The Yankees have lost 8 of their last 10 games and are second to last in the American League East and nary a peep from Yankees boss George Steinbrenner, a man not known for being reticent to speak his mind. What gives?
Could Boss George be going soft on us?
Is he showing uncharacteristic patience?
Is this simply the calm before the storm?
Only time will tell. All we can say for sure right now is that George is being unusually silent while the Yankees are losing a lot of games…
Yet another good baseball reference (yes, one we mine for trivia questions…) - .
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Check out the following Taco Bell press release…
What better way to say “I love you” than in front of millions…
TACO BELL® SAYS “I DO” TO ONE LUCKY SPORTS FAN
Taco Bell® Unveils Offer To Use Virtual Signage Behind Home Plate During Nationally Televised Major League Baseball® Game on FOX
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In an ultimate expression of user generated content, a consumer will be able to utilize, for the first time ever, the 21st century technology of virtual signage behind home plate and tailor a specific wedding proposal to their significant other. Forget hiring a sky writer or plane towing a banner to grab someone’s attention, this virtual signage will be displayed on every television broadcasting the Major League Baseball game and seen by millions, making it one of the most watched proposals in history.
To enter, log on to www.tacobell.com and click on the “” icon from April 26 through May 27 for your chance to win. Once there, submit “7 reasons why your significant other would be lucky to marry you” as the winner will be chosen on the basis of creativity, appropriateness to theme and the ability to display true love.
One Grand Prize Winner will be able to propose marriage, using virtual signage behind home plate, during a nationally televised Major League Baseball game on FOX on 7/7/07 (weather permitting and subject to scheduling) and one year’s supply of Taco Bell food (awarded in the form of $500 in Taco Bell Bucks). Six Runners-Up will each receive a year’s supply of Taco Bell food.
No purchase necessary to enter. Ends 11:59 P.M. ET on May 27th, 2007. Must be 18 years or older and a legal resident of U.S. and District of Columbia to enter. Subject to official rules at website. Void where prohibited.
Roger Federer can’t be feeling too great about his chances of finally winning the French Open this year, not after his nemesis Rafael Nadal .
Federer lost the match 6-4, 6-4 in suffering his fifth straight lose to Nadal on clay, this being his worst beating. He’s also lost his last five sets to the Spaniard on clay, 14 of 19 overall.
“I think I’m absolutely in the mix with him on clay, which is how I wanted to feel. You know, it’s always disappointing to lose, but I feel like I didn’t play well and still it was close. That’s a good thing.” - Roger Federer
No, Roger, it isn’t a good thing. And despite what , you were never in the mix with him after blowing some early break chances in the first set. And hitting more forehands into the Mediterranean then in the court probably isn’t a good thing, either.
After yesterday’s loss it really doesn’t look like Roger’s going to beat Rafa on the red stuff anytime soon. Watching the match, whenever Rafael got in trouble he just hit crushed a forehand deep to the Fed one-hander, a strategy that usually got him back into the point. Roger still can’t do anything what that heavy topspin to his backhand. Sure, he can get the ball back and even get it deep with pace, but it doesn’t seem like he can hurt Rafa or hit a winner off it, which gives Rafa an out when he feels he needs to at least get back on even terms during the point.
Also, Fed’s insistent on trading groundies with Nadal (and other dirtballers like Canas) only helps the Spaniard’s cause. The more Fed keeps hitting medium-paced backhands back to Nadal the more Nadal gets into his rhythm, and baseliners love rhythm.
But Fed’s got a lot of pride, deservedly so, and he probably figures he can outslug Rafa from the baseline. On hardcourts and grass, he can. But on clay he can’t. He needs to mix it up more, like he did last year in the Rome final. Serve and volley, come into the net, do anything to get Rafa out of his comfort zone.
Andy Murray did just that at the Australian Open, and probably would have beaten Nadal had he been physically stronger. In that match it seemed like Murray never hit the same shot twice which gave Rafa little in the way of rhythm. Murray emptied out the play book hitting drop shots, slices, lobs, off speed shots, moon balls, etc. And it kept Rafa off-guard and guessing, and for a good time the strategy paid off.
But by sitting at the baseline and choosing to rally, Fed plays right into Nadal’s hands. And after yesterday, the way it’s probably going to shake down is if Fed’s going to win the French he’s going to need someone else to knockout Nadal because he’s not going to do it.
