Category Archives: Sports

Ukraine War Day #392: End Discrimination Against Russian Athletes!

Posted on March 22, 2023 by yalensis

Dear Readers: Even before this war started, in fact going back even years and decades, the Western world has launched a racist crusade against Russian athletes. Branding them as cheaters and dopers, and eventually managing to exclude them from international … Continue reading →

Posted in Military and War, Sports | Tagged , | 23 Comments

Ukraine War Day #156: Turkish Football Fans Cheer For Putin

Posted on July 29, 2022 by yalensis

Dear Readers: This from the Wide World of Sports. Readers may have already seen video of the Turkish football (=soccer) stadium erupting in chants of “Vladimir Putin! Vladimir Putin!” That in response to a Ukrainian goal. Or rather, not so … Continue reading →

Posted in Breaking News, Friendship of Peoples, Military and War, Sports | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Ukraine War Day #105: Ukraine Scores Own Goal, Twice In One Day!

Posted on June 8, 2022 by yalensis

“You mock my blindness, do you? But I say that you, with both your eyes, are blind. You cannot see the wretchedness of your life….”  [the seer Tiresias chastising Oedipus Rex for his hubris.] Dear Readers, This is mostly a … Continue reading →

Posted in Military and War, Sports | Tagged | 14 Comments

Valieva Conquers Sochi In Figure Skating Grand-Prix

Posted on November 28, 2021 by yalensis

Dear Readers: The International Skating Union (ISU) Grand-Prix series completed its Russia stage in Sochi this past weekend. If you follow international figure skating and are just interested in the bare results of the competition, then you can read just … Continue reading →

Posted in Figure Skating, Sports | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Linoy Drops Ribbon, Simonyan Drops Human Decency

Posted on August 16, 2021 by yalensis

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness…” (Allen Ginsberg) Dear Readers: Temporarily shifting from a very painful era in Russian history (the Stalin purges of Red Army officers), forward in time to a different kind of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cat Fighting, Celebrity Gossip, Sports | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Beslan Wrestlers Make Their Country Proud

Posted on August 7, 2021 by yalensis

Dear Readers: I interrupt my “Uborevich” saga for a couple of breaking news story. Today there is a heartwarming Olympic wrestling story which all Russophile readers will love. Tomorrow I have a new piece ready giving a post-implementation analysis of … Continue reading →

Posted in Russian History, Sports | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Breaking News/Juicy Catfight In Culture War

Posted on July 25, 2021 by yalensis

Dear Readers: I still have a couple of Uboreviches left to go, but I needed to take a quick time-out for this breaking story. The Culture War never sleeps, and neither do its soldiers, on either side. I saw this … Continue reading →

Posted in Art Criticism, Ballet, Breaking News, Cat Fighting, Celebrity Gossip, Sports | Tagged | 4 Comments

Russian Ice Dance Scandal, Was There Favoritism? – Part III

Posted on July 14, 2021 by yalensis

Dear Readers: Today finishing this delightful story about the Russian Grand Prix Ice Dance controversy. My piece is based on this piece from Gazeta. Where we left off: After the non-controversial (earned according to the rules) Grand Prix stages were … Continue reading →

Posted in Celebrity Gossip, Figure Skating, Sports | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Russian Ice Dance Scandal, Was There Favoritism? – Part II

Posted on July 10, 2021 by yalensis

Dear Readers: Today continuing this story about the Russian Grand Prix Ice Dance controversy. My story is based on this piece from Gazeta. In retrospect, I probably should have translated the Russian word blat (блат) as “nepotism” (from the Latin … Continue reading →

Posted in Figure Skating, Linguistics, Sports | Tagged | 3 Comments

Russian Ice Dance Scandal, Was There Favoritism? – Part I

Posted on July 7, 2021 by yalensis

Dear Readers, Today I have a story from the world of elite Russian Figure Skating, indubitably the finest in the world. Figure skating, especially at this high level, is one of those amazing sports, like ballet, where the sheer artistry … Continue reading →

Posted in Figure Skating, Sports | Tagged , | Leave a comment