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Anything can be posted here! We'll talk about politics, some sports (football, basketball, & tennis), Movies, & TV! Posts framed w/ "***" are from other contribs.! - - - (- - - Comments - - -)
Current News: Djokovic falls to Menšík in Miami! Alcaraz & Med upset!
***Every X "the right" win the WH, you consider yourself t/b one of the top minds in politics (World). Is that correct @Kieran? When Trump wins, it's the result of poor strategies of the Dems. To your pt., that makes me a political servant when Biden & Obama won the WH! Is that correct? I debunked your fallacy vs President Obama. I challenged you to clarify your beloved Trump who has proved himself t/b nothing but a race baiting pimp in a country that is worried about turning brown w/i the next 5-10 yrs. I challenge you to show evidence of how someone w/ the mental ineptitude of a functioning imbecile is capable of being YOUR world leader. Trump has always been the beneficiary of his Nazi pappy, Fred who was on the same level w/ Hitler. It's your inability to understand another poster's views. Your views are simplistic extreme right-wing at best. You're incapable of seeing the other side b/c you're too closed-minded. When you called Obama stupid, that exposes you from ever being able to have a pol. discussion based on facts. I NEVER lie about what another poster says. I'm not built that way. It doesn't support my narrative.
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@Kieran, you have no clue the mentality of an American citizen who's 3rd gen. military Vet. Have you ever held a political office in the US? Have you served as civil servant? Have you ever taught school @ the university level? That's living life to its fullest. Sir, you have no clue what you're talking about. When it's all said & done, there's not gonna be a left or right, but can you live w/ the life you chose to live & if you're able t/b blessing to others. Otherwise you have been a spectator clinging to some hope that life is gonna reward you b/c of your political preference. There's nothing that Trump offers to you.
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I think Putin is kind of making a monkey out of Trump. His agreeing to almost nothing that Trump proposes is certainly a power play.
Trump has been bragging/insisting for months that if/when he got elected, he'd end the war in Ukraine in 1 day. To this end, he meets w/ Putin & his people twice B4 he ever meets w/ Zelenskyy, puts his thumb on the scale hugely in Russia's favor, promises Putin basically everything he wants, rewrites history to turn Zelensky into a dictator, & the instigator of the war, &, while he's at it, decides he'll extort some mineral resources from Ukraine for his trouble.
For all that Trump is prepared to push on the Russian side of the ledger. Russia doesn't ever agree to a full cease-fire. Trump doesn't like t/b shown up or told "no," & it seems like that's what Putin is doing, doesn't it?***
IDK why people are surprised again that Trump over-promised & he's now having to deal w/ the fall-out! When his actions are defended, they look > & > unhinged! Regret is on the minds of a lot of these Trump-ster, but that won't help us survive the rest of this very new term!
***What? That he’s trying to bring both sides together to talk, instead of spending billions of your $$'s to increase the fighting?
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I don't think that's quite the pt. I'm making. Trump has opened his arms wide to Putin, for yrs. But now it's not just the bromance. Trump has staked some of his political capital on ending that war, & Putin refuses to kiss him back, = though Trump has gift wrapped the pkg. I just wonder if the Prez will have the sense to be insulted. He's gen. pretty thin-skinned.
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But still we have to filter him, & see what he's doing. He's put an offer on the table & Putin rejected it. That wasn't unexpected. It's how people negotiate, although these are highest stakes. Putin has people behind him too, watching like hawks to see what he does. He was hardly going to immediately do what America insists upon. There's a next stage that follows, & that's also part of the filtering. ...Trump may surprise us - hopefully! Also hopefully he won't rise to the bait & feel insulted.***
***I think wood courts went up thru the 60s & = into the early 70s. Ken Rosewall was a bit of a "wood court specialist," I believe.***
ReplyDeleteWood court? Well I taught on it; really a gym floor @ a YMCA & YWCA back in the 70's! I only played a handful of matches in singles & dubs. on it! It was lightning fast needing supreme anticipation! One false move & you were done for the pt.!
***Yeah...so much for the ice water in his veins, huh? Borg lost that 4th set TB to McEnroe 18-16 @ the Wimbl. final in '80, famously.***
Borg's 1st horrible loss of a TB was back in the '76 USO Final vs Connors! OTTH, they split the 1st 2 sets, got into a 3rd set TB where Bjorn got to set pt.! He wasn't being as courageous as he became > later, just looping the ball back! I was screaming @ the TV, "you need to do >" as Connors was "tama-hawking" his shots going for it! Connors finally just took a 2 handed BH rip cross-court, clipping the sideline! Borg lost yet another TB, losing all heart going into the 4th set! This was his best chance, on clay to win the USO he still covets! He blew it!
