The first week of pro football is now in the books, and it has definitely provided us with some talking points for the rest of the week. The Texans are now a healthy 2-15 against the Colts all-time, the Kansas City Chiefs are leading the AFC West, and the Eagles may have more of a quarterback controversy than they envisioned they would encounter this season.
I think the most important topic is Philadelphia's quarterback situation. With Kevin Kolb out with a concussion, Michael Vick may start in his place this coming weekend at Detroit. Eagles coach Andy Reid has made it clear that Kolb is still the team's number one quarterback, which is a good decision in my opinion. However, since this weekend's game is against the Lions, if Vick starts, he may again look like a quarterback worthy of the starting job. The coaching staff will have a sticky situation on their hands; start Vick, with the knowledge that he could potentially account for one or two more wins for Philadelphia this season, or stick with Kolb, their quarterback of the future. Reid may feel the heat from fans this season if he opts to stay with Kolb after he returns from his injury, but I think it's the right decision. Vick is not their quarterback of the future, and probably won't even be in the league in a few years. His leg speed won't be there forever, and his performance this past weekend could just be a result of defensive coordinators not seeing him the past few years. Once teams have to prepare to stop Vick, I don't think he will be nearly as effective. Kolb will definitely take his lumps this season if he starts, but it will be worth it if Philadelphia wants to remain a contender in the NFC East in the future.
Speaking of quarterback controversies (well, I guess this next one isn't really a controversy anymore), Michigan's decision to go with Denard Robinson over Tate Forcier has worked out pretty well. Of course, let's not start the Heisman debate just yet. Robinson is good (430 yards passing and 455 yards rushing in his first two games? Yea, that's pretty good.), but he hasn't exactly been lighting it up against Alabama's or Ohio State's defenses, either. UConn has a defense that ranks in the bottom half of the Big East (known for particularly porous defenses) in yards per game allowed. Notre Dame gives up 427 yards per game, which would be good for...dead last in that same conference. For a few more weeks, Mr. Robinson will likely continue to rack up yardage and reel off ESPN worthy runs. However, I won't be truly impressed until early October. Starting October 9th, Michigan faces in-state rival Michigan State, number nine Iowa, and number twenty two Penn State on the road. If number sixteen is still ripping up defenses after those three games, then we can start talking about the Heisman. We've seen it happen before in the Big Ten, though. Juice Williams rode the spread offense all the way to the Rose Bowl in 2007, but couldn't do much against teams in his final two years. There is a chance that Denard Robinson could be the next Michael Vick, but my educated guess is that he is just taking advantage of unprepared (and mediocre) defenses.
I said that I would start to cover the U.S. Open in the later rounds, but I never really got around to it. Then I was going to cover the Final before it was played (assuming that it would be another Federer vs. Nadal epic), but Federer lost in the semi-finals and I had nothing to speculate on. Now that Nadal has won, completing his career Grand Slam, I have my newest poll: Is Nadal better than Federer? After Federer won at Wimbledon in 2009, the title of "World's Greatest Tennis Player", and to some extent, "Greatest Tennis Player Ever" was bestowed upon him. Enter 2010, where Nadal has won three of the four Grand Slam events. Federer was not the opponent in any of those finals. Federer is twenty-nine years old, so it is natural to assume that his best days may be behind him. However, in the Federer-Nadal rivalry, Nadal is 14-7. Even more telling of Nadal's dominance is his record against Federer in Grand Slam Finals, which is 5-2. What is the common measure of a player's lasting legacy in other major sports? Championships. Although Federer currently has more major championships (and probably isn't completely done yet), common sense tells us that, barring injuries, Nadal has more years left than Federer. If Nadal can catch Federer in number of Grand Slam titles and continue to remain dominant against him in head-to-head matches, will Nadal go down as the best player in his era? Or have we already given the crown to Federer, and fair or not, it is extremely hard to steal the crown that has already been given to someone in your own era. Considering Federer's age, this is an argument that should string out for at least two or three more years. This debate is also proof that just because Americans aren't dominant in tennis doesn't mean it's any less exciting.
