51° air temp at 9 am, 69° water temp at 11:30 – all are just great!
Our opponents are experienced, and they picked on my partner, who held up firm. They can run me around all the time.
I couldn’t hold my serve in the first set, but did well in the second. We also decided to make an effort to hit the lady in the purple top, which worked.
Coach C practices with us for a little while, and he says I need to toss high for my serve
February 22, 2026 at 10:18 pm
· Filed under Musing
There is no certainty in the competition 比赛没有定数. Therefore, we love to watch, to follow, to spectate, and to play.
The 2026 winter Olympics in Milan, Italy have concluded, with the US ranking second in medal haul, behind Norway.
This morning, we received many congratulatory phone calls and texts on the US men’s ice hockey team’s 2-1 overtime win over Canada. Men’s ice hockey is traditionally the last event of the winter game. US women defeated Canada on Thursday, Feb 19, 2-1, too: a double dose of happiness.
Since 1994, the summer and winter Olympics have been held separately. For ice hockey, men’s going back to 1920 @ Antwerp, women’s since 1998 @ Nagano.
men’s gold & silver
women’s gold & silver
1994
Sweden
Canada
–
–
1998
Czech
Russia
US
Canada
2002
Canada
US
Canada
US
2006
Sweden
Finland
Canada
Sweden
2010
Canada
US
Canada
US
2014
Canada
Sweden
Canada
US
2018
ROC
Germany
US
Canada
2022
Finland
ROC
Canada
US
2026
US
Canada
US
Canada
Canada is the ice hockey nation: their men’s team won 3 gold medals in the last 9 winter games (1994-2026), while their women’s team won 5 of 8 winter games (1998-2026).
This year, Alysa Liu’s two gold medals, one for the team USA and one for herself, which I wachted and felt it was the best performace of a figure skater, not only techically sound, but her enthusiasm is spiritual and so contansious, so free, so engertic. No other skaters exhibit so much joy!
人靓技绝
轻轻松松
清清爽爽
坚毅如钢
柔情似水
感染力强
十全十美
There are countless competitions worth talking about, but I consider the following 3 wins in the Cold War (1945-91) were most memorable:
1958 Van Cliburn 1934-2013 won Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow
1972 Bobby Fischer 1943-2008 def Boris Spassky 1937-2025 in Reykjavík
1980Miracle on Ice, US def ussr in Lkae Placid, NY
Van Cliburn won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958, causing the judges felt obliged to ask permission from Nikita Khrushchev to give the first prize to an American.
“Is he the best?” Khrushchev asked.
“Yes.”
“Then give him the prize!”
There’s this famous photo of blading NK bear hug 玉树临风 young American.
He was the only classical musician to be honored to a ticket-tape parade in New York City.
Bobby Fischer won 12½–8½:
a lonesome kid from Brooklyn, New York, with thin support
Henry Kissinger, the U.S. National Security Advisor called Fischer to persuade him to continue playing, famously telling him, “The country needs you to play”.
Boris Spassky had a huge team catered to him, from technical, psychological, and analytical.
ussr was four-time defending gold medalist: won the gold medal in five of the six previous Winter Olympic Games (…1956, 1960 US; 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980 US, …)
US def Finland in the final
Of the 20 college players = amateur, 13 went on to play in the NHL: 7 never reached the NHL.
Gold
Silver
Bronze
1920
Canada
US
Czechoslovakia
1924
Canada
US
UK
1928
Canada
Sweden
Switzerland
1932
Canada
US
Germany
1936
UK
Canada
US
1948
Canada
Czech
Switzerland
1952
Canada
US
Sweden
1956
ussr
US
Canada
1960
US
Canada
ussr
1964
ussr
Sweden
Czechoslovakia
1968
ussr
Czechoslovakia
Canada
1972
ussr
US
Czechoslovakia
1976
ussr
Czechoslovakia
W Germany
1980
US
ussr
Sweden
1984
ussr
Czechoslovakia
Sweden
1988
ussr
Finland
Sweden
1992
R unitied
Canada
Czechoslovakia
So here it is
奥运的冰球比赛一直是业余球员的事儿1920-1998.
