This is a pressure week indeed. 

The Australian Open begins Monday, Jan. 13, with all the main attractions – Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer – back in action. The big news is that the main guys have new support. Feddy’s drawing on childhood idol Stefan Edberg for inspiration while Nole has Boris Becker and Andy, Ivan Lendl, of course. Rafa’s sticking with Uncle Toni. Otherwise, it’s the 1980s all over again. The interesting thing is that Rafa et al. are tighter than the ’80s guys ever were. Wonder what it’s all going to mean.

At the end of the week, we’ll be looking forward to the AFC and NFC conference championships. It’s old rivals Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos versus Tom Brady and the New England Patriots and two new ones – Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers versus Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks.

And, oh, yes,  my novel “Water Music” – all about rivals – makes its debut on Tuesday, Jan. 14.

The big question: Win, lose or draw, can we all deliver? Read more