clump of snow somewhere.”
The town is tasked with cleaning the sidewalks on the county-owned road.
Watts said the parking issue has been brewing since he first joined the town board four years ago.
“I’m putting forth a public hearing to make it an actual law,” he said after Monday’s meeting. “We’re going to try to mirror Catskill’s law. So if anybody moves from Catskill to Cairo they’ll already know the routine. It has to get easier for the businesses with more people coming into the county.”
Challenge
The shelter is open Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., and is closed Sundays.
Among the many pets available for adoption are 12 Italian greyhound mixes, Perez said.
The dogs were living in a house in Canaan that had no heat when the shelter was called for help by the owner, Perez said.
“The owner realized they were in over their head and surrendered them all over to us.” Perez said. “These little ones are happy, healthy and ready to snuggle up,” Perez said.
Also available for adoption is Peaches, the 2-year-old Australian Cattle Dog/Mix that was nearly killed by her owner in Cairo in the spring of 2021. The dog was rescued, and after several surgeries, made a full recovery.
A list of all available pets for adoption and photos can be found on Humane Society website at: cghs.org, Perez said.
To make a donation, call the shelter at (518) 828-6044, or visit cghs.org.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Baby Blu, a 6-year-old Domestic Longhair/Mix, is available for adoption at Columbia-Greene Humane Society.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Twelve Italian greyhound mixes that were recently surrendered are available for adoption at the Columbia-Greene Humane Society.
Sports & COLUMBIA-GREENE MEDIA Classifieds
Tim Martin, Sports Editor: 1-518-828-1616 ext. 2538 / sports@registerstar.com or tmartin@registerstar.com
SECTION B
Wednesday, February 9, 2022 B1
LOCAL ROUNDUP: ICC, Catskill to play for Patroon volleyball title
Columbia-Greene Media
VALATIE — Ichabod Crane will play Catskill for the Patroon Conference boys volleyball championship after defeating Cobleskill-Richmondville, 3-0, in Monday’s semifinal.
The Riders and Cats will meet at Taconic Hills on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Ichabod Crane (14-1) won Monday’s match by scores of 25-21, 27-25 and 25-17.
For ICC: Erik Holmberg 30 assists, 3 kills, 1 ace; Paul Zietsman 17 kills, 1 block, 1 assist, 1 ace; Topher Pelesz 10 kills; Luke Desmonie 9 kills; Caden Tiernan 4 kills.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
PATROON
Hudson 38,
Taconic Hills 27
CRARYVILLE — Hudson overcame a two-point halftime deficit by outscoring Taconic Hills 24-11 over the final two quarters to earn a 38-27 Patroon Conference girls basketball victory on Monday.
Taconic Hills led 8-7 after one quarter and 16-14 at halftime, but Hudson pulled ahead 26-21 by the end of the third qarter, then wrapped up the victory with a 12-6 scoring edge in the final stanza.
Amaya Moore led Hudson with nine points. Malia Jackson and Gabby Logue both had eight. Jackson also pulled down 18 rebounds.
Sydney Cooper’s seven points topped Taconic Hills.
HUDSON (38): Moore 4-1-9, Jepsen 1-1-4, Jackson 2-4-8, Johnson 2-2-6, Logue 3-0-8, Harp 0-1-1, Box 1-0-2. Totals 13-9-38. 3-pointers: Logue 2, Jepsen.
TACONIC HILLS (27): Bosko 1-1-3, Proper 1-2-4, Atwood 1-0-2, Skabowski 2-0-4, Burger 2-0-4, Schrader 1-1-3, Cooper 2-3-7. Totals 10-7-27.
Greenville 56,
Coxsackie-Athens 37
GREENVILLE — Emily Smith, Bryn Fitzmaurice and Josie O’Hare each had 13 points to spark Greenville to a 56-37 victory over Coxsackie-Athens in Monday’s Patroon Conference girls basketball game.
Greenville led 13-10 after one quarter, 39-16 at halftime and 47-24 after three.
B a i l e i g h B r i s k i l e d Coxsackie-Athens with 16 points. Riley Sitcer had eight.
C O X S A C K I E - A T H E N S (37): Luver 2-1-5, Squier 0-1-1, Sitcer 3-1-8, Briski 7-3-17, Bishop 3-0-6. Totals 15-6-37. 3-pointers: Sitcer.
G R E E N V I L L E ( 5 7 ) : Smith 6-1-13, Fitzmaurice 5-0-13, A. O’Hare 3-1-7, J. O’Hare 5-3-13, Crawley 4-08, Silk 1-0-3. Totals 24-5-57. 3-pointers: Fitzmaurice 3, Silk.
BOYS BASKETBALL
PATROON
Greenville 67,
Rensselaer 33
RENSSELAER — Trey Smith drained seven 3-pointers to lead Greenville to a 67-33 victory over Rensselaer in Monday’ Patroon Conference boys basketball game.
Smith finished with 26 points for Greenville, which built a 40-9 lead by halftime. Cody Thmpson added 10 points and Nick West had nine.
Greenville hosts Catskill on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
BOYS BASKETBALL: Bluehawks cruise to Senior Night win over Titans
ZOEY CATLIN PHOTO Hudson’s Christian Burgos (12) looks to pass during Monday’s Patroon Conference boys basketball game against Taconic Hills at Hudson High School.
Matt Fortunato
Columbia-Greene Media
HUDSON — The Hudson Bluehawks notched a home victory on Senior Night Monday, defeating the Taconic Hills Titans 73-50, in Patroon Conference boys basketball action.
Isaiah Maines led all players with 18 points for Hudson, as teammates Jordan Cunningham, Keith Robinson, and Dezmond Wallace were all in double figures as well.
Zach Rowe led the offense for the Titans with 12 points; Neil Howard III and Charlie Beck contributed 11 and 9, respectively.
Wallace opened the game with a three point shot for the Bluehawks, right over the Titans defender Howard III.
Both teams missed a few shots in the beginning of the contest and coughed up multiple turnovers. Maines got a steal and double clutched on a layup that went in for Hudson to take a 6-0 lead early.
The Bluehawks’ passing strategy worked very well at breaking down the Titans’ defense throughout the game and they made extra passes to find the open shooter on multiple occasions. Hudson went Maines-to-Cunningham-to-Wallace in the paint for a wide open layup.
Wallace returned the favor on the next offensive play for Hudson, finding Cunningham for an open two point shot himself. Rowe made a nice floater for Taconic Hills to cut the lead to 10-9, banking the shot in off the glass. However Isaiah Maines knocked down two three pointers to close out the first quarter and Hudson led, 18-12.
After missing a few shots from beyond the arc in the first, Cunningham took one from the right wing this time
See BLUEHAWKS B6
ZOEY CATLIN PHOTO Hudson’s Keith Robinson drives against Taconic Hills’ Troy Super (11) during Monday’s Patroon Conference boys basketball game at Hudson High School.
GEORGE WALKER IV/USA TODAY Team United States defender Savannah Harmon (15) and Team Canada forward Emily Clark (26) fight for the puck in the third period during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at Wukesong Sports Centre on Tuesday.
UNTIL THEY MEET AGAIN: Canada outduels U.S. in rivalry’s latest women’s hockey classic
Roman Stubbs
The Washington Post
BEIJING — A silent Wukesong Sports Centre had turned into a crucible a few minutes after noon Tuesday, and by the 37th minute, the relentless, violent sounds of the hand-to-hand combat between the United States and Canada women’s hockey teams had not stopped. They grunted and howled and banged their sticks at each other as they went stride for stride on a heated power play, both teams desperate to not surrender an inch on an afternoon that reminded everyone why their rivalry is one of the best in sports.
