Brittney Griner recently said that Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey preferred that Griner not disclose her homosexuality in public while the star was enrolled in school, lest it hinder recruiting. After all, recruiting brings the avoidance of losing, and losing is unacceptable. More»

It was another silly day at the annual Triple Crown chase, a cold dud that ruled out the Kentucky Derby winner Orb as a behemoth for the ages, defining him as merely fantastic, not historic, as once again there will be no Triple Crown winner. More»

Preakness favorite Orb has always been solid and strong, say the managers at the farm where he was born, and owes his temperament to his pedigree. They knew Orb's mother, Lady Liberty, had the ability to produce a champion. More»

David Beckham announced his retirement on Thursday, and despite the world-class talent and worldwide fame, there might be something even more impressive: He managed to always just seem like an all-around decent guy, someone you'd want to know. More»

Until recently, I knew almost nothing about sailing. Then in 2011 I burrowed into the Volvo Ocean Race, a nine-month, 39,000-nautical-mile, 10-stopover grind of 70-foot yachts. And I began to realize that sailors are tough -- as tough as anybody playing anything. More»

The Players Championship, like the rivalry between Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia, began with such promise. But it ended with Woods on top... and Garcia all wet, after the trash-talking Spaniard fell into insults (and the water). More»

If anybody in the Premier League would manage forever, it would be Alex Ferguson. But after a 13th league title, the legendary Manchester United manager is retiring, and one can't help but wonder what he'll do away from the sidelines. More»

The Saudi Arabian government recently announced that female students in private schools could now compete in sports. While this doesn't sound like a huge leap forward, it will mean a lot for brave young women throughout the region who have been looking for encouragement. More»

This is how it always happens, right? A good horse wins the Kentucky Derby, and thus the hopeful Triple Crown talk begins. Since 1978, it's always ended in disappointment. But maybe, just maybe, Orb is worth getting excited about. More»

Here came justice, bolting surely through the slop like a bullet train from the top of the stretch, demanding the attention of the neck hairs, as the best horse in the Kentucky Derby, trained by a Hall of Famer Kentuckian, proved that life can be fair. More»

Here it comes again, the big old cornucopia of hope, the 139th Kentucky Derby, sprinkling its visions across owners, trainers, jockeys, exercise riders, stable workers. Just look at 2003 winner Funny Cide and his owners, the "Sackets Six." More»

Trainer Shug McGaughey is a sentimental favorite at the Kentucky Derby, where his horse, Florida Derby winner Orb, has a good chance of victory. But Shug knows how much relies on chance once the 20-horse cavalry charge begins on Saturday. More»

We are gathered in Louisville for the biggest thing in horse racing, except it's the second-biggest thing in horse racing at the moment as the world's largest, richest stable implodes in a gripping multinational doping scandal. More»

You spend a good long while in life just hoping for a lack of derision, maybe some measure of distant understanding, and then so much of the nation gives a big embrace. To a gay person -- well, this one, anyway -- it means a great deal. But there is so much more to go. More»

Twenty years ago, Monica Seles' life was forever changed at a tournament in Germany. Before the stabbing, she was on track to make a run for the greatest women's tennis player ever, and she still deserves to be recognized among the all-time greats. More»

Just because after a while Barcelona started looking like a bunch of guys who borrowed the shirts and ran out into Munich, doesn't mean we should get carried away, overreact and forget the long view. Barcelona will rebound and menace again in 2014. More»

Let's celebrate an overlooked aspect of sports: they provide a domain where the maladjusted can stay off the streets and earn a great living. As exhibit A, take Sir Alex Ferguson, on the cusp of his 13th Premier League title in 21 years, and still desperately hungry. More»

Only six days after Monday's Boston Marathon tragedy, the London Marathon will run as scheduled. Nobody should be surprised. England has been forced to adapt to tragedy over and over in the past, and its citizens have earned their resolve through time. More»

