Posted on May 8th, 2015
By DERON SNYDER
If the number seven represents completion, Tiger Woods has about 18 months until his roller-coaster comes to an end.
Considering all that has occurred since that fateful Thanksgiving in 2009 – when then-wife Elin Nordegren chased Woods out the house and he crashed his Escalade into a fire hydrant – you might think the last year-and-a-half of his season would be drama-free.
For one thing, the period has been relatively free of victories. Prior to being outed as a serial adulterer, Woods could point to three years when won at least eight tournaments. But he has won just eight times total since 2009.
That must not be enough suffering to please the penance police. In addition to not winning on the golf course, Woods is losing when he’s off it.
The latest indignity arrived last Sunday when his girlfriend, Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn, broke up with him after three years. Making life worse, the relationship ended around the same time his father died (May 3) in 2006.
“This three-day window is really hard,” Woods told reporters Tuesday as he practiced for this weekend’s Players Championship. “I haven’t slept. These three days, May 3rd through the 5th, is just brutal on me. And then with obviously what happened on Sunday, it just adds to it.”
Woods could lament everything he has lost. The No.1 ranking. His wife and kids. A chance to tie Jack Nicklaus’ record for major championships. Millions of dollars in endorsements.
But a funny thing happened during his fall. No longer the world’s best golfer, he’s arguably become a better man.
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Posted on May 6th, 2015
By DERON SNYDER
With John Wall sidelined in a dark suit with matching soft cast Tuesday night, the Washington Wizards lost their mojo and first playoff game this season. An excellent chance to return home with a 2-0 series lead died a slow death in the Atlanta Hawks’ 106-90 victory.
Whether the Hawks played better because it was inevitable, because they were desperate or because Wall was absent, they reminded us how they won 60 games to become the East’s No.1 seed. Atlanta flashed the San Antonian ways that second-year coach Mike Budenholzer instilled after spending 19 years under coach Gregg Popovich.
The Hawks were labeled “Spurs of the East” for good reason and they showed why with unselfish play and 30 assistss on 37 field goals.
“If we keep moving the ball, keep attacking and keep finding the open man,” Budenholzer told reporters after the game, “good things will happen.”
On a team with four All-Stars and no superstars, the coach might be the brightest luminary. The task in Game 2 was easier without worrying about Wall pushing on offense and pestering on defense, but Budenholzer got his team to play the beautiful style that has become a San Antonio trademark.
The Wizards also have displayed stretches of alluring basketball in the playoffs, but they’ve accomplished it one of the league’s top point guards. Wall’s breathtaking speed and breakneck forays on the rim are unique, impossible to duplicate and difficult to replicate.
His backup, Ramon Sessions, had an outstanding outing. He scored 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting with four assists and just two turnovers in 40 minutes of action. With Sessions running the point, Washington stayed close throughout, trailing by three points with 8:17 remaining in the game.
But the Hawks’ aesthetically pleasing play went up a notch the rest of the way, as they shot 53 percent from the floor and recorded six assists on eight field goals. Atlanta closed the contest with a 22-9 run.
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Posted on May 5th, 2015
By DERON SNYDER
Hearts stopped for Washington Wizards fans at two points during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, once in the second quarter and again in the fourth.
First point guard John Wall writhed in pain as he held his left wrist after an awkward fall. Then shooting guard Bradley Beal pounded the floor in agony, pain consuming his right ankle, after he stepped on Al Horford’s foot.
Wall and Beal, the Wizards’ twin building blocks, returned in Washington’s 104-98 victory against the Atlanta Hawks, allowing fans to breathe again. The dynamic duo also helped the team’s growing identity take root. It’s a team persona that’s surprising to many observers, but forward Paul Pierce said there were no new revelations for him Sunday.
“Those guys have as much as heart as anybody in the building,” Pierce told reporters after Washington became the first NBA team win four consecutive series-openers on the road. “Both suffered pretty good injuries and were able to bounce back. I take my hat off to them. They showed a lot of grit.”
We’re still growing accustomed to associating the Wizards with terms such as gritty, resilient and tough. Those weren’t the dominant traits a few weeks ago as they limped down the stretch with a 6-8 record to end a disappointing second half of the regular season.
But the lesson they taught everyone last year is being repeated and reinforced this year: Pay no attention to the first 82 games. Those are merely the prelims for these Wizards, who have won more playoff games in the last two seasons than the previous 27 combined.
