The Whole Delivery

(Updated June 1, 2016) Notable Writing Clips  What everyone is getting wrong about Serena Williams’ return to Indian Wells , at  The Guardian Serena Williams aside, American tennis’ love affair with grass has soured , at The Guardian  Lisa De Vanna is the rebel to lead Australia’s revolution , at Fusion Network  Who will stand up to the NCAA? .... at Ebony Magazine  Glen Johnson & Steven Gerrard's changing roles in their final seasons at Liverpool , for STATS INC and formally BSports Andrew Jones’ SB Nation writing file Andrew Jones’ World Soccer Talk File First Look Media's The Intercept Reporting Clips Full Portfolio  at The Intercept The Raw Story Reporting Clips   Romney Campaign Meets Equal Pay With Silence  (article featured  on news network MSNBC 's coverage of the RNC)   Sanders Skewers The Class Warfare of America's ‘economic royalists’   House Dems introduce bill re...

Halfitme: Both games tied at 1-1 The pros and cons of Angel Di Maria summed up into that first half.  The two major moments of the first half represented Angel Di Maria at his best and worst. Him leaving his far post responsibilities lead to Danny Welbeck's vital away goal. But his energetic playing style and tremendous offensive class shown in his latest perfect left footed delivery for Ronaldo's magical header.    Halftime adjustments  Michael Carrick has got to step up for United and help them have some sound possession in the midfield to combat Madrid's determined effort to try and score at least two goals in half #2.  The keys to tonight's mega clash: 1) Although Johnny Evans has had his best season by far in a United uniform, he still is a liability against top class sides. Him and Ferdinand are easily drawn out by aggressive midfielders and sophisticated center forwards who make smart runs. Benz...

The lineups, first for Celtic/Juventus  And Valencia/PSG  Really do predict home victories today actually for the underdog sides, as Valencia has enough quality in their squad and Celtic just seem to play with terrific fervor at home. But we'll see what happens. 

The following players likely won't be at the centerpiece of the DisneyWorld ad, but they need to be instrumental in order for their team to have glory at around 11 PM tonight. 49ers  Bruce Miller - The most unrecognized member of the Pistol formation, Miller springs the key last block for either Frank Gore or Colin Kaepernick that is just as essential to the formation's success as a great O-line and its dynamic skills players. Him getting the key seal on Suggs, Ellerbe, or Lewis will be vital to the success. Delanie Walker - While Vernon Davis gets all the deserved praise, Walker is crucial to this offense, especially with both Kyle WIlliams and Mario Manningham being out for the season. His ability to line up properly at both TE and FB positions, and be a reliable safety net option underneath has given San Francisco another weapon. Navarro Bowman - Although a Pro-Bowler himself, Bowman has not been given as much superstar attention as his righthand man Willis. Bu...

From USAToday.com Game, Set, Match: Djokovic defeats Murray 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2 It was the calm that carried Novak Djokovic to his 4th Australian Open title and 3rd straight championship in Melbourne, while it was the body that failed Andy Murray in the end.  The Serbian showed how he is the best in the world again, while the extra day of rest and much easier semifinal played a significant role in Murray's physical ailments revealing themselves as the match began slipping away from him.  Djokovic did so well to avoid going down a crucial early break in the 2nd set, down 0-40 and seemingly letting the frustration from a poor 1st set tiebreaker grip him. That hold down three break points was the turning point in this match and one of three defining moments, as Djokovic began to settle down on the forehand side.  If Murray gets the break there, with his forehand at its optimum level and his serve firmly locked in, Djokovic would have likely...

From AustralianOpen.com Similar players, similar games, similar real, similar temperament. The similar tactics for these all court, forehand stable or unstable elite baseliners. For Li: 1) Keep believing in your forehand.  2) Attack Azarenka's 2nd serve relentlessly.  3) Win the backhand battle. 4) Be a survivor to a closer.  5) The crowd is behind you. Use them. For Azarenka: 1) Believe in your forehand as well, get consistent depth.   2) Be strong on your serve, placement is key.  3) Be sound with your defense and get your backhand to her FH. 4) Use a drop shot at times, use it. 5) Win the backhand battle, dealing with the adversity.  With both players playing in the night time conditions for the first time this tournament on Laver, it could take both of them a while to get accumulated. With that being said, Azarenka's game is just a little bit more stable when it come...

Photo from Australian Open Even without all members of the Big 4 in Melbourne this year, the Big 4 matches still live on with the men, as the Australian Open men's title will be determined as expected by Rafael Nadal's elite quartet brethren.  Novak Djokovic is patiently awaiting, with the major advantage of thrashing David Ferrer once more in no time while having the crucial extra day rest that Roger Federer and Andy Murray won't have. In short, the world #1 would not feel bad at all if both men played a titanic 4-5 hour long epic.  Although Federer claimed victory in their last match at the ultra fast ATP World Your Finals indoor court, their last standout contest really was the victory that changed Murray's career, the Olympic Final. Regardless of how much fatigue Federer had from surviving Juan Martin del Petro the round prior or if his back was truly ailing him, the Swiss legend still showed signs of winning that big match if Murray wasn...