Adam Scott's Masters win was yet another victory for an international golfer, furthering the rapid globalization of the game. As such, holding all but one major in the U.S. has become antiquated, so why not add a fifth major somewhere new? More»

I hear the voice, still, and I just know it's Sunday in the United States. I still hear Pat Summerall saying something spare -- "Third and ten . . ." -- and I know the light has been fading outdoors. I know what I'm wearing, I know summer is drawing to a close. More»

Did you know one of the most remarkable American coaches died on Friday? Did you know that Frosty Westering had 32 seasons at Pacific Lutheran, never mentioned playoffs or titles to his players but won four national championships? Please know. More»

Nothing livens up a Friday like another referee controversy. On day two of the Masters, an official caused an uproar by penalizing 14-year-old Tianlang Guan for slow play, proving that even golf can't escape our need to complain about refs. More»

If you could have been anywhere in the world on Monday night, you might have picked Atlanta and the Georgia Dome. On Tuesday night, the place to be was Westfalenstadion in Dortmund, Germany. Wednesday, your path should lead to Barcelona. More»

The 1983 North Carolina State basketball team revisited in Jonathan Hock's marvelous "Survive and Advance" for ESPN Films is known as the all-time March Madness story. But for me, and Ralph Sampson's Virginia team, they were the Grim Reapers. More»

Two wins. Eighty minutes. That's why Florida Gulf Coast Andy Enfield is going to USC and increasing his salary sevenfold. He's a talented coach -- but how many other anonymous guys are also very good, and fated to never get a similar chance? More»

For all its advantages, being an elite college basketball player with an ex-NBA father can't be entirely easy. But Michigan's Tim Hardaway Jr., and his teammates Glenn Robinson III and Jon Horford, are showing they're tough enough. More»

Nobody in the NCAA tournament on Friday had a worse night than Kansas' Elijah Johnson, who delivered a cheap shot early, then left everyone baffled on the final play to cap the Jayhawks' collapse in a Sweet 16 overtime loss to Michigan. More»

Nobody ever talks about being excited to see a team that avoids turnovers, but it's one of the most admirable qualities in basketball. And no team protects the ball better than Michigan. More»

They're uncommonly engaging. They're unusually aware. They're unquestionably ambassadors. They're bonded in a way you can feel in the air. They might remind you why you ever liked sports. They are the Miami Hurricanes, my all-time favorite team. More»

This is a watershed moment for college hoops in Florida: Three teams from the state have made the Sweet 16, including a Cinderella, a perennial favorite and a program at its peak. Will one of them soon call themselves national champs? More»

While Europeans may shudder at violence in America, Americans may shudder at the ugliness in European soccer stadiums. Jozy Altidore, Mario Balotelli and Kevin-Prince Boateng are among the black soccer players who have dealt with racism from fans. More»

Do you like low-scoring, hard-rebounding games? Then this is your year, and Florida guard Scottie Wilbekin, who just likes "stopping a player" and gets his kicks out of frustrating opposing teams' offenses, should be one of your emblems. More»

Either UCLA's Ben Howland or Minnesota's Tubby Smith could coach his last game as they meet in the tournament Friday night. But no matter what happens, the two have shown a knack for navigating difficult waters in the face of public scorn. More»

Of all the developments over the past few years, maybe nothing trumps this: the energy around the Detroit Tigers. Less than 10 years ago the laughingstock of the AL Central, the Tigers are now building a dynasty... and Michigan fans are streaking to Lakeland. More»

Florida Gulf Coast University may have opened in 1997, but it's starting to have it all, from the campus beach to 14,000 students to an NCAA tournament bid in just its second year of Division I eligibility. Just remember: Don't feed the alligators. More»

It's the West's lot to be questioned about NCAA tournament seeds, with a small-conference No.1 in Gonzaga, and questionable players behind that, from New Mexico to Notre Dame to Pittsburgh. But out of this clutter, one team will still head to Atlanta. More»

