Both Roger Federer and Tiger Woods were out of action for months. Federer came back for the Australian Open and played a couple of matches to tune up right before then. He proceeds to go out and dominate the field including an epic win over Rafa Nadal in the finals. The win over Nadal was especially gratifying to Federer as no one will catch him now for the career Grand Slam record.
Tiger Woods returned to play Torrey Pines, a course he knows well and has won at many times, and he missed the cut. SU just thought the contrast was interesting. It’s true that Tiger was coming back from a year and a half absence but you can also say that Federer who will turn 36 this year is at a much older age tennis-wise than is Woods in golf. Fed also beat a number of top 10 players along the way. It was no cheapie. Thoughts?
SU caught the 4th quarter and the 4 overtimes of the Knick game yesterday. First of all, Mike Crispino is just not a good announcer at MSG. These are the types of games where announcers have so much fun but he is no Mike Breen. Porzingis fouled out yet again and with Derrick Rose injured (which Crispino just didn’t mention at all), Melo felt compelled to take every shot down the stretch and in OT. He definitely made his share of them but SU says that basketball is a team game and there are 4 other players out there who might be open while you are double teamed going 1 on 1. This is not to take away from Melo’s shot making – he single-handedly kept them in the game. But it’s on Hornacek to design plays to get others involved for open looks. He seems to be a Mike Woodson disciple and is content, like other NBA coaches, to take the easy way out and allow your top player to go 1 on 1 over and over and over again. At this point, I have no emotional connection to the team.
SU caught the UConn women in action up in Hartford with long-time subscriber M. Levine on Saturday. While they won by 50 or so, what’s most interesting to see is how they push the ball up the court on every possession whether the opponent scored or not. They never walk the ball up the court. On defense, the intensity is there from start to finish. There is no looking to the bench on calling offensive plays and the ball moves side to side on every possession. They missed a lot of shots for them but they were getting good looks by pushing the ball and making hard cuts. SU is still baffled why other teams – both men’s and women’s teams – don’t play this way either at the college level or in the pros. Kansas and Kentucky do as we saw on Saturday but most do not.
Super Bowl prediction coming tomorrow. Be sure to weigh in with your picks during the week to show off your particular skills in calling games of this magnitude.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
Not a fair comparison, in my opinion, talking about Roger vs. Tiger. Federer is playing one player at at time, Tiger is playing against 120 or so simultaneously. And Federer didn’t miss a year and a half. That being said, Tiger is WAY more apart from the top than Federer ever was, and as we discussed on Saturday, way more depth in golf. Take a look at the guy who won a big time tournament yesterday; I had barely ever heard of him. There is a ton of great depth on the men’s tour, but you can’t tell me more than 15 – at the most – players could have won in Australia.
A big difference between Federer and Woods is the starting point. Both returned from injuries but Federer is less far removed from greatness. He’s been ranked in the top 3 in very recent memory. Woods greatness is farther behind him. His comeback was clearly less successful but had he won (not that it was even close), it would have been much more significant.
I missed the Knicks game but scanned the box score. Saw all of Anthony’s points. Then saw all of his shots. He shot the ball 36 times which is 20 more shots than the next player on the team. He played about as well as anyone could expect and it wasn’t enough. This is not the formula for success.
Both trying to be the Comeback Kid I’ll grant you are their similarities. That’s where it ends. Whether Woods makes it you can’t compare it with the athletic ability and mental toughness required in tennis. There is still a debate whether you can really classify golf as a sport. Yes, the players do walk the course but the caddies hold their clubs, clean their clubs and help keep their “boss” balanced between each shot during their 5 minute walk to the ball. Unless the temperature is over 80 do you see any of them ever wiping their eyebrow. Even though Federer never met the #1 and #2 players in the world, who are currently heads and shoulders above the rest Federer did beat 2 very tough opponents in the semis and finals. Kudos to him.
Waiting for dinner to be served I watched the 4th quarter and the first 2 OT’s of the Knicks game. It simply reminds me of how one dimensional they are, no real play calling, still allowing penetration by the opponent’s guards and at the end of the day another “L” Still unwatchable, still not emotionally attached.
I am attached to U Conn Women basketball though. Besides their pushing it up and keeping their opponents a good portion of the time on the backs of their heels what impresses me the most is their Starters are in the best shape compared to all other teams out there. With a more limited bench than in the past years the only game in which they actually wore down was against Maryland in Maryland. They had a 19 point lead and only won by 6. I’m sure their coach is aware of this and will watch them as the season winds down so they don’t burn out. Only one more real challenging game left against South Carolina at home… though the Temple game on Wednesday should be more entertaining than their past half a dozen games.
The ball moved better in my son’s 7/8 basketball game on Saturday than in the Knicks vs. Hawks game on Sunday during the end of the game and in OT. I think that Hornacek may have flown in early to scout the Tar Heels vs. Falcons offenses but apparently did not implement any of our plays into his game plan. Ironically our game also ended in a tie in regulation and unfortunately we only play OT in the playoffs.
Ready for the Super Bowl LI hype in the ATL. Someday we can hope to become a sports town that supports the home team (there were more Knicks fans than Hawks fans at the game yesterday).
Federer did not dominate the field but it was great tennis. I thought the Nishokora 5 set win was actually better tennis and as good a win. The speeches after were great by both players and should show Serena what class means.
I agree, Tony. I watched the awards ceremony and the level of respect between these two guys is really inspiring. You also see the same thing with Murray and Djokovic. Tremendous respect among the top players in the sport for one another. I only saw the 5th set of the finals and I was impressed at how Federer just went for this shots the last 5 games down 3-1. It’s remarkable at age 35.