Top 5 sports stories of the year

January 5, 2016

It’s that time of year when everyone does Top 10 lists so I thought, Why not join the fun? But if you’re a reader of this blog, then you know that I like to do things with a little twist. Here is my list of Top Five stories I covered in 2015, with a look at how they might develop in 2016:

1. American Pharoah’s Triple Crown win
To understand how big this story was, consider this: Before the Pharoah won the Crown, there were more men who had walked on the moon (12) than there were Triple Crown winners (11). In becoming the first horse to capture the elusive trifecta since my beloved Affirmed in 1978, AP galvanized a sport and a nation. And he did it with sweetness, charm and versatility – coming from behind at the Kentucky Derby, winning in the slop at the Preakness and going wire-to-wire commandingly at the Belmont Stakes. What’s next: Tours to see AP at Coolmore, where he’ll be standing stud, are already sold out – a sign that America’s love affair with its hero continues. ...

Top ten reasons why American Pharoah is one athlete who will never disappoint

June 13, 2015

Number 10: No fizzing out in the French Open finals. (Sorry, Novak Djokovic.)
Number 9: No flaming out in the quarterfinals. (Sorry, Rafael Nadal.)
Number 8: No meltdown over blisters, stray feathers, etc. (Sorry, Andy Murray.)
Number 7: No loud plaid shorts. (Sorry, Stan Wawrinka.)
Number 6: No left-handed compliments to rivals. (Sorry, Roger Federer.)
Number 5: No steroids. (Sorry, Major League Baseball.) ...

Soccer – international sport, American problem

May 30, 2015

I certainly hope NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has gotten out his Crane’s stationery to send a thank-you note to FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

As the NFL’s season of deflated footballs and inflated fists fumbles into the post-season, along comes a corruption and bribery scandal in soccer that makes the NFL look like “The Sound of Music.” Football officials must be wiping their brows and going “Whew!”

Usually when there are billions of dollars at stake and charges ranging from vote-selling to slave labor – brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, no less – the person who heads the organization under siege steps down. But no, no. Blatter – Is that a great name, or what? – was just reelected president of the soccer governing body, vowing to make the organization stronger.

And we can just imagine how he’s going to do that. Human rights abuses? Slave labor? Whoo-whoo, World Cup for you, Qatar. To paraphrase the New York Lottery commercial, all it takes is a (few million) dollars and a dream.

The nation that has decided to take on FIFA, with help from Switzerland (home of FIFA and tired of its image as bank vault to the corrupt), is of two minds about the situation.

On the one hand, the only thing America likes more than a scandal is a scandal set in a five-star hotel. (It was at the Baur au Lac on Lake Zurich that several officials were roused in the early morning hours May 27 and arrested. Ooh, Is it like “The Grand Budapest Hotel?” I love that movie.) ...