But give an inch to MariePhilip Poulin and she will make you pay, just as she has made generations of U.S. players pay at the Olympics. It didn’t matter that the Americans had a manadvantage at that point and were pressing to tie the game with another assault on the net: Canada’s captain came up with a steal near the blue line and blew past two U.S. defenders on her flanks, showing the top-end speed that has made the 30-year-old one of the world’s best players for the more than a decade.
By the time she reached the net on the shorthanded breakaway, Poulin had been slashed and earned a penalty shot. A few moments later, Poulin lasered the puck past U.S. goalie Maddie Rooney to give her team a rare two-goal cushion in this rivalry, lifting Canada to a 4-2 win in a preliminary round game many expect to stand as a preview of the gold medal game Feb. 17.
If that’s the case, buckle up, because Tuesday’s contest was a worthy addition to the pantheon of thrilling games these two teams have played over the
Mets’ Scherzer says players ‘ready to go’ whenever new agreement with MLB is made
Matthew Roberson
New York Daily News
Max Scherzer, like so many others who play, watch, or care about Major League Baseball, is ready to go.
Scherzer expounded on this idea in an interview with The Athletic, posted on Monday. As a member of the Players Association’s executive subcommittee, the new Mets’ pitcher is itching to get started but also is as familiar as anyone with the reasons why things are being held up.
“The business will take care of itself,” Scherzer said in the interview. “Right now, seeing how the business of the game has transpired, us as players, we recognize what we’re trying to do here to make the game itself better. Whatever happens, happens. But we’re ready to go whenever we do come to an agreement.”
In the ongoing struggle between the players and the league’s owners, the latter has done nothing to make anyone believe that the lockout is going to end soon. Other than trying to get the feds involved, the MLB side of the negotiating table has basically done nothing, and now they’re claiming to be out of ideas.
On Friday, after the players’ side rejected the idea of federal mediation, Scherzer tweeted, “We want a system where threshold and penalties don’t function as caps, allows younger players to realize more of their market value, makes service time manipulation a thing of the past, and eliminate tanking as a winning strategy.”
He and the players have been clear and concise about their demands. It’s the suits who don’t want to bargain in good faith. Part of the players’ statement from the federal mediator fallout urged the league to stop ducking them and actually sit down for a face-to-face meeting instead of outsourcing things to an unnecessary
Eastern Conference Atlantic W L Pct GB Philadelphia 32 21 .604 — Toronto 29 23 .558 2.5 Brooklyn 29 24 .547 3.0 Boston 30 25 .545 3.0 New York 24 29 .453 8.0 Central W L Pct GB Milwaukee 34 21 .618 — Chicago 33 21 .611 .5 Cleveland 33 21 .611 .5 Indiana 19 36 .345 15.0 Detroit 12 41 .226 21.0 Southeast W L Pct GB Miami 35 20 .636 — Charlotte 28 27 .509 7.0 Atlanta 25 28 .472 9.0 Washington 24 29 .453 10.0 Orlando 12 43 .218 23.0 Western Conference Northwest W L Pct GB Utah 32 21 .604 — Denver 29 24 .547 3.0 Minnesota 28 25 .528 4.0 Portland 21 33 .389 11.5 Oklahoma City 17 36 .321 15.0 Pacific W L Pct GB Phoenix 43 10 .811 — Golden State 41 13 .759 2.5 L.A. Clippers 27 28 .491 17.0 L.A. Lakers 26 28 .481 17.5 Sacramento 20 35 .364 24.0 Southwest W L Pct GB Memphis 37 18 .673 — Dallas 31 23 .574 5.5 New Orleans 21 32 .396 15.0 San Antonio 20 34 .370 16.5 Houston 15 38 .283 21.0 Sunday’s games Philadelphia 119, Chicago 108 Minnesota 118, Detroit 105 Denver 124, Brooklyn 104 Cleveland 98, Indiana 85 Boston 116, Orlando 83 Dallas 103, Atlanta 94 New Orleans 120, Houston 107 Milwaukee 137, L.A. Clippers 113 Monday’s games Toronto 116, Charlotte 101 Miami 121, Washington 100 Phoenix 127, Chicago 124 Golden State 110, Oklahoma City 98 New York at Utah, 9 p.m. Tuesday’s games Phoenix at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. Indiana at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m. Boston at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Memphis, 8 p.m. Houston at New Orleans, 8 p.m. Detroit at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. New York at Denver, 9 p.m. Milwaukee at L.A. Lakers, 10 p.m. Orlando at Portland, 10 p.m. Minnesota at Sacramento, 10 p.m. Wednesday’s games San Antonio at Cleveland, 7 p.m. Chicago at Charlotte, 7:30 p.m. Toronto at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m. Golden State at Utah, 10 p.m. L.A. Lakers at Portland, 10 p.m. Minnesota at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Pro hockey
NHL
Eastern Conference Atlantic Division GP W L OT SO Pts GF GA Florida 47 32 10 2 3 69 194 139 Tampa Bay 46 30 10 2 4 66 157 130 Toronto 43 30 10 2 1 63 157 115 Boston 43 26 14 2 1 55 131 120 Detroit 47 20 21 5 1 46 130 162 Buffalo 45 14 24 6 1 35 117 157 Ottawa 41 15 22 3 1 34 114 137 Montreal 44 8 29 7 0 23 99 172 Metropolitan Division GP W L OT SO Pts GF GA Carolina 43 31 9 3 0 65 150 102 NY Rangers 47 30 13 3 1 64 145 122 Pittsburgh 46 27 11 3 5 62 154 124 Washington 47 25 13 7 2 59 152 130 Columbus 43 20 22 0 1 41 136 159 NY Islanders 39 16 17 3 3 38 93 105 Philadelphia 45 15 22 4 4 38 113 152 New Jersey 46 15 26 1 4 35 127 167 Western Conference Central Division GP W L OT SO Pts GF GA Colorado 44 32 8 3 1 68 183 129 Nashville 46 28 14 2 2 60 144 125 Minnesota 41 28 10 0 3 59 161 120 St. Louis 44 26 13 3 2 57 153 121 Dallas 43 23 18 1 1 48 129 131 Winnipeg 42 18 17 3 4 43 120 128 Chicago 46 16 23 6 1 39 112 156 Arizona 45 11 30 0 4 26 99 169 Pacific Division GP W L OT SO Pts GF GA Vegas 46 27 16 2 1 57 158 137 Los Angeles 47 24 16 5 2 55 136 130 Anaheim 48 23 16 5 4 55 141 137 Calgary 42 23 13 6 0 52 136 104 Edmonton 42 23 16 3 0 49 142 138 San Jose 46 22 20 3 1 48 126 142 Vancouver 46 20 20 3 3 46 115 126 Seattle 46 15 27 3 1 34 121 159 Saturday’s games All-Star Game at Las Vegas Metropolitan 6, Pacific 4 Central 8, Atlantic 5 Metropolitan 5, Central 3 Monday’s games Ottawa 4, New Jersey 1 Toronto 4, Carolina 3, OT Tuesday’s games Columbus at Washington, 7 p.m. Carolina at Ottawa, 7 p.m. Pittsburgh at Boston, 7 p.m. New Jersey at Montreal, 7 p.m. Minnesota at Winnipeg, 8 p.m. Vegas at Edmonton, 9 p.m. Arizona at Vancouver, 10 p.m. Wednesday’s games Detroit at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. Chicago at Edmonton, 8 p.m. Nashville at Dallas, 8 p.m. Vegas at Calgary, 9:30 p.m. Arizona at Seattle, 10 p.m. NY Islanders at Vancouver, 10:30 p.m.
