by Stoker Dafire… If you were to watch a good Blacksmith practice his trade you would see that he is a master craftsman.

Using a primitive technique, he hardens and manipulates steel by pounding it numerous times with a hammer; and scorching it on the coals of a red-hot fire.

Once the blacksmiths’ arduous task is completed, the material he has pounded into shape takes on a whole new form.

James “The Mandingo Warrior” Kirkland, whose record stands at 25-0 with 22 KO’s, is a junior middleweight boxer from Austin Texas who has the strength of steel and heart of a lion.

Much like the hardened and tempered metal produced by a Blacksmith, Kirkland’s strength and courage has also been tempered from experience.

Kirkland felt the hammer very early in his life, and he was being scorched by some very hot coals.

The young Kirkland had to grow up fast, he was without a father and at the tender age of six he was getting his education on the streets of Austin Texas.

Kirkland was a child with only the basic survival skills; he was hungry, so he met his needs the only way he knew how, by fighting on the streets and stealing to keep his belly full.

Sometimes a boy’s life can go too far down the wrong path, and then only one of three things will happen—jail, death, or a divine intervention.

Most times it takes the grace of God to intervene, but in Kirkland’s case it was the unconditional love of a caring mother who got him off the streets and introduced him to boxing trainer, Donald “Pops” Billingsley.

Pops took him from the streets and became the father figure Kirkland never had; even giving him his first job, paying him five dollars to work in the gym.

By the ripe old age of six Kirkland was a paid sparring partner to the other kids. He took to this job like a duck to water, and hasn’t looked back since.

Pops’ gym became Kirkland’s second home and it was there that he met a female boxer named Ann Wolfe.

Wolfe became Kirkland’s trainer and is credited for introducing him to one of the toughest training regiments in boxing; which includes military basic training style exercises.

This team of Kirkland and Wolfe have had great success. Kirkland has racked up 25 straight wins, and his aggressive style and raw punching power have rewarded him with 22 thrilling knockouts.

Kirkland is now the hot topic of boxing, and along with his courageous heart and rock solid chin, he also has the aggresive fighting style fans love.

Kirkland is reminiscent of the great Roberto Duran, who fought his way out of the impoverished Chorrillo district of Panama to become one of the greatest lightweights to ever lace on boxing gloves.

Also, like Duran, Kirkland hasn’t forgotten where he came from; and like many other boxers before him who have fought their way out of poverty, the memory serves as a potent fuel that drives his spirit onward.

Steel is one of the strongest materials because it has been hit by the hammer and felt the hot coals.-Anonymous

What do Michael Chang, Roscoe Tanner, Pat Cash, Andy Roddick, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Tony Roche, Goran Ivanisevic, and Novak Djokovic have in common?  They all have one Grand Slam victory in their portfolios.  Only one…

You could argue that winning the 2008 Australian Open was the worst thing that could have happened to then up-and-coming crowd favorite Novak Djokovic.  If you made such a claim, it would be difficult to dispute…on one level.

After reaching the finals of the U.S. Open in 2007 and playing a brilliant, if timorous match against world No. 1 Roger Federer, the Serb’s popularity soared as he appeared on late night talk shows and was inevitably persuaded to imitate his fellow tennis players on tour.

He was the media darling of the 2007 U.S. Open.

The expectations for the 20-year-old Djokovic rose exponentially after winning his first grand slam in Melbourne in 2008.  The immediate discussion centered on Novak replacing a supposedly fading Nadal as the No. 2 player in the world.

In the meantime, Novak’s parents did not endear themselves to any one with their proclamation that “the king was dead!”  This, of course, referred to Roger Federer.

Djokovic began that quixotic quest of supplanting Rafael Nadal as the No. 2 player in earnest in the early spring of 2008 at Indian Wells, where he captured another championship.

The win of the Masters Series Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells gave Novak his ninth career title and moved him ever closer to Nadal. Unfortunately for Djokovic, he was upset by Kevin Anderson in the second round of the next hard court Master Series Tournament in Miami.

After retiring to Roger Federer in Monte Carlo during the semifinals, Novak bounced back to win the Masters Series Title in Rome, marking his 10th singles crown and his fourth Masters Series Shield.

But the players and the press were beginning to notice how often Djokovic retired from matches for seemingly inadequate reasons.

Novak followed up his win in Rome with a loss to Nadal during the semifinals at Hamburg.

He then lost again to Nadal during the semifinals at Roland Garros as Nadal closed in on another French Open Title, quietly shutting the door on Novak taking over the No. 2 seed.

Novak’s discomfort on grass became apparent as he fell again to Nadal at the final of the Queen’s Club, losing 7-6, 7-5.  When he lost in the second round at Wimbledon to unseeded Marat Safin, the tone of the conversation about the No. 3 seed began to change.

Novak was no longer the media darling.  After Nadal swept Federer’s feet out from under him during the Wimbledon finals, the Spaniard became the new focal point of the press as he closed in on the No. 1 ranking that Federer seemed powerless to defend.

Summer heat brought more defeat for the 21-year-old, who failed to defend his title at the Roger’s Cup in Toronto, losing in the quarterfinals to Andy Murray.

