The best quotes by athletes in the 2000s posted by Colin Linneweber

February is widely recognized as the dimmest and most lackluster of all the months on the sports calendar. 

Considering the relative dearth of interesting storylines (sorry, Winter Olympics), I decided to rank the seven most entertaining quotes uttered by athletes over the course of the past decade. 

I chose to incorporate seven quotes because we are a mere seven weeks into the new year.  

1)      “Iron” Mike Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) demolished Lou Savarese (46-7, 38 KOs) by TKO just 38 seconds into their fight in Glasgow, Scotland. 

In a ringside interview with Showtime’s Jim Gray shortly after the massacre, Tyson went on a inane tirade against Lennox Lewis (41-2-1, 32 KOs). 

“I’m the best ever. I’m the most brutal, vicious and most ruthless champion there’s ever been. There’s no one can stop me,” said Tyson, who remains the youngest boxer to ever capture the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles. 

“Lennox (Lewis) is a conqueror? No. I’m Alexander. He’s no Alexander. I’m the best ever. There’s never been anybody as ruthless. I’m Sonny Liston. I’m Jack Dempsey. There’s no one like me. I’m from their cloth. There’s no one that can match me. My style is impetuous. My defense is impregnable. And I’m just ferocious. I want your heart. I want to eat his children. Praise be to Allah.” 

When they finally met in Memphis in June 2002, Lewis battered Tyson before he earned a decisive eighth round knockout. 

Funny non-sport related videos!!!!! posted by Devin

I know these 3 clips have nothing to do with sports, but I thought that it would be entertaining because all you need to do is laugh sometimes.  I will probably post 3 videos every so often so stay tuned, I guess:

THEY GET BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IT GETS EVEN BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

STAY TUNED, THERE ARE MORE LAUGHS TO COME!!!!!!!!!

Devin

Centsports Is Sweet posted by Chad

So, rumor has it online sports betting used to be really sweet; I heard pinnaclesports was an excellent, reputable site until the US cracked down on this alleged integrity issue.  An article I read points to a 1999 study that over $380 billion is illegally wagered on betting.  Now, I am not an advocate of; well, if society does it.. then it must be right.  Because usually, I think people are pretty stupid, especially society.  However, this seems harmless to me because the money can be used in so many ways.  Think of all the tax money and money, in general, the state and the US can collect, insane.  Anyway, it appears sports betting is only allowed in several states where it was legal before a certain law was passed.
BUT WAIT!  There is still a way for you to bet!  centsports.com and it is sweet.  There aren't props or a ton of other options.. but it is free betting.  It's a simple concept; advertisers pay your profit.  You view some ads maybe click on a few of them and then you can make and win some bets.  You start at .10 and have to work your way up from there.  It can be a real challenge, and you can do up to 5 game parlays; there are some early bonus options to boost your account size.  You'd have to read more of the rules to see how they try to limit you a little bit, which makes sense.. I'm sure they don't want to be making $550,000 payouts on a daily basis. 
There are a lot of betting options, soccer leagues galore, the WNBA (I giggle everytime), NFL, MLB, college sports, NHL, MMA, tennis, Nascar are all available for wagers.  Thankfully, I have no clue about MMA, tennis, or soccer yet I routinely throw wagers down on them and lose, draining my bank account.  I believe they would call me a degenerate in Vegas.  This is part of the reason I'm sure I have never made it passed the magnificent account total of.... $5.50!  TA DA!  Sweet.  I know.  Guess where I am at after 1 year of this.  .10!  The starting point.  Thanks to the Marlins loss last night or I would have hit a 5 team parlay.  Back to the drawing board.

What's next for Andy Roddick? posted by Erik Siwak

Roger Federer collected his record-breaking 15th Grand Slam title today in a spectacular Wimbledon final that will not be easily forgotten by any of us who saw it. Major congratulations to the man who most pundits feel comfortable calling the Greatest Tennis Player of All Time.

On the downside, Sunday's four and a half hour final will be hard for Andy Roddick to forget also. Roddick, a major underdog who had lost to Federer 18 times in 20 meetings, looked poised to pull off the huge upset. He took the first set. He had four set points in the second that he failed to convert. He took the fourth set which launched a thrilling fifth set that would contain 30 games. Throughout, Roddick had been rock solid on his serve, never allowing Federer to break him...until the very last game of the match. It was a heartbreaker for a man who had worked so hard to get to that point.

