SB Nation User Blog: Ben Rothenberg

I ask, and I receive. Venus Williams and Bob Bryan also appeared to have already paired themselves...

Ben Rothenberg — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 08:54:18 -0000

I ask, and I receive.

Venus Williams and Bob Bryan also appeared to have already paired themselves off.

Georgians John Isner and Melanie Oudin coming soon?

Devils Win 4-1, Flyers Still Hellaciously Bad

Ben Rothenberg — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 02:58:29 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

It's okay, Brian, you don't have to look. Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Brian Boucher cannot stop the puck as New Jersey Devils' Patrik Elias scores a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009 in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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The good news: Claude Giroux scored a crazy soft goal to prevent Martin Brodeur from claiming a record 104th career shutout against the Orange and Black.

The bad news: Everything else.

I don't want to go into the gruesome details of this game too much, but suffice it was nothing new. They looked terrible. If his last name starts with a "C," he was especially terrible.

The Flyers, as we know them right now, are simply not a good hockey team. The switch to Laviolette clearly was not enough to put this team back on track. It's now pretty clear that something pretty drastic has got to happen, and soon. I recommend confiscating the players' cars and making them walk to work every day. They could use that kind of character building. I would let Boucher keep his car for now, though. He's not to blame at all for this mess.

Here are some harsh realities the team has to deal with right now:

In their last ten games against teams that don't rhyme with "Die Flanders," the Flyers are 0-10-0, earning exactly zero points.
In those ten games, the Flyers have scored 14 goals, which works out to an average of 1.4 goals a game. The all-time record for lowest GAA for a goalie for a season is 1.91, a full half-goal above the Flyers current production.
For the first time this season, the Flyers have more regulation losses than they have wins. Yowch. They also now average less than a point-per-game for the first time in this campaign

After the jump, highlights from the game, questions answered, and tonight's pick for the best Philadelphia bridge to jump off of.

Questions answered with the same amount of effort as the team put in:

Does this team come out ready to play? Nope.
Can they get a 60 minute effort? Nope.
Will the special teams do their job? Nope.
Can Brian Boucher continue his stellar play? Nope.
Is it possible to win two in a row in New Jersey? Nope.

The Market Street Bridge is lovely this time of year.

The Flyers are now tied at 29 points with the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team who won three of their...

Ben Rothenberg — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 05:05:31 -0000

The Flyers are now tied at 29 points with the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team who won three of their first twenty games.

Mixed Doubles Added to 2012 Olympics

Ben Rothenberg — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:37:08 -0000

My pick to win the 2012 Olympics gold (excluding Stuart Scott lurking creepily in the background). Photo via images.eonline.com

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Mixed Doubles has been added as a fifth discipline for Olympic Tennis starting with the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

While I'm not a proponent of same-sex doubles, I'm a huge fan of mixed doubles, and think it should be played far more often. I have never understood why joint ATP/WTA events like Miami, Indian Wells and Beijing don't have mixed doubles, or why grand slam warm up events like New Haven, Eastbourne, and Sydney wouldn't offer it to get players ready for the mixed at slams.

In any event, more mixed is good news, and should make for some pretty awesome action at the AELTC come 2012.

My early picks to medal:

Andy Roddick and Serena Williams, United States -- These two seem to have pretty good chemistry, and their strong net skills and booming serves should serve them extremely well in mixed doubles.

Novak Djokovic and Jelena Jankovic, Serbia --Jankovic has already won a mixed crown on the Wimbledon grounds, partnering with Jamie Murray to win Wimbledon in 2007. She and Djokovic were runners up at Hopman Cup a couple years ago, and seem to be the most likely pairing for Serbia in 2012.

Fernando Verdasco and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Spain -- MJMS is one of the strongest players at net in the WTA, and if the Spanish men really want medals they should start lobbying now to be her partner in London. Verdasco has had a lot of success in Davis Cup doubles, so he's my pick for now.

Any other pairings you'd like to see, or that you think could do well?

Where Did It All Go Wrong?

Ben Rothenberg — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:51:50 -0000

I went looking for a picture of The Spectrum implosion, but then I remembered that hasn't happened yet... Photo via www.companysj.com

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Throughout history, when something goes bad, there's usually a reason. When Marie Antoinette stopped breathing, it was because she found herself on the business end of a guillotine. When the Home Alone franchise went bad starting with the third installment, it was because it lost the underrated albino presence of Macaulay Culkin. In the above picture, Hiroshima was adversely affected because a rather large bomb was dropped on it.

When a building burns down, some expert is able to look through the rubble and realize that the conflagration was caused by faulty wiring in the coffee machine on the third floor (or something). The Flyers were a strong building with seemingly excellent coffee machines, racing out to a 12-5-1 start good for fourth place in the East. But something has short-circuited, and the same team that less than three weeks ago was in position to have home ice in the playoffs is now several teams away from even being in playoff contention.

