Palm Sunday Clash

Thirteen years ago in 2013 I made a pilgrimage with my sister and some of her friends to Israel, Palestine and Jordan. That year the Western Christian Churches marked Easter on March 31, but the Orthodox Easter was celebrated May 5. The Catholic Church in the Holy Land that year celebrated Easter with the Orthodox calendar that year. I know this, since we were at the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth and got caught in the middle of a Palm Sunday procession on Sunday, April 28. Palm Sunday is recognized for the reading of The Passion. The reading focus' on the last days of Christ's life, with a focus on his suffering, starting with Holy Thursday and ending with his placement in the tomb. In the world today there is still suffering. This year Catholics in the Holy Land are celebrating Easter on April 5, so they celebrated Palm Sunday on March 29. As I found out, it was a different kind of celebration. There were two Palm Sunday clashes that are worth mentioning. But, first some history.

2013 Palm Sunday Mass at Church of the Nativity
Author photo 2013 

Most Christians, at least those that are left, in the Holy Land are Palestinians. The Palestinian Christians are of varied sects, Orthodox, Catholic and a variety of Protestant Churches. They are less than two percent, or about 200,000 persons, of the Palestinian population in Israel. Their population is shrinking, but are mainly concentrated in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Ramallah. To me they are a forgotten population. They find themselves caught in the middle between the conflicts of the Israeli government and the Muslim Palestinians. They are being pushed out by Israeli settlements in and near Bethlehem. 

Israeli Settlements in Palestine, author photo 2013

St Catherine Catholic Church still bear scars from a 2002 altercation when 50 or more armed Palestinians had sought sanctuary to avoid capture by Israeli defense forces. Israel attacked, but did not dislodge those seeking sanctuary. A few months later a negotiated settlement occurred. I saw the bullet holes in the church facade from that action. 

Exterior of St Catherine's Church, when there
you can see bullet holes from 2002
Author photo 2013

For centuries, Palm Sunday mass has been held at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, where tradition holds, is the place of burial and resurrection of Christ. The Holy Sepulcher is a historic site containing the last five of the 14 stations of the cross within its footprint. Since, the start of the Netanyahu-Trump War with Iran, public masses have not been held in the Church. However, Cardinal Pizzaballa, the Patriarch of Jerusalem asked to say a private mass at the Church. On his way to the Church, not part of a procession or any ceremonial act, he was stopped and told his access would be barred. This was the first clash. The Israeli government says it was for his own good, and, with the complex situation in old Jerusalem, there is no way to address a mass casualty event. Having been in old Jerusalem, I can appreciate the difficulty of addressing a mass casualty event in that area. However, I have not seen a report that they were expecting such an event. You can read an account of the Israeli government stoppage here. Israel did say that Iranian missile fragments had fallen within meters of the church, and that Iran is targeting Christian holy sites. Hence, the explanation of why the Cardinal was barred entry.

Cardinal Pizzaballa (center) in Detroit, Dec 22, 2025
Courtesy of Mary B Hovel

If Israel was expecting a Muslim radical to bomb the church, there is a bit of irony as the keys to the Church, by tradition, are held by two Muslim families. For over 800 years, everyday, they jointly unlock the doors at 4 am, and then lock them again at 7 pm. 

Church of Holy Sepulcher, Author photo 2013

When I visited the Holy Land, there were, so I was told, many fewer pilgrims than usual due to the ongoing divisions between the Palestinians and Israel. With Orthodox Holy Week for part of journey, there were a decent number in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, but further out of that area there were few. For lunch at varied restaurants we were the only group in large dining halls filled otherwise with tables and empty chairs. Many Palestinians depend on tourism for their livelihood and one could see the shops hardly had anyone visit them, even in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. I suspect it is even much worse today. Travel to Israel is currently rated high risk by the State Dept. A few years ago was the Gaza war, and now this war. Not a welcoming situation for tourists

War is high risk. It is also highly intractable, as Trump may be finding out. On Palm Sunday there was was a second clash, this time of words coming from Cardinal Pizzaballa's boss. Using Isaiah 1:15 Pope Leo had this to say during his Palm Sunday liturgy:  

Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood” (Is 1:15).

This shows that the Catholic Church may actually have learned something in the past thousand years, and that in fact church teaching does develop. Leo's own predecessors issued bulls to galvanize the  Crusades in the Holy Land. The first papal bull was issued to start the second crusade. Leo's comments certainly rebuke Secretary of Defense, oops, now War, Pete Hegseth who used his Christian faith to justify the war, and even offered a prayer, written by a Pentagon Chaplain, on 3/25 to that effect. It may also have been directed to Russian Orthodox leaders who view have called the war in Ukraine a Holy War due to what they view as the decadent west. You can read a news report about the Pope's statement here, or read the full address here. Pope Francis often talked about WWIII being played piecemeal. This conflict certainly seems indicative of his claim. Evidence is coming out that Russia and perhaps China are aiding Iran, and now other terror forces, think Houthi rebels, who do well at asymmetric warfare may enter the conflict.

