Chansky’s Notebook: She Is The Greatest!

This is today’s Art Chansky’s Sports Notebook as heard on 97.9 WCHL. You can listen to previous Sports Notebooks here.

Is Serena Williams the best and most accomplished athlete on the planet?

How about you? Serena Williams never ceases to amaze me. At 33, she has already won two legs of the tennis grand slam this year and looks quicker and stronger than ever heading into Wimbledon, where if she wins will be the first woman to be 3-0 in the majors since 1988 when Steffi Graf did it.

That’s because Serena has won more grand slams, 20, than the entire Wimbledon women’s field, minus anyone named Venus, her sister. If you care, the leggy Maria Sharapova has five. By the way, Serena is 20-4 in her last 24 grand slams and 12-1 in her last 13. Not getting older, getting better.

It sounds ridiculous, but Serena can win her sixth Wimbledon, which is one more than Venus, and one away from Graf’s seven. Martina Navratilova’s nine? Serena will be only 36 when she matches that number. Don’t bet against it, her overall record in 82 matches at the All England Club is 72-10, and the 10 losses are to nine different foes, losing twice to Venus. That’s sisterly love.

Of course, there was the Serena Slam a few years ago, when she held all four championships at the same time but overlapping two years. Now, she is going for all four trophies and silver plates in 2015 by winning Wimbledon and on her home hard court at the U.S. Open. . . .to become only the third woman to win all four in the same calendar years after Graf in ’88 and Margaret Court in 1970. What are odds? Vegas has her at even money.

I say all this because, pound for pound and muscle for muscle, Serena Williams is the greatest athlete in the world. Better than LeBron who is only 2-4 in NBA Finals. Better than Rhonda Rousey, Serena would slam her to death. Even better than Jordan Spieth, who’s matching her major for major and will go for his third at St. Andrews in the British Open. Should they both win them all this year, then it goes to tie-breakers in any other sports besides tennis and golf.

Basketball? Serena in a slam dunk. Wrestling? Not even close. Arm-wrestling? Over in seconds. Tackle football? Poor Jordan Spieth.

Watch Serena Williams this week and tell me you have ever seen a better physical specimen. And, when she is running her monster body from sideline to sideline, from baseline to net, remember she is 33 going on another grand slam.

‹

Chansky's Notebook: Venus Braver If Not Better

Venus Williams may have a better story than her sister Serena. Venus has reached her first semifinal at Wimbledon in seven years and is one match away from a fifth championship shot against Serena, who at 34 remains the No. 1 player in the world. Venus at 36 is the bravest, playing for the 19th time […]

Stroman on Sports: Serena, WNBA Playoffs, and More

UNC / UVA Professor Dr. Deb Stroman spoke with 97.9 The Hill's Brighton McConnell on Friday, September 2nd. They discussed Serena Williams, the WNBA playoffs, and more.

Serena’s Choice: Williams’ Tough Call Resonates With Women

Written by JOCELYN NOVECK Serena Williams said it plainly: It isn’t really fair. A male athlete would never have to make the same choice. But after a trailblazing career that both transformed and transcended her sport, Williams, who turns 41 next month, has told the world she’ll soon step away from tennis to focus on having a […]

Two UNC Men's Tennis Alumni Set to Compete in Doubles At Wimbledon

A pair of Tar Heels will be playing in one of tennis’ most hallowed events. William Blumberg and Nicholas Monroe are part of two separate doubles teams which will compete at Wimbledon this week. The gentlemen’s doubles portion of the tournament is set to begin Thursday. Monroe played at UNC from 2001 through 2004, winning […]

IOC Call With Chinese Tennis Star Peng Raises More Questions

Written by STEPHEN WADE A video call between Olympic officials and Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, whose nearly three-week disappearance from public view sparked an outcry, was meant to reassure the world that she was safe — but instead has raised more questions. Concern grew in the last week for the former No. 1-ranked doubles player — who […]

Chansky's Notebook: Bailing Out

Roy Williams probably had reasons for the soft statements. Carolina fans reacted strongly to the video of a team party after the win over Duke. Only Armando Bacot and Day’Ron Sharpe were in the video, but a statement from players and managers said it was supposed to be a closed event that other students and […]

Chansky's Notebook: Not Him, Please!

You can bet Bills fans are pulling for the Packers this weekend. I’ve always been amazed at how rabid the Buffalo fans are for their pro football team. Yes, their Bills lost four straight Super Bowls in the early 1990s, but they have stuck with a team that has been pretty terrible over the next […]

Chansky's Notebook: No Biddy Basketball

Does good defense lead to good offense or vice versa? Coaches differ on whether players are more motivated by good defense or offense. For example, if you are a lock-down defender and help the team get stops, that could make it easier to score on the other end. Or does a hoop make you dig […]

Art’s Angle: Kinds Of Wins

There was a moral victory and a had-to-have victory on Carolina’s first day of play in the New Year. For a while, the moral victory looked like more in an Orange Bowl game that most people thought the Tar Heels had opted out of their chance to win. Having gone ahead 27-20 on Sam Howell’s […]

Chansky’s Notebook: Cardinal Sin

Garrison Brooks said the Tar Heels just don’t have it so far this season. After UNC’s 72-67 loss at Georgia Tech, which all things considered is probably the worst of four defeats to date, Brooks said the team doesn’t have enough “want to” on defense. That is a cardinal sin of Carolina basketball, which […]

›