My maternal grandmother had a phrase we could apply to Claudine Gay and Sally Kornbluth, the presidents of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) respectively, and M. Elizabeth Magill, the now-resigned president of the University of Pennsylvania — “book-smart and life-dumb.”
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Last man standing -- the liberation of Novak Djokovic
Often in life what appears to be improbable is ultimately inevitable. It’s only later, though, that we understand that what seems to make no sense at first is in the end what was meant to be all along.
For much of the early part of his career, Novak Djokovic — the Celiac-ridden guy from an economically straitened family in war-torn Serbia — was a reliable, color-coordinated number three to the elegant, aloof Roger Federer and his intense, visceral rival, Rafael Nadal. But in becoming the oldest man to win the singles title at the US Open Sunday, Sept. 10, the 36-year-old Djokovic has eclipsed them —tying Australia’s Margaret Court for most Grand Slam singles titles (24); returning to the number one ranking for a record 390th week (altogether that would be seven and a half years, folks); setting a new record for most times winning three Slams in a year (four, in 2011, ’15, ’21 and ’23), having the most ATP Masters 1000 titles (39) — the list goes on.
Read MoreTaking a knee for social justice
The horrific murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police May 25 set off a tidal wave of national and global outrage that has renewed interest in and debate on Colin Kaepernick’s 2016 protests against racial inequality and police brutality.
Read MoreSudden death on D.C.'s power courts
A president in thrall to a foreign power. A disenchanted first lady. A White House moving toward crisis.
No, not that White House. But sometimes life imitates art, as it does in Georgette Gouveia’s new psychological thriller, “Burying the Dead” (JMS Books, Oct. 30). It’s a high stakes game of love and death, set on the power courts of Washington, D.C. and other glittering world capitals, that represents a departure for Gouveia, whose previous novels were in the trending category of male/male romance.
Read MoreA new chapter in 'The Games Men Play' series
They say when one door shuts another opens. Over the summer, I was saddened to hear that Less Than Three Press, the publisher of my football novel “The Penalty for Holding,” had folded and, for a while, I thought that was the end of the book’s publishing life. So you can imagine my joy that the work – about a gay, biracial quarterback’s search for identity in the NFL – will be reissued by JMS Books Sept. 25. And you can imagine my further delight in hearing that JMS has agreed to publish my new psychological thriller “Burying the Dead” – about a rising Russian tennis star whose career masks his real “day job,” political assassin – Oct. 30.
Read MoreNo easy way out
“New England Patriots legend Tom Brady will be playing in his record ninth Super Bowl on Sunday, while the Los Angeles Rams’ 24-year-old signal-caller, Jared Goff, will be playing in his first. But no quarterback looms over the NFL like one who has not set foot on an NFL field since the 2016 season — former San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick,” Michael A. Fletcher writes on The Undefeated.
Read MoreThe Eagles have landed
Was that a great Super Bowl game or what? It had everything – an underdog (the victorious Philadelphia Eagles), a villain (the New England Patriots and Mr. “I’m Tom Brady and you’re not”), seesaw drama, frustrated placekickers, sleight-of-hand plays in the end zone and a modest hero (Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, the un-Brady). It was a most satisfying night, one that proved, as my beloved Aunt Mary always said, that if something is meant for you, it will be there for you – even if you’re an improbable second-string QB like Foles ...
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