- K. Becks
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
That's How We Like It? Yea, Actually, It Is
Once again the United States soccer team defined "late game drama" in their 1-0 heart stopping victory over Algeria that propelled them to the top of Group C and earned them a date with Ghana in the Round of 16. If any team in the World Cup deserved to make it to the knockout round, it was the U.S. team. They battled back from not one, but two, missed calls that cost them crucial goals. I understand that in soccer this kind of thing happens quite frequently as they do not have instant replay to fall back on (I'm not saying that they should institute instant replay into soccer, either). However, you still have to feel for a team that did everything right on two separate occasions and had nothing to show for it. Luckily, it didn't matter in the end, because the important thing is that the U.S. is moving onto the knockout stage, which is where they should be.
Now that they have advanced, it is time for the team to focus on the next game. In winning their group for the first time since 1930, the United States will have a chance to avenge their loss to Ghana in the 2006 World Cup. Obviously, this matchup is much more favorable than a match against Germany would have been. In this World Cup, Ghana has only scored one non-penalty kick goal. As I have said, the teams that want to continue to advance are the teams that are willing to attack instead of sit back and defend. If any of my readers watched the Australia vs. Serbia game this afternoon, you likely agree with me. The bottom line is, Ghana isn't Algeria. What I saw from Algeria today was a team that was going to be satisfied just by preventing the U.S. from advancing. Unlike Algeria, Ghana will be looking to score; to move on. The United States has the talent to beat the Black Stars, but they absolutely need to attack. The Round of 16 is not kind to teams content with sitting back and defending.
While everyone was watching the U.S. soccer game, there was another equally spectacular match going on at Wimbledon. The first round match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut has lasted for over nine hours, has been suspended due to darkness two straight days, and is currently in the fifth set tied at 59 games. Go ahead and read those italicized words again, and remind yourself that what you're reading is true. It's no surprise that this match has shattered the marks for longest match played and most games played in a match. I had a chance to watch a replay of the fifth set at work today, and I watched as the match was halted so that the players could take a bathroom break. Needless to say, this is incredible, and probably won't happen again for a long time, if ever again. The next piece of information may be the craziest of the entire story. You'd think that after a match like this, their next opponent would have a huge advantage over them. This isn't exactly the case though, as the winner will face Thiemo De Bakker, who won 16-14 in the fifth set in his first round match, meaning he'll be very tired as well. Who's to say the winner of Isner vs. Mahut can't pull off another?
- K. Becks
Now that they have advanced, it is time for the team to focus on the next game. In winning their group for the first time since 1930, the United States will have a chance to avenge their loss to Ghana in the 2006 World Cup. Obviously, this matchup is much more favorable than a match against Germany would have been. In this World Cup, Ghana has only scored one non-penalty kick goal. As I have said, the teams that want to continue to advance are the teams that are willing to attack instead of sit back and defend. If any of my readers watched the Australia vs. Serbia game this afternoon, you likely agree with me. The bottom line is, Ghana isn't Algeria. What I saw from Algeria today was a team that was going to be satisfied just by preventing the U.S. from advancing. Unlike Algeria, Ghana will be looking to score; to move on. The United States has the talent to beat the Black Stars, but they absolutely need to attack. The Round of 16 is not kind to teams content with sitting back and defending.
While everyone was watching the U.S. soccer game, there was another equally spectacular match going on at Wimbledon. The first round match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut has lasted for over nine hours, has been suspended due to darkness two straight days, and is currently in the fifth set tied at 59 games. Go ahead and read those italicized words again, and remind yourself that what you're reading is true. It's no surprise that this match has shattered the marks for longest match played and most games played in a match. I had a chance to watch a replay of the fifth set at work today, and I watched as the match was halted so that the players could take a bathroom break. Needless to say, this is incredible, and probably won't happen again for a long time, if ever again. The next piece of information may be the craziest of the entire story. You'd think that after a match like this, their next opponent would have a huge advantage over them. This isn't exactly the case though, as the winner will face Thiemo De Bakker, who won 16-14 in the fifth set in his first round match, meaning he'll be very tired as well. Who's to say the winner of Isner vs. Mahut can't pull off another?
