Unser Logo zum mitnehmen » , find my inner peace Learn my art form, and f

Whats in store for the tennis Olympians this season? We dont know yet, but if they do anything to match any of these top 10 moments from Olympics yore, well be in for a treat.1. Steffi Grafs Golden SlamWhen she arrived at the 1988 Seoul Games, Graf, a teenager from West Germany, didnt expect much from herself. She was still feeling weary from her triumph at the US Open, where she had completed the calendar-year Grand Slam. But Graf became inspired by other Olympians and would come through the draw to win the singles competition.In doing so, she became the first man or woman to achieve the Golden Slam of scoring four majors and the Olympic singles title in the same season. To me, this was bigger than a Grand Slam; it was more special, she told CNN at the time.2. Andy Murrays golden performance in front of home fansAll of Murrays eventual Grand Slam triumphs can be traced back to his win against Roger Federer in the 2012 Olympic final in London. On the grass of the All England Club, Murray was showing himself -- and others, too -- how he could beat the best in the world by playing positive, attacking tennis. Murray defeated Novak Djokovic in the semifinal and then Federer in the gold medal match -- in straight sets. At one point, Federer failed to win a game for an entire hour.3. Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potros epic encounterDid Federer have an excuse in the final against Murray? Perhaps when you consider the match before. Federer needed nearly three hours in the third set alone to beat del Potro, 19-17. In all, the Swiss was on the court for 4? hours in the semifinals before putting away the Argentine, the longest mens three-set match of the Open era.I definitely got a sense that it was something special, Federer told the press at the time. His victory guaranteed he would win a first Olympic singles medal (after winning a doubles gold with Stan Wawrinka in Beijing).4. Serena Williams crushes Maria Sharapova in the finalHas anyone ever won an Olympic silver medal and felt so far away from glory? The womens singles 2012 London final was 45 minutes old before Sharapova won a game. She would lose 6-0, 6-1 in the most one-sided womens final ever played at an Olympics. Williams was steadfast in her quest to win singles and complete the career Golden Slam.5. Nicolas Massu wins double goldTo win two gold medals, you might have to contend with sleep deprivation. Take Massu, for example, at the 2004 Athens Games, with the Chilean winning the first of his medals alongside Fernando Gonzalez in the doubles. That match finished so late that Massu didnt get to sleep until 4.30 a.m.Just 13 hours later, he started his singles gold medal match against Mardy Fish of the United States. Somehow, Massu got through it. I dont know how I did it, he told the press afterward. These are just the best two days of my life. Its just too much, two gold medals in one day, and its unbelievable for my country.6. James Blakes fury at Fernando GonzalezPlaying in the semifinals of the 2008 Beijing Games, Blake was sure one of his shots had brushed Gonzalezs racket before being called out. Blake was also certain that Gonzalez, who would win the match, should have admitted as much.Playing in the Olympics, in whats supposed to be considered a gentlemans sport, thats a time to call it on yourself, Blake told the press afterward. Fernando looked me square in the eye and didnt call it. If that happened the other way, I never would have finished the match, because my father would have pulled me off the court if I had acted that way. Thats a disappointing way to exit the tournament when you not only lose the match, but you lose a little faith in your fellow competitor.7. Andre Agassis Olympic swearingThere was a touching moment at the 1996 Atlanta Games when two generations of Olympians in the Agassi family, Andre, who had three Grand Slam titles at the time, and his father Mike, who boxed for Iran, embraced on the court. But Agassis run to the Olympic gold medal, which culminated with victory over Spains Sergi Bruguera, is often remembered for the coarse language he used during his quarterfinal against South Africas Wayne Ferreira.Agassi was given a point penalty for cussing and swearing (in breach of the rules and perhaps also the Olympic spirit), but Ferreira, who served for the match, thought that the Las Vegan should have had the greater punishment of being defaulted. That was about the only way he would have beaten me, Agassi told the press afterward. He said I should have been thrown out, and if I was him, I would have hoped for that, too.8. Jamie Murray bolts off the courtPlayers often speak of leaving everything on the court, and Murray did just that (literally) when playing a second-round doubles match at the 2008 Beijing Games alongside his younger brother, Andy. After a disappointing performance by the brothers, Jamie left the court at such speed that he didnt take his rackets or bag with him.It was a hugely disappointing Olympics for Andy, who had also lost in the first round of the singles competition. Later, he spoke of his unprofessional preparation, which included arriving late and not giving himself enough days to assimilate, as well as poor diet.9. Roger Federer kisses his future wife for the first timeIt was at the 2000 Sydney Olympics that Federer started a romance with Mirka Vavrinec, who was part of the Swiss Olympic team herself. Vavrinec had been wondering why Federer was spending so much with her. And then he kissed her. They married nine years later and have had two sets of twins.10. Rafael Nadals off-court imperfections Bradley Wiggins, a British cyclist, spotted Nadal in a laundry room in the Athletes Village in Beijing and was a little concerned: I didnt want to bother [Nadal,] but he was mixing up his whites and colors.Still, his washing foibles aside, Nadal went on to win the singles gold medal. He is the only man -- with Agassi being the other -- to have won all four Grand Slams, the Davis Cup and the Olympic singles gold medal. JaVale McGee Jersey . