open Page 53 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Party Rock Was Actually In The House Last Night
Last night's U.S. Open women's final was the best we've seen in a decade, and the usual crowd of celebrities in attendance featured a representative of everybody's favorite pop-hop duo. Perhaps he was there to help Serena Williams celebrate with champagne showers, or to see if with no shoes or shir...

Serena Williams Won Her Fourth U.S. Open Title In The First Good Final In 17 Years
Hope you tuned in when we warned you—it ended up being pretty great. For the first time since 1995, a women's U.S. Open final went to a third set, and it was a closely contested one at that. After breezing through the first set in only 34 minutes, Williams was turned back just as easily by Azarenka ...

Sanchize Vs. Teambow: Your NFL Early Games Viewing Guide
It's finally here. Sunday football. Wednesday was cool and all, but this is the day that really counts. For the remainder of the day you will watch football and only football and it will be awesome. Until your team, obviously playing a 1 P.M. game, loses and ruins the entire day for you. But you've...

Are The Dolphins Really Super Bowl Contenders?
Oh my goodness, no. No, no, no. But it's the first week of the season! Anything is possible. In a few hours football becomes a reality, but for now, we can still dream. The Dolphins can dream that they will win more than they will lose. The Colts can dream that Andrew Luck will be just as good as Pe...

Your College Football Open Thread
A pretty light slate of early games, so you have plenty of time to get drunk and overly optimistic before the real action starts. Things get good in the early afternoon. Full schedule, with TV coverage, right here. We'll link back to this yak throughout the day, so all yakking can go in the same pla...

It's Women's Semis Day At The U.S. Open. Let's Watch It Together
Every year, the Friday after Labor Day provides a pretty awesome respite: Two women's U.S. Open semifinals, played in the middle of the afternoon. It helps shorten the already short week. First up: French Open champ Maria Sharapova against Aussie Open champ Victoria Azarenka. Then we've got Serena W...

The USTA Told This Stellar Junior Player She Was Too Fat For The U.S. Open
Taylor Townsend is a 16-year-old tennis phenom. She's the No. 1 ranked girls junior and won the Australian Open juniors tournament earlier this year....

Andy Roddick Knocked Out Of U.S. Open, Ends Career, Leaves Door Open For Comeback?
Juan Martin del Potro eliminated Andy Roddick in four sets this afternoon, commencing Roddick's retirement but prompting an emotional speech that suggested the American might be open to returning to competition in the future....

Bob Bryan Pulled Off A Perfect Between-The-Legs Shot During A Second Set Tiebreak At The U.S. Open
Some trickery! Not only did Bob Bryan nonchalantly whip out the between-the-legs move that's apparently in his arsenal, he did so down a set, during a tiebreak, and hammered a winner to follow it up. The Bryan twins went on to win the tiebreak, and controlled the third set 6-3 to give them the mat...

Andy Roddick Is Still Alive, Getting Emotional At U.S. Open
This was bound to happen once he announced he would retire following the tournament, but it's still a nice moment to watch for the suckers in Arthur Ashe stadium. The crowd was juiced on match point and had to be told twice, in vain, to quiet down, but it didn't matter. Roddick's serve was returne...

Jack Sock's Run In US Open Comes To Close
Poor Jack Sock. The tennis gladiator named after the bravest piece of laundry in the mid-hamper has succumbed to Nicolás Almagro in the third round of the US Open. Sock's sacking was hardly surprising. After all, Almagro was the tournament's 11-seed. Sock, meanwhile, was unseeded. No shame there....

Your College Football Open Thread
Watching college football? Wanna yak about it? This here's the place. Notre Dame vs. Navy is already happening (because it's in Dublin, Ireland) and being psychotically danced at, but the rest of today's full slate of college football is still before us. Full schedule, with TV coverage included, rig...

Andy Roddick Is Calling It Quits
Andy Roddick turned 31 30 today, and how'd he celebrate? He announced that he will retire immediately after the U.S. Open. People may have been calling for it, but no one was expecting it. Roddick's performance dropped rapidly this year, and he had his worst Grand Slam season ever. He lost in the s...

Squirrel Brings U.S. Open To Screeching Halt
Tuesday's match between Julien Benneteau and Olivier Rochus was held up as an adorable little squirrel found its way onto the court, hungry for acorns and fame. Officials threw tennis balls at the poor creature to try and drive him off, but you've just got to let squirrel stoppages play themselves...

A Little Boy Offers To Marry Novak Djokovic, Settles For Hitting A Few Balls
Maybe Novak Djokovic is winning over the Federer-friendly U.S. Open crowd one person at a time. Here he is at an early practice session at Louis Armstrong Stadium, where a young boy shouts out "Will you marry me?" from the stands. Djokovic gives him the "Dancing in the Dark" treatment, waving him ...

We Have A New Favorite Tennis Player: Jack Sock
This morning, Harvey Araton of The New York Times introduced the world to a U.S. Open qualifier named Jack Sock. Here's a passage that apparently posed no problem for any copy editors:...

Maria Sharapova Is Pimping Her Stupid Candy, And Other Important Storylines: A U.S. Open Preview
You could argue the turning point of the 2012 U.S. Open—which starts today—already happened. Well, three turning points, actually....

Here Is The Proper Way To Dry A U.S. Open Court: With A Helicopter
Tennis was underway for 90 minutes today before the rain came. In Flushing right now, mini-Zambonis and ballboys with towels are drying the courts. This not the preferred method. Here is video of how they did it at the 1969 Open when they played on grass in Forest Hills. USTA: If you can't build us ...

Stay Out Of Arthur Ashe Stadium: A U.S. Open Attendee's Survival Guide
Over the last five years, I've spent more than 60 days and nights at the U.S. Open. The early days at the Open can be really, really overwhelming. There's tennis everywhere, and people everywhere, and you constantly feel as if you have to be missing something. Probably the good part....

NBC Cut A Memorial Tribute To A Dead U.S. Marine From Its Opening Ceremony Telecast. Here's His Story.
Three weeks ago we brought you the story of U.S. Air Force Academy cadet Andrew Chin. Chin's friends and family submitted his photo to be included in a memorial segment of the London Olympics opening ceremony, only for them to realize when the program aired on NBC in tape delay that the memorial se...