at." Crawford is there, too. Experience, he said, h

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. Jahlil Okafor Jersey . The FA rejected Wilsheres appeal that the length of his punishment was "clearly excessive" and said Thursday his suspension begins with immediate effect. He will miss league matches against Chelsea on Monday and West Ham on Dec. Anthony Davis Jersey .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. http://www.shoppelicansonline.com/Customized/ . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. ETwaun Moore Pelicans Jersey . - Chris Tierney snapped a tie with a power-play goal late in the third period as the London Knights rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Erie Otters 5-3 in Ontario Hockey League action on Wednesday. Jahlil Okafor Pelicans Jersey . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.CHICAGO -- If Corey Crawford is feeling the pressure of being in his first Stanley Cup final, he isnt showing it. The Chicago Blackhawks goaltender cracked jokes about his glove hand and already seemed to be over his roughest start of these playoffs, when he was beaten five times on 33 shots by the Boston Bruins. He quipped that during the Western Conference final there was criticism of his blocker side so "both sides are bad, I guess." And even though a weakness was exposed, Crawfords confidence isnt shaken going into Game 5 Saturday night. "I think its something you have to learn from," Crawford said. "If that wouldve happened in junior, I think I wouldve been pretty deflated, and my confidence wouldve been pretty low. I think its something you build over time and something you learn from." It was no secret the Bruins kept shooting glove-side Wednesday, and the 26-year-old deflected the notion that he has a weakness that could derail Chicagos championship hopes. Crawford also acknowledged that adjustments might be necessary. Even this late in a run, its possible that he and goaltending coach Stephane Waite fix some mechanics before Crawford goes back in net. "Sometimes you need your goalie coach to look and see," Crawford said. "As a goalie, its tough sometimes to really know if youre fine, if theres nothing to change or if theres something to change. Sometimes you need that extra set of eyes to figure that out for you." His teammates tested him out at practice Friday. "I tried today and he stopped me glove side, so hopefully hes got it all figured out," left-winger Patrick Sharp said. "I dont know if that was the game plan or if thats something they did on purpose and they were successful at it, but I like Corey in there." So does coach Joel Quenneville, who insisted he was not considering replacing Crawford with backup Ray Emery, who hasnt played in almost two months. Crawford is the man for the Blackhawks. "In our room he hasnt taken any heat, so I dont know whats being said out there," defenceman Duncan Keith said. "You look at the job hes done all season for us, hes been great all year long. I thought we let in five, and they let in six. I mean, we won the game and well move on." Crawford moved on almost immediately. Rather than dissect how he gave up five goals in Game 4, he was "thrilled" about the victory and defenceman Brent Seabrooks game-winner. From the Bruins, there were plenty of denialss that they solved Crawford.dddddddddddd "I know were not skating down the ice thinking, Oh my God, if we dont go glove-side were not going to score. Nothing like that," forward Shawn Thornton said. "I think its just a bit of coincidence. Were trying to get pucks on net from everywhere and create traffic and wherever that rebound pops out, Im sure youre trying to put it in." That the Bruins put the puck in five times could make Crawford think a lot about last game. Instead, hes trying to keep excess worrying to a minimum. "Theres times when you think about a game more than others," he said. "But at this point, I really dont want to be thinking too much about the last game, whether it was good or bad." The last game wasnt good. But it was good enough to help Chicago tie the series at 2. Of course that did not mean Crawford was immune from criticism. "I think that the scrutiny of goaltending at any stage of the season is at a different level of any other player, and I guess its even more out there now that youre in the final," Quenneville said. "But Corey just seems to move forward whatever the challenge is, the next shot, the next game. Hes excited about the opportunity. Were excited about what he accomplished. He won a big game for us, and thats where were at." Crawford is there, too. Experience, he said, helped him realize that he cant let one bad performance affect his psyche. "Situations youve gone through -- a similar situation like that where you just collapse and you probably lose the game -- you just learn from that and dont feel like its the end of the world," he said. It could be the end of the line for the Blackhawks if the Bruins manage to light him up in the same fashion for the rest of the series. "I think you can score on other areas, hopefully, on Corey Crawford, than just the glove," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "At the end of the day youre looking to find ways to score goals, whether its cross passes, tips, screens or whatever, it doesnt really matter." As much as the Bruins had success beating Crawford in Game 4, one knows yet whether that will have a carry-over effect. "Thats the thing: Everyone thinks (theyre) going to shoot to the glove," Sharp said. "Its not like Corey can start cheating glove side, because those guys are such good shooters they can pick him apart. Who knows if thats a once-in-a-lifetime type of game of if theyve figured something out." ' ' '