Categories
Postings

Michael Mmoh, Lucky Loser

Growing up in Saudi Arabia. Why do the women walk behind? Why do they never drive cars? His mother explains. She’s a nurse from Ireland. His father nods. He’s a tennis pro from Nigeria. They had named their son after Michael Jordan. They had named him Michael Mmoh. If you’re outside the top 100 on […]

Categories
Postings

Watching Don Budge: Adolf Hitler and Pablo Casals

July 20, 1937: If it happened today, it would start like this: “Hey, Don, look at this text.” Gottfried gives Budge his cell. “Good Luck against Budge.” It’s from Adolf Hitler. Gay and no lover of Nazis, Gottfried von Cramm will need more than good luck to avoid their punishments and prisons. Budge will later […]

Categories
Postings

Daniil Medvedev, The Octopus

Thought Experiment: Push the thesis that Medvedev is an Octopus. Medvedev the Octopus because he’s 6 feet 6 inches of pretzel boneless arms and legs moving in every direction, swirling out deep and deeper behind the baseline. His greatest skill is defense. You cannot hit through him. You cannot hit around him. You have to […]