🕒 Federer’s Injury Shows Time Waits For No One, Except TB12

Heading into his 22nd NFL season, Tom Brady is making the impossible seem possible. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider with Martin Rogers: Tom Brady is doing it, upturning the usual rules and making the impossible seem possible ... we take a look at why you should go with a sleeper pick when betting on the Heisman Trophy winner .... and we are treated to a great moment between an NBA fan and LeBron James. They came in from the front and from the back, two men combining to make a single, all-encompassing battering ram, ready to pulverize their intended target, which happened to be a 44-year-old football player who goes by the name of Tom Brady. The defensive linemen in question, Trey Hendrickson and Joseph Ossai of the Cincinnati Bengals, burst through the protective shell designed to stop them on Saturday, looking take down the Hall of Fame QB, which is what they are supposed to do, of course. Brady’s response? “(He) just folded up like a cheap tent,” said Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians. He did indeed. Brady, the split second he realized that only violent things were going to happen if he remained on his feet and tried to squeeze out a pass, crumbled into nothing on the sixth play of the Bucs’ preseason opener. Brady dropped himself to the ground, a moment before Ossai and Hendrickson spilled over the top of him. Moments later he popped up, headed for the sidelines and stayed there, as the Bucs went on to lose their 2021 NFL preseason opener by a final score of 19-14. [STORY IMAGE 1] If you’re a Tampa Bay fan, it was probably momentarily terrifying to see Brady submerged beneath two giant defenders. For a neutral intrigued by the possibility of Brady going for an absurd eighth Super Bowl ring, it was a little concerning that he was out there to begin with. But more than anything, the snapshot went a fragment of the way toward explaining how the National Football League’s oldest active player has just kept going, with a mixture of a lot of smarts, a little luck and an uncanny intuition for doing whatever it takes to keep playing pro football for what might as well be eternity. A day or so later, a long ways away and in a completely different sport, there was some news about an old-timer who also happens to be a true legend of his craft. Roger Federer is 40, positively youthful compared to Brady, but sharing some significant similarities to the former New England Patriots quarterback who headed to Florida and collected another title. Federer hasn’t necessarily gotten better with age but he’s stuck around masterfully, still very relevant and highly competitive in the sport of tennis for as long as anyone can remember. He’s tied with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic for the most Grand Slam titles ever (20) and won three in four attempts in a glorious spell as recently as 2017 and 2018, while also returning to No. 1 in the world. [STORY IMAGE 2] However, Federer has now revealed he must undergo knee surgery for a third time, admitting he has only a “glimmer of hope” he will be able to resume competitive action once his rehab is complete. “Unfortunately, (doctors) told me for the medium to long term, to feel better, I will need surgery, so I decided to do it,” [Federer said on his social media](. “I will be on crutches for many weeks and then also out of the game for many months.” Federer is now certain to miss the U.S. Open and while the hope is that this is just a brief farewell for now, it is inevitable that many will question whether it’s goodbye forever. If the Swiss tennis icon decides to hang it up, it will have been an extraordinary career. Heck, he could have quit at any point in the past decade and it still would have been an almighty, historic run. The only sadness is of the selfish type, that tennis may not get to say a proper goodbye to a player worthy of the most fulsome celebration. For quite some time, Brady, Federer and Tiger Woods were spoken about in the same breath. They were sports apostles analogous to each other, possessing not just the ability to keep on going but the willingness to do so as well. [STORY IMAGE 3] In Brady’s case, continuing to play the game was worth risking getting flattened by men like Hendrickson and Ossai, for Federer, worth tirelessly traversing the globe with a young family in tow and for Woods, worth trying to come back from all those back ailments and that persistent discomfort. Woods had his majestic moment, the one that made sticking around worth it, when he won the Masters in 2019. Per reports, he has not played any golf since a car crash earlier this year. As for Federer, for now, we just don’t know. And yet Brady keeps going, dodging injury despite playing a game of brutal physicality where the dangers don’t just come from the aging effects on the body but