A Wimbledon official admitted yesterday that the twilight hour impaired the ability to see and what ultimately decided the championship was Rafael Nadal’s flop.*

“This was such an incredible match... no one on Center Court except for the players ever wanted the tennis to end,” the anonymous source said.  “But when flashbulbs from the stands revealed Nadal prone on the grass at the conclusion of the fifth set, we had to give him the win.”

Compared to many other sports, professional tennis has little controversy aside from the occasional cocaine bust, gambling inquiry and the guilt over tanking that drove Andrea Jaeger into the nunnery.  

But this new revelation in London has given cause for investigation.  It has been well-documented that flopping can affect the outcome of an athletic event.

Flopping in the NBA is so prevalent that it has practically been elevated to a contest itself.  And while known by alternate names, this questionable tactic is pervasive in other team sports as well.

It is referred to as “diving” in hockey, an activity more suited to water that is not frozen.  Another matter of enthusiastic escalation in this already contact-heavy sport: when one cannot connect with jawbone, hit the ice.

But this form of acting perhaps finds its greatest stage on the pitch.  So much so that FIFA, the governing body of soccer, has taken a stand against what it calls “simulation.”  The new rules can apply to embellishment on-field, as well the unique symbiotic relationship between soccer players & porn stars.

At first glance, Nadal’s hammy back-smacker seems contrary action for a man who likes to test the authenticity of his trophies like a Deadwood prospector.

However, further inquiry shows the young Mallorcan star is influenced by both the theatrics of his countrymen and the man he had -- until that tumble to the earth late Sunday in London -- lost to in the finals at Wimbledon.

DID FELICIANO LOPEZ OF SPAIN WIN HIS FOURTH ROUND FIVE-SETTER AGAINST MARCOS BAGHDATIS WITH HIS POST-MATCH FLAILING?  

HAVE CHAIR UMPIRES BEEN GLORIFYING ROGER FEDERER'S FIVE-TIME CRUMPLE?

So while the flop in the non-contact sport of tennis has yet to come under great scrutiny, it too may explain some results, as well as lack of, in recent years...

SAFIN'S MISSION: Marathon Marat's superior position on

hardcourts could be too suggestive for Roland Garros & The All-England Club.

POOR FORM: Andy Roddick dared to drop

after only winning three sets at the U.S. Open Men's Final in 2003.

The breach of unwritten netiquette may have cost him since.

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*This isn’t meant to paint me a Fed apologist.  When the going gets tough, the tough blog absurd.

For me, the Men’s Final in action was cause for joy; the outcome a bit of pain.  I expected to wake up today feeling like I did the morning after Peyton Manning won his Super Bowl ring.  However, I now suspect the latter sensation was actually a hangover.

Because right now I feel pretty good!  There is no shame in second when John McEnroe is awarding consolation hugs.

New Wimbledon Champion? Yes. New Number One?  No.  For the calendar year thus far, true... it is the Spaniard.  

But given so little between Federer and Nadal over the long course of Sunday, I think we need to see the follow-up before we label Rafa the best.  I don’t think Federer could have asked for a better challenge to his career.  His response -- on-court & off, both yesterday and onward -- will help define his legacy.

Now for the more obvious... Contrary to popular speculation, I did not commit jigai after Safin’s semifinal loss, or the threat of competition for his affection.  As a matter of fact, I am practicing my flop in expectation to win over Marat myself!

 

In 2002, Vonetta Flowers became the first African-American to win a gold medal in a Winter Olympic event, when she served as Jill Bakken's brakewoman in the two-woman bobsled.  Nine months later, she gave birth to twin boys Jaden and Jorden.  (Insert joke/comment here.)  Flowers competed the last two days, this time with driver Jean Prahm, in the same event in Torino.

Flowers hit Italy late last year, not for the Olympics, though.

Her younger twin, Jorden, was born deaf and diagnosed with bilateral atresia, or underdeveloped outer ears.  On Dec. 20, he was fitted with an auditory brainstem implant, a procedure not approved in the U.S.  The only surgeon who performs this procedure on children, Professor Vittorio Coletti, resides in Verona.  Jorden's recovery is going well.  Flowers says that her son is now hearing -- the device was turned on three weeks ago and therapy to teach him to talk will soon follow.

Talk about a supermom!  She cites her boys as her inspiration and the family travels together on the bobsled circuit, amounting to about five months of the year.  Husband Johnny serves as personal trainer for his wife and Prahm.  A recent favorite DVD for the twins is Cool Runnings.

A great majority of readers and bloggers have more understanding of what it takes to be a parent than I do.  My experiences have been vicarious through friends, co-workers and teammates.  Let me tell you, that's been enough to earn my utmost respect and give me a more adult perspective on the challenges that face families.  Given that I witnessed some of those teammates return to a co-ed soccer field after becoming moms, I am further impressed.

So here's to more moms in sports! 

 

Hayley Wickenheiser: Team Canada center/forward won Olympic silver in '98, gold and MVP honors in 2002... and just repeated the last two honors in 2006.  She adopted Noah, the three-month old son of her partner Tomas Pacina, in 2000.  In 2003, Wickenheiser became the first woman to score a goal in a men's professional game.  While she played for that Finland team, she said missing Noah was one of the hardest challenges.  (And if her hockey career weren't enough, she played for Team Canada's softball team in the 2000 Olympics!) 