During my 2013 visit I thought how odd it is that the Jesus, the Prince of Peace, came into this earth in the Middle East. There are clashes between Jews and Muslims, Muslims and Christians, but also between Sunni and Shia Muslims. Some experts have referred to the violence in the Mid-East as a clash of cultures or a clash of civilizations. Warfare in this area goes to before Christ was born. There were rivalries between empires like the Akkadians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Hittites, and Persians. Varied clashes in the region may go back as far as 24 BC when one group went around conquering smaller city-states. The Middle East has been a clash of cultures since before the start of the Neolithic period and the advent of agriculture. Jericho (about 16 miles east of Jerusalem) is one of the earliest and most significant locations for the start of agriculture. The start of civilization, allowed by agriculture, has not been able to stop the brawls of the region. 

Sign in Jericho on invention of agriculture and animal husbandry
2013 photo by author

This clash of cultures or civilizations seems part of the regions DNA. The Middle East is a bridge between Europe, Asia and Africa. It has been important for trade, culture and conflict for centuries. Iran has stopped the flow of 20% of the world's oil by containing the strait of Hormuz. The message Christ brought to the world two centuries ago just does not seem to get through. Palm Sunday was changed this year for those in the Holy Land due to the wider war and this led to the two clashes that became evident on Palm Sunday. 

Eagle Trials

When I see a bald eagle, I usually think of the them as the master of the sky, who dominates by sheer size and power the other birds. I generally don't think of them as being hurt by predators, but Jackie and Shadow have changed my opinion. Jackie and Shadow are two bald eagles in the San Bernardino National Forest in California. I hear updates on Jackie and Shadow from the wife, who I think gets her maternal instinct fix from reading about the trials of the pair.

Eagle looking for fish at Laura Lake

I have seen eagle nests her in Wisconsin, particularly at Laura Lake and one here in McFarland near lower Mud Lake on the Mahunt property. The nests are really quite big. For Jackie and Shadow the nest sits in a Jeffrey Pine tree, about five feet down from the top of the 150' or so pine. Their nest is 6' deep, so deeper than I am tall, and about 5.5' in width, so a few inches less than my height. The nest was built by another eagle pair and taken over by Jackie.

The female eagle is larger than the male, usually 25% TO 33% bigger, and Jackie is estimated at three feet in height and Shadow at 2.5 feet in height. The eagles are taking care of two eggs, with two to three eggs, per my wife, being normal. The incubation is taxing on the pair, in both care of the egg, keeping away the nasty raven predators and normal care for themselves. We know a great deal about the pair due to two solar-powered cameras that watch the nest and its immediate surroundings. Eagles have a body temperature of 105 degrees so they use that to incubate, but instincts will tell them when they need to let off and perhaps let the eggs cool somewhat. Fluff materials in the nest provide some insulation and softness. This fluffy stuff, made up of dried grass, reeds and feathers, can make the eagle snit, which is eagle-ease for sneeze. 

Eagle at Laura Lake

Eagle watching is nothing to sneeze at. It can be hours of boredom followed by a few minutes of terror. Jackie and Shadow faced terror several days ago when a mob attacked the eagle nest, looking to harm the two eggs the eagle pair have been tending. A group of ravens, is called an "unkindness" which literally speaks volumes to the type of birds ravens are, but a group that attacks a larger bird, such as an eagle is called a mob, and they are engaged in mobbing behavior. 

The best account is in the Eagle Log for the pair on March 13: 

Yesterday from mid-morning all the way through to the evening, Jackie and Shadow were on alert most of the day, as some of the visiting birds in the area decided to return to bother them after a quiet hiatus.

Before all the intruder activity, Shadow delivered a new stick that he cunningly used to get Jackie up off the eggs. He first placed the pokey stick on her back. When that didn't work, he moved around and up closer to her head. Bonk..that did the trick! He was blocking her way out the front porch though, so she had to wing bump him to get by. After she flew off, he tilted his head and looked a bit confused how she might have been disturbed by any of that!

A bit later, Shadow was on the eggs and also on alert as he loudly called Jackie in for backup. Their loud calls were directed at five ravens who circled above and around the nest tree. A couple of them touched down briefly on the canopy above and one boldly landed on the High Perch.

