CBSSports.com: Young Britton in awe facing great Federer in first round

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com

NEW YORK -- You've had those dreams. You blow a fastball past Albert Pujols. You do a double-pump to leave Kobe Bryant hanging in the air, helpless. You whip a backhand past Roger Federer and are up 3-1 in the second set.

And then you wake up. Or as happened Monday to a kid named Devin Britton, in a surrealistic opening-round match of the 2009 U.S. Open, Roger Federer wakes up. So much for dreaming.

"I was thinking," said Britton, "I'm up a break. This is awesome. Then it only lasted about 30 seconds."

Then Federer won the next six games as the No. 1 player should against an 18-year-old who is ranked No. 1,370 in the world. Federer defeated Britton, 6-1, 6-3, 7-5.

The match was a mismatch. And yet it wasn't.

Britton, 18, won the NCAA singles title last May during the one semester he spent in college, at Mississippi. Invited to the Open as a wild card, he had what could be considered either the good fortune or the misfortune to be put in the draw against Federer, who has won the championship the previous five years.

When told Thursday he had drawn the great Federer, who has a record 15 Grand Slam titles, Britton at first thought it was a joke. Any laughter was muted.

Britton, as all of us, had seen Federer on television. "He looked unbelievable," Britton said of watching from afar.

Then after a pause, the kid added, "But when you play him, he's even more tough."

A day earlier, Britton had practiced with Rafael Nadal, who was ranked No. 1 before being unable to play in June and July because of bad knees. Nothing grandiose bounced around Britton's mind, but after hitting against Nadal, maybe, Britton hoped, he could pull off a shot here or there against Federer.

In a way, he failed. In a way, he succeeded.

"My goal," Britton said candidly, "was not to get crushed."

He didn't. Or did he? Federer won the first set in 18 minutes, which is less time than it takes the 7 train to go from the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows back to Manhattan.

"It was hard not to think about who I was playing," Britton conceded. "He plays such a pretty game. It's fun to watch. I didn't start thinking about my own game until late in the second set."

Britton did break Federer once in each of the last two sets, an indication that either Britton has a future or Federer has a heart, not that Roger is going to ease up in his quest for another championship.

"Try to win again," Federer answered when someone asked about his motivation now that he already has been described as the best in history. "I like being the winner of any tournament in the world. That's why, when I enter, I try to win."

If the words sound more than vaguely familiar, echoing those of Tiger Woods, that would be understandable. Federer and Tiger both are served by the same agency, IMG, and both often express admiration for the other.

On this afternoon, any admiration expressed was by Britton, who first signed a professional contract in June at Wimbledon, where he reached the semifinals. Of the junior championships.

And suddenly there he was Monday, standing dumbstruck across from the elegant Swiss with "RF" on his jacket and tennis in his wake.

"It was pretty scary," said Britton, who at least has a sense of humor -- or of reality. "I was pretty scared."

Fear, excitement, it's a wonder Britton made it through three sets, remarkable he broke Federer in two of the three sets.

"The extended changeovers, I had time to think about it," Britton said of the one-minute breaks. "It was pretty much all I was thinking about. You know, this is pretty cool. I was sitting here on [Arthur] Ashe Court and playing Federer. This is awesome."

Also instructional. Britton said he realized he would need to get stronger, would need to develop a bigger serve, would need to improve his forehand -- although he also knows there is no duplicating the famous Federer forehand.

"I think he serves unbelievably well," Britton said of Federer. "I don't think a lot of people realize how big he serves."

The forehand, the one that is able to place a ball virtually anywhere at any time? Like someone poking his hand into the lion cage at the zoo, Britton masochistically wanted to see how much he could poke around without getting eaten.

"His forehand is just crazy," said Britton, bringing laughter to the media group. "I tried to keep it away, but sometimes I just hit [the ball] there just to see it."

What Federer wants to see is a few more trophies. He finally won the French in June, then took Wimbledon for the sixth time. A sixth consecutive U.S. championship would equal the mark of the late Bill Tilden in 1920-25.

