What I saw at the Men's Wimbledon Finals this year goes beyond the basic foundations of competition. The match between Federer and Nadal transcended Tennis. It was an affirmation of the respect and sportsmanship cultivated between the sport's number one and number two players. Coming off Nadal's recent win over Federer at Roland Garros, the perfect storm struck twice....Nadal and Federer met again in a truly epic battle that will go down in history as the best sports event ever and the greatest display of sportsmanship between two opponents. I would like to hear an argument against that point, if one actually exists. 

In just a few short words, the match was so amazing, so inspiring, and absolutely gut wrenching that at four hours, forty-eight minutes, it felt like it was just way too short. I think we all could have kept watching as long as they could stand and swing a racket. What impressed me was the sportsmanship, as I alluded to earlier. It isn't as much as what you saw as what you didn't see. You didn't see the grandstanding, chest beating, and the obvious need to  humiliate your opponent seen in almost all professional sports. You saw the best of the best, the champions, playing each other at a level that no one else in their chosen sport could ever rival. In the end, we witnessed the victor, respectful of the twice vanquished defeated, defer to not celebrate the victory, but to revel in the personal glory of knowing he was the best on the court that day.

To say that both Nadal and Federer are both class acts is a blatant understatement. For years I have heard about Roger Federer, but now I understand and appreciate Roger Federer. Nadal appears to be following suit and I think he understands that in order to be a people's champion for the ages, he must follow Roger's example. From my limited perspective, you would be hard pressed to know if Roger won or lost the match by the expression on his face. He is as gracious in defeat as he is in victory. With Nadal's win at Wimbledon, as a rare exception, you could see it was visibly a disappointing loss for Roger. Disappointing obviously, but not worth sullying what had transpired before us on that day by complaining or making any excuses.

In my honest opinion, I think that the Wimbledon 2008 Men's Final should be made into a mandatory training video and presented to all high school, college, and professional sports teams prior to starting their season. The lessons they would learn would encompass intensity of competition, hustle, overcoming adversity, and most importantly, sportsmanship. How to win or lose like a champion.

Come one Andy. You might have lost Wimbledon but don't leave in the lurch! We Twitterers want to know what comes next.

By a show of hands, is there anyone here who is getting really sick of the “I’m an unathletic girly-man and this is my former-athlete and current-slovenly-pig co-host” routine everyday on Mike and Mike in the Morning? No one? Just me? Oh well…

On the topic of loudmouth radio hosts, the rumors surrounding the dissolution of the Mike and the Mad Dog radio show can’t come as too big of a shock to anyone who’s ever listened to the show. The undercurrent of hatred has always been there. In fact, it’s one of the things that makes the show irresistible. Half of the time they’re fighting and the other half neither of them makes any sense. They just end up shouting down callers so that it appears they have credibility on a given topic. Whenever someone points out a stat they botched or misinterpreted, they just hang up on the guy. I’d be lying if I told you that I actually valued their opinions. I’d also be lying if I said I didn’t listen. Losing them would mean losing a large part of what it has meant to be a New York sports fan in the past two decades. An integral part. And that, Dear Readers, would be a shame.

Michael Vick filed for bankruptcy. [Insert obligatory “those poker playing dogs must’ve wiped him clean” joke here. Or something about how he couldn’t handle “the dog days of summer.” Really anything to do with dogs getting the best of him fits. And serves him right.]

In what can only be described as “a soap opera with helmets,” Brett Favre is apparently taking steps to return to the NFL and the Green Bay Packers. By no means am I surprised by this development; I basically predicted it would happen on this very site a few months ago. A lot of athletes make comebacks, even marginally relevant ones. The names are familiar: Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Roger Clemens, among others. Even people like Reggie Miller and Allan Houston have toyed with the idea of returning. The difference between these folks and Favre, you ask? THEY HAD MISSED AT LEAST ONE GAME BEFORE WANTING TO RETURN. Those retired people had actually retired. Favre has barely missed a single team meeting since he called it quits. Far be it from me to tell anyone when it’s time to walk away from their career. All I’m saying is that Favre’s Hamlet gimmick is really getting ridiculous. Retire or don’t. You can’t do both.