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. Michael Cooper Jersey . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. http://www.lakersbasketballshop.com/Elgin-Baylor-Jersey/ . Arsenal failed to take full advantage of its main rivals stumbles on Saturday as substitute Gerard Deulofeu levelled with a hard shot from a tight angle in the 84th minute to give Everton a deserved point. Ahead of a crucial fortnight that will see them play against Napoli in the Champions League, Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal leads by five points ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea. Nick Van Exel Lakers Jersey . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. Kurt Rambis Jersey . At a Manhattan federal court hearing, attorney Jordan Siev said his law office has gotten more evidence nearly every day to support its lawsuit accusing MLB and Selig of going on a "witch hunt" to ruin Rodriguezs reputation and career. He said the defendants went "way over the line. Dwyane Wades wife feels betrayed. Her stunned husband, Miamis favorite son, finds himself somewhere between hurting and haunted. And warrior legend Pat Riley is wounded, having morphed with his fan base from The Godfather to Tony Montana in a way that feels reckless and bloody. Something so big and strong exploded at the center of what used to be their basketball family, and now they all limp away from each other with the scars.There was no good way to do any of this without conflict and blame. None. The Miami Heat got the breakup wrong because there was no good way to get it right. Maybe letting Wade go was a good business decision, and maybe it wasnt. Maybe it was a good basketball decision, and maybe it wasnt. But it was, no maybe about it, a terrible emotional decision. And thats where interests clash and people get hurt in this kind of collision, at the intersection of sports as a business and sports as a relationship.Champion Bill Belichick will let players go coldly a year too early. You just saw what happened when the hijacked Lakers let champion Kobe Bryant go a year or two too late. The Heat landed somewhere in the middle of those two extremes, as if there is ever any right place to land when breaking up what used to feel like love, and now everyone involved feels hurt and damaged by the iciness of it all. We dont want to be reminded that these things are literally transactions. We want to keep having our romantic, candlelight dinners on the floor of the bank.It is very easy to have good relationships when interests are aligned, but you dont really find out about love and loyalty until they arent. The Heat-Wade marriage felt like a honeymoon for more than a decade, aligned interests as the winning glue, but this transaction wasnt loving at the end, as evidenced by all the fractured trust and the thudding finality of the heartbreaking exit. Wade and the fan base were considering things that are priceless, such as nostalgia, while the Heat were doing the calculator math on future basketball value that you must do as stars age in a salary-capped ecosystem.It makes LeBron James, power broker and paradigm shifter, all the more breathtaking with the clarity of retrospect. He Pat Rileyd Pat Riley before Pat Riley could Pat Riley him, flying the old warrior across the country for a cold courtesy meeting as a legendary pawn. That has to hurt Wade all the more today, that his mercenary friend cost him $10 million and was right about loyalty in sports largely being a lie disguised as a fairy tale.Ultimately, Miami made enough of an effort to appear like it was making enough of an effort. Riley didnt get where he is doing negotiations with his heart. So the breakup had to kinda, sorta feel like Wades choice when swallowing more pride didnt seem like much of a choice at all to this proud icon, public relations an awkward mask for all the blemishes that had developed in the private relations. Nearly $42 million? A lot of us would like to be insulted like that. But if the Heat really wanted to keep him, they obviously would have found a way to keep him. Instead, they made a fair and reasonable offer, offering even more than they probably would have liked because of the emotion and the public relations and the fan base and the past and goodwill and reputation and that statue that will go up one day. And then they watched other franchises start valuing Wade more than the one that should have valued him the most. And watched Tyler Johnson, with all of five career starts, get offered $10 million guaranteed more than Wade.The Heat likely didnt want to deal with two more years of unhappy, disrespected, hurt