Sports!
The Maundy Monday Newsletter - This Week in History July 29 - August 4.
Welcome back, Okay History, Friends.
I’m sorry about my absence on Friday. I began a new job, and I spent the entire week feeling awful—not about the actual job but physically ill. Not being at your best is a great way to begin any new relationship. But my keyfob still works, so I will be back this morning, feeling much better about the job and my health.
Let’s take a break from politics and instead focus on the Olympics, which began on Friday. I’m not big on the Olympics, but I’ll watch some stuff now and again. I understand the opening ceremony was held at the River Seine in Paris. That sounds pretty cool; I’ll have to check it out. I saw that some Catholic bishops got upset at some rendition of the Last Supper that wasn’t the Last Supper; I think I’ll skip that.
I like to watch Olympic sports that the Americans dominate, like basketball. Our women’s team has won every gold medal that’s been up for grabs, while the men seek their fifth straight gold medal after flaming out in 2004 when we finished third.
Professional basketball has been in the news lately, which is convenient, since the National Basketball Association was founded on August 3, 1949. Seventeen teams took to the court for that inaugural season. Teams with familiar names like the Celtics, Knicks, and Lakers played other teams named the Red Skins, Stags, and even the Olympians. The following year, the NBA consolidated franchises and moved others. Today, there are 30 teams, with one from Canada.
The Women’s National Basketball Association began play in 1996 with eight teams. Today, there are twelve franchises, ten of which are also owned by the NBA team. None of the teams are in Canada.
Last week, the NBA and WNBA announced a major broadcasting deal with Disney, NBC, and Amazon to air games for the next eleven years. The media companies will pay the NBA $1.8 billion annually for exclusive rights, a $76 billion windfall shared among league owners and players.
The WNBA secured a deal worth $2.2 billion over eleven years, significantly increasing the league's financial security and players' salaries.
It’s an excellent time to be associated with professional basketball in the United States. For the next few weeks, there is little doubt that the Americans will make other countries pay when they take the court against us.
Okay, let's highlight what else happened this week. As a reminder, these events celebrate their anniversary, ending in 5 or 0. Here's what I got:
1. Baltimore was founded on July 30, 1729. The largest city in Maryland was initially called Baltimore Town, after Port Baltimore, which opened in 1706 to support the tobacco trade. I’ve lived in Baltimore twice and have always liked it.
2. Ranger 7 returned pictures of the moon on July 31, 1964. Three days earlier, the U.S. space probe launched into space to photograph the lunar surface and send them back to Earth. Someone in the control room at NASA was eating peanuts when the mission was deemed successful, and now NASA people eat peanuts in the control room for good luck and tradition. I like peanuts, especially in chocolate.
3. The Lincoln penny was issued on August 2, 1909. President Teddy Roosevelt wanted more artistry in the US currency and commissioned a one-cent coin that featured President Abraham Lincoln. The head side features a portrait of Lincoln taken in 1864, and the tail side is the Lincoln Memorial, a redesign that came into distribution on February 12, 1859, the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth. As kids, we collected pennies and put them into large empty water cooler jugs, hoping to save enough money to go to Disney. It didn’t work.
Our men's basketball team began pool play with a convincing win over Serbia yesterday, 110-84. Our women take on Japan later today. Both teams are expected to win gold; anything short of that will be considered a disappointment.
I promise you won’t be disappointed later this week when I deliver the next round of presidential elections while experiencing some extraordinary times in our current election season. I hope everyone is doing alright.
I appreciate your continued support. Have a great week!
Okay,
Chris
The NBA resulted from a merger of the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League, creating the modern National Basketball Association. The BAA briefly had a team located in Toronto before it folded. The Toronto Raptors have been in the league since the mid-1990s, while the Memphis Grizzlies were originally located in Vancouver.