About the Off-Season: Winter Recess

About the Off-Season: Winter Recess

By Tim Kabel

February 13, 2025

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The 2026 Major League Baseball season is beginning. No, the games have not started, but Spring Training facilities are opening in Florida and Arizona. Pitchers and catchers have reported for the Yankees and position players will be there very soon. The Yankees’ first Spring Training game is on February 20th against the Baltimore Orioles. That is one week from today. Opening Day will be on Wednesday March 25th with the Yankees playing the Giants in San Francisco. That is about six weeks away.

In the next few days, we will start reading and hearing all sorts of stories about the Yankees, including the recoveries of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Anthony Volpe. We will read about the young Yankees. We will read and hear all about Carlos Lagrange, Ben Hess, and Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz. Those will be very interesting stories. I am eager to see and hear all of them. It will be an excellent build up to the regular season. But I don't want to do that today.

Let's do something a little different. I want to discuss the Winter Olympics for a bit. This is not going to be a deep dive into the various events. I am not going to delve into which brand of wax is best for which types of skis. I don't want to do a statistical analysis of the voting system in ice dancing. I have been following the Olympics loosely. I check updates and watch highlights several times a day. I find the whole thing very interesting. Again, I am not an expert on curling. That applies to both the type on the ice and the one involving hair.  I am going to share some of my observations as a casual fan.

First and foremost, the Olympics are extremely fun to watch. I also enjoy hearing the commentary of people who watch casually in the way that I do. For example, I have seen a lot of criticism about how the skeleton should not even be classified as a sport. For those of you who don't know, skeleton racing is comparable in a very loose way to going down a hill on a flexible flyer. Except it's not. These athletes have to get off to a tremendous sprint start on ice and then hurl themselves onto a moving sled, called a skeleton, that is apparently made of fiberglass and steel. There is no mechanism to steer. There is no padding. There is no airbag. Once the s racer is on top of the skeleton, they then go hurtling down an extremely long and twisting tunnel of ice. They steer these sleds by moving their heads and shoulders. That's it. They reach speeds of approximately eighty miles an hour. Although they are wearing helmets, their faces are approximately five centimeters away from the ice. For anyone who doesn't think that takes skill, I would love to see them try it. I certainly wouldn't want to.

Next, many of these athletes come across as extremely likable. The majority of athletes I have seen are quite gracious and enthusiastic and enjoy what they are doing. The United States figure skater Ilia Malinin almost defies description. This 21-year man not only has mastered a series of quadruple jumps, one of which no one else can do, but he is also capable of doing a backflip on the ice and landing on one skate. He does this flawlessly and regularly. If I walk out on my deck and step on an icy patch, I'm down for the count. Yet the thing that I found most impressive about him was the way he spoke about another skater who lost his parents and how happy and supportive Malinin was about the other skater’s ability to participate and give it his best effort. That in sportsmanship. As I am writing this, the men's figure skating gold medal has not been decided but Malinin has a commanding lead going into the free skate. I truly hope he wins the gold medal.

The young lady from the Netherlands, Jutta Leerdam, who won the gold medal in the 1000m speed skating event the other day exudes joy and enthusiasm in all the interviews I have seen. The happiness that she demonstrated after winning the medal was only equaled by the happiness she showed when she was able to get Olympic pins of Thor, which apparently are a hot item in the Olympic village. 

The Olympics also provide a lot of human moments. We see people fall; we see people fail. We saw Lindsey Vonn at age 41 competing with a torn ACL and still leading the competition after the first day. Unfortunately, she caught her pole on one of the gates on the second day and wound up fracturing her leg. She didn't win a medal. Yet, she tried. At age 41, this was probably her last Olympics. A lot of people were saying that she shouldn't have been competing but that was her decision. How many people applauded Curt Schilling pitching against the Yankees with a bloody sock? It's the same basic principle. 

I must mention the Norwegian skier who participated in the biathlon. The biathlon is a strange event because it involves skiing for about 800 miles and stopping every now and then to shoot things. That's something I wish I had tried when I was younger. Anyway, the fellow who won the bronze medal from Norway decided that the press conference after receiving the medal was the place and time to admit that he had been unfaithful to his girlfriend of six months and to beg her forgiveness. In the pantheon of wise decisions made by anyone at any time throughout history, this one ranks at the bottom. I'm not an expert on this type of thing, but I would suspect that exposing your girlfriend to ridicule and embarrassment in front of millions of people, not to mention stealing the spotlight from your teammate who actually won the gold medal, is probably not a good idea. I will say that I'm sure Aaron Boone loves this guy because he's the only person in the world who has performed worse in a press conference than Aaron Boone.

One final thought. I'm not sure how Snoop Dogg became something of an unofficial Olympic coach and Mascot of the United States Olympic team. Yet, he's everywhere. I have seen him running around in outfits that would make Liberace blush or wearing T-shirts or sweatshirts with the faces of various athletes emblazoned upon them. I have seen him participating in curling and other sports. I know some people feel that it is just a marketing ploy by NBC and that Mr. Dogg has no real interest in this. It does not seem that way to me. He seems like he is enjoying himself and the athletes appear to be quite happy that he is there. Based on that, I think it's great.

Seeing athletes from different countries participate in these various sports for the competition, joy, and the chance to represent their countries is a wonderful thing. I wouldn't want to watch it every day. However, every two years is just about right. Whoever decided to split the Winter and Summer Olympics and have them staggered was a genius.

 The Winter Olympics are a great respite from our professional sports schedule. They provide a nice break between the end of the NFL season and the beginning of the baseball season. We can begin arguing about who should be in the Yankees bullpen in a couple of weeks. For now, I'm going to sit down and watch figure skating, ski jumping, and skeleton racing. I will have a great time doing it. You should try it too.