| KNOW THE BEST IN SPORT Global Edition |
| February 16-22, 2021 |
Policing words?
Words have an important impact and words also allow us to understand how someone thinks. Lately we have seen a series of incidents around the world where individual’s words have got them in trouble. Sometimes, as a result of a totalitarian policing words -an anti-liberal scenario-, and others for terrible remarks such as inciting hatred where the consequences have been appropriate.
Sport has not been exempt of controversies related to words. Just last week, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Chef, Yoshiro Mori, a former Prime Minister of Japan resigned after he remarked that women have a strong sense of competition between them, leading to longer meetings as a result of more people wanting to speak.
Such comments led to a public outcry and the public pressure and media stratification led to his resignation. His comments were gender-based and probably antiquate, but he did not make any comment here he was demeaning to women nor when he advocated to subordinate the role of women. It was not a proper and responsible comment, but the reaction was exaggerated. His resignation was out of proportion for having made an uncomfortable comment.
Increasingly, individuals with a sense of moral superiority have led to public mobbing of the words. Just last year, driver Kyle Larson (USA) made the mistake of saying a word with racist connotations in a sim race -without a racist target- and as a result he was suspended by NASCAR and lost his ride.
Larson found his way in dirt racing and was dominating there last year. He also took the time to learn, reflect, be better and do social service. As a public sportsperson he needed to do better and understand that he is an example, but had he been banned from the sport that would have been a travesty.
Fortunately Larson came back to racing last week at the Daytona 500 and had a good race. He can now be an ally of important social causes and that is good, but that would not happen would he not have the platform to continue doing what he does best, which is racing.
Even with something that goes directly against the spirit of sport, cheating, there are avenues for athletes to eventually come back -except for extreme cases and/or repeat offenses- but part of human nature is making mistakes and doing wrong. It is also human to forgive and give second chances.
Sport has an educational purpose beyond just having fun, and the best way to reinsert someone in society and do right is not by exclusion but rather by inclusion and teaching. Punishment if part of it as well, but a permanent ban for just words is beyond the scope of sport and it should continue to be that way.
| Five things to know from last week |
- Daytona Crash Fest. The Daytona 500 was filled with accidents. With less than 15 laps in, 16 cars had already been involved in a wreck. This did not change in the last lap: a wreck allowed Michael McDowell (USA) to take his first NASCAR Cup race, at the biggest stage. Watch the highlights (NASCAR)
- Almost Perfect Eckhoff. Tiril Eckhoff (NOR) had a great start at the IBU Biathlon World Championship. She won gold in the first three competitions she has competed in so far: the 7.5 km Sprint, the 10 km Pursuit and the 4×7.5 Mixed Relay. Markéta Davidová (CZE) won the 15 m. Individual. Also perfect was Émilien Jacquelin (FRA), who did not miss single shot en route to the Men’s 12.5 km Pursuit gold. Martin Ponsiluoma (SWE) won the 10 km Sprint. (Watch the week 1 highlights – IBU)
- Cross World Champions. Sweden hosted the Ski and Snowboard Cross World Championships. In Ski Cross, Alex Fiva (SUI) won his first medal at a World Championship by taking the Men’s gold. In Women’s, Sara Naeslund (SWE) managed to get a local win by surprising Smith (SUI) and Baron (FRA), silver and bronze. In Snowboard, Lucas Eguibar (ESP) won the men’s gold and Charlotte Bankes (ENG) took the women’s, while Australia won the mixed team competition. Watch a quick recap (FIS)
- Alpine Worlds. Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) has been the only skier from a non-Alpine country to so far take gold at the 2021 Alpine Ski World Championship. She won the Alpine Combined, her 6th World Championship gold. The other two women’s golds have been for Switzerland: Corinne Suter took gold in Downhll and silver in Super-G, and Lara Gut-Behrami won the Super G and took bronze in Downhill. The three men’s golds have been or Austria, with Vincent Kriechmayr taking the Downhill and Super-G (Watch Kriechmayr’s Downhill run – FIS)
