Inside Polish Sports

This weekend proved that it is not just the general populace that can be ignorant of athletes, their virtue, faults and humanity. Whilst Iga Świątek was steaming thru her best tournament this season in Toronto, Professor Ewa Woydyłło was calling her a "stupid and fearful girl" whilst her comments on Aryna Sabalenka do not even deserve to be printed. At least she had the nerve and courtesy to apologise which can't be said for any bots commenting below that now-deleted podcast.
Whilst on Friday Kasia Niewiadoma rocked the Cycling world by destroying Mont Ventoux and taking the Tour de France yellow jersey in a ride that left me and all other Poles watching in awe, if not in tears. 24 hours later she had lost the lead and vented out her frustrations on a 20-year Frenchwoman, who later inexplicably got death threats for her rookie mistake in the heat of competition from those you can never realise that it was just that and that the ladies can forgive each other for both words and action.
Also, Lewy scores again, Arek Milik scores for the first time since Charli XCX's Brat came out and my personal tribute to Unia Oświęcim's former MC/On-Ice Entertainer extraordinaire Zdzisław Kozaczek.
Kacper Prokopiak's fundraiser: https://pomagam.pl/ba4naw

This weekend just proved that our greatest sporting moments come when the need to make a living from a given sport is not guaranteed. Our volleyball internationals barely earn a tenth that of their Football counterparts, but have now won three Nations League titles in four years, eight major tournament golds since 2009 and Nikola Grbic is nine for nine as a head coach in finishing on the podium. Bartłomiej Kubkowski and Karolina Szczepaniak's motivation wasn't for their own gain but to raise money for Cancer Fighters and 14-year old Piotrek by swimming the frosty and murky waters of the Baltic from Sweden to Western Pomerania over 100 miles.
Meanwhile, on the Football side of things the general mindset is not only lazy, but Stanisław Mrożek's Tango level of decadent. Especially at Lech Poznań whose budget this season is US$53.67 million yet who can't even make it past ONE BLOODY ROUND of Champions League qualifying by dropping a three-goal first-leg lead AT HOME against a Danish side that last played in the competition when Through the Barricades by Spandau Ballet was topping the charts!
Forgive me for not doing the Montreal 1976 retrospectives yet but I'm at the physios this week and the next, and also it was too humid to travel to Kraków for Kajakowy Narodowy on Sunday so the interview with Klaudia Zwolińska will come at a later time.
Fundraiser for Kacper Prokopiak: https://pomagam.pl/ba4naw
 

It is kinda fitting that in the month that Nolan's The Odyssey came out the Homeric journey of movie lover Łukasz Fabiański came to an end at the age of 41. Fabian would've been remembered mearly as a great number two keeper behind the likes of Boruc and Szczęsny if it wasn't for his leap of faith in 2014. I will talk about how the move from Arsenal to Swansea and later West Ham truly made him unforgettable and brought him a European winner's medal and us some of the best moments from Euro 2016(Which in the perfect world he would've won too!). Enjoy the popcorn Łukasz!
Also, Wisła's victorious Ekstraklasa return features a smokation break, Matuesz Bogusz makes up for Lewy's initial MLS goal drought, there is a 13 year old from my hometown who's really good at Karting and how the curse of Polish heavyweight title pursuit is best characterised by why Mariusz Wach only fought Tyson Fury for Netflix purposes and not in a live broadcast(It has something to do with Ben Johnson's beloved stanozolol).
Interview with Klaudia Zwolinska(and maybe Michał Pasiut too) in next week's review. Also by Sunday I'll upload the first of the Montreal 1976 retrospectives.
Fundraiser for Kacper Prokopiak: https://pomagam.pl/ba4naw
 
 

On Saturday night right after Speedway Kraków's razor-thin loss to Lokomotiv Daugavpils(44-46) I got to interview the home side's young Aussie rider Michael West. We talked about how Michael's journey turning left began at a pretty late age of 16, how he found his footing in Kraków after initially riding for Stal Gorzów's juniors, about the everlasting dangers of Speedway and about his love for Żabka salads!!!(Perhaps they should give him a discount for those...).
In the weekend's non-World Cup news: Lewy's Fire debut postponed due to Canadians apparently imposing a tariff on clean air, the Poland Volleyball boys going 4-for-4 in the Nations League, Tymek Kucharczyk has his head spinning and tyres beating on the oval in Nashville, and Anita Włodarczyk is still hammering 75-metre throws after turning forty.
Follow Michael West:
https://www.facebook.com/michaelwest08/
https://www.instagram.com/michaelwest08/
The fundraiser for Kacper Prokopiak:
https://pomagam.pl/ba4naw

