Monthly Archives: February 2014

Tennis, WTA Tour

Serena Williams first into the Quarterfinals in Dubai

Leave a comment

The only American in action on Tuesday was Serena Williams who was facing Ekaterina Makarova in the second round. The first set was a really tight affair with Williams being broken two times but breaking back and forcing a tiebreak. The tiebreak itself went long before Williams finally pulled out the 10-8 win. That seemed to break the match wide open as Williams went on to break Makarova every time in the second set as she won the match 7-6 (10-8), 6-0.

Serena will now have Wednesday off in singles play (she does have a doubles match with her sister Venus) before her quarterfinal matchup on Thursday.

Singles Draw

This is the route for each American to the main draw if the higher rankings win. Green means the American on the left would be the higher ranked player, red means they would be lower ranked. Bold on an athlete indicates that match has been completed. Matches highlighted in yellow are on today’s schedule. Click to expand.

Dubai Tennis Championships - Singles - 2-19-14

Continue reading Serena Williams first into the Quarterfinals in Dubai →

Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Daily Olympic Reviews, Freestyle Skiing, Nordic Combined, Olympics, Short Track Speed Skating, Snowboarding, Sochi 2014, Speed Skating

February 18th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Review

Leave a comment

Tuesday saw another gold medal for the US as the US had a number of really good performances. Disciplines are wrapping up as we head into the final few days of the Olympics and people make their final appearance in Sochi.

Alpine Skiing

Events:

  • Women’s Giant Slalom Run 1
  • *Women’s Giant Slalom Run 2

The first competitor up for the US was Mikaela Shiffrin and she put up a great run of 1:18.79 that was only fourth best at the time. It would have staying power though and ended up fifth best in run one. Julia Mancuso was next and after chasing the pace in the first half of the hill she got off course and missed a gate to take a DNF. Later on Megan McJames finished in 1:22.77, 32nd, and Resi Stiegler finished in 1:22.69, 31st. 

The second run began with the first 30 in reverse order so Shiffrin was the first one to go for the US after 25 skiers. Shiffirn put up a good 1:18.58 run, sixth best of the second runs, and stayed in fifth with a 2:37.37, half a second off the lead. After the top 30 had gone McJames finished in 1:21.60, 30th best of the second heats, and her total time of 2:44.37 was 30th best. Stiegler went 29th best in run two with a 1:21.38 and she finished 29th overall with a 2:44.07.

Results Summarized:

  • Julia Mancuso – DNF on run one.
  • Megan McJames – Finished 30th with a time of 2:44.37. Was 32nd in run one with a 1:22.77 and 30th in run two with a 1:21.60.
  • Resi Stiegler – Finished 29th with a time of 2:44.07. Was 31st in run one with a 1:22.69 and 29th in run two with a 1:21.38.
  • Mikaela Shiffrin – Finished 5th with a time of 2:37.37. Was 5th in run one with a 1:18.79 and 6th in run two with a 1:18.58.

Continue reading February 18th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Review →

Tennis, WTA Tour

Sloane Stephens Out in Dubai, Williams Sisters Only US Singles Left

Leave a comment

Sloane Stephens is out in Dubai after a disappointing 6-3, 7-5 loss to Lucie Safarova in the first round on Monday. It wasn’t a good showing by Stephens who was fine on her first serve but won just eight of 28 points on her second serve and was broken in five of her 11 service games. She did well against Safarova’s second serve but didn’t get enough opportunities and was really poor on her first serve.

The loss was not as bad as the one Stephens suffered in Qatar last week, Safarova is a top 30 player, but still it’s another non-Grand Slam tournament that Stephens hasn’t done much in.

In other singles action Venus Williams was impressive in a 6-3, 6-2 upset (by the numbers) over Elena Vesnina. Venus faced only one break point (which she saved) and broke Vesnina in four of her eight service games. Williams won 59 of the 97 points in the match.

