Have you ever watched the Avengers in the MCU? Of course, you have. And you’re probably a big fan of Steve Rogers, aka Captain America.
Do you know why you’re a fan? It’s probably not the super strength or super speed. It’s not the heroic quips he gives us. It’s not even America’s [expletive].
It’s what he represents. And, no, I don’t mean the flag. I mean his mentality.
No matter what the odds are, he never gives up. Everything might be working against him. But, still, in the face of it all he remains unphased. “I can do this all day,” he’ll say, as he peels himself up off the ground for the umpteenth time.
To me, that’s who Simone Biles is today.
Learning about Biles’ injury was certainly a scary moment. She hurt her leg while going through her jaw-dropping beam routine, according toUSA Today Sports’Tom Schad.
It’d be one thing for Biles to lose. If she doesn’t win gold at this year’s Olympics, that’s fine. But if she were to lose, we all want to see her go down swinging. What we don’t want are circumstances out of her control ruining her run. Not for a second consecutive Games.
Biles’ routines are still so good that it doesn’t even matter when she gets dinged on execution. The difficulty is so great on her skills that she still achieves heights that no one else can. That’s what makes her special. That’s what makes her one of the greatest athletes we’ve ever seen.
Oh, captain. My captain. Please, keep cooking.
France’s new phenom
(Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)
Here’s our daily word from Michelle Martinelli, with boots on the ground in France. Today, she shares what it was like to witness the ascension of France’s new superstar, Léon Marchand.
NANTERRE, France — French swimming superstar Léon Marchand winning his first gold medal in the men’s 400-meter individual medley wasn’t a surprise Sunday night. He’s the world record holder and was the clear favorite.
But his first final electrified the crowd at Paris La Défense Arena, which was filled with French fans and flags.
“I’m not sure there’s been anything like this [atmosphere],” said Bob Bowman, Michael Phelps’ longtime coach who now coaches Marchand. “It was amazing really to have that home-team advantage — not an advantage, but just energy, right? It’s crazy. I feel like it was something that I haven’t really seen in a meet.”
Can’t say I’ve seen anything like it either! It felt like the arena might crumble.
Fans couldn’t get enough of Marchand — who swam at Arizona State for three seasons, and was a three-time Pac-12 (RIP) Men’s Swimmer of the Year, before turning pro this year — as he absolutely dominated. Their enthusiasm was intoxicating.
“I opened my eyes, I listened to everything going on around me, and that really pushed me to do a good race,” Marchand said.
Every time he hit the wall and fans saw his splits, they got louder. And he ran away with the victory, ahead of American first-time Olympian Carson Foster, who won bronze.
No worries if you missed Marchand’s first race because he’ll likely have three more finals with the 200-meter IM, 200-meter breaststroke and 200-meter butterfly. I don’t know if the crowd’s energy comes across well on TV, but I expect it to be just as loud in person anytime he races.
Benching Jayson Tatum was FINE
There are a bunch of angry Celtics fans on my Twitter timeline because Steve Kerr benched Jayson Tatum in Team USA’s opening basketball game against Serbia.
But, listen. When those same Celtics fans can tell me who they’d have benched to put Tatum in the game, we’ll talk.
Prince Grimes has more on it here:
“But did they win though?
Many coaching decisions that fall under public scrutiny can be put to bed that simply for me. If it worked, let’s move on.
That’s where I stand when it comes do Steve Kerr’s decision to bench Jayson Tatum Sunday for all of Team USA’s win over Serbia in group play of the Paris Olympics. Many people found it to be disrespectful to a First Team All-NBA player fresh off leading his team to a championship — especially given two of his Boston Celtics teammates combined for almost 40 minutes in the game. But as Kerrexplainedafter the win, the matchup andKevin Durant’s returnfrom injury dictated Tatum sit.
The results speak for themselves. USA won by 26 points. Let’s move on. The only thing owed to Tatum was a conversation about the decision. Kerr said that took place prior to the game.”
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