That wouldn’t be the case without Wall and Beal, who experienced their maiden postseasons last year and now play like crusty regulars. Beal scored a game-high 28 points against the Hawks, bumping his career playoff average to 20.1 ppg. Wall added 18 points and a game-high 13 assists, essentially matching his averages through five playoff games this year (17.4 points and 12.6 assists).
Imagining the Wizards without either is a horrific mental image, but it flashed through minds as they laid on the court. Beal’s scare was particularly frightful considering his history of leg injuries. A post-game X-ray on his ankle was negative and his status for Game 2 is uncertain.
“That’s probably the worst I ever turned it ,” Beal told reporters after the game. He vowed to contribute Tuesday, regardless. “I can’t let the team down,” he said. “Even if I’m not a threat, I can be a decoy. Just have to have the will and mentality to do whatever it takes to win.”
Youth isn’t wasted on this young backcourt.
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Posted on May 4th, 2015
By DERON SNYDER
Where was Public Enemy when we needed them?
In the heavily promoted run-up to a bout that was five years in the making and 10 years late, we would’ve been better served if Chuck D, Flavor Flav and Terminator X formed a reunion tour to sound the alarm and warn the masses about Saturday night’s so-called megafight.
“Don’t … don’t, don’t, don’t believe the hype!”
Never have so many been so disappointed after paying so much for a boxing match. And that’s a fact, because the pay-per-view for Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao cost a record-high $90 for standard definition and $100 for HD. Viewers at home paid around $8 per round to (finally) watch a bout that had maybe four compelling moments in Mayweather’s 12-round unanimous decision.
History suggested that the fight wouldn’t live up to its billing. But the general public sucks at history, which is why it’s so often repeated. “Disappointing” is the default setting for big-time boxing matches, which only rarely venture into “thrilling” and “exciting.”
Mayweather in particular isn’t known for producing scintillating action, rather technically brilliant but aesthetically boring fights. He’s a masterful strategist who methodically outpoints opponents while seldom putting himself at risk. His defensive tactics, counter-punching and ring generalship are marvels to behold for boxing’s cognoscenti.
But those skills are snooze-inducing for casual observers who want to see, you know, a fight!
It was a great night for star-gazing, The red-carpet A-listers were more interesting than the fight itself. A 19-year-old Bronx native sang the Philippine national anthem (after someone inexplicably sang the Mexican national anthem) and Jamie Foxx butchered the American national anthem. Then it was on.
Or so we thought.
If this was the fight to bring boxing back, cancel the resurrection. MayPac did more harm than good, causing millions to wonder why they ever clicked that button on the remote. Pacquiao was game, trying his best to get inside and mix things up. But Mayweather didn’t enter the ring at 47-0 by accident.
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Posted on May 1st, 2015
By DERON SNYDER
The long-awaited Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao bout is a fight of differences. Of excess and access. Of past and present. Of crime and punishment (or lack thereof).
Of the loved and the hated.
It’s a fight that ultimately exposes gaps in how we think, how we feel and how we live. It underscores cultural chasms that are evident in and outside the sports arena.
Let’s start with income equality, as Mayweather prepares to make around $4 million per minute Saturday night if the fight goes the distance. Meanwhile, everyone else who can make a buck is wringing it for every last cent.
Las Vegas hotel rooms are going for $400 to $900 a night or more. Promoters have charged admission for Friday’s weigh-in – an unprecedented move – and those $10 face-value tickets are fetching $200 to $500 on the secondary market. The MGM Grand released just 500 measly tickets for the general public to watch the match in person, which costs a cool $10,000 per on average.
For folks who aren’t balling on that level, the pay-per-view merely costs $100, a record price.
However, this clash accentuates more than the sharp divide in our financial wherewithal. It also highlights the glaring difference between what’s acceptable from boxers (at least THIS boxer) and what’s tolerated from other pro athletes.
Only Bill Cosby-truthers believe that Mayweather is not guilty of serial domestic abuse. The fact that his violence against women hasn’t reached a crescendo, like the uproar after Ray punched Janay in the elevator, is baffling to some and troubling to others.
An exquisite defensive boxer, Mayweather’s slickest maneuvers have been avoiding repercussions … aside from serving 60 days of a 90-day sentence in 2012.
His history is well documented but most journalists until recently have ignored it, downplayed it or lobbed softball questions about it. When pressed on the issue, Mayweather has resorted to the rope-a-dope, blaming his accusers (“I’m black, I’m rich and I’m outspoken”) or misappropriating Scripture (“Only God can judge me”).
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