Welcome back to What Needs Knowing. Happy Friday, everyone. We made it. This week’s volume is a smorgasborg and there is a little something for everyone. Let’s jump right in!
What’s Worth Knowing
After a couple of weeks off, let’s catch up on all things sports, books, and culture.
Following a three month hiatus, Formula 1 is starting up for the 2023 season. This weekend, drivers get their first taste of the newly designed cars during official testing in Bahrain. Testing regularly involves cloak and dagger tactics and whispers of sandbagging (purposefully doing poorly to surprise the competition when it really counts) that offer a pretty poor view of what car or team is actually fastest. The public will have to wait until the first race next weekend to get an accurate read on where teams and drivers stand following the off season design period and personnel shuffling.
Need a recap of last season’s drama? Drive to Survive Season 5 dropped today on Netflix. I know how I’ll be spending my weekend!
The U.S Women’s Soccer team won the She Believes cup on Wednesday night after defeating Brazil 2-1. The tournament, a round-robin of international friendlies hosted in the US, offered what likely is the final competitive test for the USWNT before the World Cup this summer. There are a couple of games left before the big show but they are slated to be against significantly less robust opponents. The team performed well in the tournament and during the Brazil game, solidified what looks like a starting lineup (minus Sophia Smith who is recovering from an ankle injury). There are still major question marks about some players on the bench and it is going to be difficult to cull this roster to just 26 players come July. Alyssa Naeher made a huge save to secure that 2-1 win against Brazil on Wednesday.
NBA All-Star weekend took place last weekend in Salt Lake City. It was a snooze-fest except for Mac McClung winning the dunk contest. Prior to Saturday night, his career earnings equaled $109k and he was a relative nobody in the NBA; he nearly doubled those earning with the $100k awarded for these unbelievable shots.
The Ocean Race has been quiet for a two weeks while the sailors have enjoyed firm ground and a good night’s sleep in Cape Town following an exciting Leg 2, won by Holcim-PRB. Leg 3 begins on Sunday and is the longest leg ever in the history of the race. Sailors will cast off from Cape Town, South Africa, head south to the Roaring Forties (named for the high winds that are common below forty degrees latitude) before the boats turn east and set coarse for Itajaí, Brazil. In this leg alone, the teams will nearly circumnavigate the globe, passing the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn while dodging icebergs and enduring challenging conditions for what is expected to be a 34-day journey. Talk about brutal.
Devastation struck the SailGP tour this past weekend in Austrailia when a strong storm front arrived onshore while the boats were being put away, causing extreme damage to many teams’ headquarters, boats, and other equipment. Imagine a tornado hits the barns at Churchill Downs just after the Kentucky Derby when all the grooms are cleaning up their horses and everyone is still milling around.
#EXCLUSIVE SailGP has cancelled the second day of events after a wild storm. Incredible footage @dailytelegraphThe organizers of SailGP have already announced that a delay in the schedule is likely due to the extent of damage to both boats and equipment across all of the team.
One niche of the internet that I find myself enjoying a lot is dance routine videos. I can’t do anything like what those people can do thus, it’s fascinating to me. Two of my favorite dancers released a fun video this week. I’ve watched it a couple (okay like ten) times because it was so mesmerizing.
Mikaela Shiffrin became the winningest ski racer in World Championships history last week when she won her 14th career medal. GOAT-alert! Watch her run here.
I am in a reading rut at the moment and so to all my book-focused subscribers, I apologize for the drought of recommendations and reviews so far in 2023. After really enjoying Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo, I’ve struggled to pick up a new book. My to-be-read pile is technically full but I am just uninspired with what is there at the moment. I am hoping to rectify this issue with a visit to the local bookstore in Edwards, CO this weekend. A couple of options on my radar: The Winners by Fredrik Backman ( I LOVED Beartown by Backman but I’m worried the characters of this story might be worn out) and Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee (recommended and enjoyed by a close friend of mine). I will report back next week!
Katie Burrell regularly releases comedy that is just too close to home:
To everyone that was appalled at my omission of Tom Brady from the GOAT discussion last week, I have to apologize. Basketball was on the mind and I simply forgot about TB12. Blasphemy, I know. Please forgive me, the Peyton Manning superfan was showing.
Parting Shot: Two trips up Highland Bowl in Aspen, CO—10 years apart. It is exceedingly special to still be enjoying gnarly mountains with him.
Thanks for tuning in this week. I hope everyone has a great weekend and does something that scares them, just a little. It can’t be as bad as casting off for over a month at sea. Talk soon,
-Mackenzie “I miss my duct-tape poles” Timbel