Sport is not only a pastime that is good for the health of those who practice it, but also an opportunity for those who don't practice it to experience daily emotions through the exploits of their favorites. Who every day willingly wear the shoes of the main actors who play the most beautiful basketball, football, tennis and volleyball, so as to make us jump on our seats the moment they decide to perform a technical gesture capable of making the difference. In addition to the goal in the 90th minute, there is the basket scored a few tenths before the sound of the siren, or the ace of the young tennis player who, match after match, is increasingly closer to undermining the sacred monsters of the yellow racket and ball – every reference to our Jannik Sinner it is not at all random. And so we lazy people who watch sport through the lens of a television screen, spend our days and our best years amazed by what it can give us: every time a new sensation, an opportunity to compare ourselves with our friends and to team up with those like us who share the same colors as a team. And 2024 is certainly not exempt from this repetitiveness that we love so much. Although the new year began just over two months ago, a lot has happened regarding the most popular sports. Which we will summarize below not only for the record, but also so as not to stop getting excited.
NBA, LBA and Euroleague: the orange ball doesn't displease anyone
let's begin with basketball, talking about the best tournaments: NBA, LBA and Euroleague. The NBA, whose regular season is coming to an end, has so many title contenders this year that it's hard to say who will wear the ring once the playoffs conclude. Celtics, Bucks, Nuggets and Clippers are the favorites on paper, but there are also the surprising Thunder and Timberwolves to keep an eye on. Their journey in the regular season was so unexpected and triumphant that trying to repeat it during the post-season is the least, given that they have nothing to lose. The one who would have to lose, and a lot, is the quartet Virtus Bologna-Brescia-Olimpia Milano-Venezia, who are fighting basket after basket to win the scudetto. Never before has our LBA been offering us a tournament that is not at all predictable, which with the play-offs in June will reach the maximum level of uncertainty. A tournament that on paper should be less obvious is the Euroleague, with Real Madrid appearing far superior to the other contenders for the title. Although Panathinaikos, Monaco and Barcelona are well-structured teams capable of combining an excellent defense with an excellent attack, Chus Mateo's boys have shown that they rarely miss decisive events.
The main football championships and the leading teams
As for instead football, the main championships (the English, Italian, Spanish and French) still have a lot to say, having entered the hottest phase. Let's take the Premier League for example, where Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City are the three teams competing for the final victory. Until the last day we will hardly know who will triumph, so uncertainty will reign supreme. On paper, the strongest is Manchester City, as the main bookmakers on the Internet remind us, who cater to bettors by offering them a wide range of sports to bet on and, in addition, interesting bonuses. For example i Marathonbet welcome bonus, which encourage beginners and experts to get this prediction right which concerns the most beautiful football championship in Europe. Instead, the former best football championship, the Italian one, has less to tell, at least as regards the top of the table, now that Inter has taken off thanks also to Juventus, who after the draw against Empoli she never recovered. Since then the club coached by Allegri has won only one match, the one against Frosinone. And if he continues at this rate he could even say goodbye to the Champions League zone. Difficult but not impossible, considering the strong rise of De Rossi's new Roma and the good progress of Thiago Motta's surprising Bologna. The fight for a Champions League place today is undoubtedly the most interesting part of Serie A, given the many contenders ready to grab the remaining places up for grabs. The same thing can be said for La Liga, where Real Madrid has practically already won the title, but anything can still happen behind it. Finally, here is Ligue 1 which sees PSG firmly first, with the revelation that Brest could be present in the Champions League next year at this rate, together with Nice and Lille.
The next generation of tennis is now a reality
Do you remember the Big Three of tennis, Nadal, Federer and Đoković? Well, now forget about them because there are new tennis players who have taken their place. Two above all: Sinner and Alcaraz. The two former freshmen of the next generation are making headlines with their victories: the Italian, after winning the Australian Open and the Davis Cup, is now ready to undermine the first position in the ATP ranking, while the Spaniard, who is not having a 2024 to remember, he can still boast thirteen titles won on the major circuit, including two Grand Slam tournaments (US Open 2022 and Wimbledon 2023) and five Masters 1000. Really not bad for this athlete who isn't even 23 years old! Then pay attention to Luca Nardi, who will not yet be at the level of these two colleagues of his, but who still managed to beat Đoković in the third round of Indian Wells. The number 123 beating the number 1 had never been seen before; here is a good reason to experience the emotions of great tennis as spectators, which despite the farewell of its historic protagonists is ready to renew itself so as to give us new emotions. Below is a summary of the most exciting moment of Luca Nardi's career.
Volleyball: the A1 Series and the Super League in x-ray
And now the time has come to talk about volleyball, in particular our Serie A1 and Super League. As for the women's tournament, it is already play-off time, with Conegliano who, after a perfect season, with 26 victories out of 26, is preparing to win the championship. On his way he will find Aeroitalia Smi Roma in the first round, an absolutely within reach opponent considering his year of 12 victories and 14 defeats. If the post-season should be entirely in the hands of the girls coached by Daniele Santarelli, it is interesting to remember which were the most sensational and therefore exciting verdicts: those which involved the fight for survival. Volley Bergamo 1991 managed to stay in Serie A1 by snatching a point from Savino Del Bene Scandicci, while at the same time Honda Olivero S.Bernardo Cuneo fell against Il Bisonte Firenze, joining Itas Trentino in the relegation. And now it's the turn of the Super League, the men's volleyball tournament which saw Trentino duel until the end with Perugia to take the lead in the rankings. Which in the end went with credit to Marko Podrascanin and his companions. The most important placing served to look to the play-offs with absolute optimism, even if Trentino will now find one of Cucine Lube Civitanova and Mint Vero Volley Monza in the semi-finals. On the other hand, at this point in the season it is no longer possible to avoid the most insidious formations. It must be said, however, that Fabio Soli's boys are the favorites for the final victory, despite the strength of Cucine Lube Civitanova, accustomed for years to fighting to win any trophy. We are still talking about the most successful club in the world, which in addition to the Club World Cup, 7 league titles and 2 Champions Leagues, also includes 7 Italian Cups, 3 CEV Cups, 1 Challenge Cup and 4 Italian Super Cups in its palmarès. A really not bad haul for this group that conveyed endless emotions to all its fans. This is the beauty of sport we were talking about at the beginning.
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