U.S. Open preview

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This will have to serve as Case of the Mondays for the week...and while I'm hoping to post again before next Monday - especially Sportsman and TNEA, which is due Tuesday - this is going to be one more intense week of work before I can get into that weekly fall rhythm. Then we'll have consistent blog updates on NFL stuff (including fantasy and PICK 'EM!!!), as well as the baseball postseason and the start of the college football season. Fall is here, folks. SOOOOOOOO excited.

Here's a U.S. Open 2009 preview compiled by me and my dad. I'll try to post my picks against my father's as the draw progresses.

Best First-Round Matchup: No. 2 Andy Murray and Ernests Gulbis. First round? SERIOUSLY?!?! This is quarterfinal-worthy banter. What a treat for early bird fans at Flushing.
David: Murray & Gulbis
Tasty Third-Round Matchup: No. 5 Andy Roddick and John Isner. Any American-American matchup is a good draw, especially when it's popular vet versus upstart young'n. Check for No. 6 Juan Martin Del Potro and No. 25 Mardy Fish as well.
David: No. 13 Gael Monfils & No. 18 Ferrer
Tasty Quarterfinal Matchup: No. 1 Roger Federer and No. 22 Sam Querrey. Just another tough American matchup on hostile grounds for The King.
David: Del Potro & Murray
Championship Matchup You Want To See But Probably Won't: Hmmmm...lots of good choices here. I'll go with No. 21 James Blake - the man is running out of time for his breakthrough major - against either No. 6 Del Potro or No. 7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, as both are equally fun to watch. Blake-Tsonga would be particularly intriguing from a cultural standpoint: both black players of, respectively, British and French descent, playing in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
David: Roddick & anyone
Over/under on American men making third round: 4.5. Over or under? (Hint: 16 are in the draw, before qualies) : I've got Blake, Querrey, Isner and Roddick all making the top half third round, with Fish joining them from the bottom half, which gives me five. I think Jesse Levine and - sleeper alert! - Jesse Witten winning a pair of rounds too. Gotta take the over.
David: Over
Over/under on Roger Federer lost sets in tournament: 4.5. Over or under? He'll lose three of them on Championship Sunday. He'll lose no more than one before then, with that Bounty soft draw. Under.
David: Over
Top Ten player who will lose in first two rounds: Federer. OK, just kidding. Del Potro better mind his step with former U.S. Open champ Marat Safin - who's playing his final Grand Slam event - lurking in the second round.
David: No. 8 Nikolay Davydenko
Unranked player who could crash the quarters: I have no unseeded players in the Sweet 16, so I'll pull one out of my butt here: Marcel Granollers of Spain, out of No. 12 Robin Soderling's 2nd round and Davydenko's quarter.
David: Robby Ginepri (if happens, would come from the Nadal quarter of draw)
Biggest name to show up as a spectator in New York: How about our Commander-in-Chief? He seems to take a special liking in numerous sports.
David: A-Rod or Regis (depends on how you define "biggest")
Latest time you will leave Flushing Meadows at night: Those guys? I bet they'll get out of there at 2:45 some morning. Then head promptly to Neptune's, eat till 5 in the morning, and be back at Flushing by 10. Troopers, not party poopers they are.
David: 1:30 am
Average price of a Heineken at Flushing: With the economy the way it is, maybe they'll be forgiving on concession prices. Not likely in the Big Apple, though. Probably $7.50.
David: $6.25
Quarterfinal picks: Federer over Querrey; No. 4 Novak Djokovic over No. 20 Tommy Haas; No. 3 Rafael Nadal (how weird do "3" and "Nadal" look together?) over No. 11 Fernando Gonzalez; Murray over Fish.
David: Federer over Querrey/Roddick over Djokovic/Gonzalez over Ferrer/Del Potro over Murray
Semifinal picks: Federer over Djokovic; Murray over Nadal.
David: Federer over Roddick/Del Potro over Gonzalez
Championship pick: Andy Murray wins his 1st, in four sets.
David: Roger Federer wins his 16th

-AJ

Be Like Mike Tiger

On March 18, 1995, two words were leaked to media sources everywhere: "I'm Back."

Michael Jordan had announced his comeback and in his first game back lit up the New York Knicks for 55 points. The Bulls went on to lose to the Orlando Magic in the playoffs that year, before reeling off another three-peat.

Tiger Woods went out on top... just like MJ. Forced to quit the 2008 season early due to his "Joe Theisman" leg, Tiger still finished the season strong with perhaps his greatest victory of his career. No one will soon forget the marathon that was the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

Now, almost 10 months later, Tiger is back. He did not come back as flashy as Michael, as it took two tournaments to warm up, but he made a valiant comeback at Bay Hill to capture his 66th victory on tour. Clutch as usual, he stroked the 20-footer on the final hole to clinch the victory and snapped his leg and fist up in celebration as Stevie lifted him off his feet. I watched the leg intently pleading to the golf Gods that Tiger didn't pull a Bill Gramatica.


Mr. Woods hopes that he can not only follow MJ's lead, in dominating after his absence from the sport, but also recover faster. I don't doubt Tiger for a second and would venture in guessing that he wins two majors this year. He continues to knock off the rust and is rested and healthier than ever.

With all of the craze surrounding Tiger's absence, rehabilitation, comeback, and first victory... I started thinking about Tiger vs. MJ. Who is/was more important to his sport? Who is/was more popular at the peak of their respective careers?

I answer both of those questions with the same response: TIGER.

Let's think about it.

Jordan was enormous for the game of basketball. However, he came in during the careers of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, the NBA was already flying high. The NBA was crushed by his retirement, his great success on the diamond and then again with his second retirement. The league still survived and prospered with the emergence of the Lakers dynasty. Now you have Lebron and Kobe, and the NBA is doing just fine.