College basketball
MONDAY’S SCORES
MEN EAST Colgate 87, Holy Cross 60 Drexel 72, James Madison 66 Hampton 74, Presbyterian 69 Hofstra 73, UNC Wilmington 71 Howard 69, Delaware State 64 Massachusetts Lowell 85, Hartford 75 Navy 68, Lafayette 44 New Hampshire 67, Stony Brook 65 Richmond 62, George Mason 59 Virginia Tech 74, Pittsburgh 47 SOUTH Belmont 72, Austin Peay 58 Charleston Southern 97, Toccoa Falls 60 Charlotte 81, Florida International 68 Chattanooga 74, Mercer 72, OT East Tennessee St. 75, Furman 71 Florida A&M 61, Prairie View A&M 60 Middle Tennessee St. 84, Texas-San Antonio 75 North Texas 66, Texas-El Paso 58 S. Carolina State 74, North Carolina Central 68 South Florida 52, Temple 49 Tennessee Tech 84, Eastern Illinois 58 UNC Greensboro 68, Western Carolina 49 Virginia 69, Duke 68 MIDWEST North Dakota State 76, South Dakota 74 WEST Montana St. 72, Idaho State 53
Les Carpenter
The Washington Post
BEIJING — There was a moment in the middle of Nathan Chen’s short program, early Tuesday afternoon, where the nerves went away and the American skating star was certain he was doing something brilliant on the Capital Indoor Stadium ice.
Looking back, he is sure it was following the quadruple Lutz and triple toeloop that he landed perfectly. They were the last jumps he had to hit, the last significant risks of falling and ruining another Olympics like the one four years ago in PyeongChang - the last potential disasters that weren’t going to happen this time.
“I can sort of let loose technically and enjoy the music and enjoy the skate,” he said.
And when Chen’s program was over, he didn’t need to wait for his first place score of 113.97. He knew he had won the day. His rival, the two-time gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, had stumbled himself, headed to eighth place entering Thursday’s free skate. Chen’s path to the gold had been cleared. He closed his eyes, clenched his teeth and pumped his fist. All that was missing was the emphatic scream of “yes!” that must have been exploding inside.
For a 22-year-old man who prides himself on his stoicism, it was the most emotion he had shown at an event in a long, long time.
“A little out-of-character there,” he joked afterward. “But I was happy.”
And relieved. Even if he didn’t actually say it Tuesday, Chen looked very much relieved. This day four years ago, the one in which he failed to complete every jump and finished 17th in the Olympic short program, has haunted him for four years, an asterisk next to the domination of winning all but one event in the years since. His legacy of greatness could never be sealed without ridding himself of the PyeongChang disaster.
Still, it came without the expected drama of a showdown with Hanyu. That ended fast when Hanyu didn’t even attempt a quadruple Salchow, leaving everyone in the arena stunned.
Hanyu dropped his head after his skate was done and slowly skated from the ice toward the mandatory interview area beneath the arena’s stands. A crowd of about 50 Japanese journalists waited for the star, speaking in hushed voices, and four Japan team media officials hovered nervously around them.
As Hanyu slowly made his way toward them, he stopped for a handful of English questions. He said he felt good when he went out for his program, that he wasn’t nervous and that he was ready to make the jump but he saw a hole in the ice and pulled out of the leap at the last minute. He said he had warmed up on a different part of the ice and didn’t notice the divot until it was too late.
While Hanyu talked, already far behind with a score of 95.15, Chen was warming up with the day’s last group of skaters. If Hanyu had turned around, he would have seen his rival coolly gliding in the trim black suit he wears over a white T-shirt for his short program.
Chen, however, was not relaxed. In an interview area just steps from where Hanyu had spoken, he admitted he was nervous in the warm-up with so much pressure of four years of constant winning mixed with a need for Olympic redemption.
“I think we try to maintain that facade as much as we can even if I don’t feel great,” he said of his anxiousness.
Recently, he said he was “scared” before the PyeongChang Olympics. He was just 18 and didn’t have a plan for how to handle everything that comes with the Games; the attention, the expectations, the pressure. He said he had approached his selection the United States team back then with a sense of “dread.” This time, he promised, he would skate with joy.
Then he did. He hit a quadruple flip and a triple axel. He scored big on the quadruple Lutz and triple toeloop. He sailed through everything else, his arms jerking back and forth to the music of “La Boheme.” He knew he was safe. He knew 2018 was wiping away with every push of his skate. He knew he would go into the final day with a lead.
Ultimately, he would be almost six points ahead of Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and nearly nine in front of another Japanese skater, Shoma Uno. Jason Brown, his American teammate, was in sixth after a strong artistic skate. The other top American, Vincent Zhou, was not there after testing positive for coronavirus.
For a day, Chen could be relieved. He could feel hopeful for the gold that never came his way in 2018 when he finally finished fifth at the end of the men’s competition. He was going back to his room to rest and eat, he said.
And wash his clothes.
He had been at the Olympics for several days, now, he said. It was time to do laundry.
What better way to celebrate the biggest day yet in his figure skating career than by washing away the past?
MICHAEL MADRID/USA TODAY Nathan Chen (USA) performs during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on Tuesday.
Shiffrin is no stranger to heartbreak ... Now can she bounce back in Beijing?
Nathan Fenno Los Angeles Times
Early Monday morning, text messages flew back and forth between Mikaela Shiffrin and her brother Taylor long before the sun rose over the barren brown mountains streaked with rivers of man-made snow at the Yanqing National Alpine Centre.
Taylor Shiffrin kidded his sister about being up so early before her first race at these Winter Olympics, defending the gold medal she won in the giant slalom four years ago. It was the start of an ambitious week and a half in which she could chase medals in five individual events.
Then the unthinkable happened.
Seconds into the first of two runs down the steep course dubbed the “Ice River,” Mikaela Shiffrin missed a gate, fell on her side, then skied off. It was the first giant slalom she failed to complete in four years. The day ended with nothing for the world’s most dominant female skier other than shock and questions.
“I won’t ever get over this,” Shiffrin said, reciting a handful of races that haven’t gone as expected in her career. “That heartbreak never goes away and I think that’s what drives me to keep working.”
This heartbreak, however, isn’t anything like what the 26-year-old has faced on her winding journey to the ski runs carved out of the Xiaohaituo Mountain Area. She has experienced the sudden death of her father, a back injury and a positive test for the coronavirus.
Now the world will be watching to see how one of the faces of the Games will respond to the setback.
Two years ago, Jeff Shiffrin died unexpectedly after an accident at the family’s home in Edwards, Colo. In a gut-wrenching Instagram post at the time, Mikaela Shiffrin wrote that the family was “heartbroken beyond comprehension” and he was “our ocean, our sunrise, our heart, our soul, our everything.” The loss was seismic for the tight-knit family.
T h e 6 5 - y e a r - o l d anesthesiologist was a fixture at his daughter’s competitions, camera usually around his neck. He developed her training plan along with his wife, Eileen, who travels with her daughter as one of her coaches. They called him the “scheduleator” since he handled the family’s daunting logistics, down to mapping the distance from each parking lot to each chair lift they visited. More than that, he brought a sense of home, a sense of protection, a sense he would move mountains to care for his family.
Ten months passed between her races in 2020. The grief gnawed away at everything.
“She has learned how to perform while being incredibly uncomfortable and more importantly while having minimal motivation,” Taylor Shiffrin said from the family’s home. “In many other major Olympic and world championship moments, she’s been incredibly uncomfortable. She’s been nervous. She’s been throwing up. She can’t control it.”
He recalled his sister vanishing after the first run a few years ago. She didn’t respond to text messages or phone calls. The family found her on the bed in her hotel room, legs propped against the wall. She told them she was so nervous that she couldn’t feel her body.
“She knows how to perform when she’s uncomfortable,” Taylor Shiffrin continued. “What’s different? Over the last 24 months since Dad passed, her motivation just evaporated.”
The results didn’t show it. She has reached the podium 25 times since returning to racing. Her 73 career victories on the World Cup circuit are nine behind Lindsey Vonn’s all-time mark for women. It’s not that she simply maintained the level of performance that has earned 11 world championship medals, three overall World Cup titles and three Olympic medals -- two gold -- it’s that she has pushed through the sadness and somehow improved.
