Monday, August 29, 2005
U.S. Open
The U.S. Open began today and like always there's gonna be predictions of who will remain standing two weeks from now. While the men's side is pretty much narrowed to three or four people, the women's draw is as wide open as a door. So who should you place your bets in favor of? I'll begin with the men.
There's no surprise here that the heavy favorite to win the Open is Swiss man Roger Federer. How this guy remains unnoticed in his own country much less the rest of the world still puzzles me. This guy is an amazon of a tennis player whose tournament it is to lose. Having lost only three matches all year(two of them at majors), he's set to dominate the men's field even though he hasn't played much since winning the Wimbledon. His closest competitors include the teenage sensation Rafael Nadal of Spain. Nadal has won only two hard court tourneys this year. Though they were both impressive, it will be hard to pick him over Federer on any surface other than Clay. American Andy Roddick is also another player to consider. He's been a winner here before so he knows what it takes but he's had problems beating Federer, doing so only once in his career. He may have a shot if Federer falls victim to someone else in the earlier rounds. Lleyton Hewitt the Australian is also a past champion who creates all sorts of problems for players with his gritty and never-give-up style of play. However he also has fallen victim to Federer on numerous occasions. The last man to think about is the elder statesman Andre Agassi. Using the crowd's sentimental support and a couple of easy early rounds you cannot count him out. These are probably Federer's biggest threats with the exception of Safin who would be considered a threat(albeit his sometimes nonchalant style of playing) if he did not pull out with his nagging knee injury.
On the women's side, the draw is so open that any of 6-8 players can hoist the trophy at the end. perhaps the heavy favorite now is Belgium's Kim Clijsters. She's the hottest player going into the tournament having won the U.S. Open series. She leads the tour with the most no. of titles at six. The problem with Clijsters' is she has always fallen apart when it counted mosts. She's lost big matches where she's had huge leads(think Serena's 5-1 comeback at Aus. Open) and her French Open '03 loss to country woman Justine Henin-Hardenne where it looked like she didn't show up. Both times she was the favorite to win it all; so we'll see how she handles it this time. Perhaps the two other players that could break Clijsters momentum are veteran Lindsay Davenport and new sensation Maria Sharapova. However coming into this tourney, Both players are battling injuries and are both facing different kinds of pressure: Sharapova just took over the no. 1 spot on the rankings even without a major this year so she'll need to justify her rankings as well as her marketing value as the next "it" girl. Davenport needs to prove that she still has at least one more major in her after losing in two major finals this year to both Williams' sisters. She has the most favorable draw of all the contenders so expect her to at least get to the semis. Speaking of The Williamses; everyone knows you can never count them out of any tournament even if they are not at their bests. Both holders of two of the three majors of this year, you'd have to consider them as a threat. They are scheduled to meet in the round of 16 so players will have only one sister to deal with going into the second week. Justine Henin-Hardenne, Mary Pierce(France) and Svetlana Kuznetsova(Russia) are the other dark horses with a chance, but Pierce after starting the series hot, cooled off with injuries that may threaten her chances. Hardenne still hasn't gotten into a rhythm since coming back fully to the tour and Kuznetsova just hasn't been able to may much of an impact since winning the Open last year.
My predictions are Roger Federer and Venus Williams( if she gets past her sister).
There's no surprise here that the heavy favorite to win the Open is Swiss man Roger Federer. How this guy remains unnoticed in his own country much less the rest of the world still puzzles me. This guy is an amazon of a tennis player whose tournament it is to lose. Having lost only three matches all year(two of them at majors), he's set to dominate the men's field even though he hasn't played much since winning the Wimbledon. His closest competitors include the teenage sensation Rafael Nadal of Spain. Nadal has won only two hard court tourneys this year. Though they were both impressive, it will be hard to pick him over Federer on any surface other than Clay. American Andy Roddick is also another player to consider. He's been a winner here before so he knows what it takes but he's had problems beating Federer, doing so only once in his career. He may have a shot if Federer falls victim to someone else in the earlier rounds. Lleyton Hewitt the Australian is also a past champion who creates all sorts of problems for players with his gritty and never-give-up style of play. However he also has fallen victim to Federer on numerous occasions. The last man to think about is the elder statesman Andre Agassi. Using the crowd's sentimental support and a couple of easy early rounds you cannot count him out. These are probably Federer's biggest threats with the exception of Safin who would be considered a threat(albeit his sometimes nonchalant style of playing) if he did not pull out with his nagging knee injury.
