Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Simply The Best!
Much of this
nation was glued to their television sets late Saturday afternoon.
Bianca Andreescu was playing tennis in New York. The tournament is
called the United States Open, and is one of the four major tennis
tournaments held each year. The others, not necessarily in order of
importance: the Australian Open, the French Open, and Wimbledon. No
Canadian has ever won the title in New York, nor at any of the other
major events.
After the
match, Bianca summarized her thoughts. “I was feeling many, many
things before the match, more than any other match. In the finals,
playing Serena. I just tried to breathe as much as I could from the
moment I woke up until the match. I tried to do that throughout the
whole match, to keep my nerves in place.”
I have been
following tennis quite carefully since the 1950s, since the days that
I grew up in Belleville across the street from St. Andrew's
Presbyterian Church. There were a couple of courts, with fences, in
constant use.
There are
many nuances to the game. To compete at the highest level, one must
be very fit, very fast, and prepared for almost anything that your
opponent might have in store for you.
On Saturday,
Andreescu played the final of The Open against Serena Williams, the
best female tennis player ever to pick up a racket. Certainly part of
Serena's game is to intimidate her opponents. She does that with her
size, her agility, and her power. Understandably, as an American, she
also had the support of the crowd of more than 20 000 fans cheering
for her. “Who is this little Canadian upstart?”, they asked of
each other while the ladies warmed up for the match.
Soon it
became apparent that Andreescu was not to be pushed around. She won
the first set, quite convincingly. She powered the ball back over the
net to Williams, often catching her flat-footed. She served well, and
caught the lines for winning shots.
She
continued to play well in the second set, building up a lead of five
games to one. With only four points, she would become the champion!
As we witnessed, Serena was not about to concede. She won the next
four games, convincingly, to tie the set. Serena just needed a small
opportunity to get back into the match. It appeared as if she would
take the second set, to set up a third and final set for the trophy.
Many of Bianca's fans cringed, as Serena powered her way to tie the
set.
At that
point, the Canadian teenager stunned the crowd at the Arthur Ashe
Stadium, and, dare I say, millions of tennis fans around the world,
by winning the next two games, quite handily, to win 7-5.
That was
certainly one of the greatest accomplishments in Canadian sports
history. This is not a team game. It involved this chubby-cheeked
youngster from Toronto, facing the queen of tennis. As a nation, we
have reached the pinnacle in hockey, on many occasions. Mike Weir won
the Masters some years ago. Donovan Bailey raced to win the premier
event at the Olympics. Many Canadians have done very well in Winter
Olympic events.
“This has
been my dream. There are so many emotions going through my body right
now. It's really hard to describe”, she said just moments after her
win. A dream of all Canadian tennis fans, of all Canadians.
A great day
for tennis, a great day for Canada!!
James Hurst.
September 9,
2019.
-- James Hurst 613.399.2278 sportslices.blogspot.ca
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Justin Verlander's Magnificent Day
The Toronto
Blue Jays decided early in the season that the best way to put bums
in the seats, to keep the fans entertained, would be to put the
rookies on the field. For the most part, that is has been successful.
Vladimir Guerrero Junior had an immediate impact on the team. He
inherited some of the free-swinging, maybe it's a strike, (maybe it
isn't), style from his father. With his colourful dreads, and
engaging smile, he has captivated the fans in Toronto.
“Bo"
Bichette has also ignited the team. His early batting exploits were
nothing short of remarkable, knocking the cover off the ball. He tied
or broke several records, stroking pitches for extra base hits. And
he has continued to hit the ball, even in the face of all of the
analysis used by the opposition to set him down. His batting average
has remained above the .300 mark, a good sign for things to come.
Cavan Biggio
is the third member of a trio of children of former major-leaguers to
fill the lineup spots for the Jays this season. He has remarkable
“pop” in his bat, and parks home runs in the bleacher seats,
sometimes unexpectedly.
Throw in a
host of other young talent, and you have the nucleus of a fine
baseball team down the road. The problem the Blue Jays face, of
course, is that the talent they have developed needs to stay the
course. (Did someone mention the name Kawhi Leonard? The Raptors did
not develop his talent from his college years, but his loss will be
felt for many years in Toronto.)
The Houston
Astros have a powerful team-great pitching, and great hitting. Taking
the mound last week for one of the games against the Jays was their
ace: Justin Verlander. His pitching performance against the Jays was
nothing short of magnificent. Only one Jay reached base, with a base
on balls; near perfection, and he entered the dugout after the game
with his second no-hitter against the Jays.
Only five
other pitchers in Major League Baseball have thrown 3 no-hitters:
Nolan Ryan (7), Sandy Koufax(4), Bob Feller(3), Cy Young (3), and
Larry Corcoran (3). Please excuse me for not recalling much about Mr.
Corcoran. But the other fellas on that list have plaques in the Hall
of Fame. Verlander will have his induction five years after he bids
adieu to the game.
Verlander
struck out 14 Jays, and he has struck out 104 batters since the All
Star break, leading the Majors.
Many
pitchers have entered the ninth inning entertaining the prospect of
pitching a no-hitter, only to be thwarted by a blooping single,
usually off the bat of an unknown player. Verlander had done that on
two previous occasions. Baseball has an undefined rule that no one is
to communicate with a pitcher in the dugout when it appears he might
be on the verge of tossing a “No no”.
With two out
in the ninth, the Astros' pitching coach approached the mound, to
settle Verlander as best he could. Verlander had been staked with a
two run lead in the top of the ninth with a home run off a very
unlikely bat: Abraham Toro. Called up recently from the minors, the
native of Longueuil, Quebec, had his second home run of his career at
a very opportune time for the Astros.
Verlander's
last pitch was struck, fielded at third by Toro, and tossed to first
for the final out. Velander jumped in the air several times. He
hugged anyone that got near him, showing the emotion which is great
to see in veteran players.
He is now
17-5 on the season, with a good chance of reaching the 20 game
plateau. He has 221 wins in his career, and at 36, he still has
plenty of gas in his tank.
I hope you
stayed up late Monday night to watch Bianca Andreescu's win at the US
Open. She defeated a young American. Naturally, the deck was stacked
against her: the fans, the announcers, maybe even the ushers. No
matter. When it came to great tennis, she was there!
And yes, the
NFL starts Thursday night.
-- James Hurst 613.399.2278 sportslices.blogspot.ca