also the malevolent intent of opponents. Much is made of his healthy diet, but the mental fuel that comes from within may be more powerful than all those expensive nutrients. The longer he goes on, the less tempting it is to believe Brady is starting a trend of 40-something QBs and more that he’s one man doing outstanding things for an amount of time that escapes all logic. Even LeBron James is facing question marks about how much longer he can be the NBA’s alpha and he’s eight years younger than Brady. Brady doesn’t just hang around but enters the new season as a reigning champion and an absolute X-Factor. He won’t occupy the top spot when the NFL’s Top 100 list is finalized before the start of the season because, technically, structurally, Xs-and-Os speaking, Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers can do more things. But Brady wins and just keeps winning, the pursuit of more triumph part of his reason for being. He has somehow avoided all the pitfalls, all the obstacles, all the doubts. [STORY IMAGE 4] He’s avoided them in a lot of different ways, with an unshakeable mentality and yep, lots of sleep, water and vegetables, but also by being swift minded enough and not too proud to throw up the white flag when angry defenders burst into the pocket in a preseason game. “Smart as hell,” Arians added, describing the weekend sack. Keep the descriptors coming, because there’s a lot to choose from, a never-ending supply of cliches to put with the name of an athlete who is the opposite of a cliché – a one of a kind. Smart as hell, old as time, fit as a fiddle and wouldn’t you know it, still alive and kicking and ready for a season of NFL football. Still doing it, still chasing it, upturning the usual rules and making the impossible seem possible - well, kind of - because it’s only possible for him. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... John McEnroe, Former American Tennis Player (On Roger Federer): “We hope that he’s able to play as long as he wants to play. He’s sort of like our Tom Brady. You look at these older guys, they’re inspiring people like Roger certainly.’’ Roger Federer, Professional Tennis Player: “I want to give myself a glimmer of hope to return to the Tour in some shape or form.’’ Colin Cowherd, The Herd (On Tom Brady): “This story is hard to wrap your arms around... He's aging in reverse. I can't explain it either.’’ [IN OTHER WORDS] - From QB issues, to what might stop the GOAT from getting another ring, [former NFL GM Randy Mueller breaks down the NFC South](. - Forget the favorites. [FOX Sports Betting Analyst Sam Panayotovich explains why you should go for a sleeper pick like Ole Miss QB Matt Corral with your Heisman bet](. - Only 18, rising soccer star Giovanni Reyna is already making an impact in the U.S. and Europe. [FOX Sports Soccer Writer Doug McIntyre has the story.]( [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( LeBron James: Great basketball player, even better person. Check out this tweet from the @boardroom, which shows LeBron stop to take a selfie with a fan at the NBA Summer League. The broadcast shows the up-close selfie with the 11-year-old fan, who is jumping up and down after he snaps the photo with LeBron. Just as the caption says … memories for a lifetime! Well done, LBJ! [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Oakland Athletics at Chicago White Sox (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET) Frankie Montas and the Oakland Athletics go up against Dallas Keuchel and the Chicago White Sox. WWE Monday Night Raw (USA, 8 p.m. ET) Bobbly Lashley and Goldberg are set to meet face-to-face this Monday. NBA Summer League Basketball (ESPN2, 8 p.m. ET) Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons take on Jalen Suggs and the Orlando Magic in NBA Summer League action. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( NFL Comeback Player of the Year: Dak Prescott: +165 Nick Bosa: +350 Joe Burrow: +400 Christian McCaffrey: +450 Take one glance at the top NFL Comeback Player of the Year candidates and it looks like an All-Pro list. Dak Prescott, who missed the majority of last season after an ankle injury, is listed as the favorite to take home the honor at +165. Nick Bosa, who missed most of the 2020 season with a torn ACL, has the second-best odds at +350, followed by Joe Burrow at +400 and Christian McCaffrey at +450. If you’re looking for a player with better odds, take a glance at Saquon Barkley at +600. The star running back is returning from a torn ACL and is expected to be the focal point of the New York Giants’ offense. [WHAT THEY SAID] “I always believe if you’re stuck in a hole and maybe things aren’t going well, you will come out stronger.” — Roger Federer [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2021 Fox Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. 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