tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post3671015250881022209..comments2024-02-06T16:17:25.826+00:00Comments on THE GRØNMARK BLOG: It really is time for the god of tennis to retire to OlympusScott Gronmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15118026157459333174noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-19544852173231327222011-10-18T22:16:59.910+01:002011-10-18T22:16:59.910+01:00Yes, the Ali-Terrell contest was not good to watch...Yes, the Ali-Terrell contest was not good to watch. The Ali - Brian London ["The Blackpool Rock"] was even worse in 1966. London kept shouting at Ali to stand and fight like a man so Ali obliged and hit him with a 9-shot combination to the head and London went down faster than Eric the Boneless. But Ali had his noble moments. In Kinshasha when he knocked out George Foreman Ali pulled his final punch as Foreman was going down. I have always admired him for that. Liston, Frazier and Tyson would have gone for the kill.<br />Andy Murray. Give the guy a chance as he's only 23, but I suspect that he's one of these players whose natural ability and talent is not suited to his temperament which in turn cannot handle the pressure of the big tournaments so he will be condemned to wins on the Dogshit, Nebraska circuit. Also, it might help if he didn't have that shrieking harridan breathing down his neck all the time.<br />Sue Barker. Well, she used to go out on "dates" with Cliff Richard for starters. Also, she is usually accompanied by Hazel Irvine with her dreary accent and Bakerloo Line nostril holes which are very disconcerting. I am sorry to be ungallant, but I pay my licence fee so I have a right to my opinion.<br />Monday, January 31, 2011 - 10:58 AMSPORTS FANnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-19393270181048648252011-10-18T22:16:39.103+01:002011-10-18T22:16:39.103+01:00We'll, I said it would be now or never for Mur...We'll, I said it would be now or never for Murray - so we'll take that as a never, then!<br />Sunday, January 30, 2011 - 12:08 PMScott Gronmarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15118026157459333174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-20030850802335450232011-10-18T22:16:26.474+01:002011-10-18T22:16:26.474+01:00Really interesting comments, Sportsfan – but I’m n...Really interesting comments, Sportsfan – but I’m not sure Odin and his pals were all that cuddly!<br /><br />The Muhammad Ali comparison is apt, I think – unfortunately, I do remember his decline, and I did find it distressing. Tennis and boxing have this in common: no place to hide. Footballers can always run around for a season or two looking busy while failing to score much, and failing cricketers get an awful lot of leeway, but in one-on-one sports there’s no way of masking waning powers (in boxing, champions can refuse to meet feared rivals, but once they’re in the ring, they’re screwed). I didn’t include Ali in the pantheon of deities simply because, at various stages in his career, his behaviour let him down – particularly his taunting of Ernie Tyrrell by continuously shouting “What’s my name” at the chap (who had refused to call him anything but Cassius Clay) while reducing him to a bloody pulp. You can imagine a Greek or Norse god doing it, but nevertheless…<br /><br />I think Federer and Nadal have between them finally removed the stain left on Tennis’s reputation by the disgusting behaviour of those guutersnipes, Connors, McEnroe and Nastase. It’s once more a game for noble warriors rather than shits. <br /><br />And what is it with poor Sue Barker????<br />Saturday, January 29, 2011 - 02:55 PMScott Gronmarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15118026157459333174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2215553202978284468.post-91591861687773670042011-10-18T22:16:16.291+01:002011-10-18T22:16:16.291+01:00I was never a great tennis fan although I followed...I was never a great tennis fan although I followed it in my youth when Pancho Gonsalez, Maria Bueno and Santana were playing. Then I witnessed Jimmy Connors furiously reading a letter from his grandma between games in order to give him inspiration and gave the whole thing a pass. The manufactured Henman hysteria didn't help as well as the saintly Sue Bloody Barker.<br />Then Roger Federer came along and we had one of those rare sportsman who simply transcended their sport and national interest in general. Like Muhammed Ali, he was a supreme athlete who brought you to the edge of your seat. But like Ali, I fear he is going to go on too long. But his greatness is secured so, in the end, who cares. Who remember's Ali's decline?<br />The term "Olympian" has a latin ring. Federer is Swiss-German so when he shuffles off he should join the "North-of-the Rhine" mob at Asgaard - Odin/Wotan and that lot. He'll be more comfortable there as they are a much nicer class of person. Zeus was a right son-of -bitch. I won't go on.<br />Friday, January 28, 2011 - 03:14 PMSPORTS FANnoreply@blogger.com