Roger Federer, comedian; Stephen A. Smith, blowhard; and goodbye (?), Donald Sterling

July 31, 2014

It’s been a sports moment of the good, the bad and the huh?

First, the good news to sweeten the disposition: A court ruled that Shelly Sterling can sell the Los Angeles Clippers to former Microsoft mogul Steve Ballmer, paving the way for the team to be treated more humanely, for Mrs. Sterling to get on with her life and for her husband, Donald, whose bigotry precipitated his ostracism from the NBA and the sale, to continue to be clueless. So all’s well that ends well – for now anyway, as I fear this isn’t the last we’ve heard from Mr. Not So Sterling.

Now for the bad: ESPN blabbermouth, uh, commentator Stephen A. Smith stated on a recent edition of “First Take” that women should do their best not to provoke their menfolk into domestic violence. (This after Baltimore Ravens’ running back Ray Rice received a two-game suspension for allegedly beating his fiancée, now wife, in a Las Vegas elevator.)

Smith, too, got a slap on the wrist, a week’s suspension after he apologized for failing to express himself properly. Look, this is not about a failure to communicate. It’s about a cultural mindset...

Are marriage and career incompatible?

July 28, 2014

celebrity couple. It was an enviable lifestyle for those yearning to be rich and famous, but McIlroy’s main motivation was to be remembered for his golf. So in May, with the wedding invitations on the way, he broke off the couple’s engagement.”

Let’s set aside the implication that marriage to Wozniacki would’ve necessarily produced a sort of Duke and Duchess of Windsor lifestyle, with the pair jet-setting from one party to another. And let’s leave off the devastation McIlroy’s last-minute exit caused Wozniacki – a subject I’ve blogged about before...

When love only means zero

May 30, 2014

You have to feel for Caroline Wozniacki and not just because she lost in the first round of the French Open, although that’s certainly tough.

But she no doubt lost, because she was dumped recently by her fiancé Rory McElroy – over the phone no less, he having gone on to win some important golf tournament. (I know: The phrase “important golf tournament” is certainly oxymoronic.)

The axiom is that when the going gets tough, the tough transcend, and that has certainly always been my attitude. When faced with any crisis, tragedy or disappointment, I always redouble my efforts professionally, as have many athletes ranging from McElroy to tennis great Martina Navratilova. Indeed, the idea of the team “winning one for the Gipper” and Pagliacci laughing on the outside for an audience even as he cries on the inside are such time-worn traditions in our culture that they’ve become clichés.

But there are times when the heart can’t transcend, because it’s so heavy or so broken. I remember when Nole got trounced by Rafa in the finals in Monte Carlo after learning that his grandfather had died.