Ryan Howard has begun to look like Ryan Howard again, batting .333 with four home runs and a 1.036 OPS in spring training. Could it be a sign that the slugger is ready to bounce back from a lost season -- or is it just a tease for the Phillies faithful? More»

Blue Jays fans have spent the twenty years since Joe Carter's October homer waiting patiently for a team with promise and stars like R.A. Dickey, Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle to arrive in Toronto, and the wait is almost over. More»

As Derek Jeter heals, Yankees GM Brian Cashman daydreams about Chipper Jones, a moment both meaningless (pie-in-sky hopeless) and meaningful (emblematic of the Yankee moment). Scott Rolen and Derrek Lee are starting to look good too. More»

The Orioles get a rare, rare athletic opportunity. In a world full of athletes who desperately wish people would doubt them, the Orioles might get to play a second consecutive season amid low expectations. But does that matter in baseball? More»

Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera, who announced Saturday that he will retire following the 2013 season, may go down in history as the best closer ever. But in addition to stellar command and stymieing cutters, he could school the league in thankfulness. More»

It's hard not to gush over the Nationals. The enthusiasm in their dugout, where there's great team chemistry among young stars such as Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg, and where the players refer to each other as family, is infectious. More»

A little-known Turkish insurance man has wrought a global sports miracle. He has made it possible to feel sorry for Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United manager and sometime bully, by delivering a terrible call at a pivotal moment. More»

Among all the Florida spring training sites, Viera stands alone both in its nearness to Cape Canaveral and in its coolness in 2013, for suddenly it hosts probably the most alluring team in the Florida half, the Washington Nationals. More»

For welcome levity in a hostile world, there's always the New York Yankees' catching situation, up in the air after 16 seasons of Jorge Posada and Russell Martin, an amusement possible without sneering at the actual humans catching. More»

Winning a Cy Young award or fronting an AL East title-contending pitching staff hasn't made David Price different. He's as humble as ever, an engaging interview, with no interest in becoming a celebrity -- and that suits the Rays just fine. More»

Every college football season delivers some farcical record-padding games between powers like LSU and also-rans. So don't criticize Sam Montgomery for saying he didn't try as hard against weak opponents. He gave those games the effort they deserve. More»

Ron Gardenhire's long tenure with the Twins, both as manager and as a coach, is something of a marvel, and so is the man himself -- he's not just a winning leader but also compassionate. More»

It sounds ludicrous... but what if the deepest esteem for the female athlete winds up stemming from UFC, beginning with UFC 157 Saturday night, when Ronda Rousey defeated Liz Carmouche? UFC aims its arrow right for the hardcores. More»

If you were previously unaware of the existence of college basketball in Miami, you weren't far off. For years, the program toiled in obscurity. But suddenly, even amid NCAA turmoil, the second-ranked Hurricanes are the talk of the town More»

The Oscar Pistorius murder case would be grim anywhere, but it's especially so when set against the backdrop of South Africa, illuminating the continuing violence in a country that harbored one of the great acts of human thinking and courage of our times. More»

What will happen to the NBA chances of Kentucky freshman Nerlens Noel after his devastating injury, one that provides yet another commentary on why college athletes should be paid for their efforts, and not just with scholarships? More»

Honesty may have prevented Blayne Barber from earning his PGA Tour card during qualifying school last year, but this week the former Auburn All-American gets his long-awaited shot at a Tour event after qualifying for the Northern Trust Open at Riviera. More»

When competitors at the Westminster Dog Show are preparing for the ring, their benching area is open to the public. Anyone can pet, coddle, photograph and admire these top canines, leading the writer to ask: What is the most unusual thing dog show owners will do for their dogs? More»

Many would-be managers will wring their hands about the lapses that helped the U.S. men's soccer team lose to Honduras 2-1 on a humid Wednesday afternoon in San Pedro Sula. But here's the ultimate truth -- there's still a long way in the World Cup qualifiers. More»