"I've beaten the all-time Grand Slam record," Federer said. "That's not what tennis is all about. I don't think if you ask the other players, their goal is to win 16 Slams now. ... You can have different types of goals. Mine are at a very high level. That's just the difference."

As Devin Britton, his newest victim and latest fan, understands quite well.

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http://www.cbssports.com/tennis/story/12138434
© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.

Raiders coach: 'I did a bad job'

OAKLAND -- This was the third preseason game, the one teams play to prove they are ready. After watching what happened to the Oakland Raiders on Saturday, one must wonder: ready for what?

All the Raiders’ failings, real or presumed, were on display at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, the inability to stop the other team -- in this case, the New Orleans Saints -- the inability to do anything on offense (although when you don’t have the ball, that’s understood) and the continuing agony of repetitive penalties.

The final score, if incidental, was New Orleans 45, Oakland 7.

That after the Saints led 31- 0 in the first half.

After the Saints outgained the Raiders 344 yards to 60 in the first half.

After the Raiders had only 1 yard net rushing in the first half.

“This was embarrassing,’’ agreed Raiders coach Tom Cable.  “We’re all in it together. I did a bad job.’’

It was the belief of the great John Madden, who coached the Raiders before he became an icon, given a one-sided exhibition game it was better to be on the losing end so the team might pay attention to the advice and warnings that the staff would issue.

This was as one-sided as they come, but when a team has had six consecutive losing seasons, as have the Raiders, it may be difficult to find any comfort in the Madden theory.

In truth this one, played before a crowd announced as 32,585 and in a temperature that was above 100 degrees on the field, had virtually no redeeming social or athletic importance for Oakland and was terribly discomforting.

The Raiders were helpless on defense and offense.

The only time the Saints didn’t go anywhere was when they were in already the end zone.

The Saints were on offense 39 minutes 27 seconds, basically two-thirds of the game.

The Saints gained 536 yards -- 304 passing, 232 rushing -- vs. the Raiders’ 289 yards.

No, the game doesn’t count when the NFL schedule begins in two weeks, but it certainly counts emotionally for a franchise wandering in the mire since that Super Bowl year of 2002.

Now, as always, the Raiders, management that is, are calling themselves the Team of the Decades. But the last few seasons, they look more like the Team of Disaster. This game did nothing to dispel the idea.

Cable became head coach early last season when Raiders owner Al Davis dispensed with Lane Kiffin, and if nothing else it appeared Cable, a gruff, physical  sort, had the players mentally sharp.

But Saturday they collapsed, and Cable didn’t have a legitimate explanation.

“Obviously,’’ he said, “it was not a very good effort. We couldn’t get off the field on defense. And our offense was hurt by sacks and fumbles.’’

The team that led the NFL in offense last season, the Saints took the opening kickoff on Saturday and in 5 minutes 31 seconds went 80 yards for a touchdown. OK, now it was Oakland’s turn.

JaMarcus Russell completed a 12-yard pass to this year’s No. 1 pick, Darrius Heyward-Bey. Then he hit Zach Miller, and the play gained them 35 yards. Maybe the Raiders could do something. Unfortunately, what they did was fumble, when the next play JaMarcus was sacked.

The Saints recovered.  In another 10 minutes 38 seconds, the score was was 14-0. Eventually it was 47-0 before backup Jeff Garcia threw a 43-yard touchdown pass for a meaningless touchdown with six minutes remaining.

“Our biggest issue,’’ said Cable, “was we were a team without a lot of zip. On offense, we couldn’t get into a rhythm. Ball security was another issue.’’

To complete the misery, cornerback Nnamdi Ashomugha, arguably the Raiders’ best player, incurred a chipped one in his wrist. He’ll be all right. But will the Raiders?

They are supposed to be improved over last season, more efficient, more effective, and yet they certainly looked like the same Raiders we’ve come to know and not love. Somebody always screws up.

“As a football team,’’ said Cable, implying that’s what the Raiders are, “we lack attention to detail.’’

That problem is supposed to fixed by the coaches, but let us not be too harsh.