Since bald eagles and ravens have similar breeding and nesting seasons in this area, both are highly territorial and active in defending their nest and territory. Ravens often use a tactic called mobbing to harass or drive out larger birds like bald eagles. As both eagles and ravens may tend to their own nest and eggs, the behaviors and the conflicts between them are mostly driven strictly by survival instincts.

Jackie and Shadow continued to work together the remainder of the day. A young juvenile bald eagle perched for 25 minutes on their favorite Lookout Snag branch, plus Jackie and Shadow dealt with more nearby raven activity.

Later in the afternoon, Jackie aggressively chased a few ravens away and then before bed, Shadow also chased a juvenile bald eagle out of the Roost Tree area. It ended up spending the night roosting on the Simba Tree, further away from Jackie and the eggs.

Jackie and Shadow are used to these highly opportunistic predators and scavengers that see their eggs as a nutritious source of food. They both were in sync and did a great job defending the nest and their precious eggs… and they will continue to do so in a heartbeat.

For Jackie and Shadow the two eggs are their second pair, with ravens having mobbed their way in and destroyed the first pair earlier this year.  As of March 20, the two current eggs were laid a few days apart: "Egg#1 is 24 days old and Egg#2 is 21 days old. The eggs are still in the incubation period with about 10 more days of incubation before Pip Watch begins on March 31. Once we see the initial hole in the outer shell, it could take 2-3 days for a chick to fully hatch."

Eagle at Laura Lake

Hence, sometime early next week, if not Sunday, the eggs should start to hatch, provided they have no more mob incidents from the nasty ravens. My household raptor specialist will likely keep me informed as the hopeful hatching. We can then, have some months of watching them branching, to fledgling to post fledgling stages. The two nest cameras give a view into the trails of eagles and their young. Yet, one never knows what happens in nature.

Quotes from https://friendsofbigbearvalley.org/eagles/

Photos by author, 2024

Gen Z'ers

The Sunday morning following the spring ahead time change, after waking we turned the news on Alexa. Following the news was a radio program by Kim Komando, the goddess of all things digital. She was relaying the situation that Mr. Wonderful from Shark Tank, Kevin O'Leary, had interviewed a person from Gen Z who wanted a parent to sit in on the interview. She then relayed this happened to her. I knew that Gen Zers tended to do things somewhat differently, but this seems over the top.

One statistic is that 77% of Zers took a parent to an interview, assisted with a resume, or negotiations for a job. This is linked to intense parenting. Some say it is the high level of economic pressure in a job market that many rate as fair to poor.

During my time at work I hired plenty of persons, often yearly for summer interns. Luckily, I did not have to face the situation of a person who brought their parent to sit in on the interview. Although one had a parent drive them, as they would visit relatives in the area after the interview. Newsweek says that 20% of Gen Z took a parent to an interview, and of that 15% to an in-person interview. A sample of 1,000 generation Z persons by Resume Template, noted that 75% of parents completed or reviewed a job application or resume for them. They also reported that 51% of that cohort took a parent to MULTIPLE interviews, which may show why they have multiple interviews. Then, even more astounding was that 67% had a parent who spoke with a manager about a job for the child.

Wikipedia

To say that they are coddled is an understatement. Marie Barone, in Everybody Loves Raymond, which ran from 1996-2005 in one episode recounted how every body got a gold star, participation trophies. Issues are also seen in academics. Grade inflation has increased with the expectation that everyone needs an A, no more grading on a curve. Where was this when I was in school?  I tended to fall to the left side of the curve, in some areas of study (Spanish) more so than others (history). At the local high school, the Tuesday following the time change forward, was ACT test day. When I took the test, and even when my kids took the test, it was a Saturday. What they now do is shut down the whole high school for the juniors to take the ACT. All other students at the school had what was termed an " Online asynchronous learning day." Proving fact is more bizarre than fiction, I am not quite sure what such gobbledygook means. Who ever came up with such non-plain English deserves to work in the education bureaucracy. 

hubstaff.com

I am not sure what happens to the junior who desires not to take the test because they wish to go to a trade school. Did they take the test anyway, or did they do the  online asynchronous learning day? I understand the importance of education, but also realize that college is not for everyone. Some of the work in the trades, such as plumbers, electricians, and concrete flat workers will not be replaced by AI. Although AI may well tell you how to  screw something up to make you call a plumber. Maybe they too enjoyed an online asynchronous learning day. 

I used AI to enhance a couple old family photos, and it put a beard on someone standing to the back when the person had no beard. I also tried it on some text translation, and got a mixed bag. Sometimes it says it cannot do it, some comes our correct (to a professional interpretation I had done, it was a test to see how well it worked) and other times it comes out more bizarre than I could even interpret.

