By Art Spander
Special to Newsday
Maybe it was all about timing. Ken Stabler played in an era dominated by Terry Bradshaw and Bob Griese.
Maybe it was all about location. Stabler might have been in the wrong place. He played on the "Left Coast," as Easterners say with a sneer.
Copyright © 2015 Newsday. All rights reserved.
By Art Spander
Special to Newsday
WIMBLEDON, England — He was Michael Jordan hitting jump shots. He was Jack Nicklaus driving golf balls. He was Roger Federer, out of the past and securing a future because he again will be playing in a Wimbledon final.
At 33, Federer served as if he were 23, with 20 aces and a bunch of serves that Andy Murray just couldn't handle. "He served fantastic," an awed Murray said. "I really didn't have any opportunities."
Copyright © 2015 Newsday. All rights reserved.
By Art Spander
Special to Newsday
WIMBLEDON, England — Everyone knows the best part of Serena Williams' game is her serving — she had 13 more aces Thursday while sweeping through her Wimbledon semifinal -- but her bewildered opponent, Maria Sharapova, pointed out another Williams asset.
"I think one of the things she does extremely well is to take [herself] from a defensive position to offense. I was not able to that," sighed Sharapova after losing to Williams a 17th consecutive time.
Copyright © 2015 Newsday. All rights reserved.
By Art Spander
Special to Newsday
WIMBLEDON, England — In a country of royalty, Serena Williams seems destined again to ascend the throne of ladies tennis. And if things go right, to make history by winning the true Grand Slam, all four major tournaments in a calendar year.
Williams dropped the first set to Victoria Azarenka Tuesday in their Wimbledon quarterfinal, but then, utilizing power unfathomed by other women, rebounded for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Copyright © 2015 Newsday. All rights reserved.
By Art Spander
Special to Newsday
WIMBLEDON, England — It's a sporting cliche, but an accurate one. The way an athlete responds when in trouble is a yardstick of his quality. Novak Djokovic, the No. 1-ranked player in men's tennis, responded well enough at Wimbledon to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament a 25th straight time.
In a match that began Monday and then after four sets was suspended because of darkness, Djokovic Tuesday completed a successful comeback, defeating Kevin Anderson, 6-7 (6), 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4, 7-5 on Court One.
Copyright © 2015 Newsday. All rights reserved.
By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner
WIMBLEDON, England — Time had stopped, more accurately gone backward. The Williams sisters were at it once more, powering serves, ripping forehands, making us feel young again, making us feel part of an era when women’s tennis was distilled down to two names, Venus and Serena.
“Come on Williams!” a voice shouted during the first set of their Wimbledon fourth-rounder, and laughter rippled around Centre Court. Yeah, come on Williams, because out there in the sunshine and history, reprising an act that never gets boring, a Williams would succeed.
©2015 The San Francisco Examiner
By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner
WIMBLEDON, England — The authorities are making underwear checks at Wimbledon. But only for the women, of course. “It’s creepy,” said Caroline Wozniacki, one of the top female players and social media targets. The ladies get equal pay at The Championships, but very unequal scrutiny.
It’s still the 19th Century around here. Eugenie Bouchard, the Canadian, reportedly was fined the other day for wearing a black bra under the obligatory white blouse, causing Claire Cohen of the Telegraph to write, “It’s 2015 and we’re still discussing female tennis players’ lingerie over their performance on court.”
©2015 The San Francisco Examiner
By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner
It wasn’t going to happen again to Rafael Nadal. He was healthy. Along with every other tennis star, he had an extra week of preparation on grass, a surface played so infrequently.
He came into Wimbledon, won his opening match and told us, “I’m a little bit more confident now than I was a few months ago. Let’s say I’m playing more solidly.”
©2015 The San Francisco Examiner
By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner
WIMBLEDON, England — One is too old — at least we think so, even if Roger Federer doesn’t — and the other is too worn out. Tennis is a sport for the young, isn’t it? And the physically fit, which Rafael Nadal seems to be only occasionally. But there are no logical parameters for either of these two.
Federer should have retired a couple of years back. The man will be 34 in a few weeks, ancient for running backs or guys running down backhands. Nadal should have fallen apart a few years ago. First there were the troublesome knees, then the back. He seemed to spend more time in rehab than on court.
©2015 The San Francisco Examiner
By Art Spander
Global Golf Post
UNIVERSITY PLACE, WASHINGTON — The symbolism was unavoidable. Tiger Woods topped a 3-wood from the middle of the 18th fairway into the deepest bunker on the course.
