Photos of the Day: STARS ON ICE in Anaheim...

Richard T. Par

Today marks one week since I went to the Honda Center in Anaheim to watch Stars on Ice...an event that celebrated top athletes in the figure skating world. This occasion featured all of the Team USA members who won gold medals in the sport at this year's Winter Olympic Games!

The top draw of the night was Alysa Liu, who was the first American since Sarah Hughes in 2002 to win an individual gold medal in figure skating. Joining her was Amber Glenn, Isabeau Levito (the three of them form a dynamic skating trio known as the Blade Angels), Ilia Malinin (the "Quad God"), Madison Chock, her husband and skating partner Evan Bates, as well as Ellie Kam and her skating partner Danny O'Shea.

Along with pictures, I've also posted tweets with videos of some of the performances from seven days ago. In case you're wondering why the photos and videos below aren't exactly DSLR or UHD quality, it's because I sat near the top of the nosebleed section at Honda Center for this event!

Anyways, Stars on Ice was very enjoyable. If this is what it feels like to watch top American Olympians in action, then I definitely need to attend a competition or two at the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics!

Of course, it would've helped if I bought tickets to the LA28 Games when they immediately became available over a month ago... Oh well. Happy Saturday!


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


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Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par

Amber Glenn skates to the DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE version of Madonna's 'Like a Prayer' at the Honda Center last night#SOI26 pic.twitter.com/QV0UyVpnxb

— Richard Par (@RichTPar) May 17, 2026

The Blade Angels (Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito) perform "Golden" from KPOP DEMON HUNTERS at #SOI26 in Anaheim three days ago pic.twitter.com/31NGCeLR2s

— Richard Par (@RichTPar) May 20, 2026

Amber Glenn performs another program in Anaheim on May 16#SOI26 pic.twitter.com/Ydk2Zd6Dwx

— Richard Par (@RichTPar) May 22, 2026

Madison Chock and Evan Bates perform to the tune of clapping in Anaheim on May 16#SOI26 pic.twitter.com/hId4natA8X

— Richard Par (@RichTPar) May 23, 2026

Up Next: The Los Angeles Summer Olympics!

Earlier today, the closing ceremony was held for the Milano Cortina Games at the historic Verona Arena in Italy. This event capped off two weeks of sporting competitions that saw Team USA win a total of 33 medals—12 of them gold, and 8 of those 12 gold medals being won by women! Among these women were stellar figure skater Alysa Liu and veteran alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin, who earned Olympic gold in women's slalom...her first since she won the giant slalom at the Pyeongchang Winter Games in 2018.

Other Team USA heroes that emerged from the 2026 Games were Alysa Liu's fellow figure skaters Amber Glenn, Ilia Malinin, Madsion Chock, Evan Bates, Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea; alpine skier Breezy Johnson; freestyle skiers Elizabeth Lemley, Alex Ferreira, Connor Curran, Kaila Kuhn and Christopher Lillis; speed skater Jordan Stolz and monobob pilot Elana Meyers Taylor. And to top things off, the members of the men and women's hockey teams who both bested Canada in their respective gold medal games to take home the hardware. In the case of the men's hockey team, today's win was America's first victory since the "Miracle on Ice" team defeated the Soviets at the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York.

With the 2026 Games now in the books, all eyes turn to the LA28 Olympics in Southern California! The Los Angeles Summer Games will actually have events (the majority of them soccer matches) that take place in Northern California as well as other states like Oklahoma, New York, Ohio, Tennessee and Missouri. But the main events such as track and field, gymnastics, swimming, basketball, baseball and flag football will occur in downtown Los Angeles and Los Angeles County, respectively.

The closest competitions to where I reside, in Pomona, will be held in the city of Industry (for mountain biking) and the Pomona Fairgrounds (for cricket)! For personal reasons, I don't wanna think too far ahead (even though 2028 is only two years away), but I'm excited about the prospect of attending Olympic events only 4 to 10 miles from where I live. Hope you guys had a nice weekend!

The Winter Games Are Here While the NFL Has Revealed Its 2025 Regular Season MVP...