“We’ll get it corrected,’’ said tight end Zach Miller, who caught three balls for 16 yards. “I’m glad it happened in a preseason game. But I’ve never felt so lousy after any game. This was embarrassing.’’

That word kept reappearing throughout the locker room, and for good reason.

“We’ll stay the course,’’ said the coach. “This is very embarrassing to me, but we’ll stay the course.’’

Persistence is fine. A little competence wouldn’t hurt either.

(ArtSpander.com Exclusive) Giants win the game they needed

SAN FRANCISCO –- A day after giving up 11 runs, the Giants gave up none. A day after it seemed like it was time to forget the season, the season is there to be remembered.

“Here we are approaching September,’’ said Bruce Bochy, the manager, “and we are playing some very important ball games.’’

Like the one Friday night, the one in which Tim Lincecum went eight innings, Pablo Sandoval hit one into the seats and Giants beat the Colorado Rockies, 2-0.

This was like 2002 all over again at AT&T -- a game that mattered, a crowd that cared, a performance that scintillated. Unseasonable heat by the Bay, a temperature of 75 degrees at game time. Unsuspected brilliance from the home nine.

Lincecum hadn’t won a game in nearly a month. The guy nicknamed the Freak, because of his windup and follow-through, had been freaky. Or star-crossed. Either he gave up too many runs, as he did against the Reds a week and a half ago, or the Giants scored two few, as they did against the Rockies six days ago.

But the good times came flying back. Lincecum struck out eight, permitted only four hits. He had 39,047 people standing when he threw his 127th pitch of the game, the ball that had Seth Smith grounding out to end the eighth.

“Tim’s the guy you want on a the mound in a game like this,’’ said Bochy. “He had great stuff.’’

He pitched like the Cy Young Award winner he was in 2008, the way the Giants and crowd expected. And then he turned it over to Brian Wilson, who picked up another save, his 31st.

Monday night the Giants were wounded, blowing that 4-2 lead in the 14th to the Rockies in Denver. Thursday night the Giants were deflated, getting crushed by Arizona, 11-0, here at AT&T.

Nice run, guys. Nobody predicted you’d be in the race, so take a bow and step away.

That’s not the Giants. We see them collapse, give them their last rites and then watch in bewilderment and admiration as they prove to be as resilient as any team in baseball.

Sandoval, the Kung Fu Panda, the Bat, was back in the lineup after the flu and a right calf problem. He drove a ball into the left field bleachers in the fifth, his 20th home run. Eugenio Velez singled home Eli Whiteside in the sixth for the other run.

This on a night when the Giants left seven runners on base in the first two innings. When Lincecum twice failed to move a runner with a sacrifice bunt. When Whiteside’s attempt at a suicide squeeze in the eighth resulted in a double play, a pop up to the first baseman and Juan Uribe getting caught off third.

So many mistakes. But one victory, a win that moved the Giants to within two games of the Rockies in the National League wild card race, a win that made late-August baseball meaningful in San Francisco for the first time in years.

“This was a big game for us,’’ said Bochy, who can be excused for stating the obvious. “Every game is a big game for us from now on. But remember, there’s a lot of baseball left.’’

A lot of baseball that may not let us turn to football. This is the time we’re supposed to think about the 49ers and Raiders, but stubbornly the Giants won’t let us.

They don’t have hitting. In some games, they don’t have fielding. But they have staying power, persistence. It is not to be underestimated.

Lose 11-0 and then 24 hours later win 2-0. This is what you want in a team, the ability to rebound, the ability to struggle and stagger but succeed.

“This is what you play for,’’ agreed Bochy. “This is what you talk about in the early season, being here at this time.’’

The Giants are here. The Giants very much are here. Not for a long while could the postseason even be considered. They could fall quickly, could drop the next two to Colorado. But they also could win the next two and be tied with the Rockies.

The Giants lead the National League in shutouts with 17. It’s a sporting axiom that if the other team doesn’t score, you’re not going to lose.

“We’re the team behind,’’ reminded Bochy. “We have to catch them.’’

On Friday night, the Giants were the team ahead. On Friday night, baseball in San Francisco was thoroughly entertaining and completely satisfying.

