The Daily Dose/November 14, 2018
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
In The News
The number of possible hosts for the 2026 Winter Olympics is down to two after Calgary withdrew its bid, following the rejection by voters in a non-binding election this week.
The two cities that remain interested are a joint bid from Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy and Stockholm, Sweeden and neither of these two entries seem entirely thrilled with this status. The Italian government has pledged to contribute zero funding whatsoever, while Stockholm’s new municipal government doesn’t want to bother with the Games, either. Both entries have prior Olympic experience, too: Cortina d’Ampezzo host the 1956 Winter Games while Stockholm hosted the 1912 Summer Games. In fact, Calgary had hosted the 1988 Winter Games.
That nobody is interested is hardly a bulletin. The IOC gave away the 2024 and 2028 Summer Games to Paris and Los Angeles because there was no other interest and it is plain fewer and fewer cities are willing to tolerate the Olympic’s lasting legacies of debt and facilities that only had a two-week shelf life. It’s not going to get any better, either, and we are pleased to present, again, our plan to avoid this problem in the future.
Host the Olympics around the world, the same events in the same place every four years.
Here’s an example of how it would work, using the Winter Games as an example:
The Opening Ceremonies can be held in Innsbrook, Austria. Skiing in the Alps. Hockey in North America. Speed skating in Japan. Cross country skiing in Finland. Those deals where they ride sleds down tracks can be held in Europe, too. Curling in Canada. At the end, everyone can meet in Lake Placid for the closing ceremonies.
Same deal for the Summer Games: Opening Ceremonies and some other sports like wrestling, archery and modern pentathlon in Athens. Big ticket events can alternate continents, but sports people only really care about every four years can be held where they have a long history: team handball in central Europe, field hockey in India, rugby in New Zealand or South Africa and when it’s all over everyone can meet in Los Angeles for the marathon, the basketball and baseball gold medal games and the Closing Ceremonies.
Holding events where there are already facilities in place slashes new construction costs by 99.993 percent. Instantly the Olympics are affordable again, infused with a fresh vitality it could certainly use. Instead of the Olympics gathering in one place, the Olympics could commandeer the entire planet.
Today at the Site
Sparrow issues another of his classic lines tonight at the retailer in today’s edition of The Diary of a Nobody. Also, he spends no small amount on the phone with tech support wondering why Internet at The Shire is down and he is so pleased with his service he agrees to take the survey they sent him.
Got another Sparrow Classic Line (SCL) off at the retailer today!!!…I am not making that up…I was at the service desk and a lady came up to check out…She had a kid in the baby seat, a bit older than a year it looked like, but I could not be bothered to reproduce, so what do I know…The line from Ol’ Sparrow:
“Here…Let me scan the kid…They’re one-third off this week…”
Today’s Thought for the Day is from Thomas Edison, talking about astounding ourselves.
[Edison] knew success was nothing more than having the wisdom to know the life you are meant to live, the courage to go and live that life and the patience to see it through to the desired end.
The NFL Bottom Ten/Week 12 will move Thursday.
On This Date
In 1971 – Mariner 9, launched by the United States in May, enters orbit around Mars, the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. The spacecraft was launched eleven days after the Soviet Union’s Mars 2 spacecraft, though Mars 2 didn’t reach Mars until late November when it became the first spacecraft to land on another planet. Mariner 9 was shut down in October 1972 and remains in Martian orbit, though it is expected to crash to the surface in 2022.
In 1943 – Sid Luckman of the Chicago Bears becomes the first NFL player to pass for seven touchdowns and more than 400 yards in a game, as the Bears defeat the New York Giants 56-7. The win moved the Bears to 7-0-1 on the season, and they would eventually win their sixth NFL title. Luckman’s seven touchdown record still stands, though it has been tied seven times, most recently by Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints in 2015, also against the Giants.
In 1952 – The first regular record chart in Great Britain is published on this date, with Here In My Heart by Al Martino the first #1 song. Initially, the chart had twelve positions, would expand to 20 spots two years later and now has 100 entries. Over the years, Elvis has the most #1 songs in Great Britain with 21, while Paul McCartney has the most appearances at #1, 25, counting his time with the Beatles, Wings and as a solo act. The biggest song in British chart history is I Believe by Frankie Lane, which spent 18 weeks at #1 in 1953.
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Conway Twitty’s was born Harold Lloyd Jenkins.
Today’s Stumper
The Chicago Bears moved to Chicago in 1921. Where did they play before that? – Answer Next Time!
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