January 23, 20223 yr comment_2859036 Despite the controversy involving Novak Djokovic, the Australian Open is doing really well. There have been a lot high quality matches. And Serbian fans can cheer on Miomir Kecmanovic.
January 23, 20223 yr comment_2859044 Lots of upsets but that really isn't surprising. In the least. Aussie Open often has more than most majors, because everyone's coming off an extended break. And then, of course, with omicron, the disruption level is back to Really High.  Shapovalov just finished off Zherev...in straights. 3, 6, 3. Big surprise; he'd lost, I think they said, last 17 matches against top 5 opponents. Next up is Nadal, who played an insane first set against Mannarino...16-14 in the tie break...but Mannarino's tank was on empty after that. 2 and 2 in the next 2 sets. I remember Shapo beating Nadal in Canada in 2017, in a *brilliant* match that was a total joy to watch. Whether I 'll see this next battle? Hard to say. Once you get this late into the tournament, there's very few matches remaining. The early (Aussie time) matches are gone. Evening matches...we're 6 hours later (absolute sense) so they're VERY early morning starts, pretty often. That's the frustrating thing with the Aussie Open.
January 23, 20223 yr comment_2859160 I watched both matches last night. I was impressed with Mannarino's game that first set. It was sad to see him fall apart afterwards, but after all that effort and apparent health issues, I wasn't surprised. Shapovalov beating Zverev was a bit unexpected, but not as big a surprise as Anisimova beating Osaka.
January 27, 20223 yr Author comment_2859898 An NHL goalkeeper has been suspended for a dirty hit. Sabres goalie Aaron Dell suspended three games for interference after bodychecking Senators' Drake Batherson
January 28, 20223 yr comment_2860012 The Australian Open Women's Final looks like it is going to be awesome. Â Ash Barty has been mercilessly owning her opponents, while the other one doesn't look like someone who she can psych out. Murderous Tennis is likely to ensue.
January 29, 20223 yr comment_2860150 On 1/27/2022 at 10:52 AM, Pariah said: An NHL goalkeeper has been suspended for a dirty hit. Sabres goalie Aaron Dell suspended three games for interference after bodychecking Senators' Drake Batherson  Did he learn hits like that from Grayson Allen?  Aussie Open: haven't seen Collins that much. My feeling is Barty in straights; she's just a big step up for Collins. That said, hey, Collins has taken advantage of the opportunities, climbing from #30 to #10, which is a massive jump, and bodes well for a great season. #10 will often mean a top-8 seed, as players above her sit out for one reason or another. That means there's no chance of facing another top seed until the quarters. Of course, women's tennis has an insane number of upsets every tournament, so maybe it doesn't mean as much.   Nadal vs. Medvedev for the men. I rather dislike Medvedev, altho he came off rather better in the post-match after his QF I think...maybe he's loosening up, but that remains to be seen. And Rafa is Rafa.  First to 21 would be great. Stat I saw from the semis...Federer and Virushead have 31 GS finals appearances, Nadal now has 30. Insane. I still largely expect Virushead will pass everyone eventually; Federer has age and health as 2 *big* limiters, and Nadal's got his own health concerns, and his style is so physical that they hinder him more, IMO. Â
January 29, 20223 yr comment_2860206 Barty wins the Australian Open https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/60180955
January 29, 20223 yr comment_2860235 3 hours ago, death tribble said: Barty wins the Australian Open https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/60180955 Â I was watching it at 5 am, after a mostly sleepless night. I dozed off again in the 2nd set while Collins was still ahead and woke up just as Barty won the match. A great comeback, and I slept throughh it! Â At least I got to watch the trophy presentation.
