Watching the Australian Open I've been wondering when Nadal will pull an Agassi. The Spaniard would probably look very good with a shaved head.
ESPN has been getting a lot of criticism for its coverage of the Australian Open, all of it deserved. I was thinking of adding ESPN+, as that’s where many of the matches are being shown, but according to people on social media that channel is also doing a miserable job. Apparently, the sports network got exclusive rights to cover live matches, but if they’re not going to show them on ESPN or ESPN2, where the vast majority of viewers can see them, then they should let the Tennis Channel take over. As is, the Tennis Channel is showing only replays. So waking up in the morning, instead of seeing the end of a late-night match on ESPN2, I get Keyshawn, JWill and Zubin.
This year’s Australian Open, which begins on Sunday, was always going to be a big one for it affords Novak Djokovic the chance to surpass Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the race for major titles. Now of course the tournament’s importance transcends sports. Anti-vaxxers, a group that includes over half the population of Serbia, will invariably view a Djokovic victory as a victory for themselves. In Melbourne it will be not just the field against Djokovic but science versus superstition, hearsay, and ignorance.
Now that the Panthers are 8-0, perhaps South Florida's football fans should turn to hockey. To borrow from George Will, it has all of the violence - in fact, a good bit more - and none of the committee meetings.
Like most of the playoff games, the first two of the Series have been blowouts. It cuts down on the excitement, but it means you can go to bed at a reasonable time pretty sure who the winner will be.