When he won the French Open last June – capping a long-held dream and holding all four Slams, the first man to do so in 47 years – the world was Novak Djokovic’s oyster.
That now seems like a long time ago. He won only one title, the Rogers Cup, during the second half of 2016 and lost his No. 1 ranking to Andy Murray. (Because he had won so many tournaments in 2015 and had to defend all those points under the ranking system, he actually lost points, nothing failing in tennis quite like success.)
At the Australian Open, he lost in the third round in a tournament that was won by the returning Roger Federer, who defeated Rafael Nadal. ...
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Read MoreWith all the viciousness in American politics right now, it’s a pleasure to take a break from it to focus on the Olympics, which begins Friday, and consider the searing questions of the moment, like why has swimmer Ryan Lochte dyed his hair ice-blue? So he’ll look like a merman? Except it makes him look old and flies in the face of his pronouncement that he’s matured. (Do mature people dye their hair blue?) Ryan, Ryan: We still love you.
Lochte and his great rival, Michael Phelps, will be taking one more plunge into the Olympics. Novak Djokovic – who just won his fourth Rogers Cup and 30th Masters title – will be there as well, having bounced back from his Wimbledon upset by Sam Querrey. Andy Murray – who’s shaping up to be his big rival once again, having taken Wimbledon – will also be there, while Rafael Nadal and his tender wrist are questionable.
One big name who won’t be there is Roger Federer, who’s taking the rest of the year off to heal various injuries. ...
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Read More“It’s a great race, it’s a great race, it’s a great race” I kept screaming at the TV as Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte went 1-2 in the 200 IM finals in the Olympic Trials in Omaha.
“Win or lose, we have a good friendship and that’s why it’s a great rivalry,” Lochte said afterward.
Frankly, I thought Lochte, swimming with a groin injury, had Phelps in the final leg, the free, but hand it to Phelps – he has the longer reach and the champion’s ability to close. That takes nothing away from Lochte, who has never been intimidated, never backed down. That’s what makes it a great rivalry. ...
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Read MoreMaybe God was compensating Cleveland for having to host the Republican/Trump Convention.
Just kidding.
The Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals – the first team to do so – to take the championship from the vaunted Golden State Warriors 93-89. Native son LeBron James was named MVP and will most certainly draw the largest cheers when the team is feted with a parade Wednesday.
As I’ve written in a previous post, the only thing as fascinating as a triumphant underdog is a flawed winner. The Warriors won 73 games in the regular season. Their star, Stephen Curry, was the regular-season MVP. They were a lock, particularly early on in the championship series. ...
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Read MoreAm I the only one to feel as if the past week was something of a letdown?
First, we had a Belmont Stakes finish – Creator over Destin by a nose – that would’ve been thrilling had Exaggerator not finished 11th. That’s right, 11th. The horse that challenged Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist and bested him in the Preakness finished 11th. Something crazy about that.
At least Lani – the Nick Kyrgios of racehorses – has been improving. He finished third. No wonder everyone’s still talking about American Pharoah. Last year at this time, we were floating on the miracle of a rare feat. This year with the upset of Nyquist and then Exaggerator – meh.
The tennis news isn’t that much better. ...
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Read MoreCongratulations to Novak Djokovic, who finally won the French Open on his 12th attempt, defeating Andy Murray 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 Sunday at Roland Garros in Paris.
“It’s a very special day, perhaps the biggest moment of my career,” Djokovic said in French to the Parisian crowd. The win made him the eighth man in tennis history to complete the career Grand Slam and the third man, behind Don Budge and Rod Laver, to hold all four Slam singles titles at once. (Budge and Laver, of course, did it in a calendar year, Laver twice – the last time 47 years ago.)
Murray, who has played his friendly rival since their junior days and is a week older, was classy in defeat. “This is his day today,” the No. 2 seed said. “What he’s achieved in the last 12 months is phenomenal.” ...
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Read MoreKings and presidents die, and nobody cares, Muhammad Ali once said. But Joe Louis died, and everybody cried.
Are they crying now for Muhammad Ali, who died Friday in Scottsdale, Ariz. of complications from Parkinson’s disease? No doubt.
Boxers are perhaps the most poignant of athletes, for in a sense, they absorb the blows for the rest of us. Boxing, the novelist Joyce Carol Oates observed in her nonfiction work, “On Boxing,” is “America’s tragic theater.” ...
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