I am that exotic creature, a gay male sportswriter, and from Chris Culliver to the blowback he received, I never expected a Super Bowl week like it, just as I never expected to be standing around wondering whether to approach somebody like Brendon Ayanbadejo. More»

The other football season may be over, but the drama is just beginning in Honduras as the United States hopes to qualify for the the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The process carries from Wednesday on into October. More»

Part of MMA's appeal are the involuntary gasps that the sport can produce. And nobody takes this spectactor's breath away more than Brazilian sensation Jose Aldo, who made his mark against Frankie Edgar at UFC 156. More»

After the season-opening success of Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, I'm looking forward to watching the pair renew their major championship rivalry with Rory McIlroy at Augusta in April. More»

Arrogance, disrespect and hype aren't always bad things. Saturday night, they served as an indispensable backdrop for UFC 165 in Las Vegas, where heavyweight Antonio Silva turned the tables and knocked out the talkative Alistair Overeem. More»

Mixed martial arts isn't quite like any other sport, but it does share fans with other sports — especially the NFL, which is also built on barely controlled aggression. As UFC 156 approaches on Super Bowl eve, the link between the two worlds grows. More»

Americans are waking up and smelling the deer antler velvet spray. Now we get a Super Bowl week in which we learn Ray Lewis possibly used a banned substance for a ballyhooed recovery from a torn triceps, and it hardly counts as a jolt. More»

Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka took the Australian Open titles this weekend. But there are still many questions that remain open-ended. For one, was Sloane Stephens denied a finals apperance by a panicked Azarenka injury timeout? More»

This is hard. Get your Harbaugh on and start rummaging around sports siblings seeking an all-time top 10, and you'll find more than you ever imagined. There are dozens of extraordinary contenders -- but we managed to narrow it down. More»

Across the Pacific, 19-year-old upstart Sloane Stephens upset Serena Williams in the Australian Open quarterfinals, a match that served as an homage to a more barren time when their pioneer parents rustled. More»

The Super Bowl is still two weeks away, but the forecast for the big event already calls for continued televised segments featuring Ray Lewis with an 80-percent chance of schmaltzy music. And that doesn't even factor in the Harbaugh brothers narrative yet. It's enough to make any football fan want to tune out the noise. More»

After the Patriots lost another home playoff game to the Ravens, we have a paradigm where we're going to have to stop revering the Patriots just because we're used to revering the Patriots. We're going to have to stop succumbing to glamour. More»

Anyone born since 1990 might assume that the Patriots have an automatic berth in the AFC Championship Game: They will play there for the seventh time in 12 years on Sunday. But there was a time when the Pats were a goofball operation. More»

Lance Armstrong and Manti Te'o rocked our worlds, but they have some stiff competition on our list of the Top Sports Hoaxes of All Time -- including a pretend sheikh, a not-so-disabled Paralympic basketball team and a figure skating "fixer." More»

When it comes to describing Roger Federer's brilliance, vocabularies are exhausted and the thesaurus is tapped out. As he makes his near-record 53rd consecutive Grand Slam appearance, the No. 2 ranked player in the world looks ready to continue defining the word extraordinary. More»

The world's two most popular leagues decide championships in much different fashions. While Manchester City won a true season EPL championship, one can't help but marvel at the unpredictable drama created by the NFL's playoff system. More»

No country is more sports-mad than Australia -- and yet no Australian man has won the Australian Open since Mark Edmondson in 1976, and no Australian woman has won the Australian Open since Chris O'Neil in 1978. Why not, and when will the draught end? More»

We have reached the greatest NFL weekend of the year, one better than the conference championship games and even the Super Bowl. The divisional playoffs bring a weekend of important games, and, looking back for the 10 best, bring deep history with them. More»