All that being said, I feel no great sympathy for Aaron Rodgers. In the past I’ve stood up for him on the grounds that his career was evaporating faster than a bucket of water would on the sun. Sympathy, though, doesn’t seem like the appropriate reaction. I edit a pen and pencil catalog for a living and I’m supposed to feel sorry for a guy who gets to make piles of money for not throwing a ball? Doesn’t really strike me as a situation calling for sympathy. Still, I’d like to see him get his chance at a starting NFL gig. And if not that, then at least I would like to see Favre officially retire before Rodgers does.

Congratulations are in order for my fiancée, Kennedy. Next step: Supporting me for the rest of our lives. Good luck with that…

It seems trite at this point to say this, but Sunday’s Wimbledon final was by far the best tennis match I’ve ever watched and easily the single best sporting event of the year. From the middle of the third set on, every point felt like Championship Point and each clip of the tape seemed more perilous than the last. I’ll admit that I both predicted and was rooting for a Federer win. It didn’t happen. But what did happen was a display of athleticism and determination I’m not sure I have enough words to express. There have been times when a single athlete rises to an unimaginable challenge and conquers it. Magic Johnson played center in the 1980 NBA Finals. Michael Chang served underhand to alleviate leg cramps at the 1989 French Open. Tiger Woods overcome his knee injury at this year’s US Open. Michael Jordan’s legendary “flu game” in 1997. Never before in my lifetime, however, had two athletes simultaneously given everything they had on a single moment or day.

I watched almost eight full hours of tennis coverage on Sunday and still I wanted more. More drama, more miraculous shots, more match points. The winner, after the longest Wimbledon final in history, turned out to be Rafael Nadal, but by that point it didn’t even matter. The victory was in getting there. And we all won.

and then...  ( okay, no photos today! i'm not in the mood :( )

halfway through lessons went to find Mike G. ohboy! he's my favourite lecturer actually. why? its fun to "play/communicate" with him! well, we went to his room and he offered us "mothballs" (pretty tasty actually, but a tad too sweet) oh and he still say other weird funny stuff. lols.

after lessons went to "No Sugar Added" for a event/talk on love. lols. well, invited by miss pau. okay, it was pretty fun i guess? and left later on at 5.15pm for tennis. why? cause i have a hunch SYOW might be there.

and BINGO! :D it makes me happy to see SYOW in fact. and somehow i can sense something? hah.

ohwell, later on tennis. and kana trashed by the guys doubles luh. i'm really impressed with Lionel's tennis skill! he can volley and do the overhead smash so super well! WOW. i think there's high hopes for nyp guys team. well, the positions are more or less settled and i'm so nervous about this coming friday!

and tell you what, i fall today. yes, on the court. right in front of 22 pairs of eyeballs. OMG x438129054752451098451!!! how embarrassing since there's no such thing as a "graceful fall", haha. and thanks for all the concern, really. (you know who you are!) now, i'm having such a horrible abrasion (w/ bleeding, but it stopped already) sigh. the last time i had such a bad abrasion was when i was in primary 5. when i first started roller blading :( anyway, it sucked to fall. ARHHHHHHHHH!!!!

so with all the good and bad things, what sort of day is it today?!

Or perhaps some of this:

Or, when he's resting off-court, some of this:

Même s'il copule joyeusement avec Nicole Vaidisova, on ne peut pas dire que Radek Stepanek soit un tombeur de première classe. Alors pour se faire remarquer de la gente féminine, le ver de terre pointe le bout de son minois visqueux.

A ceux qui aiment le tennis et qui ont horreur des bestioles rampantes : ne regardez jamais un match de Radek Stepanek. Ou si vous tenez absolument à le voir évoluer (ce qui est plutôt rare pour un humain normalement constitué), priez pour qu'il s'incline (rassurez vous cela arrive très souvent). Si Edward Norton va se transformer en Hulk cet été, Stepanek lui prend la peau d'une espèce un peu moins reluisante.

Dernier exploit dans les mémoires du ver Tchèque : son match gagné de haute lutte à Rome contre Roger Federer. 7-6 7-6. Stepanek exulte. Il se dirige vers le filet et ... STOP ! Ralenti, je vous prie !