Mike Segar / REUTERS

Earlier today, the opening ceremony for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games was held at San Siro Stadium in Northern Italy, while yesterday, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was named as the Most Valuable Player of the National Football League's 2025 regular season.

While it would've been awesome if Stafford could utilize his newly-crowned MVP skills against the New England Patriots (and fellow MVP candidate Drake Maye) in Super Bowl LX two days from now, this was not meant to be as Stafford will have to wait till next season to try to bring the Rams to the Big Game for the second time since 2022. And interestingly, Super Bowl XLI will be played at Inglewood's SoFi Stadium—where Stafford won his first NFL championship almost four years ago.

In regards to the Olympics, the Games will last through February 22...and feature such Team USA favorites as figure skaters Madison Chock and Evan Bates, alpine skier Ryan Cochran-Siegle and snowboarder Chloe Kim vying for another gold or silver medal, respectively. Carry on!

LOS ANGELES 2028 Update: An Olympic Sports Venue Will Be Located About 4 Miles from my House!

ICC Welcomes Announcement of Cricket Venue for LA28 (News Release)

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has welcomed the announcement of Fairgrounds in Pomona, Southern California, as the venue for cricket at the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 (LA28).

The cricket competition at LA28 will feature six teams each in the men’s and women’s competition as the sport makes a return to the Games after 128 years.

The ICC Chair, Mr. Jay Shah, has welcomed the confirmation of the venue and is looking forward to working in partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ensure cricket’s success at the Games.

ICC Chair, Mr. Jay Shah: “We welcome the announcement of the venue for cricket at Los Angeles 2028 as it is a significant step towards the preparation for our sport’s return to the Olympics.

“Although cricket is a hugely popular sport, it will be a fantastic opportunity to expand traditional boundaries when it features in the Olympics in the fast-paced, exciting T20 format that should appeal to new audiences.

“On behalf of the ICC, I want to express my gratitude to LA28 and the International Olympic Committee for their support and look forward to collaborating with them and ICC Members in preparing for LA28 and making cricket a huge success there.”

Cricket, which made its only appearance in the Olympics at the Paris Games in 1900, was included in the Los Angeles Olympics after an IOC meeting in Mumbai in October 2023.

Cricket joins five new sports at LA28 – baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash.

The T20 format, which is recognized as the vehicle for the growth of the game by the ICC, has also featured in other multi-sport events in recent years.

The Asian Games in 2010, 2014 and 2023 featured both men’s and women’s T20 competitions while the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games staged a women’s competition.

Source: International Cricket Council

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LA is ready to shine. 🌞 ​

More updates to our venue plan are here, celebrating the very best of Los Angeles while highlighting the breadth and depth of what Southern California has to offer. ​

Head to the link below to read all about the latest updates to the LA28 Olympic… pic.twitter.com/xoPmsQZpcJ

— LA28 (@LA28) April 15, 2025

FAIRPLEX NAMED VENUE FOR 2028 OLYMPICS !!

To learn more, read the full press release by visiting: https://t.co/7jpdO59yO4

“The City of Pomona is proud to partner with the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics,” said Mayor Tim Sandoval.@Fairplex #cityofpomona #fairplex #LA28 pic.twitter.com/jS2hnN8iez

— City of Pomona Ca (@CityofPomona) April 15, 2025

Well done, #Pomona... Well done.

This Olympic sport will be played less than 4 miles from my house!#LA28 #Olympics https://t.co/QxWp5xW8XD

— Richard Par (@RichTPar) April 16, 2025

Welcome to LAX, Olympic Flag: The LA28 Summer Games Have Moved a Step Closer to Reality...

Getty Images

Touching down at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) earlier today, the Olympic flag is now on U.S. soil.

Welcome to the City of Angels, historic Olympic symbol...for the first time in 40 years! Click here for more info about the flag's arrival in Southern California.

Hopped off a plane at LAX 🛬

The Olympic flag has officially landed! @MayorOfLA and over 50+ @TeamUSA athletes were welcomed by @CAgovernor and LA28 leaders today. We have officially brought the flag back to Los Angeles for the first time in 40 years. Thanks to @Delta for making… pic.twitter.com/tXHxC4Nts8

— LA28 (@LA28) August 13, 2024

Merci, PARIS 2024...and Hello, LOS ANGELES 2028!

