Read + Write + Report
Home | Start a blog | About Orble | FAQ | Blogs | Writers | Paid | My Orble | Login

Pro Sports Wrap - Sports Personality of the Day:Sidney Crosby

Pro Sports Wrap - June 2008

Wimbledon Gentlemen's Fourth Round Preview and Picks

Day Seven at Wimbledon is going to be and exciting one for sure. Even if you don’t like tennis I would suggest tuning in even for a little while, today’s action just might change your mind. I will start off by previewing each match a bit, and close with my reasons as to why Roger Federer will not win Wimbledon for the sixth straight time.

Roger Federer SUI (1)
v
Lleyton Hewitt AUS (20)

I don't think Federer can make it through for a sixth title.



Federer and Hewitt have had 21 matches since 1999, Federer has won 13 of them, including the last 11 straight. Hewitt has been bother by his hip, but has still made it through his matches to this point, he has had a much rougher time of it than Federer has. Hewitt will make it Federer’s toughest match in his first seven days, but should come up a bit short.

My Pick: Roger Federer in four sets.


Fernando Verdasco ESP (22)
v
Mario Ancic CRO

Both of these guys got through round three without having their serve broken once. As impressive as that is, Ancic’s feat is moreso since he did it against #5 David Ferrer who is a very good returner. Ancic was slowed on Saturday and had end practice early due to an injured Achilles tendon. On the plus side for Ancic he defeated Verdasco two weeks ago at the Artois Championship. I still think Ancic can get it done.


My Pick: Mario Ancic in five sets.


Marat Safin RUS
v
Stanislas Wawrinka SUI (13)

Wawrinka holds a 2-0 edge over Safin, the #2 Swiss player also has the benefit of his third round opponent retiring early. Safin has had to work hard to get through his earlier matches with Djokovic, and Andreas Seppi. Good thing everyone had Sunday off to rest. Safin will continue his unexpected run at Wimbledon and down Wawrinka too.

My Pick: Marat Safin in straight sets.


Marcos Baghdatis CYP (10)
v
Feliciano Lopez ESP (31)

Baghdatis reached his first quarterfinal, since February, last week in Halle, Germany. He has been playing well lately, and should get past Lopez.

My Pick: Marcos Baghdatis in four sets.



Janko Tipsarevic SRB
v
Rainer Schuettler GER


This match is a story of two players going in opposite directions. Schuettler is barely inside the World 100 and aging, while Tipsarevic is fast becoming a much better player and moving up the rankings. Tipsarevic has never made a quarterfinal in a Grand Slam, that ends this week.

My Pick: Janko Tipsarevic in three or four sets. If it is four it is because Schuettler just barely eeked out a set.


Marin Cilic CRO
v
Arnaud Clement FRA


Clement has been playing well as of late, much better than his World #145 ranking shows. On this day however I do believe the young 19 year old Croat will be too much for the Frenchman.

My Pick: Marin Cilic in straight sets.


Richard Gasquet FRA (8)
v
Andy Murray GBR (12)

Gasquet holds a 2-0 advantage over Murray. On this day with this crowd none of that will matter. The Brits will rejoice as Murray moves on.

My Pick: Andy Murray in five sets. (Yes, he will make it dramatic for the crowd.)


Mikhail Youzhny RUS (17)
v
Rafael Nadal ESP (2)

Rafa holds a 3-1 advantage over Youzhny. The only loss came in the last match in January. It was the Chennai Open finals, but Nadal was worn down after a marathon match against Carlos Moya. They faced off in the fourth round here at Wimbledon last year also. Nadal won that match in five sets en route to his finals battle with Federer.

My Pick: Rafael Nadal in four sets this time.


My reasons why Roger Federer will not win Wimbledon this year are as follows:

I am not sure at which point he will lose, but he will in my opinion have to face the following opponents...

1) Lleyton Hewitt, the last man not named Federer to win Wimbledon.

2) Mario Ancic, the last man to defeat Federer on grass.

3) Marat Safin, they have had ten matches, and Federer has won eight of them, the last one being last year in round three at Wimbledon. However, I feel this Safin is more like the one that defeated Federer at the 2005 Australian Open in the Semi-finals.

4) Rafael Nadal. I won't even get into the details of this matchup.

My feeling is, playing all of those opponents will wear him down enough that somewhere along the way he won't have what it takes to get it done against one of them.
54
Vote
   


Wimbledon Ladies’ Fourth Round Preview and Picks

The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming! There are six Russian women still alive in England, and a few should advance. I can’t wait to see who is on their Olympic team in Beijing.


