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The winter Olympics in Beijing this month turned me off. The on-going saga of Kamila Valieva dominated not only the skating but also the entire games. I thought the whole thing was distasteful.

These are a few bits and pieces left over from the past several weeks, and I'm just getting around to them. Super Bowl LVI I don't know about you, but I came away deeply dissatisfied with the ending of the Super Bowl. It's not that I think the wrong team won; it's just that I didn't like the way the game played out. It began on the first play from scrimmage in the second half. The Bengals took a four-point lead on the strength of a 75-yard touchdown pass from Joe Burrow to Tee Higgins, but Higgins had grabbed the face mask of Rams' cornerback Jack Ramsey and given it a tug, causing Ramsey to fall down. Higgins then caught the pass unimpeded and waltzed into the end zone untouched for the score. It was an obvious case of offensive pass interference by Higgins, and the play should have been called back, but no such call was made, and the score was allowed to stand. Afterwards, referee Ronald Torbert had the temerity to defend the non-call when he told pool reporter Joe Reedy that, because there was no "twist or turn" of the face mask, no foul had been committed. Maybe there was no twist or turn, but there was a definite tug on the mask by Higgins, which took the defender out of the play. The egregious non-call gave Cincinnati a lead of 17 to 13.

The two teams traded field goals and that is where things stood until the final two minutes of the game. Los Angeles had driven down to the Bengals' eight-yard line, and it was at that point that the officials hi-jacked the game. Only three penalties had been called in the entire game up to that point when suddenly the Bengals, the least penalized team in the league, were called for three infractions in a row. On third and goal from the eight-yard line, the entire Rams line seemed to move a beat ahead of the ball being centered, but instead of Los Angeles being called for illegal motion, the Bengals were called for defensive holding after batting down a pass for an incompletion. Replays revealed that there was no holding but the call stood and the Rams were given the ball at the four-yard line plus a new set of downs. The next play seemed at first to be a touchdown for Los Angeles but off-setting penalties meant a do-over. We were not shown replays of the penalties. The following play was an incomplete pass but the Bengals were called for interference and the Rams got the ball at the one-yard line and another set of downs. Finally, two plays later, Matt Stafford hit Cooper Kupp for the game-winning touchdown. One was left with the feeling that the Rams were given the game over the Bengals, who never should have held the lead in the first place. It was a really good game until the officials spoiled it. Celtics I must confess that I haven't been paying much attention to the Celtics for most of the year. They seemed to be playing as individuals and not as a team. In the early going, they were prone to blowing big leads. They didn't seem to mind very much when they lost, so I didn't, either. But in the weeks leading up to the all-star break, they appeared to put it together. They won nine games in a row and began playing really good ball. When they finally lost to the lowly Detroit Pistons, they seemed to be genuinely upset. Brad Stevens made a series of bold moves at the trading deadline, which have totally changed the team's identity. If nothing else, they've at least got my attention now. Bruins Brad Marchand's twin cheap shots at Pittsburgh goalie Tristan Jarry are pretty hard to defend. First he sucker-punched the Penguin netminder and then hit him in the face with his stick. It cost him a six-game suspension and added to his reputation as a dirty player. It isn't easy to root for a guy with that kind of an image. This marks the eighth time he has been suspended by the NHL and, although he feels the penalty was unduly harsh, it's hard to find anyone else who feels sorry for him. Plus, the six-game suspension has done his team a great disservice. The Bruins have been struggling offensively and Marchand is one of their most productive goal scorers; he leads the team in total points. With him out of the lineup, they lose an important threat and become easy picking for the opposition. In his defense, it is said that he is a highly emotional player who, once he learns to keep his emotions in check, can be of great value to the team. But he is 33 years old and as they say, it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. Winter Olympics The winter Olympics in Beijing this month turned me off. The on-going saga of Kamila Valieva dominated not only the skating but also the entire games. I thought the whole thing was distasteful. This is a 15-year-old kid at the center of this, and there is no telling how psychologically damaged she has been by it. Her whole life could end up in ruins. You can bet that taking drugs wasn't her idea. She's just a pawn in the game, but she is the one who has to pay the price. It's all because she has been cursed by having such great talent. I didn't watch the Olympic competition very much this year and my plan is to watch it even less four years from now. - Dick Flavin is a New York Times bestselling author; the Boston Red Sox "Poet Laureate" and The Pilot's recently minted Sports' columnist.

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