The Noise Factor: Stopper
In sports there is always a stopper somewhere. A stopper can be considered a closer in baseball. A stopper can be a basketball player who stops the opponent’s top scorer. Or a stopper can be the guy who stops the other from winning an event. My first paragraph will explain that…
- Roger Federer’s quest for his first French Open title was ’stopped’ by the man who’s clay court play is second to none in Rafael Nadal. Not only was this victory significant for Nadal’s legacy on clay, it prevented Federer once again from completing the career and season grand slam. Pretty difficult to win a match when you break your opponents serve only once. But anyone that watched today’s final saw two great players at the top of their game go at eachother, and it was one of the best matches I’ve seen in a long time. This was not a match where one guy completely melted down, this was one man beating the other despite some of the incredible shots both men had today.
Questions: How good would Federer’s career look if Nadal had either become a soccer player or did not improve on his mental game the way he has over the last few years…and how many titles could Nadal have won if Federer did not take up Tennis, and how many could he win if Roger were to retire today? This shows the fierce rivalry of both competitors and the absolute dominance these guys have had in major championships. The last 2 years has been dominated by both men, which calls for another Nadal v. Federer final come Wimbledon in a month.
- Is there any way to be thrown out of a vehicle other than not having your seatbelt on?
- Roberto Duran makes the Boxing Hall of Fame. They should have put him in while he was still boxing. Perhaps the greatest Lightweight Champion in boxing history.
- Did someone say to bench Larry Hughes in favour of Daniel Gibson? The question is why wasn’t that decision made during the New Jersey series? Hughes has been worse than horrible.
- You know things are bad for the NHL when some rich skank going to jail overshadows your sport. Now you bloggers can understand why the whole ‘how do you fix hockey’ question is one of the hardest questions to answer. Even calculus says its tough to answer.
- There is less certainty about who’s winning the US Open in Golf. This is a wide-open tournament without the Tiger charge winning any tournament in weeks and Lefty’s wrist problem. Everyone else’s chances just went up.
- The New York Yankees just smoked the Pittsburgh Pirates. Does this mean they are turning the corner? No, but this may be the confidence-builder they need right now. Even so, no team should be considered serious until they go above .500. They still aren’t above .500 and at June 10 that is horrible.
- Zab Judah’s recent loss may mean his career is over. Then again, there are enough titles to go around so he may have another lifeline. With everything that surrounds boxing and how ridiculous things are, there should be no surprise that Mixed Martial Arts has begun to take off.
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