invitation into the All Blacks team room for the opposition and said the All Blacks respected the Wallabies immensely.He then accused Cheika of sulking.The paper I saw, he was dressed up like a clo

Only one story crafted in mens tennis this year can compete with the compelling saga Andy Murray authored in the second half of 2016. That was the narrative created by Novak Djokovic. Call it the great unraveling.The final chapters in both tales were written Sunday, when Murray and Djokovic met in the ATP World Tour finals, the first time both participants in the final match of the year would determine the year-end No. 1 ranking. Murray won it 6-3, 6-4.It was a happy ending for Murray and, of course, a doleful one for Djokovic -- for he just hasnt been the same player in the second half of 2016.Tonight, Andy and I were both part of history, Djokovic graciously allowed on court during the trophy presentation. Hes the best player in the world; hes No. 1 and deserves it.?Before the halfway mark in June, Djokovic completed his historic career Grand Slam at the French Open, giving him possession of all four major titles.By that time, Djokovics rankings lead over No. 2 Murray had swollen to about 8,000 points, which is four Grand Slam singles titles worth. But soon thereafter, things went sideways on Djokovic. Just as talk of a calendar-year Grand Slam was beginning to rev up, Djokovic stumbled out of Wimbledon in the third round. He had just one good tournament, at least by the standard he has set for himself, after that.Elements of the great unraveling seem like fodder for a book on life lessons. After his Wimbledon loss, Djokovic alluded to personal problems. Those werent the kind of difficulties that would generate a lot of sympathy from most people, but they did lead to Djokovic doing some serious soul-searching. He spoke about evolving as a human being, but he also began backsliding as a tennis player.The theory, often advanced by Djokovic himself, had been that his life was extremely well-balanced, even as it was dominated by his ambitions in tennis. It had begun to fray. He took losses. They were marked by anxious, impatient or unexpectedly inconsistent play. He didnt win a singles title after the Canada Masters, where a kind draw kicked up nobody more threatening than No. 6 Kei Nishikori in the final.The Summer Olympic Games is where the great unraveling really picked up pace. A fervent Serbian patriot, Djokovic was unlucky to draw Argentinas resurgent Juan Martin del Potro in the first round in Rio de Janeiro. Djokovic wept after he was beaten in two tiebreakers and laid the blame partly on an injured wrist. But that wrist had been able to get him into the two tiebreakers that he lost.Ive just been through so much emotions in the first six months, Djokovic said in his postmatch press conference in Rio, reflecting on the French Open win and a loaded calendar. I needed some time to really take it all in, digest it. But I didnt have that time. I had to a few weeks later be on the court right away. I guess that all had its toll.Through the early fall, it remained difficult to imagine Djokovic in true danger of losing his preeminent place. But even as Murray closed in, Djokovic stuck to his lean schedule, playing just the two Masters events, while Murray piled up the wins. It might have been a strategic mistake.Murray discouraged talk of his chances to earn the No. 1 ranking, until he had it in the bag after winning the Paris Masters. He insisted it wasnt a goal. If he had a window, he frequently said, it might be in the early part of 2017. He kept reminding everyone that Djokovic was the most dangerous indoor hard-court player on earth and the favorite to win the World Tour Finals for an outrageous fifth consecutive time.And though Murray kept winning, Djokovic did nothing. In his spare time, Djokovic brought in Pepe Imaz, a Spanish gurulike apostle of peace and love who had once played in the tennis minor leagues. His influence over Djokovic now is considerable. (In his news conference on Sunday, Djokovic declined to address the future of his coaching relationships with tried-and-true confidants Boris Becker and Marian Vajda.)Still, Murrays prospects were grim. He was a tepid 11-11 at the Tour Finals and had escaped the round-robin stage just twice. (He had never made the final.) All Djokovic had to do was earn one more win than Murray in London, whether in round robin or later, and he would close the season as No. 1.Going into last week, Djokovic led the rivalry 24-10 and had never lost to Murray on indoor hard courts (5-0). As the week unfolded, Murray kept up in the win column, but he struggled through what became two of the three longest three-set matches played on the ATP tour this year -- the longest (3 hours, 38 minutes) the day before the