If I Hadn’t Heard It I Wouldn’t Have Believed It Can We Have An Analyst Out There Who Actually Knows Something About The Sport They Cover ?
Is it me but are the so called pundits and analysts covering sports as knowledgeable as they make themselves out to be or just complete assholes for want of a better word ? For months now we’ve heard that Tiger Woods’ place atop of the world rankings in golf is in imminent danger but to date that simply has yet to happen. Both Steve Stricker and Phil Mickeson have had the chance to supplant Woods at the top of the rankings. Instead we’ve seen both players seemingly melt like butter on a hot knife. As we all know that in spite of Woods’ off the course problems and a rather lackluster season we’ve yet to see any of the players amongst the top ten rankings mount a serious challenge to Woods’ decade long reign at the top of the world rankings. But yet we hear the continued talk that Woods’ place at the top is now at an end. Well until the likes of Mickelson, Stricker or Lee Westwood for that matter show that they have the wherewithal to supplant Woods then can we have these idiots simply shut the hell up ?
Stricker needed to finish no worse than fourth to supplant the world number one and Mickelson for all of his success this season has simply proven that being number one isn’t as important to him as being loved by the adoring public. The Deutsche Bank Championship the second of four tournaments of the Fedex Cup playoff system has shown that the PGA Tour’s playoff system though not the most desirable formats out there has become something of a token gesture. At the same time it shows how devoid the season becomes once they have been played. Mundane and meaningless tournaments scheduled to create interest in a sport where unless Woods is center stage then the game itself becomes something of a meaningless spectacle. PGA Tour chairman Tim Finchem knows this to be true much as in the same way NASCAR knows that their Sprint Cup format has brought about as much interest as flies hovering around fecal matter or the carcass and entrails of a dead animal.
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Slide-show gallery for your perusal.
And now with the Ryder Cup now approaching in October and to to be held at the Celtic Manor Golf & CC in Newport, Wales. The US Ryder Cup team with Woods onboard as a captain’s pick will have its work cut out for them when they face an experienced European Ryder Cup team captained by Colin Montgomerie . The Scots man’s opposing number Corey Pavin goes in with a US team with only one player on there that actually has a winning record within the Ryder Cup format. So on paper things don’t appear to bode well for the team but as we know games aren’t played on paper but on the field of play. So as they say anything can happen and so let the games begin, as they no doubt will.
Woods’ season as we know has been subpar even by his own lofty standards for which the vast majority of the players on the Tour they would be extremely happy with. But as we know Woods himself has been twice a winner of the Fedex Cup playoff format . The only other recipient of the $10 million annuity payout has been Vijay Singh . Less we forget that this format has only been in existent for three years and it now enters its fourth year. Somehow this all appears to be lost on the commentators covering the sport of golf. Granted, the game is all about what have you done lately but considering the likes of Stricker and Mickelson combined haven’t amassed the total victories of Woods on the PGA Tour worldwide. Can one surmise that until either golfer has actually shown that they have desire to dethrone Woods from atop of the ranking the fact of the matter is he is still the world’s top golfer even if his present form doesn’t show it ?. An eleventh place finish in the Deutsche Bank championship would suggest that Tiger Woods might be back on track but until victories are back with a consistent regularity the truth is he remains number one and the challengers out there are either going to have to play catch up or simply let the status quo remain as it is .
There’s no doubt about it but the days of US dominance within men’s tennis is now over. There hasn’t been a male winner of a Grand Slam singles’ title in over seven years. And with the failure of Andy Roddick to make it beyond the third round imply shows how dire the situation has now become for USTA . Praise and hype was heaped upon John Isner’s monumental Wimbledon feat in his match against Nicholas Mahut. But t the end of the day Isner’s Wimbledon heroics simply petered out against his next opponent. Teenager Ryan Harrison now remains the US men’s sole hope in at the US Open at Flushing Meadows, New York. The Billy Jean King National Tennis Center and Arthur Ashe Stadium is the main venue for the finals of the last remaining Grand Slam tournament of the season.
While there’s no doubt that the popularity of the men’s game has been on the wane here in the United States the rest of the world has seen the dominance of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the men’s game. The two between them have won simply dominated the ATP Tour and have made the game all the more appealing for the fans worldwide. And in terms of sportsmanship the two have made that their mantra and it is a welcome pleasure for the fans.
Now say what you will about the state of the men’s game here in the US but if the country’s greatest claim that the Davis Cup international men’s team competition is of vital importance as to the popularity the sport. If the country’s sole hope in men’s tennis is now wrapped itself around a meaningless team tournament then it suggests that the fans haven’t really a great deal to be entirely happy about. Andy Roddick now remains a lost cause and the likes of Sam Querrey and Isner are seen as the young US lions on the rise within the sport. It gives us food for thought as to where the game is now heading and how the USTA will go about making it their top priority to have US males rise amongst the rankings and be counted amongst the elite of the game. Spain now remains a dominant force in the men’s game having Nadal as the top ranked player at the US Open as well atop of the ATP men’s rankings . The country also has a ten players ranked inside the top 100 in the world and if that’s not enough to suggest how dominant they have become . It shows how far and dire the state of US men’s tennis has become and the lack of talent being developed in the lower echelons of the sport. However you’d be hard pressed to hear the likes of John or Patrick McEnroe and Mary Carillo suggest that US men’s tennis is in dire need of resuscitation. They simply rally around whatever might take their fancy at a given moment and make that their rallying cause-celebre and rallying cry of the moment. Simply wishing it to be so rather than facing the realities are entirely two different things. Unfortunately the days of McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and their successors in Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras are long gone and it it may well be several years before we see a US male player of their profound talents rise to dominate the game in the way that they’d done.
These are now lean times for the USTA and in particular for the state of US men’s tennis. It seems highly unlikely that we’ll see US male crowned champion at the tournament in Flushing , New York. Whereas on the women’s side Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki it would appear are on a collision course to meet in the women’s singles finals. But that is very much predicated upon what happens over the next four days and should the two top ranked players meet as predicted in those finals. The two have been playing a consistently high level and their play so far in the tournament has given us every reason to believe that should the two meet in those finals the fans could be in for an exhilarating spectacle.
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Picture gallery for your perusal.
If as an avid sport’s fan how do you see the state of golf on the PGA Tour and that of Woods’ plight ? Do you ultimately see Tiger Woods being dethroned from atop of the rankings ? And in men’s tennis where do you see the state of US men’s tennis as it now stands ?Will there be a US male winning a Grand Slam tournament within the next five years or do you see it taking ultimately longer than that ? Do you tend to find the on air analysts far too opinionated and condescending for your liking ? If so which of them gives you the impression that they simply are way in over their heads and why ?
NB: Both Ryan Wilson and Sam Querrey the sole surviving players from the second and third rounds have been knocked out of the singles competition at the US Open. This has been the first time that this has happened where the country hasn’t had a male representative in the quarter finals of the competition since 1999. Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams are seeded number’s 1 & 2 in the women’s singles at the US Open.
For up to date results at the US Open click on the link shown. Results & news ….
Alan aka tophatal …………………… 🙂
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