On the women's side, the draw is so open that any of 6-8 players can hoist the trophy at the end. perhaps the heavy favorite now is Belgium's Kim Clijsters. She's the hottest player going into the tournament having won the U.S. Open series. She leads the tour with the most no. of titles at six. The problem with Clijsters' is she has always fallen apart when it counted mosts. She's lost big matches where she's had huge leads(think Serena's 5-1 comeback at Aus. Open) and her French Open '03 loss to country woman Justine Henin-Hardenne where it looked like she didn't show up. Both times she was the favorite to win it all; so we'll see how she handles it this time. Perhaps the two other players that could break Clijsters momentum are veteran Lindsay Davenport and new sensation Maria Sharapova. However coming into this tourney, Both players are battling injuries and are both facing different kinds of pressure: Sharapova just took over the no. 1 spot on the rankings even without a major this year so she'll need to justify her rankings as well as her marketing value as the next "it" girl. Davenport needs to prove that she still has at least one more major in her after losing in two major finals this year to both Williams' sisters. She has the most favorable draw of all the contenders so expect her to at least get to the semis. Speaking of The Williamses; everyone knows you can never count them out of any tournament even if they are not at their bests. Both holders of two of the three majors of this year, you'd have to consider them as a threat. They are scheduled to meet in the round of 16 so players will have only one sister to deal with going into the second week. Justine Henin-Hardenne, Mary Pierce(France) and Svetlana Kuznetsova(Russia) are the other dark horses with a chance, but Pierce after starting the series hot, cooled off with injuries that may threaten her chances. Hardenne still hasn't gotten into a rhythm since coming back fully to the tour and Kuznetsova just hasn't been able to may much of an impact since winning the Open last year.
My predictions are Roger Federer and Venus Williams( if she gets past her sister).
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Is the NFL too dangerous a sport?
San Franciso 49er's Thomas Herrion collapsed and died shortly after Saturday night's game against the Denver broncos. The first year offensive lineman was only 23, bringing many to wonder how safe Football is as a sport. According to the team, Herrion showed no signs of any problems even after the game, walking off the field on his own accord. Even more puzzling is that it wasn't particularly hot that night with temperature registering in the 60's with 50 percent humidity. Although the team says Herrion never struggled in practices under 97
degree weather conditions, doctors say a person can suffer from heatstroke under cooler temperatures.
Herrion's death comes just three months after AFL player Al Lucas died from a spinal cord injury after making a tackle and four years since Vikings offensive lineman Korey Stringer died of a heatstroke during practice.
Herrion had no history of injuries or illnesses while playing in college. An autopsy conducted by the Denver coroner's office was inconlusive and doctors say more tests would have to be done to determine the cause of death. However, the constant career threatening injuries and deaths in the sport makes one wonder how safe the sport is and if teams are doing their best in ensuring the safety of players. Even the life span amongst some retired players have been relatively short, recollecting the death of NFL great Reggie White earlier this year just to name one.
Obviously regardless of what the results say the NFL knows that it has a serious issue to address and I hope that the league will start paying more attention to the health of its players who sacrifice their bodies on a daily basis for the financial gain of the league and team owners and for the entertainment of all.
For more information on Herrions's death, visit the link below.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2139454
degree weather conditions, doctors say a person can suffer from heatstroke under cooler temperatures.
Herrion's death comes just three months after AFL player Al Lucas died from a spinal cord injury after making a tackle and four years since Vikings offensive lineman Korey Stringer died of a heatstroke during practice.
Herrion had no history of injuries or illnesses while playing in college. An autopsy conducted by the Denver coroner's office was inconlusive and doctors say more tests would have to be done to determine the cause of death. However, the constant career threatening injuries and deaths in the sport makes one wonder how safe the sport is and if teams are doing their best in ensuring the safety of players. Even the life span amongst some retired players have been relatively short, recollecting the death of NFL great Reggie White earlier this year just to name one.
Obviously regardless of what the results say the NFL knows that it has a serious issue to address and I hope that the league will start paying more attention to the health of its players who sacrifice their bodies on a daily basis for the financial gain of the league and team owners and for the entertainment of all.