Radek recule de quelques dizaines de centimètres du filet. Pose une première main à terre. La gauche. Puis la droite dans son élan (raquette bien ancrée dans la paume). Position pompe. Les baskets viennent toucher soigneusement le fessier. Et puis les mains lachent. Radek est à même la terre battue. Première demi déambulation pour lancer le manège. Il oscille de haut en bas, le tronc en décalage avec les jambes. Jambes en l'air, mains à terre. Tête redressée, pieds posés. Et une ... et deux ... et Radek vit son instant de gloire dans la peau d'un ver.

Espérons enfin, que cette métamorphose ingénue ne soit pas un avant goût de ce qui pourrait être la parade nuptiale du Tchèque. Si tel était le cas, on pourrait presque qualifier Martina Hingis (son ex compagne) et Nicole Vaidisova de zoophiles.

So, what have I been up to in the last week?

• Working. I do have to do some occasionally. It's all heads down as we panic and rush to achieve silly numbers of tasks within unrealistic deadlines. Wrestling with HTML on the new library web pages.
• Attending the CILIP Equal Opportunities Panel. Lots of talk about the forthcoming positive action scheme. Shame the pilot will be in London - could be years before it filters up to Scotland. And round here I pretty much count as an ethnic minority.
• Reading: Diana Wynne Jones - Deep Secret (great fantasy convention setting); RED magazine (for the train journey); Charlotte Mendelson - When We Were Bad (for Book Group).
• Getting rejected from a job interview I went for. Boo. They kept me hanging on for a full week. I was special but not special enough, it would appear, despite my attempts to connect with them on a higher plane by discussing Murakami.
• Horseriding with colleagues - this was the IS Ride-out #4. I was assigned to the affable Max, who put up with my blatant incompetence charmingly and stopped for only a few snack breaks.
• Watching Prince Caspian. Georgie Henley couldn't be more perfect as Lucy. Susan's lips are alarming. Eddie Izzard as Reepicheep stole all our hearts.
• Watching the Doctor Who finale. What could be better than David Tennant? MORE David Tennant. NAKED David Tennant.  Alternate reality Doctor with no commitment issues. I am a cheesy whatsit and I loved the team round the Tardis console (only they should have let Jackie drive). Davros fantastic and looking evilly hot in his leather doo-dab. Red Dalek rocked. Altogether satisfying end to a surprisingly strong season.
• Watching Doctor Who #4 in The Invasion of Time. Worst ever Sontaran with bucket for a helmet and holes for his un-made-up eyes to see through. Not enough Leela (action wise not flesh wise!) and totally implausible romantic end.
• Watching the tennis. Federer vs Nadal. Nice. Add them to the two David Tennants and it's fantasy soup. Oh dear, better be careful I don't get filtered for bringing the world of blogging into disrepute.
• Trying to catch my breath after the first trimester of Presidency, quick scan to see what's coming up and what I should be doing.

This afternoon I get to set objectives with my line manager. Rather hoping they bear some actual relation to my job and are not just baubles plucked from the Principal's Christmas tree. They have to be SMART. Which as far as I'm concerned is just one step away from SWOT and PEST and a mere hop, skip and jump from a hey nonny no. Where's Blackadder when you need him?

 First we were treated on Saturday to the Women's Final between Venus and Serena Williams - a rematch of their Grand Slam final five years ago. Venus won in straight sets. They also won the Women's doubles title a few hours later (and between the two of them walked away with $2.5 million). Finally, Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic whom I saw in Paris at the French Open,  won the Men's doubles.

Much of the drama would play out on Sunday with the Men's Final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.  Many have written about it - in fact a search on Google yielded over 5,000 entries. In my books Roger Federer will still go down as one of the greatest tennis players ever. It was a devastating loss, but he's not done yet by any stretch. I wish him well as he prepares to reassert himself. It won't be easy, particularly with Nadal and Djokovic at his heels. However, cheer up Roger. The 2008 US Open can be your lucky Grand Slam 13!

While the media has focused their attention on what these players are doing on the courts, I decided to check out their presence online. All of the ranked players have websites, and you can link to these here. Due to the international nature of the sport, many host their website in several languages. The majority also host interactive forums in which you are requuired to sign in before you post comments or pose questions to the athlete. Several have links to foundations they have started as a way of giving back.