“She’s like a textbook of skiing,” said Ted Ligety, who won Olympic gold medals in the combined and giant slalom. “When she decides she wants to go full-on, she’s unbeatable.”
Shiffrin struggled with a back injury in October and November, which limited training, then tested positive for the coronavirus in December and missed the World Cup stop in Lienz, Austria, while isolating.
“This season has been nonstop beating our heads against the wall in one form or another,” Mikaela Shiffrin said.
Despite the obstacles, she’s still the world’s top-ranked female skier. The Olympics have injected another layer of challenges, even before Monday’s setback, as memories of her father rushed back and she acknowledged having “challenging moments” since arriving.
All sorts of things remind the family of Jeff Shiffrin. Songs by ABBA and Jimmy Buffett. “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” movies. Skiing good powder. Photography. Sunsets. And, yes, the Olympics. The night before Mikaela Shiffrin won the giant slalom at the Pyeongchang Games, her brother recalled, the family made pizza and watched the superhero movie “Justice League.” Or Jeff Shiffrin’s cheering as they watched Jessie Diggins’ dramatic finish to win gold in the team sprint freestyle cross-country competition at those Games. Mikaela Shiffrin said she kidded her dad that he was more excited about Diggins than one of her races “and that’s saying something.”
What she does, or doesn’t do, at the Beijing Games has to be viewed through the prism of the man who is missing.
“Losing Dad took the wind out of the sails for Mikaela and all of us, so even getting back on skis was a monumental accomplishment,” Taylor Shiffrin said. “The fact that they managed to get to China and compete is already a win in my books. I was telling them, ‘I don’t care if you DNF Did Not Finish3/8. ... You guys should be proud of yourselves and know that just by being there you’ve already won a huge battle that’s far more important than any Olympic performance you could imagine, regardless of whether you win or medal or finish last.’
“She learned how to ski when she doesn’t want to. To go through that brutal, life-altering experience changes your viewpoint on many, many, many things.”
After the disappointment in the giant slalom, Shiffrin remained composed, thoughtful, reflective as she dissected what went wrong.
“It was literally just how I skied that turn, the timing ...trying to push it but almost anxious,” Shiffrin said. “It just didn’t work.”
There are ample opportunities for redemption. The first is the slalom Wednesday. This is her signature event. Last month, her 47th win in the slalom last month broke the World Cup record for the most victories in a single discipline. It’s also the event she won at age 18 during the Sochi Games in 2014 to become the youngest slalom champion of either gender in Olympic history.
But the Yanqing National Alpine Centre’s snow is unforgiving. The terrain is some of the steepest Shiffrin has ever experienced. Gusts of wind can wreck a run in an instant.
“There is going to just be a huge element of crossing your fingers during these Games,” she said.
It returns to the attitude Shiffrin’s parents instilled. Focus on the process, not the outcome. Focus on the next turn, not the victory. And as her brother watches from a continent away and thinks about the heartbreak, he sees what could be obscured by the chase for gold medals. By being here, she’s already won.
TOM PENNINGTON/GETTY IMAGES Mikaela Shiffrin of Team United States falls during the Women’s Giant Slalom on day three of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at National Alpine Ski Centre on Monday in Yanqing, China.
Eileen Gu is an original, and the world is going to have to deal with it
Jerry Brewer The Washington Post
BEIJING — Before Eileen Gu took to the air and spun 4½ times into a new echelon of fame, she called her mother. She needed to make a critical decision: Perfect a familiar trick, or unfurl one she had never done. Mom told her to play it safe. The daughter, 18 going on immortality, rejected caution.
“Mom, executive call!” Gu exclaimed. “Vetoed.”
And that’s how she took command of the Beijing Winter Olympics. If there was any doubt that the young freestyle skier could handle all that she must balance - the expectations of gold and the two countries jostling to understand and claim her - she made sure the world heard her clearly Tuesday morning.
Gu, who has a chance to capture three gold medals here, began her pursuit with a triumph in the freestyle skiing big air at Shougang Industrial Park, a repurposed steel mill that might as well be renamed to honor what she just did. From now until she’s finished, these Olympics are hers. Gu is the quintessential athlete for an entangled Games, astonishing and complicated, able to provoke exaltation and conflict.
She is American, born and raised in California. She is competing for China, the home country of her mother, Yan. But as she proved in big air, she dwells in a different world, one she has made for herself, and it is a lofty place to be. She dismisses the obsession over whom she belongs to and focuses on showing who she actually is. Instead of being a geopolitical weapon for the United States and China to fight over, she’s a pianist, model and athlete making her own music, posing in her own way and defying convention in the air as well.
So Gu wasn’t going to repeat the trick she had stomped earlier in this three-round event. To start the morning, she thrilled the home crowd with a move called a right double 1440 safety, one that saw her complete four full rotations and earn a 93.75. But with France’s Tess Ledeux landing a 1620 trick and holding onto first place going into the final run, Gu wanted to try something she never had and chase gold.
Gu was solidly in third place when she called Yan, who was watching from the bleachers. Mom thought it would be better for her daughter to do an improved version of the 1440 and perhaps climb to a silver medal. But Gu was adamant.
“I am going to make the 16,” she told her mother, “and you are going to deal with it.”
Until Tuesday, she hadn’t shown the ability to complete that extra half rotation in a competition. She shrugged. She was going for it, a trick called a left double 1620 with a safety grab.
“I’ve spent a lot of hours visualizing it, if that counts,” she said, laughing like a teen.
Gu came to the Beijing Olympics with more in mind than settling and moving on to the slopestyle and halfpipe events, her two strongest disciplines. With her enchanting combination of earnest youth and veteran-like polish, she talks of growing her sport, inspiring girls and promoting unity in ways that sound both too perfect and remarkably admirable.
She’s not here just to do her best. She’s here to stretch herself, and in the process, she trusts her example will carry greater meaning. She delivered a 94.50 score with that 1620, won the big air gold medal and pulled out her phone during an interview afterward.
“If you want to talk about manifestation, this has been my home screen for the last few months,” Gu said, holding up her mobile device.
It was the image of an Olympic gold medal.
“This is exactly what I visualized,” she said. “Exactly.”
She does and says the right things, thanking Ledeux, the silver medalist, and bronze winner Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland for pushing her and giving them a share of the credit for lifting the sport. Only on occasion does she veer off script and into raw honesty. During about two hours of interviews and numerous questions about her citizenship (which she won’t reveal) and competing allegiances to China and the United States, she let loose a few times.
Her message in those moments: Respect her desire to be original.
“I compete for myself, and I’m the one who did the work,” Gu said. “I’m the one who put in the hours, and there were no cameras in the gym when I worked 8-10 hours of fashion work and then went to the gym afterwards. There were no cameras when I was hiking up before the lifts closed at 4 p.m. to get another hit in. There were no cameras when I was running half marathons every week over the entire summer. So I think those are the hours that I put in, and so in that sense, I was doing it for myself.”
She was speaking not from ego, but from a desire to be appreciated for her independence. Gu is on her way to becoming bigger than simplistic identity. She doesn’t have to pick a country. Her decision to straddle loyalties has clear financial and popularity benefits, but it doesn’t make her an insincere opportunist. It does open the door for Gu - and the ethereal unity she wants to represent - to be exploited. On cue, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach just happened to show up here with Peng Shuai on Tuesday in what came across as another lame and transparent attempt to whitewash the actions of the Chinese government.
“It was a breathtaking competition,” Bach said of Gu and the big air field before leaving. “It was really amazing. Under the pressure of these Olympics competition, I can’t imagine what she would have going through her head. Everyone in the stadium could feel it. It was an incredible competition.”
