As our extended families gather together for annual (not counting pandemic social distancing breaks) feasts, carefully and respectfully divided into whatever table sections seem most appropriate - adults and kids, smoking and non-smoking, vaccinated/masked and unvaccinated/unmasked - let us bow our heads like a shot putter preparing for a throw to give silent thanks for the blessings the sports world bestowed upon us this year. • Give thanks to the Grand Poobahs of international soccer for proving they have a third of a brain, a third of a heart, and a third of a spine among them.
Sure, we might be tempted, like Oliver Twist, to ask for more, but having witnessed wretched, corrupt ugliness running things in the beautiful sport for so many