New events debuting at Olympics

You’re probably most comfortable and eager to watch the reliables: swimming, gymnastics, track and field and basketball. But for plenty, the appeal of the Olympics are the niche sports, the counterculture of the much lesser-heralded competitions that make the Olympics charming.

So, after a 13-year hiatus, baseball and softball are returning. Obviously, Major League Baseball season is ongoing, so the biggest stars in the sport will not be competing in the Olympics. 

As for the new sports, here are the ones making their Olympiad debuts:

• Karate!
• Skateboarding! 
• Sport climbing!
• Surfing!

Surfing seems somewhat random; after all, you’re dependent on the waves, brah. Karate is straight up awesome, and sport climbing means Olympians will compete in three disciplines and be judged on the aggregate of all speed climbing, lead climbing and bouldering. Should be fascinating.

The weirder the sports, the better the Olympics, I say. Can we bring back croquet, people? It was last seen in the Olympics in 1900. But four new sports is a welcomed addition to what will be the most intriguing, and controversial, Olympics