Second Thoughts: Not easy to find hosts (patsies) for future Olympics


Knucklehead of the Week

I’m always barking at my kids for using up their monthly allotment of phone data in about two days. I’m sure the parents of Japanese Olympic gymnast Kohei Uchimura can relate. Uchimura is a world champion tumbling around in tights, but he’s not so swift when it comes to playing Pokemon Go. Uchimura recently ran up a huge roaming charge because he took his Pokemon habit to Brazil (where the game isn’t even offered). His latest bill was $4,954, according to a Japanese news outlet. His phone carrier reduced the superstar’s bill, but I hope his mom still took away his phone.

I’m getting mentally prepared for Germanfest at Carillon Park. The awesome festival begins Friday. Great food, cold beer, cool German hats. It’s also fun to expand your vocabulary and use words such as “schnitzel” and “biergarten.” Cheers!

The bar is at an all-time low for the Summer Olympics, which began with a slam on the Wright brothers during the commercial-filled Opening Ceremony. Here's hoping great storylines carry the next two weeks. It's not good, though, when success is defined as getting through the games without a rower throwing up on live TV while competing in a cesspool. Heck, half the citizens of Rio de Janeiro wish the Olympics would go away.

The corruption and costs associated with hosting the Olympics has led some to question whether this party is worth milking taxpayers dry. Many cities have bowed out of the running for future Olympics — including Boston for 2024. Understandable, because what do you do with a multi-million dollar velodrome after everyone leaves?

It's nice to see Joey Votto is not a robot. You've all seen what happened Tuesday night at GABP, when Votto blamed a fan for misplaying a foul popup that drifted into the first row. The fan, it should be noted, did not reach into the field of play, and showed great restraint when Votto grabbed his shirt.

Votto managed to save himself a whole lot of trouble by signing a baseball for the fan. He also apologized and posed for a photo. Votto looked and sounded sincere. Good for him.

Saw the Dragons get shut out by the first-place Hot Rods last Sunday. No surprise; you know what you're getting into when you go to Fifth Third Field. But that's a good thing. Minor league baseball in Dayton is still a lot of fun. Heater's antics never get old, the Mini Dugout Dancers are adorable, and the Green Team almost got me out of my seat for "YMCA." Almost.

Trending up: Tyrann Mathieu, Jimmy Walker, Russell Westbrook. The Honey Badger has come a long way in a short time. Four years ago he was kicked off the LSU football team (you really gotta try to get booted off an SEC squad) because of his marijuana habit. The Badger got his act together and just signed a contract that included $40 million in guaranteed money.

Trending down: Trent Richardson, William Jackson, Yasiel Puig. Richardson, taken No. 3 by the Browns in the 2012 NFL draft, is looking for a job after getting released by the Ravens. He has averaged only 3.3 yards per carry in his brief career. Richardson can't count on an NFL paycheck, and he can't count on his family. He said they blew $1.6 million of his money in less than a year.

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