Everyone wants a piece of Gu, but she’s wise enough to reserve the biggest piece for herself. She competed for China, but she’s not exactly China’s Gu. She is a proud Californian, but she’s not exactly America’s Gu. And she’s definitely not the IOC’s prize.
As a transcendent talent, she is a citizen of celebrity. Her blend of interests and identities create a singular and growing icon. In a time in which it seems like society is trying to whittle us down to easy definitions, Gu is Gu. It’s refreshing to see a intersectional human being so comfortably at odds with the moment.
“Here’s the thing: I’m not trying to keep anyone happy,” Gu said. “I’m an 18-year-old girl trying to live my best life. I know that I have a good heart and know that my reasons are for the common interest and greater good. No matter what I say, if people don’t have a good heart, they won’t believe me because they can’t empathize with people who do have a good heart. So in that sense, I feel as though it’s a lot easier to block out the hate now.
“If people don’t believe me and people don’t like me, that’s their loss. And also, they’re never going to know what it feels like to win the Olympics.”
Another executive call. Haters, vetoed.
Welcome to the Gu Games.
ROB SCHUMACHER/USA TODAY Ailing Eileen Gu (CHN) waves to the crowd with her gold medal during the medals ceremony for the women’s freestyle skiing big air competition at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at Beijing Medals Plaza on Tuesday.
Frigid Beijing-area temperatures ramp up efforts by cold-tested Olympians to keep warm
David Wharton
Los Angeles Times
BEIJING — The sun had set and a frigid night wind blew across the mountains as Brad Wilson attempted to explain himself. Puffs of condensation from his breath settled on his eyelashes, freezing instantly.
“It’s definitely been coldcold,” he said.
The Montana native knows something about inclement weather. He arrived in China last week with a decade’s worth of experience as an elite moguls skier, competing in some of the chilliest places on the planet.
Which made it surprising that, during his first few days at the Beijing Olympics, Wilson managed to catch a touch of frostbite.
“The very last part of the chairlift is the coldest part,” he said. “The wind just kind of hits your face and it got my nose a little bit.”
Much has been made of the dry winters in Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, the areas northwest of Beijing where ski and snowboard events are being held. Olympic organizers have needed to blow artificial snow day and night to compensate for a lack of the real stuff.
But temperatures in the teens? Bone-chilling gusts? The Beijing Games have no shortage of those.
“We’re putting on as many layers as we can but still everything is freezing,” biathlete Hanna Sola of Belarus said. “You can see everyone waving their hands, jumping on the spot.”
With temperatures dipping toward zero and winds gusting to 40 mph at some venues, the art of keeping warm has been a popular topic of discussion. That might seem like no big deal for winter athletes, but it is.
Climate change has rendered their seasons steadily shorter and more temperate. Fake snow and a sunny sky have become more common than not on the World Cup circuit.
“A lot of our races in Central Europe have been quite warm,” U.S. biathlete Deedra Irwin said. “We haven’t had that many races below 15 degrees in the past two or three years.”
Though the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, four years ago were near frozen, previous host cities have felt downright balmy. The coastal resort of Sochi had its share of short-sleeve afternoons in 2014 and Vancouver wasn’t much chillier in 2010.
Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou is a different story, with midday temperatures rising no higher than 6 degrees.
“It’s one of the coldest places I’ve ever been on Earth,” said American skier Aaron Blunck, who has competed there before. “It makes your body get stiff.”
Dressing in layers -- the standard approach to staying comfortable -- doesn’t always go far enough on brutal days when the wind cuts through even the best technical gear.
Some veteran skiers and snowboarders add heated socks and hand warmers to their outfits. For the women’s 15-kilometer skiathlon at the National Cross-Country Skiing Center on Saturday, racers wore neck gaiters stretched over their chins and head coverings tugged down tight against the 12-degree afternoon.
Warmups have become essential as a way of raising body temperature before competition. Moguls skier Jaelin Kauf, who is Wilson’s girlfriend, planned to stay moving throughout her competition.
“Just rub around to keep the muscles warm or just do a little running in place or jumps,” she said. “Little things like that, just to keep everything from stiffening up.”
Lips can dry and crack. Exposed cheekbones and noses need protection too. Zinc works for both ultraviolet rays and icy winds but some athletes prefer specialized products such as Dermatone, a pomade that comes in round tins like shoe polish and promises to deter frostbite.
“I used to live in Fairbanks, Alaska3/8,” Paralympic skier Grace Miller said. “We used to put Vaseline on our cheeks so they wouldn’t get really cold and freeze.”
If that isn’t enough, special cloth tape can be plastered across bare skin. Therese Johaug of Norway won Beijing’s first gold medal in that skiathlon race with strips of fluorescent pink on her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, saying: “It’s a lot of wind.”
The cold has affected athletes in other ways.
Mountain venues near Beijing have looked almost alien, with swaths of fake snow cutting through acres of brown, barren mountainside.
Artificial surfaces work well for some events, such as alpine races, because of their consistency from top to bottom. Ragnhild Mowinckel of Norway praised the downhill run, calling it “extremely grippy and aggressive.”
But on the cross-country course, skiers had to adjust on the fly, moving between sections of deep snow and others that ran thin. Moguls were treacherous for another reason.
“When the snow is very, very cold, it gets sticky because your edges kind of freeze to the snow,” said Wilson, who was making his third trip to the Olympics. “It’s kind of like skiing on Styrofoam where it doesn’t slide very well.”
A hard surface can make for painful crashes.
“It’s going to hurt and not be very forgiving, which definitely is good incentive to keep you on your feet,” Kauf said.
The women’s slopestyle final in Zhangjiakou on Sunday caught a break when winds calmed down but, at the national alpine venue in Yanqing, about 40 miles away, unpredictable gusts kept changing direction and forced postponement of the men’s downhill. A jump that left skiers vulnerable in midair was of particular concern.
MATTHIAS HANGST/GETTY IMAGES An athlete with the China Republic protects from wind and cold during the Biathlon Training Session at National Biathlon Centre ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, on Jan. 31 in Zhangjiakou, China.
Rams did right thing by signing Odell Beckham Jr.
Los Angeles Times
Super Bowl Week is famous for its insatiable appetites, unabashed gluttony and wolfish overconsumption.
Which would make this a pretty good time to eat my words.
Three of the most famous initials in sports has joined the Rams, with one slight adjustment required to fit the situation.
OBWhy?
Those were the first two paragraphs appearing in this space on Nov. 11, shortly after the Rams signed Odell Beckham Jr.
He has since shown everyone exactly why.
He’s impactful. He’s inspirational. I’m an idiot.
Thursday looks a lot like the other night when Matthew Stafford attempted to fling the football out of the end zone.
They’re wrongly attempting a hero play. They’re foolishly shooting for an unreachable star. They’re not even looking downfield.
Turns out, when the Rams signed Beckham to a $1.25-million deal, they were looking exactly downfield. Seeing the real Beckham. Throwing straight to him. Winning big with him.
The Rams steam into Super Bowl LVI on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals with the unquestioned knowledge that they would not be here without the man whose signing I ripped to shreds.
Beckham is not Cooper Kupp. But he is Kupp runneth over. Anywhere Kupp can’t be, Beckham will be. Any ball Kupp can’t catch, it’s going to Beckham. His numbers aren’t huge except in the win column. His numbers there are darn near perfect.
During games in which Beckham has been targeted more than five times, the Rams are 5-1. During games in which he has scored a touchdown, the Rams are also 5-1.
He not only has been one of their closers, but also one of their ace starters. In his 11 games, the Rams generally have targeted him by the fifth play of the game. On those initial throws, quarterback Matthew Stafford has connected with him on 10 of 11 passes for 96 yards.
That’s a hero play. That’s a reachable star. I’m a big dummy.
