Nick going, Nick Faldo. Just let the Mars Rover run your ass over and retire, you fag.
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Faldo slammed for Ryder Cup loss
LONDON (AP) One headline branded the outcome "Faldo Folly." Another deemed him "Captain Calamity."
Under fire: Europe's Ryder Cup captain Nick Faldo is taking heat for his team's surprising loss to the United States over the weekend in Louisville, Ky. AP PHOTO
European Ryder Cup captain Nick Faldo was under siege Monday after his team's loss to the United States. Faldo, a six-time major winner, was belittled for his player selections.
"Nick Faldo, not the crowd, was America's 13th Man," the Daily Maily said of his role in Europe's 16 1/2-11 1/2 loss in Louisville, Ky.
The Times of London said that while U.S. captain Paul Azinger instilled belief in his team, "Faldo inspired chaos."
Even without the best player in the world — Tiger Woods' only involvement was text messaging Azinger — and a team comprised of six rookies and three veterans who knew nothing but losing in the Ryder Cup, the captain's messages got through.
The Times assailed Faldo for using his most successful players — Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell — near the end of Sunday's singles matches rather than at the beginning. That meant the overall result was decided by the time they won their matches.
"Buzzing around the 17th green, the United States players extolled the team-bonding skills of Azinger," the Times said.
"Faldo's thin skin, the need to have his sports shrink by his side even out on the course and his grating sense of humor, had confirmed what we knew all along, which is that he is no natural leader," the paper said. "But what we had not expected was that a man who had dedicated himself so much to this job would make such a colossal mistake."
Former European Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher said Faldo got his singles selections wrong.
"I was worried about putting three top players at the bottom of the order," said Gallacher, who lost two Ryder Cup matches and then won his third. "The top players should be at the top to get the points early."
The Daily Mail said Faldo's decision to put Poulter and McDowell near the end of the 12 matches was like "sending an aircraft carrier to a conflict that was already over."
"His list will go down as one of the great leadership howlers and it confirmed the sense we had of Faldo being swept along by instinct and whim," the Mail said.
The Telegraph said Faldo had used the Ryder Cup to feed his ego.
"Faldo's gamble on the big finish . . . left Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington, thrashing at thin air, their legs amputated by a hopelessly incontinent ego," it said.
The Telegraph said the Valhalla fallout would leave Faldo "about to pay the price of a lifetime of self serving, of devotion to the cult of the individual."
The Japan Times: Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008
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And as long as we have Rafa Nadal playing for Spain...and we face them...we will always be screwed.
US out of Davis Cup
Written By:BBC , Posted: Mon, Sep 22, 2008
Caption: Rafael Nadal beat Andy Roddick in straight sets to put defending champions the United States out of this year's Davis Cup.
Spain's Rafael Nadal beat Andy Roddick in straight sets to put defending champions the United States out of this year's Davis Cup.
Nadal's 6-4 6-0 6-4 win gave Spain an unassailable 3-1 lead, taking them through to the final where they will face Argentina, who beat Russia 3-2.
Playing at the Las Ventas bullfighting arena, Nadal put Roddick to the sword with his array of passing shots winning a huge ovation from the partisan home crowd.
It is the latest chapter in a dream year for Nadal, coming after his wins at the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympics and his claiming of the number one spot.
US pairing Mike Bryan and Mardy Fish had kept their team's hopes alive on Saturday with a thrilling 4-6 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-4 defeat of Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco in the doubles.
Fish was only playing because of a shoulder injury to Bryan's usual partner, his brother Bob.
But after a hesitant start that saw Lopez and Verdasco take the opening set, he proved to be a strong partner.
Nadal had survived an early scare against Davis Cup debutant Querrey before winning in four sets in Friday's opener.
The French Open and Wimbledon champion initially struggled to contain Querrey's powerful serve and forehand and had to recover from the initial shock of being put on the back foot by an opponent just out of his teens.
The 20-year-old took the first set on a tie-break but Nadal fought back to win 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-3 6-4.
Spain will play Argentina in the final in November after they completed a 3-2 win over Russia in Buenos Aires.
Russia's Nikolay Davydenko came from behind to beat David Nalbandian 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-0, bringing his side level at 2-2.
But Argentina secured victory when Juan Martin Del Potro defeated Igor Andreev 6-4 6-2 6-1 in the decisive encounter.
On Friday, Nalbandian had swept Andreev aside to claim a 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 6-4 win but Del Potro's victory over Davydenko was even more one-sided, the 19-year-old dropping only seven games against the world number six on his way to a 6-1 6-4 6-2 win.
Elsewhere in the Davis Cup, Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka teamed up for the first time since winning Olympic gold in Beijing to clinch Switzerland's place in the elite World Group.
They beat Belgium's Xavier Malisse and Olivier Rochus 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 on Saturday, giving the Swiss an unassailable 3-0 lead.
Individually they had got off to a perfect start on Friday, as world number nine Wawrinka eventually beat 58th-ranked Steve Darcis 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 6-3 2-6 6-4 in the first singles match.
US Open champion Federer saw off world number 95 Kristof Vliegen 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 6-2.
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