Score for the Week: Squid 83.87, Galahad Lancelot 68.38
My MVP: Drew Brees (QB, New Orleans) with 18 receptions for 371 yards, 5 touchdowns, 1 sack, -1 yard rushing
Melodrama: A squeaker in a match-up that didn't involve me directly. My week 13 opponent barely got by Orson Welles which kept my slim playoff hopes alive.
It's hard to believe but I am still in playoff contention. One game out with one to play. I'm hopeful for a win for myself but I need help in other corners as well. I suppose I should be pleased just to be in the mix after my dismal 0-4 start but I'm holding out hope for more. That trade with The Kicker is looking better this week as Fred Jackson (RB, Buffalo) had a huge game as well.
I suppose I'm okay with Derek Jeter as SI's Sportsman of the Year. He's a Yankee but it's hard to argue with his bona fides. I think he's a better choice than Peyton Manning would have been. I would still argue that Roger Federer is considerably more deserving but it's a lost cause.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
ATP Tour Finale: Nikolay Makes His Case
Curtain Call
Player: Andy Ram
Nation: Israel
Age: 29
Current Doubles Ranking: #10
Doubles Partner: Max Mirnyi (Belarus)
Notable Conquests: Bryan/Bryan, 2nd seed; Dlouhy/Paes, 4th seed and Cermak/Mertinak, 5th seed
Yes, that is written correctly. Mirnyi and Ram had a round-robin win against the Bryan brothers but lost to them in the final.
This was Andy Ram's first time in the final match of the year-end tournament, though not his partner's . Mirnyi is, in fact, a former champion with the great Jonas Bjorkman (Sweden). Mirnyi is not Ram's usual partner. They have teamed up for the current year because Ram's usual mate, Jonathan Erlich, a fellow Israeli, has been out all year with an injury. Erlich will be back in the coming year and will team up with Ram again. Mirnyi will return to a former partner: Mahesh Bhupati (India). That leaves Mark Knowles's dance card open once again, though with his sure hands at the net, he won't be alone for long. A hard-serving lefty would seem a good fit, Frenchman Michael Llodra, perhaps. The partner carousel probably adds to the difficulty in fans latching on to doubles but if you like soap operas, it can get interesting from time to time.
Hats off to the Bryans. They needed to win four straight matches in order to clinch the year-end #1 ranking and they pulled it off.
And my goodness, hats off to Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) as well. The list of players who have beaten Federer and Nadal in the same tournament is very short. Add to that del Potro and he bagged all of the year's Slam winners in the same week. The quietest perennial top-10er you'll ever see, Davydenko has sent out a warning shot for next year. Success at year-end does not always translate to the following season but Davydenko has certainly had an impressive fall swing: Kuala Lampur, Shanghai Masters and now London. At 28 years of age, Nikolay has just had the best week of his career.
2010 should be very interesting indeed. All of this week's contestants plus Roddick, who was supposed to be here, should be strong again next year. And then, of course, there's the brute squad that follows.
One bold prediction for the coming year: Novak Djokovic will be year-end #1 for 2010. However, Federer's still the favorite for the Australian until proven otherwise.
Doubles Partner: Max Mirnyi (Belarus)
Notable Conquests: Bryan/Bryan, 2nd seed; Dlouhy/Paes, 4th seed and Cermak/Mertinak, 5th seed
Tour Page: http://www.barclaysatpworldtourfinals.com/Tennis/Players/Top-Players/Andy-Ram.aspx
Personal Website: http://www.erlichandram.com
Today's Match: lost to Bryan/Bryan in straight setsPersonal Website: http://www.erlichandram.com
Yes, that is written correctly. Mirnyi and Ram had a round-robin win against the Bryan brothers but lost to them in the final.
This was Andy Ram's first time in the final match of the year-end tournament, though not his partner's . Mirnyi is, in fact, a former champion with the great Jonas Bjorkman (Sweden). Mirnyi is not Ram's usual partner. They have teamed up for the current year because Ram's usual mate, Jonathan Erlich, a fellow Israeli, has been out all year with an injury. Erlich will be back in the coming year and will team up with Ram again. Mirnyi will return to a former partner: Mahesh Bhupati (India). That leaves Mark Knowles's dance card open once again, though with his sure hands at the net, he won't be alone for long. A hard-serving lefty would seem a good fit, Frenchman Michael Llodra, perhaps. The partner carousel probably adds to the difficulty in fans latching on to doubles but if you like soap operas, it can get interesting from time to time.
