February 2nd, 2009
My guess is that going into the 4th quarter, a lot of people who had the Steelers and the under were feeling pretty good.
0 commentsSteam vs. Sail
February 2nd, 2009
(Courtesy of Galley Friend P.G.)
0 commentsThe King Is Dead
February 2nd, 2009
After Wimbledon last year I wrote that the age of Federer was over. Although the Swiss took the U.S. Open to close the season, I’m holding to that. Yesterday’s Aussie Open final between Federer and Nadal was the final act of deposition.
Nadal did not have his best day, they were on the fastest court in the majors, and Federer still couldn’t win. Nadal has slowly taken away each of Federer’s redoubts–his dominance in finals, his dominance on grass, and now his dominance on hard courts. Federer has nowhere left to go, no plausible case to make to himself for how he can beat Nadal. As a measure of how deeply this is weighing on his psyche, look at Federer’s first-serve percentage and his return of Nadal’s second serves. More than any other facet of the game, those are moments that a player has nearly complete control over. And yesterday Federer was dreadful on both. In the fifth set, he was completely unmanned, spraying the ball all over the court. It was the collapse of a player who is seeing the end–not of a match, but of their career.
That’s why Federer cried after the match. He understood that this loss meant that he is in eclipse. And at 22, Nadal will only get better.
So what’s next? I honestly don’t know how Federer will go on. He’ll show up to Roland Garros and get blown off the court again. His window to take another major probably closes altogether at the end of 2010. And for him to win another one, he’ll probably need help in the form of someone else sneaking up on Nadal in the other half of the draw.
As for Nadal, he now has as good a chance to win the Grand Slam as anyone since Wilander. And I’d put his chances of beating Sampras’s record a little better than Federer’s.
0 commentsSuper Bowl Round-Up
February 2nd, 2009
Meh. A championship team that can’t get in the endzone on 1st-and-goal given 8 plays is kind of pathetic. That said, I hear Omar Epps is available when Disney is ready to make The Mike Tomlin Story.
The highlight of the broadcast was the Hulu ad, which was funnier even than most episodes of 30 Rock:
Home. Run.
0 commentsWhat's the Dumbest Thing You Read on the Internet Today?
January 31st, 2009
Because I doubt it could top this.
0 commentsIs There a Sports Bubble?
January 30th, 2009
Galley Hero Steve Czaban says yes! I think he may be right.
But the bubble isn’t the classic one you might think–bubbles are, in the strictest economic sense, formed by speculators and pro-sports doesn’t have a lot of those. There are a pretty small number of owners who are all in it for the relatively long-haul.
Instead Czabe thinks, and I agree, that the bubble may be on the demand side for both tickets and stadiums. If there is a bubble there, then the stadium-revenue model for pro-sports, which undergirds every league, could be in for a big correction.
0 commentsSamantha on Style–Updated
January 28th, 2009
Galley Friend Samantha Sault has launched what I suspect will become D.C.’s indispensable fashion blog: SamanthaOnStyle..
Sam should be the go-to alternative to the ridiculously overrated Robin Givhan because she (a) knows a truly insane amount about fashion; (b) has a sense of humor; and (c) knows how to write.
It’s like Washington has gotten its very own Fug Girl.
Update: Why is Sam so money? Because of posts like this.
0 commentsThe A Team
January 28th, 2009
So which will be worse? The Stephen Sommers G.I. Joe, or the Joe Carnahan A Team?
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