OBJ is a legitimate celebrity, a Hollywood star, an internet click machine, that rare football player who fits every stereotype about the cool Los Angeles athlete, right down to the congratulatory tweet from LeBron James.
What he’s not, anymore, is a very good receiver. And what he does, always, is bring drama and distraction.
The Rams don’t need any of those things, yet there they were, picking him up like they were casting “Dancing With The Stars,” seemingly ignoring the trouble he can cause for the buzz he will create.
The trouble has been nonexistent. The buzz has been bountiful. And yes, contrary to conventional belief, Beckham’s still a very good receiver.
In the Rams’ three playoff games he has caught 19 balls for 236 yards and a touchdown. Those are better numbers than he accumulated in his six-game stay this season with the Cleveland Browns.
He caught a four-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring against Arizona in the NFC wild-card playoff game, then later tossed a perfectly looping 40-yarder to Cam Akers that led to the dagger touchdown in a 3411 victory.
A week later against the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Beckham caught two passes for 26 yards on the game’s first drive to help set the tone for a 27-3 lead before the Rams eventually escaped with a 30-27 win.
Then last week in the NFC championship against the San Francisco 49ers, he snagged a 29-yard pass in the Rams’ gametying field-goal drive in the fourth quarter.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Beckham said after the win.
He’s not the only one.
He’s not about team, or he would have still been in Cleveland, where he was waived from a scrappy Browns group that is fighting for a playoff spot. OBJ was unhappy that quarterback Baker Mayfield wasn’t throwing him the ball, even though he increasingly had trouble catching it. ...
He’s not about team, or he might have lasted longer with the New York Giants, where a stellar rookie season in 2014 slowly devolved into daily drama that was highlighted by a Miami boat trip he took with teammates and friends during the week of a 2016-season playoff game against the Green Bay Packers. ...
Suddenly he’ll willingly slip quietly into the background? Really?
Turns out, he’s been all about the team. And during games, he actually has quietly slipped into the background and succeeded for a couple of reasons.
Shortly after his acquisition, the Rams lost Robert Woods for the season to a knee injury, and Beckham immediately became Stafford’s second option.
Also, for the first time in his career, Beckham’s playing a secondary role without the pressure of being a leading man, and he clearly enjoys that.
While Beckham is no longer the kid who made the one-handed catch, at age 29 he’s evolved into a smart receiver who just needs to be in a winning environment, a place where he can be his best self without losing himself.
And make no mistake, he’s still full OBJ.
He has captivated his teammates with his touchdown dances. During one against Jacksonville, he fell to the ground and mimed stabbing himself before rising again. He said it was based on a “Call of Duty” video game move and called it a “self-revive,” and isn’t that just perfect?
Then there was the locker room celebration after the win against the Buccaneers, where Beckham deftly lead the dance troupe.
Finally, he capped the NFC championship victory by handing out Super Bowl tickets to the Watts Rams, a youth league team that plays in the heart of the city.
“He’s so smart, so talented, so gifted,” coach Sean McVay said. “And he’s brought such a charisma and a presence, really a swag to our team.”
This presence was clear during Monday’s Super Bowl media day, where Beckham held court for 45 minutes with humility and honesty and insight.
Does he feel satisfaction in proving people wrong?
“I feel like I’ve come so far ... I know all the stories and all that ... I don’t really take satisfaction because it’s not that deep for me,” he said. “I just know who I am.”
He knew he was walking into negativity. He knew it would take too much energy to fight it. He decided to just ride with it and let people judge him for him.
“The perception of me is going to walk into the room before I walk into the room,” Beckham said. “Whatever someone thinks of me ... I hope they see me for who I am and not what the world made me to be.”
Who he is now, that’s not who he was. He admitted that he’s messed up, but also acknowledged that he’s learned.
“There’s a lot of moments where I look back as a 29-yearold and reflect, how could I have been better in this situation?” he said.
He’s also aware there probably will be numerous columns like this one written this week, and he reaffirmed that it’s a testimony to a constant personal growth.
“People who are close to me are like, ‘Bro, it’s just crazy to see how the narratives have changed,’” Beckham said. “I’ve definitely watched, heard and witnessed it all change and it’s just a testimony to staying down, staying humble, stay in your faith, bro.”
Bottom line, in so many ways, Odell Beckham Jr. has become a guy who catches the ball.
I’m the guy who dropped it.
Maybe strong veterans like Aaron Donald can keep OBJ in check. But maybe one divisive personality, even over the course of just two months, can throw those collective feet out of balance. ...
The Rams didn’t need interesting. The Rams didn’t need attention. The Rams didn’t need OBJ.
Yes, they did, and you read it here last.
RONALD MARTINEZ/GETTY IMAGES In this photo from January 30, Odell Beckham Jr. (3) of the Los Angeles Rams reacts after defeating the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Texans hire Lovie Smith as head coach
Field Level Media
The Houston Texans hired Lovie Smith to be their next head coach Monday night.
The Texans announced earlier Monday that they had “completed additional discussions” with Smith about the job before making it official several hours later. Reports throughout the day said the team and Smith were finalizing contract details.
Smith, 63, spent the 2021 season as the Texans’ associate head coach and defensive coordinator under David Culley, who was fired after Houston went 4-13 in his only season.
The Texans are Smith’s third NFL head-coaching job. He has an 89-87 regular-season record, including 81-63 with the Bears from 2004-12, taking the club to Super Bowl XLI. He was 8-24 with the Tampa B a y B u c c a n e e r s f r o m 2014-15.
Smith returned to the college ranks after his departure from the Buccaneers. He was named head coach at the University of Illinois but failed to rejuvenate the long-struggling program and was 17-39 from 2016-20.
The Texans offered Smith an opportunity to return to the NFL as a coordinator in 2021. Houston finished 31st in total defense but showed signs of improvement late in the season.
The team chose Smith over finalists Josh McCown and Brian Flores. Philadelphia defensive c o o r d i n a t o r J o n a t h a n Gannon, who also twice interviewed for the job, was informed over the weekend that he would not be hired.
Former Miami Dolphins head coach Flores has sued the NFL, charging that an interview he had with the New York Giants was a “sham” intended to meet diversity hiring rules. Flores has also alleged he had been offered money by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to intentionally lose games to secure a better draft position.
Hours after news broke Monday that Smith was the Texans’ choice, Flores’ attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor and John Elefterakis put out a statement on Twitter, saying Houston avoided hiring Flores because of the lawsuit.
“Mr. Flores is happy to hear that the Texans have hired a Black head coach, Lovie Smith, as Mr. Flores’ goal in bringing his case is to provide real opportunities for Black and minority candidates to be considered for coaching and executive positions within the NFL,” the statement read. “However, we would be remiss not to mention that Mr. Flores was one of three finalists for the Texans’ head coach position and, after a great interview and mutual interest, it is obvious that the only reason Mr. Flores was not selected was his decision to stand up against racial inequality across the NFL.”
Of the nine NFL teams with coaching vacancies, Houston was among the final ones to make a hire. The New Orleans Saints reportedly agreed to promote defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to head coach Monday night.
Fueled by decade in Detroit, Stafford playing for more than just Rams in Super Bowl
Justin Rogers
The Detroit News
Matthew Stafford never has had to worry about football on his birthday before this year, but celebrating his 34th on Monday, the former Detroit Lions and current Los Angeles Rams quarterback is preparing to play in his first Super Bowl.
In an ideal world, Stafford would have been taking part in the day’s festivities as a member of the Lions. But after falling short of that goal for more than a decade, the franchise acquiesced to a trade request last offseason, ultimately shipping him to the Rams for Jared Goff and a trio of draft picks.
So while Lions fans continue to wait their turn for their team to play for the NFL’s biggest prize, they’re left to live vicariously through the quarterback they cheered for since he was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in 2009.