Tiger is golf. Before Tiger, purses were in the hundreds of thousands, TV ratings were low, sponsors were few. Now, Tiger brought the largest cable TV audience... EVER with the front 9 of the U.S. Open playoff. Purses for tournaments are in the millions, and sponsors rush to events that he plays. When Tiger was hurt this past summer and fall, TV ratings plummeted for the PGA Tour. Without Tiger Woods, the PGA tour will be in the same boat as the NHL... nothing. Events wouldn't even make it on the major networks and like the NHL (please call your cable provider to inquire about purchasing Versus), the PGA Tour would have to put events up on the Golf Channel.

Lets look at recognizability. MJ was God in the 90's. For the most part though, that was in America, and maybe Europe where basketball was just becoming popular at the time. Golf on the other hand, is a global sport. Tiger is perhaps the most recognizable human being on the planet. The list may go like this: The Pope, Obama, Tiger. Without question, Tiger Woods is bigger now than Michael Jordan ever was.

So believe it or not, I believe Tiger has passed MJ as the biggest sports superstar of this generation, and maybe ever. The dominance of Eldrick can be enjoyed by all generations. The elderly play golf; heck, all of my grandparents are obsessed with Tiger (except for you Grandpa Phil, who still believes Fuzzy Zoeller is the greatest to ever play the game). My parents' generation loves him, because they saw Nicklaus play and can respect the trouncings that Tiger delivers. My generation grew up watching Tiger and yes we are still amazed by his freakish abilities. The cycle will continue, as the next generation of kids watch and play golf because their parents are infatuated with the excellence that is Tiger Woods.

I almost feel like I am sensationalizing and exaggerating the phenomenon.

But I'm not.

Kids and adults alike aren't and won't be saying I want to Be Like Mike...

everyone wants to Be Like Tiger.

Sportsman of the Month - retro to Jan/Feb

You know how Sports Illustrated does its "Sportsman of the Year" thing every December? They leave out so many good candidates, and, well, they can only choose one man or woman each year. So I came up with this idea to spread it out, and do a Sportsman of the Month that helps give more great athletes and sports personalities their props. I'll have my March choice at the end of the month; but in the interest of spreading it out, here's my January and February picks.
-AJ

January: Larry Fitzgerald

Celebrities behaving badly seem to dominate the headlines so much more than celebrities doing positive, enlightening things. That’s why when we are blessed with a feel-good story, ESPN is so good at ramming it down our throats so much that we can eventually get sick of many “good guys.” Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, Tim Tebow, Stephen Curry, even lovable Jason McElwain… hate to say it, but I grew tired of hearing about each of them. (No offense to J-Mac and his cool story...I just think it got overblown, particularly due to those annoying "G" commercials.)

Well, I hope I never, ever, ever get sick of Larry Fitzgerald, Jr.

(Now his dad, that’s another story. Larry Senior showed up at the Big Ten Tournament wearing his kid’s jersey to cover … who, exactly, I don’t know. Seems that fame got to the old man’s head. But I digress from a wonderful story.)

In lifting the Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl (think how ridiculous that sounds), Fitz put up one of the greatest back-to-back-to-back-to-back efforts in the history of postseasons. Many people labeled this the greatest postseason ever, but I use the words I do because it properly illustrates that he did it consistently in four straight games, instead of having one monster game and a couple of okay efforts.

One great game against the Falcons (six catches, 101 yards, and a touchdown) and one massive game at the Carolina (eight, 166 and a score) wasn’t enough to convince the two Keystone State teams. Even when everybody in the ballpark knew that Fitz was getting the ball, the Eagles (nine, 152 and three touchdowns) and Steelers (seven, 127 and two scores, including the go-ahead 64-yarder with 2:37 to go that nearly won it for ‘Zona) couldn’t stop him. Then just for good measure, Fitzgerald went down to Hawaii and was the MVP of the 2009 Pro Bowl with five, 81 and two scores (only the AFC All-Stars could keep Fitz under the century mark for yards).

How colossally insane is that? 33 catches, 627 yards, and nine touchdowns. In five games. And unless you were living under a rock in January, you already know that Fitzgerald ranks in the top five humblest, most soft-spoken athletes in America today.

Let’s just make sure Fitzgerald, 25, doesn’t go the obnoxious ways of Terrell Owens or Chad Johnson.

January honorable mentions: Tebow, Tony Dungy, Barack Obama, Michael Phelps’ bong

February: Rafael Nadal

On the night the calendar flipped to February and America slept soundly in preparation for another Super Bowl, a remarkable accomplishment was happening on the other side of the planet, and I’m proud to say I pulled the all-nighter to witness it live.

Rafael Nadal officially grabbed the reins of the men’s tennis circuit from the potential GOAT, Roger Federer, with a gutsy, gripping, high-octane, not-as-great-as-their-Wimbledon-final-but-pretty-darn-close five-set victory down at the Australian Open. Nadal now has six Grand Slams, to his name, at age 22. The Fed Express, who sits at 13 majors (one shy of Pete Sampras’ all-time mark), had the grand total of one Grand Slam on his 22nd birthday.

Most telling that Nadal is officially inside Federer’s head was seeing Federer weep at the post-match ceremony – any sort of outward emotion from Roger has been extremely uncharacteristic throughout the past five years. Perhaps he’s starting to realize that not only will every Grand Slam title he shoots for from here on out will be a daunting task, but he’s also gotta be thinking: even if I do surpass Sampras, how long will I actually hold the record?

The world took a long time to embrace Roger as an all-time great. Let’s not make the same mistake with Rafa.

February honorable mentions: Santonio Holmes, Big East men’s basketball coaches, Nate Robinson, A-Rod’s cousin

-AJ