On July 1^st, 2014, at arguably the greatest venue in all of tennis, two men stepped onto Centre Court at Wimbledon. One of these men proceeded to hit 37 aces, a total of 70 winners, and won in four sets. The other was Rafael Nadal. In what has already been proclaimed one of the biggest upsets in recent tennis history, 19-year-old wildcard Nick Kyrgios defeated Rafael Nadal in just the quarterfinals of the tournament. The win was no fluke, either--Kyrgios won with authority. Dominating nearly the whole match, Kyrgios set the tone early, opening the first game with an ace. He would ride his nearly untouchable serve, breaching 122 mph at times, all the way through the match until he fittingly ended the game on another ace that seemed all too familiar to the first. And it was not as though Nadal played poorly or rolled over for Krygios to come storming through. While he had some tough shots that created opportunities for Krygios, the story of the day was Krygios’ talent rat...

Tim Howard set a career high and had the most saves in a World Cup match since 1966 with 16, but it wasn’t enough to keep the U.S. from falling to Belgium in extra time. In a match that was dominated by Belgium from start to finish, the United States hung around as long as they could before losing 2-1 in extra time. This game was a great example of one team playing not to lose, and the other playing to win. For most of the first half, other than a few chances, the Americans were on their heels trying desperately to hold off the Belgium attack. The second half was not much different, and in the end the Americans were out shot 38-15. With that said, the Americans continued to beat the odds and forced the game into extra time at an even score of 0 to 0. However, the tie didn’t last long; Belgium forward Kevin De Bruyne beat Howard’s far side for the game’s first goal (which was followed by another goal by Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku). At this point, most thought the gam...

The game of soccer is one of the most physically demanding in all of sport. With physical demands of the whole body and players traveling, on average, seven miles in a game, there is no doubt that soccer athletes have to be some of the most physically fit in the world. But what comes, then, when regulation and extra time have passed and players must engage in game-deciding penalty kicks? What physical skill is required there? The ball is centered, only 12 yards away from the goal, with the keeper completely at the taker’s mercy in regards to where the shot will go, when it will be taken, etc. So why at the World Cup – soccer’s greatest stage – is the conversion rate for penalty kicks only .71? The answer is one of the most beautiful ironies in all of sport: the simplest of physical tasks becomes the most difficult because of how mentally challenging it is. The one-on-one nature is naturally going to elicit some nerves. Coupled with the pressure of the moment, the ...