- K. Becks
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
The Sad Truth For African Teams
As teams prepare for their final game in group play, I have come to the very sad realization that only one African team has a legitimate shot of moving on to the knockout round. This is not only sad due to the fact that I picked three of the six participating African nations to advance, but because they probably feel as if they've underperformed on their home continent. Disappointing play, as well as bad luck, has played a part in this sad showing. To start, South Africa is the first host nation to not advance to the knockout stage. If it weren't for Mexico scoring a goal in a moment of confusion for the South African defense, the Bafana Bafana may very well have advanced. Nigeria didn't have any points coming into today's game against South Korea, but were still in position to advance with a win. They had the perfect opportunity to do so in the 66th minute, but Nigerian striker Yakuba missed possibly the easiest shot ever. Had Yakuba capitalized on the chance and Nigeria gone on to win the game, they would have moved on to the knockout stage because of goal differential. Cameroon, who supposedly had a high octane offense that was sure to produce goals, has only scored one goal in this World Cup. They were the first team to be mathematically eliminated from the tournament, which is obviously a tough pill to swallow for a team that thought they had a legitimate shot at moving on to the knockout stage. The Ivory Coast would have had a shot at advancing if they were to win their final group play game, but didn't receive any help from North Korea. Thanks to the Korean's 7-0 loss to Portugal, the Ivory Coast would have to make up a nine goal differential in order to jump Portugal in the standings and advance.
With all that being said, the hope of the African continent lies with the Black Stars of Ghana. Leading Group D, Ghana can move on with either a win or a draw against Germany. They can also lose and potentially move on, but that situation is much more complicated, and it means that their fate is decided by another team (if you would like to learn exactly what that situation is, send me an email). I think it would be a travesty if not one African team were to move on, because South Africa hosting the World Cup is bigger than just South Africa. It is huge for the entire continent, for all the nations trying to make strides in bettering their countries and becoming respected in the world. So, sorry to all you fans of Deutschland, but along with an entire continent, I will be pulling for the Black Stars tomorrow afternoon.
As for the United States, the message is simple: win and you're in, lose and you're out, and let's not even mention the word tie. Algeria hasn't showed that they are capable of offensive firepower thus far. With that being said, pulling men back to defend would be a poor decision for Bob Bradley to make. The U.S. needs to play like they did in the second half of the Slovenia game if they want to win. This is the final game of group play, and the teams that win their final game are the teams that go out and attack and come away with goals. The U.S. is fortunate enough to be more talented than their opponent, so if they go out and attack, conventional wisdom says they should come away with the win. The entire country will be watching; if the U.S. Soccer Federation wants that to happen ever again, they better hope that the United States delivers and moves on to the Round of 16.
Eventually, I will cover Wimbledon, and although we are still in the early rounds and some big names have already been knocked out (James Blake, Fernando Verdasco, Juan Carlos Ferrero to name a few), I haven't had a chance to watch any matches and thus can't give a educated analysis on the tournament. Friday will be my first chance to watch some of the tournament, so I will likely write something about it then.
- K. Becks
With all that being said, the hope of the African continent lies with the Black Stars of Ghana. Leading Group D, Ghana can move on with either a win or a draw against Germany. They can also lose and potentially move on, but that situation is much more complicated, and it means that their fate is decided by another team (if you would like to learn exactly what that situation is, send me an email). I think it would be a travesty if not one African team were to move on, because South Africa hosting the World Cup is bigger than just South Africa. It is huge for the entire continent, for all the nations trying to make strides in bettering their countries and becoming respected in the world. So, sorry to all you fans of Deutschland, but along with an entire continent, I will be pulling for the Black Stars tomorrow afternoon.
As for the United States, the message is simple: win and you're in, lose and you're out, and let's not even mention the word tie. Algeria hasn't showed that they are capable of offensive firepower thus far. With that being said, pulling men back to defend would be a poor decision for Bob Bradley to make. The U.S. needs to play like they did in the second half of the Slovenia game if they want to win. This is the final game of group play, and the teams that win their final game are the teams that go out and attack and come away with goals. The U.S. is fortunate enough to be more talented than their opponent, so if they go out and attack, conventional wisdom says they should come away with the win. The entire country will be watching; if the U.S. Soccer Federation wants that to happen ever again, they better hope that the United States delivers and moves on to the Round of 16.
Eventually, I will cover Wimbledon, and although we are still in the early rounds and some big names have already been knocked out (James Blake, Fernando Verdasco, Juan Carlos Ferrero to name a few), I haven't had a chance to watch any matches and thus can't give a educated analysis on the tournament. Friday will be my first chance to watch some of the tournament, so I will likely write something about it then.
- K. Becks
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