It is part event, part celebration

DOHA, Qatar - Defending champion Rafael Nadal was ushered to the exit, while top-seeded Novak Djokovic cruised through his first match of the season at the Qatar Open on Tuesday.The second-seeded Nadal, showing desire but displaying a rusty game, was upset by German qualifier Michael Berrer 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round.This was Nadals first match since losing in the Basel quarterfinals to 17-year-old Borna Coric of Croatia in October. The Spaniard spent much of the autumn suffering from appendicitis and underwent an appendectomy on Nov. 3.These things happen after long time without being on the road, being on rhthym, being in competition, Nadal said. I was playing with more nerves because after long time (away) I wanted to win.When you are back from an injury, that takes time.Nadal was also sidelined for three months with a right wrist injury after Wimbledon. He briefly returned to the game at Beijing in late September where he reached the quarterfinals.The following week in Shanghai he lost in the opening round to compatriot Feliciano Lopez.Nadal had three break points on Berrers serve in the final game, but couldnt convert on those opportunities to draw the third set score even to 5-5.Despite the disappointing loss, Nadal expects to get back on track once he starts playing more matches.Im going to work hard to try to make it less tough as possible, Nadal said. My motivation and my hunger to keep doing things well is still the same.So I am sure that Im gonna come back to my best. I hope to be soon.The 127th-ranked Berrer broke Nadal to go ahead 3-1 in the second set, and then in the first game of the third set.Berrer had never before beaten a top five ranked player. The 34-year-old father of two has already announced hes retiring at the end of the year.Its really unbelievable, Berrer told the crowd after his win. Its my last season so Im just going for it. Why not?Nadal had won their previous two matches with ease, never dropping more than three games in either match.Top-ranked Djokovic started off his 2015 season with a 6-2, 6-1 win in a 59-minute match against fellow Serbian Dusan Lajovic.Djokovic put 72 per cent of his first serve in play and was successful on five of six break point opportunities.Djokovic withdrew from the Abu Dhabi exhibition final last week with the flu, but showed no lingering signs of illness against Lajovic.I thought it was a very good performance under the circumstances that I was in for the last couple of days, Djokovic said. I didnt know how I will feel.Djokovic is making his first career appearance at the Doha tournament. Historically, he doesnt play a sanctioned tournament the first week of the year.Third-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic also advanced to the second round with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan in 62 minutes.Fourth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain needed a lot more time in his match against qualifier Thiemo De Bakker of the Netherlands — eventually securing a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-3 win that took two hours, 18 minutes to complete.Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine gave himself a 29th birthday present in a 6-1, 6-1 first round win over Qatari wildcard entrant Jabor Mohammed Ali Mutawa. NFL Jerseys Sale . Granada defender Diego Mainz barged into the back of Villa to send the Spain striker to the ground inside the area and Costa stepped up to the spot to score his 12th league goal in the 38th minute. 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Van Slyke drove in a career-high four runs with two homers off struggling left-hander Tony Cingrani, and the Los Angeles Dodgers pulled away to a 6-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night, a rare comfortable win in their pitching-dominated series. Authentic NFL Jerseys . It was a day that saw England slump off a World Cup field once again battered and bruised. This time there was no red card to wonder about, no goalkeeping error or individual mistake. They were thoroughly beaten by something they have nothing of – genuine world class ability.NEW YORK - Weather. Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. And although the initial reports predict a temperature of plus-1 or 2 celsius, until they kick the ball off you just never know. The coldest Super Bowl ever played was in 1972 in New Orleans before the Mercedes-Benz Superdome existed between Dallas and Miami. It was 39 degrees fahrenheit which is about plus-4 celsius, so come Sunday that record could be re-written. When you consider the history of Wild Card, divisional and Conference Championship games, many have been played in brutal conditions. Most recently, San Francisco played at Green Bay in the Wild Card round on Jan. 5 and that one was well played and the best team on that day won. When it was first announced that New York as a city and New Jersey as a specific location would hold a Super Bowl many did cringe, myself included. But when it comes to the many amenities needed such as hotel rooms, meeting facilities, football fields, transportation networks then the area involved will provide anything needed. When the game was played in Jacksonville and Indianapolis I thought the magnitude of the event stretched the ability of the city to hold the event. I will say this though. The 2013 Grey Cup held in Regina, Saskatchewan did have a couple of days where the weather personally made me hesitate to be involved, but those were days of minus-16 and evenings of minus-26 celsius. Yes, if it gets that cold it will take away from the game as many are not conditioned for that type of challenge. Once the week starts on Monday it is mildly amazing how well and efficiently the Super Bowl is run. Everything is on time and I mean everything. If a player or coach is to appear, they are there. And for those in demand it is demanding. If a normal day is between eight and nine hours including preparation meetings and practice, you can add another three hours for media and their desires. That is especially true for the stars. The players on the back end of the roster by Thursday are not in demand and its time to read the paper or relax if you can. The people at the front end of the roster are always in demand. Monday it is for a select few, Tuesday is for everybody as traditional "Media Day" is the priority and Wednesday and Thursday the location switches to each teams hotels.dddddddddddd By Thursday every question has been asked and you do sense that its time to move on. On Friday and Saturday it all tapers down in a dramatic way with only single players and head coaches available. The actual best meeting of the week is Friday at 11:30am. That is the "State of the League" address with the commissioner Roger Goodell and you do get a sense of what is working, what needs improvement and the timeline of future events for 2014. It also marks the presentation for NFL Player of the Year which recognizes the standard of excellence both on and off the field. So from Monday to Friday it is an odd week, a promotional week for anything and everything related to the NFL and the Super Bowl itself. It is true that many go to be seen and heard but come Saturday it changes to football. Outside of game day, Saturday is an explosion of anticipation. Everything that could be said has been said and just about everybody is over-saturated with predictions, thoughts and evaluations. It is time to play the game, not so much because it is close to February 2, just because enough is enough it terms of talk. Its time to play. Game day is special. We as a group always go early and take it all in and just watch people from everywhere interact. Well depending on weather, maybe we wont go too early this year. As much as I like the game I am fascinated by the halftime show. From our high altitude vantage point it is impressive how they get thousands of people on the field in a disciplined and short period of time. When the game is over it is controlled chaos as everyone either wants to leave the stadium, stay in the stadium or get on the field. And basically thats the week. A lot of hurry up and wait, then done, mess it up, followed by get ready to do it again tomorrow. It is part event, part celebration, part celebrity status recognition and in the end a championship football game. With the No. 1 seed in the AFC playing the No. 1 seed in the NFC it is difficult to argue that we will find the best team in the end. But there is a lot to be experienced before that conclusive moment. Including some guaranteed cold weather. ' ' '