He lost again to Murray in the finals at Cincinnati in straight sets even after defeating Nadal in the semis.

After losing to Nadal in the semifinals of the 2008 Summer Olympics, Novak was almost in tears at the net as he congratulated Rafael.

But it was the U.S. Open in New York where the world seemed to sour of Novak Djokovic after being crowned the crowd favorite one short year ago.

Plagued by a hip injury while engaged in a match with Tommy Robredo, Novak called two time outs, claiming both injury and exhaustion.

Nonetheless, Novak won the match and that prompted his next opponent, Andy Roddick, to quip that Novak was, “…either quick to call a trainer or the most courageous guy of all time.”

Roddick implied that Novak had a reputation for being “injured” and he proceeded to list all of the ailments that might be tormenting Djokovic.

After defeating Roddick in the next round, Novak responded bitterly to Andy’s remarks and the New York audience booed him.  He lost in the semifinals to Federer who went on to win his fifth straight U.S. Open championship.

Djokovic lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Thailand Open during the finals and followed that by losing in Madrid to Ivo Karlovic.  Three weeks later, he lost again to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris.

Although some say he backed in, Novak won the 2008 year end championship in Shanghai, defeating Davydenko in the final.  But this one victory did not shore up the overwhelming loss in confidence and maturity for the young Serb.

In 2009, during the Australian Open, Novak retired again against Roddick during a quarterfinal match citing exhaustion, muscle cramps, and soreness.

This drew unfavorable comments from those players remaining who pointed out that Novak’s retirements were becoming too frequent…that he had retired in three of four Grand Slam tournaments.

His latest loss to Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, 6-3, 6-2, was marked by its lack of movement, its lack of energy by Novak, who seemed to give up without a fight.

These are the actions of a young man who has lost his way—who is unable to summon any self-belief or confidence in his game.

This is the consequence of rising too far, too fast without the maturity necessary to withstand the press and the pressure that comes with success.

Novak Djokovic does have the game to be a champion.  His ground strokes, his movement, his serve and his speed are all superior.

J.A. Allen… What is lacking at the present is his confidence.  His mental faculties are not up to the challenge.  This is all aggravated by the truckload of expectations dumped on him once he won that first major.

Sometimes winning too fast or rising too fast is the kiss of death for an athlete or a performer.  It can unravel promise and fragment a career.

Can Djokovic move forward and out of his current malaise and find a way to win that second grand slam?  Stay tuned!

by Alan McGuinness… Luka Modric struck a second half winner to give Tottenham a deserved victory that deals a massive blow to Chelsea’s title hopes.

The diminutive Croatian was allowed to move into the box unmarked and strike a low shot past the despairing dive of Petr Cech.

Chelsea rallied and had a number of opportunities before full time, but they failed to beat an inspired Heurelho Gomes and missed out on a great opportunity to cut Manchester United’s lead at the top to just one point after Sir Alex Ferguson’s team were beaten 2-0 by Fulham.

Kick off at White Hart Lane was delayed by half an hour because of a suspect package outside the ground.

By the time the game got underway, news would have undoubtedly filtered through that United were losing 1-0 to Chelsea’s closest neighbours, courtesy of a Danny Murphy penalty.

But even if it did, the news didn’t have a galvanising effect on Guus Hiddink’s team. Tottenham started better and Robbie Keane had their best opportunities during a first half in which Chelsea never got going.

Michael Ballack and Juliano Beletti—deployed on the wing by Hiddink—found things particularly difficult, losing possession and generally appearing off the pace.

Michael Essien and Nicolas Anelka had Chelsea’s only efforts of note in the first half.

Keane forced Cech into a save with a vicious half volley, and also hit two further shots at the Czech international.

Ledley King also worried Cech with a looping header, but he managed to back peddle and collect the ball.

Five minutes into the second half, Tottenham had the lead. Aaron Lennon beat Ashley Cole and whipped the ball into the box into the path of an unmarked Modric, who hit a shot past Cech and into the net.

The goal injected some long overdue urgency to Chelsea’s play, not surprising given the total lack of any beforehand.

Ricardo Quaresma crossed for Frank Lampard to head towards goal at the near post. Vedran Corluka managed to clear behind for a corner.

Didier Drogba then forced Gomes into a save, and Quaresma tried one of his trademark strikes with the outside of his boot. Gomes was able to gather the Portuguese internationals shot with relative ease.

Keane was presented with another chance when Spurs broke down the other end, but his curling effort—reminiscent of his equaliser in the 4-4 draw between these two sides last season - was wide of the post.

John Terry began to amble forward as the clock ticked towards full time, and his high ball into the box found Drogba. The Ivorian took the ball down with an adept first touch but fired wide.

Gomes has been both brilliant and bewildering in equal measure this season—it was the former he displayed with 11 minutes left to play to preserve Tottenham‘s lead.

Terry headed towards goal from a free kick but Gomes pulled off a brilliant diving save to deny the Chelsea captain.

Alex hit the bar with a header in a frantic finish to this London derby, but Tottenham clung on and sealed a deserved victory.

Guus Hiddink tastes defeat for the first time as Chelsea manager, and may have to admit defeat in this season’s title race as a result.