Boris Becker Slams 7-Time Grand Slam Champion For Calling Alcaraz-Sinner Better Than Federer-Nadal

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander sensationally claimed that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner can establish a rivalry that surpasses that of the ‘Big Three.’ This did not sit well with former German player Boris Becker, who promptly expressed his disagreement with Wilander’s viewpoint.

After fans were treated to the epic rivalry between the ‘Big Three’ of tennis – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic – for several years, some believe that Sinner and Alcaraz are on track to creating one such rivalry in the 2020s.

The duo has the entire tennis world rooting for them to make it possible. However, the German believes it is premature to claim that they are better than the three legends.

Mats, a tennis expert for Eurosport, expressed his admiration for their battle during the China Open 2024 final, where Alcaraz narrowly defeated Sinner. This made the former Swedish tennis player conclude that when Sinner and Alcaraz play at their best, they are better than everyone else.

“I hope Roger, Novak, and Rafa are not listening, in terms of level, when Sinner and Alcaraz are at their best, there is no way anyone has ever played better tennis,’ he told Eurosport.

Former Ukrainian tennis player Alex Dolgopolov was the first to disagree with the seven-time grand slam champion. In response, Becker wrote, “Agree with Alex and Eurosport! Apologies Mats ….”

Agree with Alex and Eurosport!
Apologies Mats …. https://t.co/1pSs18oO6t

— Boris Becker (@TheBorisBecker) October 4, 2024

In his tweet, Alex mentioned that he does not watch tennis regularly these days, but he was able to catch the highlights of the 2024 China Open. He believes that the ‘Big Three’ were better with their techniques.

“Sorry Mats, I rarely watch any tennis lately, but accidentally watched these highlights and my opinion is probably worthless. Tend to strongly disagree, big 3 had way higher level of understanding the heights, pace changes and angles. On a good day would never pick present stars,” wrote the Ukrainian.

The Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry, however, is very similar to what Federer-Nadal had in the early years of their career.

Sinner-Alcaraz vs Federer-Nadal

While Sinner is currently the top-ranked tennis player, Alcaraz has constantly proven to be a threat to the Italian’s spot, having won six of the ten games they played against each other. Similarly, Nadal was Federer’s kryptonite in 2005, when the Swiss Maestro was the world’s top-ranked player.

Outside the tennis court, the two also share a respectable off-court relationship, similar to ‘Fedal’. They recently made headlines after boarding the same flight from Beijing to Shanghai, along with their respective teams, to participate in the ongoing Masters.

Despite its early stage, it will be fascinating to see if the two youngsters’ rivalry can replicate the Big Three’s success over the last two decades.

The post Boris Becker Slams 7-Time Grand Slam Champion For Calling Alcaraz-Sinner Better Than Federer-Nadal appeared first on The SportsRush.

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Eli Manning Responds After Matthew Stafford Knocks Him Out From All-Time Career Stat Rankings

In today’s NFL era, Matthew Stafford is one name that stands out in the crowd of elite quarterbacks. Although he has not been on the winning side as much as other elite QBs, his strong fundamentals have made him an idol for most young quarterbacks in the league. His greatness was partially captured by one of the stats that has now ranked him 10th in a list of great passers.

Matthew, in his Week 3 matchup against the Bears, threw for 224 yards. Although the Rams lost 18-24, Stafford etched his name in the history books of the NFL while knocking Eli Manning out of it.

Matthew totaled a behemoth 57,025 career passing yards, surpassing the two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning, who had 57,023 career passing yards to his name.

Reacting to this feat, Eli responded with a hilarious video message. He said,

“Hey Matthew just want to congratulate you on breaking into the top 10 in career passing yards. You knocked me out of the Top 10 so not really sure why I’m congratulating you.”

Eli has proven to be a hilarious veteran time and again, as he never fails to sacrifice himself for a bit of extra fun. “Thanks a lot, Matthew,” Eli commented on the post that was shared by NFL Legacy on Instagram.

