Maybe the most exciting Grand Slam in the last five years, the 2000 U.S. Open will be remembered for a lot of things. There were rain delays that
interrupted match-deciding tie-breaks. There were marathon matches that went more than four hours and past 1 a.m. in New York City. And, at the
end of it, there were two young rising stars raising championship trophies.
Venus Williams beat Lindsay Davenport in straight sets after falling behind in the first set, 1-4. Marat Safin beat Pete Sampras in straight sets, sending the former champ to his most one-sided defeat of the year.
BOTTOM OF THE WEEK
BOBBY KNIGHT
To paraphrase G.W. Bush and Dick Cheney:
``Hey, there's Bobby Knight. He's a major-league asshole.''
``Yeah, big time.''
That about sums up the end of Bobby Knight's coaching tenure at Indiana.
The much-celebrated and controversial head basketball coach was fired Sunday after breaching the "no tolerance" policy set forth by the University.
This has been months, if not years, in the making. Most of Knight's career has been earmarked by angry outbursts including throwing a chair at a referee in the middle of a basketball game, "joking" about his players' fresh blood on his whip, and choking a player. Last May, after accusations from
several former players of abuse by Knight, the University gave "The General" a "no tolerance" ultimatum: stop or get a pink slip.
Last Thursday, Knight grabbed, shoved, and bruised a freshman as the student said, "Hey Knight, what's up?" The University had seen enough and sent Knight packing on Sunday, after the coach refused to resign. But, this isn't the last we've heard of it: Knight is staying in the spotlight with speeches to the student body, an interview with ESPN, and immediate coaching offers from the NBA's Dallas Mavericks.
It's funny how a guy who preaches discipline has none for himself. And his actions after being fired showed he's clueless or just doesn't care. It's not surprising that some in Indiana have rallied behind him. There are no-brain yahoos on every campus. We just wish Knight would go away, but expect to see him on the sidelines again somewhere. But he better avoid the NBA. As one reader said on Outsports: ``NBA players choke back.''
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
GOLF
As Tiger Woods was winning his ninth title of the year at the Canadian Open, becoming only the second player to win the U.S., British, and Canadian Opens in a single year, he was also carrying a network to a record.
Woods' one-stroke win over Grant Waite gave ESPN its highest household penetration ever for a golf event. 2.74 million households watched the final round of the Open Sunday, which is about half of the amount that watched the Sunday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona
Cardinals just a few hours later.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Some of us at Outsports were joking that Titans TE Frank Wycheck should start for the Chiefs at quarterback after he threw a touchdown pass to Kevin Dyson on Sunday.
Now, word comes in that Notre Dame converted tight end sophomore Gary Godsey will start at quarterback in place of injured starting quarterback Arnaz
Battle.
Hey, maybe Wycheck DOES have a future at QB.
NFL
Week 2 saw some amazing shootouts, a testament to the Rams, who won the Super Bowl while posing as a track relay team. The final scores from some games bear out the new reality in the NFL: Offense sells tickets and wins games. Rams 37, Seahawks 34; Raiders 38, Colts 31; Cardinals 32, Cowboys 31; Saints 28, Chargers 27; Ravens 39, Jaguars 36.
While we can get into a 13-10 defensive struggle with the best of them it's also fun to watch games where you get the feeling ``last team with the ball wins.''
BASEBALL
The annual coin-flipping took place Tuesday to determine the sites for any possible one-game playoff if there are ties for division crowns or wild-card spots in Major League Baseball.
While they're too numerous to list here, a few highlights have the Cleveland Indians going on the road to break any tie for the
wild-card spot, and the Mets headed to Atlanta if there is a tie atop
the NL East.