Sports Then and Now

Rafael Nadal has won 6 or the last 7 French Open titles.

More than any of the other majors, the French Open often produces a special kind of champion who loves to burrow down and blast his way through the red clay.

What is more, today, these French Open supernovas often manage to translate the skills that allow them to win on clay to other surfaces.

Winning on clay demands players excel in developing points using the brain as well as brawn—utilizing defensive skills, often as the launching pad for offense. The clay-court match requires playing with a huge measure of patience—hence, the phrase grinding it out becomes relevant in tennis.

Many professionals point to the lack of clay courts in the United States as one of the reasons for the reported failure of U.S. tennis during the past two decades.

The number of clay courts in the United States has dwindled dramatically. Today’s American youngsters learn to play almost exclusively on hard courts, foregoing the lessons imparted to their European and South American counterparts on homeland clay courts.

Of course, grass and clay courts are far more expensive to maintain which explains why these special surfaces are dying out in most places.

When you look at the ATP calendar, the clay court season lasts approximately two months—from April to the first week in June.

The grass season is even shorter—one month.  The rest of the calendar is played on artificial surfaces of various textures and rebound strength.

The French Open has been played since 1891. Starting in 1928, the tournament was played on the red clay courts of Stade Roland Garros in Paris.

Naturally, no tennis aficionado can talk about the greats of tennis history without mentioning the great Four Musketeers of French tennis: Jean Borotra, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet and René Lacoste who were responsible for the great enthusiasm the French have for tennis.

Since the modern era began in 1968, however, there have been only a handful of multiple winners of the French Open.  The top eight French Open Champions of the Open Era have won the title more than once since 1968.

If titles are equal, then the number of finals reached is considered. If all else is equal, the winning percentage becomes the final determining factor.

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The 2012 French Open gets underway on May 27, 2012

The clay-court season has offered few surprises so far for the men on tour.

Rafael Nadal has re-established his iron foothold on the red clay, offering his opponents a healthy dose of lethal backspin and Majorcan aggression. There is something about breathing red dust that instills Nadal with an air of invincibility few can overcome.

For the ladies, Queen Victoria Azarenka has bowed to few, trying to cement her grasp on the No. 1 ranking.

Losing only to Marion Bartoli at Indian Wells, Azarenka demonstrated no nervous tics or signs of relenting her perch at the top of the women’s game. That is, until she was buried under a siege of Russian ground strokes thrown at her by world No. 2  Marian Sharapova at Stuttgart.

Sharapova pulled the proverbial rug out from under Azarenka in Germany during the finals on Sunday, winning 6-1, 6-4.

The women’s top four players—Azarenka, Sharapova, Petra Kvitova and Agnieszka Radwanska appear to have established some sort of stability for the ladies, although certainly not on a par with the men’s top four—Novak Djokovic, Nadal, Roger Federer and  Andy Murray.

In a few weeks, both the men and the women will roll into Roland Garros for the second Grand Slam of the season.

Those at the top will continue to be favored to win, but there may be some surprises on the terre battue in Paris.

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Junior Seau 1969-2012

Hearing about the death of former Chargers, Dolphins and Patriots linebacker Junior Seau yesterday was just tragic and incredibly sad. Seeing his mother devastated and screaming out to take her instead of her son was absolutely heartbreaking. So instead of wallowing in the sadness of his passing, let’s celebrate his life.

Let’s remember his smile.

Let’s remember everyone’s “Buddy”.

Nothing encapsulates the man Junior was than this video from Versus’ “Sports Jobs”. Junior visits the TD Garden’s Bull Gang prior to a Bruins game.

Love how he was poking fun at the Boston accent.

Here is a great tribute from USC with Junior singing and playing the ukelele.

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Rafael Nadal is gunning to regain the number one ranking while winning major titles in 2012.

Former world number one, Rafael Nadal, says that he is not preoccupied with the possibility of regaining the top spot, this season, noting that he is fully concentrated on winning more tournaments.

The Spaniard’s most recent season was plagued by injuries, but he is back in form, and has laid down an early psychological marker ahead of the French Open, in May, by winning the Monte Carlo Masters, at the weekend.

The tournament in Monaco was Nadal’s first since he pulled out of the Miami Masters, in March, but he looked comfortable throughout, and ended his seven-match losing streak against world number one, Novak Djokovic, easily beating the Serb 6-3 6-1 in the final.