With the way Rafa’s playing right now it’s a pretty shortlist of guys with any chance of doing just that. Maybe Novak Djokovic, maybe Marat Safin is he catches fire, which happens once every couple of years, or maybe David Nalbandian or hell, Dr. Ivo. But it’s doubtful. So I guess I’ll be stuck with having to watch more of Rafael picking at his you know what, adjusting his water bottles on changeovers, wearing those Euro pants and taking like a half-hour between serves.
That said, I got nothing against Nadal, full credit to him, he’s definately back, but I am rooting for Fed to win the French. Maybe he still will, but after three straight Masters events without a title he’s got some work to do. And maybe it was just my internet connection or the fuzzy streaming, but was it me or did Fed have a bit of a belly going? Man, I hope not.
That according to Rick Reilly who in the April 9th Sports Illustrated (Florida Gators) wrote about his recent sit down with Roger Federer during the Miami event.
It’s a pretty funny read, which appears on the back page of the magazine (hey, might not be the front, but at least Roger’s in the magazine!), as Reilly is struck by just how normal and humble the World No. 1 is compared to other mega-star athletes.
I can’t find a link to the story, but here are a few excerpts:
Roger Federer is decent, humble and kinder than Aunt Bee. He is constantly saying, “I’m just a normal guy.” All his winning shots were just “lucky.”
Do you realize this man, whom most experts say is the greatest tennis player to ever live, actually goes to restaurants and sometimes waits in line?
He doesn’t have a full-time coach. Has no tattoos. His entourage is a joke. His publicity agent, his scheduler, his hitting partner and his girlfriend are all the same person. And she’s not even a lingerie model! Just an ordinary, very nice Swiss miss named Mirka.
Here’s a guy who has dominated his sport far more than Tiger Woods has over the last three years, yet Tiger has a 155-foot yacht and Federer doesn’t even own a dinghy. Federer made an estimated $28 million last year, yet he doesn’t own a house, just two “flats,” he says.
Get this: You can send an autograph request to his parents’ house – their address is on his website – and within a month you’ll get a photo hand-signed by Roger. .. Damn, son, at least get one of the signing machines like everybody else!
There were two chairs in the interview room. A large, cushy one with armrests and a plain straight-backed one. He looked at me sheepishly and said, “Would you mind very much if I took the larger chair? I am very tired from my match.” Hello? Roger? Monster sports Goliaths don’t ask. Monster Sports Goliaths plop down in the big one, then put their feet up on the smaller one.
Also in the issue (sorry, i’m a week late!) is a story from Jon Wertheim on the relative ease at which tennis players – a la Serena Williams, Guillermo Canas and Martina Hingis – can return to success so quickly after lengthy layoffs. And in addition to Yannick Noah getting a mention for being Joakim’s dad, there’s also a note on Andre Agassi selling the rights to his memoirs for $5 million. Heck, it’s almost like a special tennis issue!
An unintended consequence of is that it brought on an important discussion around the proposed calendar changes for both Tours. I laid out each Tour’s proposals in one handy document which can be viewed .
This calendar is based on best-known info and I will be updating this document as more information becomes available.
While the WTA threw out an abundance of information in their recent announcements (see ), please bear in mind that some information is still forthcoming. That being said, I’ve left blanks in the WTA side that have yet to be filled in — again, this is a working document.
The information regarding the ATP’s slate was compiled from a variety of sources, and save for known changes reflected here, the structure of their events currently remains intact. Their calendar is reportedly reliant upon rebranding of the Masters Series. There have, however, been conflicting reports between the brand names of “Masters Series 500″ and “Open 500″.
No announcement regarding the calendar will be made by the ATP until at least the U.S. Open. It’s also important to note that no formal announcement has been made by the ATP regarding their calendar, save for the introduction of the Shanghai Masters Series event.
The last, and most crucial note, is that neither organization has confirmed nor denied this structure. I would also be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out for the fine reporting by Matt Cronin at , which helped inform much of the WTA side.
A side-dish to this calendar revamp is that through the discussions between fans we might be able to create an alternate document — a fan fantasy calendar, if you will. While that sounds like a monumental undertaking, just remember that it’s all in good fun. And who knows? We may wind up rewriting the calendar ourselves. Stranger things have happened. I’d like to start that discussion in my next post, so save your thoughts. I’ll bet they’re good ones!
For the time being, feel free to leave your thoughts on the .