Jie Zheng CHN
v
Agnes Szavay HUN (15)

Zheng takes another step in her Olympic warm-up by knocking off the #15 seed this time.

My Pick: Jie Zheng in three sets.



Nicole Vaidisova CZE (18)
v
Anna Chakvetadze RUS (8)

These two women have faced off twice before with Vaidisova winning both times.

My Pick: Anna Chakvetadze in two sets.



Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (4)
v
Agnieszka Radwanska POL (14)

Kuznetsova has been rolling since her loss to Dinara Safina in Paris. She also holds a 4-1 head to head advantage against the young Pole. Radwanska is also on a major roll though, posting a 14-1 record in her last 15 matches. Despite the Russian being overpowering I think Radwanska finds a way to beat her.

My Pick: Radwanska in three hard-fought sets.


Bethanie Mattek USA
v
Serena Williams USA (6)

Mattek is 20-4 in her last 24 matches. I do not think she has much of a chance at making it 21-4 today. Serena Williams should win this one easily, while losing maybe one or two games.

My Pick: Serena Williams in two sets, 6-1, 6-0.


Elena Dementieva RUS (5)
v
Shahar Peer ISR (24)

I am still hoping this match will somehow read Dementieva vs. Safina in the morning. Although I bet Safina’s legs would disagree with me. Peer will be worn down, even after a day off, and should go away somewhat quietly.

My Pick: Elena Dementieva in straight sets. Maybe 6-2, 6-3.


Nadia Petrova RUS (21)
v
Alla Kudryavtseva RUS

I am going to say a Russian will win this match. Apart from that I am a bit torn as to which one it will be. I wish I could wait until after I see what Petrova is wearing to make my pick, but I can’t.

My Pick: Hmmm, let’s go with Alla Kudryavtseva in three sets and a sensible shorts-suit.


Venus Williams USA (7)
v
Alisa Kleybanova RUS

Will Venus get to meet her sister Serena in the final?


Although the Russian is World #47, and better than some of the others still going I don’t think she has nearly enough to contend with Venus Williams at the moment.

My Pick: Venus Williams in straight sets. (6-0, 6-1)


Tamarine Tanasugarn THA
v
Jelena Jankovic SRB (2)

As uninteresting as this match might look, I feel differently. Tanasugarn has reached the final 16 at Wimbledon six times now. Yes, that’s right six times. Regardless of wether or not Jankovic’s knee holds up I think she could be vulnerable. I think she just might follow her fellow Serbs, Ivanovic and Djokovic into an early exit from Centre Court.

My Pick: (This one could really hurt my picking averages of late.) Tamarine Tanasugam in three sets, or at the point that Jankovic retires from the match.
59
Vote
   


Wimbledon Day 7 Schedule

June 30th 2008 10:47
Centre Court 1.00 pm
1. Gentlemen's Singles
Roger Federer (SUI)[1] v. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)[20]
2. Ladies' Singles
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)[4] v. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[14]
3. Gentlemen's Singles
Richard Gasquet (FRA)[8] v. Andy Murray (GBR)[12]


Court 1 1.00 pm
1. Ladies' Singles
Nicole Vaidisova (CZE)[18] v. Anna Chakvetadze (RUS)[8]
2. Gentlemen's Singles
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)[17] v. Rafael Nadal (ESP)[2]
3. Gentlemen's Singles
Marat Safin (RUS) v. Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)[13]


Court 2 12.00 noon
1. Ladies' Singles
Venus Williams (USA)[7] v. Alisa Kleybanova (RUS)
2. Ladies' Singles
Bethanie Mattek (USA) v. Serena Williams (USA)[6]
3. Gentlemen's Singles
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) v. Rainer Schuettler (GER)
4. Ladies' Doubles
Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP)[5] v. Serena Williams (USA)[11]
Virginia Ruano Pascual (ESP)[5] Venus Williams (USA)[11]


Court 3 12.00 noon
1. Ladies' Singles
Jie Zheng (CHN) v. Agnes Szavay (HUN)[15]
2. Ladies' Singles
Nadia Petrova (RUS)[21] v. Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS)
3. Gentlemen's Doubles
Max Mirnyi (BLR)[14] v. Daniel Nestor (CAN)[2]
Jamie Murray (GBR)[14] Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)[2]
4. Ladies' Doubles
Victoria Azarenka (BLR)[6] v. Dinara Safina (RUS)[10]
Shahar Peer (ISR)[6] Agnes Szavay (HUN)[10]
5. Mixed Doubles To Finish 7-5
Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) v. Jamie Murray (GBR)[12]
Nadia Petrova (RUS) Liezel Huber (USA)[12]


