And very few of us truly live a complete life - one of significant triumphs, sins, acute sadness and rare glory. So many would just love the chance to talk about the regret and melancholy that accompanied the spectrum of such ups and downs because...]]> Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 Even after the Yankees' 8-6 loss to the Phillies on Monday night, a game in which the Bronx Bombers had the early lead and blew a chance to close out the series in five games, there was a palpable sense of calm among players and fans alike as the series headed back to Gotham via Amtrak. It's almost as if this series was destined to close out at the new Yankee Stadium.

And for good reason.

It's not just because the Yankees want to christen their overpriced luxury liner of a stadium with a world championship in its inaugural season. And it's not just because Andy Pettitte, who is now the winningest pitcher in postseason history, will be on the mound for yet another pivotal...]]> Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 As most everybody has surely heard by now Andre Agassi, in excerpts from his soon to be released autobiography, admitted to using the drug crystal meth on many occasions in 1997 during a particularly troubling chapter in a career that had an unorthodox and discordant trajectory, yet which was ultimately fulfilling and glorious.

In addition to his use of the recreational drug, the now 39 year old revealed that he also lied about his frequent use of the substance after he failed a mandatory drug test. Agassi's excuse that he mistakenly drank from his assistant's soda which had been laced with the drug was accepted by the ATP and a career threatening - let alone personally...]]> Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500 In 1981, after having successful division and championship series, Dave Winfield notoriously struggled in the World Series, notching only one hit in 22 at-bats. From that point forward in his tense tenure with the Yankees under the not-so-kind-and-gentle rule of George Steinbrenner, Winfield became known as someone not to be relied on in the clutch.

It reached new heights in late 1985 when after a particularly difficult offensive stretch for the superstar outfielder against the Toronto Blue Jays, who the Yankees were chasing for the division title; Steinbrenner slung his infamous and unfair sobriquet of "Mr. May" at Winfield. "Where is Reggie Jackson," the dictator...]]> Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500 Pedro Martinez, tonight's starter in game two of the World Series, played the lead role, with a supporting part from Grady Little, in the third most disastrous moment in Red Sox history when he blew a 5-2 lead late in the seventh game of the 2003 American League Championship at Yankee Stadium before Aaron Boone's infamous upper deck shot (the top two most crushing Red Sox moments were the loss in game six against the Mets in the 1986 World Series and the Bucky F'ing Dent homerun in 1978). One has to wonder whether the memory of that moment is still all too close for the formerly brilliant pitcher.

More to the point, are the Phillies blowing any chance of taking a commanding...]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500 Part of the beauty of our great and singular nation is our elemental and seemingly innate ability to forgive and allow second - and sometimes multiple - chances. It is in fact a foundation of the American dream, the art of reinvention. This has been played out in serious ways with negative consequences affecting all the citizenry (see Nixon, Richard or Wall Street banks) as well as in more innocuous fashion (see Draper, Don from TV's Mad Men) with politicians, actors, parents, siblings, employees, artists and athletes all enjoying another shot at glory, redemption and success. It is, interestingly enough, a profoundly Catholic sensibility that has risen from our Puritan...]]> Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500 Watching Game 3 of the ALCS I found myself transported back ten years to 1999 when the Yankees won eleven of twelve postseason games on their way to their third World Series title in four years. And for good reason. First of all, the Bombers swept through the Minnesota Twins with little difficulty. And consider the on-field happenings Monday night as the Yankees sought to take an insurmountable (well don't say that to the Red Sox) three games to none lead: Andy Pettitte was doing his usual playoff act of giving up a hit per inning but cruising along all the same; Derek Jeter led off the game with a homer in addition to performing his singular kind of defensive wizardry and just being his...]]> Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500 "Always toward absent lovers love's tide stronger flows." - Sextus Propertius

The modern sports fan is an all-devouring, insatiable and utterly spoiled beast. But who can blame them. There is nary a dull moment in the year where he or she has to fret about not watching or attending a major sports event in this country. And if one is a follower of baseball and football, arguably the two most popular American sports, there is only one month in the calendar - March - without either of these sports contesting regular season or playoff games.

But at least both of these national pastimes have extended offseasons that allow fans a break, granting them the necessary act...]]> Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500 When Alex Rodriguez hit the most important home run of his career on Friday night - and in so doing, temporarily demolishing his plentiful postseason demons - tying the game in the bottom of the ninth inning against the overmatched Minnesota Twins, was the game's eventual outcome really ever in question? I doubt anyone in the stadium or watching on TV had any notion that the Yankees would not win the game, even Twins fans I'd hazard a guess. So when Mark Teixeira's line drive barely cleared the left field wall in the 11th, it seemed more a formality than anything else. The Yankees just don't lose extra-inning games at home in the postseason, it seems.