Hats off to the Bryans. They needed to win four straight matches in order to clinch the year-end #1 ranking and they pulled it off.
And my goodness, hats off to Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) as well. The list of players who have beaten Federer and Nadal in the same tournament is very short. Add to that del Potro and he bagged all of the year's Slam winners in the same week. The quietest perennial top-10er you'll ever see, Davydenko has sent out a warning shot for next year. Success at year-end does not always translate to the following season but Davydenko has certainly had an impressive fall swing: Kuala Lampur, Shanghai Masters and now London. At 28 years of age, Nikolay has just had the best week of his career.
2010 should be very interesting indeed. All of this week's contestants plus Roddick, who was supposed to be here, should be strong again next year. And then, of course, there's the brute squad that follows.
One bold prediction for the coming year: Novak Djokovic will be year-end #1 for 2010. However, Federer's still the favorite for the Australian until proven otherwise.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
ATP Tour Finale: The Backhand's Pretty Good, After All
Curtain Call
Player: Robin Soderling
Nation: Sweden
Age: 25
Current Ranking: #9
Notable Conquests: Rafael Nadal (Spain), 2nd seed and Novak Djokovic (Serbia), 3rd seed
Notable Conquests: Rafael Nadal (Spain), 2nd seed and Novak Djokovic (Serbia), 3rd seed
Tour Page: http://www.barclaysatpworldtourfinals.com/Tennis/Players/Top-Players/Robin-Soderling.aspx
Today's Match: loss to Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) in three setsAny week in which you've beaten both Nadal and Djokovic is a great week, especially considering the fact that Soderling only made it to London courtesy of Roddick's withdrawal. He fought hard today but JMDP was just too good in the end. Soderling will finish in the year-end top 10 for the first time and, as previously discussed, can take credit for the biggest upset of the year in beating Nadal at the French.
Did you hear that? That was a collective "Uh oh!" from the men's tennis world in response to del Potro's play today. He had some absolutely breathtaking shots on the backhand side today. How many players do you try to keep in the middle of the court because his shots from the wings are so devastating?
Hats off to Davydenko for finally beating Federer for the first time in his ATP career. He is now 1-12 lifetime against the mighty Fed.
ATP Tour Finale: Roger Is Snubbed Again
Curtain Call
An unusual number of players have been eliminated in the group stage despite having 2-1 records: Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic on the singles side and Kubot/Marach on the doubles side. This is the partnership's first time in the year-end tournament. Marach is the older and the lower-ranked of the pair.
So, once again Roger Federer will not be Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year. It's perhaps a minor detail for a man who has received just about every other award the sports world has to offer but the premier American sports publication has been in denial of the world's greatest athlete for quite some time now. The window is probably past. Great as he is, Federer's years of greatest dominance are probably behind him.
Player: Oliver Marach
Nation: Austria
Age: 29
Current Doubles Ranking: #14
Doubles Partner: Lucasz Kubot (Poland)
Notable Conquest: Dlouhy/Paes, 4th seed
Doubles Partner: Lucasz Kubot (Poland)
Notable Conquest: Dlouhy/Paes, 4th seed
Tour Page: http://www.barclaysatpworldtourfinals.com/Tennis/Players/Top-Players/Oliver-Marach.aspx
Personal Website: http://www.marach.at
Today's Match: lost to Bryan/Bryan in straight setsPersonal Website: http://www.marach.at
An unusual number of players have been eliminated in the group stage despite having 2-1 records: Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic on the singles side and Kubot/Marach on the doubles side. This is the partnership's first time in the year-end tournament. Marach is the older and the lower-ranked of the pair.
