Matt's Musings

The Olympics bring out the best in competition and sports. So far, in the week since the games began, we've seen some powerful performances, and some powerful examples of grace and class under pressure. Unfortunately, we've also seen the opposite. Internationally, Americans don't have the greatest reputation. The conduct of our Women's National Soccer Team goalkeeper, Hope Solo, following yesterday's loss will do us no favors. The Americans are the reigning World Cup champions, and were expected to contend for, and win, the Gold Medal. Instead, the Americans lost in penalty kicks to Sweden in yesterday's qualifying round and were eliminated. The loss was a blow to America, but far more egregious was the comments and actions of Solo. Of the loss she said: ""We played a creative game. We had many opportunities on goal. We showed a lot of heart. We came back from a goal down. I’m very proud of this team. We played a bunch of cowards. The best team did not...

Most of the time in sports you play to win the game, but in the preseason in the NFL, you're really playing to see what kind of team you will have. Judging by Thursday night, the Broncos will still have a pretty good one. Game: Denver Broncos 22, Chicago Bears 0 Preseason Record: 1-0 (0-0 Home) Key Play : In the first quarter, on the opening drive, the Broncos' faced third and nine from the 32 yard line. On the play, under pressure, quarterback Mark Sanchez dropped back and connected with Demaryius Thomas on a touchdown pass. The Broncos never looked back. Recap : The Broncos are the defending champions, but they head into the preseason with a lot of questions to answer, especially on offense. They have a strong rookie class, but the main focus is on the position of quarterback. All three played, and we got a sense of where they are, their strengths and weaknesses, and how this team might be going forward. The Broncos scored in all three phases of the game and looked every bi...

Here's a look at the new movies I saw this week. Jason Bourne Starring: Matt Damon, Alcia Vikander, Tommy Lee Jones, and Julia Stiles Synopsis: It's been nine years since Damon suited up as the most famous spy, Jason Bourne. In that time we've had an attempted re-boot — starring Jeremy Renner — but people haven't lost their affection for Damon and director Paul Greengrass' vision of the world. Hence, Bourne is back. But maybe he should have stayed retired. This latest film has some great action sequences, and it has the feel of the Bourne movies that fans have missed, but it lacks a coherent plot and narrative focus. The people involved are capable of better. This film is another in a long line of underwhelming summer movie blockbusters. Fans of the franchise will likely be happy to see Bourne back, but if you're just looking for a great movie, this isn't it. It is simply OK. Rating:  PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and brief strong lang...

Today I continue my superhero movie countdown with my favorite Marvel film. No. 4 - Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) Starring: Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, and Dave Bautista Director : James Gunn Quote: "Really? Well, on my planet, we have a legend about people like you. It's called Footloose. And in it, a great hero, named Kevin Bacon, teaches an entire city full of people with sticks up their butts that, dancing, well, is the greatest thing there is." - Peter Quill About : We're more than a dozen films into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with no signs of stopping any time soon. There have been a lot of different films released, and you could make a case for several of them as being the best. But, for me, the best is "Guardians of the Galaxy." I've heard all the cases against it, chief among them being that it's a rip off of "The Avengers" and/or "Star Wars." I can see the parallels, but I don't buy it....

The Olympics are a unique and challenging event. It's the best athletes in the world, all trying to win for their home nation. And it comes once every four years. When you reach the mountain top, people expect you to repeat it. But a lot can happen in four years. Conversely, when you fall short, four years can be a long time to wait for absolution. During Monday's events, the third night of competition, we saw both these stories play out in disappointing fashion for team America. Men's Gymnastics Team: In London in 2012, the Men's Gymnastics Team finished first in qualifying only to see things get away from them in competition. The team finished fifth in the team competition, out of the medals. It was a performance that haunted them, and something they sought to put right in Rio in 2016. The men got off to a decent start, looking solid in team qualifying on Saturday night. They finished second, making the eight-team field easily. Then came Monday's team final and a ...

The 2016 Summer Olympics opened on Friday. After the first weekend of competition, it's time to look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of the games so far. The Good: * The U.S. leads in the medal count. This isn't a huge surprise, but it's always nice. We started strong, winning the first gold medal of the games is target shooting no less. * Swimmers are getting the U.S. going. Michael Phelps won his 19th Gold Medal last night in the Men's 4x100 relay, looking like the Phelps of old. That's always exciting. But Americans have been tearing it up in the pool so far. The best has been Katie Ledecky, who straight dominated the 400 meter freestyle event Sunday night. * Big things coming from gymnastics. In 2012, the Men's team struggled after a great qualifying round. They again qualified well and we'll see beginning tonight if they have what it takes in 2016. The women, meanwhile, are the favorites, and they showed why during Sunday's qualifying. I see big ...

"And I believe that good journalism, good television, can make our world a better place." - Christiane Amanpour One of my favorite ways to wind up the weekend is watching "Last Week Tonight" featuring John Oliver. It's funny, gives a glimpse at the world and, each week, tackles a big subject. Last night's big subject was newspapers, and the fact they're slipping away. This wasn't news to me. I've been watching it for some time, and I, too, worry about what that means for our future. It's hard to imagine the world without a daily paper, and while we might be a little ways off from that, we're already starting to feel the effects of its decline. My favorite movie of 2015, by far, was "Spotlight." It's a film that won Best Picture. It tells an important story of how a group of reporters in Boston uncovered the truth about the depth of the sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and shinned a light in those dark places many wanted t...