In doubles action Raquel Kops-Jones/Abigail Spears defeated fellow American Liezel Huber and her partner Hao-Ching Chan 6-3, 7-6 (4). The two Americans took aim at the Huber/Chan second serve as they won 16 of the 19 points off of it as they broke them three times.

The other American to play on Monday was Lisa Raymond who was teamed with Shuai Zhang. Originally scheduled to face twin sisters Karolina Pliskova and Kristyna Pliskova they ended up playing Kirsten Flipkens and Petra Kvitova. Things did not start well with a 6-0 doughnut in the first set. They rebounded strong though with a 6-4 second set win and a 10-7 tiebreak victory to win the match.

Singles Draw

This is the route for each American to the main draw if the higher rankings win. Green means the American on the left would be the higher ranked player, red means they would be lower ranked. Bold on an athlete indicates that match has been completed. Matches highlighted in yellow are on today’s schedule. Click to expand.

Dubai Tennis Championships - Singles - 2-18-14

Continue reading Sloane Stephens Out in Dubai, Williams Sisters Only US Singles Left →

Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Daily Previews, Freestyle Skiing, Nordic Combined, Olympics, Short Track Speed Skating, Snowboarding, Sochi 2014, Speed Skating

February 18th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Preview

Leave a comment

What’s on tap today? Lots of changes in what you’ll see! Eight disciplines and competition in nine events with six gold medals up for grabs. Of course that is all assuming there are no weather issues today…

In today: Alpine skiing, nordic combined, short track speed skating, and speed skating. Out today: curling (done at the Olympics for the US), figure skating, ice hockey, and ski jumping (done at the Olympics).

All times below are ET.

Alpine Skiing

Events: Four American women are in the field of 90 for the giant slalom at 12:30 AM. Mikaela Shiffrin goes first for the US, sixth overall with Julia Mancuso going 17th. The final two Americans are Megan McJames who goes 33rd and Resi Stiegler who goes 41st. The second run will be held at 4 AM with the two times combined for the final standings.

When:

  • Women’s Giant Slalom Run 1 – 12:30 AM
  • *Women’s Giant Slalom Run 2 – 4 AM

Live Streaming: A live stream will be available on the NBC Olympics website and on the NBC Sports Live Extra app. You will probably have to authenticate a cable subscription to watch the live streams of the Olympics.

TV Coverage: The alpine skiing will be included in NBC’s evening coverage from 8-11:30 PM ET.

Continue reading February 18th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Preview →

Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Curling, Daily Olympic Reviews, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing, Ice Hockey, Olympics, Ski Jumping, Snowboarding, Sochi 2014

February 17th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Review

Leave a comment

On Monday the US grabbed their first gold since Thursday and had a couple of historic firsts. Several events got canceled due to the weather and the US hockey team won a medal, we just won’t know which one until Thursday.

Biathlon

Events:

  • *Men’s mass start 15 km
  • *Women’s mass start 12.5 km

The men’s 15km mass-start was supposed to be Sunday. Then it got postponed until Monday. Then it was rescheduled, and now it’s been postponed again… to Tuesday. Fog in the area was just too dense to hold the event. Hopefully things will work better on Tuesday at 5:30 AM ET.

The women’s 12.5km mass start did happen with the only American in the field, Susan Dunklee. Dunklee had a great start and was in sixth heading into the second round of shooting but missed one target in each of the final three rounds of shooting. Despite a great effort in the skiing she couldn’t overcome the shooting woes and finished 12th in 36:57.9, 1:32.3 behind the winner.

Results Summarized:

  • Susan Dunklee – She finished in 12th with a time of 36:57.9, 1:32.3 behind the winner, after missing 3 targets.

Continue reading February 17th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Review →

Recaps, Rugby, Rugby Sevens

USA Women’s Sevens Rebounds on Second Day of Atlanta Sevens, Wins Plate

Leave a comment

After going 1-2 with no competitive matches on Saturday the US rebounded in a big way on Sunday by winning their final two matches over England and Spain to grab the plate in Atlanta.