Watching Roddick stare forlornly at the grass after the match, it was impossible not to wonder how badly this loss will sting. In many ways, this match reminded me of the classic Venus Williams-Lindsay Davenport Wimbledon final from 2005. Davenport was another former Grand Slam champion who came within a hair of nabbing another Grand Slam title by knocking off a big name. She came up just short-losing a match point-and never got that close again. Will the same thing happen to Roddick?

If there's any justice, the answer should be no. There are so many positives for Roddick to take away from this year's Wimbledon that they should, over time, outweigh the negatives of coming so damn close. I can't remember ever seeing Roddick play better than he did during the last four rounds of this tournament. The backhand has improved dramatically and his court tactics are much shrewder. More importantly, Roddick seemed to believe he could beat the big dogs like Murray and Federer.
Continue reading "What's next for Andy Roddick?"

A-Rod: Disgracing Baseball or Saving American Tennis? posted by Greg Archuleta

Sunday, the many lives of A-Rod increased by one.

While the more famous -- or infamous -- A-Rod, a.k.a. Alex Rodriguez, was enjoying a day off while his New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-8 for their 10th win in 11 outings, his moniker received a huge boost in a different sport played on grass overseas.

A rejuvenated Andy Roddick nearly pulled off the unthinkable -- preventing Roger Federer from claiming an unprecedented 15th Grand Slam title. At Wimbledon, of all places.

Alas, Federer was too much Federer in the end of an epic 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14 victory in the Wimbledon final. So a tell-all book on this A-Rod will have to wait.

Federer, the Swiss Army of One, endured the longest fifth set in Wimbledon finals history en route to his sixth trophy in England, one short of Pete Sampras and William Renshaw.

Roddick, meanwhile, could be on his way to accomplishing something really big.

The talented but perhaps underachieving Omaha, Neb., native has been the United States' best hope for a tennis great since the retirements of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.

Roddick won the U.S. Open in 2003 and was ranked No. 1 in the world to finish the year, but has not achieved that kind of success since -- mostly due to Federer's rise.

When Rafael Nadal became Federer's main rival in 2006, it seemed as if Roddick's chance at greatness was over and American tennis was about to enter a dark period with no one really capable of challenging Nadal or Federer in the forseeable future.

Roddick was bounced out of the second round at Wimbledon last year, and the defeat probably was the best thing to happen to his career.

Federer vs Roddick in the finals is at least intriguing right? posted by Brandon Richardson

If I had bet on every sporting event in which I just knew in my gut what the outcome was going to be, I would be even more broke than I am now.  We all know that Roddick is 2-15 against Federer lifetime and that Roger is playing some tennis right now that could be better than I have ever seen him play.  That is why sports are so entertaining!  Especially those decided by one game or match as opposed to a "best of" series.  On any day, at any time, there is an opportunity for an upset.  That's why the Confederation Cup final was even slightly exciting to me.  I knew Brazil had a much better team, but on any given day.....              I knew that the Patriots were going to clobber the Giants and finish a historic season 19-0.  I knew that Tyson was going to knock out Buster Douglas and continue his tear through anyone who got in his way.  And without a doubt, I KNEW that my Florida Gators were going to destroy a Michigan team that had lost to a division II school earlier in the year.   And Sunday...  I will be watching a cheering for the American Andy Roddick, even though I KNOW that Federer is going to win.............................. 

Grumblings of a Senseless Insomniac/ Breaking Down Wimbledon posted by Charles Bisbee

There's been a less-than-pleasant bed bug infestation at the humble chateau de Bisbee/Duah. It began, as these things so often do, as a minor disturbance, a hole in the screen we thought, undoubtedly allowing in some pesky mosquitos. My negligence to nip the problem at the bud resulted in the realization of great bed bug civilizations, though, and a few nights ago I was roundly bludgeoned into a schizophrenic mess. I've remained this way since, basically-- sleeping on the living room floor while visions of human-sized arthropods and Hanley Ramirez batting lines dance through my head...

Anyway, forgive me if I write in a somewhat more-scatterbrained-than-usual fashion today. I've gotten enough sleep over the past three nights to be legally admitted into an asylum. This being said, here are some thoughts that, God-willing, might have something to do with tennis. 

As I lounged on the sofa today like a beached whale, awaiting the arrival of the dastardly and unreliable exterminator, I had the good fortune of stumbling upon Wimbledon tennis on NBC. I watched parts of four matches: V. Williams vs. Safina, S. Williams vs. Dementieva, Roddick vs. Hewitt and a bit of a re-run from yesterday's Federer/Karlovic match. I was struck by the mind-boggling contrast between the men's and women's game. Women's tennis is so much more enjoyable to watch! 

