2022 .. in review - The 12 sporting events of the year, according to me! Not the 12 days of Christmas.
Divided into two posts so your email client doesn't cut us off. January–June.
There are numerous ways to peel an onion, and it appears that these end-of-year round-ups are commonplace in the literary world. They also take time to eventually emerge!
Actually, that's a little ambitious for the literary world; it's more akin to the newsletter, blogging, and content sphere.
So, how will I do it?
How can we end 2022 differently than everyone else? And, at this hectic time of year, how can you, the reader, get through another post in your inbox?
SpeakingNick is a reader-supported venture. Free and paid versions are available. The best way to support me is by taking out a paid subscription.
Look to your audience, your readers, when in doubt; I did. An early adopter of SpeakingNick responded with, "NOT The 12 Days of Christmas, but The 12 Events of Sport in 2022." With the help of some gentle editing, I think he should enjoy the read.
The plan was to go January through December, picking my favourite sporting event or events for each month and sharing them with you here.
So, here we go ..
January 2022.
Novak Djokovic misses 2022 Australian Open after being deported
It was the Tennis story of the year - well, Nick Kyrgios might have something to say about that - when doesn’t he! I did write a column on Kyrgios during the U.S. Open in September, and enjoyed it, you can read it here.
Anyway, back to Djokovic.
Melbourne was in the grip of insanely tight Covid restrictions as the Australian Open approached. And as we knew, Djokovic was a particularly loud advocate for the anti-vaxxer’s. This did not go down well for him on his arrival. Djokovic was intercepted, detained, and eventually deported. Australia’s P.M. at the time, Scott Morrison, was put in an unenvious position, this given the over-the-top state handling of the Covid pandemic in Victoria. It was decided that Djokovic had breached entry rules at the border, even though he held a valid medical certificate.
Djokovic’s father spoke of, “fifty bullets to Novak’s chest. The Serbian PM accused Australia of, “mistreating Djokovic.”And, then went on to say, “Australia was simply lying.”
At least it gave some of the lesser lights a shot at a grand-slam title. Rafa Nadal is hardly a lesser light, granted, however, Nadal was the eventual winner, beating Daniil Medvedev in a see-saw final.
To put a more positive spin on Djokovic, I thought I would share this post from Joe Posnanski, who also writes on Substack. It gives an alternative look at the often polarising Djokovic. You can follow Joe at - Joe Blogs - I do, he’s a prolific writer, and has an epic baseball book coming out soon.
Lastly on Djokovic, some balanced perspective from the venerable Washington Post columnist - John Feinstein. Read here.
Also, if you read golf books? John has published some of the best. Find them all here.
February 2022.
Super Bowl LVI - Los Angeles Rams defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20
The Rams, led by Sean McVay, shut out the Bengals in the fourth quarter before scoring a converted touchdown to win the Super Bowl. McVay became the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era when he was hired by the Rams in 2017, this at the tender age of 30. It only took McVay five years to become the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl. Kudos to him.
Sports commentary has become an extremely crowded space. The art of commentary is being eroded, I believe, and being replaced by a self-satisfied sentiment that irritates me, and many others.
For me, the pre-eminent NFL broadcaster is Cris Collinsworth.
Collinsworth, is known for his concise and well-balanced analysis, which takes into account the perspectives of both players and spectators. He also has a reputation for being quick-witted and only commenting when it adds value to the conversation.
Collinsworth played in the first two Bengals’ Super Bowls and, for their third, he was in the booth, piloting NBC’s broadcast. Sadly for him, he wasn’t able to call a third Super Bowl win. For non-NFL people, give him a go; he tells the story very differently from the rest.
Here’s a print report on the game from the The Guardian - a go-to paper for me - and a twist of American bias from The New York Times - on the Rams aggressive roster build, and their subsequent victory.
Sports Illustrated started print in 1954 - and it seems they have been setting the bar since, their NFL coverage is as measured as it gets. Here’s their report on the Rams win over the Bengals.
March 2022.
Shane Keith Warne. RIP. March 4th, 2022
The terrible news that shocked the cricket world. From memory, it was a Saturday morning. I was up early getting ready to go to cricket - Geelong were playing Melbourne. Warne played his club cricket down the road at St Kilda. After switching on the TV I immediately thought someone was pranking fake Shane Warne news. Then, reality hit me between the eyes, this was real. There was nothing phoney about this; it was fair dinkum - Warney was gone - how could this be?
It truly was shocking news. Every cricket person in the world was rocked to the core. Shane Warne was indestructible; god knows he had plenty to contend with throughout his stellar career. One controversy after another, through it all, though, his love of the game shone through, and was often the only solace he could find.
Warne’s profile reached far and wide. Even as far as New York City, and it’s newspaper - The New York Times. I found this piece, which gives some perspective on his reach.
This article was published in The Guardian by, Jonathan Liew. A quote from the author, “I love that the greatest spinner of all time lived on a diet of chips. I love that he wasn’t perfect, and most of all I love that he never tried to be.”
And, then, I tried to convey my own feelings in print, recalling a playing anecdote that dates back to 2000. “On Warne, the greatest of all - And, an illusionist who showed up to help a fellow tweaker ...”
Shane Warne will be sorely missed.
April 2022.