And earlier last week, when...]]> Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500 Instant, knee-jerk nostalgia and longing for times past is seemingly a birthright for many New Yorkers. The phrases, actually more like incantations, of "it was so much better back in the 70's" or "the city is just not the same" or "it's all about money now" and "Sex and the City is evil" are frequently uttered by those who declare themselves authentic Gotham denizens. I admit that I, on occasion, lapse into such behavior. And who's to judge the veracity of these sentiments? Perhaps they come from an irrational, overly emotional place but does that lessen their truth? I think not.

So, with this in mind, I turn to the Yankees. Their awesome power and versatility on display in Game...]]> Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500 A fun, eventful night can save a miserable day - but a great day cannot make good a terrible night that follows it...

I have often utilized that self-guiding principle (which is basically a deeper, more personal restating of the "all's well that ends well" axiom) when analyzing a day's or week's activities, and I also apply the same when discussing sports. For instance, at September's US Open in New York, Juan Martin Del Potro and Roger Federer participated in a thrilling final that helped save a subpar tournament on the men's side. If the Open had been chock full of exciting matches up to the final but the championship match turned out to be a flat, dull affair, then the...]]> Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500 Alfred Hithcock, Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick and Robert Altman are universally considered four of the most influential and important masters of cinema in the 20th century. But despite the acclaim and worship this quartet generated from film buffs and fellow artists alike, they were never rewarded with that ultimate, popular mark of distinction in Hollywood for their directorial genius - that is, an Academy Award (one could name several others deserving of the honor who missed out as well). Considering some who have garnered the top director prize, most would concur it's quite an egregious oversight.

But in some ways, if one hasn't won a Best Director Oscar, that person is in...]]> Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500 Without question, Juan Martin Del Potro's exhilarating victory Monday night over Roger Federer in the US Open final - the finest title match in New York in decades - signals the start of a new age atop men's tennis. The significance of his wins over both Federer and Rafael Nadal in the semis indicates the level of competition has truly entered a new phase in the sport. Yet still we're left to ponder that eternally sad and clichéd phrase - what might have been. If only Del Potro had come along a couple of years ago.

For too long the only man who could penetrate Sir Roger's hermetically sealed force field has been Nadal. The lefty's dominance of Federer has been well...]]> Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500 After being upstaged by its Grand Slam siblings the last several years, drama and greatness finally visited the US Open in the late Gotham summer. The self-declared greatest city in the world finally had a final to live up to the hype as Juan Martin Del Potro joined Rafael Nadal as the only men to defeat Roger Federer in a major final with an improbable come-from-behind 3-6, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 victory.

Even more remarkable is that Del Potro pulled off that extraordinary double feat and became the first to beat both Nadal and Federer in the same Slam event. Indeed, there is now a third man on the scene in men's tennis. As Roger Federer stated in the post-match press...]]> Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500 "You can't teach height". That's what Andy Roddick said last week after being dismissed in the third round by six-foot-nine John Isner and his frightening serves. Today, that notion was taken to a new level when six-foot-six inch Juan Martin Del Potro obliterated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of the US Open. Never before has tennis witnessed such an all-court display of powerful yet graceful tennis from a man so large. It was truly an intimidating performance from a player who now is clearly close to achieving the massive potential so many have predicted for some time now.

Yes, Nadal is still suffering from a stubborn abdominal strain that rendered his serves nearly impotent and...]]> Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500 When she decides to devote herself to a tournament, Serena Williams has been perhaps the most daunting women's player of the Open Era. With extraordinary physical gifts and a keen mind for the sport matched - actually surpassed - by an utterly relentless competitive streak, she is a nearly unstoppable force at Grand Slam events. She and her sister Venus have been both the sole carriers of the United States tennis torch for the last ten years and the main attractions on the women's tour. Their value to the sport has been immeasurable.

Speaking of competitive grit and determination, no one athlete has personified those characteristics in modern sports more than Michael Jordan. In...]]> Sat, 12 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500 After a climatically blissful first ten days of the event, proceedings at the US Open were brought to a halt by a miserable late summer storm that has frustrated fans and players alike and resulted in 36 hours without a ball being struck at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Rafael Nadal and Fernando Gonzalez were the unluckiest of all as their quarterfinal encounter was stopped in the middle of a second set tiebreak on Thursday evening, the most inopportune time to cease play.