Instead of a snow day, why can the students not have in its place an online asynchronous learning day? On Monday, March 16, they had a snow day with the blizzard warning. which easily could have been an asynchronous learning day. But, no the kids next door got to sleep in. Unless my wife and I clearing the driveway woke them up. Administrators say it is too much trouble. During the pandemic I asked one of our neighbor kids what classes for online learning he had. He had recess, gym, and English. I was flabbergasted to find out they had recess for a period when you are working from home, and what do you do for gym, stretches? I would have thought a science or math course would have been appropriate for that quarter, but I was wrong.

Apparently, the education bureaucracy pandemic pedagogy has carried over to present. The Wisconsin State Journal reported on Wednesday, March 11, 2026 that first and second graders, who were never affected by a pandemic shutdown, have math and reading scores below pre-pandemic levels. It seems that the non-phonics method of learning English did not work, so much for those brains in education who want to experiment on kids. 

The whole point of this is how kids are coddled today. I recall reading an article about a successful person a while back, who I cannot remember, but how at dinner the father did not want to know what they had for success that day, but in what they did not do well or failed, and what they learned. Losses can be good learning experiences. If one does not have ups and downs, because mommy is always present to guide you, and be at your interview, you may not be able to properly handle the down side of life. Life is not always ups, but also downs. Mommy will not always be around to protect you, at least I do not think so.

I have no issue with a parent reviewing a job application, or giving career advice, but when a young adult takes a parent into an interview, that is a whole different sort of thing. Kim Komando referred to the young man she interviewed as rather "mousy" and would not have held up to the up charged work environment she oversees. She did not allow him to bring his parent into the interview. If he was mousy, perhaps that is why he brought momma along. Birth rates are at historic lows, and that may be a good thing as far as gen Z is concerned, because if they are like this now, what will they be like as a parent? Helicopter parents and tiger moms seem to be the new norm, and will gen Z parents make that worse? 

Cords and Gremlins

Last week Saturday morning I was looking for a charging cord for an item I occasionally use. I knew the cord was kept in a drawer of a China cabinet we have in the dining room, with several other cords. I think there are gremlins that take the cords when I am searching and put it back for the wife to find. A

A pesky gremlin is the only way for me to explain why I could not find the cord, even though I pulled out all of the cords in the black organizer box and sorted through them, and looked in nearby smaller boxes. It certainly could not be my eyesight.

Varied Charging Cords

This has happened regarding varied items over the years and I have come to realize that the gremlins are wife friendly, but seem to like to pick on me. I am not sure if they are the same as the "ghosts" that my wife claims to here in the walls and the chimney. One time, I heard the noises in the wall and chimney, and even went outside to see if I could see squirrels or other critter types on the roof, but to no avail. They could have jumped off and hid, which is not hard to do with all our plants around the base of the house. Or, they could be between the siding and the insulation, or they could be "ghosts". Who knows.

Of course, there are items I set aside for safe keeping, and cannot recall the safe place. One such item was a bag containing stuff for our rain barrel, in the warmer months it is the hookup for winter, and in the winter the hookup for warmer weather. Or, the time, my wife made some corn hole toss bags, and I stuck them in the basement up between the first floor joists. A nice out of the way spot, if only I could have remembered. I now know to look up when searching for an item. 

All I know when I was looking for that charging cord I looked and looked, and looked again, and to no avail. I then asked the wife if she knew what happened to it, and she said she did not move it. She knew what the cord looked like, grey with more of a cloth exterior than vinyl or rubber. She came over to the drawer, and looked inside and pulled it out. It was so quick, I figured she had brought it with her and I, jokingly, said as much, which really got her goat. She did not take it as jokingly.

This narrows to a few options of what happened First, I did not look sufficiently well; second, that the wife brought it over and placed it in the drawer to pull out; and third, there are gremlins that moved it when I look, but put it back when she looks. I am going with the cords and gremlin theory. 

Too Much Salt

It was in November, almost 36 years ago when the wife and I traveled to Italy for our honeymoon. Our first four or so days were spent in the Eternal City, Rome. We visited the Vatican on at least two different days. On one occasion we were in the Vatican Museums, and had the opportunity to visit the Sistine Chapel. We had a tour guide for the museums and the Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel is known for its Michelangelo ceiling frescoes (1508-1512) which had just completed a 10 year restoration. They were then to clean and restore the large wall fresco (1533-~1536), also by the master Michelangelo, titled the "Last Judgement". This large fresco sits behind the altar.