Blogging -- not so much. I noted some exceptions however: Rafa, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Andy Murray and Venus Williams. Rafa, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Andy Murray and Venus Williams. While Venus posts infrequently (only two during the two weeks of WImbledon), she is the only one to allow comments. Rafa has blogged during all three Grand Slams this year. He tends to post every couple of days,  and does so by dictating the posts to his PR manager who actually puts them up. His blog, together with Andy's and Ana's, are done with partial assistance of a British newspaper.  

Lots of good general tennis blogs however. Here are some of the ones I'll be following: Craig Hickman's Tennis Blog, Most Valuable Network Tennis Diary, ESPN's Tennis.com Blog, and for a great all round web site with information on official rankings, pro schedule, tournament results, links to player and fan websites - there's Tennis.com.

bet365 offer live streaming sports for free. Enjoy it!

Today´s matches + odds:

Michael Berrer v Nicolas Almagro 11/2-1/10

Albert Montanes v Oscar Hernandez 4/6-11/10

Lukas Rosol v Richard Gasquet 6/1-1/12

Is that you, Nole? Maybe it's the headband, but this is one of the few times that I'm actually favoring longer hair on a dude. Nicolas Kiefer, what did you do?!

Pre-cut, at Wimbledon.

How are we feeling, folks? Time to weigh in...

(photos by Getty Images)

First the good part. Rafael Nadal won Wimbledon, ending Roger Federer’s dream run. What seemed to be heading for a  three-straight-sets Nadal victory was taken to a five-setter, with Roger’s tenacity and elegant play helping him win set numbers 3 and 4 to make it two-all. But there was really nothing further he could do, as there is no tie-breaker in the last set, and that’s when Rafa comes into his own.

Federer is a great player, a delight to watch, and effortless in his victories. But against the sheer athleticism of Nadal, nothing works. There were so many shots that would have been winners against anyone else. And I mean anyone. But Nadal retrieved, and when he didn’t retrieve and belt down a winner of his own, he retrieved something that forced Federer to come up with another winner. And then yet another. Even a player as brilliant and great as Federer could not come up with winner after winner on every point. And with no tie-breaker in the final set, Roger’s stupendous service was partially taken out of the equation.

To be honest, I feel for Federer. Watching him play is special, and you know you are watching an all-time great, perhaps the all-time great. He should have won this sixth title. But this is sport. And Rafa was just too good. As a Nadal fan, I am impressed with the improvement in Nadal’s game, and am glad he won. To be truly unbeatable though, his service needs to get still better.

Now for the not-so-good-part. What was the little glitch I spoke of? The Silverstone race was on the same weekend, and that little phallic appendage won. Well, the tifosi are going to bounce back! Go Ferrari!

The two men of steel had a fight that went on for over 4 and a half hours. Marred by rain and low light, they battled through on the moist grass court. Rafa emerged the champion but I was incredibly amazed at Rogers nerves. To be defending your Wimbledon championship for the 6th consecutive year and being down by two sets and coming back in the match is no easy feat.

Although I thought that Roger did throw away his second set while he was ahead by very arrogant shot making. I have to admit that Rafa showed some nerves too, by winning the trophy.

I still think that from a finesse standpoint, Roger's shots are yet to be equaled. However, he will need to exhibit some more energy and play little more conservative at times. Rafa has raw power and is extremely defensive in his game but lacks the quality of shots. For example Roger was able to serve and volley, throw aces make some excellent shots from anywhere around the court, while Rafa was able to defend and barely serve well.

What are your thoughts let me know.

It's throw back because it is simply a playing surface and a few stands erected around that surface. The stadium stands on a small portion of the old Convention Center lot, on New York Avenue near 11th Street, NW. This is the way baseball was in Washington during the early 1880s when Capitol Park sat on the Capital Grounds or when the Nationals played at Florida Avenue and 7th Street in the 1890s.

The stadium is a temporary structure and goes up quickly and at a small cost. The location is near many offices and highly accessible to both the Metro and the buses. Spectators can grab dinner at any of the many nearby eateries after work then walk on over to see the tennis. Last night I saw many looking at the art exhibit that lined the walkway on the stadium's east side. The pieces are photographs commissioned by the DC Commission on the Arts.

(I'm linking to an article that also includes a note about Teardrop Park in Manhattan, which is genuisely landscaped to squash an amazing amount of terrain and park experiences into one small pocket of land.)

