Dez Reads. Mostly Sports.

At Dez, we love a good scrap.

In our day jobs, I mean entering high-pressure situations and often punching back on behalf of our clients.

On the couch, for many of us that means watching sports. That certainly comes through this week, a distinct Dez Reads emphasis on the Olympics and the Super Bowl. Katie Runkle, of course, is the outlier as our regular reporter on the dating and romance beat.

On the Olympics front: Phil Bogdan correctly calls out the French, Maya Shackley informs us that American speedskaters are forged in the cold Wisconsin winters, and Jen Hirshon weighs in on behalf of Gen X, in celebration of a 54-year-old lawyer-turned-American curler.

Finally, we welcome Sam Jefferies back to the firm this week after a 10-year hiatus. In the spirit of welcoming, I allowed him to include a bit on his hometown Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks. That’s a one-time offer; Go Lions.

Thanks, as always, for reading along with us.

Here we go.

Pig Skin Politics.

Roll Call: How the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks explain the 2026 midterms

A decade after the infamous goal-line disaster that cost the team their second consecutive Super Bowl, the Seattle Seahawks have exorcised the demons of the past and returned to their city covered in glory or confetti.

And national media seems to have little to say about it. Maybe it is the ruthless execution of an all-time great defense, but the coverage seems…muted.

Longtime DC insider Nathan Gonzalez had an interesting spin on the team, though. His breakdown maps players’ connections to key congressional districts – running back Kenneth Walker’s ties to the Michigan 7th, seat Republicans must defend in their unlikely efforts to keep the House, or linebacker Ernest Jones IV’s Georgia roots as a spotlight on Sen. Ossoff’s efforts to defend his seat in a tossup race.

Political reporters are often criticized for engaging in “horse race” journalism over substantive policy coverage. But pigskin politicking? I can get on board with that.

– Sam Jefferies

Skategate Strikes

Newsweek. Fans Compare Team USA Olympic Judging Drama to Infamous ‘Skategate’

Last night, I saw one of the most inspirational performances on ice I’d ever been blessed to see. Olympic skating pair Madison Chock and Evan Bates delivered a flawless ice dance routine. They were perfectly in sync, technically spot-on, and their bodies brought raw emotion from their faces down to the tips of their cold, sharp skate blades.

Yet they lost. Years of hard work for that one accolade that eluded them, the gold medal, down the drain. Why? Apparently French judge, Jezabel Dabouis, showed favoritism for her own nation’s skaters (who won the gold, despite a visible error) by giving Chock and Bates a conspicuously low score. The internet erupted, comparing the behavior to the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics’ ‘Skategate’ incident, when a French judge admitted to engaging in vote swapping and bribery.

Oh, you French. Will you ever learn? You already sparked one crisis that reshaped the scoring system. Must we rethink the scoring system again? At this point, I need to admit something. I’m not an expert on figure skating or judging. I can’t even stand up on skates. Yet these events moved me. Damn the details.

Two hardworking people who gave everything were snubbed because one snooty French judge stole the glory for her own country. Emotion sans rationality is like jet fuel for a reputation crisis, and it will be a real challenge bringing rationality to that decision. I’ll be breaking out the popcorn – but not the bon bons – for the Olympic Committee’s response.

– Phillip Bogdan

Deal-breakers that don’t deal-break

The Atlantic. Most People Don’t Have a ‘Type’

To keep in line with my writing on romance from an almost sterile perspective, the day before Valentine’s Day I bring to you the idea from the Atlantic that most people just don’t have a type.

One of the author’s must-haves in a relational partner is a permanent address, so not too high of a bar. Yet the love of her life lived on the couch of their group home. Go figure.

When I was 15, I was told to make one of these ‘non-negotiable’ lists for my future partner. Because I was clearly very qualified at that age, the very first item on my list was “must be taller than 6 foot.” My fiancé is 5’9.

She writes that, “Many people think that they have a set type, and that all they need for eternal bliss is to find someone who matches it.” But then rebutts that idea with a psychologist’s advice that no one really knows what they want until they find it, and that “people’s stated preferences don’t align well with the traits that incite their fondness for someone in real life.”

So, for another unromantic take as I’m preparing to wed and celebrate the romance holiday, here’s to (thankfully) not getting what we wished for at 15. My advice to you - date someone who doesn’t align with the on-paper qualifiers.

– Katie Runkle

You are never too old.

Yahoo Sports. Winter Olympics 2026: 54-year-old personal injury lawyer Rich Ruohonen becomes America’s oldest eve…

Have you heard of Rich Ruohonen, the oldest American ever to compete at the Winter Games?

At 54, this personal injury lawyer and father has made the Olympic curling team, and his long, uneven path to Milan is a reminder that some dreams aren’t “too late” so much as “not yet.”

His willingness to keep grinding through a full law career, parenting, relentless training, and six unsuccessful Olympic cycles feels like quintessential Gen X: understated, durable, and loyal to the commitments made to a younger self.

As a fellow Gen X’er his story gives me hope that midlife is not a closing door but a different vantage point from which to pursue the same ambition with deeper perspective. The door is still there you simply have to be determined enough to keep searching for the key.

– Jen Hirshon

Gold-Metal Genes

WSJ. The State That Churns Out Beer, Cheese—and the Fastest Speedskater Alive

Greatness in the Olympics isn’t just about grit, pain tolerance, and monk-like devotion to 5 a.m. workouts. It also helps to win the genetic Powerball.

Take Michael Phelps. At 6’4” with a 6’7” wingspan, paddle-length arms, double-jointed ankles, a long torso, short legs, and lung capacity that bordered on mythical, he wasn’t just built for swimming, he was engineered for it. The result? A propulsion-and-endurance machine with a medal addiction.

Speed-skating, though, requires a slightly different edge. Yes, you need tree-trunk thighs and preternatural balance. But it also helps to be born in Wisconsin and to train at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee.

That’s where Jordan Stoltz first laced up at age five, inspired by short-track legend Apolo Anton Ono. His parents found more than a rink; they found a gold-medal assembly line. Since 1980, Americans have won 19 Olympic golds in long-track speed-skating—16 by skaters raised or trained in Wisconsin. At the Pettit Center, five-time Olympic champions roam the oval, clipboard in hand, casually molding the next podium regular.

Wisconsinites already brave subzero Sundays at Lambeau Field fueled by cheese curds and beer. Hand them speed skates and a 400-meter oval, and they become something else entirely: very, very fast.

– Maya Shackley