Poll: Which Streak is Most Impressive?

There’s an interesting poll on ESPN.com today. It asks the question, “Which of the following is most impressive?”:

• Phoenix Suns’ 17-game win streak
• Tiger Woods’ 7th straight PGA tour victory
• Roger Federer not losing a set in the Australian Open
• Wisconsin basketball team winning 21 of 22 to start the season

That’s a tough one.  The Suns’ win streak is awfully impressive…as is the winning streak of the Wisconsin men’s basketball team.  It is extremely difficult to string together 17 straight wins in any professional league…or 21 of 22 wins in any NCAA Div. I-A sport for that matter.

But, even as impressive as those streaks are, in my mind the real debate comes down to Woods and Federer. As I discussed in a previous post, Woods and Federer are two of the most dominant figures in sports today. What they are doing in their respective fields of competition is unparalleled.  As for the question “who is more dominant?” – I decided that Woods (barely) had the edge, simply because of his age, experience and track record over a longer period of time.

However, this is a different question, focusing on a different set of criteria. So, which is more impressive? Woods’ 7 straight PGA victories? Or Federer’s run through the Australian Open without dropping a set?

On this one, I have to give the edge to Federer. The last man to go through a Grand Slam without dropping a set was Bjorn Borg in the 1980 French Open.  That was 27 years ago. And while it’s true that Tiger has won 7 PGA events in a row, he was knocked out of the HSBC Match Play Championship in England and finished second in two tournaments in Asia during that time.  Granted, those weren’t PGA events, so they don’t count against the streak, but I’m going to count them for the sake of this argument.

Federer didn’t lose even one set in the Australian Open, competing against the best in the world.  Just ask Andy Roddick how dominant Federer was — he can speak from experience.  The equivalent would be Woods winning every single round in a Major (which, by the way, he is very capable of doing). However, in this instance, Federer gets my vote.  Who gets yours?

Kansas City Royals: Future World Series Contenders?

I’ve long held the belief that the Kansas City Royals have one of the best farm systems in Major League Baseball. The only problem (if you’re a Royals fan) is that the Royals have been a talent pipeline not for themselves, but for other MLB franchises.  Just consider a few of the players who have recently come through the Royals system:

• Johnny Damon
• Jermaine Dye
• Carlos Beltran
• Kevin Seitzer

Talk about talent. But, under previous management, the Royals dealt each of these stars away. And each of them went on to great success as All-Stars for other teams.

But, for the first time in a long time, there is reason for optimism in the town that hasn’t had a World Series-caliber team for more than 20 years.  Under the direction of new GM Dayton Moore, recent indicators suggest that the Royals have two of Major League Baseball’s brightest stars coming up through their farm system. In fact, an article on Sports Illustrated’s website suggests that the Royals have two of the top 15 prospects in baseball: Alex Gordon (ranked #1 by SI) and Billy Butler (ranked #9).

According to major league scouts and various media outlets, Gordon (pictured above) is the “ultimate hitting prospect.” An article on ESPN.com regarded him as having the bat power of Mike Sweeney with the versatility and star potential of George Brett — music to the ears of Royals fans everywhere.  Gordon is a left-handed hitter with a “gorgeous” swing who won the 2005 Golden Spikes Award (an award given by USA Baseball to the top amateur player in the country).  Last year in AA Wichita, Gordon dominated opposing pitching, hitting 19 home runs in the team’s last 60 games…in a park known for being “pitcher-friendly.”  To top it all of, Gordon is somewhat of a local product, hailing from nearby Lincoln, Nebraska.  Put all that together, and you have the makings of a future All Star and Hall-of-Famer.

And then there’s Billy Butler. Butler is well-regarded for his raw power. He unashamedly swings for the fences every time…and lent his big bat to Team USA’s lineup last year. The Royals are hopeful that Butler will be able to provide protection for Gordon, dealing opposing pitchers (and coaches) fits.

Gordon and Butler might just be the long-awaited answer for the Royals trials and tribulations.  The long-suffering fanbase has suddenly been given a reason to hope — and they are looking to these two bright stars to be nothing less than saviors of the franchise.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Gordon and Butler both called up to KC this season. And while I don’t think the Royals will be competing for the ALCS this year (or even the central division), I do expect to see marked improvement. 

Give this dynamic duo a few years to mature — and Dayton Moore a few years to get all the pieces in place – and I think we could be looking at the Kansas City Royals back among baseball’s best.

Unseeded Serena Puts the Smack ‘Down Under’

Serena Williams is back. After a championship drought of nearly two years, the tennis star returned to center stage at the Australian Open, becoming only the second unseeded player to win the Australian tournament in the open era. And boy did she win. In the final, Serena laid the smack down on Maria Sharapova, the world’s current No. 1 player, in straight sets (6-1, 6-2).  It was the first time Sharapova had lost in a Grand Slam final.

For those of you who haven’t been paying attention to tennis, you may wonder what happened to Serena.  I, for one, was curious how someone who won four straight Grand Slam titles in 2003 (and the Australian Open championship in 2005), could fall to an unseeded status.  The short answer is injury.  Serena has had recurring knee injuries that have hampered her in a major way. But, she’s also had off-court distractions, including the drive-by shooting death of her half-sister, Yetunde.  Serena was forced to appear at the sentencing of the gang member who shot her sister last June. Saturday, she carried a note with her to the match that simply said: “Yetunde.” After her victory over Sharapova, she told the crowd of 15,000 that she dedicated the title to her sister, who would sometimes accompany her and her sister, Venus, as a personal assistant when they competed.

Many critics claimed that Serena couldn’t come back.  They said she was too overweight. Too slow. They said she didn’t have it in her anymore.

Serena had an answer for them.

