It was a mixed bag in the world of sports quotage this week as
Say What? takes a look at the very best. May 14-20, 2015.
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Novak Djokovic continues his impressive run of late and begs the question of how to define a champion. Meanwhile, footballers discuss tennis players, tennis players discuss footballers, the NBA Draft Combine elicits some interesting tweets and David Beckham looks to the spice rack for answers.
“I don’t think a champion is defined only by results. To be called a champion, you have to be a complete person, have a strong character, a strong sense of compassion, values… and be humble.”
By winning the title in Rome, Novak Djokovic is now on a 37-match winning streak at the highest-level tournaments. He gave his view on what makes a champion.
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“Sousa Portugal” and “Souza Brazil”
On the lighter side, tennis umpire Manuel Messina was forced to add the players nationality to their names to avoid confusion when calling out the scores in the match between Joao Sousa and Joao Souza in Geneva this week. Both players are also 26-years-old. For the record, Sousa came out the victor.
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“Posh. I was going to say cinnamon, but Posh is a lot better and cinnamon’s not going to hit me over the head with a frying pan.”
Shifting gears, David Beckham was asked about his favorite spice.
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“Messi and Ronaldo are two players who fight with one another to be the best, like John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Asking me who’s the best is like asking me whether I love my mum or dad more!”
Sticking with football, here’s Alessandro Del Piero on who’s the better player.
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“Players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Iker Casillas… These are players who have done a lot for this club. As a rule, one’s own players shouldn’t be booed.”
Rafael Nadal, after watching Real draw 2-2 with Valencia.
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D’Angelo Russell says he’s “the best player in the draft.”
— Al Iannazzone (@Al_Iannazzone) May 15, 2015
Over to the NBA Draft Combine and D’Angelo Russell‘s confidence is sky high.
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D’Angelo Russell sees himself as PG. I asked who he compares to. “Steph Curry. When I see his game, I see myself.”
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) May 15, 2015
We told you.
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Willie Cauley-Stein on questions about his love of game: “I got a persona about me early that I was really artsy. I don’t really like art.” — Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) May 15, 2015
Meanwhile, Willie Cauley-Stein answers critics on his commitment to the game.
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Wille Cauley-Stein on team interviews: “I like thinking and I like being able to answer questions that might be tough to answer.” — Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) May 15, 2015
He mightn’t be artsy, but he likes thinking.
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I wonder how Larry Bird would have done in the nba draft combine #ThinkBoutIt — Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) May 15, 2015
Kobe Bryant‘s take on it all. #ThinkBoutIt
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Photo Credit: Associated Press/File
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