But the weather finally cooperated today - barely - and allowed for the match to be completed at the noon hour in front of a sparse crowd at the largest tennis venue on the planet. The result - a visibly injured and...]]> Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500 The most famous saga of waiting for victory in professional sports belongs to the Chicago Cubs and their legions of long-suffering followers. The patient, or rather masochistic, Windy City faithful have now waited more than a century for a World Series title. Yet it's one thing to have a large city stick around and bide its time waiting for victory but an altogether different and more intense matter when an entire nation has endured an extended period of futility and pins its hopes on one person.

Such is the case with Great Britain in regards to men's tennis. Britannia has been tarrying since 1936 to lay claim to a Grand Slam champion - that is the year when Fred Perry, an...]]> Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500 I couldn't help but think of the height of the Cold War this afternoon, after watching 17-year old Georgia native Melanie Oudin effectuate another comeback in front of her increasing legion of adoring fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium, this time defeating 13th-seeded Nadia Petrova in the fourth round. Amazingly, it was Oudin's fourth consecutive victory at this year's US Open over a Russian player.

Now, we are quite far removed from the 1980s and the Evil Empire label ascribed to the former USSR. Russia is, in fact, at the very least, a flaky ally despite a somewhat cynical view towards Vladimir Putin and the current President, Dmitry Medvedev. And for most born after 1980, the locus...]]> Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500 As sure a sign of the onset of autumn as schools reopening and store catalogues advertising ridiculously early Christmas deals, the US Open's media hype machine has been spewing forth half-truths and tiresome exaggerations regarding the host city and its unique place in the tennis universe.

Let's get the disclaimer out of the way up front - I love New York City. I'm from here originally, live in it now and plan on staying here for many years to come. I possess a reflexive pride when speaking of my home turf on most occasions. And I do not believe its title of "world's greatest city" is unbefitting.

But I must defer to the somewhat objective and fiercely analytical...]]> Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500 Before viewing the draw for the 128th edition of the US Open tennis championship which starts on Monday, I would have said there was no chance that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal would meet in a Grand Slam final for a remarkable eighth time. With Nadal still not 100% following his battle with tendonitis, I doubted his ability to play two weeks worth of best-of-five matches. But after perusing the draw, there is a chance - however slim - that yes indeed, the two men who have engaged in the most riveting Open Era rivalry will battle for Gotham's major title.

The reason? Quite simply both got lucky with the draw, with Federer being especially charmed. The Swiss master should proceed...]]> Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500 "'Cause the Rocky Mountain way is better than the way we had ...", Joe Walsh, Rocky Mountain Way

Here in New York all the baseball talk is obviously about the Yankees and their truly awesome offense that was on vivid display this past weekend against the second place Red Sox. The Yankees will most likely cruise the rest of the season and enter the playoffs as prohibitive favorites to make the World Series with only the Angels likely posing a serious obstacle.

Perhaps the most satisfying aspect to the Yankees' domination has been the stellar play of Derek Jeter, who in his 14th full season seems ageless in his consistency and just all-around Yankeeness. As the baseball...]]> Sun, 23 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500 The amaranthine summer of contentment for Roger Federer showed no sign of abatement today as the new father of twin girls won the Cincinnati Masters event (the oldest tournament in America, this year being the 111th edition), defeating a sluggish Novak Djokovic 6-1, 7-5 on an unusually cool Ohio afternoon. And with his victory Federer established himself as at least a co-favorite heading into the US Open which starts next Monday.

But The Roger isn't the only one who should feel at least somewhat satisfied by the on court happenings this past week. The rest of the Big Four - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Djokovic - all displayed solid form and this bodes well for the Open. As it...]]> Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500 One glimpsed an image of the near future in men's tennis yesterday when Andy Murray defeated Juan Martin Del Potro 6-7, 7-6, 6-1 in the final of the Rogers Cup in Montreal, one of two major US Open warm-up events. This was likely the first of many times this duo will face each other in championship matches. And it will likely come sooner than later as tennis starts it's slow, yet inexorable, shift from the two-headed dictatorship of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to a more democratic rule at the top. In fact, tennis may be on the verge of having its deepest rankings in twenty years

Now this may seem like an odd declaration, what with The Roger having regained the number one...]]>