What a Sunday in sports. It started from the moment I woke up with Wimbledon and is still technically going with Sunday Night Baseball. But with my outcome in fantasy leagues already decided for the week, I don’t have a whole lot of interest in the Rays/Rangers game.
Roger Federer makes history, but Andy Roddick makes it epic. That headline – directly from the Los Angeles Times – pretty much describes arguably the best tennis match of all-time. Unfortunately I missed last year’s Wimbledon finale between Federer and Rafael Nadal which I know was touted as the best grand slam championship match ever… but I can’t imagine it was better than this one. They played 30 games in the fifth set… JUST the fifth set! I was flabbergasted by it all and I’m hardly an avid tennis fan. As Roddick was sitting there post-match, head in his hands, I couldn’t help but feel awful for the guy. He’s never won a Wimbledon title despite playing in three championship matches – all coming against Federer – and Roddick played probably the best tennis match of his life on the biggest stage he’s ever played on. It just so happened to come against the best player in tennis history on a day where he was damn good as well. Roddick is going to have nightmares about the tiebreaker in the second set forever – or at least until he wins it all at Wimbledon. All in all it was a tremendous tournament (other than the crappy condition of the court today) and was a great distraction over the summer months when the sports schedule tends to drag. If you want some more tennis, here’s a great link on the best Wimbledon finals ever. Surprisingly, this one ranked third.
In other solo sport news, Tiger Woods won his own tournament. Not that this news surprises anyone. I mean I know Tiger’s been human since his surgery but c’mon, he’s Tiger Woods. He simply isn’t human and continues to do incredible things on a golf course with remarkable consistency. His putting still isn’t quite where it was pre-injury but he seems to be getting more comfortable week after week and I suspect he will continue to dominate.
What was interesting about this tournament- in addition to it being hosted by Tiger – is that he allowed kids in for free. He also gave out thousands of free tickets to veterans and it all seemed to be a very fan-friendly event. Tiger definitely won over many fans not just with his play but his generosity on a weekend that we celebrated America’s independence.
Tiger is also friends with Federer. Must have been a good day for them.
In some more local news for myself today, a Disney monorail crashed and killed an employee early this morning. The driver – the only fatality – was just 21-years old which makes it even more eery. They say that this is the first monorail accident that has caused a death in the 38-year history of the train. I’m not really sure how something like this happens but can you imagine witnessing something like that? Fortunately it happened after 2:00 a.m. but I can’t imagine taking my kids to the place “Where Dreams Come True” and seeing something like that – let alone be inside of the monorail when it happened. Freaky stuff.
Major League Baseball announced the rosters for this year’s All-Star Game, being held in St. Louis on Tuesday, July 14 at 8:00 p.m. on FOX. Like most people who have already broke this down, my only serious complaint is the fans voting in Josh Hamilton. He’s played in just 35 games this season. I would love to see him in the Home Run Derby again after what he did last year, but there is no reason why he should be starting this game. Again this year fans can vote for the last player on each team. You can vote here. Personally, I’ll be voting for Ian Kinsler and Pablo Sandoval just because I enjoy seeing them play the game.
Today’s Quick Hits:
- Steve McNair’s death has officially been ruled a homicide. However, Jay Mariotti points out that McNair might not be as perfect as a guy we all seem to think he was.
- Apparently Rasheed Wallace is heading to Boston. The Celtics are very quietly staying in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference. Everybody is so focused on a Cavs/Magic conference finals next year. I think Boston could sneak up on people and end up being the best team in the conference if they can stay healthy – and I’m not the only one. That might be a big “if” though.
- In the latest happening of the Hedo Turkoglu free agency merry-go-round, now it’s being reported that he is going to end up in Toronto. Why on earth would anybody want to sign to play for the Raptors? I’m sure he has his reasons, but could that really be better than re-signing in Orlando or even going to Portland. From what I understand the Magic were going to make him a fair offer. Whatever floats his boat, I guess.
Have a great week folks!