The Last Judgement is famous for its depiction of the second coming of Christ and the depiction of 300 souls, some tormented, some not. When we visited the Sistine Chapel art historians were aghast at the vibrancy of colors the restoration exposed. They claimed that Michelangelo never used such vibrant colors on the ceiling frescoes. It was quite the controversy, as hundred of years of candle wax, and human activity, had coated the great work and dulled the painting, leaving many to think that such colors were not apart of the original work, but done by the restorers. They seemed to want the candle wax and soot back, or at least some of it. Why do people think that in the 1th century everything had to be dark? It was part of the renaissance, after all. Overtime, that controversy has died down, and most have come to realize that the early 16th century masters had in fact used such vibrant colors. The Last Judgement, is mainly blue and skin tones due to the sky and the naked 300 persons portrayed. As the work gets closer to the floor it becomes darker, representative of hell. 

The Last Judgement Fresco
credit: Francisco Anzola
Source: Smarthistory.org

Fresco painting is a process where water-based pigments are applied directly onto wet lime plaster and as the plaster dries the pigments, by chemical reaction are bound to the plaster. It is intricate and exacting work with the plaster and timing being important. In his book Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling Ross King goes into the difficulties experienced in painting the ceiling by Michelangelo and his assistants. Ross also goes into the sourcing of pigments for the ceiling. For example, a monastery in Florence was known for its pigments, and King says "Their colors--their blues in particular--were the best and most sought after in Florence." (p66) Fresco creation is a difficult art form, and perhaps someday I will reread the King book and blog about this now rare art form. I have to say, I am not sure the world has seen again a genius like Michelangelo. His variety of forms is impressive painting, sculpture, frescoes, and architecture (he completed the design for the St Peter's Dome). 

This great work of art, within the Sistine Chapel, however, is now under attack by perspiration. The National Catholic Reporter had this to say:

"The lactic acid produced through perspiration binds very easily with the calcium present on the surface of the fresco," Fabio Morresi, head of the Vatican Museums' scientific research laboratory, told the National Catholic Reporter during a press visit to the Sistine Chapel Feb. 28. "That reaction forms a salt, calcium lactate, which creates a thin whitish layer on the surface. Over time, that layer mutes the colors and softens the contrasts of 'The Last Judgment.' "

The ceiling and other frescoes are cleaned during the night, which visitors do not see, using lifts, but The Last Judgement requires special scaffolding due to its location with the altar. 

Those 1990 art critics may be happy, but most wish to see the fresco as it was intended, and the nuance and contrast of colors can make a difference in how it is viewed. More people are entering the chapel than ever before. In 2024, for example, even before the 2025 Holy Year, the chapel had 6 million visitors, up from 1.5 million ten years earlier. Further, 2024 saw an average temperature in Rome being an amazing 4.5 degrees (F) higher than the average of 1991 to 2020. People come in hotter than before and their are more visitors. The church does not wish to be seen limiting visitors to one of the world's most important works of art, and that requires it to undertake more maintenance costs.

Pope Francis (non-posed photo) in Sistine Chapel
Contemplating The Last Judgement Fresco
Photo taken Christmas Day, 2014
National Geographic cover Aug 2015

The Last Judgement is being cleaned for the first time since 1994, This cleaning process, what the Vatican refers to as extraordinary maintenance, is not as extensive as the earlier restoration which removed centuries of soot and grime, this is removing that layer by removing the salt that adheres to the face of the fresco. The process is rather simple, dipping Japanese Vatican chief curator, Barbara Jatta refers to it like removing a cataract. The cleaning exposes more of the details of the great work of art. I suspect that is not a job I would want, as, if my wife is correct, I tend to be overzealous and would wipe away the fresco. The 1990's restoration removed the cloths that put in place to cover genital areas, and take it back to the original nudes Michelangelo painted. The cloths, or drapery, were put on after he died. 

Tourists at Vatican Museum Gallery of Maps
Nov 1990, photo by author

The restoration over 30 years ago countered the effects of much of the drapery installation of the Counter-reformation, but today a different challenge remains according the news reports: "today's intervention reflects a different challenge: safeguarding the fresco in an era of climate change and mass tourism." 

To help safeguard the priceless frescoes, climate within the Sistine Chapel is highly controlled. The temperature is kept at 71 to 75 degrees F, with a relative humidity of 55-60%. Most important, CO2 levels are at a level below that of a typical office building even though 700 to 800 persons will gather into the chapel at one point in time. Yet, as much as the Sistine is climate controlled, it can only do so much with perspiring people.