There was his ball, so far down. There was his game, so far down. There were the rest of us — fans, media, not knowing whether to offer sympathy or laughter.
Copyright 2015 Global Golf Post
By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. — The adage is you don’t win a U.S. Open, it wins you. That after the yanked tee shots and missed putts, after the lead slips through the hands of one golfer to another’s like fool’s gold, there’s someone standing as much in bewilderment as elation when he’s handed the trophy.
On a beautiful mid-summer’s day, on a course as reviled as it was admired — tattered and battered Chambers Bay — that someone was the best young player in America and maybe the world, Jordan Spieth.
©2015 The San Francisco Examiner
By Art Spander
Featured Columnist
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. — There’s always a star in the future. And in the wings. There’s always another great one ready to move in, to keep us enthralled in golf. Always another Jack Nicklaus. Or Tiger Woods.
Always a Jordan Spieth.
Copyright © 2015 Bleacher Report, Inc. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. — Bogies and gallows humor are golf’s perfect blend of imperfection. After the mistakes and the frustration come the laughter. And the questions.
But Tiger Woods has heard every question imaginable.
©2015 The San Francisco Examiner
By Art Spander
Featured Columnist
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. — Henrik Stenson compared the greens to broccoli, except broccoli is green and the greens are brown. Ian Poulter said Chambers Bay would turn the U.S. Open into “a complete farce,” but he conceded his comments were constructed from hearsay.
But Jim Furyk, who 12 years ago won a U.S. Open on a course very different from this year’s — old-fashioned Olympia Fields south of Chicago — described Chambers in less emotional terms.
Copyright © 2015 Bleacher Report, Inc. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
By Art Spander
Featured Columnist
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. — The old line when a famous golfer shoots a bad score — Lee Trevino used to toss it out frequently — was that 90 percent of the pros didn’t care and the other 10 percent wish he had played even worse. Harsh, but mostly true.
Golfers are so focused on their own games, their own difficulties, it’s rare when they even acknowledge those of a competitor.
Copyright © 2015 Bleacher Report, Inc. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
By Art Spander
Featured Columnist
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. — It’s not always what you’ve done lately, especially for Dustin Johnson, whose present will always be linked to the past.
Here he is, tied for the clubhouse lead after Thursday’s first round of America’s golfing championship, the U.S. Open. Yet the questions that surround him deal as much with what he has done as what he might do.
Copyright © 2015 Bleacher Report, Inc. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner
This one was for Purvis Short and Sonny Parker, and even for Todd Fuller, who unintentionally became the scapegoat of previous failings.
This one was for Baron Davis, who eight years ago showed us what was possible.
This one was for the Golden State Warriors and their relentless followers — past, present and future, and yes, with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes still babes, the future would seem every bit as exciting as these most recent 11 days in June.
©2015 The San Francisco Examiner
By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner
Sure, Stephen Curry splashed it up. But this Warriors victory, the one that made an NBA championship seem not just possible but probable, belonged as much to two players whose combined points couldn’t match what Curry had on his own.
Andre Iguodala, starting once again in Steve Kerr’s smallball scheme, had 14 points, and Leandro Barbosa had 13 off the bench. By his own self, Curry picked up 37. Yet Iguodala, again with the unachievable task of defending LeBron James, and Barbosa, a.k.a. “The Brazilian Blur,” reminded there is so much to basketball beyond putting the ball in the basket.
©2015 The San Francisco Examiner
By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner
Ten years and it changed for Andre Iguodala. Ten years of starting, of scoring and rebounding, of making the All-Star team, of helping the Philadephia 76ers upset the conference champion Chicago Bulls, of helping the U.S. win the 2012 Olympics — and suddenly he was out of the lineup and on to the bench.
It was all different. “I’m still trying to figure it out,” said Iguodala on Saturday of his role. “It’s harder than it looks.”
©2015 The San Francisco Examiner
By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner
The 49ers will hold a three-day minicamp starting today, and while even a publication such as San Francisco Business Insider is trashing the team — "49ers have Fallen Apart" — the probability is coach Jim Tomsula will show up fully dressed. As opposed to how his predecessor, Jim Harbaugh, appeared for practice with his new team, Michigan.
Harbaugh, in a photo from the website "Lost Lettermen," is shirtless, untanned — all those years in California wasted? — and looking as so many of us like he's been sitting behind a desk and not exercising in a gym. Niners owner Jed York is hereby allowed a chuckle.
© 2015 The San Francisco Examiner