Can the Broncos stop Cam Newton, er, the Panthers?

January 25, 2016

A good defense stops a good offense like good pitching stops good hitting – or so running quarterback Quinn Novak wonders in my forthcoming novel, “The Penalty for Holding.”

Anyone who thinks that, he reasons, has never considered Alexander the Great taking it to the Persians in 331 B.C.

And indeed, while the Denver Broncos’ defense surely stopped Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the American Football Conference Championship, that defense is going to be hard-pressed to stop the Carolina Panthers’ electrifying running game as encapsulated by their QB Cam Newton in Super Bowl 50 Feb. 7. ...

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? ...

New York, New York

January 18, 2016

As a lifelong New Yorker, I love going to the city and I love leaving it.

My happiest journey was always riding the Madison Avenue bus up to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in spring with my Aunt Mary for work. I still love riding the bus there for work.

But I always exhale when the train hits the ’burbs. Something about seeing a greater ratio of greenery to concrete eases me.

New York is a tough, tough place. Come to it with a chip on your shoulder, someone once told me, and it will crush you. Approach it humbly and it will open like a flower. ...

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. ...