Google Map air photo of St Peter's Basilica and Sistine Chapel

The Vatican has a virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel which you can view here. My wife and I were fortunate to view the remarkable artwork in the Sistine Chapel in person. I recall most of our attention drawn to the then recently completed ceiling fresco restoration. At that point in time, since it was freshly cleaned, and the number of visitors was less, and the climate not has warm the colors were perhaps as vibrant when the ceiling was opened for viewing. 

What I learned from this is that too much salt is not just bad for the body, and our ecosystem, but also for the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. Climate change is having a negative effect on the natural habitat (number of birds is way down) and cultural treasures. 

Different Games

Two different types of athletic contests have occurred this month. The games have two markedly different speeds of play and flow. One dominates the news cycle and its national organization makes sure to dominate at the sports news cycle in almost every month of the year. The other sport is well known, but does not dominate the news cycle as the other. The first event was football with the Super Bowl played on Feb 8 in San Francisco, between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. The second involved two Olympic hockey games between the US and Canada, for both men and women. The games are treated somewhat differently in news, but also in how they move.

2026 Olympic US Women Hockey Team

If you collapsed an NFL game, which takes over three hours and closer to thee and a half, to just the time played, such amount actual play time is said to be between 11 to 18 minutes; that would fit within the standard 20 minute hockey period. NFL games seem to plunder along, while hocky is fast moving, with line changes often occurring during play. NFL games, with so much time between plays, is well suited to having a beer during the game. You can sip, or get up and get a beer without missing much if any action. In a hockey game you may not be as fortunate.

Good friends Laila Edwards and Caroline Harvey (UW Player) 

                                  both earned gold medals and all-star honors at the 2026 Olympics

I know of people who turned the Super Bowl off at half time because they found it, well, boring. The score was 9-0 Seattle, three field goals. It was a two score game at that point, and while defenses dominated many people found the game boring. The NFL is perhaps its own worst enemy. It has changed the rules to make play more favorable to the offense. Many years ago, they moved the hash marks closer to the middle of the field, they altered rules to favor the quarterback, and have made rules for blocking much more favorable to the offensive player. When I played football you could not use your hands, and we were told to essentially hold onto our jerseys with our fingers. A flailing hand would get the attention of a zebra and a penalty for holding, even if you did not hold. Today, it is common for a lineman to push off with their fists or hands, and one could probably find a hold on every other play. That is why today the length of a lineman's arm is important--no T-Rexes on the O-line.

Caroline Harvey was MVP of the Women's Hocky

People have been conditioned, by the media and even the NFL to find low scoring games boring. Roger Goodell probably put out a bulletin at half time to make sure the game got more exciting. The second half saw a combined 33 points scored, with Seattle winning 29 to 13. Except for a few long passes by New England at garbage time, the game really was probably not as close as the indicated by the score. 

Missed wide open shot by a Canadian player
and the guy with the quote

Both the women and men gold medal games were won by the US over Canada, 2-1, with both teams tied at 1-1 after three periods, they went to overtime with three on three play. People seemed excited about the results. Perhaps influenced by the US beating archrival Canada in each game, but also by how exciting the games were. Like the Super Bowl, they were defensive battles, but in hocky a defensive battle seems to be thought of as good, where in the NFL it is not. 

Great goalie play, this puck was kept out of the net

Shots on goal is one example of how a game is played, and in the women's contest, the US goalie had 30 saves on 31 shots. It was a closely matched contest as the Canadian goalie had 31 saves on 33 shots. For the men, it was a different story, leading one Canadian player to claim, regardless of score, that he will let people judge who was really the better team. The US goalie was probably the best player in the game as he had 41 saves on 42 shots. The Canadian goalie had 26 saves on 28 shots. The offensive players for Canada were the best the NHL has to offer. The US, however, had the better goalie. The US team, however, had 93 seconds, due to penalties, when they were playing with three to the Canadian five players. Canada did not score with that two man advantage. The final score is what matters, not shots on goal. The last time the US men won Olympic gold was in 1980, on the same day as gold was won this year, February 22. Earlier that year, they beat the best team in the world, the Soviet Union, 4 to 3. In that contest, the Soviets had 39 (US 36 saves) shots on goal, while the US had a total of 19 shots on goal (Soviet goalies 15 saves). Complaints about the current OT rule of playing three on three (with a goalie), well, it is the same for both teams. 

Here is the net size Canada wants to shoot at

The US women had a generally easy path to the championship and their is little contest that the two premier programs for female hockey are the Canada and the US. Each of the two gold medal contestants in the men's division had prior overtime games in the medal rounds, showing that other men's teams are chomping at their skates.

