Tiger Wins. Fed Wins. Lakers Win. Damn Right It Was A Good Day

Waldini:

- TMF kills two birds with one stone (or racket LOL) in winning the French Open yesterday. He ties Sampras' record for Grand Slams and joins Agassi as the only men in the open Era to win the career Slam. You know you got clout when your opponents are rooting for you to win (see Nadal) and the all time greats are saying you are the greatest of all time (see Sampras)

- Tiger wins his tune-up before the US Open with some wicked (I'm channeling my inner white boy with that slang) shots. Did you see the Eagle on 14?? From a sandtrap??? With one hand?? 2 years ago, it was on one leg. This year it's with one hand. Unless my last name was Mickelson, I seriously would consider retiring if I was on the tour with him. Not fair...at all

- Lakers go up 2-0 in a gritty, gutty...ok more like ugly display of basketball between two teams. Too many turnovers, bad execution from both sides, and one coach completely losing faith in all 4 PGs on his team (and I'm not talking Phil Jackson).

Indeed Sunday, June 7 was a GOOD DAY...And my wife did cook our dinner with some hog (pork ribs)

Da Realist:

missed tiger, but saw federer and the game last night.

federer's great but i reserve judgement for GOAT. he HAS to find a way to solve the Nadal riddle before i'm comfortable saying it.

ugly game last night, but that happens. orlando is a better team with jameer nelson out there. i don't care how many shots he miss, you never EVER want hedo turkoglu being the defacto point guard. i couldn't believe my eyes!

and reddick? is this what it has come down to? i know he hit a big shot but c'mon. van gundy needs to stop worrying about what people think and coach. his gut told him nelson was the best option in game 1, he should have continued to follow his gut instead of following the advice of journalism majors. and alston just needs to man up. this ain't the time.

Waldini:

YOU WATCHED THE GAME?!?!?! Add that to the List..."Realist watched a FINALS game :-)

Da Realist:

well...i've been in france for the last 3 weeks and umm... (sniff...sniff) i'm back (sniff).

Waldini:

Yea, I know that was a nice trip. And now you are back with us stoopid Americans ;-)

Da Realist:

don't laugh. there is a SIGNIFICANT adjustment period. i've probably lost a couple of pounds since i returned because my tastebuds have changed and i've realized just how fatty my diet used to be. it's like i just realized i was living in the matrix. Read more!

Paella For Everyone!

Da Realist: [7/3/08]

These next two matches will tell you all you need to know about Roger Federer's heart. Is he truly a champion for the ages? Or is he just a supremely talented player that doesn't have the fortitude to fight. We are about to find out this weekend for sure. Nadal is coming and Roger's moment of truth is here. If Nadal beats Roger here, on grass at Wimbledon, after destroying him the last 3 seasons at Roland Garros, I will never say he's a better tennis player than Pete Sampras again. I may say he's more talented, but I'll never say he's a better player.

In fact, I will never put him at no 1, even if he wins more titles than Sampras. To me, heart means just as much as skill.

Gangsta D:

I'm not worried about Fed on grass. He's not gonna let Raffa come into his house and take a dump on his kitchen floor. Not gonna happen.

Waldini: [7/6/08]

Ya'll were saying, lol

You still questioning about TMF's fortitude? Yes, he lost but he came back from 2 sets down and took Nadal to the limits in the final set. Great match. Actually both the ladies and men's finals were good or better.

Gangsta D: [7/7/08]

I have to admit, I had this pegged wrong. I didn't think there was a chance that Raffa could beat him on grass. I thought it was a wrap. Is this the end for TMF? He showed heart, coming back from down 2 sets. Can he show the same and rebound at the US Open? Raffa is definitely the best in the world at this moment. It's his world. This dude is banging the best groupies right now. Damn him:)

Da Realist:

nah... somewhere deep inside, i knew. roger is a different player when rafa is on the other side of the court no matter what the surface is. rafa has beaten him on clay, grass and hardcourts. rafa is in his head. roger quit at the french open the last two years. he almost lost to him last year at wimbledon. i was not surprised at all. even when it was extended to the fifth set, i knew roger would find a way to lose.

he doesn't like to fight. no, that's not quite right. maybe i should say, he doesn't like to fight to the death. there is a point where Rafa is willing to go that Roger isn't. Even on a court better suited to roger's game.

Gangsta D:

I didn't see the match live, but from the highlights it looked like Rog was sure nuff fighting to the death. Especially in the 4th set. Maybe he's just lost his fastball.

Da Realist:

He showed heart, but...

Roger is a different player when he plays Nadal. The big points become BIG points. He loses concentration and shanks a lot of balls into the net or hits long or wide. Look at the unforced errors in his matches against Nadal and look at them against everyone else. The dude does not like to fight.

In terms of skill, no one is better. But now a weakness is surfacing that players are starting to realize. "If you can somehow get Roger into a dogfight, he'll fold." The question is, how many are talented enough and hungry enough to push him there? Nadal is the only one that can consistently do it right now, but Roger better start looking out for Djokovic on hardcourts. Read more!

