Things we need to see at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles

We have seen many events happening with 1 week left of the 2024 Olympics in Paris. From Simone Biles’s comeback to Katie Ledecky being the most decorated female athlete in the USA to an Egyptian fencer competing 7 months pregnant to controversy with transgender athletes competing in boxing (There should be more inclusion for transgender athletes in my opinion), we have to start looking to the next 4 years as the olympics comeback to the United States for the first time since the Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City in 2002 (Will also be hosting it again in 2034). Here are a few things I would love to see at the 2028 Summer Olympics

*First, here is what is now announced as events for the 2028 Olympic Games

2028 Summer Olympic Sports Program
Aquatics Artistic swimming (2) Diving (8) Swimming (37) Water polo (2) Archery (5) Athletics (48) Badminton (5)Baseball Baseball (1) Softball (1) BasketballBasketball (2)3×3 basketball (2) CanoeingSlalom (6)Sprint (10) Cricket (2) CyclingBMX freestyle (2)BMX racing (2)Mountain biking (2)Road (4)Track (12) EquestrianDressage (2)Eventing (2)Jumping (2) Fencing (12) Field hockey (2) Flag football (2) Football (2) Golf (2) GymnasticsArtistic (14)Rhythmic (2)Trampoline (2) Handball (2) Judo (15) Lacrosse (2) Modern pentathlon (2) Rowing (15) Rugby sevens (2) Sailing (10) Shooting (15) Skateboarding (4) Sport climbing (4) Squash (2) Surfing (2) Table tennis (5) Taekwondo (8) Tennis (5) Triathlon (3) VolleyballVolleyball (indoor) (2)Beach volleyball (2) Weightlifting (10) WrestlingFreestyle (12)Greco-Roman (6)
  1. Need a Hollywood theme opening ceremony something like what Wrestlemania 39 and Superbowl 56 halftime show did when hosting their events at Sofi Stadium
  2. Bring in New Events
    • Pickleball
    • Bowling
    • Parkour or Ninja Course
    • 5k Run
    • 10k Run
    • Spartan Race
    • Karate (Bring it back after the 2020 Olympic Games)
    • Frisbee Events
      • Frisbee Golf
      • Ultimate Frisbee
  3. Bring back Snoop Dogg for the Olympics as he was raised in that area. He was also a part of Superbowl 56 Halftime show and was the co-host of Wrestlemania 39 with the Miz (Should also be there for the Olympics along with Dr. Dre)
  4. Have a Cross Country road trip torch relay starting on the east coast making it’s way all the way to Los Angeles (Or just a Route 66 Torch Relay)
  5. Have an epic Opening and Closing Ceremony concerts from artists like
    • Billie Eilish
    • Kendrick Lamar
    • Katy Perry
    • Weird Al Yankovic
    • Tyga
    • Cher
    • Green Day
    • Josh Groban
  6. Alex Morgan lighting the flame to open the ceremony with the cauldron being like fireworks
  7. The Parade of Nations taking place on floats like the Rose Parade showing each nations’ flags and flowers
  8. Yes it has Oklahoma City asssisting in some events, Softball and Canoe Slalom, but it should take place in California or nearby.
    • Softball and Baseball use baseball fields from the LA Dodgers, LA Angels, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, and Oakland/Las Vegas A’s along with their minor league teams there
    • Canoe Slalom takes place in Central and or Northern California

Long -Term Vision

By Mike Rifkin

The MLB trade deadline has come and gone, there were winners and losers. Teams asked themselves if they should go all in or if they should hold onto some top prospects and have some flexibility for the winter and beyond. One of those teams who had this question : the New York Mets. 

The Mets struggled early this season, starting 0-5 and falling 11 games under .500 in May, back then people were talking about the Mets selling Pete Alonso, Luis Severino, etc… But since June the Mets have been one of the hottest teams in baseball, and made new President Of Baseball Ops David Stearns change course. But the question was would Stearns go all in in a “evaluation” year? In past offseasons Steve Cohen and the Mets have been aggressive in free agency, throwing money at future Hall Of Famers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. That plan didn’t work and last year at the trade deadline the Mets said they’d pay the bulk of both salaries in exchange for better prospects. This winter Steve Cohen hired David Stearns to be the President of Baseball Ops, the same position he held with the Milwaukee Brewers. Stears put together some really good teams in Milwaukee and made some big deals, but he never had Steve Cohen’s wallet with him. 