RealClearSports.com: Sports No Longer Respite from Messy World

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

Connect the dots if you can. The man who used to coach University of Kentucky basketball, Billy Gillispie, was arraigned on a charge of drunken driving.

The University of Wisconsin is tossing away $425,000 a year by terminating advertising agreements with MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch in the "ongoing battle against alcohol abuse.''

No, it's not the people making the stuff who are entirely at fault, although they want us to believe you can't have a good time at a game without a brew or something stronger.

It's we folk of little self-control who cause the problem. But someone has to take a stand.

TCU and SMU did just that, but for an interesting reason. Anheuser has produced cans of Bud Light in school colors, as if the more you drink the more you're supposed to be backing the old alma mater.

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, TCU's associate director of communications, Lisa Albert, said, " . . . we do not want TCU students, parents of TCU students and stakeholders of the university to think we support this program.''

This has been quite a week for sport, an activity once described in the famed 18th-century dictionary of the Englishman Samuel Johnson as "tumultuous merriment.''

How tumultuously merry would anyone consider Rick Pitino? Or the execs in the National Hockey League as they wrestle a maverick from Canada for ownership of the Phoenix Coyotes? Or the ballplayers who learn their drug tests were seized improperly by the government?

Or Mr. Gillispie -- who for loyalty's sake, we hope -- was sipping Kentucky bourbon, proving his heart was in the right place, if not his brain.

A former California governor and later U.S. Supreme Court chief justice named Earl Warren once said, "I always turn to the sports pages first. They record people's accomplishments. The front page has nothing but man's failures.''

Earl was around in the fantasy world of the 1940s and '50s, when an athlete's peccadilloes were not considered important. Jock journalists concentrated on touchdowns and runs batted in and winked at what could be judged criminal or antisocial behavior. If it didn't happen between the lines, then it didn't happen.

Sometimes -- sometimes -- you wish it were that head-in-the-sand way once more. Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the groin? The whole agonizing business with Michael Vick? These are people's accomplishments?

ESPN can get on your nerves with its self-indulgence, but the network is to be congratulated for the nightly 10 best plays of the day. For a few wonderful seconds of hand-eye coordination and dexterity, we are reminded that sport is fun and games.

Otherwise, we have Pitino acting like a would-be Clarence Darrow, defending himself and questioning the judgment of a Louisville TV station to break into a report on Ted Kennedy's death and show videotapes of the woman who claimed Pitino raped her.

Or the estranged wife of convicted NBA game-fixer ref Tim Donaghy saying he's been "treated unfairly.''

Pitino and Donaghy created their own problems. If you do things that either are stupid or illegal, or both, you pay the price.

Maybe half of what Pitino was preaching was true. "My wife and family don't deserves to suffer because of the lies,'' he said. But it's also true he had a liaison with the woman. That was no lie.

And whether Donaghy is guilty of a parole violation or just victim of a misunderstanding, well, if the man hadn't bet on games he was officiating, then he wouldn't have been sent to prison in the first place.

Sport, tumultuous merriment, has turned into a list of daily accusations and apologies. Patrick Kane, the hockey player, tried to use a cab driver as a puck, and now Kane is sorry.

Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable is going to be interviewed by police in Napa, Calif., about his alleged role in a confrontation that left an assistant with a battered jaw.

The world's a mess. Always has been. So we turned to sport for the presumed brief escape from that mess. For decades, we were successful because the unwritten rule was that if someone broke a rule, the possible story remained unwritten.

No longer. Earl Warren to the contrary, the failures listed on the sports pages run from Louisville to Lawrenceburg, the town where Gillispie was halted. The days of the All-American boy who was diligent and selfless are numbered.

It's been a great run for attorneys, if not so good for their clients. Someone's always making news, and except in rare cases, such as at the U. of Wisconsin, too the news is bad.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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http://www1.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/08/28/sports_no_longer_respite_from_messy_world.html
© RealClearSports 2009

RealClearSports.com: Quarterbacks, the Great and the Unknown

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

So the $40 million man goes to the bench, and the guy who nobody wanted becomes the starter. Once again, you have to wonder what goes on with pro football. Does anyone in charge have a clue? And how did 198 players get chosen before Tom Brady?

