First, from Time magazine:
According to the biblical account in 1 Samuel 17, Goliath was a giant terrorizing Israel and King Saul’s entire army. David, although much shorter than Goliath, refused the support of King Saul’s heavy armor. He advanced toward the taunting giant Goliath with only his shepherd's staff, a leather sling, and five smooth stones. David killed Goliath by striking him in the forehead with a stone from a sling. With Russia 28 times the size of Ukraine, but around 60% covered in uninhabitable permafrost and not remotely an economic superpower, we may be witnessing a modern remake of this biblical saga. Even more impressive is the fact that David has overcome so many obstacles to this point.
- Folk tales do some exaggeration, so there is no surety about the size of Goliath.
- The Hebrew Masoretic Text indicated 9 feet, 9 inches.
- The ancient Greek Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls showed a height of 6 feet, 9 inches.
- This latter figure seems reasonable.
- American Robert Wadlow was measured at 8 feet, 11 inches. He passed away in 1940 at the age of 20.
- David was said to have been a teenager between 13 and 19 years old at the time of battle.
- He was considered too young to enlist in the army.
- But he was an experienced shepherd who fought off lions and bears to protect his flock. To do this, he used a slingshot. A skilled slinger, it is said, could hurl a smooth river stone or a carved lead bullet at a speed of 100 miles/hour, and could inflict fatal blows from over 100 yards away.
- Here is a short video on how to make David's sling.
- There is a Prime Video 2025 series, House of David. Rotten Tomatoes scores of 67/88. A 5-minute segment of this fight.
- David went on to become a king, had 8 wives, many concubines and 20 children, 19 of them sons.
- When I was in Florence, Italy, I saw Michelangelo's statue of David in the Accademia Gallery.
- Here, David is 13 feet 4 inches tall.
- Made of white Cararra marble, and finished in 1504.
- This Biblical battle took place between 1025 and 1012 BC.
A prelude to my posting of tomorrow, for this coming week could well be memorable, with the White House now sounding optimistic about a peace settlement with Iran, this time, a lot more probable than earlier bubbles. So tomorrow, back to standard reportage.
Today, I'll just focus on sports I usually ignore. To begin, how is college basketball superstar Caitlin Clark doing in the WNBA?
- At only 6 feet tall, she is why so many today now view women's basketball, beginning with her NCAA heroics.
- I three years ago indicated that she was the player to watch, for she makes 3-point shots from the half court line, regularly. A decent team makes 37% of its shots from the 3-point line. She did that in college. The three point-line is around 22 feet away in women's NCAA, while the half court line is 47 feet away.
- Now a pro, she continues her excellence.
Well, what about Wemby, who I also indicated three years ago as the next NBA superstar. After all, Victor Nonga Wembanyama-de Fautereau-Vassel, from France, is seven feet and four (some say 5) inches tall. He is now 22 years old.
- Came in third for NBA Most Valuable Player this year.
- Averaged 25 points and 11.5 rebounds, while playing just under 30 minutes/night.
- Led the league in blocked shots and was the first unanimous Defensive Player of the year.
- Has led the San Antonio Spurs into the Western Conference Finals.
- In the 10 playoff games, has averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks/game.
- In Game 1: 41 points and 24 rebounds.
- I predict he will become the Most Valuable Player in a year or two.
- He was only up to 220 pounds in his rookie season.
- He might now be as high as 245 pounds, but maybe only 235.
- Should reach 255 pounds next year.
Next, a sport that I rarely cover, auto, or motor, racing.
- When I'm traveling globally, American sports rarely appear on television.
- I was in New Delhi, India during one Super Bowl day. On the TV channels were soccer, cricket, tennis, auto racing and bicycles. No Super Bowl. And, by the way, for soccer and cricket, an individual contest is called a match and the entire sport is referred to as a game. But remember that soccer is called football in the world.
- Soccer, bike racing, tennis and car races dominate away from the U.S. In Canada, the prime sport is ice hockey.
- This 110th running was won by Felix Rosenqvis, overtaking David Malukas, in what came down to a one-lap shootout. The closest win in the race's history. Just 0.0233 seconds, which is half a car length.
- The top global auto races are the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix (photo to the right, which will race of 7June2026) and the 24 Hours of Le Mans (follows on 13June2026).
- The Le Mans uses purpose-built prototypes like Hypercars and the Daytona hybrid, plus production supercars modified for racing, and The Garage 56 experimental car to showcase innovative future automotive technologies.
- There is an overall champion, almost always from the Hypercar class.
- Plus winner from each of the three categories.
- Note that there are three drivers for each car.
Viewers?
- Formula 1.
- 70-76 million/grand prix.
- About 1.83 billion/year.
- Additionally, 6.7 million fans annually attend these races.
- The Indianapolis 500 draws an audience 350,000, the largest single-day sporting event in the world.
- 7 million watch on FOX.
- 23 million viewers for 17-race calendar/year.
- The F1 Monaco Grand Prix draws a track attendance of 250,000, with an average audience of 50-70 million viewers.
- The 24 Hours of Le Mans draws around 330,000 trackside and 113 million TV and digital viewers.
How many races?
- Indy 500, since 1911.
- 24 Hours of Le Mans, 1923.
- Monaco Grand Prix, 1929.
So which is #1? Pick any one and you can't be too far wrong.
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