So, once again Roger Federer will not be Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year. It's perhaps a minor detail for a man who has received just about every other award the sports world has to offer but the premier American sports publication has been in denial of the world's greatest athlete for quite some time now. The window is probably past. Great as he is, Federer's years of greatest dominance are probably behind him.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
ATP Tour Finale: First Eliminations
Curtain Call
Verdasco had never qualified for the final gala before and will finish with his highest ever year-end ranking. I can imagine it's pretty hard to take three losses in a single week but he did well to get here. Hiring Darren Cahill as his coach shows that he's serious about contending for Slams on a regular basis.
Verdasco and Murray have both been eliminated with Federer and del Potro moving on to Saturday's semis. On the doubles side, Fyrstenberg, Matkowski, Nestor and Zimonjic go home while Bhupati, Knowles, Cermak and Mertinak soldier on.
Player: Fernando Verdasco
Nation: Spain
Age: 26
Current Ranking: #8
Tour Page: http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Top-Players/Fernando-Verdasco.aspx
Today's Match: lost to Andy Murray (Great Britain) in three setsVerdasco had never qualified for the final gala before and will finish with his highest ever year-end ranking. I can imagine it's pretty hard to take three losses in a single week but he did well to get here. Hiring Darren Cahill as his coach shows that he's serious about contending for Slams on a regular basis.
Verdasco and Murray have both been eliminated with Federer and del Potro moving on to Saturday's semis. On the doubles side, Fyrstenberg, Matkowski, Nestor and Zimonjic go home while Bhupati, Knowles, Cermak and Mertinak soldier on.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
ATP Tour Finale: Is He Real?
Today, I watched the Year-End #1 trophy presentation for Roger Federer with my daughter. Afterwards, she asked, "Is Roger Federer real?"
"Yes."
"Is he still alive?"
"Yes."
It was really very sweet. I didn't get into explaining about live television vs. fictional stories on television. It was a reasonable question. It seemed overly simple to just say "this is happening right now."
"Yes."
"Is he still alive?"
"Yes."
It was really very sweet. I didn't get into explaining about live television vs. fictional stories on television. It was a reasonable question. It seemed overly simple to just say "this is happening right now."
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
ATP Tour Finale: Poaching
Day session -
Bhupati/Knowles d. Fyrstenberg/Matkowski in three sets
Juan Martin del Potro d. Fernando Verdasco in three sets
Night session -
Cermak/Mertinak d. Nestor/Zimonjic in straight sets
Roger Federer d. Andy Murray in three sets
Mark Knowles is another favorite of mine, partly because he is a rare top international athlete from the Bahamas, partly because he may well be the best volleyer in the world but mostly because of what happened to him a few years ago in his breakup with longtime doubles partner Daniel Nester of Canada. Nestor decided that Knowles didn't have the serve to compete for majors anymore so he cut his pal loose and hooked up with the Serbian Zimonjic. After Knowles and Nestor made the announcement but before they actually parted ways, they won the French Open together. Suddenly, an already awkward situation became downright surreal. The two decided to finish the year together anyway and move on to their new partners afterwards.
Bhupati/Knowles d. Fyrstenberg/Matkowski in three sets
Juan Martin del Potro d. Fernando Verdasco in three sets
Night session -
Cermak/Mertinak d. Nestor/Zimonjic in straight sets
Roger Federer d. Andy Murray in three sets
Mark Knowles is another favorite of mine, partly because he is a rare top international athlete from the Bahamas, partly because he may well be the best volleyer in the world but mostly because of what happened to him a few years ago in his breakup with longtime doubles partner Daniel Nester of Canada. Nestor decided that Knowles didn't have the serve to compete for majors anymore so he cut his pal loose and hooked up with the Serbian Zimonjic. After Knowles and Nestor made the announcement but before they actually parted ways, they won the French Open together. Suddenly, an already awkward situation became downright surreal. The two decided to finish the year together anyway and move on to their new partners afterwards.
I'm still learning about this game I've come to love so dearly. I am occasionally hindered by the fact that I never played the game myself except for a mini-course in college. For instance, I never understood what poaching was in doubles so I finally looked it up on the Web today. It's when the player at the net intercepts a ball before it bounces back for his teammate to get.
I'm so happy that Fed beat Murray. I can hardly express how happy that makes me. Roger has now wrapped up the year-end #1 ranking.
I'm so happy that Fed beat Murray. I can hardly express how happy that makes me. Roger has now wrapped up the year-end #1 ranking.
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