Quarterbacks have been big and expensive the last few days. Eli Manning signed an extension for $106 million. Then Philip Rivers, whose draft rights back in 2004 were traded for Manning, received an extension worth $98 million. Somebody must think these guys are important.

Because they are. It's an unarguable fact that every play starts with the quarterback touching the ball, other than that wildcat formation and punts or place kicks. In the NFL, you don't win without at the least a good one. But how do you get a good one?

The San Francisco 49ers had the first selection in the 2005 draft, took quarterback Alex Smith, gave him $40 million and now -- because of injuries and other difficulties -- he's second string behind Shaun Hill, who in his first five years in the league, four of those with Minnesota, played maybe five minutes.

Meanwhile, Brady, who's won three Super Bowls, who's considered to be no worse than the fourth best quarterback in the game and by many no worse than the very best, was taken in the sixth round.

That's better than Kurt Warner, who as we well know was a virtual outcast, had to work in a grocery store and, disproving all theories except the one that a strong arm is never to be underestimated, has played in three Super Bowls, including the most recent.

You've heard this. Drafting is not an exact science. That's a justification for making mistakes. Not that the people in charge don't have a decent understanding of what they need in a quarterback.

Manning, the No. 1 pick in 2004, won a Super Bowl. Ben Roethlisberger, the No. 11 pick in 2004, has won two Super Bowls. Rivers, fourth that same year, has had the San Diego Chargers in the playoffs. On ESPN the other day, Mike Golic was debating which of the three he would take. Interestingly, it was Rivers.

John Elway was the very first selection in the 1983 draft. He quarterbacked the Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl five times and won two of those times. No one questioned the choice or later his performance.

Alex Smith, however, was a questionable No. 1. The 49ers had the first choice. The 49ers needed a quarterback. The presumption was they would take Aaron Rodgers, from Cal, just a few miles away from the Niners' headquarters. The second-guessing has gone on for four years.

Sometimes all a quarterback needs is a chance. Sometimes it's better when he never gets that chance. We're told the best job in the NFL is backup quarterback. You're anonymous, bullet-proof. Until you're forced to play.

Literally, Shaun Hill was forced to play. He had been in Europe with the Amsterdam Admirals, the same for which Warner spent a season, and in retrospect it was a season well spent, Kurt going to the St. Louis Rams and to unforeseen success.

Joining the Vikings in 2002, Hill -- as Warner, undrafted -- virtually never crossed the sideline. Oh, they let him in a couple of times to kneel down at the end of the game, a gesture that once you're beyond high school serves no purpose. What, someone wanted Shaun to earn his letter? Or to let his family know he still was around?

He came to the Niners in 2006, and with Smith in his second year taking every snap, Hill again was a non-entity, this time in a red jersey rather than a purple one. But in 2007, Smith separated his shoulder, Trent Dilfer, No. 2, also was hurt and finally in December, Shaun Hill was throwing and handing off. And winning.

Because Mike Martz, who interestingly enough was Warner's offensive coordinator with the Rams had the same role in 2008 with the Niners, Hill was deemed not capable of directing the Martz wild-air attack. But head coach Mike Nolan was canned, Mike Singletary took over and on came Hill, the methodical sort that Singletary prefers.

Now, as Manning and Rivers receive their raises, Shaun Hill becomes a starting quarterback for a season opener for the first time. And even he seems amazed.

"It's been quite a ride,'' Hill said. "I almost made it through a whole six seasons without taking a real snap in the league, and now here I am, with an opportunity to start for one of the most storied franchises in the league, a franchise that's had great quarterbacks through its history.''

Hill isn't Joe Montana or Steve Young. Hill isn't Eli Manning or Ben Roethlisberger. He's the man nobody wanted but now the man the San Francisco 49ers need.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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http://www1.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/08/26/quarterbacks_the_great_and_the_unknown_96462.html
© RealClearSports 2009