PARIS – Decoding Rafael Nadal’s self-evaluations can be a tricky proposition.
Listen, for example, to the way the top-seeded Nadal spoke about his game and his mindset after handling 37th-ranked Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 Monday to reach the quarterfinals at the French Open, improve his record there to 42-1 and get closer to tying Bjorn Borg’s record of six championships in Paris.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Jim Tressel, who guided Ohio State to its first national title in 34 years, resigned Monday amid NCAA violations from a tattoo-parlor scandal that sullied the image of one of the country’s top football programs.
INDIANAPOLIS – His first shot at winning the Indianapolis 500 gone with a last-lap miscue for the ages, JR Hildebrand sat at the podium and calmly explained how he threw away the biggest race of his life.
There were no tears. No sullen, mumbled answers. No angry fists slamming the table in frustration.
CONCORD, N.C. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. was out front on the final lap for the first time in 105 races, and the only thing standing in the way of a victory was the gas, or lack of it, in his tank.
The crowd roared as he took the white flag, the fans stomping in the stands in near hysteria over the almost certain ending of Earnhardt’s nearly three-year losing streak.