- Dutch Speed Skaters. Dutch skaters took 7 of the 14 gold medals at the 2021 World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships in Heerenveen (NED). Nils van der Poel (SWE) broke the 10,000 meters World Record en route to the gold. He also won the 5,000 gold. Irene Schouten (NED) took two golds: in the 5,000 meters and Team Pursuit, with Ireen Wüst (NED), who won her 22nd World Championship gold, a record in the sport. (Watch the Final day recap – ISU)
| GLOBAL PODIUM OF THE WEEK |
 Gold: Fußball-Club Bayern München e.V. (Association Football, Germany) Bayern München consolidated the greatest season ever for an Association Football Club, by winning every match at the FIFA Club World Cup after also having won every single match at the UEF Champions League tournament that qualified them to the World Cup. They are also the second team that wins the Sextuple: the FIFA Club World Cup, the UEFA Champions League, the European Supercup, the Domestic League and the Domestic Cup. Winning squad: Manuel Neuer, Niklas Süle, Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sané, Jérôme Boateng, Leon Goretzka, Thomas Müller, Lukas Schneller, Ron-Thorben Hoffmann (DEU), Benjamin Pavard, Bouna Sarr, Corentin Tolisso, Kingsley Coman (FRA), Robert Lewandowski (POL), Douglas Costa (BRA), Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (CMR), Alphonso Davies (CAN), Marc Roca (ESP), David Alaba (AUT), Tiago Dantas (POR), Jamal Musiala (ENG) Watch the game highlights (FIFA) |
 Silver: Francesco Friedrich, Alexander Schüller, Candy Bauer and Thorsten Margis (Germany, Bobsleigh) Francesco Friedrich increased his record for most Bobsleigh World Championships won, with 11. By taking his fourth consecutive 4-Man Bob World title he also established a new record alongside teammate Candy Bauer (DEU). They also all-time second in most 4-Man World Championships wins. Another team member, Alexander Schüller, won the 2-Man last week with Friedrich and the 4-Man World Championship last year. Thorsten Margis won his 8th World Championship. Watch the highlights of this week’s Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Championship action (IBSF) |
 Bronze: Tina Hermann and Christopher Grotheer (Germany, Skeleton) Both Hermann and Grotheer won the individual Skeleton World Championships and then teamed up together to win the Mixed Team competition. Grotheer win his second World Championship in a row, while Hermann was won the last thee and four in total in the women’s divisions, both records. Watch the highlights of this week’s Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Championship action (IBSF) |
| GLOBAL SPORTS AGENDA Week Preview Several Winter Olympic sports either had their World Championships during the last 10 days or are having them this week. This time the Alpine Ski World Championships and the Biathlon World Championships continue, while Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined have theirs. The Australian Open concludes. In the Men’s tournament, three of the top four seeds are still alive (Djokovic, Nadal and Medvedev), while in the women’s it is only Barty (AUS) and Osaka (JPN) but they don’t have it easy, as players such as Serena WIlliams (USA) and Brady (USA) are also still competing. The UEFA Champions League will have their first leg of the Round of 16 but just with four games. World Champion Bayern will be able to “rest”. Boxing fights cannot miss the World Title fight between Miguel “Alacrán” Berchelt (MEX) and Óscar Valdez (MEX), which might become a classic between two Mexican warriors. Horse Racing will have the Hong Kong Gold Cup, second leg of the Hong Kong Triple Crown. The UCI World Tour starts with the UAE Tour, the first important road cycling race of the season. Alpine Skiing: FIS World Championship (ITA) Artistic Swimming: FINA FINA Artistic Swimming World Series 2021 #1 Association Football: Domestic Cups (Coupe de France Round of 64 Amateur, etc.) Domestic Leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Serie A, Liga MX, Brasileirão Assaí, etc.) UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Athletics: World Athletics Indoor Tour – Gold (POL) Aussie Rules Football: AFL Women’s Regular Season Autosport: Asian Le Mans Series (Yas Marina Circuit, ARE x2) Best in the Desert (Parker, Arizona) GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS (Philip Island, AUS x2) NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (Homestead–Miami Speedway, USA) NASCAR Cup (Homestead–Miami