For more information on Herrions's death, visit the link below.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2139454
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Henry Bibby no longer Sparks coach.
It is now official that coach Henry Bibby will no longer coach the Sparks. Johhny Buss, president of the Sparks organization says it was a mutual decision and shouldn't be considered a firing, but one can't help but wonder if it was indeed that. It is no news that the sparks have performed well below their expectations this season and Bibby's coaching approach has been the target of many as a probable reason. His new assistant Joe Bryant(kobe's father) has been named the interim coach for the rest of the season. For more on the story, visit the link below.
http://sports.espn.go.com/wnba/news/story?id=2136773
http://sports.espn.go.com/wnba/news/story?id=2136773
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Amnesty Clause: Good for the league?
So by yesterday's 12 midnight deadline, 18 players were waived under the amnesty rule, but funny enough the player who was most synonymous with the rule, Allan Houston, wasn't one of them.
For those who don't know what the "Allan Houston rule" is, it's basically a new rule that was agreed upon in the collective bargaining agreements in which teams can get rid of players with huge contracts. And though they still have to pay the player for the remainder of their contract, the salary doesn't count towards the team's salary cap. Therefore teams can cut down or avoid the luxury tax penalties.
Players that were affected not only included former stars whose careers have stalled or regressed as a result of injury or otherwise(Michael Finley, Brian Grant, Derek Anderson), but also included recent retiree, Reggie Miller.
The rule which is a one-time rule for teams to take advantage of was a great idea for the NBA. I always thought it was a travesty that the Knicks still had Larry Johnson's salary count well after his retirement. Or Jayson Williams' franchise contract which he never honored due to injury, count towards the Nets yearly salary cap. The plus side to it is that teams who waive players cannot sign the same players until their pre-existing contracts have expired.
The way I see it, none of the players waived stands anything to lose. With the exception of Troy Bell, a young player in the league who had barely made his mark in the league but got released from his $1.5 million contract by the grizzlies, the players remain set for the remainder of their contracts or even life(let's hope they invested well or else....). and they are also free to sign with any other team and still get paid by the team signing them. The only thing that puzzles me is that the knicks chose to keep Allan Houston whose salary clearly hurts the team's cap and who hasn't played in over a season. Even when he played, he was coming off the bench. Instead they chose to let go of Jerome "junkyard dog" Williams, a player I think never got the playing time he needed to be effective on the team.
Posted below is an article listing the players affected by the Amenesty clause:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2134771
For those who don't know what the "Allan Houston rule" is, it's basically a new rule that was agreed upon in the collective bargaining agreements in which teams can get rid of players with huge contracts. And though they still have to pay the player for the remainder of their contract, the salary doesn't count towards the team's salary cap. Therefore teams can cut down or avoid the luxury tax penalties.
Players that were affected not only included former stars whose careers have stalled or regressed as a result of injury or otherwise(Michael Finley, Brian Grant, Derek Anderson), but also included recent retiree, Reggie Miller.
The rule which is a one-time rule for teams to take advantage of was a great idea for the NBA. I always thought it was a travesty that the Knicks still had Larry Johnson's salary count well after his retirement. Or Jayson Williams' franchise contract which he never honored due to injury, count towards the Nets yearly salary cap. The plus side to it is that teams who waive players cannot sign the same players until their pre-existing contracts have expired.
The way I see it, none of the players waived stands anything to lose. With the exception of Troy Bell, a young player in the league who had barely made his mark in the league but got released from his $1.5 million contract by the grizzlies, the players remain set for the remainder of their contracts or even life(let's hope they invested well or else....). and they are also free to sign with any other team and still get paid by the team signing them. The only thing that puzzles me is that the knicks chose to keep Allan Houston whose salary clearly hurts the team's cap and who hasn't played in over a season. Even when he played, he was coming off the bench. Instead they chose to let go of Jerome "junkyard dog" Williams, a player I think never got the playing time he needed to be effective on the team.
Posted below is an article listing the players affected by the Amenesty clause:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2134771
Monday, August 15, 2005
What happened to the Sparks??