苏维埃赢了很多 但那是在NHL的职业冰球队缺席的前提下; 而且也仅仅比🇨🇦(6个)多二个金牌而已.
The Color Purple was a movie by Steven Spielberg in 1985, aming at winning an Oscar (he didn’t). Recently, there is a second movie 2023 of the same name … oh well
Back to tennis.
Aaron and I vs Edwin and Joe. We’ve no biz of winning at all! I said to my partner that my aim is not getting bageled.
I served first:
40-0, unbelievable.
40-40, omg
won the game in deuce
It gives me a lot of confidence, and leads the set: 2-0, 3-1, 3-3, 4-3, and eventually won at 6-4. I made a few volleys that are in good form.
There are few close calls made by my partner. Since this is the first time we’re teaming up, I said nothing:
Set 2 is interesting: my partner Michelle only got 1 serve in; but she’s good elsewhere, and we managed to win. I served the last few points, coming from behind.
… and in the last set, Michelle suddenly serving well and won a few point off her serve. Oh well -:)
We never changed side in the prveious weeks. Tonight, our oppenonts asked to do so in the first set, saying it’s too noisy. It is! Court 7 is especially noisy. But I was able to block it out: I hear it, but I don’t.
Afterward, John came to me and said, bounce the ball will improve your serve. I tried and it is. So, bouncing it is for the last match!
🔢 Tony & I def Matt & Jay, 7-6 7-3
🔢 Edwin & he def Dave L & Denny 6-0, 6-0
30 minutes before the start, Coach is waiting for his new students, and asks me if I’d like to hit. I declined because I wanted to practice a few serves.
In the match, keeping in mind his pointers from yesterday, I checked my backhand’s ‘bevel 2’ … but unable to see if I’m holding it correctly.
Tony and I (again) were leading, 3-0, then I lost my serve. It became a close game. I was serving 6-5, 40-30. We missed a few sitters in the game (quite a few in the set) and went to a tie-break. We lost two points right off the bat but were able to take back the tiebreaker, a point at a time. At 5-2, I called a deep baseline shot out, but Tony said it was good – a reversal. Eventually, we closed it out 7-3.
During a game, Matt called let on his own serve, took my winning scoop drop shot away. Coach was nearby, so we asked him, who said, “Anyone can call the let.” AI confirms it.
A clinic that no one came to, except me, turned into a great lesson: bevel 2 for backhand, and scoop by the net. Both are old, but the tiny tweaks are ‘revolutionary’:
holding bevel 2 for backhand soft scoop at the net
A good win with Brenda as the sub, 6-1, 6-1 over the team that are tied with them.
I’m pretty happy with my play:
that I held all my serves, no double fault. I see that my ground stroke isn’t too bad, and I used it effectively.
The team is 4-1, so they’re in the first place now. (They lost to the same oppenonts last time at their home, full 3 sets in 3.5 hr!)
I was scheduled to sub, but not for the first court. At 7:51 this morning, a text came in, switching me to the first court. This league does not use a point system (USTA had 3 courts, and each carried different points). So winning the first court counts as much as the last court.
I’ve never played with Brenda before, but we worked well together. She’s good all around, but great at the net.
Taking a cue from last night’s pickleball, I hit more ground strokes and dropped less, held all my serves without a single double fault. For serve, I consistently toss first, and it worked well for me, winning quite a few points. Now, will I remember it?
One of the opponents looks like Inmaculada Concepción Conchita Martínez Bernat (1972-; 1988-2006, $11,527,977), who serves really well (but spits a couple of times …). Both opponents have weak second serve – they just pushed it over.
During the second set, we were up 4-1, 0-40. Brenda called a first serve to the middle out, but the server questioned it. It was a close call, and I said I didn’t see it. Brenda said, “Take the point.’ And they did, and went on to win two more points. Fortunately, we were able to close it.
Another good win: 6-1、6-1 和一个新搭档。(搭档开心因为战胜了与她们战绩相同的对手。今天球队总战绩为4胜1负，排名第一了。
the red nail polish
w/ Candi 6-15
w/ Lori 12-15
w/ Eoin 13-15
