A wide-open French Open

May 23, 2015

Who will it be? The once and future king (Rafael Nadal) or the kid bro all grown up and in the driver’s seat (Novak Djokovic)? The maestro (Roger Federer) or the Murrah (Andy Murray)?

One of the new guys perhaps – the teen dream (Borna Coric) or the princes in waiting (Kei Nishikori, Nick Kyrgios, Grigor Dimitrov)? Or will one of the vets (Tomas Berdych, Marin Cilic, David Ferrer) flash the old brilliance?

This year the French Open, which starts Sunday, May 24 and ends Sunday, June 7, is both Novak Djokovic’s to lose and anybody’s guess. There are several factors at play here.

Nine-time winner Rafa is seeded only sixth, thanks to a dismal season. (He would’ve been seeded seventh but an injured Milos Raonic dropped out.)

Wimbledon seeds according to the player’s performance on the surface (grass), not based on his ranking. So last year Nole was No. 1 even though at the time he was ranked No. 2.

But Wimby is Wimby. The French Open seeds according to the rankings and, even before the draw came out, you just knew that Rafanole – as their rivalry is known – would be renewed. Sure enough, they are set up to meet potentially for the 44th time in the quarterfinals, with one of them set potentially to meet Andy in the semis.

Meanwhile, Feddy would appear to have the easier path to the final but not so fast. There are people on his side of the draw like Berdych, Gael Monfils and even countryman Stan Wawrinka who could prove nettlesome.

So there are lots of questions:

Can Andy continue his sparkling play on clay?

Can Fed continue to dazzle at age 33?

Can Rafa recapture the magic in Roland-Garros, site of nine of his 14 Slam titles? ...

American Pharoah and Novak Djokovic: Of Thoroughbreds – and Thoroughbred temperaments

May 18, 2015

And so it begins again, the quest for two of the Holy Grails of sports, as sure signs of spring as cherry blossoms and roses.

American Pharoah will attempt to become only the 12th horse – and the first since my beloved Affirmed in 1978 – to win horse racing’s Triple Crown when he competes at the Belmont Stakes June 6, D Day in more ways than one.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic will attempt to unseat nine-time champion Rafael Nadal for the French Open title, which will be contested at Roland-Garros in Paris May 24 through June 7. Should Nole win, he would be halfway to doing what no man – not even Roger Federer – has done since Rod Laver in 1969 and that is win the Grand Slam in a calendar year.

These are pretty big Ifs. Can AP and Nole do it? Of course. They have the talent. But what makes life a horse race is that talent is not enough. You have to have luck, fate, destiny, whatever you want to call it, on your side. And, more important, you – or, in AP’s case, his handlers as well – have got to believe not just that you can win but that you will. And that’s not easy when you’re a Thoroughbred – or have the high temperament of one. ...

‘Far From the Madding Crowd’ and the games men – and women – play

May 13, 2015

The new film of “Far From the Madding Crowd,” based on the evocative Thomas Hardy novel, has gotten mixed reviews – which is too bad. Directed by Thomas Vinterberg and adapted by David Nicholls, it is a movie of great feeling and equally great subtlety, not an easy combination to come by, with cinematography by Charlotte Bruus Christensen that captures the bucolic moodiness of England’s “Hardy country” and a haunting score by Craig Armstrong that makes excellent use of both the folk and symphonic traditions.

“Madding” is also superbly acted by a cast that conveys the emotional complexity of an independent young woman navigating a man’s world. Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) is the woman in question. Poor and orphaned but nonetheless well-educated, she has no inclination to marry. A turn of good fortune (her late uncle leaves her his farm) ensures she won’t have to. But if it’s true, as Jane Austen said ironically, that a single man of good fortune must be in want of a wife, then it’s equally true, as Hardy implies, that a single woman of great beauty must be in need of a husband. Before you can say “The Bachelorette,” Bathsheba’s suitors are lining up. Rising farmer-turned-down-on-his-luck shepherd Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts) is first up, with his offer of a pet lamb and a piano. He’s kind, intelligent, spirited and hard-working – a woman’s idea of a man’s man – and since he’s played by sex symbol du jour Schoenaerts, the obvious match for Bathsheba. (Indeed, you don’t have to read past the first chapter of the novel to know this.) But Bathsheba is too young and willful to see it. She’d be happy enough to be a bride, the center of attention, as long as she didn’t have the responsibilities of a wife. That never works. ...

Colin Kaepernick and Tom Brady’s balls

May 10, 2015

Yet another country heard from in Deflategate. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has tweeted this: “No football in the world is going to help you win by 38! Let it go and let Tom be great! On to the 2015 season #7tormsComing‬”

Notice the rhyme – 8 and great. He’s a poet and doesn’t know it.

As for the comment, uhuh. Yeah, it’s true that it takes a lot more than squishy balls to win football games. But if you have what it takes, then squishy balls or steroids or whatever cheating poison you pick might give you an advantage against a close rival (the Baltimore Ravens) or help you annihilate a much weaker one (the Indianapolis Colts, who lost by the poetic 38). ...

In Vogue – Nick Kyrgios

May 1, 2015

Anna Wintour – lover of tennis and male tennis players, bless her heart – has anointed a new favorite, Nick Kyrgios.

The 20-year-old Aussie hotshot – who famously took down Rafa last year at Wimbledon – is of Greek-Malaysian descent. He says in the article in May Vogue that the food in his family’s house is amazing. We can only imagine. ...

Was Eugenie Bouchard’s twirl sexist?

January 23, 2015

They got their knickers twisted Down Under after courtside reporter Ian Cohen asked fetching Canadian tennis player to do a little twirl, showing off her pink and yellow dress following her second-round win at the Australian Open.

Was it sexist? Sure. Was it ageist when she called him “an old guy”? Probably.

We see people in shorthand. She’s pretty, and that will always be part of her play.

But many fans enjoy it, too, when Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray change their shirts, or Grigor Dimitrov does a faux striptease. Tennis players are sexy people, male and female.

I have no objection to the enjoyment of female sexuality as long as we can enjoy male sexuality as well. The problem is our society tends to be a bunch of Ian Cohens, asking pretty girls to twirl. (To be fair, courtside reporters often ask Nole to dance...

Colin Kaepernick, seen here in 2012, is locked in a struggle with the NFL over wearing Beats headphones.

The Beats go on for football – America’s religion, America’s travesty

October 14, 2014

From the Friday night lights of small towns across the U.S. to the NFL, football has never been more popular – or more besieged.

Sayreville, N.J. is just the latest community to be rocked and torn apart by allegations of sexual assault, this as part of a hazing ritual among the players on the Sayreville War Memorial High School team. With seven players under arrest, the season has been canceled.

“It’s a town that lives on Friday night lights. It was something for everyone to enjoy,” town Councilman David McGill told The New York Times. “We don’t want to see that big-league sports mentality start to trickle down to us….”