Roddick reaches fourth round of French Open

May 30, 2009 Comments off

For the first time in his career, Andy Roddick advanced Saturday to the fourth round of the French Open, beating Marc Gicquel of France 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.
With the victory, Roddick is just the second American to reach the fourth round at the French Open since 2003. He also is the only American male still playing at Roland Garros in this year’s event.
Roddick has reached at least the semifinals in every Grand Slam event — including a U.S. Open title in 2003 — except for the French Open, where his previous best was a third round loss in his first appearance at Roland Garros in 2001.
So, while most tennis fans and experts anticipate another Federer-Nadal final — especially with No. 4-seeded Novak Djokovic losing in straight sets Saturday — it will be interesting to see if Roddick can make a run at his first French Open semifinal.
To get there, however, Roddick will need to defeat Federer in the quarterfinals, a match that should be fun to watch regardless of outcome.
Next up for Roddick: another Frenchman, Gael Monfils. And a win would set up a likely showdown between Roddick and Federer, barring any unforeseen struggles from Federer.
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Kobe, Lakers advance to NBA Finals

May 29, 2009 Comments off

For a little while there, it looked like Denver was the better team and the one headed for the NBA Finals. In fact, I thought they would easily ride home court Friday night to force a Game 7 in Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, the Nuggets forgot to show up Friday for Game 6.
And they didn’t just not show up. They looked terrible. Like a team that thought a Game 6 win at home was all but a certainty. I think Skip Bayless‘ tweet during the game put it best:
“Same Chauncey who made Denver is unmaking Denver. Never seen him make so many out-of-control turnovers.”
Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol on the other hand? They brought it. Not only did they bring their best when it mattered most, the Lakers delivered the knock out blow to the Nuggets on the road, something they couldn’t do in the last series against the Yao– and T-Mac-less Rockets.
Look at the scoring numbers: Bryant had 35 points, Trevor Ariza had 17 points, and Gasol and Odom each added 20 points apiece. It wasn’t just Kobe leading the way. The Lakers won the series because the supporting cast stepped up Friday.
Now, after extending its last series to seven games, Los Angeles gets the chance to sit back and wait for its opponent. The Lakers already know when they will play next — June 4 — so it’s just a matter of who and where.
Can LeBron James and the Cavaliers can pull off the comeback from down 3-1 to the Magic? Will we get to see the Kobe-LeBron matchup everyone wants to see? Or will Dwight Howard and Co. challenge the Lakers for the crown? We’ll find out Saturday night in Orlando.
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Three: Venus’ magic number at French Open

May 29, 2009 Comments off

Venus Williams is the world’s No. 3 singles player in women’s tennis. Today, in her third round match at the French Open with Agnes Szavay (Who?) Williams lost in straight sets (6-0, 6-4). The shutout was her first in a Grand Slam event in more than three years. It also was the third time in as many years that Williams was eliminated in the third round of the French Open.
Unfortunately for Williams, she always seems to struggle on the clay court at Roland Garros. It remains the only Grand Slam title she has not won. She reached one French Open final in 2002, a year in which she lost three of four Grand Slam titles to her sister Serena.
Fortunately for the elder Williams, she can now focus more closely on defending her title on the grass courts at Wimbledon, where she has won three of the last four championships, including the last two.
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Wieters to make MLB debut

May 29, 2009 Comments off

The day that so many have waited so long for has finally arrived. Baltimore Orioles catcher Matt Wieters will make his big league debut Friday against the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers.
If you’re a fantasy baseball person, check your league, he is still available in 30 percent of ESPN leagues and likely will outperform your current starter, unless you have Joe Mauer.
Why is everyone so hyped about Wieters? Consider these words from ESPN’s Buster Olney on Baseball Tonight:
“He is regarded as baseball’s best prospect,” Olney said. “He’s probably the best prospect that the Orioles have turned out since Cal Ripken in the early 1980’s.”
Or these words from a teammate yesterday:
“He is the switch-hitting Jesus.”
Wow. Sure, the Orioles haven’t really been known for turning out any big time prospects over that period, but to be compared to Ripken or Jesus in anyway is a huge credit to the ability of this young man. He has also drawn comparison to Mauer, who is having a monster start.
This is exactly why I, along with the entire Orioles’ fan base, have been waiting patiently all season for the arrival of Wieters in the big leagues.
So far this season, Wieters is batting .305 with five home runs and 30 RBIs in 39 games through Wednesday with Triple-A Norfolk. Yet, many believe those numbers will pale in comparison to his eventual numbers as the everyday catcher for Baltimore.
If you have MLB.tv or MLB Extra Innings, be sure to catch the game tonight at 6:05 p.m. (CDT). If you cannot watch it live, follow it on MLB.com or catch the highlights tonight on SportsCenter. Sure, there may be a big NBA playoff game on tonight, but it will likely not decide the series between the Lakers and Nuggets.
The debut of Wieters, on the other hand, is something that cannot be missed.
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Some links from the sports world

