海角大神

Forget that nettlesome D.C. memo for a moment and lay plans to raid the snack aisle. Maybe try the parsnip chips.

This weekend brings the Super Bowl of pro football, a national moment of togetherness and, yes, a global phenomenon 鈥� even if it鈥檚 no World Cup of f煤tbol.

The water-cooler breakdowns of that game will barely have ended when eyes will turn to the Olympics Feb. 9. Stories and substories always abound. (The Monitor鈥檚 Christa Case Bryant is en route to South Korea to report some of them.)

At play in both spectacles: modern athletes defying the limitations often associated with aging. Tom Brady 鈥� the New England Patriots quarterback, the of football, and the gold-standard player at his position 鈥� is, at 40, chasing his sixth ring.

And under the rings at the Winter Games it won鈥檛 just be the curling crowd exhibiting maturity. Among over 40 are German speedskater Claudia Pechstein and Japanese ski jumper Noriaki Kasai, both 45 and repeat Olympians.

What鈥檚 that about? Workout regimens, to be sure. Great gear and new training technology. It鈥檚 also a mind-set that puts possibility over a standard prognosis. , Brady鈥檚 backup for a few years in the mid-2000s: 鈥淵ou can say what you want, but for him, age doesn鈥檛 matter.鈥�

Now to our five stories for today, looking at the reexamination of some norms, outlooks, and practices 鈥� and at a Lebanese film that highlights hope for reconciliation.聽