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...I'm sorry to say TENNIS is a JOKE! I already fell off the game a bit due to the mindless aggression perpetrated on the game by both men & women! The drama going on in the news & behind the scenes w/ Jannik has to give us all pause! The players are openly talking about this = though a shady ruling & punishment finally came down! The drama continues! I long for the exhib./comp. of the World Invitat'l Tennis Classic where they took the top 4 men & women playing in all the disciplines partnering up making it possible for anyone to win the Grand prize! It was lazy tennis w/ chessboard play on clay back in the '70's! I'll take that over today's drek!
***Well, despite giving you a hard X (all in good fun), I somewhat agree. I mean, I sort of see our ("Western") culture in decline overall. I haven't decided as to whether this extends to tennis, but I think it is a valid perspective that the Big 3 were the 'final hurrah' of the Golden Age of OE tennis.
But...I'm excited about the new era. It's > interesting, IMO, than most of the long & overly drawn out last decade or so of the Big 3 era. We have 2 (poss. 3) young superstars who look like all-X >'s; we have a nice range of promising youngsters than we've had in 15+ yrs. Not to mention that over on the women's side, the new "biggish 3" is being disrupted by a 17-yo. So I think it's an exciting X to follow tennis.***
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Just glanced @ the draw & it was a massacre as 1/2 the women seeds "fell by the wayside in Miami!" They all play the same 'ball bashing' game so being seeded means lit'l to nothing! It's not surprising no 1 woman is dom. as the rankings have bounced all over the place for yrs.! The stability of 1 player leading the way for a 2-3 yrs. seems t/b over! I thought Iga'd brk. the cycle! I just don't watch enuf to care that much! If Osaka'd gain momentum I'd come back; m/b not! She's a mother! Few successfully get "all the way back" from that! Players like Court, Goolagong, Clijster, & a few others are rare athletes!
Finally chk'd in to see the men have had their version of a "seeded massacre!" So many "up & comers" being brought back to Earth! Alcaraz, Draper, Lehečka, & Rune; all gone in 2nd Rd.! It appears this w/b the new norm; make a final or 2, then crash & burn in early Rds. the following event! I'm not gonna cry for Shelton! Such a hotdog! My 91 yo Uncle absol. hates the "hand to the ear" crap! We're just old fashion! ANYWHO, surprisingly this Fonseca kid's holding up quite well! Impressive I guess! I've only seen highlites!
***Look @ McFly! Nobody gave Goffin a chance to Def. Alcaraz in the 2nd Rd. of Miami.***
ReplyDeleteThis isn't looking good! Carlos is losing his aura! Letting someone like Goffin to = compete w/ him shows a breakdown in his confidence! Is the pressure finally getting to him? I was gagged enough w/ upset of Daniil! Again the "Big 3" reign supreme avoiding many of these upsets that have become routine w/ today's elite! They're clearing the way for Djokovic to make the final if he can muster the desire! He already has 6 titles (Nadal 0)!
***Novak looking pretty hard to beat. This is the best he's looked all yr., m/b since '23.***
Very impressive! Musetti played well enuf! Novak was just on his game & by the end was lit. toying w/ him! Running down that lob-volley stealing pt. from Lorenzo took me back! I think Nole w/b ready for the clay season if he can get @ least 1 > match win under his belt!
***I think Novak smelled the blood as soon as so many seeded players went down. W/ that being said, Musetti's a good customer & >ly out there vs Novak to get some tennis lessons.
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I normally don't call any player who got to the top 20 range a disappointment, but that's exactly how I feel about Musetti. He still has X though.
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...Gasquet & Dimitrov are basically contemporary versions of players like Cliff Richey & Wotjek Fibak. The only people that know Richey & Fibak are stat nerds like myself or old guys like @Fiero425. Meaning, they w/b >ly forgotten shortly after they retire.
I think part of what makes Musetti a bit disappointing is that he plays beautifully - you want to see him on court in big matches b/c he's nice to watch. In a way, he's a bit of a baby Grigor & m/b'd end up w/ a similar career.