Court 4 12.00 noon
1. Ladies' Doubles
Kveta Peschke (CZE)[3] v. Lisa Raymond (USA)[16]
Rennae Stubbs (AUS)[3] Samantha Stosur (AUS)[16]
2. Gentlemen's Doubles
Kevin Anderson (RSA) v. Marcelo Melo (BRA)[12]
Robert Lindstedt (SWE) Andre Sa (BRA)[12]
3. Boys' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Daniel Cox (GBR) v. Mbonisi Ndimande (ZIM)
4. Girls' Doubles - 1st Rnd.
Tara Moore (GBR) v. Bistra Otashliyska (BUL)
Heather Watson (GBR) Alyona Sotnikova (UKR)


Court 5 12.00 noon
1. Gentlemen's Doubles
Travis Parrott (USA) v. Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)[9]
Filip Polasek (SVK) Leander Paes (IND)[9]
2. Mixed Doubles
Agustin Calleri (ARG) v. Martin Damm (CZE)[14]
Kaia Kanepi (EST) Shuai Peng (CHN)[14]
3. Girls' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Jessy Rompies (INA)[13] v. Aki Yamasoto (JPN)
4. Boys' Doubles - 1st Rnd.
Mathew James (GBR) v. Ryan Harrison (USA)[2]
Matthew Short (GBR) Bradley Klahn (USA)[2]


Court 6 12.00 noon
1. Boys' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Christopher Rungkat (INA) v. James Marsalek (GBR)
2. Boys' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Dane Propoggia (AUS) v. Borut Puc (SLO)
3. Girls' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN) v. Nikola Hofmanova (AUT)[12]
4. Girls' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Nadia Lalami (MAR) v. Beatrice Gumulya (INA)


Court 7 12.00 noon
1. Girls' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Romana Tabakova (SVK) v. Jocelyn Rae (GBR)
2. Girls' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Melanie Oudin (USA)[1] v. Sachie Ishizu (JPN)
3. Boys' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Hiroki Moriya (JPN) v. Jared Easton (AUS)
4. Girls' Doubles - 1st Rnd.
Elena Bogdan (ROU)[1] v. Malou Ejdesgaard (DEN)
Bojana Jovanovski (SRB)[1] Anna Piven (UKR)


Court 8 12.00 noon
1. Boys' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Devin Britton (USA) v. Hiroyasu Ehara (JPN)
2. Girls' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Miyabi Inoue (JPN) v. Tyra Calderwood (AUS)
3. Boys' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Marin Draganja (CRO) v. Filip Krajinovic (SRB)
4. Boys' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Erik Crepaldi (ITA) v. Guillaume Rufin (FRA)


Court 9 12.00 noon
1. Girls' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Kanyapat Narattana (THA) v. Elena Chernyakova (RUS)[14]
2. Boys' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Henri Kontinen (FIN) v. Alexandre Folie (BEL)
3. Girls' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Zuzana Linhova (CZE) v. Noppawan Lertcheewakarn (THA)[3]
4. Boys' Singles - 1st Rnd.
David Goffin (BEL)[13] v. Andrew Thomas (AUS)


Court 11 12.00 noon
1. Gentlemen's Singles
Fernando Verdasco (ESP)[22] v. Mario Ancic (CRO)
2. Ladies' Singles
Elena Dementieva (RUS)[5] v. Shahar Peer (ISR)[24]
3. Gentlemen's Singles
Marin Cilic (CRO) v. Arnaud Clement (FRA)
4. Mixed Doubles
Jeff Coetzee (RSA)[15] v. Max Mirnyi (BLR)
Vladimira Uhlirova (CZE)[15] Olga Govortsova (BLR)


Court 14 12.00 noon
1. Gentlemen's Doubles
Julien Benneteau (FRA)[16] v. Jonathan Erlich (ISR)[3]
Nicolas Mahut (FRA)[16] Andy Ram (ISR)[3]
2. Ladies' Doubles
Nathalie Dechy (FRA) v. Raquel Kops-Jones (USA)
Casey Dellacqua (AUS) Abigail Spears (USA)
3. Ladies' Doubles
Zi Yan (CHN)[9] v. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)
Jie Zheng (CHN)[9] Selima Sfar (TUN)
4. Ladies' Doubles
Bethanie Mattek (USA)[13] v. Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB)
Sania Mirza (IND)[13] Darya Kustova (BLR)