January 30, 20223 yr comment_2860311 9 hours ago, tkdguy said:  I was watching it at 5 am, after a mostly sleepless night. I dozed off again in the 2nd set while Collins was still ahead and woke up just as Barty won the match. A great comeback, and I slept throughh it!  At least I got to watch the trophy presentation.  I caught some of the presentation during the replay, at a more sane hour. Wish I hadn't...the woman who spoke drove me up the wall. She blathered on for over 4 minutes. She's the head of Tennis Australia, I believe...hey, look, we DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU. Utterly banal. Drove me away once I found out that, yes, Barty won.  I will grant that inviting Goolagong to be a part of it was very cool. I vaguely recall enjoying watching her. Â
January 30, 20223 yr comment_2860341 Nadal beat Medvedev to set new record https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/60183864 Â To be honest I would rather it was Federer or Djokovic.
January 30, 20223 yr Author comment_2860437 The US Men's National Soccer Team did themselves no favors today in a two-nil loss against Canada. They can still make the World Cup, but the road gets a lot tougher from here.
February 3, 20223 yr comment_2861018 Oh yeah, that's about to start, isn't it? Well, yeah, has started. Some events do take a while to get through their draws.   I can't get terribly excited about events on tape delay. Well....might take that back. Events are going to be replayed and those can be streamed, apparently, so...between now and early March, there's no weekday, daytime sports except perhaps tennis.
February 9, 20223 yr Author comment_2862124 In 2006, American snowboarder racer Lindsey Jacobellis had a commanding lead in the finals of the women's snowcross race. Ad she crested the final hill, she appeared to execute a celebratory trick; she landed unsteadily and nearly went out of bounds. She ended up finishing second in the race and basically became a punchline. Since then, she has never even made the medal round at the Olympics.  That changed today. At the age of 36, Lindsey Jacobellis won gold in the women's snowcross.Â
February 9, 20223 yr comment_2862125 This is how the BBC reported it https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-olympics/60316302
February 10, 20223 yr comment_2862181 Stop me if you've heard this one before...   A Russian athlete has tested positive for a banned substance.  Oh, she's a figure skater. And 15. And the first female to land a quad. And whether the stuff actually helps performance or not, is unclear. But it is banned (and sounds dangerous in what it does) so....  https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/33254263/russian-figure-skater-kamila-valieva-tested-positive-banned-drug-according-reports
February 12, 20223 yr comment_2862577 Chelsea win Club World Cup https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60352740 Â This means that the owner has won all the trophies that the club can win.Â
February 16, 20223 yr comment_2863188 So now Djokovic is going the Kyrie Irving route altogether. Refusing to get vaccinated asserting personal choice factors, and if he can't play in the Slams, so be it.  Far as I'm concerned, if he can never play in another tournament, I'm happy.    Â
February 16, 20223 yr Author comment_2863190 Maybe he should switch over to figure skating, where you can take banned substances and still compete for gold medal at the Olympic Games.
February 16, 20223 yr comment_2863213 12 hours ago, Pariah said: Maybe he should switch over to figure skating, where you can take banned substances and still compete for gold medal at the Olympic Games. So long as you're the whiteright color...
February 16, 20223 yr Author comment_2863243 So, we'll ban the nation of Russia from competing because of widespread doping, but we'll let the individual athletes compete because they're clean (wink wink, nudge nudge).  What we know now: The latest developments in Kamila Valieva's doping case
February 17, 20223 yr comment_2863274 The rationale about the CAS decision is because she's 15, and therefore gets special treatment and less harsh punishment.  Which I find utterly pathetic. The consequence is total chaos. Remember Serena's meltdown at the US Open against Osaka? It was horrible for Osaka; she did nothing wrong but it overshadowed the match and the title. That's what we're having here. It's also quite likely NOT the kid's fault; she's 15, she's probably not got a whole lot of independence. It darn sure isn't the fault of any of the other competitors. But it's a total CF.  Another consequence is that the CAS itself is called into question. She might suffer irreparable harm? What about every other top contender, and the sport itself?   I was waiting to see what the basis for allowing her to skate was...and it's BS. She should not be skating. Â
February 17, 20223 yr comment_2863282 The Olympics impinge so little on my personal reality that I was completely surprised by the images on the multiple walls of TVs at the Costco about an hour ago.
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