“It was an awesome win, because I had so many critics. So many people … saying negative things,” Williams said. “It’s like, tell me ‘no’ and I’ll show you that I can do it. I get the greatest satisfaction just holding up the Grand Slam trophy and proving everyone wrong.”

I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t always been the biggest fan of Serena Williams. She’s a little too flashy for me. And she sometimes can come across as immature or even arrogant. I used to get tired of her and Venus dominating the tennis headlines all the time.

But after Saturday, I have a new-found respect for Serena Williams. If the Australian Open told us anything about Serena’s character, it’s that she isn’t afraid to back down from a challenge — and she never gives up.  Her memorable run in Melbourne will vault her from No. 81 to No. 14 in the world rankings, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see her make a run at more than one Grand Slam this year and return to her rightful position as No. 1.

Duke Beats Clemson in Controversial Thriller

In an epic ACC battle last night between two ranked teams, Duke beat Clemson on a layup with .1 seconds remaining on the clock.  It was a finish to remember, but not necessarily because of Duke’s buzzer-beating shot.  It turns out that Duke was given 4.4 seconds to drive the court and hit the winning layup, when in reality, they should have only had 2.8 seconds.  Don’t believe me?  See for yourself:

Call it luck. Call it Duke magic.  Call it whatever you want, but the bottom line is, Clemson got robbed. 

Remind anyone of Colorado’s famous 5th down to beat Missouri in 1990? 

That season, CU went on to win a split national championship.  Will Duke do the same?

Who’s better: Federer or Woods?

Last night, Roger Federer beat America’s best, Andy Roddick, to advance to the Australian Open finals.  The thing is, he didn’t just beat Roddick — Federer dominated him.  In fact, he beat Roddick in straight sets, with a score of 6-0 in the second set…only the third time in 476 career matches that Roddick has been held to zero in a set.  Ouch. When asked about the match afterwards, Roddick’s response was: “It was frustrating. It sucked. It was terrible. Besides that, it was fine.”

Now Federer advances to the Aussie Finals — his seventh consecutive Grand Slam Final (matching a record that was set by Australian Jack Crawford in 1933-34).  With 9 major titles under his belt at age 25, he is well on his way to becoming one of the greatest to ever play the game.

Such domination is enough to make me wonder if Federer has any counterpart in the world of sports today.  Is there another athlete who has dominated his sport so thoroughly and enjoyed as much success?

Only one name comes to mind: Tiger Woods. At age 31, Woods is clearly head-and-shoulders better than the rest of the PGA. Woods has 74 tournament victories under his belt, including 54 PGA victories. As far as majors are concerned (the golf equivalent to “Grand Slams”), Tiger has four Masters championships, three PGA championships, two U.S. Open championships and three British Open championships. In 2001, he became the first man in the history of golf to hold all four professional major championships at the same time.  It is an understatement to say that Tiger Woods has revolutionized golf.

Which leaves me asking the question: who’s better?  Federer or Woods?

At this point, I’ll have to go with Woods.  He’s a bit older than Federer and has been dominant over a longer period of time.  His style of golf has changed the way his competitors play the game (they’ve had to in order to keep up).  And yet, no one has ever come close to challenging him. 

However, ask me again in a few years and I may have a different answer for you.  Give Federer a little more time and he may prove even more dominant. 

For now, I tip my hat to both of them and consider myself lucky to have the opportunity to witness such brilliance.

Who cares about the NBA?

The Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks are lighting up the NBA. They’re playing electrifying, high-scoring, fast-break basketball. And yet, for some reason, I could care less.  As an avid sports fan (and basketball fan nonetheless), my apathetic attitude towards the NBA is a bit puzzling — even I’m baffled by my own complacency.  And I’m not alone. While talking to one of my co-workers the other day (who also happens to be a self-proclaimed sports nut), I discovered that he, too, shares my lack of interest in the NBA.  Why is that? 

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I think it could have something to do with one of the following reasons:

• the NBA no longer has some of the star power, dynamic personalities and rivalries it once enjoyed (i.e. — Jordan, Bird, Magic, Ewing, Barkley, Thomas, Rodman, etc.)
• the NBA’s marketing has a more hip-hop feel, attracting a more urban audience
• I don’t live in (or even near) an NBA city
• the NBA style of basketball is (for the most part) boring

In my mind, the last point holds the most weight. Have you ever been watching a college basketball game and flipped the channel to an NBA game?  Try it sometime and let me know what you think.  The pace and spirit of college basketball is so much more compelling. You have arenas filled with energetic college students, painted in their team’s colors, standing shoulder-to-shoulder, jumping up and down and chanting the entire game. You have players diving on the floor, passing the ball and playing scrappy defense. You have tradition. 

All of these elements are lacking in the NBA. It gets old after a while watching guys walk up the floor, go one-on-one and shoot.  Granted, there are a few teams who buck that trend, like the Suns and Mavs, and I enjoy watching them play occasionally. Other NBA teams need to look to these teams as models and emulate their style of play.

Until they do, I’d rather watch the Australian Open.

You’re the Best Around…

I thought it would be appropriate to kick things off with one of the greatest sequences in sports movie history, taken from “The Karate Kid.”  I hope this clip inspires and reminds you of the ’80s as much as it does me:

Welcome to the Extra Point

Thanks for stopping by.  As a writer, I’m excited about this new Web log and the opportunity it gives me to express my opinions about one of my favorite pasttimes — sports.  I plan to post my thoughts, opinions and reflections on what is making news in the world of sports. 

My hope is that you’ll find something that piques your interest. Perhaps you’ll even feel compelled to post a comment, which I glady welcome…the more discussion, the better!

Thanks again for lending a few moments of your time — I hope you’ll check back again soon.