Drenching a coach in Gatorade has become a football tradition since the mid-80s. But haven't we evolved since then? Not if the recent bowl season is any indication, as even arcane games saw their share of celebratory showers. Time to start thinking outside the bucket. More»

After a decisive victory over Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl ran Chip Kelly's record with Oregon to a gaudy 46-7 in four years, Ducks fans are holding onto slim hopes that their head coach will remain in Eugene instead of heading to the NFL. More»

How best to portray the survivor-hood of Jim Boeheim, who over 37 seasons has gone from everyone's idea of a whiny grouch to (almost) cuddly? The best measure of how much he's achieved may not be the 903 wins, but all the losses. More»

It may not be the BCS Championship Game, but Thursday night's Oregon-Kansas State Fiesta Bowl is a commendable runner-up, featuring Bill Snyder's efficiency against Chip Kelly's frenzy. So why are we calling it the Sham Bowl? Read on. More»

Not only has Stanford gone 35-5 over the last three seasons, and suffered Andrew Luck's departure by going 12-2 with a Pac-12 title and its first Rose Bowl win in 40 years, but it has slaughtered a stereotype. The Cardinal leaned on a hard, hard defense. More»

From the energized fanbase in reborn World Cup hopeful Colombia, to the venues in New Orleans and England prepping for the year's most epic events, here's one sure prediction for 2013: Somewhere in the world, horns will blare, flags will fly ... and there will be victory. More»

Football faces an uncertain future thanks to increased awareness of health risks associated with a violent sport. But in places like Texas, football is woven into the fabric of communities, and it seems clear that the game isn't going anywhere anytime soon. More»

Could this be the best team of any sport? Spain took the 2012 European title, becoming the first squad to win three straight international cups. But, as impressive as Spain's accomplishments are, the best may still be on the horizon. More»

There are some teams and some seasons that leave you with the feeling that it must be something to belong to that team. This autumn in Indy, as their coach battled cancer and the Colts raced to the edge of the playoffs, was one of those seasons. More»

The Jay Cutler story is a cautionary tale of being famous, of how complex human beings can get pegged for one trait. But then, if you actually see Cutler’s hometown of Santa Claus, well, you start to get a different picture of the heavily scrutinized QB. More»

Manny Pacquiao's fourth bout with Juan Manuel Marquez has reminded us that boxing is fascinating, and that one punch can relight the past, overwhelm the present and change the future. We'll soon find out what all that means for Pacquiao. More»

Lionel Messi, who has scored 86 goals this year, breaking Gerd Müller's 40-year-old record, has to be seen to be believed. He's the best, most momentous athletic show on Earth, and possibly the most artistic show as well. And he's still only 25. More»

Whether squinting to punch someone or taking a punch, that face had always stayed five-plus feet above the ground, atop Manny Pacquiao’s small frame. But after one right hand by Juan Manuel Marquez, the famous visage just ... vanished. More»

Further evidence that people are really weird came this week with the resistance to the prospective new NBA team name 'New Orleans Pelicans,' in a league that already features some of the goofiest, most feckless team names imaginable. More»

When you realize that Manny Pacquiao is about to turn 34, and you wonder about his last two blasé bouts and how he'll do against Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday, trainer Freddie Roach reassures you: This great story will continue on. More»

Injuries happen in every sport, but with a fresh NBA season underway, the prolonged absence of Bulls star Derrick Rose has left Chicago looking woozy, in a manner to which it might not even realize now that it has grown accustomed. More»

You keep thinking about the outsized American life of Rick Majerus that ended on Saturday and coursed through coaching stints at Marquette, Ball State, Utah and Saint Louis -- and one game starts to get deluged. But that one game should not be forgotten. More»

Alabama's Nick Saban is one of our national leaders in clarity. From his very first head coaching job at Toledo, that stood out. And going into Saturday's clash with Georgia, he still knows exactly what he wants from his team -- and how to get it. More»

