It has been a hectic week of sports all around the country and from an international standpoint as well. Let’s get you caught up.
Djokovic was denied entry into the Australian Open
After originally being cleared and able to play a few days ago, his case has since been overturn and upheld. Australia is one of the world’s most stringent countries in terms of COVID and reducing the multiple waves/outbreaks society has been currently facing.
A three-judge panel upheld the national government’s ruling of canceling his Visa due to his strong refusal to get the COVID vaccine. There are reports that Djokovic misrepresented his vaccination status as well, a huge error that proved to be costly for the 20-time Grand Slam Champion.
Djokovic’s lawyers tried to prove to the court that the minister of Australia had no right to deport anti-vaccinators, most especially Novak Djokovic. They argued that it simply wasn’t within his range of power to do something like this. Yet after nearly two weeks, the panel decided that the minister was legally able to do something like this, thus ending any chance Djokovic had of going for his 10th Australian Open title. Many Australians still believe according to the New York Times that he should not have even entered the country without a vaccination.
With Swiss legend Roger Federer not being able to compete in the AO either due to an injury, the door is wide open for Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who plans on competing his hardest to lift that trophy.
Alabama falls to Georgia 33-18 in the National Championship
It’s been a wild season for college football. Upsets, shockers, and fans storming the field were just a few of the regularly captured moments this year for the FBS. Finally, though, it has come to an end. In a rematch of the SEC (Southeastern Conference) Championship Game (which Alabama had won 41-24), the Bulldogs eventually got the final laugh with a dominant performance to capture the school’s first national title in 41 years.
Led by “walk-on” quarterback Stetson Bennett and a gritty, hard-nosed defense, the Bulldogs forced two interceptions from this year’s Heisman trophy winner Bryce Young. Young threw for an absurd 369 yards throughout the duration of the game, which was 145 yards more than Bennett. However, the picks proved to be costly for Nick Saban’s crew, as the final interception was returned for a pick-six, ultimately padding Georgia’s victory and sealing Alabama’s coffin.
Alabama did lose their #1 wide receiver near the midpoint of the game. Jameson Williams had four catches for 65 yards and was seemingly unstoppable until he suffered a torn ACL which benched him for the rest of the game. That may have been the turning point that gave Georgia the extra confidence to come back from behind and win the championship.
Other Sports…
In college basketball, #1 Baylor was shocked twice this week after not losing for the past 21 games. Baylor first lost to a gritty Texas Tech team, ranked #19 at home. Then, yesterday, the Bears lost to an unranked Oklahoma State 61-54 in an upset for the ages. It’s the first time ever a #1 AP ranked team has lost two straight home games.
In the Spanish Supercopa, Spanish giants Real Madrid defeated Athletic 2-0 despite going down to ten men late in the game. Croatian former Ballon’D’or winner Luka Modric scored the first, with Karim Benzema nailing the second with a penalty.
In the Premier League, games are continuing to be canceled due to COVID, most recently a derby between Arsenal and Tottenham. It will be interesting to see how the situation plays out, and if “no-fans” games will return.
In the NBA, the Chicago Bulls and the Phoenix Suns are atop the Eastern and Western Conference standings with 27-14 and 33-9 records respectively. The Memphis Grizzlies had their torrid streak of 11 wins end with a loss to the hands of the Dallas Mavericks. They sit third in the west. Kevin Durant currently is in injury protocol after a scare.
Sources:
https://www.google.com/search?q=nba
https://www.google.com/search?q=georgia+football
Image Credits: Emilee Chinn/Getty Images
