Author: Christopher Glotfelty (Page 55 of 67)

Nadal wins Monte Carlo Masters

April 19, 2009 / Christopher Glotfelty

I took a lot of heat for wondering whether or not Roger Federer would ever capture another Grand Slam. I came to the conclusion that, yes, Federer would win at least one more, but this occasion would likely happen at the U.S. Open. My primary reasoning was that Nadal is entering the prime of his career while Federer is exiting his. Case in point: while Federer is skipping tournaments to gear up for the French Open and Wimbledon, Nadal is racking up heaps of points winning tournament after tournament. Earlier today, Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic to become the first player to win five straight Monte Carlo Masters titles.

Nadal extended his winning streak at Monte Carlo to 27 matches and won his 21st straight victory on clay since losing to Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain in the second round of the Rome Masters in May 2008.
Nobody has matched Nadal’s performance at the Monte Carlo tournament since tennis turned professional in 1968.
Reggie Doherty won the event six times overall between 1897-99 and 1902-04, while five-time winner Anthony Wilding of New Zealand won four times in a row from 1911-14 and got his other title in 1908.
Nadal broke Djokovic immediately for a 2-0 lead, but he was struggling to hold and dropped serve on his third break point in the third game to let Djokovic back in the match.
But Nadal improved and won the next five games – just like he did at 3-1 down in the first set – as Djokovic went for extravagant winners that landed out.

The guy has the potential to win a Calendar Grand Slam. Nadal has failed to win the U.S. Open in his career, but that can be attributed to his body breaking down at the end of the ATP season, given the fact that he plays in so many tournaments. If he can manage his playing schedule a tad better, he might have the energy he needs to win all four Grand Slams. We already know he has the skill.

Tennis

Baseball and I: The First Few Weeks

April 15, 2009 / Christopher Glotfelty

Dedicated baseball fans throughout America realize there’s an intangible contract one signs at the beginning of April. In following one’s favorite team, the signee accepts the prospect of having 162 good days, 162 bad days, or any number in between. The season is long: a half-year jaunt whose push and pull seamlessly seeps into every corner of the fan’s life. For fantasy owners, this effect is even more intense. I’m finding that out now for the first time in my life, as a group of my buddies finally convinced me to sign up for their league. I’ve heard it described that every episode of “Seinfeld” and the “The Sopranos” can serve as a near-factual model for the way American life works, whether they exemplify the battle of the sexes, the tensions and joys of friendships, the need and dismay of romance, the absurdity of life, the power of death, or the pleasure of solitude. For myself, it’s always been baseball, as its mixture of celebration, defeat, and the bizarre seem to perfectly mirror life as a whole. As a write this, Tim Lincecum is off to a rocky start for the year while Tim Wakefield is pitching a no-hitter into the eight inning. Who would’ve thought?

Here are five random observations about the first few weeks of the season…

1. Fantasy Baseball

How anyone could sign up for more than one of these leagues is beyond me. I was under the impression that I would simply have to monitor my team once a week, only having the urge to check the scoreboard every now and then. Turns out, you need to treat your team with the same love and attention you would a girlfriend or a dying pet. Throughout my day I’m checking Yahoo’s GameChannel and Stattracker, yelling at numbers and diagrams on my screen as they are updated in real time. I’m reading the columns by fantasy “pundits;” I’m about to buy the MLB Extra Innings package; I’m contemplating trades, drops, and pickups; friendships hang in the balance each week in our head to head league. And all the while I’m realizing that this at times very complicated critical thinking could be put to better use for something like, I don’t know, NASA. But then who would give J.D. Drew another chance to prove himself as a fantasy stud?

MLB

2009 MLB season Dodger stadium violence Nick Adenhart Petco Park observations Tim Wakefield knuckleball Tim Wakefield no-hitter Vin Scully on Nick Adenhart Vin Scully poetry

Columnist thinks the Angels should have banned beer for one game

April 12, 2009 / Christopher Glotfelty

Jeff Miller over at the OC Register feels that, in addition to the touching ceremony conducted by the Angels, the organization should have also banned alcohol during the game following Nick Adenhart’s death.

They have his image on their outfield wall, his number on a patch over their hearts and his memory inscribed in a place even deeper.
But if the Angels really want to honor the life of Nick Adenhart, really want to attempt to make an impact, really want to emphasis the lesson from his loss, their next tribute is obvious:
Ban beer.
For one game, don’t promote alcohol, celebrate drinking or, most importantly, sell a single bottle of Lite, glass of red or Jack and Coke.
Just one game, only one day. Nine innings of nothing but beautiful, simple, sober baseball.
This is about preaching the evils of drinking and driving, reminding everyone that this is a crime that can not be tolerated, that it was a drunk driver who killed Adenhart, Courtney Stewart and Henry Pearson and left Jon Wilhite in critical condition.
This is about repeating to everyone in a shouted voice what’s right. It is a lesson that can’t be learned enough.
Listen, of the 40,000 or so who attended the game Saturday, nearly all had to be fit to drive home afterward. But, we all know, there were some who weren’t. Happens every game, in every major league park.
It would be a magnificent gesture, Arte, and a beautiful tribute, one all of baseball and beyond would notice. And that’s the most important thing, re-spreading the message that we can not tolerate drunk driving.
Those could be the final words of Nick Adenhart, and what a fantastic way to remember him.
For one home game, let’s allow the bases to be loaded … the bases and nothing else. Here’s to none for the road.

