Perspective

We like to obsess over stats or pontificate about why England’s backs lack creativity. It puts a downer on our weekend if our team lose to their hated rivals. The tragic death of Phil Hughes of course puts things in perspective.

The capacity of Bernard Hopkins to defy age, and often much younger opposition, has been superhuman. Until last month.  Kovalev won every round of their unification bout, & B-Hop took heavy punishment in the 12th. You hope he retires now, with his senses still intact.

Roger Federer, especially in the early part of his career, also seemed to have a superhuman ability- to avoid injury. Latterly he’s not been immune, and after a gruelling semi versus Wawrinka was not fit for the final of Masters. A few days rest for his back did the trick however, & this time he was teamed with Stan the Man for the Davis Cup final. Federer split his singles matches, but the back was strong enough for him to partner Stan to win the doubles rubber & the Cup on the Sunday. Only Olympic singles gold is now missing from Roger’s CV.

Talking of obsessing over statistics. Real Madrid are currently on a club record 17 match win streak. Los Blancos had a patchy start to La Liga but clearly Ancelotti has now found the right blend for his Galacticos.

Manning & The Vets

Andy Murray had intended to have more rest after the US Open. When qualification for the O2 season-ending tournament looked in doubt, he changed his schedule to chase ranking points.  It worked out brilliantly. After 14 months without a title, he won three tournaments in five weeks (Shenzhen, Vienna & Valencia).

The resurgence of Roger Federer continues, he won two Masters titles & Basel. He matched Djokovic by reaching the SFs in NY and looks certain to finish at least as world no. 2.

Results last year had suggested the Swiss great was in decline. Similar questions had been posed of Serena Williams with her Major record in 2014. Australia 4^th round, 2^nd round in Paris & round 3 Wimbledon.  Her finish to the season, with US & WTA Championship titles which confirmed her no. 1 ranking, was an emphatic answer.

Bradley Wiggins benefitted from fresh legs-no Grand Tours this year, finally getting the better of Tony Martin in the world time trial championship.

Peyton Manning broke yet another NFL record, this time for touchdown passes. Once again the Broncos & the Patriots are leading the AFC standings, and the Manning Brady rivalry will resume tomorrow in Foxborough.

Holywood Ending

It was the standout performance of August for many sports fans, including this one. Rory McIlroy was awesome winning the PGA. Three shots behind at the turn, other players would have panicked & pushed for too much or folded a la Greg Norman. Could he beat the records of Woods or even Nicklaus ? While he will be a hot favourite for the Masters, those records are still a long way off and injury, continued motivation & the emergence of new players have to be reckoned with. Certainly the other players must now fear him as Woods was once feared. The Ulsterman has a good chance to overhaul the record for most majors won by a European.

Roger Federer has showed signs he’s back to his best form this year. Victory in Cincinnati was his first Masters title for two years. This time last year he had just one win with seven losses v top 10 opposition, this year is a much healthier 12-4. Coach Edberg has encouraged more net approaches & so less baseline coverage for those 33 year old legs. The same game plan could also work for Andy Murray, who has not yet reached his former level since his back surgery.

A word for Mk Dons. A 3^rd string Man Utd side perhaps for the League Cup tie, but still a massive upset.

The Final Analysis

Underdogs shine but class tells in the end

Serena, upset by Muguruza at Roland Garros, made another early exit at Wimbledon. She will still start as favourite & no. 1 seed for the US Open, and needs just one slam to draw level with Navratilova & Evert.

In the final Kvitova was awesome, beating Bouchard in less than an hour. The challenge for the Czech now is to get the consistency that she’s lacked in the past with her high-risk game style. Bouchard will contest more Slam finals.

There were big wins for young pretenders.  Krygios had swagger & nerves to take out Nadal, Dimitrov beat Murray in straights. The old pecking order was still intact for the final though. The previous dominance of the Big Four is evidenced by it being the 1st Slam final since the 2009 US Open not to feature either Nadal or Murray.

Many experts, including this blogger, wanted Federer to retire last year after early Slam exits to Stakhovsky & Robredo. This year has been a welcome return to top form. It took Djokovic to stop him in a final of the highest quality. As long he can continue to perform at a high level he will keep playing. As the saying goes, you’re a long time retired.

