What would we do without Nick Kyrgios? After years of aloof politesse (Roger Federer), passive-aggressive classiness (Rafael Nadal), molten anger lying beneath an earthy crust of sportsmanship (Novak Djokovic) and barely contained annoyance (Andy Murray), we have no-holds-barred, heart-on-his-basketball sleeve Nick – railing against the slings and arrows of his outrageous fortune.
During his first-round French Open victory against Marco Cecchinato of Italy, Nick was assessed a code violation after barking “Towel” at a ball person who responded with less than alacrity.
“How can you sit there and give me a code for that, but when (Novak) Djokovic pushes an umpire out of the way, that’s all right?” Nick asked chair ump Carlos Ramos. ...
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Read MoreWell, experts like Joe Drape and aficionados like Thomas DeChiara will be rooting for Exaggerator – the Andy Murray of Thoroughbred racehorses. But I’m sticking with Nyquist for the Preakness Stakes Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Maryland (5 p.m., NBC), where the forecast is for rain.
That shouldn’t bother Nyquist. You gotta love a horse that simply will not let anything or anyone get in front of him for too long, a horse that has the will, the sheer grit, the heart to propel himself to the front of the pack. Some animals – some people – simply must be first. ...
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Read MoreWith so much happening in the world of politics, this blog has been neglecting one of its passions – sports and, specifically, tennis.
Well, no longer.
The sports pages today are full of a stratospheric Novak Djokovic, who in winning the Miami Open Sunday passed Roger Federer as the all-time ATP earnings leader with more than $98 million. Yowza.
But that’s just the beginning. The win made him the career leader in ATP Masters 1000 titles, with 28, and the first player to win the difficult double of Indian Wells and Miami four times. It also enabled him to extend his streak of consecutive weeks as No. 1 to 92.
Miami was also Nole’s 63rd title, moving him past coach Boris Becker with 714 wins. (By the way, 714 was the number of home runs Babe Ruth hit lifetime.) ...
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Read MoreKicked footballs may have gone awry this past weekend, but at Doha it was business as usual as Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-2 to take the lead in their Rafanole rivalry 24 to 23.
This has always been the best rivalry in tennis – a battle of passionate baseline gladiators – but I fear at the moment it’s a long way from their marathon Australian Open slugfest of 2012. Here’s hoping Rafanole can return to form for this year’s Open, Jan. 18-31.
Meanwhile, an ailing Roger Federer lost to Milos Raonic in Brisbane, Stan Wawrinka was triumphant in India and saucy Aussie Nick Kyrgios – whom Andy Murray has challenged to break into the top 15 – secured the Hopman Cup for Australia in Perth.
So the stage, as they say, is set. ...
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Read MoreNovak Djokovic’s dominance of men’s tennis in 2015 reminds Tennis magazine’s Steve Tignor of Roger Federer in his prime (2006), which has brought out all the Federinas, Nadalistas, Djokovicians and – what do we call Andy Murray’s fans ? Murrayans? – in a favorite game of My Guy is Better Than Your Guy. Honestly, some posters even accuse Tennis mag of finding the ugliest pictures of Nole, Rafa and Andy to make the naturally graceful Fed look even more elegant. Hey,some people are more photogenic than others. Doesn’t make them better-looking. (Perfect example – Marilyn Monroe, a genius in front of a camera, particularly a still camera, but not a great beauty.) ...
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Read MoreSunday, Oct. 18 was a great sports day as Novak Djokovic, Aaron Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers and the New York Mets all continued to roll and Colin Kaepernick’s San Francisco 49ers continued to improve on the comeback trail.
Nole in particular is having an amazing run as ESPN noted:
“He became one of three men to play in all four Grand Slam finals in a single season in the Open era, joining Roger Federer and Rod Laver. ...
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Read MorePope Francis’ celebration of Mass at Madison Square Garden tonight prompted my friend, sports publicist and blogger John Cirillo, to email me a post on his favorite Garden moments, which got me thinking about my own.
But first, a little history. The Garden, named for President James Madison, really was once a garden – a rooftop garden that was part of an elaborate Moorish-style complex designed by architect Stanford White, who was shot there in 1906 by a crazed Harry Thaw over Thaw’s wife (and White’s former mistress) chorus girl Evelyn Nesbit. (She figures in both E.L. Doctorow’s novel “Ragtime” and the movie “The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing.”) ...
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