Get real. I might get some flack for saying this, but I think this idea is incredibly sophomoric. Miller can’t decide if this gesture would pay tribute to Nick Adenhart or serve as a punishment to baseball fans who may or may not have been drinking and driving in the past.

Banning beer at a stadium because of fans’ decisions to fight, throw alcoholic beverages on the field, or vandalize property are grounds to monitor consumption. But banning beer at a stadium because an athlete was a victim of drunk driving bears no connection. That Miller thinks this act could represent the “final words of Nick Adenhart” screams of disgusting platitudes.

Jeff Miller, get over yourself. The Angels had a beautiful ceremony in memory of this young and talented man. They’ve handled it with both poise and the urgency you are stressing. We as fans do not need to be “punished” because of something that happened off the field.

Look, the facts and feelings associated with the misdeed of drunk driving are as plain as day. California has responded to these horrendous numbers by making the penalties for drunk driving harsher and harsher each year. The glaring reality that Nick Adenhart is dead because of this law-breaking is the strict reminder of why these penalties are in place. Removing alcohol sales for a game to “commemorate” this individual would be the equivalent of giving everyone 21 years of age or older at Angels stadium a spanking.

MLB

beer banned at Angel Stadium Jeff Miller and Nick Adenhart Nick Adenhart Nick Adenhart dead Nick Adenhart drunk drive Nick Adenhart killed by drunk driver OC Register Nick Adenhart

Diamondbacks place Webb on the DL

April 12, 2009 / Christopher Glotfelty

webb

After missing his second start, Brandon Webb has officially been placed on the 15-day DL. Though the move is retroactive to April 7th, Webb will still miss his next start.

Brandon Webb still is not concerned about his right shoulder, but the D-backs ace is on the 15-day disabled list.
The team elected to put him on the DL, retroactive to April 7, after he still felt some soreness in his shoulder while playing catch Sunday morning.
“I want to make sure we’re 100 percent when I go back out there,” Webb said.
The right-hander began feeling some stiffness following his final start of the spring. He was roughed up a bit on Opening Day, as he allowed six runs in four innings to the Rockies.
Webb was scratched from his next start, which would have been Saturday against the Dodgers, and a precautionary MRI showed no structural damage. The diagnosis from team physician Michael Lee was that Webb was suffering from bursitis, and some fluid in the shoulder might not be allowing for full range of motion.

The Diamondbacks kicked off the 2009 season in their usual mediocre fashion. Webb, who has only once been placed on the DL in his entire career, did not look his usual self in the D-backs opener against the Rockies. The former Cy Young winner doesn’t seem too concerned, however, which is great for Arizona’s flimsy pitching staff.

Still — come on Brandon! I took you in the second round of my fantasy league based on the fact that you’re a 20-win pitcher who never gets hurt. Pair that with Geovany Soto’s recent ailments and I’m getting killed. Come back soon — if not for the Arizona Diamondbacks, then for me.

MLB

Brandon Webb Brandon Webb 2009 Brandon Webb bursitis Brandon Webb disabled list Brandon Webb placed on DL Brandon Webb stiffness

ATP recognizes Federer and Nadal with various awards

April 1, 2009 / Christopher Glotfelty

Although we’re nearly four months into the 2009 schedule, the ATP Tour has just announced the awards for the 2008 season. Obviously, fans aren’t clamoring at the doors of ATP headquarters demanding to know the results – it’s just a bit odd considering how much more quickly a sport like Major League Baseball does it.

As expected, Rafael Nadal was chosen as player of the year while Roger Federer was recognized as the “favorite player” and given the Stefan Edberg sportsmanship award.

Roger Federer earned the ATP Tour’s Stefan Edberg sportsmanship award for a record fifth consecutive year, and he was chosen the favorite player for the sixth year in a row in a poll of fans on Wednesday.
Top-ranked Rafael Nadal was chosen player of the year, and first-year pair Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia was selected doubles team of the year.
James Blake of the United States won the Arthur Ashe humanitarian of the year award for his charitable efforts, and Rainer Schuettler of Germany was chosen comeback player of the year. France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was chosen most improved, and Japan’s Kei Nishikori won newcomer of the year.

Far be it from a guy who just earned his fifth consecutive sportsmanship award to take offense, but I hope the fact the Nadal was chosen as player of the year is eating Federer up inside. Maybe then he can make the slight adjustments to his game so he can begin beating Nadal. They’re so minute that I would need to explain them on a 3-D graphic of a tennis court using Nadal and Federer as avatars, drawn to scale. We don’t have that kind of funding here at Scores Report, so let’s just say Fed needs to improve the accuracy of his ground strokes in an effort to tire Nadal out rather then vice versa. We’ll just leave it at that for now.

On a side note, if the MLB, NFL, NBA, of NHL even give out sportsmanship awards, can anybody name the winners from last year?