..Tennis' a sport that's centered on ATG's. While I have often used 6 Slams as a quick-&-easy cut-off for true >ness, I do include Andy Murray in that category. For me an ATG's > just a Slam win total - it's a player who was arguably the best player on tour, @ least for a X, & consistently 1 of the best for > a yr. or 2 (I'd put Andy over Courier). Why I consider Andy an ATG kind of comes down to the fact that, for a X, we talked about a Big 4. Even if we always knew that--aside from '16--it was a Big 3 or Big 3 + 1, Andy was remarkable in that he @ least made us think about whether or not he belonged w/ prob. the 3 >est players of the OE.
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Grigor thru. That was quite an intense last few games. He twisted his ankle in the TB, but pulled thru. The crowd was really for him.***
Very impressive & courageous effort by Grigor! He was lit. running on fumes; totally out of gas! Cerundolo's gonna remember blowing this!
***He might not remember it. He's had a few of those, & he hasn't learned yet.***
I'm in shock @ how decimated the men's draw has become! The path has been totally plowed to allow Novak's 100th title t/b a Masters-1000!
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***Zheng's too dense. Out there trying to play hardball w/ Saba. That's why she has a losing rec. vs her. The people who trouble Saba the > are folks who possess variety & can disrupt her rhythm, + it really helps to hold your serve.***
That's become the norm IMO! You have the ball bashing by both men & ladies w/ the elites able to weather the storm of the newcomers! If a player doesn't have a back-up game, there's nothing else that c/b done! The top men like Zverev, Tsitsipas, Medvedev, Ruud, & Rublev don't have a back-up game either! As a result, Novak @ almost 38 yo's still out-lasting them in rallies that are punishingly long!
***...'08-10 was still Fedal w/ Rafa taking the lead, & Novak & Andy a bit behind, esp. in '09-10. In '11 it was Novak jumping ahead w/ Rafa next, then "Fedray." '12 was the > bal. yr. of the Big 4, all 4 winning a Slam, but Novak being 1st among near =s. '13 was Rafa regaining the throne w/ Novak next, then Fedray a bit behind. '14 was Novak returning to 1st among =s, w/ Fedal behind, & then Murray slipping back. '15 was Novak's yr., w/ Roger & Andy a lap or 2 behind. '16 was Djoray, '17 was Fedal Redux, & Andy falling away...
ReplyDeleteIf '08-16 was the Big 4 Era, here are the top 10 players by GOAT pts. during that per. of X:
514 Djokovic
383 Nadal
323 Federer
268 Murray
85 Ferrer
83 Wawrinka
77 Del Potro
68 Berdych
GOAT pts. are imperfect, but they illustrate the pt.: There was a > >ger gap btwn. Andy & the pack, > the >ger 3 & Andy...during the X he was in his prime. The gap becomes larger when we look at their whole careers. But from '08-16, Andy most defin. was part of a "Big 4," of which Novak was the clear leader. Notice that the gap btwn. Nadal & Federer & Fed & Murray is about the same.
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Yeah, Matteo's BH's tragic. He went down in 3 sets to Fritz in QF!***
It's good enuf to keep him in pts.! Matteo's a throwback to my era of "Big Servers!" He mhb > successful if not for running into Novak again & again in Majors; their >gest meeting a 4 set victory for Novak @ '21 Wimbl. Final!
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It's been routine as Djokovic rolls over one of his many pigeons (Dimitrov) he's never lost to; not = a set IIRC! He's looking like the Novak of old; full of confidence & making a lot of 1st serves! Very impressive! Just beat the rain! If Nole wins tmrw., it w/b his 100th title, 73rd Big Title, & 41st Masters! The symmetry to his success is amazing! He's won 12 Majors early & 12 late, 4 X's winning 3 of 4 majors; early & late, then moving the recs. out of reach of anyone to brk.!
***Novak been eyeing that 100th title for a while now & he couldn't have an easier path to it. If he loses, it's on him, but I don't think he is letting this chance go. Weird thing that he w/b #2 in a race if he wins it. It tells > about the state of other players in top 10 > him.***
I think Novak's back again! He's serving well, his court movement is just as good, & his confidence has elevated! He's heaving air after long rallies, but he is almost 38 yrs. old! I can't imagine him being upset by this kid who has nothing to lose I guess! It's a huge moment for him! My blog s/b getting updated after Sunday's final! Novak 41st Masters, 73rd Big title, & 100th Title!
