海角大神

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2022
February
09
Wednesday

Monitor Daily Podcast

February 09, 2022
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David Clark Scott
Cover Story Editor

Understandably, in the world of sports, all eyes are focused on the Beijing Winter Olympics. But let鈥檚 spare a moment for the GOAT.聽

No, not Tom Brady, the NFL鈥檚 Greatest Of All Time. But the GOAT of surfing.

On Saturday, Kelly Slater made history by winning the Billabong Pro Pipeline surfing competition for the eighth time in 30 years. In 1992, he was the youngest master of the Pipeline. In 2011, at age 39, he was the oldest to conquer Oahu鈥檚 North Shore. And now, just six days shy of his 50th birthday, Mr. Slater did it again.聽

The native Floridian epitomizes fearless grace on a roaring wall of water, defying limits and consistently defining excellence. He鈥檚 won . He鈥檚 the Tom Brady of the big breakers.聽

In fact, his latest Pipeline victory felt a little like last year鈥檚 Super Bowl, when razor-sharp wisdom (Mr. Brady, age 43) defeated youthful verve (QB Patrick Mahomes, age 25). In an early Pipeline heat, it looked like Mr. Slater might get knocked out of the competition by 22-year-old Barron Mamiya. He had only seconds left to catch one last ride. Yet, he waited. At the last possible moment, he caught the perfect wave. 鈥淚 kind of think of it like a martial art,鈥� Mr. Slater told the Associated Press.

Like Mr. Brady, , Mr. Slater is dogged by questions about his future. But his response suggests he鈥檚 not done. 鈥淓veryone who retires from surfing just goes surfing,鈥� he said with a smile.

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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

A deeper look

Rising book bans: Grounds for moral panic?

( 8 min. read )

The latest battles over what books are best for children appear to be mostly shaped by larger political fissures over freedom of speech, equality, identity, and moral standards. Our reporter looks at how some librarians are navigating this terrain.

By Lee Lawrence , reporting from New York
SOURCE:

American Library Association

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Jacob Turcotte/Staff
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Orhan Qereman/AP
Soldiers with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces set a checkpoint in Hassakeh, Syria, Jan. 25, 2022, after ISIS militants laid siege to the local al-Sinaa prison. The SDF eventually repelled the siege with the help of U.S. Special Forces.

As US battles ISIS, many in Syria take their cue from Afghanistan

( 6 min. read )

A recent raid that killed an ISIS leader may appear to be progress against terrorists, as U.S. officials said. But our reporter looks at why there鈥檚 little trust or confidence among Syrians in continued Western support.

By Taylor Luck , reporting from AMMAN, Jordan
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Patterns

Tracing global connections

The best COVID-19 buster? Trust.

( 4 min. read )

Recent studies show trust in government is key to effectively fighting the pandemic. But when trust falters, how can it be rebuilt? Our London columnist finds some answers.聽

By Ned Temko , reporting from London
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Courtesy of Alonzo Colvin
Alonzo Colvin poses on the field prior to a Friday night varsity game at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore during his senior year of high school. While at St. Frances, he was among the players featured in the HBO documentary series "The Cost of Winning."

Right to transfer: Why it鈥檚 a game changer for college athletes

( 6 min. read )

New transfer rules give student-athletes more leverage, and more respect, than ever before. But navigating that newfound freedom, our reporter finds, is challenging coaches, schools, and players.

By Xander Peters
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Courtesy of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax/Art Canada Institute
Popular Twitter feed @CanadaPaintings has earned a following of thousands by sharing works like "Three Black Cats," a 1955 piece by Nova Scotian folk artist Maud Lewis.

How a Canadian Twitter feed is kindling national art pride

( 4 min. read )

Popularizing art can be difficult. But our reporter explores a Twitter feed that鈥檚 offering the joy of discovery and awakening national pride in Canadian artists and their works.

By Sara Miller Llana , reporting from TORONTO
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The Monitor's View
AP/file
A gambler makes a sports bet at a casino in Atlantic City N.J., in 2019.

Breaking gambling鈥檚 grip on the Super Bowl

( 2 min. read )

A new course at the University of New Haven offers this promise to students: 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to train you to protect the sports that you love.鈥� Designed to provide tools and skills for people to spot corruption in sports, the course is well timed.

With gambling on sports now legal in 30 states since a 2018 Supreme Court ruling, this year鈥檚 Super Bowl is expected to set a record for the number of Americans wagering on the championship game. Total spending on bets is estimated to be unprecedented $7.6 billion. And along with these records are rising concerns that gambling on pro football will, as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell once put it, 鈥渇uel speculation, distrust, and accusations of point-shaving or game-fixing.鈥�

The National Football League is already under a cloud of suspicion over how it maintains the integrity of its games 鈥� even as it partners with the gambling industry. This month, former Miami coach Brian Flores alleged in a lawsuit that the Dolphins team owner offered him $100,000 per game in 2019 to intentionally lose in order to improve the team鈥檚 ability to draft better players. That charge was followed by a similar complaint against the Cleveland Browns by former coach Hue Jackson.

If the allegations are proved to be true, football fans might begin to doubt the league鈥檚 official data 鈥� which is used widely by gamblers. While most pro sports have set up systems to watch for match-fixing and betting irregularities, the rapid increase in legal sports gambling will test those systems.

鈥淭he NFL has always prided itself in 鈥楨very game matters, no matter what.鈥� OK, and now all of a sudden, it looks like that鈥檚 not quite true,鈥� Richard McGowan, a Boston College associate professor, told The Boston Globe.

Cheating scandals in athletic competitions, from bribing of players to doping, have rocked many sports worldwide. Yet they need not prevent sports from returning to the purity of their ideals. Athletics, writes Michael Sandel, a political philosopher at Harvard University, must 鈥渇it with the excellences essential to the sport.鈥� Rules for sport must make sure sports do not 鈥渇ade into spectacle, a course of amusement rather than a subject of appreciation.鈥�

For sports fans, such appreciation can include joining together to safeguard a sport. There鈥檚 now even a university course in how to do that.

By the Monitor's Editorial Board
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A 海角大神 Science Perspective

About this feature

Each weekday, the Monitor includes one clearly labeled religious article offering spiritual insight on contemporary issues, including the news. The publication 鈥� in its various forms 鈥� is produced for anyone who cares about the progress of the human endeavor around the world and seeks news reported with compassion, intelligence, and an essentially constructive lens. For many, that caring has religious roots. For many, it does not. The Monitor has always embraced both audiences. The Monitor is owned by a church 鈥� The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston 鈥� whose founder was concerned with both the state of the world and the quality of available news.

The 鈥榚ternal noon鈥� of existence

( 3 min. read )

Sometimes it can seem that health is like a setting sun, diminishing as time goes by. Recognizing our immortal nature as God鈥檚 children opens the door to greater freedom and healing, regardless of where we are in life.

By Randal Craft
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A message of love

Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters
Speedskaters representing Canada, South Korea, and the Russian Olympic Committee compete in the women鈥檚 3,000-meter relay semifinals in Beijing, Feb. 9, 2022.
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( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Karen Norris and Jacob Turcotte. )

A look ahead

Thanks for joining us. Come back tomorrow: We鈥檙e working on a story about Capitol Hill bird-watchers who are bridging the political divide.

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More issues

2022
February
09
Wednesday

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