Happy Friday! Were finally here.

I cant wait to sleep this weekend. I sorely need it.

So enjoy your coffee now and your wine later. Its sportsball time!

How Dare You?

This article is going to be a little bit weird coming from a former US citizen.

Yes, I gave up my passport. Yes, I hate the IRS with a passion. Yes, I'm glad I haven't lived in America for two decades.

But I can't believe how utterly ridiculous America looks when its Olympic athletes are trashing the place.

I've called Americas performance, over the past 20 years, a slow-motion car crash.

While I have had my disagreements over US governance and how the US does things, I never actually wished all these bad things to happen.

I was hoping for a stunning recovery.

And, for four years, while Donald Trump was president, I had a wonderful respite from my usual permabear state.

I was thrilled that Trump got in but slightly disappointed with his performance.

But on the whole, I think he did the best he possibly could since everyone in the US Government wanted to bring him down.

I thought he was going to win reelection in a landslide.

And, perhaps, one day we'll know what those actual voting records are, but Biden got in nevertheless.

Since then, it has been just one political car crash after another.

It's gotten to such a state where many friends and acquaintances on my Facebook feed, LinkedIn feed, and WhatsApp are hoping for US athletes to lose their Olympic events.

Exhibit Number 1: Megan Rapinoe

My goodness, how miserable can you be when youre the world's most talented female soccer star and are an out-and-proud lesbian in the United States?

Back in 2015, she took a knee in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick.

Lest youve forgotten, he is a black man raised by white people, who became an NFL quarterback, and suddenly felt discriminated against.

He led the 49ers to the Super Bowl, for crying out loud.

But Rapinoe took a knee with him and has taken a knee ever since.

Its ludicrous.

Rapinoe has also complained the US female soccer stars don't get paid what US male soccer stars get paid. Its evident why. They don't draw any crowds. They also lose to 15-year-old boys on occasion.

And perhaps, if she didn't concentrate on bending the knee so much, the US women, who were heavily favored to win a gold medal, would have won the gold medal.

Instead, they limped out of the Olympics with a bronze medal.

Staggering.

Exhibit Number 2: Simone Biles

Im the first to admit Im not a gymnastics enthusiast.

Biles has been called the greatest of all time. I've never even seen her compete.

But the fact of the matter is, she walked out on her team.

Now, did she have good reasons for that? And why then? It seems funny to me that no one ever takes a mental health break during the Olympic trials.

And why people are sitting there saying, "This is great," and "I'm so glad she took a timeout for her mental health," and "If she went out there with an unclear head, she could break her neck."?

I don't remember Mary Lou Retton ever complaining like this in 1984.

Kerri Strug competed with a mashed ankle and still won the gold medal for the United States in 1996.

From wavy.com:

Strug famously landed a one-legged vault in the team competition moments after injuring her ankle during an awkward landing on her previous vault. While it was clear something had gone amiss when she landed the first vault, it wasnt until she landed her second attempt that Strugs face contorted in a painful expression and she fell to the ground, making it obvious to everyone that she was seriously injured.

Her decision to press on with the second vault put Team U.S.A. on top of the podium, winning the Olympic gold medal in the team competition for the first time in history.

Women Wrestle in the Olympics?

Last Exhibit: Sydney McLaughlin