However, even the Los Angeles Rams joined the fun as they replied, “Game recognize game,” in the comments with a handshake and laughing emoji.

Matthew Stafford is on track to knock out Eli Manning once again

Eli was questioning his legacy halfway through the video message, as he realized that Matthew Stafford was in pursuit of knocking him out of the top 10 one more time. He added,

“You’re also seven touchdowns away from passing me in total touchdowns. Do not expect another video for that. Anyway, congrats pal.”

It was certainly a hilarious clip to watch, but it also provided a moment to ponder how far Stafford has come in his career. Standing in the 11th position with 359 career touchdown passes, he is just seven TDs away from surpassing Eli, who has 366 career touchdowns to his name.

It is no secret that Stafford has a cannon of an arm, but to see it in numbers does not do justice to his greatness. However, for Tom Brady, it does.

Brady unsurprisingly stands at the top of this summit with a whopping 649 career touchdown passes, which is 78 more than Drew Brees, who is second in the list.

That said, Patrick Mahomes too is slowly and steadily creeping up the list, as he already has 225 touchdown passes to his name in six seasons.

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“He’s Got a Lot of Game Balls”: Aidan Hutchinson on Why Jared Goff Wasn’t Given One Despite a Perfect Passing Percentage

Earlier this week, Jared Goff had one of the most efficient games in his career and NFL history, completing all 18 of his attempts. Under normal circumstances, a 100% completion rate would at least merit the game ball, but the QB was surprisingly snubbed. When asked why, his teammate Aidan Hutchinson gave a humorous response.

In his interview with Kay Adams, Aidan revealed that nobody in the team knew that Goff had such a perfect game against the Seahawks. So, he argued that this was the reason why nobody must have given Goff the game ball.

However, he did reveal that head coach Dan Campbell gave the QB a pat on the back at a meeting post-game. “He got his flowers this morning. Dan shouted him up in the meeting,” Hutchinson said.

Then, who received the special ball after the game? Aidan didn’t have a definitive answer, but he justified Goff’s snub by playfully stating that the QB has already received too many balls in his career, so he wouldn’t miss this one.

“I think he’s got a lot of game balls in his life. [So] you know, some other guys got the game balls…”

How did Jared Goff not get a game ball after the #Lions win on Monday night?

Aidan: “I didn’t even know that he had no incompletions or anything…” @heykayadams @aidanhutch97 @JaredGoff16 @Lions pic.twitter.com/ahzmmJ3WSy

— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) October 3, 2024

Jokes aside, having a 100 percent completion rate is not an everyday occurrence for a QB. So, the snub does feel a bit unexpected. But as Campbell later revealed, it was an honest mistake.

Even the head coach didn’t know about Goff’s perfect game

As Campbell revealed in his post-match press conference, even he had no idea about the perfect completion rate recorded by his talisman. Thus, in a state of ignorance, he unintentionally awarded the game ball to someone else.

The head coach, however, was gracious enough to admit his lack of knowledge and revealed that he felt “awful” about the mishap. After all, a perfect pass percentage is a rarity in the NFL.

“Well, I just gave the game ball to somebody else, so I feel awful right now… I knew he played a heck of a game. I did not realize he was perfect. I did not know he was literally 18 for 18… but I knew he played really well. You could feel it.”

The fact that nobody on the Lions roster recognized the brilliance of Goff’s performance highlights the greatness of the QB.

Over the years, Jared has made his teammates accustomed to flawlessness, to the point that even a 100% completion rate goes unnoticed. Thus, one could argue that Goff, in this case, is suffering from success.

The post “He’s Got a Lot of Game Balls”: Aidan Hutchinson on Why Jared Goff Wasn’t Given One Despite a Perfect Passing Percentage appeared first on The SportsRush.

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F1 Expert Explains How Max Verstappen’s Plans With Online Racing Makes Sense

Max Verstappen has repeatedly insisted that he won’t extend his F1 career into his late 30s. He wants to step away from the sport to explore other interests, including online racing – something that, according to F1 expert Adam Wylde, could pay off significantly.

