February 27, 2026
Connor Hellebuyck carried the US Men’s Olympic Hockey Team on his shoulders and never faltered. In his remarkable performance, he stopped 41 of 42 shots from the dominant Canadians, stopping what was clearly the greatest collection of goal scorers ever assembled (Canada had the #1, 2 and #4 top scorers in the National Hockey League).
This was special for me. I watched the 1980 Gold Medal Game. It was on a delayed feed, so we purposely turned off the radio and TV (no internet remember) so we wouldn’t hear the score in advance. I got to see the 1980 and 2026 gold medal efforts. 1980 was much more emotional but the 2026 win was epic.
Almost simultaneously to the win, another young man, Austin Martin, pointed his shotgun at Federal officers and was gunned down at Mar a Lago.
Both will be remembered for a long time, and then, as all do, will slip into obscurity as new events create new memories and crowd out old.
Two young Americans, two radically different outcomes. One dedicates his life to sport, the other to engineering his own death.
I have been thinking about that a lot.
The Chicago Bears announced they are in serious discussions to move the team to Indiana. The Bears leaving Chicago? Blew me over with a feather. Pritzker blamed the Bears themselves, saying he was “surprised, dismayed and very disappointed” by their public statement supporting the Indiana stadium deal, accusing them of sending mixed signals.
He claimed the Bears privately told his staff the statement was put out just to “appease Indiana politicians” and wasn’t a real commitment to move. Indiana Governor Mike Braun revealed the Bears had actually approached Indiana five months ago after being “rebuffed” by Illinois — suggesting Illinois dropped the ball long before this became public.
But we are told the Governor wasn’t at fault, it was the fault of the Bears and the Indiana Governor, and the Indiana Legislature for putting up $2B for a new stadium.
Mr. Trump’s tirade at losing his tariff lawsuit in the Supreme Court created yet another cringe moment of saying something that deserves censure. His lack of respect for the Court does nothing (nothing) to advance the healing process this country needs to have. In part, I think many supporters will not shed tears when his term is over, even as they’ll thank him for his accomplishments.
California has spent 16 years and $15 billion on a rail network that has yet to lay a single track. Who is to blame? Not Governor Newsom, or so he says, rather…
When the Federal government pulled $4 billion in funding in July 2025, Newsom called it “a political stunt to punish California” and accused Trump of acting out of “personal animus toward California and the high-speed rail project, not by facts on the ground.” California sued and then dropped the lawsuit.
But you see, it was Trump’s fault, the lack of progress.
I’ve done some work researching the rail project and it became painfully obvious to me that it will never be built. Sometimes, people just don’t know when to take the loss and let go.
Back to hockey. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that the US Women’s Team might go down in history as the best ever. I didn’t see anything to change my opinion. They were prohibitive favorites all tournament long, and took a wrecking ball to:
Czechs 5-1
Finland 5-0
Switzerland 5-0
Canada 5-0 then 2-1 (Gold medal game)
Sweden 5-0
Honestly, some of those games could have been 8-0 or 10-0. I think they shut it down to five goals, although that’s probably just conspiracy theory on my part.
How dominant? Consider this. All the goals scored against the US Women combined wouldn’t have been enough to beat the Americans in any single game. It would have been 5-2. That’s something.
I think it’s pretty cool that we can argue about who was the most dominant team…the US Women or the US Men. Me, I’d bet on the Women.
Did you notice this? No Russians at the Olympics. No Russian ice skaters, no Russian hockey team, no Russians. I bet some of us didn’t notice. As you probably know, Russia is under Olympic sanction for its aggression against Ukraine.
The price Russia is paying for that war extends far beyond battlefield casualties (although they would be enough…recent estimates at 1,000 per day). No, it is the hollowing out of Russia and its people that accompanies the butcher’s bill. The West is lethal and clever and remorseless…give the Ukrainians enough to keep going, but not enough to win but enough not to lose. A Russia fixated on Ukraine has no energy and money to create mischief elsewhere. Moreover, whatever happens, it may never recover from it.
This, for me, conflated to some of the fallout we’re now seeing in the Epstein business. How collateral damage is often not considered:
Andrew, arrested.
Casey Wasserman having to put his talent agency up for sale.
Thomas Pritzker…Stepped down as executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels after friendly emails with Epstein surfaced showing he maintained contact after Epstein’s 2008 conviction.
Larry Summers…Former U.S. Treasury Secretary resigned from the OpenAI Foundation board over his Epstein ties.
Brad Karp…Chairman of the major law firm Paul Weiss, faced significant pressure and reputational damage. Resigned after 17 years.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem…Chairman of DP World (one of the world’s largest port operators), replaced after emails surfaced about their “years long friendship” that included explicit references to escorts and sexual massages.
Jack Lang…Former French Culture Minister and president of the Arab World Institute, resigned after being mentioned 600+ times in the files. He was introduced to Epstein by Woody Allen.
Peter Mandelson…Senior Labor Party figure and former UK Ambassador to the U.S. (appointed by PM Starmer), fired from his ambassador role, resigned from the House of Lords, arrested, and now faces a criminal investigation for potentially sharing market-sensitive government information with Epstein and receiving payments from him.
I just want to say…
Epstein was some freak, hunh? How in the world do you turn into that?
Miroslav Lajčák…Former Slovak Foreign Minister and ex-president of the UN General Assembly, caught up in the files but denying wrongdoing.
What we learn is that the court of public opinion renders decisions and justice much more quickly than the wheels of justice, which turn slowly or sometimes, not at all. Aside from prison, these men have been given a life sentence for their behaviors. The financial costs obvious, although most of them won’t bat an eye at them. But more…the stigma, the public shame, will never go away, they will see it daily in the eyes of people who look at them. How do you face your granddaughter or your wife or your friends?
I think you would agree with me…When people, most especially people in power, hurt and take advantage of the most defenseless among us…kids, the elderly, people with physical and mental challenges…
Apply the maximum penalty under the law.
Thoughts, questions, or reflections? I’d love to hear them. You can reach me anytime at anthony@workingprofit.com
