rafa Page 6 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Hit the road, Novak
No-vax Djokovic is having a hell of a time trying to play in the Australian Open, a Grand Slam he has won a record nine times, because it turns out this pandemic is serious business. He had his visa revoked for a second time and faces deportation because he’s not vaccinated, according to ESPN. He’s ...
Remember when Novak Djokovic called out Naomi Osaka for not following the rules?
I’m as sick of Novak Djokovic as you are, and as my colleague Grace McDermott wrote yesterday, we’d stop writing about him if he’d stop making us. ...
What did Novak know, and when did he know it?
We’d stop writing about the guy if he stopped giving us fresh crap to write about....
The Djokovics are making steamed hams
Perhaps in the social media age, or just our vindictive society, being the best ever at something is going to cause a mass amount of idiocy around you. Then again, when you’re the author of that idiocy, maybe we have to admit that to be the best ever to play any sport, it takes such a singular focus...
Let me breakdown this Djokovic-Aussie mess
Let’s just begin by talking about Novak Djokovic’s skills. He is very, very good at hitting fuzzy, yellow, bouncy tennis balls. He can hit them very hard, and yet he can also hit them very softly. He makes people clap with delight with how he hits tennis balls. He wins very large trophies. Hitting f...
Aussie Open rules don’t apply to Novak Djokovic
Yet again, the major sports set out to prove that the rules don’t apply to the moneymakers — even when the rules are in the interest of public health and ending an ongoing pandemic. Twenty-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic will be allowed to play in the Australian Open after receiving a medical ...
The Cooperstown case for Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, once and for all
Call me naive, an optimist....
Rafa Benitez has become what he beheld
Deep down, Liverpool supporters would tell you they didn’t want to do this to Rafa Benitez when he was announced as Everton’s manager before the season. Or, to put it more accurately, they didn’t want to have to do this. Benitez is still, and will always, be loved by the red half of Liverpool for br...
Who is Seiya Suzuki, and where will he land?
The Atlanta Braves won the World Series, and, after going through a comically horrible championship parade, they now have the daunting task of attempting to become the first repeat World Series winner since 2000. The 29 other Major League clubs are all looking to knock the Braves off their throne, a...
Red Sox thumpin’ grand slams at a historic rate
Kyle Schwarber’s second-inning grand slam put the Astros into an early 6-0 deficit that they would never get the chance to overcome, as the Red Sox piled on the homers in Fenway Park during a rowdy ALCS Game 3 on Monday night. The early clout was a morale boost at home — on top of the four runs it d...
Sue Bird shouldn’t retire, but WNBA would survive — and thrive — after she's gone
The Phoenix Mercury had just beaten Seattle 85-80 OT in the WNBA playoffs late Sunday afternoon when ESPN’s Holly Rowe brought Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi together on the court for the post-game interview. These two have been teammates and rivals for more than 20 years, and Bird quipped to Rowe that ...
World-clash events coming your way
A little off the beaten path, especially at this time of year, but this weekend sees two international competitions on these shores. First up is the Ryder Cup, which is fun for non-golf fans as everyone can enjoy watching stuffy-ass golfers having their sphincter close up tighter than a snare drum w...
Novak Djokovic’s expected coronation ended so quickly
The overwhelming emotion as Novak Djokovic simply ran out of gas in the U.S. Open Men’s final against Danil Medvedev was how fast it all left. ...
No one can beat Novak Djokovic because no one else <i>is</i> Novak Djokovic
Thank you, Captain Obvious....
So what’s to be done with Alexander Zverev?
The U.S. Open has a problem. The ATP has a problem. And neither is likely to do much about it. And no, it’s not the ranks of players pulling out of the tournament. ...
Down the stretch they come: Here’s what to watch out for as the MLB season hits final run
We have less than a month and a half before the MLB postseason starts on October 5. We know most of the teams that will be involved. The White Sox are pretty much locked in as either the two- or three-seed in the American League. The Brewers could potentially make a run at the top seed in the Nation...
The icons of tennis are about to leave the stage, and the US Open will be our first taste of life without them in decades
With Serena Williams withdrawing from US Open, and Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal out, we’re about to get a peek at tennis without its icons...
Are Arsenal the team to watch in EPL this season?
It may seem like the world of soccer never stops. That’s because it doesn’t. You may be thinking it was only yesterday that England were taking penalties with both hands and a rope around their throats. It was just about a month ago, and the new Premier League season starts this weekend. So if you a...
It’s getting away from the Red Sox
In some ways it’s heartening, at least for those of us who aren’t part of The Nation, to see the Red Sox backing up. Because no team that trades Mookie Betts, then doesn’t really do much in the following offseason either, should return to the playoffs after only a gimmick season. Fenway Sports Group...
Sawx join AL East HR Derby by adding Schwarber
While there’s a literal arms race taking place in the National League West in the battle for Max Scherzer (which still isn’t finalized... weirdly), the American League East is going all in for the bats. ...