Verstappen has expressed interest in endurance racing once he leaves F1, with the 24 Hours of Le Mans being a long-time goal. However, he would have to make drastic changes to his training to prepare for those races. In the online world, however, he’s already a star.

He has participated in several prestigious sim racing tournaments and even won them, sometimes despite their overlap with real-life F1 race weekends.

Have a look at Max Verstappen’s sim racing setup ‍ pic.twitter.com/Yu36uwMu5z

— Formula God (@formula1god) January 6, 2023

“I think I get the sense that he really likes doing his online racing,” said Wylde on the Nailing the Apex podcast. “There is a lot of scale and a lot of money in that. A guy like that, if he decided, I’m done being in the cockpit and risking my life. I’m going to run this race team that’s digital.

“Right now, at least the way the world’s going, it seems like it’s a pretty good investment,” he added.

Streaming online can earn millions, especially for someone as famous as Verstappen. Online gaming or racing could easily become an alternate career for the three-time World Champion. He’s also a brand ambassador for EA Sports, the creators of the official F1 game.

While the timing of Verstappen’s retirement is still uncertain, he recently dropped a hint about when it might happen.

Verstappen claims he will leave F1 if it keeps changing

In Singapore, Verstappen was penalized for defying the FIA’s new ‘no swearing’ rule during interviews. The governing body sentenced him to community service, a decision that upset him deeply. In protest, Verstappen answered questions with one or two words in the subsequent press conference.

Later that weekend, Verstappen expressed that the constant changes in F1, like the new rule, could lead him to retire sooner than expected.

If Verstappen does retire, his immediate focus will shift to running his own GT3 team, Verstappen.com Racing. He plans to field two cars in the discipline by 2025, with inspiration drawn from his sim-racing team, Team Redline.

“With Verstappen.com Racing, we are sponsoring and supporting various racing activities involving people close to me,” Verstappen told Motorsport. “We are active in DTM and the GTWC Sprint with Thierry Vermeulen and with my father in rallying, but the ultimate goal is to build our own race team.”

From streaming during race weekends—which even landed him in trouble earlier this year—to launching his team, Verstappen’s goal goes beyond driving. He may even lead the team as a driver himself one day.

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Felipe Massa’s Race Engineer Cried Alone for 30 Minutes After 2008 Title Loss to Lewis Hamilton

The 2008 championship fight went down to the wire as both Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa had a chance of winning the title in the season finale at Interlagos. Massa needed to win the race and hope that Hamilton finished P6 or lower to claim the title. While Massa came close, it was not enough as Hamilton clinched the championship by making crucial overtakes to finish P5.

With Massa losing, his race engineer Rob Smedley ended up in tears. Speaking of the same, Smedley said on the most recent episode of the Pitlane Life Lesson podcast,

“I took myself off and went behind the little hospitality building in Sao Paulo and I cried for about an hour. Literally, uncontrollably, with no one else there, just on my own. Maybe not an hour but like 30 minutes. And then sorted myself out and that was the end of it.”

Massa indeed did lose the championship in dramatic circumstances. After all, Hamilton passed Timo Glock to finish P5 on the last corner of the last lap in Brazil. This overtake helped the Briton to finish one point ahead of Massa in the standings and claim his maiden title.

On this day in 2008, Lewis Hamilton won his first F1 World Championship on the last corner of the last lap in Brazil

Beating Felipe Massa by just 1 point. Ferrari couldn’t believe it pic.twitter.com/7Ya3oJfePo

— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) November 2, 2022

The 2008 championship saga continues following the Crashgate revelation

The 2008 championship fight between Massa and Hamilton continues to be discussed as revelations about the infamous Crashgate incident were made earlier this year by former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

He recently came out and revealed that the FIA knew about the scandal, but still remained silent and delayed the investigation to protect the integrity of the sport. Ecclestone is referring to the incident when Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed at the 2008 Singapore GP, on the orders of his Renault boss Flavio Briatore, to help Fernando Alonso win the race.