final.Djokovic, meanwhile, lost the first set he played in London, then he crushed everyone and everything in his path through the semis.But against Murray, Djokovics confidence sputtered. The few times it looked like Djokovic might get traction, Murray threw oil under his wheels or Djokovic slid back.Its required from a player to come out on the court in these particular occasions, playing top guys, to come out with his top game, Djokovic said. I wasnt closest to that. There was no serious chance for me to win todays match. From the very beginning, we could see that.Its a strange confession, especially the last sentence. It sounds as if Djokovic was resigned to the outcome long before such pessimism was justified.Cop-out, burnout -- or a little bit of both? Has the great unraveling ended?Djokovic has plenty of time now to digest what happened in 2016, but just how it will sit in his stomach is easy to imagine. Ernie Stautner Youth Jersey . The giant slalom world champion slipped during her first run in the morning, landing on her back and then twisting forward before getting her leg caught in the protective material on the side of the slope. Terrell Edmunds Steelers Jersey . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. http://www.steelerspronfl.com/Youth-James-Conner-Elite-Jersey/ . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. Mike Wagner Jersey . Dukurs winning time was 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a quarter-second better than Russias Alexander Tretiakov. Lativas Tomass Dukurs was third, 1.41 seconds off the pace. Jon Montgomery of Eckville, Alta. Mel Blount Youth Jersey .C. -- Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said after all of these years in the NBA hes still amazed at some of the things LeBron James does. All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has accused Wallabies counterpart Michael Cheika of hijacking New Zealands world record celebrations in a sensational aftermath to Saturday nights Bledisloe Cup finale in Auckland.Seething at being dressed up as a red-nosed clown in the New Zealand Herald on the morning of the match, Cheika claimed the All Blacks dont respect the Wallabies.In an extraordinary rant after Australias 37-10 loss at Eden Park, Cheika was also upset at not receiving a direct invitation into the triumphant dressing room after the All Blacks chalked up an unprecedented 18th consecutive tier-one Test match win.But Cheikas biggest gripe was the cartoon illustration in New Zealands national newspaper.They dressed us up as clowns today. They put our crest on it, so they wouldnt want our comment (about the record), Cheika snapped.I dont think they respect our comment, anyway, so we wont make one.Cheika eventually congratulated the All Blacks for their outstanding accomplishment before Wallabies captain Stephen Moore intervened to savage the newspaper, saying he was deeply offended.The way the jersey is portrayed in that picture, for everyone that has pulled that on in the history of the Wallabies, I think thats pretty disrespectful, Moore said.They won the game so theyre the ones laughing, so what do you do? Cheika stopped short of saying relationships between the Wallabies and All Blacks team ranks were frayed.Theyre on top and were nowhere at this stage. Thats the relationship between the teams, he said.The thing that got me a bit offside was tthe accusation (before the first Test in Sydney in August) that we tried to bug them.dddddddddddd.Like, really? Hello. Honestly? ... Thats what would cause that bad (blood) for me, that show of lack of respect.I wouldnt even be smart enough to get that stuff organised. Im too busy working on my own team.They hold onto it, drop it on the day of the game. They dont need to do that stuff. Theyre too good anyway.Its only because they want to do it to try and needle either me or us.I wouldnt say its friendly.Cheika said hed happily share a beer with the All Blacks - but hadnt been asked to.Hansen, though, insisted there was always an open invitation into the All Blacks team room for the opposition and said the All Blacks respected the Wallabies immensely.He then accused Cheika of sulking.The paper I saw, he was dressed up like a clown. Youve got to be bigger than that, dont you? Hansen said.Ive been dressed up as a clown myself. You dont want to take it to heart, otherwise itll break you.Weve got no control over what the media do ... the thing for me, this conference tonight seems to have been hijacked by something thats really got nothing to do with rugby, (by) someone feeling a little aggrieved about things that you guys have done, making him be a clown.It shouldnt get hijacked tonight. What happened tonight is a really good Test match between two good teams, some great rugby played and it was a good advert for the game. ' ' '