Men’s tennis has enjoyed a miniature Renaissance on the back of the Federer-Nadal rivalry, but by and large, it’s still a flawed, semi-popular sport. Ever since the days of, say, Mark Philippoussis firing uncontested 140-mph serves by his opponent, men’s tennis has been largely devoid of the long, exciting volleys and rallies that still occur more often on the women’s circuit.

(Somehow, despite using 11 letters, this just spells “BRO.”)

But perhaps the sheer power of self-amusement can bring some fans back to the game. To that end, fans of Sam Querrey - some of whom are old friends from high school - have termed themselves “The Samurai.” They don’t really have much in common with ninjas or anything, but they’re just fantastic at badgering opponents into frustrated submission.

Read more…

• Tony Kornheiser has called it quits with his “Monday Night Football” gig. In his place will be ex-Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden.

• And we’re sure Chucky will get along great with his new employer, since he’s had so many nice things to say about the Worldwide Leader before.

• Hedo Turkoglu’s heroics help the Orlando Magic curse the Celtics to no title repeat this year.

• Padraig Harrington is now taking golf tips from “Happy Gilmore“.

• In response to the Matthew Johns group sex scandal, some are calling for the banishment of cheerleaders from Australian pro rugby matches.

Read more…

I was fairly impressionable as a kid when it came to movies. After seeing “Jurassic Park”, I saw no reason why we couldn’t start cloning dinosaurs right away. I guess Padraig Harrington was impressionable, too, because he’s been experimenting with a new shot straight out of “Happy Gilmore”.

All golfers must have thought about it at one point: How far would the ball go if you got a running start? We have our answer. The 8th-ranked Harrington added an average of 30 yards to to his tee shot. So, is this golf’s Fosbury Flop? Is it just a matter of years before all golfers are using the running stroke?

Video after the jump.

Read more…

If Americans know how to do anything with our frontier roots, we know how to get rowdy. Such was the case all week at the Ryder Cup as frenzied *golf* crowds rallied the American duffers to victory after a string of embarrassing defeats. American captain Paul Azinger called the supporters the “13th man”, but at least one European player thinks otherwise.

Europe’s Lee Westwood called out several abuses. Reports the SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL: Westwood said there was some “shameful” fan participation, including a foul reference about his mother before he hit a tee shot, and a nuisance telephone call to his room in the wee hours before the final round. Read more…

We last heard from upstanding citizen and model teammate Andrew Giuliani back in July. After getting unceremoniously kicked off the Duke golf team for being anything but upstanding or model. Giuliani — yeah, that one — had his mommy publicly question the judgment of the golf coach, because, really, you’d have to be mental expel Lil’ Andy.

Maybe not. According to the ASSOCIATED PRESS, after an exhaustive investigation (administrative rubber stamp), Duke University says Giuliani was “properly dismissed from the golf team and was never promised a spot on the squad.”

Read more…