Wade. They would have, but only at their price. Perhaps a smitten man will tolerate a divas behavior in her prime. But patience might grow thin in a more superficial relationship once the beauty queens age no longer disguises her flaws. And these two sides couldnt agree on much of anything at the end. Not on who put together the Big Three. Not on how much the sacrifices were worth. Not even on how to make a damn phone call.You know how it is sometimes before the worst breakups. The fights arent really about the fights; theyre about all the resentments collected on the way to the fights.Wade thinks he, his talent and his relationships built the Big Three. But he also told people in 2009 that James would never, ever leave Cleveland to come to Miami, and Miami cleared the cap space for the possibility of James anyway. Can they both be right? Wade couldnt figure out why he was always the one making the financiaal sacrifices.dddddddddddd The Heat can counter that those discounts also helped Wade ... and that they never requested those discounts of him ... and that they paid for themselves with winning and endorsements ... and that James, Chris Bosh, Goran Dragic, Udonis Haslem, Shane Battier and Ray Allen also gave back dollars (and even Hassan Whiteside offered up a chunk of contract for the possibility of Kevin Durant). Can they both be right? Wade is reportedly hurt because Riley never once reached out to him by phone during these past few weeks; the Heat are hurt because disgruntled leaks kept springing from his camp for two years and too much of the repairing dialogue had to go through his many agents. Can they both be wrong?Relationships are important, people, Wade tweeted in the middle of negotiations, about the time he realized that this one was no longer what he once thought it was. Wade didnt trust Riley with his money anymore. That is clear now. The Heat would have liked to use his Bird rights to keep working with Wade and compensate with the possibility of a one-year, $37 million max payment as a gold-watch parting gift a few years from now. But Wade obviously didnt believe that was ever coming, or he would have done what discounted Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan have wink-wink done with their employers in exchange for having some control over the roster. When Wade is done being classy and professional in public, maybe well find out where and how this trust broke.Riley coined the phrase the Disease of Me in his best-selling book The Winner Within. He might have discovered the illness, but he is not immune from it. He has an earned ego, too. He is about doing his job, no matter how cutthroat it must be. Ask his protégé Van Gundys. It is Rileys way or the highway, and sometimes loyalty can be a one-way street on that highway. Rileys résumé is bejeweled, but it now has the blemishes of losing James and Wade. The first could be blamed on James; this one wont be. Together, they are damning. And, given how cold this business can be, a messy fight with Bosh over his medical issue and salary-cap space might be next. These past six years, the rise and fall, are going to make for one hell of a 30 for 30 in a decade.Rileys daughter knows her father is hurting today. He has always been a philosopher-poet moved by writing and music. He owns more than 2,000 vinyl records. But she sent him a song he hadnt heard Thursday -- Inner Ninja, a happy tune by Canadian rapper Classified -- to help her father heal. She really knows the old man, and she knows the game that is his lifes work, and she knows that his game is a business, and she knows how that business can wound. Here are some of the lyrics:I read the rules before I broke em I broke the chains before they choked me out Now I pay close attention Really learn the code I learned to read the map before I hit the road Hey, yo, I know you never heard this before But Id rather lose a fight than miss the war I go hard and I aint makin up no excuse Im overdue, I dont do what Im supposed to do Cause you can think about it, man, were supposed to lose It aint all picture perfect, ocean views Hey, yo, Ive been high and Ive been real low Ive been beaten and broken but I healed though So many ups and downs, roughed up and clowned We all got problems, but we deal though Im trying to do better now, find my inner peace Learn my art form, and find my energy When my backs on the wall, I dont freeze up Nah, I find my inner strength and I re-up Never dwell in the dark cause the sun always rises But gotta make it to the next day Its a feeling that you get in your lungs when you run Like youre running outta air and your breath wont come And you wheezing, gotta keep it moving Find that extra (uhn) and push your way through it I climbed the highest mountains I swum the coldest seas There aint a thing Ive faced thats been too much for meIt is a really nice song. The godfather who runs the Heats family business vows to keep fighting. But he read the rules before he broke them, and he learned the code, and he knows the basketball business aint all picture perfect, ocean views, even though he and Wade went from climbing the highest mountains to now swimming the coldest seas. He knows this, too:Letting Wade go might turn out to be a mistake.But it sure as hell cant be considered any kind of accident.This story by Dan Le Batard also appears in the Miami Herald. ' ' '