I’ll leave it here, but I find it astonishing that American colleagues I respect, in sports and beyond, are either celebrating or minimizing what should be obvious: overt political interference in a disciplinary decision at a World Cup is unethical, unacceptable and profoundly dangerous. Whatever one thinks of Balogun and the red card itself, the debate is now beyond it and precedent is indefensible. The integrity of the tournament depends on the idea that what happens on the field is judged by the rules of the game, not by pressure from political power.
To celebrate this is...baffling.
SCF records broken in Game 3:
Fastest hat trick (Mitch Marner in 6:10)
Most points in a period (4 by Marner in 2nd)
Fastest three goals by a team (Canes in 0:39)
Most combined goals through three games (25)
One goal shy of tying a record five-goal comeback (Kings-Oilers in 1982)
Plus a new VGK record for points in a playoff run (Marner, 28)
What a show in Vegas 🍿