S.F. Examiner: Crisis? Johnson bids for Claret Jug after U.S. Open crash

July 19, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, golf

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — The specter of disappointment was lurking, haunting Dustin Johnson, or so we thought. What Johnson thought, or so he told us, was, hey, he can’t do anything about the past, about the way he squandered the U.S. Open.

“I did everything I was supposed to do,” he said of his final-day putting disaster at Chambers Bay. “It wasn’t difficult to get over it. But you know I was definitely happy the way I played.”

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Bleacher Report: Are Jordan Spieth's Chances to Make History at 2015 British Open Still Alive?

July 19, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, golf

By Art Spander
Featured Columnist

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — His strength is putting. He said so himself. But with the second round of the British Open full of rain, wind and a tiny bit of controversy, Jordan Spieth may have three-putted his way out of a chance for history.

Eight times over 18 holes that took two days and arguably may have taken Spieth out of his quest for golf’s Grand Slam — although he disagrees—Spieth needed three putts to get the ball into the hole.

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Bleacher Report: There Won't Be Any More Tiger Woods Miracles After 2015 British Open Dud

July 18, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, golf

By Art Spander
Featured Columnist

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — He made us believers in the remarkable. Tiger Woods was one of a kind, captivating and enthralling. He chipped in at Augusta and won a Masters. He holed impossible putts at Torrey Pines and won a U.S. Open. But after yet another performance that was less embarrassing than it was lamentable, it is time to stop believing.

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S.F. Examiner: A single stroll at St. Andrews still sends tingles

July 17, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, golf

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — An hour’s drive north of Edinburgh, across the Firth of Forth, in the county of Fife, is golf’s holy land, Churchill Downs, Fenway Park and the Rose Bowl all rolled up in a bowl of haggis, the Scottish national dish.

In a region where “new” translates as something constructed in 1898, the “Old Course,” at St. Andrews, is appropriately named. The game of golf, or a reasonable facsimile thereof, has been played on the rolling links for nearly 600 years.

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Bleacher Report: Simplicity the Key to Jordan Spieth Staying Hot in St. Andrews Debut

July 16, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, golf

By Art Spander
Featured Columnist

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Golf can be remarkably simple. Hit the ball, find it and hit it again. Golf can also be terribly complex when there’s too much thinking, too much listening to others than to oneself. Jordan Spieth came to that understanding long ago.

Spieth is the best golfer in the world right now, not so much by marching to his own drummer as ignoring the irregular rat-a-tat of others. He’s 21 going on 35, wonderfully skilled — isn’t there a line that says talent trumps experience? — and supremely confident.

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S.F. Examiner: Tiger fading away, but we still must watch

July 15, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, golf

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — To the very end, until he decided to step away, Sinatra could fill a room. You thought of that when Tiger Woods, still searching for a past seemingly gone forever, came to the press tent for his pre-British Open interview.

It was standing room only for the media. Tiger never gives up, nor do we.

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Newsday (N.Y.): Novak Djokovic defeats Roger Federer to become new king of Wimbledon

July 13, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, tennis

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

WIMBLEDON, England — Novak Djokovic understood whom he was playing and where he was playing Sunday. He also understood what he had to do against Roger Federer, a seven-time Wimbledon champion.

"You know he's not going to lose," Djokovic said. "I'm going to have to win it if I want to lift that trophy."

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S.F. Examiner: Here’s how you spell Djokovic: B-E-S-T

July 13, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, tennis

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

WIMBLEDON, England — They know his name now, know that he’s the best men’s tennis player in the world. They know his quickness, his return of serve and his ability to react, sprinting from one end of the court to the other. They even know his tendency to take tumbles as he reaches for balls beyond his reach, but not his hopes.

Novak Djokovic was always somewhat of an outsider, not so much an oddball but unusual — at least to Americans. Djokovic had a talent for mimicking other players, men and women — he knew every Maria Sharapova twist and move — and a talent for fading in big matches.

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S.F. Examiner: Stabler’s magical memories remain vivid

July 11, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, football

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

Oh those Oakland Raiders of the 1970s, talented and uninhibited, who, like the poem, would knock you ’round and upside down and laugh when they’d conquered and won. They seemed less a team of athletes than a group from central casting, characters but, when needed, full of character.

Ken Stabler, who died Thursday at 69 from colon cancer, was the perfect quarterback for those Raiders, someone who sensed how far he could push the rules and, in a manner of speaking, push his teammates — which was all the way to the top.

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S.F. Examiner: Slammed: Serena clinches hers, eyes history’s

July 11, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, tennis

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

WIMBLEDON, England — Go ahead and say it: Grand Slam. Magic words in tennis, in sport, an attraction beyond the norm, a standard of brilliance, a mark of excellence, an achievement sitting right there within the grasp — well, the serves and the ground strokes of the magnificent Serena Williams.

Williams had attempted to avoid the subject, the way some baseball announcers refuse to tell us a team hasn’t had a hit, fearing somehow the words would have an effect, be a jinx.

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Newsday (N.Y.): Serena Williams wins Wimbledon and completes Serena Slam

July 11, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, tennis

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

WIMBLEDON, England — She had won Wimbledon, but Serena Williams was talking about New York and the U.S. Open. About the possibility of making history. About the possibility of becoming the first player in more than a quarter-century to win the tennis Grand Slam.

On a glorious day in suburban London, Williams beat Garbine Muguruza of Spain, 6-4, 6-4, giving her a sixth Wimbledon women's singles title and so much more. She now has a second "Serena Slam," winning all four of the majors in succession since the U.S. Open last year. And she has a shot at the true Grand Slam, all four in a calendar year.

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Newsday (N.Y.): Memorable plays during Raiders days puts Ken Stabler on doorstep of Hall of Fame

July 11, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, football

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.

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Newsday (N.Y.): Roger Federer will play Novak Djokovic for Wimbledon title

July 11, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, tennis

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."

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Newsday (N.Y.): Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova for 17th straight time

July 09, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, tennis

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.

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Newsday (N.Y.): Serena Williams goes 3 sets to get past Azarenka

July 07, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, tennis

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.

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Newsday (N.Y.): Novak Djokovic rallies to beat Kevin Anderson

July 07, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, tennis

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.

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S.F. Examiner: No Slam talk: Serena shuts it down after beating Venus

July 07, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, tennis

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.

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S.F. Examiner: No black bras, green headbands at 21st-century Wimbledon

July 04, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, tennis

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.”

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S.F. Examiner: Another ‘sad moment’ for fading Nadal

July 03, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, tennis

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.”

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S.F. Examiner: Federer, Nadal remain compelling through nature’s obstacles

July 01, 2015 by Art Spander in articles, tennis

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.

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