Sportsman of the year; moment of the decade

Yeah, there’s a post where we’ve been collecting a lot of these year/decade end things, but I’m especially fond of these two, so they get their own post.

The Flink Awards 2009

SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR

The way I define it, a bona fide sportsman is someone who wins with grace and style, and an individual who loses with dignity and without self pity. Champions make or break their reputations on how they handle the two extremes. They don’t allow their egos to get too

1 Jan 2010 | 15 Comments

The 2008 Wimbledon final

One year ago (okay, one year ago tomorrow – allow me some poetic license), Rafa became the 2008 Wimbledon champion in a match that had many of us glued to our TV sets for hours on end.

5 Jul 2009 | 16 Comments

FB – Wimbledon sneak attack

Sent in by Atch2:

Posted by almnifa.

5 Jul 2009 | 11 Comments

Wertheim Q&A

Atch2 sent in this Time.com article by Eben Harrell in which Jon Wertheim talks about his book Strokes of Genius.

The thing I found most remarkable is the Wimbledon locker room, which the players share. I played middle school basketball, and we wouldn’t prepare in the same room as the opposition. These guys were in the fifth set of a Grand Slam final, with the rule of the sport hanging in the

2 Jul 2009 | 6 Comments

Evaluating the ‘Rafa factor’ at Wimbledon

An article in the LA Times by Chuck Culpepper about the “Rafa factor.”

Talk of the dilapidation of American tennis has droned on for so long that it’s stale; talk of the dilapidation of Australian tennis has revved up long enough that it’s audible; and talk of the dilapidation of British tennis has blared roughly since dinosaurs roamed the earth.

Meanwhile, just look at the wake of the defending champion Rafael Nadal, even after he

26 Jun 2009 | 16 Comments

Even Gimmelslob misses Rafa

22 Jun 2009 | 28 Comments

You can’t keep him away

Patzin sent in this Times Online article where Nole talks a bit about Rafa.

Rafael Nadal is in touch by text, asking how everyone is without him. He will probably spend today kicking at the sand on a Majorcan beach while the man who did more than anyone to send him there is picking at a bowl of strawberries on the Wimbledon players’ lawn talking about how fresh he feels. Somehow it does not seem right.

It goes on to basically say that it’s bittersweet for Nole that he lost to Rafa in that epic Madrid match, lost earlier than

22 Jun 2009 | 13 Comments

Cahill on the knee tendinitis

Anyone watching ESPN’s coverage of Wimbledon today knows that commentator Darren Cahill spent a good amount of time talking about Rafa’s knee injury. Turns out, Cahill suffered from the same problem when he was playing. He made it clear he was speaking about his experience, but went on to talk about why his experience had him concerned for Rafa. Freakyfrites has posted a helpful summary of the comments.

22 Jun 2009 | 5 Comments

Everyone misses Rafa

How ESPN’s coverage kicked off today (well, after the overwrought intro video).

22 Jun 2009 | 75 Comments

Postcard from London

Rafa isn’t ready for do the ’spressions…

22 Jun 2009 | 16 Comments