Sports
Another Freaking Tweener by Roger Federer
Roger Federer hit another amazing tweener tonight against Dabul! And again it was a clean winner. However, Dabul was standing at the baseline, which makes the clean winner that much more amazing. Dabul stared at that ball going past him with complete disbelief (which was hilarious). AND Roger hit it from about 10 feet behind the baseline! Man, that is just pure awesome. You might go 10-20 years and never see something like that. And Roger has now done it 2 years in a row at Authur Ashe stadium. First night, and we already have the shot of the tournament.
Here it is, unbelievable:
US Open 2010
The last major of the year, the US Open, kicks off today in Flushing Meadows. Lots of stories going on and the tournament seems to be wide open, although I have my bets on Roger Federer. Actually I do literally have a personal bet of $100 riding on him winning the US Open. I made this bet immediately following his Wimbledon loss. If you follow tennis, you’d think few would be putting bets on Roger at that time, but I have faith! Now he gets a final and a win on US hardcourt tournaments and he’s suddenly a favorite again. How quickly the media jump bandwagons. The only other time I actually proclaimed Roger would win anything was the 2009 French Open. I declared he’d win 2-3 months beforehand, if I recall correctly, even while Nadal was perfectly fine. Can I go 2 for 2? We shall see.
The Decision
Man, Lebron James loves himself. A big national TV event for the “King” just to announce which team he’s going to and he says the experience has been humbling. I think just the opposite. His ego is getting out of control and he hasn’t won a single championship. I feel bad for Cleveland. Too bad he didn’t come to the Knicks.
Federer Loses to Soderling
Wow, Roger Federer just lost in the quarterfinals at the French Open to Robin Soderling. It’s quite unbelievable, but Soderling was impressive today. Soderling, if you remember, took out Nadal in the 4th round last year and this year again takes out the defending champion. Fed’s incredible run of 23 straight Grand Slam semifinal appearances has finally come to an end.
Kim Yuna Wins Gold in Women’s Figure Skating
Well she just won the gold in women’s figure skating, scoring an unprecendented, staggering 228.56 (world record). She earned record scores of 78.50 in the short program on Tuesday and 150.06 in the free skate tonight. Her free skate program was flawless technically and of course she always gets exceptional marks for her artistic expression on the ice. It was nuts. I thought she’d hit high 130′s but wow 150! That’s insane. She only broke 200 total score last year and she was the first to do it. She just cleared 200 by nearly 30 points, beating out Mao Asada, the silver medalist, by over 23 points. Crazy.
She had the weight of an entire nation on her and she was already the biggest celebrity in South Korea and she just exploded into another stratosphere.
Kim Yuna Breaks Her Own World Record
Kim Yuna broke her own world record (again) in the women’s figure skating short program with a leading score of 78.50! And she did it after falling in practice and after Mao Asada, her main rival, put up an exceptional performance herself (73.78). Kim Yuna’s the best and she proves it again, that triple lutz triple toe loop was beautiful. The thing I like most about Yuna is that her performances are actually fun to watch, the choreography is great, and she puts a lot feel into it. A lot of the other skaters look like they’re just smiling and going through the motions until their big jumps.
The video below is from the Skate America competition back in mid November, but it’s the same short program she did in Vancouver tonight. Her last world record (76.50) was set at this event.
Knicks Next Year
So it seems like the my hometown team, the Knicks, might be able to bring in some real talent next year with its maneuvers to clear salary cap space. With Tracy McGrady and his expiring contract, the Knicks have enough room to bring in 2 top tier players. James and Wade as free agents next year are awfully enticing, but I don’t know if both would come to NY. Players like that typically want to lead the team and it won’t work with 2 alpha males. But either way, with the right talent, the Knicks might finally be worth watching. I gave up on the Knicks a long time ago and you might say a real fan sticks with it through thick and thin, but there’s only so many crappy games and 4th quarter collapses against mediocre teams you can sit through before enough is enough.
Federer Wins 16th Slam
Federer wins Australian Open 2010. Credit: STF/AFP/Getty Images
Federer won the the 2010 Australian Open over Andy Murray in straight sets last night (or early morning). That’s his 16th slam and he doesn’t show any signs of letting up at 28 years old. I love how 2/3 weeks ago people were saying it’s wide open and that there are 5-8 guys who could win. Actually that’s true, which just makes it so much more amazing that at the end, it’s still Roger. At 28, he’s still beating the young guns and winning slams. It’s just amazing, this guy is the most dominant athlete of the last decade.
Australian Open 2010
The AO is killing me. Some of the best matches are played at night at the AO which means they start at 3:30 AM here. It’s crazy, I am not getting a lot of sleep these days. Last night I wanted to watch the Murray/Nadal match but barely made it through the first set. So I went to bed but boy what a shocker this morning.
Del Potro – 2009 US Open Champ
Well Roger, you can’t win them all. Del Potro was the better player tonight and deserves his first grand slam title. Roger went away in that 5th set, similar to what happened in Australia. I get the feeling he was slowing down and getting tired. I guess you just can’t fight time no matter how hard you try. But never fear, even at 28, Roger is at the top of the men’s game and it still takes an incredible performance to beat him. He’s won every major in the last 5-6 years or lost to the champion. I have no doubt he’ll hit 20 majors. You heard that here. Yes, twenty. 2009 has been a great year for him and this takes nothing away. Congratulations to Juan Martin Del Potro.
P.S. I see something in JMDP – this guy could have a very bright future in tennis. It’s amazing how much more consistent he’s become in the last couple of months. That 100+ mph forehand is just absolutely ridiculous. And the guy is so humble and respects Roger and his accomplishments. I don’t feel bad that Roger lost to him instead of one of those young, arrogant punks like Murray (only guy in the top 6 without a slam, btw).
P.P.S. You know what ticked me off? Del Potro wanted to say something in Spanish to his family and friends and they wouldn’t let him! Unbelievable. Dick Enberg said they didn’t have time and they immediately went on to do their product placement for Lexus. You see the look on Del Potro’s face? He doesn’t give a damn about winning the car. You’re not going to let him say a few words but you have all this time to promote Lexus? Good for him that he later insisted on speaking and then did. But even then it was rushed. The guy just won the US Open, he earned the right to speak. Way to f*cking sell out, USTA.