Court 15 12.00 noon
1. Girls' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Amanda Cunningham (GBR) v. Martina Borecka (CZE)
2. Boys' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Neil Pauffley (GBR) v. Philipp Lang (AUT)
3. Girls' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Jessica Moore (AUS)[6] v. Poojashree Venkatesh (IND)
4. Boys' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Michael Thompson (GBR) v. Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (GER)[10]


Court 16 12.00 noon
1. Girls' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Coco Vandeweghe (USA) v. Jade Windley (GBR)
2. Girls' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Katarzyna Piter (POL)[16] v. Jade Curtis (GBR)
3. Boys' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Blaz Rola (SLO) v. Grigor Dimitrov (BUL)[9]
4. Girls' Doubles - 1st Rnd.
Milana Spremo (SRB) v. Ana Bogdan (ROU)[2]
Zsofia Susanyi (HUN) Ksenia Lykina (RUS)[2]


Court 17 12.00 noon
1. Girls' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Yana Buchina (RUS) v. Martina Trevisan (ITA)
2. Boys' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Milos Raonic (CAN) v. James Chaudry (GBR)
3. Girls' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Tamaryn Hendler (BEL) v. Cindy Chala (FRA)
4. Boys' Doubles - 1st Rnd.
Henrique Cunha (BRA)[1] v. Alex Sanders (AUS)
Cesar Ramirez (MEX)[1] Mark Verryth (AUS)


Court 18 12.00 noon
1. Ladies' Singles
Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) v. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[2]
2. Gentlemen's Singles
Marcos Baghdatis (CYP)[10] v. Feliciano Lopez (ESP)[31]
3. Mixed Doubles
Jordan Kerr (AUS)[16] v. Bob Bryan (USA)
Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR)[16] Samantha Stosur (AUS)
4. Gentlemen's Doubles
Feliciano Lopez (ESP) v. Jonas Bjorkman (SWE)[8]
Fernando Verdasco (ESP) Kevin Ullyett (ZIM)[8]


Court 19 12.00 noon
1. Boys' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Giacomo Miccini (ITA) v. Marcus Willis (GBR)[15]
2. Girls' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Laura Robson (GBR) v. Irina Begu (ROU)
3. Boys' Singles - 1st Rnd.
Lorenzo Papasidero (ITA) v. Dan Smethurst (GBR)
62
Vote
   


Who’ll Stop The Rain?

Kurt Busch won in New Hampshire with some help from mother nature.


Tony Stewart led 132 laps at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday. That didn’t matter one bit. Kurt Busch happened to be leading the lap when the rains came. NASCAR waited all of about 10 minutes after the rain had begun to call the race on lap 284 of the schedule 301. Busch, as well as about a dozen others were playing a fuel strategy game when mother nature helped them out. No one expected to see Michael Waltrip, who hadn’t finished higher than 23rd all year, and J.J. Yeley who didn’t even make the field last week, in the top five on Sunday. Low and behold, Waltrip and Yeley drove home with their windshield wipers on to a 2nd and 3rd place finish.

The strategy began to play out on lap 215 when Jamie McMurray tapped the back of Aric Amirola’s #8 car, which led to his car tapping David Reutimann’s car. Amirola made an outstanding save and drove on. On lap 217 however, Kasey Kahne wiggled while on the inside of Amirola and smacked into the side of his car. Amirola nearly made another great save, but then lost it and spun out, just barely tapping the wall with the rear end of he car. The yellow flag came out, at this point pit road opened up, but not everyone headed to the pits since they wouldn’t be able to make it from this point to the end on fuel. In fact the first seventeen cars stayed out on the track, with tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson leading the pack. At the restart Kurt and Kyle Busch were running back to back in 18th, and 19th as the first cars that had pitted.

At around lap 224 they started pointing out how the rains were about 30 miles away from the track and on their way.

Then on lap 271, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was coming to pit road, Jamie McMurray (yes, he is about to get into the back of yet another car.) said he didn’t see him because he was looking elsewhere on the track (as he was driving on the apron of the track), and he crashed hard into the back of Junior’s car. After bouncing off of Junior’s car he turned back onto the track and also took out David Reagan’s car. This brought out the caution flag again. Remember those first 17 cars that didn’t pit earlier? They had to pit this time. Most just took fuel, but leader Tony Stewart took two right side tires as well. After pits stops that moved him into 14th place for the restart. At the head of the field now were Kurt Busch, Michael Waltrip, J.J. Yeley, Martin Truex, Jr., and Elliot Sadler.