Here you go: South Oxford Park (and Teardrop Park, too)!

Swedish Allsvenskanliga
Elfsborg v Gefle IF: Home win

Elsborg Boras currently lie 2nd in the Swedish Allsvenskanliga after a dozen games including 5 wins and 1 draw at home from 6 games.  Their opponents tomorrow night, Gefle IF are lying 15th (out of 16) in the league, also having played a dozen games with 0 wins on the road, 2 draws and 4 defeats.

Elfsborg have won 6 of their last 7 in all competition (1 draw in the Intertoto cup), Gefle have won just 1 of their last 7 with 5 defeats in that gamespan.

The one downside to this bet is that the last 3 meetings between these teams has ended in a draw, but it's not putting us off backing on a home win.

bet365 are offering the best odds on Elfsborg at a very reasonable 2/5.  Join now and get £100 free bets!

 Dead Cert:

Mercedes Cup - Round 2
Lukas Rosol v Richard Gasquet: Richard Gasquet to win

The World Number 15, Richard Gasquet will be disappointed with his Wimbledon performance; blowing a 2 set lead over Andy Murray in the 4th round to go out 6-4 in the 5th set to the Brit.  But his opponent in the Mercedes Cup second round is Lukas Rosol of Czech Republic who was a qualifier this tournament before going through Martin Fischer in 2 sets in the first round.  Currently ranked 188 in the world and appears to have no chance in this match.

bet365 are offering the best odds on this match with dead cert Richard Gasquet at 1/12 (dead certs in tennis are usually 1/50 or worse).  Or for the more confident, bet365 are offering 3/10 on Richard Gasquet to win 2-0!  Sign up now and get your free £100 bet!

Avoid
Friendly matches

There are lots going on tomorrow and they're just not worth the risks.  It's difficult to find out which squads we playing and then you can't predict how hard those players are going to try.  Here at Premiership Tips we don't take a gamble on friendly matches, although Schalke at 1/6 does seem slightly tempting :p

"99% of male tennis players can't stand women's tennis. There's no other sport with such a big disparity concerning level of play and the money women make. A friend of mine says that a woman who wins a Slam should only earn enough money to pay for her airplane ticket home. Who knows what else I would say if it wasn't for Ana and Jelena whom I may consider friends. But of course, I appreciate the effort they're putting into tennis, because I know they practise as hard as I do. [...] The way women think on court cannot be compared to men. Their only strategy is 'hit the ball where your opponent isn't.' Nothing more! No 'Put more spin on the ball, this is an important point, play to her backhand'. No way! [...] It's that such kind of tennis works today. Look at the Williams sisters, Sharapova or Ivanovic who hits the ball like a truck on steroids. I get a bit critical when I see how much the women earn and how their opening rounds go. That's what irritates me the most, I feel like going to WTA HQ and *something* all of them. Look at Federer who is so dominant, he has to work so hard to beat a Staracce or an Almagro, he may even lose a set and then look at Sharapova or Ivanovic who lose 3 games in the first 4 rounds. It makes me sick".

Uhh, Janko, your stupidity is showing.

But what the heck! What is more important is that the battle which ensued for 4 hours and 48 minutes was a pure delight for the lovers of tennis. A match which is seldom seen in the histories of sport. One of the best matches that I will ever see in my life.

In women's championship, most of the top players performed poorly and got defeated at the hands of unexpected opponents. This cleared the way for the Williams sisters to dominate the turf and that they did. Venus won the final. I have to appreciate the aplomb with which she plays. Serena on the other hand has an understated agreesiveness. I like the sisters. But women's tennis yet has to see better standards and tough opposition to these two. There is hardly any consistency. Toppers are on the top for a season or two and then they vanish. I am dying to see a Steffi like player emerge and hoping that it would get more challenging and things would heat up. Zheng Jie has stirred up hopes of providing a challenge and I hope that she would.

On the other hand, I discovered some hotties :) like Safin and Djokovic and Andy Roddick and Mario Ancic. What good looks :D. Nice to watch. All in all it was great watching this wimbledon for all it was. Amazing two weeks.