With that in mind, I'm trying to figure out why this team is going down in flames while the fires are still burning.

Here are a few possible sparks that could have triggered this inferno:

It happened when the Sharks embarrassed the Flyers repeatedly. Having won seven of their last eight and six games over .500 at 12-5-1, the Flyers flew up to the Shark Tank of HP Pavilion, and played like chum. With their new, Olympic caliber line of Marleau-Thornton-Heatley, the Sharks skated circles around the Flyers, repeatedly scoring embarrassingly pretty goals that saw the Sharks have obscene amounts of time to set up a waiting Heatley on the doorstep.

The second such goal was even more embarrassing, as it was of the shorthanded variety.

Tough to imagine any two goals more demoralizing than those two.

It happened when a perceived offsides non-call froze the Flyers and lost them the game in Phoenix. With the game tied at 1-1 late in the third period, Mike Richards and the rest of the Flyers froze after they thought the puck had skipped over the blueline and play would be stopped. It wasn't, and the Coyotes scored a power play goal that gave them the win over an exhausted and demoralized team still wounded from the previous night's game in San Jose. Morale was incredibly low, and was clearly still an issue early in the next game in Colorado, if not beyond.

It happened when Ray Emery stopped being a reliable starting goalie/got injured/was overworked/lost his rhythm/etc. Emery started (and completed) sixteen of the Flyers of the Flyers first seventeen games, going 11-4-1 in those games. His incredible start generally stunned the league, and it looked like the Flyers' gamble on him had paid off incredibly.

But then it all went to hell. Emery has lost his last five, twice being pulled and thrice having a save percentage under 80%. Some say he is injured, but there is not any visible sign of that from watching his play. His confidence, on the other hand, is clearly severely contused.

While exhaustion was clearly a risk because of how many games he was playing, it's interesting to note that Emery's play didn't really deteriorate until he stopped getting starts. Boucher's start in Los Angeles was the first game Emery had sat in in a non-back-to-back situation, possibly throwing off his rhythm or confidence just enough to get him off the rails.

It happened when Darroll Powe and/or Blair Betts got knocked out for a month plus. Even though he generated about as many headlines as a city council meeting on tree care, Darroll Powe was a pretty big part of the Flyers' early successes this season. He scored six goals in nineteen games, which is just about a goal every three games. Without him in the lineup since he got hurt vs. San Jose , the Flyers have averaged only 1.5 goals a game.

And Blair Betts' contributions to the team are incredibly well documented. Before he allegedly dislocated his shoulder while reaching for a puck early in the game in Phoenix, the Flyers were an incredible 10-2-0 with Betts in the lineup. Without him, they are a decidedly less incredible 3-11-1.

It happened before the season ever started. Some may argue that despite this team's impressive 12-5-1 start, they were doomed from the beginning. Nothing in particular pushed them over the edge, but rather this was an organization set up to fail, and the beginning was a mirage.

It happened because after seeing Randy Jones in Los Angeles, they realized how much they missed him. After they allowed themselves to get lost in the eligible bachelor's blue eyes, memories flooded back and drowned the orange and black in a tidal wave of emotions. Since the reality of not having Jones in the organization sank in on that warm California night, the Flyers have earned only two points in nine games.

So what do you think made the Flyers make a sharp 180 turn from elite to suck? A specific play like in the San Jose or Phoenix games? The Emery bubble bursting? Injuries? Flaws all along? Jonesing for Jones? Or something else entirely?

Justine Henin in her first matches of her comeback looked sharp, beating Kirsten Flipkens and then...

Ben Rothenberg — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:23:06 -0000

Justine Henin in her first matches of her comeback looked sharp, beating Kirsten Flipkens and then Flavia Pennetta by equal 6-4, 6-4 scorelines. Pennetta was easily one of the hottest players over the second half of 2009, so beating her (even in an exhibition) is no small feat.

Early on, at least, Henin certainly looks worthy of the 4-1 odds being set for her to win the 2010 Australian Open.

WTF! Davydenko Drops del Potro, Wins World Tour Final

Ben Rothenberg — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:14:20 -0000

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 29: Nikolay Davydenko of Russia holds the trophy as he celebrates winning the men's singles final match against Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina during the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena on November 29, 2009 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

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Nikolay Davydenko finished off an incredible week in London by winning the biggest title of his career, beating Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 6-4 in the finals of the World Tour Final in London's O2 Arena. Davydenko beat all three 2009 Slam winners on his way to the title, including his first win in thirteen tries over Roger Federer.

del Potro's turned into a pretty classy guy of late, so he would never have brought up what was probably a big reason for his lopsided loss. del Potro had to play the night session on Saturday in the semifinals, meaning that he had a much quicker turnaround than did Davydenko. And after going long with a third set tiebreaker deep in the night, it was always going to be an uphill climb for del Potro to recover fully some sixteen hours later.

