rafa Page 7 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Test your Olympics knowledge with this increasingly difficult quiz!
The Olympics are here, and for the next couple of weeks, we’re all going to be obsessed with the Summer Games. But then what? What will we actually remember? Well, let’s find out. As the Tokyo Games get underway, here’s a little quiz to find out what you remember about the last Olympics, way back in...
Olympic baseball won’t feature best vs. best and that’s a shame
It’s exciting that baseball is back in the Olympics for Tokyo after having been out of the program in 2012 and 2016. It’s also going to be a weird mix of intriguing and disappointing to watch it all unfold, because while there are going to be familiar faces, the Olympics happening simultaneously wit...
That had to be it
Roger Federer never slips. However, you remember — and it feels like it’s assuredly past tense now — Federer’s greatness; it was always based on his movement. He always looked like he had enough time to blueprint several options for his next shot before choosing one, usually the perfect one. He just...
So what are the Red Sox doing here?
It used to be that when the Yankees were good (which definitely isn’t the case now), not only did it piss everyone off, because YANKEES, but it was an indictment of the whole league. The Dodgers have taken that mantle for the most part, but seeing either team atop the standings, past or present, mea...
No one wants Novak Djokovic to be the best player ever, but he might be
When discussing tennis history, people’s tastes will always influence and muddy debates about who’s what and the places they hold. Because it’s an individual sport that incorporates so many styles among its players that what one individual prefers watching will always make them lean in one direction...
HEAR ME OUT: The infield fly rule is dumb and needs to be done away with
Last night’s Astros-Red Sox game had everything. There was a divisive fan moment before the game when a kid called Alex Bregman over under the guise of wanting to get a picture only to pull the rug out from underneath him and call him a cheater. There were six lead changes — more than any game since...
Novak Djokovic is loud
These primal athlete screams hit different with no fans....
Caron Butler fighting to end ‘dehumanizing’ solitary confinement in this country
Just over 20 years ago, Caron Butler accepted a scholarship offer to play basketball for legendary coach Jim Calhoun at UConn, a college hoops power. He was a top talent with a future on the hardwood ahead of him. But behind him trailed a sordid past of multiple arrests, and a host of “serious mista...
Federer vs. Osaka, a tale of two reactions
Roger Federer withdrew from the French Open yesterday, which put the tournament in an awkward spot. Federer has only played six matches in a year or so, thanks to the pandemic and double knee surgery and rehab. After a near four-hour match in the third round where he really had to slog through a tep...
Albert Pujols is the latest Hall of Famer you’ll forget played for the Dodgers
The possibility of Albert Pujols returning to St. Louis to finish his career where he started it, this time as a bench bat for a Cardinals team that has title aspirations and Paul Goldschmidt at first base, was too good to be true....
AL East Preview: Baseball Royalty? Let's discuss
The American League East is full of baseball history and royalty, with the likes of the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees often reigning from on high. Last year, the Tampa Bay Rays stole that crown, winning the division in a shortened season by a commanding seven games. The Red Sox, contrastin...
Yeah, Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer will probably outlast this generation too
Every Grand Slam for the past...well, the years are getting innumerable now, and barely even fathomable, given the unseen greatness and longevity of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. Fans keep asking: “Will this be the time?” That is, the time someone else breaks through, someone else rises to the level...
Daniil Medvedev broke Andrey Rublev on a point he lost
The big story out of Melbourne today is that Rafael Nadal actually looked like he’s in his mid-30s last night, as he blew a two-set lead to Stefanos Tsitsipas, with the latter looking much the fresher in the fifth set. That sets up a semifinal match with Daniil Medvedev, who when he hasn’t been yell...
It’s been a wacky Australian Open, even if no one’s around to see it
As we’ve previously stated, the Australian Open has a surreal quality, at least on these shores, where an already-niche sport takes place in the dark for only the truly dedicated/bewildered. It’s even more so this edition, as on Friday the live spectators were shooed out of the tournament altogether...
Inebriated fan flips bird and curses out Rafa Nadal because Australia gets to have nice things like that
I’ve missed sports fans....
Remember normal? Look to Serena's Australian Open tuneup Down Under if you can’t
We’re coming up on 11 months since the last time fans could pack a stadium in America to watch sports. Sometimes, it feels like the pandemic restrictions will last forever. But on Friday in Adelaide, Australia, there was a glimpse into the future, and the present that America could have had with com...
Rafael Nadal wins Rafael Nadal Open for 13th time
There was a thought, maybe even a hope, from a minority that just wanted to see some variety, that the different setting and conditions for this year’s French Open would make things too difficult for Rafael Nadal. Or maybe just more difficult. Or maybe even slightly difficult....
Citing Growing COVID Cases, Rafa Opts Out of US Open
Tennis legend Rafael Nadal has decided to skip the U.S. Open. Nadal broke the news via Twitter, where he outlined his concerns about the spread of COVID-19....
Tennis Has A Coronavirus Problem And You Can Be Certain The Solution Will Make Everyone Miserable
While tennis will always be regarded as an upper-echelon pursuit, full of soft applause and a pastoral attitude as the fans stroke their beards, cluck their tongues, and wonder what’s to be done with the rabble outside the walls, in reality, it’s always a gentle breeze away some kind of disagreement...
Roger Federer And Rafael Nadal Were Obscene And Hilarious As Coaches At The Laver Cup
The Laver Cup, which took place this past weekend in Geneva, is the most entertaining exhibition format tennis has devised to date. The semi-scripted feel hits the spot, and by recasting the tour’s most famous rivals as allies, there’s an element of fan service. You get to watch 39 majors’ worth of ...