The field restarted with 21 laps to go. On the restart Sam Hornish, Jr. and Clint Bowyer wrecked putting the race right back under caution. After the yellow had waved and cars were slowing to pick up the pace car, Juan Pablo Montoya turned into Kyle Busch and spun him, as his car spun it caught Montoya’s car and spun him too. This nearly took out about five other cars. After the race Montoya clearly said he did it intentionally on camera in an interview. During Busch interview he was smart and explained how he was just trying to get around the lapped #40 car and had no idea why Juan did it. After the race they were called in to talk to NASCAR officials. Montoya was given a two lap penalty, moving his finishing spot from 26th to 32nd. It was and will be the only penalty handed down according to NASCAR.

Before they could restart the race the rain started. The race was red flagged and they parked the cars on pit road. As I said earlier they only wait 10-15 minutes before calling the race after 284 of the 301 laps. It was Kurt Busch’s first win in 29 races, the last one coming at Michigan International Speedway last August. It was also just his second top 10 finish since being the runner-up in the Daytona 500 to teammate Ryan Newman. He was 22nd in Sprint Cup Series Points coming into the race, but will leave New Hampshire in 18th place

His brother Kyle officially finished in 24th after being spun. This allowed Jeff Burton to move within 64 points of the leader in the standings. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. still sits in third 144 points out as they head to a restrictor plate race.

Next week they head to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola. Last year's winner was Jamie McMurray, let's hope he wan look in front of his car to see where he is going while at Daytona doing close to 200MPH.


="urnchemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" xmlns:x="urnchemas-microsoft-comffice:excel" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> tr border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width=361 style='border-collapse: collapse;table-layout:fixed;width:271pt'>
Pos Driver Car# Make Started Laps Led
1 Kurt Busch 2 Dodge 26 284 10
2 Michael Waltrip 55 Toyota 36 284 0
3 J.J. Yeley 96 Toyota 30 284 0
4 Martin Truex Jr. 1 Chevrolet 8 284 0
5 Elliott Sadler 19 Dodge 11 284 0
6 Reed Sorenson 41 Dodge 6 284 0
7 Casey Mears 5 Chevrolet 24 284 53
8 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 12 284 0
9 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 23 284 0
10 Bobby Labonte 43 Dodge 2 284 0
11 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 19 284 0
12 Jeff Burton 31 Chevrolet 31 284 0
13 Tony Stewart 20 Toyota 28 284 132
14 Kevin Harvick 29 Chevrolet 3 284 54
15 Ryan Newman 12 Dodge 16 284 0
16 Brian Vickers 83 Toyota 40 284 0
17 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 17 284 0
18 Matt Kenseth 17 Ford 9 284 0
19 David Reutimann 44 Toyota 29 284 0
20 Joe Nemechek 78 Chevrolet 43 284 1
21 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 15 284 0
22 Clint Bowyer 7 Chevrolet 18 284 0
23 Aric Almirola 8 Chevrolet 39 284 0
24 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 5 284 29
25 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 27 284 0
26 Robby Gordon 7 Dodge 22 284 1
27 Regan Smith 1 Chevrolet 25 283 0
28 David Gilliland 38 Ford 33 283 0
29 Paul Menard 15 Chevrolet 42 282 0
30 Kasey Kahne 9 Dodge 14 282 0
31 Patrick Carpentier 10 Dodge 1 282 4
32 Juan Pablo Montoya 42 Dodge 32 282 0
33 Dave Blaney 22 Toyota 41 281 0
34 Scott Riggs 66 Chevrolet 4 281 0
35 Terry Labonte 45 Dodge 34 281 0
36 Travis Kvapil 28 Ford 21 281 0
37 Johnny Sauter 70 Chevrolet 37 280 0
38 Dario Franchitti 40 Dodge 7 280 0
39 Sam Hornish Jr. 77 Dodge 20 280 0
40 David Ragan 6 Ford 35 272 0
41 Jamie McMurray 26 Ford 13 270 0
42 Michael McDowell 0 Toyota 38 209 0
43 AJ Allmendinger 84 Toyota 10 202 0


2008 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 Stats
Scheduled Laps: 301
Total Laps: 284
Distance: 318.458 miles
Lead Changes: 5
85
Vote
   


Germans Downed By Torres

Fernando Torres scored the only goal the Spaniards would need.

[ Click here to read more ]
73
Vote
   


NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying for rhe Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at Loudon, New Hampshire

Qualifying was interrupted by rain after 23 of the 45 drivers had qualified. The delay lasted for an hour and fifty-four minutes. At the time of the rain Reed Sorenson was sitting on the pole, that wouldn’t last very long after the delay though. Kyle Busch was on the track when the rains came and got to run his laps over after the delay. His second set of laps would end up being only 27th best. Right after him was Kevin Harvick, on a slick track he almost hti the wall in his first lap, but he still managed to better Sorenson’s time and take the pole, briefly. Next out was Bobby Labonte who just beat Harvick’s time and was now on the pole.

