Fed Finally Wins Elusive French Open, Captures Career Grand Slam

Fellow brown guy, former Massachusetts state tennis champion, and Roger Federer fanatic Surya Krishnan has contributed this article regarding today's historic events in tennis.

A blazing red letter day when the history of the present composes that "other" history of monuments and records. The Baryshnikov of tennis sinks to his knees for the fourteenth time, to be precise, but this time, the champion’s knees make contact with red clay, the legendary terre bateau of Roland Garros. Roger Federer joins the elite team of Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, and Andre Agassi (who by the way was there in-person to witness this spectacular moment). Federer is now only the sixth player ever to complete tennis' career Grand Slam. He has just defeated Robin Soderling 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-4 in Sunday's 2009 French Open Final. Today's victory in Paris marks tennis history on several levels: it represents Federer's first victory at Roland Garros, after three heart-rending losses to Rafael Nadal in three consecutive finals since 2006. It also heralds his tying of Pete Sampras's 14 Grand Slam titles record. Federer, like Ivan Lendl, has now reached 19 Grand Slam finals during his career, not to mention his record of reaching 20 consecutive semifinals as well as 15 of the past 16 Grand Slam Finals. Perhaps the time has come to declare that Roger has undoubtedly earned the title, "Greatest Player Ever?"

This last title did not come easy. It was by no means a foregone conclusion. Roger came perilously close to defeat on more than one occasion over the fortnight, but continued to "problem solve" his way round after round as each opponent presented him a different scenario and a different challenge. To wax poetic, the seven matches that won him the elusive French Open trophy comprised a fascinating continuum: from the intense and economic sonnet to the expansive passionate lyric, from the undulating grace of the ode to the ever changing ups and downs of the fraught epic. In the second round, Federer was nearly down 2 sets to 1 to Jose Acasuso and saved a set point in the third set. In the round of 16, Federer trailed Tommy Hass 2 sets to 1, 3-4 break point in the fourth set before ripping a lethal inside-out forehand to get back to Deuce and finally win the game. In the semifinals against Juan Martin Del Potro, Federer was on his heels and found himself once again with his back to the wall to a younger opponent who played aggressively and fearlessly almost pulling off an upset. Federer survived all these tests using his greater experience and wits, raised his game to the necessary level, played percentage tennis, made all the adjustments opportunistically even when he was out of rhythm, demonstrating the thesis that after all, a champion is what a champion does, time and again and under pressure. Federer stormed out of the gates of the locker room today with his typical blistering game, taking charge of the situation right away and treating Soderling to an exemplary tennis clinic, as Soderling himself conceded during the presentation ceremony. It was only appropriate that Federer had saved his very best form for the finals.

The great Andre Agassi was there to present the trophy to Federer, and one didn’t have to be an expert lip reader to decode Andre’s happy whisper to Roger, "I'm so happy for you man." Exactly ten years ago in 1999, Agassi achieved the career Grand Slam as well by defeating Andrei Medvedev in a noteworthy five set come back final. In addition, Pete Sampras had also been sending Federer text messages this week, supporting and urging him on to win the title. When was the last time that other great and contemporary champions of a game reached beyond the provincialism of their individual egos to salute, admire, and exhort a fellow champion? Pete, Andre, and John McEnroe, who made it a point of calling him the greatest during the post match interview, have recognized the profound reality that Roger Federer is the most complete avatar of tennis so far.

Being a huge Feder fan and loyalist, I can't even begin to capture how ecstatic I am for the guy. Not only is he an amazing player, but he is also a rigorous student of the game with a deep and abiding respect for the history of the game. I'd like to point out that over the past year Federer was sadly being dismissed and criticized after his more than usual losses; this was extremely disappointing. Commentators, writers, and fans, who once hero-worshipped and deified Federer sensed this and started to become doubters. Every new loss would turn into an issue of calamitous proportions. There was even a lot of pop psychology going around with nudge-nudge, wink-wink references to his growing diffidence and lessening confidence. Federer is stubborn and needs to change. Federer needs a coach. Federer is no longer number 1. Federer has lost his game. Federer is in a funk. Federer will never win the French Open.