So fast forward to this past few weeks, when Met players were basically begging the organization to help them at the deadline. Stearns did just that, as he added three relievers ( Ryne Stanek, Phil Maton, and Huascar Brazoban), a starting pitcher (Paul Blackburn), and a Left handed bench player (Jesse Winker). Stearns did all of this without having to pluck from the top of the thirteenth best farm system according to MLB Pipeline (entering the season).  

By not going “All in” for a guy like Blake Snell at the deadline the Mets put themselves in an interesting position this winter. Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer both should come off the Mets payroll, Starling Marte will have one year left on his deal and then there’s the impending free agency of Pete Alonso. But for Stearns and Cohen they’ll have some financial flexibility as well as trade chips to use. So if the Mets miss out on signing Corbin Burnes this winter, would they use some of their trade chips on a Tarik Skubal from the Tigers (Although I still don’t know why Detroit would move him). But the Mets not only have a wallet to go out and sign players, but they’re building a farm system that can help them as well. That farm system is looking good on the Major League level right now with how Mark Vientos and Fransisco Alvaerz have performed this season. 

The Mets have organizational depth and with David Stearns, who did well in his first trade deadline. The Mets have a very intriguing winter ahead of them, meanwhile the team is in the thick of the wildcard race, Stearns and Cohen couldn’t have asked for a better season, but both of them are thinking about the long term.

Reversal Of Fortune

By Mike Rifkin

Friday night, the vibes at Citi Field were immaculate. The Mets had a seven run third inning, looking for their second consecutive win over the division rival Atlanta Braves, and their fifth straight win overall. But the vibes changed in the sixth inning of that game and changed the series as a whole. 

Mets ace Kodai Senga, was making his season debut and was cruising along. In the Sixth inning Senga got a pop up and when he ran off the mound he collapsed on the field holding his leg. The Mets announced Senga has a high strained calf and is done for the regular season, but might return for the playoffs if the Mets were to get there. Senga went 5 ⅓ innings giving up two runs on two hits, one walk and nine strikeouts. The Mets, who waited so long to get their ace back will have to presumably play the rest of the regular season without him. But Senga’s injury left a dark cloud over Citi Field the rest of the weekend. 

The Braves outscored the Mets 15-2 after Senga’s injury, ensuing in a split of the four game series. Now the Mets will have to do something they’ve done all season, rise to the occasion, now with the trade deadline coming on Tuesday We’ll have to see what David Stearns does. But the Mets entered the series against the Braves 1 ½ games behind Atlanta, and that ‘s where they stand now, but now they understand that just like the Braves they aren’t getting their ace back.  So can the Mets respond once again in a season filled with them. 

Securing The Bag

By Mike Rifkin

Friday was a good day for a couple of NFL Quarterbacks. Tua Tagovailoa of the Dolphins and Jordan Love of the Packers both signed lucrative contract extensions. These two contracts land these two as two of the four highest paid Quarterbacks in the NFL based on AAV (average annual value). To quote Uncle Ben from Spiderman : “ With great power, comes great responsibility.” And with big contracts comes big expectations. 

Tagovailoa and the Dolphins agreed to a four year 212 Million Dollar contract with 167 million guaranteed. Tua is a lightning rod for fans across the league, you have some who say he’s only good because he has Jaylen Waddle, Tyreek Hill and Mike McDaniel. Others will say Tua doesn’t scare them like a Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen. But, what if I said both things can be true. Tua benefits from the weapons he has (as does every quarterback in the NFL), but he’s also not a Mahomes or Allen : Tua doesn’t have their arm strength, but he is extremely accurate with the football.  For the first time in his career Tua played in every game last season and had career highs in completion percentage, yards and touchdowns. Tua was in the MVP conversation as well until the last two weeks of the regular season, where the Dolphins got crushed by the Ravens and lost to the Bills, making them a wild card team as opposed to winning the AFC East and had to go to Kansas City instead of hosting a playoff game. The question for Tua will always be can he stay healthy, if he can that’s a boost for the Dolphins if not it’s a big problem. 

Jordan Love and the Packers agreed to a four year contract worth 220 Million Dollars with 155 million guaranteed and a record 75 million dollar signing bonus. Love was top ten in Yards, Touchdowns and QBR. Love had big shoes to fill, as he was the heir to Aaron Rodgers, and if Love struggled fans would wonder if the Packers made a mistake by taking Love in the first round in the 2020 draft. At one point during the season, the Packers had lost five of six games and then Jordan Love went off. In a three game stretch against the Chargers, Lions and Chiefs Love threw for 857 yards and combined for eight touchdowns and zero interceptions. Love’s best game though might’ve come in the NFC Wild Card game where he went into Dallas and threw for 272 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions against one of the league’s best defenses. Jordan Love had a lot of questions to answer last season and he passed with flying colors. 

