Haven't done one of these in a while. I should probably call this entry "Last Sunday in Sprots!" because most of the news went down this weekend. In order of personal importance:
Nadal beats Federer for his first Australian Open titleIt's a shame the final aired the morning of the Super Bowl, because it's not like Americans weren't already ignoring tennis or anything. Which is a shame, because Federer-Nadal is one of the most compelling storylines out there, whether you're into sports or not. This was their 19th head-to-head (seventh Grand Slam final), and once again history was on the line: For Roger Federer, a chance to tie Pete Sampras' 14 record Grand Slam titles. For Rafael Nadal, his first hard court Grand Slam tournament victory. Once again Federer and Nadal played a five-set match worthy of its historical significance.
Even though this was their first meeting since Rafa finally dethroned Roger's
237-week (that's four and a half years!) reign at No. 1, I thought Nadal still came into this match looking like the underdog. He had just eked out a victory in the
longest Australian Open match ever (I hate to link to our rival, but you can watch the highlights there) a scant 40 hours before, with a full day's less rest than Federer, whose smooth semifinal win was on Thursday. (By the way, how much do I love the relationship between Nadal and his Aussie Open sleeper sensation Fernando Verdasco? Rafa said he got teary-eyed up 40-0 in the last game because Nando didn't deserve to go out that way, and his fellow Spaniard said he was sorry the match took so long and exhausted Rafa before the final.) Anyway, in addition to the disadvantage of fatigue, Rafa had also never reached a Grand Slam final on a hard court -- not in Australia, and not at the U.S. Open either.
The final was not as good as last year's
Wimbledon instant classic, largely because after pushing through four sets and nearly that many hours of gameplay, Federer deflated and gave the fifth away. And his first-serve percentage throughout the match was uncharacteristically awful. That's not to shortchange Nadal's very deserving victory, though. I
wrote last summer that as much as I was going to start rooting for Federer this year to get his Grand Slam (all four majors in a year), you just can't root against Nadal when he's playing every point like it's match point. The guy just gives it his all and you can see every ounce of the effort he pours in.
And Nadal isn't just physically tenacious, either. Federer didn't lose the match over a difference in physical conditioning. (Sure, Nadal is probably the strongest guy on the tour, but with the semifinal he had, he admitted afterwards that he was probably hurting worse than Roger was.) But what happened was that Roger, perhaps as a result of being relatively unmatched for so many years, still has not figured out how to get over his Nadal-sized obstacle, and he is psyching himself out worse and worse with every subsequent meeting.
The match was exciting, but what was even more significant was what came later. During the trophy presentation, Roger Federer, as the runner-up, received his prize first. It's customary for both finalists to say a few words during these things. Roger tried a sheepish grin at his fans in the packed stands. "Maybe I'll try later. God, it's killing me," he said, rubbing his hand through his hair.
And then Roger Federer -- dignified, collected, the Tiger Woods of tennis in achievement and temperament -- broke down and started sobbing. He cried so hard he couldn't speak and had to step away from the microphone. Last summer, after he lost at Wimbledon, I wrote that I wished never to see Roger Federer look so downtrodden again. This was a million times more painful to witness. But I understood the emotion, because with this win, it felt like a sea change had finally come to men's tennis. Rafael Nadal has now won a Grand Slam on every type of service. More importantly, he's beaten Federer to get to each one of them. And Nadal, at 22, is only going to get better, at least for the next few years (he plays such a physical brand of tennis that his biggest danger is always wearing himself down). Federer is 27. It's only going to get harder for him from here. For the past few years, Federer has played as well as he possibly could, steadily climbing towards Sampras' mark. He could potentially have won the calendar-year Grand Slam twice already if a guy named Rafael Nadal didn't exist. And now Nadal is starting to beat him on his own turf -- Wimbledon, hard courts.
What we also learned from this latest matchup is that Rafa Nadal may be the toughest mofo in sports. The guy was basically playing nine-and-a-half hours of very, very physical tennis in the span of one weekend (and it's not some namby-pamby country club tennis, either. If you've never watched Nadal play, he's like a linebacker). He proved that he is as tough mentally as he is physically. He obliterated arguments that he is nothing but a one-trick pony, a guy that can only grind out victories on red clay. Suddenly we've all realized that with six Grand Slam victories at 22, he's got more than both Sampras and Federer had at that age. He has now officially nominated himself as a candidate for GOAT (Greatest of All Time).
