Those fightin mountaineers

Saw this article on espn.com today. Players face underaged drinking, resisting arrest charges. Not really that big of a story (sadly), since these incidents seem to be very commonly reported during the off-season. The players involved though? Joe “he’s like Jason Kidd” Mazzulla and Cameron Thoroughman.

In other news, Nadal’s roll just keeps on going. He started off the hard court series with a great win at the Rogers Masters Tennis tournament in Toronto. What makes this tournament interesting is that Federer lost in the 3rd round of the tournament. The ATP tennis tour has really got to change its ranking system. Federer’s still ranked #1 in the world, even though Nadal has only won the past two grand slams. Most experts think that hard courts are Nadal’s weakest surface. But there aren’t that many other legit contenders out there. I’m not sure if you can still pencil Federer in as the man to beat, especially if he has some more early exits over the hard court season. Djokovic would appear to be a contender, but it’ll be interesting to see how he regroups after his loss to Safin at Wimbledon. Roddick and Blake are the best hopes for the Americans, and I’m not sure if I even want to get my hopes up for them. Nadal might be able to continue his breakthrough year at the US Open.

oh yeah..omgz batman was awesome.

Wow…that was unbelievable

I hate to knock off the dare post because I really want to see these supposed “readers” I keep seeing in our stats. Hope you guys had a chance to watch today’s Wimbledon – a lot of people are calling it one of the greatest matches they’ve ever seen. Nadal finally beat Federer in an epic five set final that spanned several rain delays. Nadal jumped out to an early 2 set lead, but Federer clawed back to win 2 straight tiebreakers. Nadal won the 5th set, 9-7. The level of play was absolutely amazing, and in the post-game interviews, John McEnroe kept saying what an honor it was just to bee able to watch the game. Tennis is also interesting because as soon as the match is over, the 2 finalists have to stand right next to each other. The loser’s gotta stand there, faking a smile and talking nicely about the dude who just beat him. Pretty awkward. Great, great match though.

French Open Preview

The French Open begins this weekend, with matches featuring Novak Djokovic and James Blake starting tomorrow. Here’s a pseudo preview of the year’s second grand slam:

Men’s Draw

First of all, the big surprise on the men’s side has got to be the #1 seed for Roger Federer. I’m not disputing Federer’s status as the overall #1 player on the planet (although Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic can definitely take issue with they; they have significantly narrowed the gap). However, Federer getting a #1 seed for the French Open is an absolute joke. Nadal had >100 match win streak on clay courts spanning over 3 years. He’s the winner of the past 3 French Opens, and a 4th win this year would tie Bjorg’s record. And it’s not like Federer has dominated Nadal on clay courts this year or anything. Although Federer somehow lucked into a #1 seed and a significantly easier draw than the other half of the bracket, Nadal is definitely the favorite to repeat (again) for the French Open. Nadal’s definitely going to have to work to make it to another final this year; hes battled through some injuries this year and always plays a grueling schedule. He may also have to face Djokovic, winner of this year’s Australian Open.

Andy Roddick recently pulled out of this year’s French Open, citing a shoulder injury. Not really a big deal. I’m a huge Roddick fan, but at least this spares us from hearing Andy struggle through yet another press conference after a “stunning first-round upset”. His power game is absolutely unsuited for for clay. This leaves James Blake, the #5 seed, as U.S.’s best chance for a slam. Well…this gives me the excuse to link some of Sampras’s best overheads. These are pretty sick, especially considering Sampras was one of the quietest guys to ever play the game.

Prediction: Nadal denies Federer (again) in his efforts to complete the career grand slam.

Women’s Draw

Justin Henin was last year’s French Open champion, but her retirement leaves the field pretty open this year. Maria Sharapova is one of the top seeds for this year’s tournament, but her power game is also not the best match for the clay of Roland Garros. America’s best chance comes in Serena Williams. The Williams sisters are the ultimate X-factors for any grand slam – when they’re on, very few can play with them. Now the Henin’s gone, Serena’s definitely got the chance to repeat. And I’m liking her chances.

Prediction: Sharapova’s improving clay court game and a wide-open field leads to a finals appearance, but Serena Williams proves too strong.