News & Neuigkeiten » Pyke told reporters on Tuesday.The opportunity for

Just like that, we are down to the final tour-sanctioned tournament of the season.Sure, we wont see Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, but the ATP World Tour Finals promises to be a fiercely competitive year-end championship, especially with the No. 1 ranking on the line.But thats only one of the exciting narratives. Heres whats on the minds of our writers ahead of the event, which starts Sunday at 9 a.m. ET on ESPN3.@greggarber_espn: The two groups for the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals were announced Monday. The John McEnroe group consists of world No. 1 Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic.The Ivan Lendl group features?Novak Djokovic, Milos Raonic, Gael Monfils and Dominic Thiem.On paper, Murrays path looks far more arduous than Djokovics -- the two players vying for the year-end No. 1 ranking. Wawrinka, of course, is not far removed from winning the US Open championship, while Cilic is the hottest player on the planet outside Murray. The Croatian is 14-3 since New York, including a title in Basel, Switzerland, and a semifinal appearance at the Paris Masters this past week. As for Nishikori, these indoor courts suit his baseline attacking game, and he has found his form since the US Open.If Djokovic can regroup mentally, he should be the heavy favorite to advance to the semifinals, as his group cohorts have all struggled with results and/or injury in the past month, especially Thiem, who has not won consecutive matches in his past four events.But Djokovic himself is a question mark. Mental lapses and frustration, including a complete racket-smashing meltdown in Shanghai, have disrupted his state of serenity, which has long been one of his strengths. And who knows how Djokovic will cope with losing his top ranking last week? More evidence that he needs a long holiday, or the wake-up call he needed?@mattwilansky: Congratulations, Andy Murray, on becoming the new world No. 1 in mens tennis. The question now is whether he can cling to a narrow lead and close out the season as the top-ranked player. As it stands, Murray leads Novak Djokovic by a paltry 130 points.Each round-robin match at the ATP World Tour Finals?is worth 200 points, a semifinal victory 400 and a win in the final another 500 points. And if the champion sweeps the entire field, he is awarded 1,500 points. What does all this mean? Simply said, because the race between Murray and Djokovic is so close, the player who advances further in London will end the season No. 1.This scenario could also make this event one of the more fascinating ends in recent years, as there is a good chance Murray and Djokovic could be playing on the final Sunday for the prestigious title and the No. 1 ranking.@CarlBialik: The main storyline of the ATP World Tour Finals is whether Andy Murray can do well enough to finish the year ahead of Novak Djokovic at No. 1. But Ill be looking out for a different kind of No. 1, a maiden big title for the men born in 1989 or later. Represented by Kei Nishikori, Milos Raonic (if his injured quad allows it) and Dominic Thiem in the tour finals, this underachieving swath of the sport -- the oldest of whom will turn 28 next year -- has yet to win one singles title at the tour finals, majors, Masters events or the Olympics.Its a remarkable run of futility, only partly explained by the sport becoming more friendly to its older players and by the remarkable talents of the Big Four, all born in 1987 or earlier.In 2016, when the oldest of the ATPs underachieving young players should be at or past their peak, the born-in-1989-or-later set combined for only four mere finals appearances at big events: Raonic at Indian Wells and Wimbledon, and Nishikori at Miami and Toronto. In all four finals, Djokovic or Murray won without dropping a set.None of the three youngest players who qualified for London looks likely to win the title. Thiem has lost four of his past five matches and hasnt beaten a top-20 player since June. Raonic failed to win a set in his only appearance at the tour finals, and his last win over any of his fellow World Tour finalists, besides Thiem, came in January. Nishikori is the best of the bunch and has the best chance, but its not a great one. Hes a combined 4-17 against Murray and Djokovic.@ptbodo:?Jack Sock took giant strides in the second half of the year, fired by his double medal (mixed and mens doubles) performance at the Rio Olympics. His season ended Sunday with a loss to fellow countryman John Isner in the Paris Masters 1000 quarterfinals. It was a very tight, hard-fought match.Sock failed to win at least three matches only twice after the Rio Olympics, and the first time can hardly be held against him. Given his three-discipline workload at the Olympics and a trip to the fourth round of the US Open, a letdown at some point was inevitable. It came against Alexander Zverev in the second round at Beijing. Sock also lost later in the fall in the second round at Basel.Socks second-half ATP World Tour highlight was a runner-up finish to Juan Martin del Potro in the Stockholm final. Socks record after Rio included strong runs in the Shanghai and Paris Masters events, and he had wins over the likes of Marin Cilic, Milos Raonic, Dominic Thiem and Richard Gasquet. It suggests that Sock is becoming a player whos comfortable playing against higher-ranked opponents on big stages.Was Socks run in the fall a wake-up call to Isner, who made the Paris final, losing to Murray. Socks emergence might be just the thing to fire up Isner and goad him into finding his way back into the top 10. Its a development that, if true, must come as good news to the U.S. tennis establishment.Fake Nike Shoes From China . Coach Tom Thibodeau says the former MVP will probably start travelling with the team in the next few weeks. Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season by the Bulls. Nike Shoes From China Outlet . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. https://www.nikeshoeschina.us/ . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Discount Nike Shoes From China . In the response filed Wednesday to the complaint by 30-year-old Alexander Bradley, attorneys say the former University of Florida player is invoking his Fifth Amendment right that protects people from incriminating themselves. Nike Shoes China . -- Ryan Blaney provided more evidence that Penske Racings No.Adelaide coach Don Pyke says its just a matter of when.Hes certain an AFL club will win the premiership from outside the top four, but doesnt know when.To Pyke, the feat is like Australias 1983 Americas Cup triumph. Or breaking the four-minute mile - achievements thought impossible, until done.The difference between first and seventh is a game (win), Pyke told reporters on Tuesday.The opportunity for someone with a weeks break heading into the finals to ... win four games in a row to win a premiership exists.Sport is full of history lessons talking about sides and teams winning from rare spots.The Americas Cup where youre four-one down and got up and win; the four-minute mile was broken whhen no one thought that was going to be done either.ddddddddddddSomeone will do it. Im not saying its going to be us, but someone will do it.But Pyke, whose Crows enter the finals from fifth spot, reckoned an air traffic controllers calmness was required to be the first club from outside the top four to win the AFL flag under the current finals format.It doesnt matter whether youre sitting in an air traffic controllers tower trying to land a plane: youre ability to stay composed at times under pressure is what allows you to actually complete the task, he said. ' ' '