***Predictably, Novak got the brk. back after a slow start, but the kid doesn't show too many nerves for the occasion.***
Turned over to see end of the TB! IDK what went on earlier besides Novak dropping serve! He obviously got the brk. back, but not sure of his confidence! This kid doesn't look "SHOOK!" M/b another one of those situations where a kid upset The GOAT as RUNE & Khachanov have done to win a Masters over Novak!
***Novak's eyes bothering him, too. Sometimes it's the contacts. Mensik serving well, and has upped the 2nd serve pace, too. (He's got work to do on the 2nd, but it's doing OK tonight.) Yes, sometimes the kids have nothing to lose, and 19 is a pretty fearless age.***
I saw an online title mentioning an issue w/ his eyes! I didn't read it thinking just more click-bait to distract! He goes out in Str. sets dropping 3 TB's!
***Once Novak gets over the disap. of today, he'll remember that he didn't so much need to win this title, compared to how much he's playing a LOT >er > he has in ages, so he'll go into the clay season feeling pretty good, I should think.***
ITA! He got a nice workout & recovered some of his stamina! Even though he didn't necess. play any top players, he still looked sharp & his footwork was good! He didn't lose a set en route to yet another Masters Final @ 37+! I think if he gets a good draw in MC, gets some upsets to help out, he can acquire yet another milestone; his 3rd GM's!
***Nothing wrong w/ Rafa's resume. Or Roger's. Sure, Novak managed to hoover up a lot of everything, & >ly after his main comp. was past their 1/2-way marks. Sure, Novak is >. But it doesn't have t/b a 0-sum game. There was a lot of >ness in all of the Big 3...& there's also a reason that it took Novak so long to catch up.***
ReplyDeleteI had to "go there" since you referenced Miami being a "Latin Slam!" I go hard on both Fedal as I see Novak not getting his due = now! That's so disrespectful to any player @ the top like him giving credit to a lack of comp.! Sampras has a lot of comp. back then, but his finals were >ly routine events having lit'l trouble def. his pigeon from '90 USO on, Andre Agassi & other huge adversaries like Phillipousis, Pioline, & Chang! ...As you said, he "hoovered up" many titles, but there's been a bal. from '08-23 (winning 3 of 4 majors for the 4th X)! He won 12 Majors early '08-16, then 12 > late '18-23, +ing 2 > YEC's later in his career after going yrs. w/o a win! His comp. has been strong & steep from beginning to end; Fedal, Lost Gen., Lost Gen. II, now dealing w/ NG's w/ = > talent & games!
***...Stop skewing your #'s. '08-10 Novak won 1 Slam. He bloomed late & there is a reason.***
...Fedal was having no trouble w/ their comp., they were having trouble beating NOVAK! There's a diff.! The Djokovic rec. can't be ??ed or dissected as he owns them all! Sorry the Fedal fans have lit'l to fall back on w/ their GOAT argument!
***...We were talking ..and also pulls in, lots of fans from So. & Central Amer., which I think is a boon for tennis. A lot of > players come from So. America, & so do a lot of fans. They don't = have a MS1000 on the entire continent, so one that's convenient to them, and the Latin diaspora is good for the game, IMO. I think Charlotte w/b a poor subst.***
I think I mhb misunderstood when I mentioned Rafa in respect to Miami have a lot of Latin support! That's the pt. I was trying to make; plenty Spanish support, but unable to win a title there! IMO, a significant hole in Nadal's resume in comparison to Novak!
***No, you were quite clear. You gratuitously made an excuse to say that Nadal had never won Miami, but Novak had, while @ the same X whining that Djokovic doesn't get enuf love. Crowing & complaining in the same post is cheesy.
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But this is how it starts w/ all the greats. They get to a pt., where they can't bring their best on Sundays. If he can't win a M1000 where he didn't have to play any top 10 players, it doesn't bode well for the slams. No Zed, Chuck, Red, etc. in Miami. That'll not always be the case. I can't see those guys consistently coming up lame in the 2nd wk. of Masters & Slams.***
All I can do is SMH! Everyone here are exper. tennis aficionados & know what's what! Novak's no ordinary GREAT! He has risen from the grave > X's > any other player! Gil Gross on YouTube agrees w/ me that he's ahead of sched. compared to the last few yrs.! He ripped the players put in front of him in Miami! He didn't just "hang on" & have some fantastic comebk., he destroyed those players who are quite comp. = if not in the top 10! If Taylor had finished off Mensik, I think Novak might've come thru w/ his 100th win! Mensik was just playing hot & his serve was cooking! It's like we all forgot a few yrs. ago Novak dropping 2 Masters finals to Rune & Khachanov! He's still standing after all these yrs. & I think he has it in him to not only win 1 or 2 > Masters, but a 25th Major!