Thank goodness this god forsaken Soccerball tournament is over. And for once I have decided to make an episode about a topic from outside the Polish sporting sphere. I will talk about how I watched the final, how I made fun of it in real time, just how pathetic Argentina and Messi's performances were historically and how this proves why I can't just focus on one sport if its biggest event can turn out to be so boring and frustrating.
The best news: NHL starts its season on September 29th. GO GAVIN MCKENNA!
The Polish-centered weekend review including an interview with Speedway Kraków's Michael West will be uploaded tomorrow.
Link to that famous Rangers/Bruins 1979 brawl as MSG I mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tkx8Tbovdw&pp=ygUZcmFuZ2VycyBicnVpbnMgYnJhd2wgMTk3OQ%3D%3D

I have to channel my inner Steve Carell and scream in horror because the LAST thing FIFA needs to clean its Barn of Augeas is to replace Infantino with Legia owner Dariusz Mioduski. A man respected in the circles and successful with his club may be, but one who could be willing to destroy that legacy and good fortune to be holding the knife for Football's ultimate castration.
In other World Cup news it's unlikely that Szymon Marciniak will become the first ref ever to preside two finals in a row, but he is still the best referee since Pierluigi Collina. Quite the accomplishment for a country which seemed to have given up on international refs of all kind 15 years ago.
Also, how me and Irish Dave were bored to death at the Wisła vs Wrexham friendly, IOC wiping its hands with Russian blood by letting them back in, Krzysztof Ratajski wins his first tournament of note in 3 years and KSW's Mahmed Khalidov echoes that other famous MMAist who have a bad week and should himself be in prison.
Donate to Kacper Prokopiak: https://pomagam.pl/ba4naw

I am frankly surprised that Trump waited this long to become this World Cup's Jorge Videla 1978 analogue(Spoiler Alert: HE FAILED HAHA!). In our recording from last night before the two matches took place Irish Dave and I talk about the ludicrousness of the 48-team format, Ronaldo's farewell, the underdogs that emerged and how no one age remembers the backpass rule(Thank god!).
Also, Iga goes into deeper dire straits after losing early at Wimbledon. Hubert Hurkacz retires in the fifth set after knocking out two seeds. Ola Mirosław retires in Kraków(I missed it because stupid me didn't check the weather). And Ania Lewandowska isn't a happy camper as she moves to Chicago.
Kacper Prokopiak's fundraiser: https://pomagam.pl/ba4naw

In our first ever feature interview my guest is Kacper Prokopiak. The 20-year-old born in Warsaw and raised in Sanok and Oświęcim has fulfilled his Ice Hockey dreams by playing three seasons for Unia(including winning the Polish championship as a rookie), and now he has been given the chance of a lifetime thanks to being drafted by the Elmira Aviators(New York state) in the North American Hockey League.
However, it is far from a cheap endeavour. The total cost of a year-long stay in the U.S. is at least 30,000 zł($8,000), so a crowdfunding campaign has been launched on Pomagam.pl to help Kacper make his dream of playing in America come true. As of the time of posting this episode 122 donors have put in a total of 8,921 zł.
Kacper and I talk about how he fell in love with Hockey, the NHL stars he models himself on and the gratitude he feels for the help and support that he has received.
Donate to Kacper via this link: https://pomagam.pl/ba4naw

Come on Lewy? Oh, baby don't you wanna go? Robert has finally fulfilled his dream of putting on the firesuit and finishing his career up in the most Polish corner of the MLS. Plus he will face BOTH Mueller and Messi in his first two games! If that is his last dance, we're already getting dizzy on that floor!
Also, the heatwave has been the least of our first round Wimbledon problems with Maja only being denied by injury and Iga having a 21-minute-long game in her match. However, that is a blip of time compared to our Volleyball boys' first set against Argentina, which was a Buy 2 For The Price Of 1 deal(Offer ends August 2nd, Terms and Conditions Apply!).
Fundraiser for Kacper Prokopiak's trip to play in the NAHL: https://pomagam.pl/ba4naw

In the fourth and final part of the retro World Cup lookback I'll talk about the whimper of the golden era that melted in the Mexican heat 40 years ago this month. The second Antoni Piechniczek term was meant to be a perfect mix of the '82 heroes with the new guard headed by teen idol Dariusz Dziekanowski. However only Włodzimierz Smolarek got on the score sheet in four matches, whilst we conceded a hat trick to hobby podcaster Gary Lineker and had more chances than supermarket items against Brazil.
Whilst the exact quote from Piechnieczek in the post match interview is often misinterpreted, the context is clear: We should've returned to the big stage at some point during the 90's. But Polish Football was already falling behind times and in a sense, we are still catching up.............