Who Said Tennis is Easy?

Every year, I religiously watch Wimbledon tennis coverage. I’m up at 6am for weekday coverage and I have “breakfast at Wimbledon”‘ 8am Sunday morning for the men’s final. Anyone who knows me, knows I love the sport. This year Wimbledon had one of its most exciting moments in tennis history. This past Tuesday a match was started between John Isner an American and Nicholas Mahut of France. The game was postponed due to darkness and scheduled to resume the following day. What happened overshadowed Wednesday’s events, including Queen Elizabeth II at Wimbledon for the first time in 30 some odd years. The two players were at 2 sets a piece, when they moved into the 5th and final set. Wimbledon does not employ a tie break on the final set, so the players have to slug it out until one breaks the other’s serve and then holds his own serve. Well, Isner and Mahut were tied, so the played and they played…. and they played. When they got to about 50 games a piece in the 5th, the scoreboard couldn’t keep up. These two players, neither player well-known or a big draw or the top players, suddenly had everyone’s attention. As tired as they were, they were making the shots, Isner had several match points, but to no avail.

Finally, darkness came again and the match was yet again postponed until Thursday. At this point they had played nearly 10 hours. Both players were exhausted, mentally and physically. Thursday both came back on the court to try to finish the match. After 11 hours and 5 minutes (some 5 hours longer then the previous longest match record) Isner broke Mahut and held his serve to win 70-68 in the 5th! He moved on to play the next day…. where he understandably lost in straight sets. But he along with Mahut will live on in tennis history with “that match that bumped the Queen off the headlines”. The two guys, most people hadn’t heard of outside of the tennis world, are in the world record books!

If you are interested in learning more about Wimbledon and its history you might want to try “Strokes of Genius” which is about one of the greatest men’s finals ever played between defending champ Roger Federer and “The King of Clay” Rafa Nadal.  There is also “A Champion’s Mind” the biography of 7 time Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras. And of course there is Wimbledon’s official website, which during the tournament gives the latest news and latest scores.

-Christine

Are you ready for some football?

VS.

The Superbowl is Sunday, February 7 and pits the Indianapolis Colts against the New Orleans Saints. This is the first time the Saints are playing in the big game. This is the second time the modern-day Colts are in the Superbowl, the first being when they defeated the Chicago Bears in Superbowl XLI. Before then, the Colts had been in two previous Superbowls, Superbowl V for the 1970 season, which they won 16-13 vs. the Dallas Cowboys, and Superbowl III the the 1968 season, which they lost against the New York Jets 16-7.

Don’t know a fumble from a first down? Not to worry, the library can help. Pick up a copy of Football for Dummies, 3rd Edition. Co-written by Howie Long, former Los Angeles Raiders defensive lineman and now a color commentator on Fox NFL Sunday, it is a good guide to the ins and outs, penalties and miscues, history and players that have made the game what it is today.

Want to know how your favorite players stack up against each other and over the years? Pick up The Pro Football Historical Abstract. It gives a short decade by decade breakdown of the NFL beginning in the 1920s. It then goes into the player rankings by position, beginning with quarterbacks. It even includes an analysis of coaches!

This next book is a recollection of each Superbowl in a player’s own words, beginning with Superbowl I and going through Superbowl XXXI. Super Bowl: The Game of Their Lives relives the glory days of significant players relating what they went through, the ups and downs, of getting to and winning the Superbowl.

Are you wondering how the game has evolved? Pick up a copy of The Best Game Ever: Giants vs. Colts, 1958, and the Birth of the Modern NFL. This game is considered the greatest football game ever played. The book outlines the teams, the players and the times all leading up to that pivotal championship game.

Lastly, to see how football affects the younger set: before the TV show, before the movie, there was the book Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream. The book chronicles one year in the life of the Permian Panthers of Odessa, Texas. The town lives and breathes football, but the book also chronicles the racial tensions and divisions within the town and the team. It is a great read, and the movie and TV show are based off of the book.

Happy reading and enjoy the game – Tony L.

It Started With Skating: The Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics began to take shape in 1908 when figure skating made its first appearance at London’s Summer Olympics. Since it was hot, organizers decided it was best to have winter sports during the winter. In 1924, the first unofficial (at the time) Winter Olympics games were held in Chamonix, France. Held for 11 days, it proved to be a huge success.  Sixteen nations participated, with 258 athletes (11 women, 258 men) competing in 16 events. The first gold medal winner was Charles Jewtraw of the United States, in speed skating, who won the 500m with a time of 44 seconds. The Canadian hockey team won all of their games, outscoring their opponents 110 to 3! In 1925, the IOC decided to create a separate Olympic Winter Games. The 1924 Games in Chamonix were then retroactively designated the “First” Winter Olympic” games. 

The Winter Olympics were suspended during WWII, in both 1940 and 1944. They continue this year in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from February 12-28. What started as 11 days and 16 events is now two weeks long with 86 medal events.  There are now 5500 athletes and officials and 80+ countries participating. The Winter Paralympics are also held at this time with 1350 athletes and officials and 40+ countries!

You can visit the Official Olympics Website for information on the history of both the summer and winter games. There is information on future games and historical information too. The Official Website of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics  has some fascinating facts, figures, general information, and much more on events and athletes that will be competing this year.  There is a section on the Paralympic Games and you can also view ticket buyiing information and visit the Olympics store.

The Fountaindale Library also has some great books on the Winter Olympics.  For example, there are   The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics and Frozen in Time: The Greatest Moments at the Winter Olympics . We also have many books on the individual sports located in our Adult, Young Adult and Childrens Departments.

-Christine J.