Monday, May 19, 2008
Friedman
As a Jewish person who has both visited Israel and has family living there, Thomas Friedman's column yesterday really struck a chord, especially his statement about what Israel needs from America.
Bruins Out
UCLA fell to Texas 4-2 today at the NCAA Men's Tennis Championships. A disappointment, but certainly not for a team that coach Billy Martin said he was afraid might be the worst he's had in his tenure. Lots of good young players returning next year, including Holden Seguso. Seguso was also featured in a fantastic movie called "Unstrung". Produced by former world #1 Jim Courier, it focused on several American juniors on their way to the USTA championships at Kalamazoo. Sam Querrey and Donald Young are two others prominently presented in the movie, which is a fascinating look at the rigors of junior tennis both physically and emotionally. When the movie was finished, I was thanking my lucky stars (yet again) that I decided early on that my future would be determined by using my brain, not my racket.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
UCLA Tennis, Live Online!
What a find, what a find, what a find! So I'm perusing the Internet sports world, finding some excellent tennis blogs, and reading other people's opinions on today's match, when I remember that the NCAA Men's Tennis Championships are coming down the stretch. So I decide to take a look and see if I can find out how my beloved UCLA Bruins are doing.
For those who don't know, I spent the bulk of my undergraduate time as a Bruin working as a sportwriter for the Daily Bruin, covering men's soccer and men's tennis for two years, then covering men's basketball. I also had a weekly column. Anyway, loved the job and, in getting to know the players and coach Billy Martin quite well, it certainly gave me a lifelong affinity for the Bruin tennis team.
So imagine my joy to see that the Bruins are in the quarterfinals against the hated Trojans! Then, imagine my excitement to find out that these matches are being streamed live, for free online. All you have to do is click here, and scroll down to find men's tennis quarterfinals.
Having done that, I proceeded to find the UCLA-USC match happening live with score streaming. So I clicked on court one, because the overall score was UCLA 3, USC 2, the first team to four match wins advancing, and the match on court one was in a tiebreaker, with UCLA's Holden Seguso having taken the first set.
You probably can't imagine my happiness when the screen (finally) picked up the action just as the UCLA players ran onto the court in celebration of their victory, and I got to watch it live! I haven't seen them play live since my senior year in 1998, so this was a brilliant way to find them again. The semis are tomorrow against Texas, probably won't be able to watch that, but if the Bruins advance, I'll definitely be watching (and posting) about the final. As always and faithfully, Go Bruins!
For those who don't know, I spent the bulk of my undergraduate time as a Bruin working as a sportwriter for the Daily Bruin, covering men's soccer and men's tennis for two years, then covering men's basketball. I also had a weekly column. Anyway, loved the job and, in getting to know the players and coach Billy Martin quite well, it certainly gave me a lifelong affinity for the Bruin tennis team.
So imagine my joy to see that the Bruins are in the quarterfinals against the hated Trojans! Then, imagine my excitement to find out that these matches are being streamed live, for free online. All you have to do is click here, and scroll down to find men's tennis quarterfinals.
Having done that, I proceeded to find the UCLA-USC match happening live with score streaming. So I clicked on court one, because the overall score was UCLA 3, USC 2, the first team to four match wins advancing, and the match on court one was in a tiebreaker, with UCLA's Holden Seguso having taken the first set.
You probably can't imagine my happiness when the screen (finally) picked up the action just as the UCLA players ran onto the court in celebration of their victory, and I got to watch it live! I haven't seen them play live since my senior year in 1998, so this was a brilliant way to find them again. The semis are tomorrow against Texas, probably won't be able to watch that, but if the Bruins advance, I'll definitely be watching (and posting) about the final. As always and faithfully, Go Bruins!
Instant Classic
Rafa and Roger. World number 1 versus world number 2. Three hours. Three sets. Championship on the line. Huge leads and thrilling comebacks. Injury timeouts and huge momentum swings. Magical points and staggering misses. Tiebreakers and breaks of serve. SlidingdirtyspeedygutsyheroicCLASSIC. And after all this drama, a winner and a loser.
What a match!
This morning's Hamburg final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer is sure to go down in the annals of their rivalry as one of the greatest matches they've played against each other (and that's saying something, read: last year's Wimbledon final.) This match had everything that draws people to sports and competition, and for me to try to capture all of the subtexts in this event would be futile. If you enjoy sports, think to yourself why, and I promise you, this match had that quality.
I've written a huge blob of words and haven't even told you who won, because, frankly, it doesn't matter. Nadal remains the greatest clay-courter of his era, Federer has begun laying to rest concerns about his pending fall from grace (think Mark Twain and his "reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated"). Both are men of stout hearts, tremendous character and mental toughness, and are at the top of their games.
Now, with the French Open one week away, we can salivate at the possibility of these two squaring off again in the final. Say what you will about the Masters Series events, it's the Grand Slams that make a tennis player truly immortal. And these two in the final, putting on a show like today, is what the sporting world needs to see and needs to appreciate.