On hearing Ecclestone’s shocking revelations, Massa decided to file a lawsuit against him, the FIA, and F1. The Brazilian demands justice, suggesting that the 2008 championship could’ve swayed his way, had the concerned authorities done their job.

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Keyshawn Johnson Says People Looked at His Feud With John Gruden as Problematic “Black Man Going at a White Coach”

Anyone familiar with the NFL in the 2000s remembers the controversial feud between John Gruden and Keyshawn Johnson. Since the two visibly didn’t get along in Tampa Bay, the former wide receiver believes his side of the story was overlooked. Well, at least, that was the case until the coach’s problematic emails became public in 2021.

During an appearance on All Facts No Brakes, Johnson rewound the clock and expressed how he was misunderstood and stereotyped during his time with the Buccaneers.

“I don’t know if people got that right,” explained the former wide receiver, sharing how he was racially discriminated against during his feud with Gruden.

“They looked at it and it’s the receiver from the West Coast with the board shorts, t-shirts, flip-flops. Black man going at a white coach; he’s got to be the problem.”

Calling the distressing experience a “stain on his persona,” Johnson shared when his side of the story finally got recognition in 2021. That year, the New York Times reported on the multiple misogynistic and homophobic emails the coach had sent between 2011 and 2018.

Working as the Raiders coach at the time, Gruden had no choice but to resign from his position.

“I don’t think people got the story. It didn’t really hit till the Las Vegas Raider thing happened with him and all the emails and stuff came out and everybody was like, well, maybe Keyshawn (was in the right).”

Johnson said that he never accused Gruden of being a bigot, but rather disliked his behavior during his time with the Raiders. He even went on to call him a “phony baloney” and described him as someone like a “used car salesman.”

Clearly, Johnson didn’t hold back from expressing his views candidly in the recent podcast. And it’s not the first time he’s done so either.

Johnson once called Gruden a “fraud”

The former NFL wide receiver entered the league as the first overall pick by the Jets and was later traded to Tampa Bay. Although he had a solid track record with his new team, his issues with the coach took center stage, and Johnson was ultimately traded to Dallas in 2004.

The true story behind the feud, however, didn’t emerge until Gruden’s inappropriate and problematic emails came to light in 2021.

“He’s just always been a fraud to me,” Johnson told KJM. “From day one, he’s been a used-car salesman and people bought it because he inherited a team built by Tony Dungy and Rich McKay.”

He further called out his former coach, noting how Gruden tried to steal the limelight after their Super Bowl win in 2002.

“Think about it, we won the championship and we’re standing on the podium in the Super Bowl, and the general manager’s trying to raise the trophy and the head coach (Gruden) takes the trophy away from him, basically says, ‘give me this, this belongs to me.'”

Johnson also alleged that the GM, at the time, Rich McKay, left the team the following year in the middle of the season because of Gruden.

As a result, in the wake of Gruden’s resignation over the controversial emails, he has only served in advisory roles for the Saints and currently for the Milano Seamen.

As for Johnson, the star wide receiver retired from the league in 2007 after playing for a year with the Panthers. Despite several offers from different franchises, the Pro Bowler decided to hang up his cleats and later served as an analyst on ESPN.

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What Happened to Naomi Osaka? Tennis Star Likely to Face Another Big Career Obstacle After Beijing Open 2024

Naomi Osaka’s tennis career has come to a halt — again — after the Japanese star suffered an injury midway through her match against Coco Gauff at the China Open. This is another blow to the 26-year-old player, who has missed a considerable amount of game time due to various reasons over the past few years.

In Beijing, Gauff and Osaka met for the first time in two years at the round-of-16 clash, piquing the audience’s excitement. The two were tied on one set each when Osaka retired due to a back injury. Some might have seen it coming after the Japanese star had received medical help midway through the match. As a result, Gauff advanced to the quarterfinal stage.

