Bleacher Report - Articles by Brett Koelling

Tennis 2009: Could It Ever Top 2008?

Brett Koelling — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:55:49 -0500

2008, a number that brings up so many memories to a tennis fan's mind. Can 2009 every top that remarkable year in tennis history? So much has gone by: the tempers, the wins, the underdog wins.

One of the year's surprises came very early in the form of The Australian Open. Roger Federer, a tennis superstar with the force of a wrecking ball, but he was met by Novak Djokovic, who put a stop Federer before the finals, for the first time in 10 slams to be exact.

Also to add on to this Australian Open, we cannot forget the Lleyton Hewitt match that sent Australians home at 4:44 AM. On the women's side, it was no surprise to see Maria Sharapova hoist the magnificent trophy in front of the Australian crowd.

After Australia, the tennis world travels to Roland Garros, but one of the most shocking stories of the year came before the first serve was launched.

On May 14, 2008, Justin Henin, a woman on top of the tennis world, held a press conference to establish immediate retirement from the sport of professional tennis.

After this retirement, a scramble for the top spot, five women would go on to hold the No. 1 spot before the season's end: Ivanovic, Jankovic, V.Williams, Sharapova, and, S.Williams.

But now off to France on the men's side Rafael Nadal, proved once again that he owned French clay and he would not be stopped, not even by Federer.

On the women's side is was a chain of fallen stars. Maria Sharapova was beaten by Dinara Safina, who was eventually beaten by Ana Ivanovic, who clinched the title as queen of the clay in 2008.

After seeing what events took place on the clay the tennis world was never expecting what could happen next.

The eyes of tennis fans immediately shifted to England, Wimbledon Centre Court. Some know it as "the greatest match ever played on grass." Roger Federer, the king of grass vs, an intruder in the form of Rafael Nadal.

Fans watched these two powerhouses of tennis stepped on the court and had no idea what they were in for. The match was an up and down roller coaster ride that eventually ended with Rafael parading on centre court with Wimbledon's title above his head.

On the women's side, another classic battle on grass was waged after many losses by high ranking players such as Dementieva, Jankovic, Ivanovic, etc.

When the smoke cleared there was only two remaining none other than the Williams sisters. Venus vs. Serena to determine the Wimbledon champion. Venus came out on top to win the tennis star sister rivalry.

With the hype of Wimbledon coming to a settle the courts of New York were rapidly approaching. Federer arrived on the courts of New York empty handed, win-less in the 2008 slam season, but all that was soon to change.

Roger blew the competition by without looking back to become one Grand Slam away from matching the slam wins of the great Pete Sampras.

On the women's court, it was time for the other side of the Williams family to take what was hers. Serena Williams took the final game to beat Jelena Jankovic and to become the 2008 US Open star.

For my honorable mention, I have to give it to Angesika Radwanska. I must say I followed her game all year, and she is certainly a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming tennis season.

As we begin this new tennis season we find ourselves asking what will happen who will win and it what fashion. We can only ask ourselves: Can 2009 compare to the roller coaster ride we enjoyed in 2008?

They All Said I Was Wrong, A Look Back and Ahead

Brett Koelling — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:30:12 -0500

Coming into the new season, I posted an article "The Boston Bruins: A Possible Dominant Force In The East." I was glancing over it today and I knew I had a good feeling about this year in Bruins Hockey. I expected third or fourth place.

I never expected to be holding first place strong and how sweet it is. For my late midseason prediction, I have faith that the Bruins can make the necessary push to drive themselves deep into the NHL playoffs.

If you're a Boston fan and take a look back so far against all our opponents, the only team that has shown a threat has been Washington, granted that teams can make a complete 180 is playoffs.

But if the east stays the same, or somewhat similar as of now, I think the Bs have astonishing odds to get to the Stanley cup, especially with the failure of the Penguins to hold up to there name so far.

People that doubt me if you take a look at the Bruins roster. I don't think you can come cross a more balanced team and the younger players performance on the team is phenomenal. I could go on forever about predictions but I'm a guy that prefers action. So let's let the season continue and watch the Bruins flourish in the east.

Boston Missing The Power Of Key Players

Brett Koelling — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:16:33 -0500

If you caught the Bruins holiday game yesterday, you should have now realized that the Bruins did play sloppy hockey.

Yet we can not come up with excuses and say it was because of injuries, because the Blues have the same problem, only magnified. But the absence of two of Boston's key players did not assist the Bruins on Monday.

Phil Kessel is out with a case of mono, and Milan Lucic with an undisclosed injury. Granted, Kessel is a speedy skater with a great shot with ability to score goals one after another. I would like to focus my piece on Lucic.

Being from St.Louis, but being a die hard Bruin fan, has shown me that St.Louis can be knocked around by physical teams, but without Lucic, it was a fire that was never ignited.

I feel the Bruins can be extremely physical, all they need is that push the Lucic is usually behind. Without Lucic, Boston can be left without the man that gets the team fired up.

But now back to Kessel: He is expected to be out for a month which will hit hard in the long run, with Kessel being a huge part of Boston's scoring power.

But when we get past these two unfortunate injuries, I say there is no need to sweat it. I have total confidence to Big Z the Big C to pull his team together and for Jullian to keep coaching his magic to get these Bruins back on track on Tuesday for Toronto.

A Closer Look at the NHL's Rising Stars

Brett Koelling — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 13:37:33 -0500

With the NHL today we are missing a lot of great young talent. So this article will hopefully jump start the reader to become more aware of exactly whats going on the NHL and who's making it really happen. This sideshow contains just 10 of the many underrated players in the NHL you may know some you may not its not so much that there known its more that there underestimated and not respected enough for what there capable of doing.

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Boston Bruins: A Possible Dominant Force in the Eastern Conference

Brett Koelling — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 09:22:36 -0400

The Bruins suffered an unfortunate first round loss to the Montreal Canadians last year in the first round of the playoffs.

The '07-'08 season was a hot and cold season at times, especially with the loss of Patrice Bergeron and Manny Fernandez. Yet, on a good note, the team's captain, Zdeno Chara, had one of his best career seasons scoring 17 goals and 34 assists.

The Bruins have many great names to offer along with Chara such as Marco Sturm, Marc Savard, Phil Kessel, David Krejci and All-Star goalie Tim Thomas who has improved since first coming to the Bruins.

At the end of the season, the Bruins ranked 14th overall in the NHL and there is a great chance for this team to become a top five team assuming the rookies continue to grow and team chemistry continues to build between players.

But only time will tell what will happen so until the drop of the puck on that night of September 22nd vs. the old time hockey rival the Montreal Canadians, all we can do is wait with the anticipation of the new NHL season. ARE YOU READY?