Of course, no one is immortal and invulnerable. We saw him breaking into tears at this year's Australian Open and his loss to Nadal at the 2008 Wimbledon was gut-wrenching. His losses to Murray, his subsequent and uncharacteristic smashing of the racket, and his remark in Miami earlier this year after losing to Djokovic, "Thank God the hard court season is over," - what were we to make of all these untoward and anomalous occurrences in Roger’s narrative of dominance? The truth of the matter is that we all live during times of myth making; we need infallible heroes who will defy immaculately the laws of reality in the name of the miraculous and the supernatural. We need to cling on to automatic winners who make winning seem so effortless. It is as though we become vicarious winners, and surely we resent it when our heroes lose. But that is OUR problem. Today's win by Roger has exposed the poor judgment of these critics, their seeming omniscience in the face of Roger’s so-called fall from grace. I surely wish that the entire bandwagon of writers who changed blithely from Federer-gnostics to Federer atheists understand now that Roger’s fame is guaranteed duration in real time and not in the virtual time that they keep constructing and deconstructing capriciously. Roger Federer is real and not a mystique or a random aura that comes and goes. I hope his win will now put this last year into perspective and make everyone realize that despite their harsh comments, Federer is really the "Greatest Player Ever." I am no poet or novelist, but I recall the poem, If by Rudyard Kipling where he comments:

"If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting"

This is precisely what Federer has accomplished. He has bounced back ferociously from this so called slump in the face of adversity and has ensured his place in tennis history. And may I add, it is the emergence from adversity that makes history even more historic.

Surya Krishnan can be reached at sak308@nyu.edu.

Down with the Lakeshow!

Does it ever irk you when a team with sooooo much talent decides that they are bigger than the league, and then picks and chooses when to turn it off and on? When we see this question, are we immediately thinking the 2009 version of the Los Angeles Lakers, now known as the "Lakeshow"?

To you Laker fans, cool it with the Lakeshow nonsense. Yes I know that even my Chicago Bulls championship teams decided to turn it off and on once in a while, just like the great teams of the Celtics, Lakers, Pistons, and even the Spurs probably did every now and then. But lets make something very clear, this version of the Lakers goes above and beyond anything else we have ever seen. They are pretty much toying with teams that have no business even beating them once (let alone 3 times) in a seven game series. As Charles and Kenny put it, its gotten to a point where they are almost disrespecting the league. Oh, and none of those other aforementioned teams named their brand of basketball as a "show".

Let me give you Laker fans a little bit of education here. If you want to be called a "show", the results don't always have to be the same, but the consistancy of effort and passion throughout the duration of the game, each and every time out, does need to be there. Any Tom, Dick, and Harry (or Tammy, Dianna, and Hiliary for that matter) can see this is not the case with the 2009 version of the Lakers. Also, win a championship before you proclaim yourselves as being "The Show", like the St. Louis Rams did before they were deemed "The Greatest Show on Turf".

Even if the Lakers get passed the "Baby Blue Machine", either the "Magic Triks" or the "Cavrabatics" will be next, ready and waiting, to put the reeling "Lakeshow" out of business for at least the rest of the summer, and hopefully, if Kobe has anything to say about it, forever! Just a thought.

Waiting for THE man in the middle

After the NBA Draft Lottery last week, the buzz around the top basketball prospects has gotten louder. After Blake Griffin, there's a clear drop off with the next 2 picks a reported toss up between the highly skilled Spaniard Ricky Rubio and UConn's shot-blocking specialist Hasheem Thabeet.

While scouts are careful to point out that Thabeet's offensive skills are underdeveloped, his stock is entirely based on his length and his potential to be a dominant big man in this league. That fact is - you can't teach 7 foot 3 inches. Whether Thabeet ends up as a Grizzly, a Thunder, or a King, there are going to be some unfairly high expectations placed on the big man to hold it down in the middle. No matter how good Thabeet ends up being, I am pretty certain he is going to fall short.

Why are our expectations for new bigs in this league so high? Why have centers like Greg Oden been such a disappointment? What exactly are we waiting for?

For argument's sake, let consider the two centers who are considered to be at the forefront of the 5: Yao Ming and Dwight Howard. (I am not including Tim Duncan or Kevin Garnett in this discussion because they are listed as forwards. Sorry guys, but you wrote yourselves off by claiming that position.) Sure, Yao couples his skill with a grace that doesn't come naturally to others with his size, but his career has been ridden with injuries and his lack of killer-instinct has repeatedly been exploited. Howard's athleticism is unparalleled, but the majority of his offense is created off the boards and when the game is on the line, he's setting screens and clearing out of the paint for Hedo Turkoglu.

Yao and Howard are examples of how we are willing to overlook shortcomings and exaggerate effectiveness of a center just so we can have titans to marvel at. We give them the benefit of the doubt and consider them "dominant" without attaching any caveats. The truth - Yao Ming is a great center "for his time." Dwight Howard is dominant "for his time."