And finally, what I love about this "rivalry," and why it makes these two men's story so compelling and rootable and heartbreaking, is their fundamental decency. After Roger was too overcome with emotion to make his remarks, the trophy committee awkwardly signaled for Rafa to come up and receive his winner's cup, which he did. But instead of then stepping up to the microphone, Rafa went back to Roger and slung an arm around him, speaking to him quietly. It was an incredibly warm gesture, made all the more remarkable because the two men, despite their professional rivalry, are not close (and not for acrimonious reasons, but because of the language barrier. Spanish is one of the seemingly few tongues that Federer does not speak, while Rafa only speaks Spanish and Spanglish). Finally, Federer pulled himself together enough to complete his remarks, and then it was Nadal's turn. His first words were to his broken-down rival:
"Roger, sorry for today. I really know how you feel right now. Remember, you're a great champion, you're one of the best in history. You're going to improve on the 14 of Sampras.''
To paraphrase a reader
on SI.com said, it's what I love about this game.
Michael Phelps puts his superhuman lung capacity to dopey use
Here's what I think about Michael. He's a magnificently gifted athlete, incredibly disciplined in his sport. Where swimming is concerned, he's in the 99.9999999999th percentile. Moreso, if that were numerically possible. But if Common Sense for 23-year-olds was a standardized test, he probably ranks somewhere around the 34th percentile. It's not terribly surprising. Phelps has demonstrated a tendency to
behave like your average dumbass immediately following Olympic Games (in Novembers, specifically! Hmm, a pattern emerges). Judging by
his taste in women and his penchant for Vegas in general, I'd say that he's your average 23-year-old guy, except one who has to live with an incredible amount of restraint and discipline for three-year periods, and who is suddenly given access and opportunity to do anything, everything and anyone he wants. (Not to underestimate all 23-year-old guys. I highly doubt the kingly Federer or the homebody Nadal would act this way, but I'm just generalizing.) Anyway, my point is that what Michael Phelps did was disappointing, to be sure, for a guy who has said he wants to be a role model to kids and an ambassador for his sport. But overall, it's not remarkable behavior. It just shows that Michael Phelps is a horny, often immature fun-loving 23-year-old guy who also happens to be one of the greatest Olympians in history.
He'll learn from this. I'm glad that USA Swimming
suspended him for three months, and that
Kellogg won't be renewing their contract with him. It shows that no one is above sanction. For USA Swimming in particular, it shows that they don't play favorites. And if the punishment seems too harsh, I think that's a consequence of not only a huge celebrity but a role model as well. Phelps isn't Charles Barkley, who always made it clear that he was there to play basketball, not teach kids how to live. Michael Phelps willingly assumed the responsiblity of a role model, and part of that is going to be demonstrating that there are consequences for certain types of behavior. It'll be okay. Phelps will be smarter for this experience (hopefully), and he's talented enough to rise from this. Although the suspension will throw off he and Coach Bowman's game plan for resuming his training, 2012 is far enough away and won't be affected. He'll mature eventually, and in the meantime, he's got his coach and, more importantly, his mom around to straighten him out.
Duke basketball is bipolar
Duke started off last weekend (Jan. 24) grabbing the No. 1 ranking for the first time since the '05-'06 season, after
stomping Maryland by 41 points, the Terps' worst loss in conference history. Then we fell off the top spot via a very close game to Wake, which wasn't terribly surprising to me, since
one of the Deacs' biggest strengths (their size) tends to be our greatest weakness. In general, I was proud of us for requiring a last-second score to get beaten, and in general I'm excited about all the shuffling at the top of the AP poll. Bracketville is gonna be
fun this year, y'all.
Then this week, we beat Virginia
by 25 points on Sunday afternoon, then -- TRAGEDY! -- lost... I can barely bring myself to type out the score --
74-47 (
47!) to Clemson (
Clemson!) on Wednesday. I mean, I know the Tigers are better than they were when we were in school, but... still. There's no excuse. I wonder if this will demoralize us or motivate us for the next couple of games...
This week should be interesting. Miami on Saturday, and then... showdown numero uno with Carolina at Cameron on Wednesday. Where are people watching? Let's make plans now!
Steelers beat Cardinals for their record sixth Super Bowl title
I had actually been watching ESPN2's tape of the Australian Open final, which started airing at 3 p.m., which meant that it didn't end until halftime of the Super Bowl, which means I missed
Harrison's record-setting 100-yard touchdown, but it's okay, I've had infinite chances to see it on replay. Even though Steeler Nation is apparently legion, around here this Super Bowl was considerably less of a big deal than
last year's hometown victory. We had wings in the reporters' lounge as usual, but everyone grabbed a plate and retreated back into their own offices to watch the game on their own. Must be that anti-festive recession spirit.