Earlier today, the closing ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics was held inside the Stade de France at Saint-Denis, France.

This 3-hour event concluded 17 days of amazing competitions during the Paris Games...especially for the United States, which tied with China at 40 gold medals apiece and has a (current) total count of 126 medals.

Among the members of Team USA who had memorable gold medal wins was gymnast Simone Biles—who accumulated three gold medals in Paris that complemented the four gold medals that she won at the Rio de Janeiro Games of 2016. Swimmer Katie Ledecky earned two gold medals in France...increasing her total Olympic gold medal haul to nine ever since the 2012 London Games.

Ledecky is the winningest woman in Olympic history.

And of course, Team USA's men and women's basketball team won gold medals as well, with each of them defeating France in their respective championship games this weekend. The women's basketball team won six gold medals in a row since the 2004 Athens Games, while the men's basketball team won its fifth straight Olympic title since the Redeem Team emerged victorious at the 2008 Beijing Games.

There are a lot of other American athletes who deserve accolades, such as Gabby Thomas, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Sha'Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles. My heart goes out to Biles' fellow gymnast Jordan Chiles—who may have to return her bronze medal to the International Olympic Committee following a controversy involving Romania's gymnastics team (which is why I pointed out at the top of this Blog entry that Team USA's current medal count is at 126).

Looking ahead, I am so stoked that it is now Los Angeles' time to shine once again in the Olympics! Goodbye, City of Lights...and hello, City of Angels (which is only 33 miles from where I live)!

The LA28 portion of the closing ceremony was awesome...with Tom Cruise taking part in a cool Mission: Impossible-type action sequence that involved transporting the Olympic flag (after receiving it from Biles and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass at Stade de France) from Paris all the way to Southern California. Once the flag reached California (not the actual flag; this was a pre-recorded video secretly shot last March and shown at the closing ceremony), it made its way to the shores of Long Beach—where L.A. entertainers Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg (who I thought was still in Paris, being NBC TV's official spokesperson throughout the Games and all) and Dr. Dre introducing SoCal music to the rest of the world.

One question remains: Will the Hollywood Sign be augmented with the Olympic rings before the LA28 Games begin four years from now? I sure hope so... That's definitely something I wanna see in person and take pictures of for Twitter/X and Instagram, heh.

The Los Angeles Summer Olympics, also known as the Games of the 34th Olympiad, begin in 1,433 days! Oh, and kudos to the Philippines' Olympic delegation for winning medals (two gold, two bronze) at the Paris Games, too. Pinoy Pride!

Pinoy Pride at #Paris2024!

🇵🇭🥇🥇🥉🥉#OlympicGames pic.twitter.com/LJ1ubrrVVm

— Richard Par (@RichTPar) August 8, 2024

PARIS 2024: Let the Games Begin!

Almost seven years after Paris was officially designated as the site for the Games of the 33rd Olympiad, the 2024 Summer Olympics finally commenced this morning during a rain-soaked opening ceremony at the City of Light.

These Olympic Games are occurring 100 years after France last held the world's biggest sporting event—with the 1924 Paris Games marking the 8th Olympiad.

On Team USA's side, the Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James was the flag bearer for the American team...which consists of 594 athletes who rode on a giant ferry down the Seine River during the opening ceremony.

In regards to U.S. and Canadian celebrities who showed up in Paris today, rapper Snoop Dogg was one of the Olympic torch bearers, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were on-hand to promote their upcoming November film Wicked, while Lady Gaga had a musical number on a large staircase that overlooked the Seine. Celine Dion serenaded the crowd from atop the Eiffel Tower prior to the Olympic cauldron being lit about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) away, near the Louvre.

Even Arno Dorian—the main character from the 2014 video game Assassin's Creed Unity (whose story takes place during the French Revolution)—made an appearance thanks to a costumed parkourist who spent most of the opening ceremony leaping across rooftops and inside different locales throughout Paris.

I'm absolutely stoked to watch the Summer Olympics on TV whenever I can over the next 14 days (technically, Olympic competition officially started two days ago)! I can't wait for gymnast Simone Biles, swimmer Katie Ledecky, track and field athlete Noah Lyles as well as LeBron and the rest of the U.S. men's basketball team to win gold for Team USA during these Games!