The Los Angeles Sparks are my WNBA team. loved them since I started watching the league and fell in love with Lisa Leslie. This season was supposed to be a great one with high expectations for my team with the signing of Chamique Holdsclaw. Yes Holdsclaw was coming off a troubled season cut short with her fight with depression, but all the same, much was expected of the team. With new coach Henry Bibby, it seemed like LA wouldn't lose their spark from previous years. but who would've imagined that as I write this, team is 13-15 and in 5th place. yes, we've had our share of key injuries-Dixon, Leslie, Mabika and Teasley; 4 of the starters from last year have battled injuries all season that has caused them many games, but nonetheless I didn't expect them to fall so far down the ladder.
I was watching a Houston game recently(can we please have more games on national t.v?) and spotted former asst. coach for sparks Karlen Thompson, on the Comets bench. It shocked me to see she was with the team. I mean last year she was a consideration for head coach of the sparks. I think she was great for the team having played with Leslie at USC, so why they let her go still beats me. Maybe she and coach Bibby didn't agree on some issues. Hopefully Joe Bryant would be a good replacement.
so as my team continues its struggles to make play-offs. I can only hope that next year would be better, not just for my team's sake, but for the league. You may hate the sparks, but we all know they are one of the more attractive teams to watch. Who wouldn't agree to enjoying the storied Comets-Sparks rivalry?
1 final comment: Ladies, women, please let's support the WNBA. Women are the reason NASCAR is the most watched sport out there, let's make it happen for the WNBA as well.
I was watching a Houston game recently(can we please have more games on national t.v?) and spotted former asst. coach for sparks Karlen Thompson, on the Comets bench. It shocked me to see she was with the team. I mean last year she was a consideration for head coach of the sparks. I think she was great for the team having played with Leslie at USC, so why they let her go still beats me. Maybe she and coach Bibby didn't agree on some issues. Hopefully Joe Bryant would be a good replacement.
so as my team continues its struggles to make play-offs. I can only hope that next year would be better, not just for my team's sake, but for the league. You may hate the sparks, but we all know they are one of the more attractive teams to watch. Who wouldn't agree to enjoying the storied Comets-Sparks rivalry?
1 final comment: Ladies, women, please let's support the WNBA. Women are the reason NASCAR is the most watched sport out there, let's make it happen for the WNBA as well.
Drugs, Drugs and more Drugs.
So obviously it's been a while since the Rafael Palmeiro drug scandal but we aren't done talking about drugs. I held off on making my comments because I was waiting to hear what Palmeiro had to say-which as I would find out was nothing!!!! We are tired of athletes offering no comments and hiding behind lawyer's suggestions when it comes to matters like this. WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!
we all remember his perfect portrayal of the innocent man before the congress(pointing his finger in defense) so what I don't understand is why the MLB decided to cover up his test results until after his historic achievment of 3000hits. I mean this happened in May and we find out in July???
When it comes to drugs, other sport governing bodies are doing what they can to clean up their sport: track and field gives 2 years on a serious 1st offense and a lifetime ban for a subsequent one; heck even tennis recently gave a 2 year ban to Argentine Guillermo Canas. Not the MLB. you get a measly 10 days suspension(nope i didn't say 10 games). So Palmeiro( who by the way seemed to be in a bit of a slump prior to his use of steroids and who subsequently turned his game around after) gets 10 days and before i go to sleep and wake up, he's back. much to my chagrin.
All I can say to baseball is WAKE UP! see the bigger picture here and make that step to cleaning up your sport the right way.
we all remember his perfect portrayal of the innocent man before the congress(pointing his finger in defense) so what I don't understand is why the MLB decided to cover up his test results until after his historic achievment of 3000hits. I mean this happened in May and we find out in July???
When it comes to drugs, other sport governing bodies are doing what they can to clean up their sport: track and field gives 2 years on a serious 1st offense and a lifetime ban for a subsequent one; heck even tennis recently gave a 2 year ban to Argentine Guillermo Canas. Not the MLB. you get a measly 10 days suspension(nope i didn't say 10 games). So Palmeiro( who by the way seemed to be in a bit of a slump prior to his use of steroids and who subsequently turned his game around after) gets 10 days and before i go to sleep and wake up, he's back. much to my chagrin.
All I can say to baseball is WAKE UP! see the bigger picture here and make that step to cleaning up your sport the right way.