And while there’s no such thing as a unanimous opinion when it comes to sports fandom, it’s clear Stafford still has the support of many Detroiters. Look no further than when the Rams and Lions played each other in the regular season, where there were far more Honolulu blue No. 9 jerseys in the stands than his current Rams duds.
Similarly, a number of Stafford’s former teammates have taken to social media in recent weeks to express their support. None of that is lost on the quarterback, who understands a Super Bowl victory will mean a lot to people extending far beyond Los Angeles.
“If we sit here and say we’re not a product of our experiences, or we haven’t learned from some of the things that we’ve had go on in the past, picked up things from great teammates or coaches along the way, we’d be lying to ourselves,” Stafford said. “I think we all are playing for, not only the guys in this locker room, but those who helped us get to this position. There’s so many people in Detroit, important people in my life, that have helped me get here.
“...I do appreciate, so much, just everybody’s support and I know that when I’m out there playing, whether it’s this week in the Super Bowl or any other game, I’m a representation of those experiences that I’ve had with those people. I feel like every time I step out there on the field, I’m playing for not really myself, but for everybody that’s helped get me there.”
Stafford said he’s still in touch with the Ford family and has maintained regular contact with them. He also noted he’s heard from several of those former teammates, including longtime top target Calvin Johnson, who Stafford supported during the former Hall of Fame enshrinement last summer.
“He was such a big part of my success in Detroit,” Stafford said. “(He) was such a great learning experience for me to watch a guy that’s the greatest at his craft at that position at the time and just the way he went about his business, the way he treated people. The way he did everything really with such great class and work ethic and all that. It was so fun for me to be around that and see that.”
As for the fans of Detroit, Stafford described them as loyal and passionate, explaining the thing he valued the most was how the community’s support extended well beyond the football field.
“All the things you want fans to be,” Stafford said. “Unbelievable to me and my wife and my family, how many times we were out to eat or playing with our kids in the park, whatever it was, and the support that we felt from them, not only when the times were good, but when my wife was going through some of the things that she was going through health-wise.
“They were always supportive and people that cared about not only the Lions and me, but my family and us as people,” Stafford said. “So always gonna have a soft spot for Detroit in my heart and just appreciate it.”
Stafford never got the job done in Detroit. Whether that was an individual shortcoming, the fact he was never supported with sufficient talent, or a little bit of both will be a debate that will linger for years. But his experiences with the Lions -- from the disappointments to the countless comebacks -- it’s all shaped the quarterback Stafford has become, culminating in this championship run with the Rams.
“We had a tough stretch in our season this year, in the month of November, where we didn’t win a football game, lost three in a row there,” Stafford said. “I didn’t play particularly good football, but we just continued to work. We continue to trust each other, continue to understand that the process of us going to work every single day is what’s going to get us out of that.
“I’m hoping that if I bring that attitude and if I helped turn one guy’s attitude on this team, maybe it helped us get to this point,” Stafford said. “But that’s things that you don’t really learn unless you go through some tough times, some tough adversity, and there were some times in Detroit that really taught me that and I’ve carried it with me.”
GARY A. VASQUEZ/USA TODAY Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) throws a pass against the San Francisco 49ers in the second half during the NFC Championship Game at SoFi Stadium on Jan. 30.
Julius Randle caught on camera during Lakers game in dust-up with Knicks’ video coordinator
Stefan Bondy
New York Daily News
Julius Randle’s irritation was again caught on camera. This time, it was directed at a member of his team.
Video of a heated exc h a n g e w i t h K n i c k s video coordinator Scott King and seemingly precipitated by Randle, who slapped King’s laptop and was separated by assistant coaches.
The incident occurred during their overtime loss to the Lakers on Saturday. Randle was also assessed a technical foul from the bench for arguing with the referees in the third quarter, although it’s unclear when the confrontation with King occurred during the game.
In the video, which was while the team was huddled up on the sideline, King is attempting to show Randle a play on his laptop. Randle isn’t interested and lightly slaps the computer. King then says something to the power forward, which prompts Randle to turn around angrily. Randle gets in King’s face and is pushed back by assistant coaches Johnnie Bryant and Kenny Payne.
Randle then walks to the other side of the team huddle and is followed by security.
On the surface, the dustup is minor and easily dismissed. Nothing turned physical. But it’s also in the bigger picture of Randle’s deteriorating game and emotions, with the backdrop of Thursday’s trade deadline looming.
Tom Thibodeau predictably downplayed the exchange, calling it “the heat of the moment” and “normal stuff.” He added the situation was handled “immediately.”
“When you have competitive people, you’re gonna have stuff like that,” Thibodeau told reporters ahead of Monday’s game against the Jazz. “That’s normal. Every team has it. It’s competitive people, heat of the moment. They’re good. They’ve got a great relationship. Everyone is trying to win. So, it’s all part of it.”
Beyond his statistical fall, Randle this season has warred with fans, boycotted the media and received nine technical fouls, the most on the Knicks and seventh in the NBA. He was ejected from Wednesday’s game against the Grizzlies, which preceded Saturday’s incident.
With a 24-29 record and free-falling, the Knicks are open for business at the trade deadline. Still, moving Randle will be difficult and an admission of a massive failure after extending his contract in the summer into 2026. One potential target is CJ McCollum, who is now the hot name with NBA veteran scribe Marc Stein calling the Knicks “a legitimate suitor.”
As far back as last year, the Knicks were monitoring McCollum’s situation and waiting for the Blazers to make him available, as The Daily News reported.
King, 30, a former player at Stony Brook and Fairfield, joined the Knicks as an assistant video coordinator in 2020. He previously worked with the Pistons and Fort Wayne Ants of the G-League.
Clash at the Coliseum a blueprint for NASCAR’s plan to expand into untapped markets
Steve Henson
Los Angeles Times
A tight track squeezed into a historic football stadium populated by the debut of racecars with a new design posed a risk as well as an opportunity for NASCAR on Sunday.
The opportunity was what one NASCAR official described as a “proof of concept,” a chance to broaden the sport’s audience and provide a template for future forays into other large markets unfamiliar with the inperson spectacle of race day.
The risk, of course, was taken primarily by the drivers, navigating a cramped quarter-mile track they’d never traversed that required constant braking and turning because straightaways were nearly nonexistent. And doing so in brand-new cars dubbed Next Gen.
The only asphalt track drivers could compare this to is Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, which while notoriously tight is a tad longer than a half-mile. While the quarter-mile track slowed speeds -- the average of 63 mph was no doubt exceeded by most of the approximately 55,000 fans taking freeways home -- it increased braking and bumping and produced crowd-pleasing drama.
The race went off without a major hiccup, ending with Joey Logano winning by three car lengths and doing smoky celebratory burnouts even before all the other cars had crossed the finish line. His wife, Brittany, is due to deliver their third child any day.
“I told her, if you’re having the baby, I’m running right off the track from here,” Logano said. “But I think we’re safe for tonight. This is special to get the first Next Gen win, the first win here in the Coliseum.”
Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s senior vice president of strategy and innovation, was more subdued than Logano but just as pleased. He and NASCAR executive vice president Steve O’Donnell exchanged highfives outside the interview room with drivers Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon, who finished second and third, respectively.
The 150-lap Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum exhibition was Kennedy’s brainchild. Not only was it considered a resounding success, it can serve as a blueprint. Kennedy and O’Donnell acknowledged that converting the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana from a two-mile track to a half-mile is under consideration. The venue has hosted NASCAR races since 1997 and this year’s race is right around the corner Feb. 27, one week after the Daytona 500.
Shorter tracks in large stadiums never before considered by NASCAR are suddenly not only on the table, but an appealing main course. About 70% of the crowd Sunday had never purchased a NASCAR ticket, according to Ticketmaster. Drivers commented on how loud the crowd sounded in the stadium’s bowl configuration.