Why do I say needs to see? Well, I can promise you that only a handful of Americans with a combination of a Tennis Channel subscription and DVR technology actually watched the match. Does this take anything away from the greatness of the match? Of course not. Does it mean that tennis missed out on the energy burst that an invigorated American tennis viewing public would give the game? Absolutely!
In the midst of the basketball playoffs and early-season basebal, tennis must find a way out of the periphery of the American sporting life and find a way to use battles between these two titans as the springboard. Both tennis fans and the game will be better off.
Oh yeah, Nadal won, 7-5, 6-7, 6-3.
What a match!
This morning's Hamburg final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer is sure to go down in the annals of their rivalry as one of the greatest matches they've played against each other (and that's saying something, read: last year's Wimbledon final.) This match had everything that draws people to sports and competition, and for me to try to capture all of the subtexts in this event would be futile. If you enjoy sports, think to yourself why, and I promise you, this match had that quality.
I've written a huge blob of words and haven't even told you who won, because, frankly, it doesn't matter. Nadal remains the greatest clay-courter of his era, Federer has begun laying to rest concerns about his pending fall from grace (think Mark Twain and his "reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated"). Both are men of stout hearts, tremendous character and mental toughness, and are at the top of their games.
Now, with the French Open one week away, we can salivate at the possibility of these two squaring off again in the final. Say what you will about the Masters Series events, it's the Grand Slams that make a tennis player truly immortal. And these two in the final, putting on a show like today, is what the sporting world needs to see and needs to appreciate.
Why do I say needs to see? Well, I can promise you that only a handful of Americans with a combination of a Tennis Channel subscription and DVR technology actually watched the match. Does this take anything away from the greatness of the match? Of course not. Does it mean that tennis missed out on the energy burst that an invigorated American tennis viewing public would give the game? Absolutely!
In the midst of the basketball playoffs and early-season basebal, tennis must find a way out of the periphery of the American sporting life and find a way to use battles between these two titans as the springboard. Both tennis fans and the game will be better off.
Oh yeah, Nadal won, 7-5, 6-7, 6-3.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Blogging the Civil War
The loyal reader of this blog has probably been following along, waiting for something, anything that has to do with the Civil War. It's quite strange for me because the Civil War is a consuming interest of mine. I love reading about it, studying it, and discussing it with similarly interested folks. I figured when I started this blog, my thoughts on the war itself, books I'm reading, and experiences I've had chatting with friends, online, or at the San Diego Civil War Roundtable would come issuing forth.
This hasn't been the case, and I think it's because I'm still trying to define a niche for myself in how I read and interpret the war. The last few years have been spent in active study of campaign histories, primarily in the Eastern Theater. Now I'm transitioning into two very different subjects: about how the war is thought of in contemporary culture focusing on the effect of the Lost Cause mythology and political and social trends in America in the years between the Mexican-American War of 1848 and the start of the Civil War.
I promise you, dear reader, that we will have ample opportunity to get into this subject, it's just ripening away in my mind. I've also got a short story in the works that should be fun. In the meantime, there's just that much more time for tennis, mixology, and coffee roasting!
This hasn't been the case, and I think it's because I'm still trying to define a niche for myself in how I read and interpret the war. The last few years have been spent in active study of campaign histories, primarily in the Eastern Theater. Now I'm transitioning into two very different subjects: about how the war is thought of in contemporary culture focusing on the effect of the Lost Cause mythology and political and social trends in America in the years between the Mexican-American War of 1848 and the start of the Civil War.
I promise you, dear reader, that we will have ample opportunity to get into this subject, it's just ripening away in my mind. I've also got a short story in the works that should be fun. In the meantime, there's just that much more time for tennis, mixology, and coffee roasting!
The Clay Master
The clay-court season is in full swing (for the novitiate, the tennis year is roughly divided into a hardcourt session, then clay, then grass, then back to hard courts) and the reigning king of the red gook is rising above the proletariat yet again. He's the young, handsome, dashing Spaniard with the playful broken English and penchant for picking his underwear out of his butt between points. He's the three-time defending French Open champ. He's ranked number two in the world.
He's Rafael Nadal, back up to his usual tricks while basically playing in the mud.
After winning the first two main clay court tourneys of the season, he spent this morning bashing Novak Djokovic around the court in the semifinal of the Hamburg Open, and in doing so, demonstrated why he has likely already displaced the likes of Bjorn Borg as the greatest clay-courter of all time.
Nadal on clay echoes the same level of dominance of Federer the Great on hard and grass courts, and his performance against Djokovic, ranked third in the world and having an amazing season of his own, puts it into specific relief. In the eyes of the Tipsy Historian, there are two fundamental buttresses underlying this greatness: his unbelievable power and aggression, and his unflappable consistency.