F--- Wit Europeans Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')

Da Realist:

sorry federer....i feel the same way. you quit.

When you show up on Centre Court wearing a monogrammed blazer, 6-0 is
inexcusable. That wasn't about domination. That was about heart. Or a lack
thereof.

Gangsta D:

That's wild. I didn't see the match, but that's crazy that Fed would just lay down. What's been up with him the last six months?

Da Realist:

well, he quit last year at roland garros too, just not as blatantly as he did this year.

supremely talented player but he doesn't seem to have any FIGHT in him.

Gangsta D:

That's pretty disappointing. This has to kill his legacy doesn't it? He'll still be considered one of the greatest, but not the greatest. Or, if he wins the French next year will all be forgotten?

Da Realist:

there's still time to decide whether he's the greatest. he's almost certainly the most skilled.

they're marks against him. if he wins the french, an argument can be made that he was the best combination of skill, heart determination and focus (even if his skill level greatly out-distanced his heart). of course, someone could also make a counter-argument that heart can trump skill and someone like sampras would find a way to beat federer in a win-at-all-costs match.

Waldini:

maybe it's a European thing since I saw it in Dirk in the '06 Finals, TMF last wknd, and Gasol last night (well the whole Finals so far)

Da Realist:

even at his worst, most vulnerable moment...don't put roger federer and pau gasol in the same sentence. good God that guy is soft.

Waldini:

Marshmallow soft! Did you see the game last night? It's KG for chrissake not Shaq

Gangsta D:

Don't you ever go against the family in the midst of the "enemy" again! lol

Waldini:

I'm sorry Don Dialleone. Gasol is giving maximum effort on both ends of the court, lol

Read more!

Trouble Ahead For TMF?

Da Realist:

TMF goes down in the semis to Djokovic...in straight sets no less.

Gangsta D:

Can't win them all. I guess now everyone will question whether he still has it or if he's ready to fall from his perch. I would not put money on that any time soon.

Da Realist:

Djokavic just outplayed him. It happens. Well, it doesn't happen that often to roger but still...

I think Roger is getting close to the point where he needs to tweak his game juuuuuust a little. he's always been so good that he can just play his game without taking any risks. now some of the younger guys are pushing him, meaning he has a slightly smaller margin of error than before.
Why not channel Pistol Pete and use that serve as a weapon more often and get a few cheap points? djokavic beat him from the BASELINE. And Federer's best shot (forehand) couldn't keep up today. Yet Djokavic was wheezing the last 2 sets. Why not get a few cheap points and push to the 4th set. Who knows what would've happened there. But federer kept
trying to outslug him.

As he gets older he's gonna have to take a few more risks. He has the tools. maybe one day we'll see Federer 2.0

Gangsta D:

Does he have the trust in himself to tweak his game, a la Tiger? That's the question. Is he willing to do it?

Da Realist:

We'll see. So far he has been reluctant to change his core strategy, but when you're winning 3 majors a year, who's gonna argue? It may take a few more high-profile losses before he changes his mind.

Waldini:

Well the next major coming up is the one he's never one and he didn't tweak his game after each loss from that. So does that mean it will take a loss at Wimbledon for the change to happen?

Of course, I could be overreacting

Da Realist:

Well, no one expects him to win the French so that wouldn't cause much change. But if he loses Wimbledon, there will be a little doubt seeping in. Going into New York without 1 major all year may get him to change a few tactics. But it's still early. He can still win a few majors playing the way he's been playing.

But my belief is, when this phase is over, he could win even a few more just imitating Pete (huge first and second serves, serve and volley).

He's so talented, it's ridiculous. The question is, does HE really know what he's capable of? If he stays the way he is he'll break pete's record. If he changes his game like tiger or Mike, he'll reach 20. Read more!

Weekend Wrap Up

(Yeah the pic has nothing to do with sports, but for some reason I find it hilarious that George Lucas is banging a black chick. Insert lightsaber joke here____)

Waldini:

1. Football - Both my Tenn teams won so I'm happy this week. Granted one struggled to beat a patsy and the other got lucky in an upset, it still registers as a W. Plus ND continues to lose, a lot of so called cupcakes are winning at the big boys' home (I see you S. Fla) and we have the makings of a crazy college football season. Suicide watch is officially on in Ann Arbor

2. Tennis - Venus went down, but not without a fight. She played beautifully on occasion, then made some mental errors that boggled the mine. And of course TMF just inched 2 steps closer to immortality. I'm hoping he ties Pretty Pete with his first French Open title in '08

3. Basketball - Zen Master gets inducted over the wknd and takes time to publicly clown his employer. Anybody who can sleep with his boss' daughter AND clown him in public w/o getting fired, gets my vote for pimp of the year. Hate hate hate

4. Soccer - I know you trics dont care but so what?? Freddy Adu shuns MLS to play overseas but finds time to lead the US Under 17 squad in world cup play. He's a beast and he just needs a hug to feel loved in the states

Just my thoughts, just my thoughts

Gangsta D:

Obviously, I was just slightly off in my Miami-OU prediction. Needless to say, I was humbled. We just couldn't tackle, couldn't pressure the QB, and looked like we were running in quicksand. But I LOVED the fake FG. Coker wouldn't have the balls to do that down 21-3 on the road. We'll be all right...if Kyle starts. When he came in the game, a calm came over me. He wasn't spetacular, but he moved the team. He looked comfortable in the pocket, and made good decisions. He HAS to start the rest of the year. He gives us the best chance.