It was the most exciting World Cup since 1986 for my money. Spain & Italy didn’t make the  knockouts, but unfancied Costa Rica won their group. Holland’s 5-1 spanking of Spain seemed like it would be the shock result of the tournament, until Brazil’s astonishing capitulation to Germany in the semi.

Froome & Contador were the pre-race favourites for Le Tour, but both had to abandon after a series of heavy crashes. Vincenzo Nibali took full advantage. He won by more than seven minutes, with four stage wins, & was never put in difficulties.

Angel, The Bull & The Cobra

 Some months it’s a struggle to find enough inspiration for a decent blog post. Not this time, with an action-packed May & June.

Real Madrid did La Decima, Atleti ran out of gas in extra time. Bale & Ronaldo got on the scoresheet but DiMaria was the star player on the night.

The squad strength of Man City showed over the PL season. When Aguero was injured, Dzeko did the business up front.  Liverpool went on a 11 game win streak which in most seasons would have taken the title, but the Reds & Gerrard slipped from the perch starting with defeat by Chelsea.

Jonny Wilkinson joined his fellow legend, O’Driscoll, in retirement, finishing on a high with a European & Top 14 double.

At Roland Garros Nadal was yet again untouchable. Sharapova & Halep produced the best womens final in years, battling for over three hours.

Froch v Groves had an ending worthy of the biggest post-war boxing crowd, with a devastating single punch ko.

England supporters had dreamed that a team with promising youngsters could make the WC quarters. The reality: the pain of an early group stage exit, was softened by being in good company with the old powers of Spain and Italy, as well as CR7.

Hala Madrid

It looked like Liverpool had built up an unstoppable momentum. Chelsea, the arch-pragmatists, had other ideas and upset them & the romantics who thought the Reds deserved it this year, ensuring the title race will go right down to the wire.  

Other things that have caught my eye these past two months

Real will go for La Decima in an all-Madrid final, while their biggest rivals, Barca, failed to make the semis for the first time in seven years.

Bayern won the Bundesliga with seven games to spare, but have since lost focus & were humiliated by Real in the UCL semi-final.

Man City picked up the first piece of major silverware, the League Cup.

BOD retired in style as Ireland won the 6 Nations.

Djokovic did the Indian Wells/ Miami double for the 2^nd time. Rafa has proved to be fallible on clay, losing twice to fellow Spaniards. The resurgence of Federer continues, reaching the finals of Monaco & Indian Wells. Wawrinka, the surprise package of the year, won again in Monaco & he tops the YTD rankings.

British hopes in the Davis Cup were ended by Italy in the QFs.

The ageless Bernard Hopkins who won another title belt at the age of 49.

Red Alert

A double bill for Jan & Feb.

Stan Wawrinka always had the talent. The Aussie Open showed he now has developed the nerve / belief to pull out the wins in a major against the two top-ranked players in the world.

Britain hadn’t beaten USA in the Davis Cup since 1935, & now play Italy in the QFs. James Ward, like Dan Evans, again proved he can deliver on the big occasions for his county, defeating much higher-ranked opposition.

It was the battle of the meanest defence in the NFL v the highest scoring offence in the Superbowl. The Seahawks crushed favourites Denver 43-8 for their first title. Peyton Manning is a future hall of famer, & had set TD & yardage records in the regular season, but his post-season record is a blemish on his illustrious career.It’s not news to say that Man. United are having a disastrous season by their lofty standards. Losing to Sunderland in the semi of the League Cup was the previous low point, but a new nadir was the abject performance in the UCL r16 first leg v Olympiakos. They still have an outside chance to progress with the return leg at Old Trafford.

The rapid decline of the champions is something of a mystery. On current form they may emulate Blackburn who were 7th in ‘95-96 season, the most recent occasion that the defending champions finished so low in the league.  

United have mostly the same team as last season that won title at a canter, though their rivals underperformed. The summer transfers have strengthened others (City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs), but the Reds have stagnated.

As the bad results have piled up, the fear factor has gone and opponents scent blood. There are weak links in defence & the midfield is a pale shadow of the glory days of Keane, Beckham, Scholes & Giggs.

 

Performance of the Month

 

Seahawks.