 

Milaine Theriault: This 32-year-old cross country skier is another third-time Canadian Olympiad in Torino.  She says it took a year after having her son Xavier to regain her fitness.  Many thought she would be unable to return to such a high-performance endurance sport.  Her inspiration was the legion of women with more traditional jobs going back to work after becoming mothers.

 

Leah O'Brien-Amico: This right-fielder, known for her clutch-hitting, played on three U.S. Olympic Gold medal teams, in addition to multiple World and Pan-Am Championship teams.  She became the first mom on Team USA when she gave birth to her son Jake in 2001.  Her second son, Drew, was born in October.

 

Juli Inkster:  This 45-year-old golfer is one of only six women to win a career Grand Slam.  In 2002, she won her second U.S. Open.  She is mother to two daughters: Hayley, 16 and Cori, soon to be 12.  The LPGA website boasts that there are 29 moms currently on tour and one expecting mother.  Between them, they have 43 children.  The tour also provides traveling daycare. 

 

Sheryl Swoopes: The athletic credentials of the "female Michael Jordan" are well-known and too numerous to mention here.  She missed some of the inagural WNBA season due to the birth of her son Jordan (named after Michael), but she says she changed little of her workout routine during pregnancy.  She's been an inspiration to single moms since she and Jordan's dad divorced in 1999.  Stating it had nothing to do with her divorce, last year she publicly announced she is a lesbian.  I'm sure this inspires non-tradtional families. 

Tina Frimpong:  The U.S. National team defender discovered she was pregnant at age 18, just two weeks before she was to leave for pre-season soccer camp at Santa Clara University.  She considered that her career in soccer was over.  However, with a little time to think, she rerouted herself to junior college and then played for University of Washington.  Buzz about her is that she may be the best athlete the U.S. team has seen.  Her daughter, MacKenzie is now almost five and Tina is engaged to be married to MacKenzie's father, Brad Ellerston.

Sheryl O'Loughlin:  Not a well-known athlete, but she is training for a 150-mile bike ride.  Who is she?  The CEO of Clif Bar, Inc.  That company helps make the athletic world go round... How could I not give a shout out to the makers of the Carrot Cake Clif Bar and the Chai Tea Luna Bar?

 

 

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As today also happens to be my birthday, I'd like to acknowledge the people who parented me, which helped make me an athlete!  After all, a "supermom" comes in many forms.

My mom: She came to all my sporting events  AND worked.  Not to mention, she cooked my pre-event meals.  Once I became superstitious, my family ate more linguini than is natural.

My dad: He trained with me, kept me in good humor and after sporting events, bought me milkshakes... NOT the healthy, recovery food version, but he got me the kind I reeeaaally wanted.

My brother: He let me tagalong and made me tough... He might regret those things, along with all the linguini he had to eat!

And if you haven't seen my earlier post... a present to you all.

 

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[SPOILERS!  Do not read if you are a 24 fan and haven't yet seen the premiere.]

 

Last night, I was a shocked witness to former President David Palmer's  assassination.

I sat through the presentation stunned--   a litlle, squeaky voice inside my head:

      that didn't just happen. that's just not right.

I woke up this morning realizing it all eerily echoed the recent fall of another Palmer.  Cincinnati Bengals QB Carson Palmer.

On Jan. 8, when Steeler's lineman Kimo von Oelhoffen rolled into Carson's left knee, I initially thought little of it.  But then Carson didn't get up; Kimo looked penitent and helpless.  The announcers and crowd were numbed.

I watched the remainder of the game with little satisfaction.  Over and over, I thought:

     that's just not fair.  it shouldn't happen that way.

I felt bad for Palmer, von Oelhoffen & everyone in the stadium.  I hate to see injuries of any kind.  To start the Divisional round watching players drop in Seattle was almost too much.

I like the sounds that accompany football: audibles, grunts, the thud of a caught pass, the crunch of a tackle, a little trash-talkin'.  And when I see a player getting in a ref's face and suddenly being ejected, I think, "Oooo.  Wish I coulda heard what HE said."

But I am thankful I couldn't hear what was happening on the field Wild Card Weekend in Cincinnati.  

Being a lifelong soccer player, I define ligament injuries as "Bad Things Happening to Good People."  Just a couple years ago,  I was three yards away when my close friend and teammate collided with an opponent and rolled to the ground.  Clutching her knee and her ankle, her agony was immediately evident .  Players from both teams formed an instinctive cocoon around her.  Some in close to assess the injury, a teammate offering his hand to squeeze, another running for ice.

The majority of players and the fans kept the right respectful space, bowed their heads and hoped to see her shake it off and get up under her own power.  When her husband and another man carried her off the field to take her to a doctor, everyone applauded.

We continued the game and played hard, but the emotional energy of the game was snuffed.  The thoughts in my head were far more stressful than, "It's not fair." 

How do the NFL pros manage it?  Over the course of their careers, I can't imagine how many moments like that players have seen.   Surgery in almost an assumption, both during and after their sports careers.

There is the relief of human resilience.  Early reports were saying Carson Palmer's injury was career-ending.  Now his ACL and MCL are repaired and he's expected to be back.

My friend also required ligament surgery.  She has since returned to soccer and when we play against the man who collided with her, she gives him a hard time.  It's a shared experience we can laugh about and then it's on the field for fun and business.

So maybe I'll survive the loss of a tv character.

But the phrase "torn MCL" still makes me nauseous.