Williams/Dementieva was a three-set classic that, with some different wind patterns or a slightly adjusted net height, could have gone Dementieva's way just as easily. Each player consistently hit well-placed, deep ground strokes. Granted, there was the occasional unforced error but, compared to the men, Williams and Dementieva were paragons of steadiness. 

Wimbledon Women's Quarters Fizzle posted by Erik Siwak

The women took center stage at Wimbledon today as all four quarterfinals took to the lawns of Centre Court and Court 1. Unfortunately, the clashes of the last eight women failed to provide much in the way of compelling tennis matches.

Each match-up featured one of the top four seeds. In each case, the higher seeded woman advanced to Thursday's semifinals. Three of the matches were routes as Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Elena Dementieva continued their romps through the tournament. None of these three were really tested in their matches which was a little surprising since Serena was up against Victoria Azarenka who has emerged as the most exciting new star of 2009. Venus dispatched Agnieszka Radwanska while Dementieva straight-setted Italian veteran Francesca Schiavone.

Only the match-up between top-ranked Dinara Safina and unseeded Sabine Lisicki provided any suspense. Lisicki won the first set and kept it close in the second. By the time Safina pulled out that second set, Lisicki was showing obvious signs of fatigue on an unusually warm day. Safina had no troubles wrapping up the victory despite a streak where she missed seven serves in a row.

Today's matches highlighted what has been a less-than-exciting Wimbledon for the ladies. From the moment the draw came out, it looked like Venus and Serena were on a collision course for the finals. Through five rounds of play, an all-Williams final is looking more and more inevitable. While it's always great to see two bona fide stars battle it out in the finals, it would have been nice to see either Williams sister pushed a little bit. There's very little drama in a pre-ordained final.
Continue reading "Wimbledon Women's Quarters Fizzle"

The Best Day of Tennis You Won’t Get to See posted by Erik Siwak

The second Monday of Wimbledon is traditionally hyped as one of the best single days of tennis each year. That reputation is warranted as the day usually features all of the final 16 men and 16 women slugging it out for spots in the quarterfinals. For tennis fans, it's a great day to plop down in front of the TV and wallow in all the grasscourt greatness.

Unfortunately, many of us won't get to see much of what transpired on the lawns of Wimbledon today. The networks, in their infinite wisdom, have decided that tennis fans really don't need to see live tennis on this, the best single day of tennis. Go figure.

To be fair, ESPN2 has done a good job with their Wimbledon coverage throughout the first week. I wasn't too enthusiastic about their French Open coverage a few weeks ago, but they have been handling the Big W quite nicely. They have been beginning their live coverage at the crack of dawn--actually before dawn for those of us on the West Coast--and have continued right up through the end of play each day. What more could you want?

Well now, NBC has gone and mucked everything up. ESPN had to end their live coverage at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time so NBC could take over. That may not have been a big deal for East Coasters, but for West Coasters it was a disaster. You see, NBC was still showing the Today Show when ESPN2 stopped broadcasting. And they would continue to show Matt Lauer, Al Roker and company for the next three hours. When NBC started broadcasting the tennis at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time, it was a crappy old tape of the earlier East Coast broadcast. Nice way to muff it, NBC.
Continue reading "The Best Day of Tennis You Won’t Get to See"

Hollow Victory for Roger Federer? posted by Daniel Doyle

Some claim that Roger Federer's clay conquest was a hollow victory since he did not beat Rafael Nadal.

As soon as Roger Federer dried his last tear of joy, the backlash began. Reporters and columnists quickly started dismissing his championship in the French Open because of something Roger could not control. Federer had no part in determining who he played in the final at Roland Garros. He simply did what he had done 13 times before- win a Grand Slam.

It isn't as if Rafael Nadal wasn't in the field. He was there. The number one seed in fact. It was his tournament to lose and he did. Federer made it through the draw he was given as the two seed. In the final Federer beat Robin Soderling in straight sets. Soderling defeated Nadal in four sets earlier in the tournament.

I am not making the argument that Federer would have beaten Nadal had they met Sunday for the French Open Championship. If history is any indication, Nadal probably would have won. However, that didn't happen. The only thing we know for certain is Roger Federer was the one in a fetal position, emotion flowing out of his eyes, victorious on Sunday afternoon. He has completed his goal of a career Grand Slam. Roger Federer has greatly improved his resume and is now one Slam short of owning the record for most Grand Slam titles of all time. So, instead of finding ways to discredit his most recent win, relish having had the opportunity to see one of the greatest tennis players of all time conquer a surface that became more of a nemisis to him than Rafael Nadal ever had.

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