If you disagree with that, consider where they stand in the pantheon of NBA's big men? Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwan, David Robinson account for numerous scoring titles, defensive player of the year awards, All-NBA selections, and all 4 the non-Bulls championships in the 90's.

The Hoya triumvirate of Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutumbo, Patrick Ewing represent the most resilient and durable group of centers the NBA has ever seen: Zo played 15 seasons, outlasted FSGS and a kidney transplant, and was perhaps the most intense and emotional player in NBA history; Deke played 18 seasons, won defensive player of the year 4 times, and intimidated the hell out of opponents with just a wave of his finger; and Chewing played 17 seasons, is considered the one of the best players in Knick's franchise history, and starred in his own Snickers commercial!

Looking back a few generations, and you'll find even more dominant big men. Wilt Chamberlain holds NBA all-time records for points (100) and rebounds (55) in a single game; Kareem Abdul Jabbar is the NBA's all-time leading scoring; and Bill Russell won 11 NBA championships in 13 years and is now the namesake for the NBA Final's MVP award.

I think we are desperately waiting to relive the glory days of the NBA when the best players in the league not named Micheal Jordan, Magic Johnson, or Larry Bird where larger than life, literally. It probably won't be Oden or Thabeet that brings those days back. I don't think Yao or Howard are cutting it today. But there will be someone, some newbie giant that someday will make the 5th position the most important position again.

Until then, we'll have to settle for the LeBron/Kobe/D-Wade show.

The Raven: 100,000 Miles and Counting

The NBA isn’t the only place where amazing happens. Just ask Miami Beach's Robert "the Raven” Craft, about his lifelong journey that started on January 1st 1975. A lifelong journey that has taken him through the Watergate scandal, 7 presidencies, 5 Hurricane football national championships, the rise and fall of Vanilla Ice, and most importantly, the birth of each of the 5 brown guys.

So who is this "Raven" character and what about his lifelong journey has this brown guy in such awe?

What if I told you that in the span of 35 years, this man has run the circumference of the Earth (24,901.55 miles) four times? What if I told you that for the last 35 years or so, this man has run 8 miles every single day through physical ailments, pneumonia, inclement weather, and the distraction of beautiful women on Miami Beach? What if I told you that this man’s HDL (good cholesterol) is so high that it’s probably unmeasurable? (That last one was for all you super-nerds out there).

Let us take a collective moment of silence to awe at this ridiculous feat.
[Pause]

A plethora (yes I used a thesaurus) of words came to my mind after hearing this story: insane, psycho, loser, ridiculous, why, seriously, no way, get the hell out of here, and daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaymnnnnnnnn. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the words discipline, determination, and motivation better represented Raven’s feat and attitude on life—an attitude that more of us should have.

So whether it be the residency that you will soon be starting, the triathlon that you will be partaking in, the love of your life that you just can’t seem to find, the interviews that you will soon be going on, or the fear of starting 3rd year medical school, just keep in mind those three words—discipline, determination, and motivation. And remember that the Raven’s journey to 100,000 miles began with a single step.

(Insert Joke Here): Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers shocked the NBA by winning the Blake Griffin Sweepstakes by drawing the first pick in the NBA Lottery. The NBA Lottery is one of the more exciting draft processes we have today in sports. The worst team doesn't necessarily get the best pick.

As soon as the Clips won, their team president Andy Roeser said, "We’re going to do our due diligence," during a national conference call after the lottery. "Then, we’re going to pick the best player in the draft.” A wise move, but then he followed that up the next day by saying he thinks Griffin is the right fit. Even head coach Mike Dunleavy agreed that Griffin is the player they want. I do believe Griffin is the best player in the upcoming draft; however, a savior he is not. He will end up being just another lost piece with great potential in LA.

In the business world or on a poker table, it is wise never to show your entire hand. Yet, the Clips have already announced that Griffin will be a Clipper. Although the chances of this happening is 99%, what about the option of trading the pick? They completely eliminated many other options by openly proclaiming their love for Griffin. If Griffin is the best player, maybe they should wait for summer league play and let stock to skyrocket. Why not wait for another team to be so anxious that they end up trading for the number 1 pick? The team doesn't have a good history with draft picks. so one would think they would look at all possible routes before making a decision. Guess not! Last year, Pat Riley never said what he was going to do until the Heat were on the clock. He essentially exhausted all other options and chose a player based upon all the information provided.

It's pretty obvious to me obvious why this team has been in the draft lottery more times than any other NBA franchise.