The world just took two big steps toward a coach or manager winning a title one day -- and getting fired the next. Auburn canned Gene Chizik not two years after his national title; Chelsea's Roberto Di Matteo was 186 days from a European Champions League title. More»

Another spirited goal line stand sparked one more signature win, this time at rival Southern Cal, and now Notre Dame — which began the season unranked and has lost 10 of its last 12 bowl games — is 12-0 and playing for the national title. More»

Colts quarterback Andrew Luck may have hit his rookie nadir on Sunday, the one that had not really visited him over the first nine games. But this thudding rookie nadir just wasn't all that horrible in the long annals of thudding rookie nadirs. More»

Andrew Luck was put in an almost impossible situation as the No. 1 overall pick replacing Peyton Manning in Indianapolis. Only halfway through his rookie year, Luck has looked mature beyond his years for a team that was supposedly rebuilding. More»

What an idyllic Chicago football Sunday. The rain came at a menacing slant, just like they draw it up in the city planning. The Bears lost. It was like walking through a museum biosphere aimed at depicting essential Chicago football. More»

Why Oregon? Oregon wins. It thrills. It reels off points that read like a fan's good dream: 57, 42, 63, 49, 51, 52, 43, 70, 62. It lends tranquil fourth quarters full of steady pulses. And it upgrades public health. Worry, like sedentariness, is bad for you. More»

Guan Tianlang could be just one remarkable boy or he could be some sort of golf signpost. By qualifying for the Masters at 14 years old, he certainly sends the brain running off and scampering around and turning up with crazy thoughts. More»

A guy from Mobile, quarterbacking Alabama, against LSU, under the lights, rough night, looks doomed, comes through, then starts crying? If that scene doesn't end up in a national championship, then no storyteller had any say in the matter. More»

The capital of basketball is always on the move, and this year, the place to be is Los Angeles. But while much of the attention continues to be on the Lakers, who are a surprising 0-3, the Clippers are the ones leaving fans breathless. More»

In our mysterious memory banks, incidents often outweigh longevity. That's certainly the case when remembering the career of former pitcher Pascual Perez, who was found dead this week in the Dominican Republic at the age of 55. More»

The Alabama-LSU rivalry spent most of its first 111 years in varying states of tepidity. It didn't preen or scream for attention the way it's doing right now, when the first Saturday in November shouts from the Alabaman and Louisianan calendars. More»

Doubt, melodrama, rancor and molar-grinding are already underway 1/82nd of the way through the overwrought Lakers season, which began with a 99-91 loss to the Mavericks. This year's team offers the tantalizing possibility of implosion. More»

The last weekend in October was filled with college football drama, except in Tuscaloosa. Alabama keeps rolling, beating undefeated Mississippi State 38-7, to the point where a simple No. 1 ranking no longer feels fitting for Nick Saban's unstoppable squad. More»

If we watch sports for every feeling, from joy to entertainment to inspiration to horror to contempt for the rival down the road, the greatest would be disbelief, and last winter Jeremy Lin supplied a heap of that. But in Houston, it may finally fade away. More»

Five. Five little minutes. That's all the time that was spent by American fans fearing their men's soccer team would falter against Guatemala and be disqualified from the '14 World Cup. But then a dominant, likable U.S. team showed up, just like that. More»

We are quarterback people, a quarterback culture. We love quarterbacks in high school, quarterbacks in college, quarterbacks when they're old. We love them because they've taken the hits and earned it, but we also love them all out of proportion. More»

On a Saturday when six Super Bowl-winning NFL coaches readied for their next game, Sean Payton whipped out his playbook and visor for the start of his … with his team of sixth-graders. Welcome to the Surreal Life in Springtown, Texas. More»

If 26 witnesses including 11 former teammates have it right, then Lance Armstrong has spent the last decade-plus feeding us one big lie. We've lied before, but you would have to feel awe at this level of lying -- at its length, breadth and doggedness. More»