Djokovic has dominated the sport over the last 18 months, but the Serb has yet to beat Nadal on the Spaniard’s preferred surface, clay, in a Grand Slam, meaning that Nadal is the favorite to win the French Open in the tennis betting odds. It would be his sixth title in seven years.

His performance in Monte Carlo has promoted some pundits to suggest that Nadal could once again rise to number one by the end of the year, but the 25-year-old says he is not worried about his ranking, and is only concerned with winning.

My challenge is to play well in Barcelona, not to be number one”, said Nadal. “It was important to beat Novak but, if I am honest, it was more important to win in Monte Carlo. After my career, all that will remain are the titles, the victories, and not who I managed to win them against. Read the rest of this entry →

Jackie Robinson made his Major League Baseball debut on April 15, 1947.

Editor’s Note: In honor of today being the 65th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier I am reprinting an article I originally published in recognition of the anniversary a year ago.

I am learning that one difficult challenge of being a parent is explaining to our children pieces from past history that are inconsistent with how we want them to think and experience daily life.

Recently my five-year-old son and I were watching a section from the wonderful Ken Burns Baseball documentary. The section first focused about baseball during World War II and then about Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in 1947.

Because he is growing up in a time and culture where racism isn’t a noticeable part of daily life and he has been fortunate in his short life to meet and regularly interact with many people from all backgrounds and races, it was very difficult for him to grasp that there was a time in our country when discrimination was part of the norm in certain places and where not everyone was given the same opportunities.

While trying to give him enough information to explain why Jackie Robinson was a special person and should be celebrated, I found myself focusing on how great Robinson was as a player, rather than simply focusing on his crucial role in breaking racial barriers. Not that I was trying to shield him from the ugly elements of America’s past, but rather because it was easier for him to understand and because what I want him to know as he moves forward with his own life is that people are judged and celebrated for their achievements, performance and success and that skin color isn’t an important part of that equation.

When you think about it, that is probably one of the greatest components of Jackie Robinson’s legacy. He paved the way for us to be able to judge greatness not based on ethnicity or race, but instead on how someone performs in whatever area in which they participate.

There are certainly still racial issues within our country, but while it is important for my son and all children to know and understand our history, things will continue to change as more generations of youngsters live through times where, to quote Martin Luther King Jr., “they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”

It was 64 years ago today that Robinson played his first game as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The future Hall of Famer didn’t get a hit that afternoon, but his mere presence forever changed professional baseball and American society.

During his rookie season, Robinson hit .297 and was named the National League Rookie of the Year.

Despite being 28 years old at the time of his major league debut, Robinson played 10 seasons for the Dodgers and helped them reach the World Series six times and claim the World Series title in 1955. He had a career batting average of .311 and was named the NL MVP in 1949.

In honor of Jackie Robinson Day across Major League Baseball, we are including several Youtube videos that celebrate his greatness both as a baseball player and as the man who paved the way for baseball to truly become the American pastime.

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Roger Federer continues to add to his tennis record totals.

Roger Federer possesses many, many ATP records.

Because he is the man many consider the GOAT (Greatest of All Time), that fact should surprise no one who has been following tennis since Federer began his assault on the record books.

Turning pro in 1998, Federer announced his arrival at the top of the men’s game in February of 2004 when he captured the No. 1 ranking for the first time.

From 2004 through 2007 Federer dominated, often winning three slams in a season. He held the No. 1 ranking a record 237 consecutive weeks.

But after winning slam No. 16 at the Australian Open in 2010, Federer’s pace slowed considerably.

Of late, however, Federer has once again been advancing upon long-held tennis records—those many believed safely chiseled in stone for the ages.

Federer has lost only two matches in 2012—to Rafael Nadal in the 2012 Australian Open semifinals and to John Isner in a five-set Davis Cup match in Switzerland.  The world No. 3 stands at 22-2 having just won his last three tournaments in Rotterdam, Dubai and most recently at Indian Wells.

But no one individual can own all tennis records—can he?

Following are eight tennis milestones which many be beyond the Maestro’s reach.  Or are they?

Number of Titles Won in the Open Era

Ensconced ahead of Federer for the record for the Most Titles Won in the Open Era are three tennis giants.

Federer, who remains active and able to add to his totals, has his work cut out for him if he hopes to end his career as No. 1 in this category.

By the end of 2011, Federer had won 70 titles since his first triumph in 2001. On average, the Swiss wins over six ATP titles a season

At age 30, however, and leaning toward the end of his career, winning six trophies a year might be a stretch, although you never count Federer out of any challenge.

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