Both Tua and Love now are at the top of the highest paid Quarterback list. Now that they’ve both been paid the expectations for both have changed, you have to win. Both guys led their teams to the playoffs last season. In Love’s case he won a playoff game, something Tua has yet to do. Both guys have organizations that firmly believe in them, now they have to go out and prove their organizations right.

ARE WE WITNESSING ANOTHER MIRACLE METS

BY MARK HALPERN

 If Estelle Getty was writing this, this is how it would open “Picture it flushing Queens 1969. The Mets were in third place and chasing the Cubs all season and on August 14th a Miracle began.” That magical season in 1969 proved that even being so far back, came back to not only win the pennant but, also went on to win the World Series. I could only imagine what Shea Stadium felt like. I had a season ticket to the Mets and there was a time the stadium got so loud you felt the stadium shake. An example of that moment I was there was when Endy Chavez Robbed the home run and got the ball in for a double play. I think during that time in 1969 the stadium shook harder.

    Here we are 7/25/2024 and at the beginning of the season with all the injuries to the rotation and bullpen, there was speculation the Mets would have another abysmal season and miss the playoffs. Things were looking that way too as the Mets sat in fourth place in the NL East. The Mets organization has enough on their minds with EXTENDING ALONSO, getting more pitching for next year, or dare I say a trade happening soon to help the bullpen and starting but, only time will tell. Sitting where they were Mets fans didn’t quit and kept coming to games to cheer this team on.

   Then on June 13th, 2024, the Mets had a special guest to throw out the first pitch. Grimace one of Mcdonald’s mascots threw a decent pitch to home. It’s hard to throw a ball in a mascot uniform and he got it there. After that, it was like the Mets had some extra boost in their step. The Mets went from really being counted out, to a team if the season ended now, they would be in the playoffs. The Terms “No Quit New York” and “OMG” (happens to be Iglesias #1 hit single) have special meanings and the Mets have been on a tear and now find themselves in the second wild card slot and a game and a half out from the top spot. The team that stands in their way right now has been a thorn in their sign forever and that’s the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have always been a huge threat in the NL East but, they have had some very bad luck with injuries losing Acuna, Strider and now Albies are all most likely out for the season. Atlanta has been in a slow downward spiral and that’s the team the Mets will face off and if we sweep, we own the top spot.

    Injuries have plagued the Mets as well but one injured player will return to face the Braves and that’s the Met’s Ace Kodai Senga who was hampered by a capsule strain that takes time to heal as we saw with Scherzer and Verlander who both had the same issue. Senga has finished his rehab and is ready to contribute and it’s at the right time.

   With the Trade deadline rapidly approaching the Mets have to make decisions on what they are willing to move to get a top-end bullpen hand like Tanner Scott of the Marlins. Brett Baty doesn’t have a spot right now as Vientos has won the 3b job. Baty could be used and adding Scott would be amazing, especially with the loss of Drew Smith.

   My mom said “It’s like Déjà vu” on what’s happening with the Mets. This Lineup is producing big time and not just by one player. The entire team seems to have a bonfire in their bellies and wants to bring this city another championship. Keep watching cause the Phillies are now only 11 games ahead and now we just need to keep winning series.    

All In?

By Mike Rifkin

Training camps across the NFL are open and the season is right around the corner. One of the big storylines of the offseason was the Dallas Cowboys and how they were going to approach the offseason. Well, owner Jerry Jones told people that he was “All In”, well the Cowboys were not very aggressive in free agency. If you’re a Cowboy fan you can forgive Jerry for not being ultra aggressive if he took care of his own players : Ceedee Lamb, Dak Prescott, and Micah Parsons are all up for new deals as is Head Coach Mike McCarthy. None of them were taken care of and Ceedee Lamb hasn’t reported to training camp yet. 

In my opinion there’s one way this goes down. Lamb and Parsons should and will get paid, the only question is why it hasn’t happened yet. As for Dak and McCarthy, the only way either one is a Cowboy in the long term is if the Cowboys reach the NFC Championship game. So, why is there a difference and divide here : Lamb and Parsons are absolute game changers. Lamb in 2023 : led the league in catches, was second in yards and third in touchdowns. Lamb’s numbers have increased since his rookie season and he has become a top receiver in the sport. 

