Keith Strudler

Here’s the good news for New York Jets fans. Last year was worse. That’s because last year at this time, one week into the NFL season, the team was coming to terms with the reality that their new franchise quarterback Aaron Rodgers was out for the season after one offensive possession in the first game.

As of late last night, the men’s draw of the US Open tennis tournament just got a little more US. That’s because for the first time in a generation, fans in Queens will be treated to an all-American semifinal match on Friday, guaranteeing an American in Sunday’s final – the first one since Andy Roddick in 2006.

There is very little that raises the volume of a sports conversation more that comparing athletes from different generations. Especially when it comes with any sense of dogma or certainty. Like saying that Joe Namath would be the best quarterback in the NFL today – which I’m not suggesting.

The first time I saw Jannik Sinner play tennis in person was a couple of years ago during a practice session the Sunday before the US Open started.

The epitaph of the Paris Olympics will be long and contain an encyclopedia of information. Like how many chocolate muffins were eaten. Or how many people were asked to leave the Olympic Village for disruptive behavior – which is only one I know of. Or how many people went to a doctor after jumping in the Seine. But one of, if not the most prominent fact will be who won the medal count, the war with the peaceful co-existence of the Olympic movement.

There have been some electric moments thus far in the Olympic track and field competition, including some particular high notes for the American team. Perhaps most notable so far was a surprising first and third finish in the men’s 1500, where American Cole Hocker somehow found a lane in the final 100 through a field of favorites.

When I took French in high school, my teacher had a poster on the wall that said, French teacher never die, they just go in Seine. It was obviously a play on the famous waterway the cuts through Paris and perhaps one of the few words I actually understood in that class.

Having done several sprint triathlons over the years in Key Biscayne, I am well familiar with the challenges of summer sporting events in Miami. Even with a 6 a.m. start time, it felt like racing through a furnace and the air was nearly as wet as the ocean. And beyond the morning, it pours pretty much every afternoon, followed by a weather condition best described as steam. So even evening outdoor sporting events feel like a wet sauna.

As for Archie Manning, the incoming freshman quarterback for the Texas Longhorns, he’s in the game. That’s what he announced this week, on Twitter, of course, with the help of his Super Bowl winning uncle Eli Manning.

There is nothing new about the concept of nepotism. It’s usually something people look down upon, unless it’s you or your own kid that benefits. Still, more often than not, we accept that quite often, people in positions of power might help their family get a leg up in their career, either at the entry level or towards the top of the pyramid.