Surliness has a legacy in sports, but more often than not, the misbehavior contains a sliver of hope, reminding us all that fans really do care. But Sunday in Kansas City, the contempt went across a line and gave hints of devolution. More»

It's a good thing the Orioles got in that epic champagne-soaked locker-room celebration on Friday. Because their improbable and thrilling run will officially end here, with their AL wild card playoff win over the Rangers. It just has to. Right? More»

Adam Greenberg gets another shot tonight. After getting hit by a pitch -- the first pitch -- in his only major-league at-bat in 2005, the Marlins have offered him a single plate appearance. It's a do-over that ends a 12-round scuffle between the heart and mind. More»

You can feel it in the parking lots at Reliant Stadium, where grills hiss and music blares, and especially in the crowd of nearly 72,000, cheering Houston's first-ever 4-0 NFL team. It's Texans fever, and if you love football, then you'll catch it too. More»

Refs, we love you. We always have, even when it didn't seem that way. You are the first-string NFL officials, and now you get your turn as the coolest people in America. As fans, we're sorry for how we treated you ... until tonight's game, anyway. More»

We've been teased too many times by the on-and-off-then-on-again-then-off-again talks between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. Sure, we would all love to see this fight, but really? We know better than as to really expect it'd happen. Right? More»

USA's win over Jamaica in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday was, well … blah. Not to American fans, though. At a rowdy bar in New York's East Village, it became quite apparent that the U.S. has evolved in its attempt to join the world at the world's game. More»

For years men's tennis had a Big Two with one almost-there (Novak Djokovic). Then it had a Big Three with an almost-there (Andy Murray). But with his first Slam title, Murray created the promise of something even more extravagant in 2013. More»

It took nearly five hours and many astonishing rallies before Andy Murray finally beat Novak Djokovic at the U.S. Open. But really, it took decades. He became the first British male to win a Slam title in 76 years, a feat even he struggled to grasp. More»

There's no word to describe it, really, but Serena Williams has something that allows her to pluck her game from the wreckage and immediately right the ship. It's what makes her great. It's also what makes her a four-time U.S. Open champ. More»

On a day for road warriors at the U.S. Open, Juan Martin del Potro sent Andy Roddick sadly into retirement, and Tomas Berdych sent Roger Federer unexpectedly packing. And both winners sent the New York crowds disappointedly home. More»

Most people wouldn't know David Ferrer if he knocked on their door. But those who do, those who have sat through an entire Ferrer match, can tell you that at No. 5 in tennis' big-four era dwells a game that’s both barely watchable and hugely admirable. More»

Serena Williams has plowed through the U.S. Open competition, rendering the tournament all but over just midway through. But where suspense fails, bedazzlement compensates. Her dominance is simply mesmerizing. More»

Andy Roddick, who announced his retirement on Thursday, his 30th birthday, will be remembered as much for the Grand Slam title he did win -- the 2003 U.S. Open -- as for the one he almost did: an epic five-setter at Wimbledon three years ago. More»

One of the most stirring two-act careers in tennis came to an abrupt end in the second round of the U.S. Open, with the upper deck almost empty and the lingering fans failing to muster a 'One More Year' chant. This wasn't how it was supposed to end for Kim Clijsters. More»

Fifteen U.S. Opens ago, when she was just 17, Venus Williams spoke of her hair beads and how she liked geometry over Algebra 2. She charmed but would also throw fits. She was a kid. But at this year's Open, the maturation of Venus is made quite apparent. More»

As another Grand Slam unfurls, it helps to spend the first couple of days on an expedition. The quest at this year's U.S. Open: to comb through the Flushing Meadows wilds to seek a glimpse of a volley, just one, measly volley. More»

As incredible as this era's top tennis players have been, they've also been remarkably good at showing up. But not for this year's U.S. Open. There will be no Rafa, and frankly, that just feels wrong. More»