However, the American won the hearts of tennis fans when she went up to the 2020 US Open Champion and offered to carry her kit bag as she left the court. Gauff’s sportsmanship took everybody by surprise, as one does not see things like that on a tennis court very often. Gauff also wished Osaka a speedy recovery.

“It was a good match up until this point. I wish Naomi a speedy recovery. No one wants to win a match like this, especially one-set all.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Women’s Tennis Association (@wta)

However, this latest injury is a huge blow for the Japanese star, who had to deal with a lot in recent years.

For the first time, Osaka disclosed her mental health struggles during the 2021 French Open. The Japanese star revealed that she has been having ‘long bouts of depression’ ever since the 2018 US Open victory. Following that announcement, she took occasional breaks from the sport due to various reasons.

Osaka suffered an ankle and back injury in 2022, which kept her out of several important ATP events. This was followed by her pregnancy announcement at the start of the 2023 season, keeping her out of tennis action for the entire year.

After returning to the tour this year at the Brisbane International, she has been trying hard to reclaim her past rankings. From 2018 to 2021, she dominated women’s tennis and won a grand slam title in every one of those years.

However, Osaka’s route back to her former glory has become even more difficult with this fresh setback, as it is unclear how long she will be out of action.

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Did New York Knicks Quietly Sign a Donte DiVincenzo Replacement Before the Timberwolves Trade?

The Minnesota Timberwolves shocked the NBA world by parting ways with Karl-Anthony Towns in exchange for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo in a deal that could define this offseason. It is believed that DiVincenzo’s inclusion sealed the deal for New York as the Wolves wanted him desperately to shore up their off-guard position.

The Knicks took a huge gamble by trading DDV because he was their best three-point shooter last season. DiVincenzo was third in the league with 283 made threes last season on a highly efficient 40.1% shooting.

His exploits enabled the Knicks to hit a franchise record 1,083 three-pointers(13.2 per game). In fact, DiVincenzo’s 3.5 triples per game made up 26% of the Knicks’ total made threes for the season. His exit has left a huge void for the Knicks at the off-guard position.

It is hard to find a replacement for someone who can nail so many three-pointers with high efficiency, which is why it isn’t surprising that the Wolves were pursuing him. But why did the Knicks agree to let him go?

Because they may have already found an answer in Landry Shamet, who has signed a 1-year, $2.6 million Exhibit 9 contract with the NYC side.

Shamet has made 1.9 triples per game for his career on a respectable 38.4% shooting from the deep. However, last season, as a Wizards guard, he made a career-low 1.2 triples per game on a career-low 33.8% shooting.

But Shamet will play in a much better offensive system with the Knicks, which will open up more looks for him. Last season, 86% of his three-point makes came off the catch as he nailed 46 such long-distance shots on a decent 37.4% shooting.

Shamet can be an effective long-range sniper off the bench for the Knicks, but will have to prove his worth early in the season as he is on a non-guaranteed deal.

The Knicks can still unlock an effective long-range offense

The Knicks will probably field Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart as their starting guards, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby as their Forwards, and Karl-Anthony Towns as their 5 next season. Last season, Brunson had the second-most three-point makes for the Knicks behind DDV, nailing 2.7 triples per game on an impressive 40.1% shooting.

Meanwhile, Anunoby made 1.8 triples a game on an effective 39.4% shooting. Then Nets forward Bridges knocked down 2.7 three-pointers per game as well on a respectable 37.4% shooting.

Apart from that, Karl-Anthony Towns has been the best long-range shooter at the Center position for many years. He nailed 2.2 triples per game on an efficient 41.6% shooting last season.

Josh Hart had a difficult time from deep last season, making just 1 triple a game on an inefficient 31% shooting. However, the Knicks can still make up for it on other avenues.

With Miles McBride (who made 1.6 triples per game on an effective 41% shooting last season) and Shamet off the bench, they may be able to fill the DDV void. 

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