A fun fact is that the MVP of the women's tournament was Caroline Harvey, who plays defense for the University of Wisconsin. The coach of the University of Wisconsin Women's team is Mark Johnson who was the MVP in 1980 for the Miracle on Ice team. One person commented that all of the Canadian and US Women's team members played college hockey in the US. The UW is a power house in female hockey, having won 8 NCAA National Championships since 2006, the last just under a year ago. For the 2026 Winter Olympics, 12 current and former University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW) women's hockey players are competing. This includes 6 players on Team USA, 5 on Team Canada, and 1 on Team Czechia. The Women Badgers had four current players on the US roster, and 2 alumni. 

Some analysts have said that the Canada men's team was without their captain, and would have won if he had played. It is like Badger fans always coming up with complaints about a loss, and  a bunch of could've if this was different.  Others point to the fact that the US seems to now be developing better younger hocky players than Canada. This was shown particularly in the women's contest. The wins may now galvanize more young athletes to the sport. What it does do, is intensify the rivalry even more between Canada and the US. As for football, the NFL has done its best to make sure games have a great deal of points, meaning, that low scoring games are now thought as dreadful, when such a low scoring game in hockey is thought of as great play, leading to a great game. Two different games with two different intents.

Curlinggate

Curling is an Olympic sport, and one that, being on a sheet of ice, is quite popular in Canada. Canada has won, in the three events (men, women, and mixed) 11 Olympic medals since since the sport was reintroduced to the games in 1998 (Wikipedia). (Curling had a 74 year hiatus from the winter games, before being reintroduced 1998.) They have not won an Olympic gold medal since 2014, however, when they earned gold in both the men and women events. That means they must be quite hungry for a gold medal. Canada won men's gold in three consecutive Olympics: 2006, 2010 and 2014. Canada is to curling what the Soviet Union was to hockey from 1964 to just before the Soviets loss to the US in the Olympics in 1980. Sweden has eight medals in this time frame, and won the gold in the 2022 games in the Men's division. Canada is big into curling, and so it is interesting that our northern neighbor has instigated Curlinggate by double touching the granite stone. 

I often think of curlers as being rather polite to each other, even in competition. I am not sure how I got that image, perhaps since it is an event where they are close to each other on the same sheet, but not bashing the opponents head in. Or, the curler I know is such a gentleman that I could not see him reacting the way the Canadian third did to the Swedish allegation. That is why I took some interest in a dustup that occurred between Sweden and Canada in the men's match at the Olympics less than a week ago.  A Swede said that the Canadian third touched the stone again after it was released, a double touch is against the rules. This less than polite Canadian unleashed a series of F-bombs against the Swede. He then tried to paint the Swedes as the guilty party. Does not say much about Canadian nice. That lack of niceness was reiterated in a BBC report.

The BBC reports that what the Canadian men's third and the woman skip did makes it a "sad day" for curling. The BBC had this to say: While the curlers have shown their anger over the situation during matches, fans of the sport and Canadians have questioned whether the team acted in the spirit of curling. To quote the BBC: "In a country well known for its 'niceness', the cheating row has stung for some. The BBC asked tourists and locals in Montreal what they made of it. 'It's a sad day for Canadian sport,' said Tim Gray, from Alberta. 'Integrity in the sport is important, even if you have to call it on yourself.'" Other news outlets, LA Times as one, say Curlinggate has destroyed the trust for a sport which has typically operated on a culture of trust and self-regulation.

Canadian Men's Curler, Marc Kennedy, who was
said by Swedes to Double touch
Image: Tiziana Fabi /AFP via Getty Images

This got me wondering what that gentleman curler acquaintance of mine thought. He was born and raised in Canada, but has lived in the US for much of his adult life. He has been an Olympic coach of the US Women's Curling team (2010) and during his career a two-time US men's champion and two-time world bronze medalist. When asked about the situation he made two cogent points. First, that if the issue of the double touch was raised it likely had occurred. Such that it made me think no one would bring up the double touch if it was not true. Second, he intimated that such double touch seems to be somewhat common, as he said other Canadian teams have done this in the past. This makes me wonder if they are coached (wink, wink) that way?  Delivery of the rock is crucial in curling. You try to get it in the house or knock other rocks out of the house. The sheet is swept ahead of the rock after it is delivered to form a layer of water to move the rock faster, or to alter its direction. Actually, according to the BBC the physics behind how and why the stone moves is really not well understood. 

Curling goes way back. According to World Curling "The first written evidence appeared in Latin, when in 1540, John McQuhin, a notary in Paisley, Scotland, recorded in his protocol book a challenge between John Sclater, a monk in Paisley Abbey and Gavin Hamilton, a representative of the Abbot." 