***Well, he wasn't moving well in the final in Miami, & Mensik was returning his serve well, unless you were watching a diff. final? That was the match that counted & he had a easy draw in Miami. Anyway, Fed remains the oldest player to win a Masters-1000 @ 37 yo. in Miami.***
***I do think Novak is capable of winning another Slam, but I think the odds are stacked vs him, esp. if & when Alcaraz goes into God-mode & Sinner comes back strong. The pups are cut from a diff. cloth than NG (let alone Lost Gen.). They aren't as afraid of Novak, partially b/c Novak in '25 isn't immortal like he was as recently as '23, but partially b/c they just seem to have > stones (> talent) > the Med-Zverev-Tsitsipas-Rublev-Fritz crew.
ReplyDelete...Novak was > as recently as a yr. & a 1/2 ago, @ the end of '23, & he's played well @ X's since then. But the writing is def. on the wall. He turns 38 in < > 2 months, which is the age Roger turned in '19, which was his last close-to-prime yr.
Novak is preternaturally immune to injury, but no one avoids Father X. So if Rafa was essentially done @ 36 & Roger @ 38, I might give Novak an extra yr. or 2, but no > that. I think the best-case scenario is that he's the Old Man Agassi of the tour for '24-26ish. Consider Agassi's Slam wins & losses '99-2003:
Wins: A. Medvedev, Martin, Kafelnikov, Clement, Schuettler.
Losses: Sampras, Sampras, Fed.
...So the ?? for Novak is, can he play well enuf to def. a Sinner or Alcaraz in a Slam final or will he need the Draw Gods to help him out? Even if the latter, he still has a chance. Alcaraz could go walk-about & be taken out early, & m/b Jannik comes back rusty.
I love Fiero, but I've often teased him that he thinks if a player isn't peak Borg, he sucks.***
Typical hypocritical ...the same people slapping Novak in the head about "NO OGM" until last yr.! Mission accomp. in the twilite of his career! They have nothing to fall back on now! The #1 GOAT, BOAT, whatever moniker you want to throw out there has to boomerang around to hit Novak every X as he has the > complete resume out there w/ X chps. @ every venue! That's something no other player; esp. Rafa w/ NO YEC after all those yrs. on the tour! How does that happen? It took Novak 5 or 6 chances to get his OGM! Rafa had a lot > opps. to get a YEC & went bust! I love it! I have no shame in gloating over it! My > apprec. & satisfaction is w/ him busting the faces of all those people out there who undermined him from the start, calling him out character-wise, including Fedal, Roddick, = Kygrios who's come around!
***I've been saying Novak's the GOAT for sev. yrs. now - really = going back to '15 or '16, after he had that crazy run from the end of '14 to mid-'16. IIRC, I @ least opened the door. I didn't give him the undisputed GOAT crown until m/b '21 or '23, but I thought as far back as '15 that he might end up surpassing Fedal. I think Novak's the singular GOAT, w/ Fedal being a close 2-3 in some order.
I do think that the YEC's prob. the >est missing comp. of Rafa's resume. He & Wilander are the only ATGs who don't have a title there. But this doesn't as > tarnish his resume as it does not + to it. He's still 1 of the 3 >est players of the OE, & there's a huge gap btwn. those 3 & #4, who > people agree is Sampras (w/ a few nodding to Borg). And Miami? It barely registers.
But > to the pt.: Why do you insist on picking on Rafa in order to boost Novak? Doesn't Novak's resume speak for itself? I think the gap btwn. him & Fedal is substantial enough--even if not huge--to not require that sort of comparison.***
It's not you; > the tennis world! If I see bullying of any sort, I see red! I can recall after all these yrs. Roger & A-Rod defaming & trying to undermine Novak's character! He obviously fixed the breathing & gluten issue & we saw the diff. w/ great success right away! They've all come around, but it's on vid for all to see! The > thing is NOVAK's a real mensch, who's a good guy, friendly (not standoff-ish or stupid like some on tour), is forgiving, & moves on! I'd of told those jerks like his old man does to "GTH!"
***All Novak Fans are the >est bullies out. LOL! When Alcaraz & Sinner starting def. Novak, they all turned on their fans & still do to this very day.***