Grass is now greener at Wimbledon

The tennis played by Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in Sunday's Wimbledon final was as competitive and compelling as any I've seen. It was, by any measure, a match for the ages. It was, many might argue, the greatest men's final ever played on the All England Club's fabled Centre Court. So please understand: I don't mean to diminish Nadal's rousing and deserved triumph, or detract from the champion's heart Federer displayed in defeat. Nor do I wish to dampen an all-too-rare moment when tennis became the talk of the sports world. But as much as I was engrossed in that memorable match, my eyes glued to the TV screen for all those rain-interrupted hours, I also was bothered by much of what I saw. And didn't see. For nearly five hours, we saw the world's two best tennis players trading blows from the baseline, producing riveting... [read full story]