[ Click here to read more ]
85
Vote
   


Wimbledon Ladies' Day 6 Results

June 29th 2008 02:41
Jankovic and Safina Both Hurt, One Advances, the Other Does Not

Jelena Jankovic being worked on by trainers after injuring her knee. (Image: C Brunskill)

[ Click here to read more ]
64
Vote
   


Serbian #2, and Croat Cilic Advance

I can't wait to see Janko Tipsarevic play Marin Cilic. I certainly hope they both make it through Monday.

[ Click here to read more ]
83
Vote
   


Tony Stewart’s future plans just got changed. Or did they?
It’s no big secret that Stewart, driver of the Home Depot Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, hasn’t been real happy in his ride at Joe Gibbs Racing. While all the reasons aren’t known, two things are obvious: Stewart isn’t winning. And Stewart isn’t driving a Chevy, where he had most of his success.
He had been working on plans to develop his own race team, and indeed that may begin in 2009. Rather Stewart is with them is yet to be seen


[ Click here to read more ]
98
Vote
   


UEFA European Championship Winners List (Soccer)


[ Click here to read more ]
73
Vote
   


Wimbledon Day 6 Schedule

June 28th 2008 00:18
Day 6 at Wimbledon is full of doubles matches, and juniors matches, with some Round Three Singles matches mixed in.

Caroline Wozniacki image
Can Caroline Wozniacki oust #2 seed Jelena Jankovic?

[ Click here to read more ]
70
Vote
   


Wimbledon Ladies' Day 5 Results

June 27th 2008 23:03
Ivanovic joins Sharapova as Spectator at Wimbledon

Top: Jie Zheng World #133 beats (bottom) World #1 Ana Ivanovic. (Image: I. Walton)

[ Click here to read more ]
76
Vote
   


Safin Rolls On, And Ancic Follows

It was an exciting and long day at The All England Club. Marat Safin upset #29 Andreas Seppi of Italy in the last singles match to finish for the day. It ended at about 9:20 local time, and even Safin said after the match that it was dark enough that they couldn’t see the ball at times. It took four sets, and two tie-breaks, but Safin has shown that he just might be back. Safin’s biggest challenge will be his next match, which we will preview some time before the start of the match Monday.

[ Click here to read more ]
75
Vote
   


Wimbledon Day 5 Schedule

June 27th 2008 07:59
And on the fifth day. . .

Roger Federer should advance easily on day 5.

[ Click here to read more ]
66
Vote
   


Kurdryavtseva Didn’t Like Sharapova’s Outfit

It took just 1 hour and 24 minutes for the World #154 to oust the World #3 from Wimbledon. 20 year old Alla Kudryavtseva dominated her match against fellow Russian Maria Sharapova. The first set took just 32 minutes, the second set was 4-4 at one point, but it just was not Sharapova’s day. Everything Kudryavtseva was doing was working. After the match she actually included my headline in her comments. She pointed out how she gives Sharapova credit for taking chances in her wardrobe, but she just didn’t like her choice this time. She liked her choice when they played one another at the French Open, and Sharapova won that match. She has been upset how the fashion has gotten more press then the tennis, basically.

[ Click here to read more ]
65
Vote
   


Did They Change Wimbledon to Clay?

Is Janko the new Serb to watch?

[ Click here to read more ]
99
Vote
   


Wimbledon Day 4 Schedule

June 26th 2008 08:15
Wimbledon Day 4 Schedule

Just how far can Andy Murray get in England?

[ Click here to read more ]
92
Vote
   


Ivanovic Wins Hard Fought Match with Dechy

On the ladies’ side of things the match of the day was World #1 Ana Ivanovic vs. World #97 Nathalie Dechy.

[ Click here to read more ]
80
Vote
   


Safin Gets it Done in Round Two

Marat Safin upsets #3 Djokovic in Round 2. Image courtesy G. Kirk.

[ Click here to read more ]
73
Vote
   


Ana Ivanovic eeked out a hard fought victory over 29 year old Nathalie Dechy of France.



[ Click here to read more ]
78
Vote
   


Wimbledon Day 3 Schedule

June 25th 2008 10:43
Can Marat Safin pull off the upset of #3 Novak Djokovic? I THINK so!