As for Parsons, the guy is an absolute game changer, probably the most dynamic linebacker/edge hybrid people have seen since Lawrence Taylor. In his three seasons Parsons has at least 13 sacks and he creates space for others on the Dallas defense to get to the quarterback. Now if Jerry is just thinking about the Wild Card game where Parsons and the defense were obliterated by the Packers and that is making him second guess what he’s doing, well that isn’t really smart. Here’s the other thing about both Parsons and Lamb, yes they’re both one of the best at their respective positions, but they’re 25 years old and they both still have great football ahead of them. 

As for Dak Prescott, the fourth round pick who took the league by storm. Well, Dak is coming off a career high 36 touchdowns last season along with a career high 69.5 completion percentage. Unfortunately for Dak, like the defense he didn’t play great against the Packers in the Wild Card game and that is our lasting image of last season. Now I believe Dak has earned a new contract and is a top Quarterback in the NFL, but the one thing against him is his owner. I don’t believe Jerry has ever wanted to pay Dak and think of how things have gone in negotiations during Dak’s career. Remember when Zeke went to Cabo and they made sure they took care of him (he had two years left on contract), while Dak needed a new deal. Here’s the other unfortunate thing for Prescott, we judge quarterbacks based on rings and how they’ve performed in the playoffs. Dak has had his moments, but has yet to win the big one. 

Like I said above if Dak and McCarthy don’t get to the NFC title game, they’ll both be out. The Dallas Cowboys haven’t been to a Super Bowl since the 90’s. The reason why is simple and it’s the only common denominator Jerry Jones. Nobody can be bigger than the owner of the team, who claims he’s all in, but is he really all in? The Cowboys will make the playoffs, but if they don’t go to the Super Bowl, there will be a lot of finger pointing, but just not at the person really at fault.

ARE WE WITNESSING ANOTHER MIRACLE METS



BY MARK
HALPERNIf Estelle Getty was writing this, this is how it would open “Picture it flushing
Queens 1969. The Mets were in third place and chasing the Cubs all season and
on August 14th a Miracle began.” That magical season in 1969 proved that even
being so far back, came back to not only win the pennant but, also went on to
win the World Series. I could only imagine what Shea Stadium felt like. I had a
season ticket to the Mets and there was a time the stadium got so loud you felt
the stadium shake. An example of that moment I was there was when Endy Chavez
Robbed the home run and got the ball in for a double play. I think during that
time in 1969 the stadium shook harder.



    Here we are 7/25/2024 and at the beginning of the season with all the injuries to the rotation and bullpen, there was speculation the Mets would have another abysmal season and miss the playoffs. Things were looking that way too as the Mets sat in fourth place in the NL East. The Mets organization has enough on their minds with EXTENDING ALONSO, getting more pitching for next year, or dare I say
a trade happening soon to help the bullpen and starting but, only time will
tell. Sitting where they were Mets fans didn’t quit and kept coming to games to
cheer this team on.



   Then on June 13th, 2024, the Mets had a
special guest to throw out the first pitch. Grimace one of Mcdonald’s mascots
threw a decent pitch to home. It’s hard to throw a ball in a mascot uniform and
he got it there. After that, it was like the Mets had some extra boost in their step. The
Mets went from really being counted out, to a team if the season ended
now, they would be in the playoffs. The Terms “No Quit New York” and “OMG”
(happens to be Iglesias #1 hit single) have special meanings and the Mets
have been on a tear and now find themselves in the second wild card slot and a
game and a half out from the top spot. The team that stands in their way right
now has been a thorn in their sign forever and that’s the Atlanta Braves. The
Braves have always been a huge threat in the NL East but, they have had some very bad
luck with injuries losing Acuna, Strider and now Albies are all most likely out
for the season. Atlanta has been in a slow downward spiral and that’s the team
the Mets will face off and if we sweep, we own the top spot.



    Injuries have plagued the Mets as well but one injured player will return to face the Braves and that’s the Met’s Ace Kodai Senga who was hampered by a capsule strain that takes time to heal as we saw with Scherzer and Verlander who both had the same issue. Senga has finished his rehab and is ready to contribute and it’s at the right time.

With the Trade deadline rapidly approaching the Mets have to make decisions on what they are willing to move to get a top-end bullpen hand like Tanner Scott of the Marlins. Brett Baty doesn’t have a spot right now as Vientos has won the 3b job. Baty could be used and adding Scott would be amazing, especially with the loss of Drew Smith. My mom said “It’s like Déjà vu” on what’s happening with the Mets. This Lineup is producing big time and not just by one player. The entire team seems to have a bonfire in their bellies and wants to bring this city another championship. Keep watching cause the Phillies are now only 11 games ahead.   



