Who Had the Worst Week?

• The Paris Olympics conclude this weekend and they have been celebrated as a return to what people expect from the games (no COVID, monster TV ratings, few human rights concerns, etc.). But not everything has gone well:
  • It’s every announcer’s nightmare. Leigh Diffey, NBC‘s announcer covering the men’s 100-meter sprint, botched the call, loudly proclaiming that Jamaica‘s Kishane Thompson had beaten American Noah Lyles. In Diffey’s defense, it took a photo finish to determine that Lyles had edged Thompson by 0.005 seconds.
  • Speaking of Noah Lyles, he only won bronze in the 200 meter, but he apparently placed third while battling COVID.
  • France insists on holding the swim portion of the triathlon in the Seine River, whose E. coli levels bounce between tolerable and unacceptable daily. This week, Belgium withdraw from the mixed relay triathlon after one of its athletes who previously swam in the Seine fell ill.
  • Ryan Gosling may be Canadian, but he apparently was afraid of angering his U.S. fans when he appeared at the Paris Olympics wearing a generic hat featuring only the Olympic Rings.
  • “Saturday Night Live” star Colin Jost was sent home from covering the surfing competition after he cut his foot and got a staph infection. Who knew covering Olympic surfing was more dangerous than participating in it?
  • Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic learned that one NBA MVP is not enough to defeat four NBA MVPs. But he sure looked good trying. It is a shame that the way the bracket played out that Team Serbia will only get to play for a bronze medal. They are clearly the second-best team in the tournament.
• Financial firm TIAA is planning to close its Denver office, which will affect 1,000 jobs in our city.
• A judge ordered the Penrose, Colorado, owners of a funeral home that stored nearly 200 decaying bodies and gave families fake ashes to pay $950 million to the victims’ relatives. The ruling is largely symbolic because the owners don’t – and never will – have $950 million.
• Private equity firms are buying up veterinary practices, and the results are not good for pets, pet owners or vets.
• Fox31 morning anchor Ashley Ryan‘s sleep issues have forced her to leave the station.
• Rapper Travis Scott‘s legal woes continue. He was arrested in Paris for allegedly assaulting a hotel security guard.
• Let’s pour one out for cougars across the city – Elway’s in Cherry Creek North is closing.
• Organizers cancelled two Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna after authorities discovered an ISIS-al Qaeda bomb plot. I’m really hoping this results in a revenge song against ISIS.
• A reporter who had no previous journalism experience in Wyoming has been fired for stealing some quotes, fabricating others and using AI to write stories. One of his giveaways: a paragraph in one of his stories that included a line intended just for him from his AI tool: “This structure ensures that the most critical information is presented first, making it easier for readers to grasp the main points quickly.” Thanks to Corey Hutchins‘ “Inside the News in Colorado“ newsletter for sharing that story. You should sign up for it.

Who won the week?

• DIA set a record for passenger traffic in 2023, and it is up an additional 9.2% in the first half of 2024.
• Douglas County is the third-healthiest in the country.
• I’m not sure how many football games he’ll win, but University of Colorado Buffaloes head football coach Deion Sanders knows a thing or two about marketing. He announced this week that his team will hold one of its practices at All-City Stadium in Denver. My guess is the Colorado State University Rams will do the same at some point next year.
• If you have a spare $48.5 million, you can buy a Colorado ranch that served as one of the nation’s most iconic recording studios.