Taking Centre Court on Day 3 in England we have Novak Djokovic in the early match facing Marat Safin. This could be the match of the day. I think Safin can give Djokovic a run for his money, and I am leaning toward Safin getting the upset. After that match will be Svetlana Kuznetsova, and then Roger Federer in the later match.
[ Click here to read more ]
93
Vote
   


Wimbledon Ladies' Day 2 Results

June 25th 2008 10:24
There were no huge surprises on the ladies’ side of things. Although Julia Georges of Germany did upset #23 seeded Katarina Srebotnik. All the top seeds got through with little trouble. The biggest story of the day for many seemed to be the tuxedo type shirt worn by Maria Sharapova in her match.

Maria Sharapova's fashion got more press then her easy first round match.

[ Click here to read more ]
72
Vote
   




="urnchemas-microsoft-comfficeffice


[ Click here to read more ]
74
Vote
   




="urnchemas-microsoft-comfficeffice


[ Click here to read more ]
71
Vote
   


Day Two Shocker!

Day two at Wimbledon had some excitement infused into it when #4 seeded Nikolay Davydenko fell to Benjamin Becker in straight sets. Davydenko was making too many service errors, while Becker controlled things with his steady serve and forehand. It was the fifth time in seven years that Davydenko has exited in the first round.

[ Click here to read more ]
71
Vote
   


Wimbledon Day 2 Schedule

June 24th 2008 09:12
4-time, and defending Wimbledon Ladies' Champion, Venus Williams


In day 2 at Wimbledon Venus Williams, Rafa Nadal, and Britain native Andy Murray take Centre Court. Venus will also be on Court 5 later in the day as her and sister Serena the 11th seeded team have a doubles match. Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, and Jelena Jankovic will be sharing time on Court 1, while #4 Nikolay Davydenko, and Americans Lindsay Davenport, and James Blake will all be on Court 2.
[ Click here to read more ]
58
Vote
   


Wimbledon Ladies’ Day 1 – Results

The biggest surprise on the ladies’ side of things on day one was Australian Casey Dellacqua who upset #12 seed Patty Schnyder in three sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. Close to that was how hard a time #4 Svetlana Kuznetsova had in beating Mathilde Johansson of France. Kuznetsova lost the first set in a tie-break, then eeked out the second set win 7-5, and finished off with a 6-3 third set. Much too big a scare for the #4 seed n the first round at Wimbledon.

[ Click here to read more ]
51
Vote
   




="urnchemas-microsoft-comfficeffice


[ Click here to read more ]
58
Vote
   




="urnchemas-microsoft-comfficeffice


[ Click here to read more ]
56
Vote
   


Wimbledon Gentlemen's Day 1 Results

There was one or two surprises in the first day in England. German Simon Stadler beat 18th seeded Croation Ivo Karlovic in four sets. Number 7 seeded Argentine David Nalbandian is a former Wimbledon finalist, and has lost in the first round of a Grand Slam just once in 26 tries, and never at Wimbledon. After today he has now been ousted in the first round for a second time. Today it was World #98 ranked Canadian Frank Dancevic who won rather easily in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.

[ Click here to read more ]
58
Vote
   


Wimbledon Day 1 Schedule

June 23rd 2008 07:56
Both #1s get an early start on day 1. Ana Ivanovic will follow Federer on Centre Court.


Here is the schedule of matches for the opening day of Wimbledon. All times are local time. TV coverage begins on ESPN2 at 7AM ET (USA) (I believe, 9PM Australian time...please correct me with a comment if I am wrong


[ Click here to read more ]
49
Vote
   


NASCAR Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California

One would think when you force NASCAR drivers to make both the normal left-hand turns, as well as the unfamiliar right-hand turns that the race would get more exciting. This really was not the case in Sunday’s race in northern California. This had nothing to do with the fact that Kyle Busch got back on track and win his fifth Sprint Cup Series win of the season. It also had little to do with TNT coverage of NASCAR, which I have never been, and still am not a fan of, although maybe it did have a little bit to do with it. It was just boring racing for 110 laps of twists and turns, going uphill and down.

[ Click here to read more ]
101
Vote
   


Boris Said and his hair should finish well at Infineon on Sunday.


Roll Out the Ringers
[ Click here to read more ]
107
Vote
   


Scott Kalitta Killed in Crash During NHRA Qualifying


[ Click here to read more ]
104
Vote
   


Can Elena Dementieva pull off a few upsets to win in England?


Section 3 – This should be an exciting section to watch. My only problem with this section is Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina will face one another in the Fourth Round. They are both much better than having to face-off that early. The winner has a match against Maria Sharapova, who should have a better outing in England then she did in France. However, I see the winner of the Elena – Dinara match beating Sharapova and heading into the Semis


[ Click here to read more ]
63
Vote
   


Can Ana Ivanovic win her second straight Grand Slam?


