Talking Points: Best wishes, Ichiro

1

Even though he’s now a Yankee, Talking Points hopes that Ichiro will be invigorated by this week’s trade. His performance the past two seasons — including an embarrassing .288 on-base percentage this year — has not been befitting of the great player he once was.

With a change of scenery and a move to a contender, here’s hoping the 10-time All-Star can regain some of the flair that once made him the most exciting player in the game.

That seems unlikely, considering that he’s now 38, but we’re hoping that Ichiro can return to being something like the .322 hitter he has been throughout his major-league career. And if it were anybody but the Yankees, we’d be hoping he hits something like .422.

2

Believe it or not, the Olympics actually begin today with six women’s soccer matches — two days before the opening ceremony. On Thursday, there are eight men’s soccer matches.

Talking Points is as excited as anybody for the Olympics. And we’ll gleefully watch the always-compelling U.S. women’s team against France at 8:30 Wednesday morning.

But we simply can’t approve of having competition before the official opening of the Games. Don’t the organizers know the athletes have yet to recite the Olympic Oath?

3

One of the charms of having the Olympics in London is the British betting houses. Bookies have laid odds on items such as:

• Will there be a UFO sighting during the opening ceremony?

nWill the final torch bearer trip as they ascend to light the flame?

• Will a British athlete be photographed eating a Big Mac?

They’re also taking bets on the actual competition, in case UFO’s and Big Macs aren’t your thing. The expectations? Bookies are expected to handle $155 million in wagers during the Games.