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Talking Points: Manny’s legacy hurting

The Columbian
Published: September 13, 2011, 5:00pm

What’s the buzz from the world of sports? Here are some items that will have people talking:

1

There was a brief moment, however fleeting, when Manny Ramirez’s image appeared to have undergone a Ty Pennington-like makeover. After his lackadaisical play got him traded away from a fed-up Red Sox club in 2008, the Dominican single-handedly carried the Dodgers to the playoffs in two of the most dominant months baseball has ever seen.

But it turns out that stretch was the last thing from a resurrection. No, that was Ramirez’s legacy taking one last wind sprint before passing out on the street. Since then, he was suspended 50 games for steroids he never manned up to taking, then 100 more games for another banned substance violation, this one prompting his retirement.

Not once has he attempted to show remorse or even absorb a morsel of responsibility for his actions, which makes it impossibly hard to offer him the benefit of the doubt after a this recent domestic run-in with his wife.

Ramirez was arrested Monday after his wife Juliana accused him of hitting her in the face, and was released on $2,500 bail. It’s far too early to tell how this case will turn out, but what we know for sure is that, these days, Manny being Manny is the furthest thing from endearing.

2

Novak Djokovic emerged as the world’s clear No. 1 tennisplayer with a dominant U.S. Open Final win over Rafael Nadal Monday. So who, besides the Serb, is happiest about this ascension? None other than Roger Federer.

Nadal seemed primed to pass Federer on the all-time Grand Slam ledger given his dominance over the past three years (Federer, 30, has won 16 Grand Slams while Nadal, 25, has 10.) But with Djokovic playing as invincibly as he has been (he lost just two matches this season and won three Grand Slams), Federer may have found just the hurdle he needs — even if it costs him wins of his own.

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