May 28, 2009 Comments off
Only five games in baseball today, including an off day for the Milwaukee Brewers. With little to watch today, I thought I’d take a look at a few things in the news today. So here we go:

The Packers would be smart to settle things with both players as soon as possible. Each of them is too important to the team to allow things like this to become major issues, especially with Aaron Kampman moving to outside linebacker in the Packers’ new 3-4 defense.

ESPN fails to note Lee Corso is more than 70 years old. For anyone else over the age of 70, a stroke would be a big deal, regardless of how minor it truly was. Why is this story’s focus more on whether or not the guy will be on GameDay and not on how his health is?
Personally, I think Corso should consider himself lucky, retire from broadcasting, and enjoy his final years with his family and friends. If he needs to watch football so badly, I’m sure whatever he makes for GameDay is enough to buy tickets to one game a week.

Apparently ex-Kentucky head coach Billy Gillispie never signed a true contract and simply had a sort of “gentlemen’s agreement” with the Wildcats. This could make Rich Rodriguez and West Virginia look like child’s play.

Jason Varitek managed to hit two home runs and get tossed from today’s game along with manager Terry Francona, but not before Twins’ catcher Mike Redmond and manager Ron Gardenhire got the boot in the top half of the seventh.
To make things even more interesting, the home plate umpire had only recently been called up from Triple-A. We’ll see how much longer he lasts with that quick hook.

If Manny Ramirez earns a spot in the starting lineup for this year’s midsummer classic, I promise you I will not watch. It’s absolutely embarrassing that he is even fourth at this point.
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Barcelona wins UEFA Champions League Final

May 27, 2009 Comments off

Before the championship match between Barcelona and Manchester United began, it was unclear whether the Barcelona defense would be good enough to stop the United.
I mean, three of their four usual starters were unavailable for the Champions League final, could they really stop Cristiano Ronaldo and the United’s front line?
Well, 90 minutes and a 2-0 victory later, it’s clear Barcelona is the best football team in Europe.
If you missed it, there’s a replay tonight at 10 p.m. CDT. I don’t know about you, but I’ll have a hard time not watching it again. When else do you get to watch such great football in the U.S.?
It took them some time to get going, but after a Samuel Eto’o goal in the 10th minute, Barcelona never looked back. Over the final 80 minutes the United had no chance to get back in the game, and they, along with everyone else, knew it.
After the first 10 minutes of strong play by Manchester United, they never presented a true challenge to Barcelona, looking like a shadow of their usual selves the rest of the way. Barcelona, on the other hand, enjoyed a 1-0 lead most of the game that seemed more like 3-0 with the ease with which they were able to maintain it.
Barcelona controlled the rest of the game, passing and moving with ease while Manchester United were unable to right the ship, fading away after 10 strong minutes early in the match.
And when Lionel Messi put Barcelona up 2-0 in the 70th minute all they had to do was close out the final 20 minutes to receive the trophy. And they did, easily.
Not only did they play like the best team in Europe, Barcelona also celebrated like the best team in Europe. After forming a guard of honor while the United received their medals at the podium, Barcelona didn’t hold back in their own celebration.
There was plenty of confetti, fist pumps, yelling and singing to go around. The celebration by Barcelona made the annual celebration by the Super Bowl champs look like a youth league championship by comparison.
The only letdown in today’s Champions League final is that there is such a time zone discrepancy between the United States and Europe. It’s unfortunate because the UEFA Champions League final is as exciting a sporting event to watch as the biggest game annually in the States (the Super Bowl) if not more so.
It’s certainly one of the biggest annual events in Europe, and it’s unfortunate it cannot be aired during prime time in the United States to allow more Americans to witness the incredible football being played by these teams. Of course, since that will never happen, I’ll settle for an excellent championship matinee that still allows me to catch the NBA playoffs later tonight.
And now, while Manchester United are left with a lot of unanswered questions, Barcelona proved today they were the best team in Europe.
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