Speedway, USA) Repco Supercars Championship (Mount Panorama Circuit, AUS x2) Turismo Carretera (La Plata, ARG) World of Outlaws Late Models (Volusia Speedway Park, USA x3) World of Outlaws Sprint Cars (Columbus, Monroe, USA) Bandy: XXIX Championship of Russia. Super League – 2020-2021 Stage I Baseball: Serie Nacional de Béisbol de Cuba Quarterfinals Basketball: AmeriCup Qualifiers EuroLeague Regular Season Round NBA Regular Season Basque Pelota: Campeonato Parejas Clasificación Liguilla Innpala Remonte Semi-Finals Magic City Jai-Alai Main nue Pro individuel – Semifinals Biathlon: IBU World Championship Billiards: IPA World Championships – Bradford Hotel Bobsleigh: Women’s Monobob World Series Bowling: PBA Players Championship Finals Boxing: World Boxing Council World Super Feather Title – Miguel Berchelt (MEX) vs Óscar Valdez (MEX) vacant World Boxing Association World Minimum Title – Victorio Saludar (FIL) vs Robert Paradero (FIL) Cricket: 2019–21 ICC World Test Championship (Various) T20 International: New Zealand vs Australia Cross-Country Skiing: FIS World Cup (CZE) FIS World Championship (DEU) Cylo-cross: Internationale Sluitingsprijs Ostmalle (BEL) Esports: Arena of Valor – RoV Pro League 2021 Summer Arena of Valor – Arena of Glory Spring 2021 BlizzConline Call of Duty League 2021 – Stage 1 Clash Royale – No Tilt Worlds 2021 CounterStrike – Intel Extreme Masters XV – World Championship League of Legends Spring Seasons (LCK, LCS Spring, LEC, LPL) PUBG Mobile PUBG Global Invitational.S 2021 Quake Pro League Season 2: Stage 2 Starcraft Brood War – AfreecaTV StarCraft Team League Season 2 Golf: PGA Tour The Genesis Invitational (USA) Handball: 2020–21 EHF Champions League group stage Horse Racing (Flat): Blue Diamond Stakes, Futurity Stakes, Oakleigh Plate (Australia) Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup, Hong Kong Gold Cup (Hong Kong) February Stakes (Japan) H.H.The Amir Trophy (Qatar) Horse Racing (Jump): Ascot Chase (ENG) Ice Hockey: Kontinental Hockey League Regular Season NHL Regular Season Indoor Soccer: MASL Regular Season Judo: IJF Grand Slam (ISR) Kambala: Moodabiri Motorcycling: AMA Ice Race Grand Championship – GP (Campbellsport, USA) Auto Race – 34th All Japan Auto Race (Hamamatsu, JPN) Best in the Desert (Parker, Arizona) GNCC Racing (Union, USA) Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship (Glendale, California) World Off-Road Championship Series Motorcycling (Blythe, USA) Mushing: American Dog Derby World Cup Snow (FIN) Nordic Combined Ski: World Championship (DEU) Para Alpine Skiing: La Molina 2021 WPAS World Cup Para Bobsleigh: Para Sport World Cup Para Snowboard: WPSB World Cup (FIN) Polo: WPL The All-Star Challenge Road Cycling: UCI World Tour – UAE Tour (ARE) Rhythmic Gymnastics: Grand Prix Moscow 2021 (RUS) Rugby League: NRL All Stars match (AUS) Rugby Union: Guinness PRO14 Premier 15s Premiership Rugby Super Rugby AU Top 14 Sailing: Prada Cup FInal Simracing: Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup Skeleton: IBSFWorld Championships Ski Jumping: FIS World Championship (DEU) FIS World Cup (ROM) Surfing: Red Bull Magnitude Tennis: ATP Australian Open (AUS) WTA Australian Open (AUS) Water Polo: Men’s World Qualification Tournament Wheelchair Tennis: ITF Grand Slam – Australian Open (AUS) Winter Triathlon: 2021 World Triathlon Winter Cup Asiago (ITA) *This agenda is based on official information at time of publication. All events are subject to change and/or cancellation. |
Sport’s best values
| Motivation: Marty Schottenheimer Martin Edward Schottenheimer (USA) passed away age 77. He is the 8th winningest (game-wise) Head Coach in NFL history, and had more game wins than any other Head Coach that has not won the Super Bowl. In 21 seasons he reached the playoffs 13 times and had two losing seasons. He was known as a great motivator. You can attest to that with this video. |
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“My life’s not the same as it was two years ago. The universe has changed, so to speak. That’s how it works. For now to go back for Kamaru, I’m very happy for what he does, what he has achieved, but to go back to give three months of my life, put myself in training camp to try and get a win against Kamaru Usman, it doesn’t get me motivated…I don’t know if there is anything that will get me motivated to go back to competition.”
Georges St-Pierre (CAN)
Former UFC Welterweight Champion
On Kamaru Usman’s (NGA) successful UFC Welterweight title defense and speculation about a matchup between the two
