Achilles in San Francisco: Cam Newton and the art of the gracious loser

February 8, 2016

So as the world knows by now – or at least the world that cares about American football knows by now – the Denver Broncos’ D got inside Cam Newton’s head at the Super Bowl Sunday night, frustrating the Carolina Panthers’ QB, who sulked on the sidelines and then through the postgame press conference he walked out on.

Outrage was swift among the Twitterati, who admittedly have their share of anti-Cam fans for a variety of reasons.

Roger Federer once observed that the athletic loss is doubly painful: You lose and then you have to discuss it immediately with the press. It’s enough to disturb anyone’s equilibrium. Newton can be forgiven his disappointment, of course. No one likes to lose or see his team – a surrogate for the self – lose. But losing with grace, like winning with grace, is a necessary part of the athlete’s arsenal. A sore loser just gives his opponents and detractors ammunition. ...

Is tennis match-fixing a story with teeth?

January 20, 2016

The tennis match-fixing sort-of scandal is what journalists call “a story with legs.”

Yes, but does it have teeth?

We’ll get to Novak Djokovic’s wisdom teeth and their role in the saga in a moment. But first, our story thus far from the BBC and BuzzFeed News: Over a 10-year period, 16 players – half of whom are playing in the Australian Open, including a Slam winner – allegedly threw matches. No one has been named, because phone records etc. of the accepted bribes don’t exist. But the point seems to be that official tennis knew and did nothing. Everyone from Martina Navratilova to Roger Federer has said in effect to the investigators, Put up or shut up. ...

Whither Rafa? Nadal’s out of Aussie Open

January 20, 2016

As the story of tennis match-fixing continued to swirl Down Under – check out the Daily News’ back page – there was another shocker – Rafa’s out.

Rafael Nadal went down to fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 3-6 7-6 (4-7) 6-2 in a four-hour, 40-minute first-round match at the Australian Open. Reportedly, it was a thriller but whom are we kidding? We’re a long way from the days when Rafa would blow Verdasco off the court.

Is it mental? Physical? A failure to shake up the coaching team? All of these? None? ...

Tennis, Sean Penn and the new ‘journalism’

January 18, 2016

Was it mere coincidence that Charlie Rose’s interview with Sean Penn – about his Rolling Stone interview with El Chapo – should air just as a story broke about match-fixing in tennis?

Both say much about the sorry state of journalism.

No less an authority than Penn pronounced the Fourth Estate to be in trouble. And with him netting cover assignments it’s little wonder.

For those who’ve been on planet Pluto, Penn snagged an interview with the dealer of all drug dealers – who had escaped from a Mexican prison – basically because El Chapstick was hot for some actress, Kate del Castillo, who facilitated the encounter.

For all his bluster, “60 Minutes”’ Rose failed to ask Penn two pointed questions ...

The Magnus effect

January 17, 2016

Among the teams vying for the American and National Football Conference Championships next week, you won’t find the name of the Minnesota Vikings. That’s because the Vikes’ placekicker Blair Walsh missed a crucial field goal – in part because the football wasn’t lined up properly – against the Seattle Seahawks, who know a thing or two about how the ball bounces. (Last year’s Super Bowl. Marshawn Lynch on the one-yard line. Russell Wilson is told not to hand him the ball. New England Patriots win. Just saying.)

In the Vikings-Hawks game, Walsh kicked the ball – something he’s done successfully probably 98 or 99 percent of the time. Although instead of it veering one way, it went the other.

The Magnus effect: You expect the ball to curve one way, but it heads in another direction. It’s a common phenomenon in ball sports like football and tennis and a common metaphor as well. ...

Rafanole back in action

January 12, 2016

Kicked 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. ...

SI’s Sportsperson of the Year, round two

December 19, 2015

Well, now we have the backlash to the fallout from Serena Williams being named Sports Illustrated’s “Sportsperson of the Year.”

How dare she be picked over fan fave American Pharoah, went the fallout.

How dare anyone compare her to a horse or pick an animal over an African-American female athlete, went the backlash.

Let me try to make a nuanced argument here, not the Internet’s forte. Williams was chosen as much for what she symbolizes – African-American female athleticism in a racially troubled country – as for what she has accomplished. ...