American Pharoah, Novak Djokovic: What defines greatness?

October 28, 2015

American Pharoah has arrived at Keeneland in Lexington for the Breeders’ Cup Classic Saturday, the final race of his career. He’s going to face an older woman, Beholder; older guys like Tonalist and Honor Code; and old rivals like Frosted and Keen Ice.

But hey, is that any worse than the naysayers, the ones who remark that he’s good but not great – certainly not as great as the greats of the 1970s, Secretariat, Seattle Slew and my beloved Affirmed; and, that if he doesn’t win the Breeders’ Cup, he really won’t be considered great.

This is the same conversation about Novak Djokovic, who will lead the field at the BNP Paribas Masters Paris, which begins also on Saturday and runs through Nov. 8. If he doesn’t repeat in Paris and at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London the following week, he won’t have had a great season.

Let’s review, shall we? ...

The Mets – New York’s other baseball team

October 26, 2015

As a longtime New York Yankees’ fan, I must admit to a certain pang when the Yanks aren’t in the World Series and the Mets are. (The last time the Mets won the pennant was in 2000, the year the Yanks beat them in the Series. Ouch.)

But as a fan of the Bronx Bombers, I must also admit that there is a part of me that’s just delighted to see the Amazins in it. For one thing, I’m a New Yorker. I always want to see every New York area team do well. (I’ve also probably seen the Mets more than the Yankees as I don’t have cable, and the Mets tend to have more games on regular TV.) ...

Djokovic, Murray, Federer and Nadal: Men for all seasons?

October 23, 2015

Novak 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.) ...

No deflating Mets, Packs, Djoker

October 21, 2015

Sunday, 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. ...

Peerless Nole, awesome Aaron: Djokovic and Rodgers on a roll

October 18, 2015

“Happiness,” New York Yankees’ owner Col. Jacob Ruppert said in the 1920s, “was watching the Yankees score eight runs in the first inning and then slowly pull away.”

Oh, for those days, right, fellow Yankee fans?

But Green Bay Packers’ fans and those of tennis No. 1 Novak Djokovic understand the sentiment. Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Nole are quite simply on a roll in their respective sports. Yes, the San Diego Chargers could route the Packers Sunday, Oct. 18 while half a world away Jo-Wilfried Tsonga could defeat Nole in the finals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters. ...

Shanghai surprise for Federer

October 14, 2015

It’s the end-of-the-year, Asian swing of the men’s tour in tennis and as usual it’s fraught with drama.

Will Nick Kyrgios – tennis’ reigning bad boy, on the brink of a suspension after swatting a ball into the stands during his losing quarterfinal match at the Japan Open and being fined at the Shanghai Rolex Masters for his outbursts about the court, the ball kids, the everything – be able to rein in his temper? (Oh, Nick, so attractive and so talented. Just shut up and play, huh?) ...

Rafael Nadal and Colin Kaepernick: Running to daylight

October 13, 2015

When things are going bad, you look for any sign of hope. Rafael Nadal lost the China Open Sunday to Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, while the Colin-Kaepernick-led San Francisco 49ers lost to the New York Giants 30-27.

Rafa is having one of his worst years, and the Niners are off to a terrible start (1-4). And while there are plenty of naysayers for both, I prefer to accentuate the positive, as the song says. ...