Section 1 – Ana Ivanovic might have the easiest route into the Semi-Finals. She should have little trouble to that point. I am going to say she defeats Patty Schnyder in the Quarter-Finals to make it through, but regardless who her opponent is, she gets to Semis.
[ Click here to read more ]
58
Vote
   



Section 3 – Andy Roddick after some time off due to injury will come out of this section after beating fellow American James Blake, and either Frenchman Mathieu, or Davydenko. Probably the latter.

[ Click here to read more ]
51
Vote
   


Now that we see the draws here is what I expect. Of course I will probably be totally wrong.

Section 1 – Federer plays winner of Lleyton Hewitt – Robby Ginepri match (which will be a good one). The winner (97.33% sure it is Federer) goes on to come out of this section regardless of who they play.

[ Click here to read more ]
56
Vote
   


Wimbledon Seedings Released

June 19th 2008 09:23


The Wimbledon Tennis Tournament begins this coming Monday. The seedings were released on Wednesday, and there were very few surprises. On the women's side of things the top 20 seeds are identical to the World Top 20. The only notable surprise on the men's side was Marcos Baghdatis being ranked #10. He is currently ranked just 25th in the World Rankings.
[ Click here to read more ]
57
Vote
   


It’s a good thing Tiger Wood considers this U.S. Open win to be his best yet, it is now also a bit more understandable why he thinks so. It will be his last tournament for quite some time. He will be having season-ending surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. He also has a double stress fracture of the left tibia, an injury he knew about two weeks prior to the Open. Doctors told him he needed to take six additional weeks off in order to let that heal.

The stress fractures were what prevented him from playing in the Memorial a couple weeks ago. He has been playing with the torn ACL since last July’s British Open. It apparently happened as he jogged home from the course while he was there. After it happened he won seven straight tournaments. Which is why he was going to try and wait till after the season to have the ligament repaired.
Tiger Woods wincing in pain at the U.S. Open. Photo courtesy of NBC and ESPN coverage.

[ Click here to read more ]
111
Vote
   


NBA Finals MVP List

June 18th 2008 07:31
NBA Finals MVP List

XX denotes the MVP played for the losing team.

[ Click here to read more ]
90
Vote
   


NBA Finals Results List

June 18th 2008 07:08


NBA Finals Results
[ Click here to read more ]
84
Vote
   


This is an update to our previous article about Javon Walker, it includes the original article followed by the update.

Javon Walker found unconcious in Vegas.

[ Click here to read more ]
93
Vote
   


Dale Earnhardt, Jr. wins for the first time in 76 races.


NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway
[ Click here to read more ]
107
Vote
   


A list of future sites that will host the U.S. Open Golf tournament. (Last updated 6-16-08)

Please take note that the next two locales are the same two locales that Tiger Woods won his first two U.S. Opens. Can you say three-peat? Only Willie Anderson has ever won the Open in three consecutive years (1901, 1903 - 05


[ Click here to read more ]
102
Vote
   


Javon Walker found unconcious in Vegas.


Raiders New Receiver Javon Walker Hospitalized in Vegas
[ Click here to read more ]
130
Vote
   


U.S. Open Golf

Final Round Scores - Page 2


[ Click here to read more ]
109
Vote
   


2008 U.S. Open Golf

Final Round Scores


[ Click here to read more ]
103
Vote
   


Tiger prevails at U.S. Open

June 16th 2008 20:34
It was simply the greatest golfer, winning a great match. Tiger Woods held off a very determined Rocco Mediate in a superb 18, err 19, hole playoff to win the US Open. And the match, great through out, got really good late.
Mediate, three strokes down at one point, found himself even with Tiger after a birdie on 14. That prepared the scene for a spectacular finish, beginning with a superb Hole No. 15.

[ Click here to read more ]
100
Vote
   


The greatest golfer

June 16th 2008 08:33
How good is this guy? Surgery can’t stop him. A so-so day on the course can’t stop him. Can Rocco Mediate in 18 holes stop him? We’ll see. Even if he does, there is no doubt the Tiger Woods simply is the greatest golfer ever.
Tiger Woods is simply the greatest golfer ever

It was obvious in the US Open that Tiger wasn’t at his best. Double bogeys, something you hardly ever see from him, were there all weekend. He was up, then down, then back up. And yet, somehow he approached the 18th tee on Sunday with a chance to win or tie. He was one stroke behind Mediate, who watched anxiously in the clubhouse, and was about to tee up on a par 5 hole that he had eagled the day before. An eagle here and the US Open was his


[ Click here to read more ]
93
Vote