The uniqueness of the venue and specter of replicating the experience elsewhere relegated discussion of the Next Gen cars to the backseat. O’Donnell marveled that the television broadcasters barely mentioned the cars, even though questions loomed regarding their safety and efficiency.
Next Gen cars were nearly delayed until 2023 because a dummy allegedly was “killed” in crash testing last summer. The cars include fundamental upgrades such as independent rear suspension, a sequentialshift transmission, aluminum wheels and composite bodies. Their dimensions are more like regular cars. However, critics said they pose a risk because they lack enough sufficient body areas that will crumple during a collision.
Several drivers experienced mechanical issues. Kennedy and O’Donnell said every car that exited the race will be thoroughly examined. Busch countered by saying the new cars enabled drivers to go farther before burning out their tires on a track that required constant braking and turning punctuated by brief bursts of acceleration.
The daylong Clash at the Coliseum began with five heats and a dramatic last-chance qualifier that included serious jostling and several spinouts. Pit stops weren’t allowed but Pitbull put on a concert after the qualifier and Ice Cube did the same during a halftime after 75 laps of the main race.
Although this was a first for NASCAR, the Coliseum has staged events that required extensive retooling of the field surface. The most recent was Stadium Super Trucks in 2013 and perhaps the first was the Super Bowl of Motocross in 1972.
NASCAR spent more than $1 million building the track, and began by disassembled it mere hours after the race. Officials say the turf field will be restored in time for the L.A. Giltinis to play their professional rugby opener Feb. 27.
Deemed an unquestioned success, the Clash at the Coliseum instantly expanded NASCAR’s options. NASCAR has had exploratory discussions to construct a track at a venue in New York City or New Jersey. The Pacific Northwest is an untapped area. Dillon mentioned AT&T Stadium in Dallas as a dream venue. And let’s not forget the international market.
“We certainly think we can take bold steps with our schedule to broaden the fan base,” NASCAR official Matt Humphrey said. “In addition to cities in the U.S., we’d consider exploring Europe, Mexico, Asia, Australia. . . . The world is our oyster.”
ALLEN J. SCHABEN/LOS ANGELES TIMES With a view of downtown Los Angeles and the snow-capped mountains in the background, NASCAR racers circle the quarter-mile track during the Busch Light Clash At The Coliseum, a NASCAR exhibition race at the historic LA Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California on Sunday.
Knicks waste Mitchell Robinson’s career night with dismal guard play
New York Daily News
With Rudy Gobert out, the Knicks’ frontcourt was able to utterly abuse the Jazz in the paint Monday night.
Mitchell Robinson had the game of his life, feasting on Udoka Azubuike and Hassan Whiteside in the paint for 19 points and tying a career high with 21 rebounds. And Julius Randle had one of his most complete games of the season, leading the team with 30 points, though he did pass up an open shot in the paint at a critical moment with under two minutes left.
Unfortunately for the Knicks, guard play matters too, and their backcourt struggled on both ends with Kemba Walker (rest) and Quentin Grimes (sore knee) out. It added up to a 113104 loss in Utah, their sixth loss in seven games and 9th in 11.
With the Knicks totally unable to squeeze offense out of their guards, the Jazz were able to clamp down late, holding them to two field goals in the final 4:59, both stat-padders in the final 40 seconds after the game had been decided.
“I thought we played really well for three quarters, then the start of the fourth, didn’t play well,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said after the loss. “Intensity’s different, physicality’s different...We gotta own our space and be strong with the ball,” he said of his team’s fourth-quarter turnovers.
It briefly looked like it would be another third-quarter collapse, with the Jazz starting the second half on a 9-1 run. The Knicks roared back with a run of their own, a 24-2 explosion for an 12-point lead late in the third that proved to be fool’s gold.
The Knicks dropped to 24-30 and 12th in the East with the loss.
New York tossed up 33 3s, hitting just eight, and struggled to slow Westchester native Donovan Mitchell, who had a gameleading 32.
It was a parade of bricks from the perimeter for the Knicks. RJ Barrett (8-of-25), Alec Burks (210), Evan Fournier (5-12) and Immanuel Quickley (2-9) all had poor shooting nights.
With Randle and Robinson (10 offensive boards) generating much of the offense, and Walker and Grimes out, it was a prime opportunity for Cam Reddish. The trade acquisition had barely gotten off the bench since joining the Knicks, getting 21 mostly garbage-time minutes in three games with his new team.
Reddish played early and often Monday night, and it was unimpressive. He was a gameworst minus-21 in 15 minutes, scoring just six points.
But as much as Reddish failed to seize on Grimes’ injury, Robinson succeeded in capitalizing on Gobert’s. (How the Jazz have looked in his absence is as good as case as any for why the French big man is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year.)
Robinson has shined in recent weeks after an ugly start to the season, something he pinned on struggling with conditioning after offseason foot surgery. Now he’s clearly fit, playing more than 30 minutes for the third straight game on Monday -- something he hadn’t done since January 2021. He added three blocks and two steals in his 36 minutes, the most he’d played this year.
The young center could be on the move soon, with the trade deadline Thursday and his contract expiring after the season. “Whatever happens, happens,” Robinson told reporters before the game Monday. “I’m just here to play basketball ... I don’t think about it that much. I just want to hoop. That’s what I’ve got an agent for.”
“Amazing, he’s a monster,” Randle said of Robinson after the game. “He’s been elite, I’m proud of him.”
Randle also dismissed the controversy of the day: fan footage that showed him slapping away a computer from the Knicks’ video coordinator in frustration during a loss to the Lakers. “Stuff like that happens all the time,” Randle said after the game. “I slapped his laptop today too,” he joked. “I wasn’t mad, but I slapped it.”
Rob Gray/USA TODAY New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson (23) dunks the ball in the second quarter against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Arena on Monday.
NBA roundup: Booker drops 38 as Suns top Bulls
Field Level Media
Devin Booker scored 38 points, Chris Paul and Jae Crowder each had double-doubles, and visiting Phoenix topped Chicago, 127-124, for its 13th win in 14 games.
Booker, who shot 14for-23 from the field, has scored at least 30 points in five of his past eight games for the Suns, who led by as many as 27 points.
Chicago lost for the second time in as many days and allowed at least 115 points for the seventh s t r a i g h t g a m e . D e M a r DeRozan led the Bulls with 38 points and Zach LaVine had 32.
Warriors 110,
Thunder 98
Klay Thompson scored 21 points to lead Golden State to a victory at Oklahoma City.
The Warriors stretched their winning streak to nine, their longest in a single season since an 11-game run in January 2019. Stephen Curry finished just shy of a tripledouble with 18 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.
T h e T h u n d e r h a v e d r o p p e d b a c k - t o - b a c k games after winning three straight. Luguentz Dort, playing with a mask for the first time after breaking his nose two games prior, led the Thunder with 26 points. Darius Bazley tied a season high with 20 points.
Heat 121,
Wizards 100
Bam Adebayo scored 21 points, Jimmy Butler added 19 points and Miami never trailed in defeating host Washington.
The Heat, who have the best record in the Eastern Conference at 35-20, improved to 22-12 against the East. They won despite playing without Tyler Herro, who is averaging 20.1 points per game, due to a sore right knee.
W a s h i n g t o n l o s t i t s sixth straight home game and its eighth of nine overall. Without Bradley Beal (wrist), who leads the team in scoring and assists, the Wizards were led by Corey Kispert’s 20 points in 26 minutes off the bench.
Raptors 116,
Hornets 101
Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr. each scored 24 points as Toronto fended off host Charlotte.
Siakam added 11 rebounds and eight assists as the Raptors recorded their sixth straight win, matching their season high. Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby each racked up 20 points.
Miles Bridges had 25 points for the Hornets, who have lost five games in a row, matching the team’s longest skid of the season. Terry Rozier contributed 20 points.
