Sid Otton, Tumwater High School, Tumwater, Washington.

49th and final year. 384 wins and counting. 82 more than the second most winning coach in Washington State. More important than the wins, are the lives he has changed by doing it differently than most everyone else.

As Lauren Smith puts it:

“. . . he doesn’t yell, or swear, but consistently works with players on maximizing potential.”

And Paul Alexander:

“He always worked on clarifying just exactly what they needed to do versus what they’d just done — run the play again, let’s keep working on that.”

And Pat Alexander:

“The players’ job is to love each other, and the coaches’ job is to love the players.”

And Matt Hinkle:

“He gives kids a sense of self-worth. He has that ability to pour into you the feeling that you’re the most important piece of what they’re trying to accomplish. And he does that for every kid. There’s tremendous buy-in because of that — you don’t want to disappoint him.”

Photo by Tony Overman.

Feyisha Lilesa.

John Gruber asks, “Is Donald Trump Really Trying to Win?“

Watching the Olympics is great fun if you can. . .

• block out that NPR report on how violence has spiked in Rio’s favelas since the Games began

• block out how little ordinary Brazilians will benefit from hosting the games

• block out how crazy the idea is that because someone happens to live within the same political borders as a medal winner they feel much better about themself

• record the 100m final and watch it in slow mo

• trust everyone will forget Hope-less Solo’s post game comments

• pretend everyone is succeeding purely based upon intense training, lots of sleep, and fruits and veggies

• block out the inevitable future drug test results and associated medal swapping

• watch a Canadian channel, and see what it’s like to appreciate, not take for granted, athletic excellence (for U.S. readers to get a feel for this, imagine if your state was a country)

• forgive the Canadian swimming analyst for thinking Ryan Lochte was in the lead for 190 meters of the 200IM

• time it so that you’re home alone with the labradude and can freely marvel at the diversity of bodies, like Olga Rypakova’s (6’0″ 137lb triple jumper) and Sarah Robles’s (5’10”, 273lb weightlifter)

Someone forgot to tell MPhelps and KLedecky that we don’t win anymore.

And RByrnes. Check it. Decided to add some flavor flav to the peloton. My socks. . . making America great.

Long before the Republican nominee for President entered politics, he was the public figure I disliked the most. Visceral antipathy for a self-centered man who embodies the worst excesses of U.S. popular culture. Exactly what we don’t need in a candidate for any sort of office, let alone the Presidency. His wealth doesn’t impress me. I wouldn’t want to play golf with him, work for him, or have him represent me on Olympia’s city council.

Believe it or not, there are sane Republicans in our midst, so how does one make sense of the Republican Party nominating him? Historically, the R’s have emphasized personal responsibility (too often at the exclusion of institutional racism and other limiters, but I digress). Most R’s believe their life circumstances are largely determined by daily decisions to get a quality education, develop marketable skills, respect the laws of the land, and out work others. That’s John Kasich Republicanism.

And yet 14 million R’s fell for a counter explanation for why they’re not prospering. The Republican nominee for President substituted the dire threats posed by illegal immigrants and Muslims for personal responsibility for economic advancement and public safety and tens of millions mindlessly abandoned their party’s core values. Possibly the quickest, most radical, and disheartening political transformation of a major party in our nation’s history.

In the past week, as a blessed respite from this dystopian novel of an election, the polls and associated headlines finally show slippage in support for arrogance and divisiveness.

And yet, I can’t celebrate this positive turn of events because even if the Republican candidate for President withdraws today or tomorrow, he will have accomplished more than I thought possible. In fact, so much that it leaves me questioning whether my fellow citizens are as rationale, welcoming, and hopeful as I always assumed. When he withdraws (power of positive thinking) or loses, I will not be joining in the racuous celebrations that will spontaneously erupt across the fruited plains. I’ll be too busy rethinking what I thought to be true about my fellow citizens.