Clay court tennis is the ultimate test of tennis skill on many levels. Because the surface is granular and, well, clay, it plays very slowly, meaning that pace generated by the racket head in a swing is absorbed by the court itself. This gives the opponent more opportunity to track down a heavy ball. This makes for long points and tremendous amounts of running, thus putting one's fitness through the wringer.
It also usually nullifies the weapons that set the top players apart, read: Pete Sampras' serve (he never got past the quarters at the French). Those who usually do well on clay are players who grow up playing on the surface, and the fact that Americans rarely play on clay growing up and frankly suck on the surface at the professional level proves this point.
I say usually because Nadal's incredible power breaks through the limitations that clay uses to lock up the games of lesser lights. The guy moves across the court like butter on a hot skillet, and assaults the ball as if it said something about his mamma.
He imparts an unprecedented amount of spin, pace, and energy into the ball off both the forehand and backhand, and his left arm (he's a southpaw) bears mute testimony to this.
Seriously, the dude looks like someone glued He-Man's arm onto an otherwise quite respectably muscled body. And the movement of the ball on the other side of the court is the consequence. Nadal can absolutely dissect a court with his power and spin, putting the ball shoulder-high, making it hard for anyone to keep up.
So there's the power and aggression, but, hey, people get sets off him, right? Federer took him to 5 sets at Roland Garros last year, so he must be flawed, right?
Wrong, because he backs up this brute force with unbelievable consistency, basically the guy doesn't miss. He's like a seasoned basketball team that doesn't commit turnovers or stupid fouls; he doesn't give anything away.
Don't believe me? Today at Hamburg he went three sets with Novak Djokovic. In the first set, which he won 7-5, he committed 9 unforced errors. In the second set, which he lost 6-2, he committed 8 (Djokovic, to his credit, raised his game a notch) In the third and deciding set, Nadal only committed six unforced errors. SIX! And that was when it really counted. Guess what, he won the third set 6-2.
It's that magical combination of power and consistency that puts him at the top of the clay court game. He'll outhit you if it takes him all afternoon, and tomorrow, he puts it on the line against Federer the Great in the final. Oh yes, the DVR is set, and I'll get back at you tomorrow.
He's Rafael Nadal, back up to his usual tricks while basically playing in the mud.
After winning the first two main clay court tourneys of the season, he spent this morning bashing Novak Djokovic around the court in the semifinal of the Hamburg Open, and in doing so, demonstrated why he has likely already displaced the likes of Bjorn Borg as the greatest clay-courter of all time.
Nadal on clay echoes the same level of dominance of Federer the Great on hard and grass courts, and his performance against Djokovic, ranked third in the world and having an amazing season of his own, puts it into specific relief. In the eyes of the Tipsy Historian, there are two fundamental buttresses underlying this greatness: his unbelievable power and aggression, and his unflappable consistency.
Clay court tennis is the ultimate test of tennis skill on many levels. Because the surface is granular and, well, clay, it plays very slowly, meaning that pace generated by the racket head in a swing is absorbed by the court itself. This gives the opponent more opportunity to track down a heavy ball. This makes for long points and tremendous amounts of running, thus putting one's fitness through the wringer.
It also usually nullifies the weapons that set the top players apart, read: Pete Sampras' serve (he never got past the quarters at the French). Those who usually do well on clay are players who grow up playing on the surface, and the fact that Americans rarely play on clay growing up and frankly suck on the surface at the professional level proves this point.
I say usually because Nadal's incredible power breaks through the limitations that clay uses to lock up the games of lesser lights. The guy moves across the court like butter on a hot skillet, and assaults the ball as if it said something about his mamma.
He imparts an unprecedented amount of spin, pace, and energy into the ball off both the forehand and backhand, and his left arm (he's a southpaw) bears mute testimony to this.
Seriously, the dude looks like someone glued He-Man's arm onto an otherwise quite respectably muscled body. And the movement of the ball on the other side of the court is the consequence. Nadal can absolutely dissect a court with his power and spin, putting the ball shoulder-high, making it hard for anyone to keep up.So there's the power and aggression, but, hey, people get sets off him, right? Federer took him to 5 sets at Roland Garros last year, so he must be flawed, right?
Wrong, because he backs up this brute force with unbelievable consistency, basically the guy doesn't miss. He's like a seasoned basketball team that doesn't commit turnovers or stupid fouls; he doesn't give anything away.
Don't believe me? Today at Hamburg he went three sets with Novak Djokovic. In the first set, which he won 7-5, he committed 9 unforced errors. In the second set, which he lost 6-2, he committed 8 (Djokovic, to his credit, raised his game a notch) In the third and deciding set, Nadal only committed six unforced errors. SIX! And that was when it really counted. Guess what, he won the third set 6-2.
It's that magical combination of power and consistency that puts him at the top of the clay court game. He'll outhit you if it takes him all afternoon, and tomorrow, he puts it on the line against Federer the Great in the final. Oh yes, the DVR is set, and I'll get back at you tomorrow.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
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