1....insurance commercials are so dumb. Mind you, GEICO's camel does capture your attention, and their green gecko seems to have some staying power, having been around since 1999, which is the same year the Aflac duck made an appearance. Cute apparently works, but aren't insurance companies supposed to exude credibility and security? What is the logic of attracting customers with stupidity, as adorable as some of those animals might be? Scary, but maybe these ads reflect the basic nature of our society.
2....there are no high-ranking American men tennis players? Yesterday, Tim Smyczek of the USA, who has never been ranked in the Top 100, lost, leaving ZERO U.S. players in the U.S. Open. This is the very first time no American even reached the fourth round of our very own championship. Smyczek's (bet you never heard of him before) failure meant that we had no representative in the quarterfinals at any of the four Grand Slam tournaments this past year, something that never has happened before. Earlier this year no USA pro went beyond the second round, the second round, mind you, of the Wimbledon, the first time in 101 years. For a while last month, there was no U.S. person in the Top 20, another first ever since computerized rankings began in 1973. John Isner (below left), did come in at #17 for this Open, but also lost in the third round. 
Other Americans in the rankings? #32 Sam Querrey, #73 Alex Bogomolov Jr., #86 Jack Sock, #92 Michael Russell, #97 Ryan Harrison and #100 James Blake. Any recognizable names here? Isner (above, Isner, all of 6 feet 9 inches tall, is to the left, Mahut on the right) is famous because three years ago he beat Nicolas Mahut of France in the fifth set of their Wimbledon marathon by an incredible score of 70-68, a match that lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes over two days. Our best hope Jack Sock (left) is only 20 years old.
American women are doing fine, with Serena Williams #1 (left), who just beat #16 Sloane Stephens (right, who also is only 20) in the Open. There are eight other American women in the Top 100.
3...the USA men's soccer team is ranked #19 in the world, while the women are #1? Further, the American women are mostly really good looking (Hope Solo to the left). The answer to these tennis and soccer discrepancies is simple: the best men's athletes go into football, baseball and basketball. There is no equivalent professional opportunity for women. England is generally credited to have invented the modern versions of tennis and soccer, but their women soccer team is only #11, while the men are at #14. While #3 Andy Murray did win the Wimbledon this year, he is the ONLY United Kingdom representative in the tennis Top 100.
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