Well, this is an interesting development. Only three cities have submitted bids for the 2018 Winter Olympics — Munich, Annecy and … (wait for it) Pyeongchang.

For the last several years, I have been pained by Pyeongchang’s previous bids for previous Olympics. Pyeongchang is a beautiful place, but its bids were simply not very good (yes, it got votes in 2010, but I still think the bid was fundamentally flawed).

But this time, they may be in luck. From what I can see on the Internet (dubious research, I know), people are pretty dubious about Annecy’s bid. Which leaves it pretty much a two-country race, between Germany and Korea.


* * *
And as long as I am talking about sports, I should point out the Kim Yuna had a great short skate at the opening of the Trophee Bombard tournament in Paris yesterday (part if the ISU’s Grand Prix tournament). Yuna scored a 76.08; her nearest competitor, Yukari Nakano, a 59.64

As Philip Hersh wrote on his LA Times sports blog:

One short program does not a season make. But this one made it clear that Kim at her best will be impossible to beat, and Kim at 80% of her best still is better than anyone else. Athlete, artist — this young woman is breathtaking on the ice. Barring injury or early retirement, she can be the greatest women’s skater in history.