 



Kings Of New York

By Mike Rifkin

The New York Mets defeated the New York Yankees 12-3 on Wednesday night, completing their first Subway Series sweep since 2013. The Mets scored 36 runs in the four games, hit 13 home runs and 25 extra base hits. The depth of the Mets lineup is what you take away from these four games. They didn’t have to rely on the big guys, unlike the Yankees everyone stepped up. Tyrone Taylor, Mark Vientos and Harrison Bader along with Francisco Lindor all had multiple Homers in the Subway Series. 

The most impressive thing about the Mets offense, is what they did to reigning AL CY Young Award Winner Gerrit Cole. Cole in two starts against the crosstown rivals went 9.2 innings pitched gave up 15 hits, 12 runs, six walks,four strikeouts and gave up seven home runs. 

The other key was the Yankees lack of hitting with Runners in Scoring Position, where they were 3-34. If you look at the boxscore for each game, three of these games were non competitive outside of an Aaron Judge grand slam. 

At least for 2024 the Kings of New York reside in Queens.

TEXANS, LIONS AND COWBOYS OH MY!



BY MARK
HALPERN



     As a member of the Sports Insanity
Network, I get the honor of being an NFL Blitzer. What is that? Well, simply we
as a network break down the 32 teams, and members MAY pick a team to write
about and follow through the year. I am excited to be writing about my Dallas
Cowboys, the playoff-bound Detroit Lions, and the complete reemergence of the
Houston Texans. Being a Blitzer allows me to write not only recaps of the games of the teams I
have chosen. Each Team that I have will have regular weekly articles or vlogs
on our YouTube channel, then write the pregame and then the post-game, and then
repeat for 17 weeks + playoffs.With the Texans, I get the opportunity to write about C.J. Stroud. Stroud who
brought the Texans back to life. He made a star out of Tank Dell and this
team’s offense is going to be one of the most electric offenses this season.
The Defense needs to get better and they have and I will get into all of that
when I do the Texans opening article.The Detroit Lions were a lot of fun to write about last year. This team is for
real and the league needs to take notice. This high-powered offense can score
on any team in the league. The biggest weakness is the Lion’s secondary as they
collapsed over the last 5 regular season games. So, keep a look out for their
outlook for the season very soon.

  I am a 40-year fan of Dallas Cowboys and I
have been there during the ups and downs and have been on this roller-coaster
way too long. This is the year that Dallas needs to get to the NFC Championship
at least. Winning the Superbowl would be the icing on the cake. This Dallas
offense is high-powered, the offensive line has been re-done and DAK is the
guy. The Defense is top 5 in football and can’t say enough about the
linebackers and the “no-fly zone” secondary is getting Diggs back after missing
last year. We will get into the defense line in the opening article. All these
articles will be rolling out very soon so be on the lookout cause the BLITZERS
are getting ready for the opening day

A HUGE POSITIVE SIGN FOR THE WNBA



BY MARK
HALPERN Over this past year, I have been grateful to be given the task of writing about the WNBA. If you have read my previous articles they were just about Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark. They are the story of the young and upcoming stars. However, we will leave the competition aside and get to the great news. It has been no secret the WNBA has been losing close to 10 million a year with a whopping 50 million loss this
year. With the excitement of Veterans and Rookies, the response has been the best in the last few years. Games are selling out and to be fair it’s when Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever are the opponents. The same can be said for Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky. The emergence of youth and talent has caught the eyes of investors
worldwide. It was announced two days ago that a new Broadcast deal to air games on multiple different platforms to the tune of 2.24 billion Dollars. This is the announcement that this league needed. The WNBA is filled with amazing talent such as Breanna Stewart, A,Ja Wilson, Elena Delle Donne, and Candace Parker just to name a few. It’s hard to be recognized in a league if you have no strong media access for WNBA fans.   I will say that Clark and Reese were the catalysts that got it going. Both players have set records upon records and there are still about 15 games left. The coverage of these games being made to be seen all over is going to attract a whole new audience and this league because of ALL the talent that it has is going to inspire a whole
new audience and that means everything from merchandise to autograph signings
will also bring in financial capital to help each struggling team out. This is
a huge moment for the WNBA and they ALL should be ecstatic.