Though one question remains: Will the Olympic cauldron remain airborne 24/7 over the next two weeks? The answer is no.

Did somethin today. 💯👊🏿🔥 #FollowTheDogg pic.twitter.com/G4ugnUFssO

— Snoop Dogg (@SnoopDogg) July 26, 2024

The Winter Games Have Come to an End...

Catherine Ivill / Getty Images

Almost two hours ago, I watched NBC's taped broadcast of the Winter Games' closing ceremony in Beijing, China. It was a fun 16 days!

Even though the United States finished in the fourth spot with 8 gold medals, and 25 medals overall, it was a thrill to see Team USA members Chloe Kim (women’s halfpipe snowboarding), Nathan Chen (figure skating), Erin Jackson (speedskating), Alex Hall (freestyle skiing), Kaillie Humphries (bobsled), Ashley Caldwell, Christopher Lillis, Justin Schoenefeld (all three for freestyle skiing), Nick Baumgartner and Lindsey Jacobellis (both for mixed-team snowboard cross; Jacobellis won another medal for women’s snowboard cross) win gold at these Olympic Games.

Looking to the future, I'm totally stoked for the 2026 Milano Cortina Games in Italy. For starters, Olympians will be snowboarding and skiing on actual snow four years from now!

But in the meantime, we have the 2024 Summer Games in Paris to look forward to next. And as a resident of Southern California, I cannot wait for the Summer Games in Los Angeles four years after that!

Clearly, the next six years will be a fun time if you're an Olympic buff like me. Carry on!

Photo of the Day: Let the (Commie) Winter Games Begin!

Just thought I'd share this cool photo of fireworks erupting above China's Beijing National Stadium during yesterday's opening ceremony of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Even though this two-week global event is once again taking place in the Land of Communist Heathens (the last time being the Summer Games in 2008) and where the COVID-19 pandemic—plus a couple of other pandemics—started, I'm excited to see how many medals Team USA will take home in snowboarding, skiing, sledding, snowmobiling and much more by February 20...the day of the closing ceremony.

Hope y'all are having a great weekend!

Next Up: PARIS 2024! The TOKYO 2020 Games Have Officially Come to an End...

Earlier today, the closing ceremony for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games was held at Japan National Stadium in Tokyo...with the baton passed to the city that will host the Games of the 33rd Olympiad in 2024: Paris.

As an American, this year's Olympic Games were very memorable. From Simone Biles and her gymnastics teammate Suni Lee inspiring the nation with Olympic medals and Biles putting the spotlight on mental health, runner Allyson Felix winning her eleventh medal to break the tie with track and field legend Carl Lewis, Katie Ledecky winning two gold and two silver medals in swimming, the U.S. men's basketball team winning its fourth consecutive gold medal since the 2008 Beijing Games, the U.S. women's basketball team winning its seventh consecutive gold medal since the 1996 Atlanta Games, to the U.S. women's volleyball team winning the gold medal that helped the United States surpass China on this year's medals list (view it at the bottom of this entry), the 2020 Games did not disappoint.

I'm absolutely excited for the Paris Games! The first reason being that I just enjoy watching the best athletes on this planet doing amazing and seemingly-impossible feats on the global stage every two years (I'm including both the Summer and Winter Games; the 2022 Winter Games will be in Beijing), and the second reason being that I've never been to France and I can't wait to see NBC's coverage of competitions that will no doubt be held in different regions around the country.

And of course, I'm gonna be even more stoked for the 2028 Games—which take place here in Southern California!

While the majority of games will obviously take place in and around metropolitan Los Angeles, some competitions—specifically mountain biking events—will probably be conducted in San Dimas, which is less than a 10-minute drive down the 71 and 57 Freeways from me (in the city of Pomona, which is 31 miles from L.A.)!

I should definitely check out a few of the competitions when the 2028 Summer Games arrive in the City of Angels. Happy Sunday!

The Tokyo closing ceremony will re-air on NBC at 5:00 PM, Pacific Daylight Time (8:00 PM, Eastern Daylight Time).