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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2016: Rio de Janeiro ● There was a major fire at the Olympic velodrome on Wednesday, requiring a major response. Rio Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere told reporters, “The structure of the velodrome itself is preserved and the track has not been hit at all.”
The Associated Press reported that the fire was mostly on the fabric roof of the building, which has also been burned previously.
The International Fencing Federation had been holding some bouts of the ongoing Cadet and Junior World Championships at the site; all competitions have been moved to the main site, the Arena Carioca 1.
● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● Part of the reaction to the opening of LA28 ticket sales has been not only the cost, but also the handling fees which are part of the listed prices.
A New York Post review noted service charges of 24% – $504.63 – on a package of tickets costing $2,100 as shown on the check-out breakdown (ticket pricing on the LA28 buy site shows the total price, including taxes and fees). An LA28 statement provided to the Post included:
“The service fee is based on the percentage of the ticket price you pay.
“LA28’s ticket program is rooted in heavy analytics and extensive market demand research around entertainment and live sports in the U.S. Tickets are comparable to – or well under in many cases – professional sporting and major entertainment events in the U.S.
“Pricing is based on a variety of factors and heavily informed by what fans have told us, as well as venue capacity, type of session, seat location and historical demand.”
“That said, LA28 tickets go up to the thousands in select cases for the most premium seats at a handful of the most anticipated events. The most expensive tickets represent a small portion of the overall inventory, and there are also accessibly priced options at these same sessions we know will draw headlines.
“Roughly 5% of tickets are over $1,000. More than 75% of all Olympic tickets – which includes finals – are under $400, and nearly 50% of all Olympic tickets are under $200.”
● NCAA ● A Yahoo! Sports report published Wednesday said the NCAA is beginning the process of exploring new eligibility rules, based partly on age, that would limit collegiate participation to five years only:
“According to the concept, NCAA athletes would have five full years of eligibility from the time of their 19th birthday or their high school graduation, whichever is earliest.”
Exceptions would be made for maternity, military or religious service. “Redshirt’ seasons would be eliminated; the proposal as reported does not impact the ability to transfer.
The proposal will be considered by the NCAA Division I Cabinet next week; the timeline beyond that is unclear. The NCAA has been deluged with lawsuits by athletes trying for added years of eligibility and while the NCAA has won many of these suits, the cost of litigation is substantial, outcomes are unpredictable depending on the state involved, and are continuing to increase.
● Cycling ● Slovenian superstar Tadej Pogacar is chasing history on Sunday at the 123rd running of Paris-Roubaix – the “Hell of the North” – a brutal 258.3 km route from Compiegne to Roubaix, including 30 cobblestone sections.
Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel has won this race the last three years, with Pogacar second by 1:18 in 2025. It’s the only Monument race he hasn’t won.
The “Monuments” are the five ancient, one-day races in the sport, that go back before World War I and Pogacar owns 12 Monument wins, second all-time:
● Milan-Sanremo (ITA: 1907) ~ 1 Pogacar win, in 2026
● Ronde van Vlaanderen (BEL: 1913) ~ 3 wins in 2023-25-26
● Paris-Roubaix (FRA: 1896) ~ no wins
● Liege-Bastogne-Liege (BEL: 1892) ~ 3 wins in 2021-24-25
● Il Lombardia (ITA: 1905) ~ 5 wins in 2021-22-23-24-25
Only three Belgian riders – Rik Van Looy (1958-65), Eddy Merckx (1966-76) and Roger De Vlaeminck (1970-79) – have won all five and only Merckx has won each more than once.
Moreover, only Merckx and Pogacar have won as many as three Monuments in a season: Merckx in 1969-71-72-75 and Pogacar in 2025. With Pairs-Roubaix on Sunday and Liege-Bastogne-Liege on 26 April, Pogacar has cycling history within reach!
● Football ● A 38-stop “Canada Celebrates” program of activities, including live viewing, music, food and cultural programs was announced, from 1 June to 19 July, with seven stops from 9 April to 26 May as part of the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour.
Seven major cities will be visited in April and May, then a parallel tour of eastern and western Canadian cities will host celebrations during the FIFA World Cup tournament itself:
● Eastern: Newfoundland (1), Nova Scotia (1), Prince Edward Island (1), New Brunswick (1), Quebec (1), Ontario (8).
● Western: Yukon (1), British Columbia (6), Alberta (1), Saskatchewan (1), Ontario (4).
FIFA World Cup 2025 matches will be held on Vancouver and Toronto.
● Water Polo ● In the World Aquatics men’s Division I World Cup in Alexandroupolis (GRE), Hungary and Italy topped the groups with 3-0 records. The U.S. finished 0-3 in Group B and will play in Group D, in which only the winner will advance to the Super Final.
All four teams in the second-phase Group C – Hungary, Italy, Greece and Spain – have qualified for the Super Final, in Australia, in July.
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