Stan the man

January 27, 2014

Wow, you gotta hand it to Stan Wawrinka – the everyman who has played in countryman Roger Federer’s (aka Feddy Bear’s) shadow for so long – electrifying Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final. This is the first time that someone other than one of the Big Four (Rafa, Fed, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray) has won a Grand Slam since Juan Martin del Potro defeated Rafa in the US Open final in 2009. Yes, that’s right, four years of domination over.

Stan’s win over Rafa was huge, bigger than his win over Nole and not just because that was the quarterfinals. Nole, the former defending champ who has won the tournament four times (including three in a row) is nonetheless the Maria Callas of men’s tennis: There’s so much drama in his matches. Indeed, when the tennis experts cull the top 10 matches each year, several of his are always in there, because the outcome is never certain. Read more

Bury our hearts at (her) wounded knee

January 20, 2014

Well, what a weekend it’s been for rivalries – the subject of my novel “Water Music” just released last week.

Peyton (Manning’s) Place proving too much for The (Tom) Brady Bunch. Young Guns Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson squaring off. (See separate post.) Former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic taking it to current No. 1 Serena Williams at the sweltering Australian Open, where the 100-plus temps have turned out to be a formidable opponent. (Last year, the players slipped and slid their way out of Wimbledon. Now they’re going under Down Under. What’s up with that?)

But here our thoughts turn from the court and the gridiron to the rink and another era to discuss “The Price of Gold,” Nanette Burstein’s fascinating new ESPN documentary about Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan, which aired on ABC Jan. 18. If you were of a certain ago 20 years ago almost to this day, they need no introduction. Read more

Russell Wilson, quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks, in action against the Minnesota Vikings in 2012. The Seahawks have great taste in colors, no? Photograph by Larry Maurer.

Pressure, pressure, pressure

January 13, 2014

This is a pressure week indeed.

The Australian Open begins Monday, Jan. 13, with all the main attractions – Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer – back in action. The big news is that the main guys have new support. Feddy’s drawing on childhood idol Stefan Edberg for inspiration while Nole has Boris Becker and Andy, Ivan Lendl, of course. Rafa’s sticking with Uncle Toni. Otherwise, it’s the 1980s all over again. The interesting thing is that Rafa et al. are tighter than the ’80s guys ever were. Wonder what it’s all going to mean.

At the end of the week, we’ll be looking forward to the AFC and NFC conference championships. It’s old rivals Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos versus Tom Brady and the New England Patriots and two new ones – Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers versus Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks.

And, oh, yes, my novel “Water Music” – all about rivals – makes its debut on Tuesday, Jan. 14.

The big question: Win, lose or draw, can we all deliver? Read more

Does Nole have the eye of the tiger?

January 3, 2014

So after losing to Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic elected not to play the first round of the Davis Cup against Wawrinka and Roger Federer, who had chosen to descend from Mount Olympus for the occasion, thereby virtually ensuring that his beloved Serbia would lose to Switzerland.

Nole claimed exhaustion and instead went skiing. (His parents were skiers under the old Communist system in the former Yugoslavia.) And while the Serbian Davis Cup team coach Bogdan Obradovic defended that decision, saying Nole has always been there for his country, others wondered why.

“I’m sure he’s exhausted after playing five matches,” one poster wrote sarcastically. (I love how the Internet has given us ignorant snark the way swamps once bred yellow fever.) Read more