Sports Then and Now

Richard Williams told us it would be so. And Venus predicted her greatest rival would be her sister.

I, for one, discounted all this talk, back in the day. But now it’s been 10 years! Time flies. Serena is a great champion.

So it’s time to take a look back at the years and the moments in Serena’s career.

This is not meant to be a comprehensive review, just a brush up on the times and the significance of Serena’s wins, and a comparison with past champions.

This picture is from Serena’s first appearance at Indian Wells at the age of seventeen, where she defeated Steffi Graf in three sets. It was 1999.

Remember 1999? We were all afraid of the software bug that was going to hit us at the turn of the millennium and destroy the world as we know it.

Song: It’s the End of The World as We Know It [r.e.m.]

For fun, I’ve attached a playlist to this slide show so that you can ‘listen’ in as the times roll by. You’ll need iTunes to take full advantage of that particular feature.

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In a companion series to ‘Queens of the Court, ‘Great Men of Tennis’ takes a look at the men who have left an indelible mark on tennis.

Don Budge, Wimbledon 1937

• Dwight Davis
• Bill Tilden
• Rene Lacoste
• Godfried Von Cramm
• Don Budge
• Fred Perry
• Jack Kramer,
• other Musketeers
• Pancho Gonzalez
• Roy Emerson
• Ken Rosewall
• Rod Laver
  
• Lew Hoad

Justine Henin reached the finals of her first Grand Slam tournament in two years.

This post was provided by tennis fan Jo Shum. Sports Then and Now is happy to post submission by sports fans, so please feel free to contact us if you have a story or sports memory you want to share.

I don’t understand why, but I feel miserably sad watching Justine Henin lose the Australian open.  By any measure, this is a far-fetched coming back only in one month and an unbelievable fight into the final.  But as she said, the dream goes on… and somehow I would really want to believe in it that it may come true.

I think she is an amazing player with such gifted techniques and steely mentality, and just for once it would be great to show that you could possibly move the mountain by determination.  Almost, almost did.

I have not seen Justine so nervous in the entire tournament, and there the same goes for Serena.  They must be battling so much in their minds.  Justine was probably trying too hard, too much, out of reach of her own ability at this stage of comeback.

She would have played excellently just by doing exactly the same as the previous matches.  But I guess this is a lesson to learn.  God’s plan, when it is meant to be.  You can do only so far so much, the rest is to god.  I do hope that she would eventually find god and trust in him.  Peace.

I feel unbelievably sad, been catching up on the news of her and finding myself so involved in her experience, her life, her passion, her breakdown, her nerves, her competitiveness, her happiness and her disappointment. Read the rest of this entry →

Courtesy of Engy’s

Favre was beaten and battered by the Saints.

The popular question following the victory by the New Orleans Saints over the Minnesota Vikings to clinch the NFC Championship and the right to play in the Super Bowl has been, “Are you happy now?” Happy is not the word I use.

Watching Sunday’s game I grimaced at every painful hit given by the Saint defense onto the Viking quarterback. Every tackle that was borderline late, I winced at. But each time the veteran QB got up off the Superdome turf and returned to the huddle. Every time but one, then he was helped off the field at the end of a possession. While watching the trainers and doctors of the Vikings checked him out and re taped his ankle, many wondered if he would answer the bell. But like a great title fighter he came back in to take his licks and fight his team one more time.

But was I happy the Vikings lost? No, I was relieved.

I was relieved that the one time QB of my favorite team, the Green Bay Packers wasn’t able to take the division rival to the Super Bowl. Throughout the year all Packer fans were expecting the “old” Favre to come back. We were waiting for Brett to begin forcing the ball, being intercepted and costing the Packers a possible victory. Green Bay fans would shrug it off as “Brett being Brett.” We felt that is what made him the QB that Packer fans fell in love with.

But the divorce wasn’t pretty and eventually Brett wanted to prove to the administration of the team that he parted ways with that he could still play. He did take Green Bay to the NFC Championship game in his last year in Wisconsin just two years ago and he knew there were still many touchdown throws left in that right arm.

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Serena Williams claimed her 12th Grand Slam title with a victory over Justine Henin.

The amazing comeback of Justine Henin didn’t quite have the final culmination she had hoped as Serena Williams, herself looking for personal redemption following her meltdown at the 2009 U.S. Open, defeated Henin in three sets to win the first major of 2010.

Playing in her first major since the 2008 Australian Open, Henin rolled through the field to reach the finals of the Australian Open for the first time since retiring due to illness in the middle of the 2006 final against Amelie Mauresmo.

This time around, Henin made it through the entire match, but it was a tough three set affair against the player that has replaced Henin as the top player in the world.

While Henin was looking to make the Australian Open her statement tournament following her 18 month retirement, Serena Williams was looking to regain some professional dignity following her disqualification at the 2009 U.S. Open.

The defending Australian Open Champion, Williams was looking for her fifth Australian Open title and 12th overall Grand Slam title.

Williams had tough quarterfinal and semifinal matches against Victoria Azarenka (4-6, 7-6, 6-2) and Li Na (7-6, 7-6), but managed to reach the Australian Open finals for the fifth time in eight years.

Squaring off in a Grand Slam final for the first time, Williams and Henin battled through the first two sets.  Williams claimed the initial set 6-4, but Henin battled back to win the second set 6-3. Read the rest of this entry →

Despite flying under the NBA radar, Joe Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks are challenging the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

Considering that the Cavaliers, Celtics and Magic have dominated the headlines in the Eastern Conference of the NBA, you might be surprised to discover that following their win Friday night over the old men from Beantown, the Atlanta Hawks actually have the second best record in the East and the fourth best record overall in the NBA.

They punctuated that fact against the Celtics with their fourth victory over Boston this season to register an improbable season sweep over the squad many just assume will be facing Cleveland for the right to play in the NBA Finals in June.

After the continued performance of the Hawks, basketball experts might have to rethink that assumption.

Though they don’t have the household names and marquee superstars of the Cavaliers, Celtics and Magic, the Hawks are quietly going about their business of creating a consistent team that could be a threat come playoff time.

While it may appear to the casual fan that the Hawks have come out of nowhere, in reality this is not an Atlanta team that suddenly has risen from the dredges to become a surprise contender. In contrast, the Hawks have actually been building to a crescendo over the last couple years.

It started during the 2007-2008 season when they finished with just a 37-45 record, but still took the eventual champion Boston Celtics to a seven game series in the playoffs.

Last season Atlanta improved to 47-35 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs before being unceremoniously swept by the Cavaliers.

The Hawks appear to be ready to make more noise this season as, in addition to the sweep of the Celtics, they have wins over the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz. Read the rest of this entry →