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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● Attention, 2028 Olympic visa-entrance-to-the-U.S. worriers! Although not a summer-sport event, the International Skating Union’s opening World Cup of the 2025-26 season will take place at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah this weekend.
Under the supervision of the ISU’s “neutrality” policy, three Russian “neutral” skaters – Alexandra Sayutina, Anastasia Semenova, and Ksenia Korzhova – are entered and will compete, with Irina Salnikova as alternate. The Russian news agency TASS reported Thursday:
“The Russians obtained the necessary visas in advance and arrived in the United States approximately two weeks in advance for training” and “all athletes have tested the ice and have no complaints about the training and performance conditions provided.”
Nikolai Gulyaev, president of the Russian Skating Union, is not joining the North American stages after his application for a Canadian visa was denied.
● Olympic Games: Future ● “South Africa initiates its intention to bid for the 2036 and 2040 Olympic Games,” declared Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Minister in the Office of the President, following a cabinet meeting on Thursday.
Informal discussions have already been held as part of the “continuous dialogue” phase with the International Olympic Committee; at least a half-dozen countries are discussing bids for 2036 or 2040. Ntshavheni noted “Even if we are offered the Games tomorrow, cabinet is confident that we should be able to host them with our facilities.”
South Africa hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup in nine cities; no host city for its 2036 bid was specified.
● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● The Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano reported that the 2026 Winter Games organizers are asking for an additional €120 million (about $139.5 million U.S.) in funding guarantee support from the Lombardy and Veneto regions to solve cash flow issues.
The story states that the organizing committee’s agreement with the IOC for monies from television rights sales and a share of TOP sponsorships has 40% coming after the Games. But with payments due to vendors ahead of the Games, more credit is needed now.
● Colleges ● An annual report by the Name-Image-Likeness (NIL) marketplace firm Opendorse showed that spending through NIL commercial and collective transactions reached $2.6 billion for 2024-25 and with payouts directly to players now underway, is expected to rise to $2.75 for the 2025-26 academic year.
In terms of who gets what in the new school revenue-sharing schemes required by the House vs. NCAA settlement, it’s all about football and basketball:
● NCAA/Power-4 conference schools: 65.6% of spending on football; 20.3% men’s basketball; 6.6% women’s basketball; 7.5% for all other sports.
● NCAA/Group-of-6 conference schools: 61.9% football; 21.4% men’s basketball; 9.4% women’s basketball; 7.3% all other sports.
● NCAA/Non-football schools: 55.4% men’s basketball; 10.1% women’s basketball; 7.3% all other sports.
The Power 4 schools – such as top-ranked Ohio State (Ohio Stadium pictured above) – are expected to average $20.5 million in revenue-share payments, with $4.3 million averages for the “Group of 6″ Football Bowl Subdivision schools and $4.5 million for all other NCAA Division I athletic departments.
● Alpine Skiing ● One of the most unique races of the FIS World Cup season comes this weekend with the Slalom races in Levi (FIN), above the Arctic Circle. Besides the usual competitive elements, the winners of the men’s and women’s race “win” a reindeer: that is, they get to name one from the Ounaskievari Reindeer Farm.
American superstar Mikaela Shiffrin has won eight times, giving names to her “herd” such as Rudolph (of course), Sven, Mr. Gru, Ingemar, Sunny, Lorax, Grogu and Rori, in 2013-16-18-19-22 (2)-23-24. The last 14 women’s wins at Levi have been shared between Shiffrin and comebacking Slovakian star Petra Vlhova.
Clement Noel (FRA), the Olympic Slalom champ in 2022, is the men’s defending champion at Levi.
● Football ● Major League Soccer announced a structural change Thursday, moving to a July-to-May schedule, in line with many other leagues worldwide:
“The 2027-28 MLS regular season will begin in mid-to-late July 2027 and conclude with the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs and MLS Cup presented by Audi in late May 2028.
“Like other major international leagues, MLS will observe a midwinter break from mid-December through early February, with no league matches scheduled in January.”
Home games in northern cities will be limited in the cold-weather months; the announcement noted:
“Although the start and end dates of the season will change, the vast majority of MLS matches will still be played within the same general timeframe as today’s schedule. Initial projections for the 2027-28 season indicate that 91% of matches will fall within the current MLS season window.”
The 2025 season schedule began on 22 February with the playoffs lasting until 6 December.
● Shooting ● At the ISSF World Rifle-Pistol Championships in Cairo (EGY), Iran won the women’s 25 m Pistol Team final, 879 to 875 over France. South Korea (874) took the bronze.
● Swimming ● Terrific feature by USA Swimming on superstar sprinter Gretchen Walsh, which included how she got started, thanks to mom Glynis, a former Syracuse University swimmer:
“[She] wanted her daughters to have a sense of water safety and enjoy swimming.
“What she discovered after a few practices was that both her daughters were quite special in the pool.
“‘[Younger sister] Alex excelled right away, but for Gretchen, who her mom describes as a ‘daredevil’ unafraid to try almost everything, it didn’t take right away.
“‘Gretchen was so tiny and thin when she first started swimming that she wore a wet suit to keep warm,’ Glynis said. ‘At first, she didn’t enjoy swimming – not structured swimming, anyway. In fact, one of her first races, she hit the wall and shouted ‘I hate this.’ She quit that same day.
“‘But seeing her sister and friends continue to swim and have fun, she picked it back up, and she’s been in the water ever since.
“Within a few years, Walsh became the youngest swimmer (13) to qualify for and compete at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials.”
● Table Tennis ● The International Table Tennis Federation, which had to suspend its Annual General Meeting in May in the face of a near-riot in the room over the Presidential election, has scheduled the rest of the meeting online on Saturday, 15 November.
Elections will take place for the Executive Board, and the ratification of Council members and committee members. Virginia Sung of the U.S. is an Executive Board candidate
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