With this in mind, a third showdown between the Federer and Nadal would seem inevitable. Unfortunately, it is unlikely we will see the re-match of this thriving rivalry. History dictates when Nadal's aggressive play meets the hard-courts, his body takes a toll, leaving him unable to make a run at the finals. Already citing sore knees, Nadal dropped out of the Mercedes Cup event following Wimbledon.  Nadal's ability to stay healthy throughout the entire hard-court season and the U.S Open is difficult when you consider the aggressive level of play Nadal brings to the court.

While the chances of Nadal being in the U.S Open final is lower then they would be for the Wimbledon and the French, Federer is still a strong bet to be in the final. The defending champ has proven he is a force at the Open. After being defeated at his championship and embarrassed in Paris, Federer is now even more motivated to prove the cynics and critics wrong. He will make a statement at the U.S. Open that he is still the greatest tennis player of his generation.  Those concerned his confidence is shaken need not fret. Federer is number one for reason - he is as mentally tough as they come.

The biggest question is who will be on the other side of the net. A quick reflection points towards 2002 Champion Andy Roddick and 2007 runner-up Novak Djokovic as possibilities. Also, young American hopefuls, Sam Querrey and Donald Young, look to have a break out tournaments. But it seems the best chance is with Djokovic. He has the game proven to advance himself far in the tournament. With a chip on his shoulder from an early exit at Wimbledon, Djokovic has the skills and motivation to upstage both Federer, Nadal, and anyone else in his path.

This wasn't supposed to happen, but didn't we see this coming? Nadal obliterated Federer at the French Open. I'd never seen ol' boy get dominated like that before. While it was on Federer's weakest surface, clay, he should have never gotten his ass whipped like that. How can you be the greatest player of all time and get spanked 6-1, 6-3, 6-0? Federer never had a chance!

Anyone who's ever played a sport at a high level, you know that 90% of the game is mental. That's why Tiger Woods is so damn dominate. Not only is he the most physically gifted, but he's more mentally tough than anyone else out there as well. You've seen it, on that final sunday at The Masters or U.S. Open, the dude that's paired with Tiger always plays like ass. Tiger is already in dude's head before he even touches the course. I think Nadal now has a slight mental edge on Federer now.

Usually Federer is the epitome of cool, but he made so many mental errors and mistakes. He was visibly frustrated and he seemed to crack under the pressure of playing someone who is as good or better than him. This is what folks in golf are waiting on. Someone to step up to the plate and push Tiger. So far that hasn't happen, but Nadal has given the ultimate push by beating Federer at Wimbledon. To put this in perspective, think about this. Its been almost 6 years since someone has beaten Federer on a grass court. He is the King of Grass and for Nadal, the King of Clay, to beat Federer is monumental. The landscape of tennis may change forever with this win, that's how big it was.

I mentioned earlier that the match didn't end the way I wanted it to. Yep, I was rooting hard for Federer to get some revenge. I really don't care too much for Nadal, but I do appreciate the young man's skill and incredible athleticism. There's not one ball on the court he can't get to and for the 1st time, he showed some finese to go along with his monster power game.

But I just can't root for a guy who wears capri pants and digs in his ass before and after every point.  Just think, there were a total of 413 points in his match with Federer and that's not counting change overs, replayed points due to replay challenges, and serving faults. That means this dude dug in his ass at least 826 times!!! Dude, you have a contract with Nike. They have these things called compression shorts or athletic tights, that keep everything in place and don't ride all up in ya crack homeboy!

That's just damn nasty. In the 1st set, it might not be so bad. But in the 5th set, after over 4 hours of tennis, you digging in a hot, sweaty ass. I'd ask for new balls everytime after he served, nasty bastard.

But seriously, this could be a changing of the guard people. I think this does wonders for this kid's confidence and I really gotta wonder where Federer's head is at. He made an incredible comeback from being 2 sets down to force a 5th set, but he missed so many chances to really put the pressure on Nadal.

If he's as great as people believe he is, he'll get back on the saddle and finish the year strong by winning the U.S. Open, preferably against Nadal. If that happens, and I believe it will, it should setup a fantastic rivalry that will bring men's tennis back to its glory days.

So let's give props to the Spanish dude but don't count out Federer. He'll be back to silence all those who now doubt him and have jumped on the Nadal bandwagon.

See you at the U.S. Open!