The first match of the day for the US was the exact same matchup of their opening match on Saturday: Canada. Unlike the 31-0 loss in group play the US was much more competitive in this one with first half tries by Lauren Doyle and Jessica Javelet and a conversion from Amelia Villines giving the US a 12-7 lead late in the first half. Canada took a 14-12 lead at the end of the half and added two second half tries and a conversion to get the 26-12 win.

The US next faced England in the plate semifinal and raced out to a 14-0 lead on two Javelet tries and two Kelly Griffin conversions. England cut it to 14-5 at the half but they would get no closer as Javelet added a third try in the second half and the US won 19-5.

Continue reading USA Women’s Sevens Rebounds on Second Day of Atlanta Sevens, Wins Plate →

Tennis, WTA Tour

Three Americans in Main Draw as Dubai Tennis Championships Begins

Leave a comment

Bethanie Mattek-Sands was the final American alive in qualifying but she was knocked off 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) by Mona Barthel so there will only be six Americans in the main draw. Mattek-Sands was able to get to the Barthel serve and work into break point situations a lot but only broke her on 5 of 19 break points. Mattek-Sands was broken four times in seven break points.

Now as we turn to the main draw the US will feature three players: Venus Williams who looked good in Qatar but couldn’t pull off the upset, Sloane Stephens who struggled in Qatar and could really use a tournament like this to make a statement, and world #1 Serena Williams who is playing for the first time since the Australian Open where she struggled with a back injury at the end. It will be interesting to see how Serena looks this week.

Continue reading Three Americans in Main Draw as Dubai Tennis Championships Begins →

Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Curling, Daily Previews, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing, Ice Hockey, Olympics, Ski Jumping, Snowboarding, Sochi 2014

February 17th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Preview

Leave a comment

What’s on tap today? Eight disciplines and competition in nine events with six gold medals up for grabs. In today: Freestyle skiing and ski jumping. Out today: Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and speed skating.

All times below are ET.

Biathlon

Events: The men’s 15km mass-start will begin at 1 AM. The 30-man field will include only two Americans, Lowell Bailey and Tim Burke as they have the final chance to earn an individual medal for the US men in Sochi.

The women’s 12.5km mass start at 10 AM also features 30 in the field. The only American is Susan Dunklee.

When:

  • *Men’s 15km mass start – 1 AM
  • Women’s mass-start 12.5 km – 10 AM

Live Streaming: A live stream will be available on the NBC Olympics website and on the NBC Sports Live Extra app. You will probably have to authenticate a cable subscription to watch the live streams of the Olympics.

TV Coverage: The men’s biathlon will be included in coverage on NBCSN from 3-7 AM ET and in NBC’s daytime coverage from 3-5 PM ET. The women’s biathlon will be included in coverage on NBCSN from 1:30-3 PM ET.

Continue reading February 17th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Preview →

Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross-Country Skiing, Curling, Daily Olympic Reviews, Figure Skating, Ice Hockey, Olympics, Snowboarding, Sochi 2014, Speed Skating

February 16th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Review

Leave a comment

The US grabbed just two medals on Sunday but it was what they did to set themselves up for medal wins later on that was huge in bobsleigh, figure skating, and ice hockey.

Alpine Skiing

Events:

  • *Men’s Super-G

The first American to go was Ted Ligety who had a time of 1:19.48 and finished 14th. Bode Miller was next to go and after a very aggressive and quick run he’d head to the top for a while with a 1:18.67. The next few skiers came within a tenth of a second before Miller was eventually passed and tied. He would wind up with a bronze medal when he tied for third. Travis Ganong was the next American to go and he finished in 1:20.02 and was 23rd. The final chance for the US was Andrew Weibrecht who put together a great run of 1:18.44 and won the silver medal! A 2-3 finish for the US!

