http://www.yardbarker.com/users/BearsNecessity Recent Yardbarker Articles: BearsNecessity en-us What are the preliminary Vegas lines and bookies telling us about the Left Coast of college football? Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:21:33 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294227 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294227 We identify better with our college athletes than we do with our professionals, so what makes it different following a college team rather than a pro one? Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:11:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293959 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293959 How often do athletes bring out the best in each other? It's an interesting question to ponder after Rafael Nadal took Wimbeldon away from Roger Federer in the fading English light. It was one of those titanic clashes you never forget watching. It was the equivalent of watching Beethoven and Mozart compose a piano concert together, with clashing styles of power and grace coming together, hitting the wrong notes every now and then, but ultimately combining for a product greater than what the two might put together individually. Of course we know Beethoven and Mozart never worked together, but if there was a tennis equivalent, this might've been it. And in sports, we rarely get the opportunity to see two players, two teams bring out the best in one another. Sports aren't often a matchup of the ideal--they happen rarely, even in a world where the number of sports we watch borders on the infinite. In football it's rare to see two great teams bring out the best in one another because they're too busy knocking the hell out of one another to appreciate the game of the other. This year's Super Bowl brought out the worst in the Patriots (doing just enough to stay ahead) and the best in the Giants. Baseball suffers from the same problem; it is more dependent around the surrounding historical context (the Yankees trying to win their fourth straight under the specter of 9/11, the Red Sox battling against their own history) to have added resonance with the viewer. Hockey and soccer is full of plenty of great finishes, but in between the drama and goals is plenty of interlude, defense, and penalties. In basketball the instances where both teams are playing at their best have been minimal--you could argue that during the 2008 NBA Finals, neither team played great basketball at the same time. We want to see teams giving each other their best shots, but it doesn't happen often. You could probably name games where both teams were playing well at the same time on your fingers. Ultimately, it's harder for both teams to play at the same level at the same time because it requires a group to succeed collectively. It nevertheless doesn't make. People have pined for Tiger and Phil, but they have never played their best golf at the same time. Even when Woods has won his fights, he has never seemed vulnerable. He was fighting the course and his swing more than anyone else. Even his great win was more of an endurance of will than upping the ante with Rocco Mediate. We still haven't seen anything like Nicklaus and Palmer and Player to develop--Tiger has stood on his own. Everyone else falls. To delve even further into the individual sports, only in the one-on-one sports have we ever seen intense personal rivalry develop. It was Schmeling and Louis, Ali and Frazier, Leonard and Hearns which connected boxers to the masses, and provides it with its color; mixed martial arts is beginning to realize that too. But the individuals were at the center, not the game. Fighting by its very nature brings out the most primal in each and every one of us, and even though it's compelling, it's by no means bringing out the best in each other. No sport has needed more elevation of rivlary than tennis, which has depended on Borg, McEnroe and Connors, Sampras and Agassi, and the Williams sisters. Now in step Federer and Nadal, who barely let each other be broken during Sunday's match. Nadal dictated pace and power, yet didn't look ready to take it away from the defending champion. Federer didn't look dominant, but everytime it seemed he was about to fall over he came right back, taking 0-30 defecits and eviscerating them ace by ace. Everytime he looked down he came back. He didn't give away Wimbledon. Nadal simply outlasted him. Of course these guys are comparable to Ali and Frazier only when they step into the arena; their dynamic force on the field of play does not translate into real-life chraisma. Federer maintains all the ferocity of a cuddly teddy bear, while Nadal's chewing habits will probably earn him great admiration from the beaver folk. They're tennis robots, which is to be expected of the current generation of great personalities. They don't need to be colorful off the field. They let their games speak for themselves. And last night they delivered what could be their magnum opus. Discussion for the readers: When have you seen athletes bring out the best in each other? Mon, 07 Jul 2008 05:01:16 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286416 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286416 The California Golden Bears and Michigan State Spartans are facing off in the opening week of the 2008 season. This is a preview of Michigan State's team. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:37:14 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284939 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284939 Jeff Tedford is making Cal's colors look quite familiar... Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:25:49 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284707 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284707 Roland Beech of 82games.com takes a look at the tape. Was Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference really fixed? Was there a clear bias shown to favor the Lakers calls? Or was it just a poorly officiated game? Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:25:15 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284685 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284685 After months of careful deliberation, Jeff Tedford has come to a surprising decision about who his next starting quarterback will be. Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:06:57 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/282433 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/282433 The Berkeley treesitters go on and on with their mystifying occupation of the trees. Who are they? And what can we discern about them from their bizarre pseudonyms? I delve in with a no-depth investigation. Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:10:31 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281421 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281421 Jonathan Papelbon and Manny Delcarmen decided to make fun of the great Milli Vanilli. This is the result. Sat, 21 Jun 2008 23:03:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280719 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280719 Phil Mickelson's chances to win the US Open at Torrey Pines pretty much ended here. Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:07:20 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280459 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280459 Information on the SAHPC ruling determining the fate of Cal's future athletic center, as well as the fate of Marshawn Lynch. Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:49:42 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280438 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280438 Sasha Vujacic gives his deepest thoughts after his Game 3 win. It is as amazing as the NBA gets. Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:32:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/279058 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/279058 One of the greats. This knee injury raises this performance to new heights. Sun, 15 Jun 2008 02:59:37 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/278087 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/278087 Perfect spot for Father's Day. Sun, 15 Jun 2008 02:52:05 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/278086 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/278086 While I don't necessarily agree with the title, the ending to this Heat-Pistons game seems a little bizarro. Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:55:30 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/278006 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/278006