After the highs of June (American Pharoah winning the Triple Crown) and July (planet Pluto, Novak Djokovic defending his Wimbledon title), August has been a bit of a dud for me, with AP losing to Keen Ice at the Travers this past Saturday and Nole losing the Rogers Cup (to Andy Murray) and then the Western & Southern Open (to Roger Federer). ...
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Two terrific matchups in Round 1 of the US Open, which begins today – Andy Murray versus Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal versus Borna Ćorić.
But really it’s the battle of the two temperaments and Rafa versus his recent past.
Not for nothing is “A star is” Borna known as “Baby Nole.” That range, that return, that poise – all at 18. He’s already beaten Rafa (at Basel in October) but really, it’s more than that. For Rafa’s it’s got to be like looking in a mirror at when it all began to unravel for him, back in 2011. ...
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For someone with a mouth on him, Nick Kyrgios went quietly in his opening round match at the Western & Southern Open, losing to Richard Gasquet 6-2, 61.
You’ll recall that Gasquet was Kyrgios’ opponent during Socks-gate at Wimbledon when he nonchalantly decided to change his socks in the middle of the action. But that was nothing compared to going all “Scarlet Letter” on Stan Wawrinka’s girlfriend at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. ...
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Kudos to Andy Murray – An-deeee – for his convincing victory over Novak Djokovic in the Rogers Cup in Montreal, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
Andy had lost to Nole eight times previously so he needed this one. Now he’s back at No. 2 at a moment when he and wife Kim Sears are expecting a baby, due early next year. (As one site put it, looks like Andy’s following Nole’s example in more ways than one.) ...
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What would we do without Nick Kyrgios to provide us with this summer’s emotional firestorm?
When we last saw Nick, the 20-year-old Australian tennis player, he was “sock”ing it to Wimbledon, suddenly changing socks in a match that he would ultimately lose (some say would deliberately tank) to Richard Gasquet.
Fast forward to the Rogers Cup currently being played in Montreal, where Kyrgios defeated Stan “The Man” Wawrinka but not before going all “So’s your Mama” on him by observing in front of the microphones that Stanimal girlfriend, tennis player Donna Vekic, had slept with Nick compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis. This led to a locker-room confrontation with Stan, a $10,000 fine from the Association of Tennis Professionals (with possibly more to come) and a dressing down from two of the game’s longstanding leaders. ...
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It’s a busy sports month with American Pharoah rolling to victory in the Haskell Invitational; Ryan Lochte hoping to regain swimming glory at the FINA World Championships; Rafael Nadal returning to his winning clay court ways at the Hamburg Open as the Rogers Cup gets underway in Toronto; and Tom Brady moving for a decision on his suspension before the NFL season begins.
But today I want to touch on my first real out-of-town trip with my debut novel, “Water Music” – to the OutWrite Book Festival at The DC Center in Washington D.C. ...
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Summertime and the livin’ is supposed to be easy. (Thank you, Ira Gerswhin.) But for athletes and sports fans, there is no rest for the weary.
First, Phelpte (as in the Michael Phelps-Ryan Lochte rivalry) is back in action at the USA Swimming national long-course championships in Irvine, Calif., which will determine next year’s team for the world championships. They were slated to face-off four times, including Wednesday night’s 100-meter freestyle event.
The story lines go something like this: Phelps was bored in retirement and is glad to be back. Lochte – who turned 30 Aug. 3, Happy Birthday, Ryan! – moved to Charlotte, N.C., where he’s acquired a new coach and a new maturity, which should be music to fans’ ears. We’ll see how his newfound maturity and Phelps’ newfound hunger for swimming pan out.
Tonight, Colin Kaepernick leads the San Francisco 49ers into M&T Bank Stadium to meet the Baltimore Ravens for a nationally televised game that’s a rematch of Super Bowl XLVII. I am so there (i.e., in front of the tube) for this.
I wish I could be there (as in Cleveland) Friday for the start of the Gay Games (through Aug. 16), which always take place the same year as the Winter Olympics. But at least “Water Music,” my new novel about four gay athletes and how their professional rivalries color their personal relationships, will be there...
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