There is usually a sense that whoever wins the WTF/TMC/YEC is immediately a front runner to win the Australian Open, but I'm not so sure that's the case here. The heat and quicker surface should keep him from making too much noise down under. But a deep run at the French Open is certainly looking like a decent bet.

Federer, del Potro, Soderling, Davydenko Through on Tiebreakers

Ben Rothenberg — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 09:08:37 -0000

After a lengthy wait while the numbers were crunched, JMdP celebrates making it to the semis. LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 26: Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina celebrates going through to the semi-final after he won his match during the men's singles round robin match against Roger Federer of Switzerland during the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena on November 26, 2009 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

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With three players finishing round robin play Group B was decided by the first tiebreaking criteria, number of sets won and lost. Soderling (5-2) and Davydenko (5-3) barely edged out Djokovic (4-3) for the two semifinal spots, despite being the two lowest ranked players in their group.

But as close as Group B was, Group A was even closer. In a group which saw all six matches played last three sets, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Juan Martin del Potro all had won two matches, and each had a 5-4 record in terms of sets won and lost.

And it wasn't clear cut after that, going into the second tiebreaking measure. The three had incredibly close games won and loss differentials, which wound up deciding the two semifinalists to emerge from the three-way knot. Federer had a games record of 44-40, which was good enough to be first. del Potro (45-43) barely snuck by Murray (44-43) for the final semifinal berth from Group A, despite Murray beating del Potro in their head to head match-up. The Brits, understandably, have been left with a bad taste in their mouths about the whole thing.

Once it comes down to the second tiebreaking category, like it did in this instance, it's bound to be fairly arbitrary. A quick non-tennis aside on the topic of tie breaking criteria--how is away goals a valid tiebreak for these World Cup qualifying matches? If, for example, Croatia and Poland tie 0-0 in Warsaw, then tie 1-1 in Kiev, Poland gets through? Completely arbitrary, even if home field advantage is a recognized intangible.

Last (and least), it was a bad week for the Spaniards, to be sure. Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco went a combined 0-6 on the week, finishing last in their respective groups. The two Spaniards were the only winless players in the tournament, with each of the six other competitors winning two matches apiece. Fernando Verdasco put up three valiant fights in his three matches, all three of which were three-setters (including two of the third set tiebreak variety). Nadal, on the other hand, was totally hapless, not winning so much as a single set during the event. Sadly, for Nadal, this was a totally foreseeable performance. He hasn't been the same player in the slightest since Madrid, and he has a long way to go if he wants to come close to defending his Australian Open title. In the more immediate future, he (and Verdasco) have got to shape up in time for next week's Davis Cup final vs. the rested Czech Republic if Spain wants to avoid what would be a massive upset.

I'm guessing there will be a rematch of this year's US Open final on Sunday in London, though with how well Soderling has been playing, a rematch of the French Open final wouldn't be entirely shocking either.

Ana Ivanovic reveals her new Adidas dresses for the 2010 Australian and French Opens. Based on her...

Ben Rothenberg — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:23:35 -0000

Ana Ivanovic reveals her new Adidas dresses for the 2010 Australian and French Opens.

Based on her recent slam form, each may only see one match, so it's good to get them as much exposure as possible even now, almost half a year away from Roland Garros.

WTF! Soderling Blasts Through Nadal Again, Djokovic Outlasts Davydenko

Ben Rothenberg — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:35:02 -0000

In his first time playing in London since winning that epic Wimbledon final in 2008, Rafael Nadal looked like a shadow of the player he was then in his first WTF match against Robin Soderling, which was won in straight sets by the Swede by the tally of 6-4, 6-4.

Soderling came off the blocks flying, quickly going up a break for 3-0 before Nadal got himself into the match by breaking back for 3-2. But Soderling's power got the better of Nadal time and time again, as Nadal struggled to take command of rallies with shots that spun into the middle of the court time and time again.

The second set was more of the same, with Nadal's counter-punching simply not enough to get the job done, even on a fairly slow hard court. If Nadal doesn't find a way to play far more aggressively this week, he very well may go 0-3. It's tough to see him beating Djokovic or even Davydenko playing such passive tennis. Nadal has won only once since Madrid against a top ten opponent, against #9 Tsonga in Paris just this month.

Djokovic and Davydenko, Nadal's aforementioned next two opponents, both looked sharp in their first round tilt against one another. Djokovic had been picked by many to win this event because of how well he's played of late, but he looked anything but hot in the beginning of this match. Davydenko took the first set 6-3 and looked on his way to taking the match in straight sets before folding at the end of both the second and third sets, losing the match 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Group A is back in action Tuesday, as Sunday's losers face off in a del Potro vs. Verdasco in a match that should feature enough blazing winners to illuminate the unbelievably dark O2 Arena. The night session is the headline match of the entire round robin, with 1-0 Roger Federer battling 1-0 Andy Murray for what should be a guaranteed spot in the semifinals. I'll go with the younger player to win in three in each match.