Canadian Woman team skip, was hit with a double touch
Image: Fatima Shbair/AP Photo/picture alliance

I curled one day, many years ago, and never could get my knees to cooperate, so I declined any further involvement. It seems like a somewhat silly sport until you try it and it is more difficult than one would have thought. I am not sure how well I delivered the rock, that piece of granite with a handle attached, much less judging how much to sweep. 

With the complaint. the Olympics have now decided, since the infamous brush up (pun intended) at the Canadian-Sweden match, to have two judges at the delivery end. Now, showing that perhaps my source is correct regarding Canada, the Canadian women's skip had a delivery stone pulled due to the same issue the men allegedly did, touching the stone twice. Following that on Sunday, the British team's third had a stone pulled for the same reason. My source's comments (see paragraph three) came before it was made public that the Canadian women had a delivery disqualified. Hence, this could be the way our northern neighbors are taught how to cheat at this sport, with perhaps difficulty in noticing what is occurring on the delivery. The fact that two incidents have occurred since the additional referee was added makes me think it is engrained in these curlers, and has been practiced that way. Otherwise why would you risk disqualification of a stone by the double touch? It may be a difficult habit to break. The extra touch is used to add or reduce speed. Keen eyes, it seems are required to pick this out, and hopefully they are better at it than NFL referee's trying to determine what is or is not a catch, or interference on a pass play. I wonder if curling will go to the replay booth to help determine the proper call. Curlinggate. Curling's version of the NFL's Deflategate. In 2014-2015, the sport was rocked by new bristles on brushes which were able to alter the trajectory of the stone in a greater degree, this became known as Broomgate, or Brushgate. And, for all the gates, whether brooms, deflate, or curling, we have Watergate to thank.

The Canadian who started the controversy, denies the double touched, even when a video from a Swedish network seemed to implicate him as touching the stone twice. He may not know he even does it, that is how ingrained it has become. The Canadians now claim the Swedes were illegally filming the match. The recalcitrant Canadian believes the Swedes were filming to catch a curler in the act of the double touch. He calls it a premeditated plan to catch the illegal touches, and he claims they have filmed other teams too. If so, the Swedes were waiting for the right moment to make the call and release the video. Does curling now have an illegal video being taken to prove illegal activity? 

Science may have trouble explaining how a curling stone moves, but it has figured out the ability to get lift in ski jumping. Male ski jumpers apparently thought to inject their male organ with hyaluronic acid to get more girth and hence to get more lift on the jump. More lift equals more distance. The injections led to the additional regulations right before the Olympics. In the meantime, it seems other Olympic sports are taking heed. An Austrian ski jumper was disqualified because his ski boot was 4mm too long. A US woman ski jumper was disqualified because her skis were too long. It seems that ski jumpers were to enthralled with the hyaluronic acid issue to make sure their equipment met the specs. Curlinggate only leads to removal of the stone double touched, not a disqualification. 

And, if once was not enough, and perhaps showing how this is ingrained in the Canadians, it came out Tuesday that on Monday Marc Kennedy of Canada was called out by a Swedish journalist who took a photo of him double touching against Czechia. Responding to the reporter when confronted, Kennedy said there was not a single intentional double touch. The key word being intentional. Whether by design, or simply by habit, it is still not legal. Except the Canadians apparently do not see it that way. The Swedish photographer also apparently has photos of the Canadian men's skip double touching. I am not sure where the officials were, perhaps looking the other way. For some reason, I don't think this will go away, and it is a stain on a once gentile sport. Canadian press would not allow the journalist to speak to the skip. It seems as if they will have to go to video replay.

Swedish Journalist photo of
reputed illegal touch in Canada 
against Czechia

What athletes are willing to do to try to find that edge to get higher, stronger and faster seems to lead to controversy and then more regulations. People will be people in always looking for that slight edge over their competition. Ski jumpers are willing to inject themselves, and then we have the Canadian and British curlers doing the double touches. If Canada were to win a medal it could well be clouded by their double touching, and make the curling crowd wonder if the double touches influenced early match outcomes. One mate involved in curling in Canada, subscribes to a school of journalism popularized by the current US President (all news is good news) and said the added press may be good for the sport. 

Curlinggate gets more juicy by the day and Canada is getting more press on this issue than it may have desired, on the other hand they kept it going by their whining about the issue. It is also why I decided I have to get this published, otherwise it would take a life of its own, as Canada simply can't keep their fingers off the stone. As Curlinggate dominates the Olympic press, curlers need to ask themselves what impact this will have on the sport.