Results Summarized:

  • Travis Ganong – Finished 23rd with a time of 1:20.02.
  • Ted Ligety – Finished 14th with a time of 1:19.48.
  • Bode Miller – Finished tied for 3rd with a time of 1:18.67 and won a bronze medal.
  • Andrew Weibrecht – Finished 2nd with a time of 1:18.44 and won the silver medal.

Continue reading February 16th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Review →

Rugby, Rugby Sevens

Should IRB Change Women’s Sevens Format? Blowouts Galore on First Day of Atlanta Sevens

Leave a comment

If you sat through all 18 matches at the Atlanta Sevens yesterday I feel bad for you. You didn’t see a lot of excellent competition. You saw the losing team score a single try or less in 15 of those matches including the first 11 straight. Seven of the first ten matches were shutouts. Half of the matches were decided by 21+ points. Pool A’s six games were decided by margins of 31, 31, 17, 47, 41, and 5 with the first five all shutouts.

The question needs to be asked, how is noncompetitive play like this good for the players? Do players really benefit from playing matches that will never be close instead of playing teams at their level? Is this the kind of tournament that attracts fans? Are people who attend going to be turned off by sitting through blowouts and never give it a second chance?

I think the answer to those questions is clear. This is not helpful to the players, especially those on the teams getting beat badly who need to get experience and play teams on their level. This is not the way to draw in fans who will want to watch competitive matches. The answer is not that hard and was demonstrated in the Olympics this year in the women’s hockey tournament.

Don’t mix all the teams together and disperse them into groups of equal strength. Instead put the best teams all together in a group and the worst teams together in a group. Let the group play be competitive and then seed the knockout round with heavy biasing towards the stronger group.  Here’s a possible grouping. Group A: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Russia. Group B: Brazil, England, Spain, USA. Group C: The non-core teams… this weekend China, Netherlands, Ireland, Japan.

Through the first day of Atlanta and including the results in Dubai, Group A is 11-0-2 against Group B and 10-0 against Group C. They are winning the matchups with Group B by 18.9 points on average and beating Group C teams by 28.6 points on average. Group B is even 7-2-1 against Group C with the only losses to Japan yesterday. The average margin is 14.7 points.

What if those were the groups for group play on Saturday? How great would it be to see a set of matchups between Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Russia? You’d be guaranteed six great high level games for your Saturday schedule. And while the level of play in groups B and C would not be as high at least you’d be matching teams that are on a more even level and hopefully the games would be competitive.

You would set the knockout round by placing all four Group A teams in the top four places and matching them up with B and C teams. If you really wanted to mess with things you could give the top two teams a bye into the semifinals and have two separate six-team tournaments on Sunday. Whatever the approach I just feel like they need to do something to create more balance in this event. It’s great to have a 12-team international tournament, but if it’s not going to be at least competitive from 1-12 find a way to keep teams playing at their level of competition as much as possible.

USA’s Results and Schedule

Not too much to say here as the US was not involved in anything too competitive on Saturday. To start things off the US was shutout 31-0 by Canada in a game that was 19-0 at the half. Then the US played Australia and trailed 12-0 at the break and 17-0 early in the second half. That proved to be the final margin in that one. The US did have a good result against China as they dominated 41-0 including a 24-0 lead at the break. Victoria Folayan scored three tries for the US, Jessica Javelet scored the first two of her career, and Amelia Villines and Rebekah Siebach each had one in the second half. Christy Ringgenberg converted on three of six opportunities while Villines missed the final attempt.

The US finished third in their group and was the second best third-place team so they are in the cup quarterfinals as the #8 seed against Canada to start things off on Sunday. The next match will be against Australia or England. The schedule for those two games is below.

All Times ET

  • February 16th – Knockout Round
    • 12 PM – Cup QF – USA vs. Canada
    • 3:06 PM – Plate SF – Will happen if USA loses to Canada. Against loser of Australia-England.
    • 3:50 PM – Cup SF – Will happen if USA beats Canada. Against winner of Australia-England.

After a tough first day hopefully the US can rebound with a good showing against Canada and end the tournament on a real positive note.