Golf - Scottie Scheffler wins The 2022 Masters.
Most likely the world's largest bucket-list ticket? Certainly at the top of my list.
The Masters tournament is unique in that it is an invitational event. In addition, it is the only major played every year on the same course, Augusta National Golf Club.
A little-known fact, though, is that the winner Scottie Scheffler still drives the car he drove in college, a 2012 Yukon his father gifted him. It’s dirty, there’s a ton of mileage on the clock, and Scheffler could afford a lot better with over $20 million in prize money. But, no, he’s happy putzing around in the Yukon. Good on him!
No doubt Mrs. Scheffler enjoys a little more comfort behind the wheel.
Geoff Shackelford, who also writes on Substack - https://quadrilateral.substack.com/ - paints the Masters Sunday story perfectly here, “Sunday At The Masters: "Scheffler Outshines Them All At Augusta"
And to give some cross-atlantic balance, Scotland’s Ewan Murray writes in the Guardian on Scheffler’s win.
Murray also lamented Englishman Tyrell Hatton’s unfortunate summary of his week in Georgia, “I don’t think it’s a fair test at times, and when you hit good shots and you’re not rewarded for it, it shows. I haven’t enjoyed it.” Hatton’s membership invite remains stuck in the post.
While we are here. The media centre at Augusta is well worth a mention. It’s described as, “peerless and oaky.” The upstairs interview is CIA like - with cellphones absolutely forbidden.
Dan Jenkins was the pioneer of golf journalism in the United States. His career was captured perfectly here in The New York Times. Jenkins started covering the Masters in 1951, when Ben Hogan won the first of his two Masters. In all, Jenkins covered the Masters tournament 68 times.
I thought I would share his best article with you, sorry, not possible. It seems there are too many. So, this link here will take you to his best work while writing for Sports Illustrated. Enjoy.
May 2022.
The month English cricket finally woke up.
Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum came together as the new captain and coach of England’s Test team, sparking one of the great revolutions in recent cricket history. It wasn’t one of those dating apps that brought the two maverick minds together; it was more of a blind date set-up, initiated by Rob Key (Managing Director of the England Cricket Team).
So, Bazball was born! And Coach McCullum hates it - I feel McCullum resents the gimmicky nature of the term, although it could be construed as an acknowledgement of a move toward a more contemporary thought process. I thought it was best captured by Jonathan Liew in The Guardian. Liew argues that Bazball is neither a philosophy nor a blueprint, but rather a response to a game in decline. That game being, Test cricket.
For the record, in 2022 England recorded series wins against New Zealand, India, South Africa, and Pakistan. A solid start to Stokes and McCullum’s tenure! And there was the ICC T20 World Cup win, with Stokes playing his part.
I filed several articles on Brendon McCullum and the England team.
There was: “Wizard McCullum: coaching genius or illusionist?” “England hand the Keys to Stokes and McCullum”, and “McCullum passes first test ... and quite a bit more.”
June 2022.
June presented itself as a relatively slow sports month. There was more golf, the U.S. Open at the Country Club, Brookline (TCC). Matt Fitzpatrick (Sheffield, England) prevailed, having previously won the U.S. Amateur. TCC is a mystical place, planted in suburban Boston; you could drive right past it without knowing. I haven’t played TCC; however, I did sneak past the fake gate-post sentry figure one day, taking a quick drive-through tour. I wish—one day!
Again, going back to Geoff Shackelford. He wrote a great column on TCC, and the house at 246 Clyde Street, where Francis Ouimet grew up. “Across The Street From The Country Club.”
June is also Stanley Cup time. I have found watching ice hockey live to be an amazing experience. Players skate quicker backwards than I’ve ever run forward. And the organ, what a sound! It’s like the Addams family on ice. Then the hits, the scuffles, and the referees timing their interventions I played "Slap-shot" on repeat growing up—not in Boston, but in Manchester. I just wanted to play a little ice hockey!
Finally, if you'll excuse the self-indulgence, I wrote a column about Steve Kerr in June. Kerr is currently the coach of the Golden State Warriors, the reigning NBA champions, and was formerly a member of the wildly successful Chicago Bulls.
The Warriors play “beautiful basketball',” and their coach is rightly regarded as a, “wonderful coach.” Kerr, though, is more than just a basketball person. He is a staunch supporter of gun control laws in the U.S.
It was after yet another mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that Kerr used a playoff press conference to speak out about gun violence in America. Kerr’s father, Malcolm Kerr, was a victim of gun violence while he was serving as president of the American University of Beirut. Kerr says, “His father was the most prominent American in Beirut at that time, and it was the early part of terrorism against Americans in the Middle East.” A tragic loss for the Kerr family.
Kerr is rightly passionate about the harm that guns can cause if they are in the wrong hands. Personally, I support Kerr’s ideals 100 percent. Yet, America continues to dance around these issues. I understand that they go right back to the Constitution, but, come on, there has to be some common ground found.
Anyway’s here’s my column, which I throughly enjoyed researching, and writing.
So, that’s January through June. The second half will be out soon.
Thank you so much, again, for subscribing to SpeakingNick. If you share this post on social media, adding a link would help me tremendously. My Twitter is here. The best way to reach me directly is by responding to my newsletter emails.