The Cowboys offense is ridiculous. The Cowboy defense is also ridiculous, but for different reasons. TO, Romo, and Witten are gonna have BEASTLY years if they continue to pick up the defense's slack.

Too bad Justine Henin isn't cute. Maybe she would take away some of Sharapova's money. Since, you know, she's 10 times the player.

Da Realist:

Tennis -- "Venus went down, but not without a fight"

she still lost in straight sets. i think we all need to recognize justine henin. the girl has 7 titles (one more than venus, one less than serena). she beat serena 3 straight times in 3 different majors -- all played on different surfaces. wimbledon and the us open are her two weaker surfaces, yet she still managed to beat both williams sisters (serena more than once). she won both the french and the us open without dropping a set. she is undisputedly the best women's player right now. it's no longer about venus playing hard or serena playing hurt. justine just kicked their asses, no excuses.

oh, and federer? 10 straight grand slam finals appearances, 3 straight years where he won 3 slams. the most complete player the game has ever seen. EVER.

Football -- we're horrible this year. we'll be lucky to win 6. in fact, if we win 6 games with our schedule i'll dance naked on my balcony. nothing else matters to me right now.

Basketball -- YAWN

Soccer -- ZZZZZZ Read more!

The Pistol vs The Mothereffing Federer

Da Realist:

if you're a tennis fan, you MUST be licking your chops to see this matchup! if only pete was 10 years younger...

Gangsta D:

Yeah, I don't know. If pete was in his prime, these matches would be epic. Now....eh? It'll be decent spectacle, but nothing exciting, I don't think.

Da Realist:

pete's my favorite player of all time but even in his prime he would have trouble with TMF right now on all surfaces -- even grass. and let's not even talk about clay.

the only exciting part of the match will be on pete's serve. even in his prime, pete just kind of blocked serves back and you can't let TMF have that kind of advantage on his own serve right off the bat.

if they were both in their primes...

pete would have a slight advantage at Wimbledon.

pete *may* have a slight adv on US Open hardcourts

roger with a distinct adv on Aussie Open hardcourts

roger would MURDER pete on clay

what do you think?

Gangsta D:

You're right about clay. Pete's game just doesn't translate. But on grass and hardcourts? In his prime? I don't know. When he was on, his serve and volley game was unmatched. The interesting thing is neither has/had a rival as good as the other during their playing days. Agassi was game, but he couldn't hang with Pete on a consistent basis. Nadal owns Fed on clay, but he can't compete on grass or hardcourt. I wonder how much they would've brought out in each other. Why couldn't Mama and Papa Federer have a kid 10 years earlier? lol

Da Realist:

i want to believe that, but i've seen federer take roddick's best and send it back across the net like it was nothing. he doesn't seem to have any trouble with big servers. pete's game was to dominate his serve and get one break per set -- he put all the pressure on the other guy to hold serve.

but roger would have flipped it. pete BETTER win his serve or he's got no chance at the set. my heart says go with pete, but my head says roger.

and about agassi... let's not down him too much through the eyes of history. pete won the majority of their matches, but keep in mind the majority of their matches were on grass or fast hard courts (like US Open). Agassi dominated him at the Aussie (4-0) and beat him the one time they played at the French. If most of their matches were on that slow rubber stuff or clay, then the outcome could have been a little different. it's at least something to think about. Read more!

How Did We Miss These?

Waldini:

- Nadal beating Federer AGAIN on clay (Monte Carlo Finals). WHo thinks Rog overcomes this and wins the French?

- The NBA's coaching carousel going on...Carlisle, Musselman, and Hill all served their walking papers in the past 72 hrs

- Tony Stewart "speaking" his mind about the current state of NASCAR (cartoonish, pro wrestling come to mind). Personally, that;s the only reason I even started paying attention to NASCAR cuz it seemed like after every race, cats were duking it out

- the NY Rangers hockey player basically saying he was gonna lay out someone on the Sabres squad Non Sports topics

- McCain officially announcing his candidacy. Despite my disdain for the majority of the candidates, this is turning into one of the biggest turnouts ala drafts for presidency. Guiliani, McCain, Obama, Clinton all have thrown their names in....summer 2007 is gonna be huge

- Alec Baldwin asking out of his NBC contract (rumors right now). If it's true, it would certainly mean 30 Rock is a goner midway next season Sorry a lot is really going on

Gangsta D:

Nadal owns Federer on clay. Just no getting around it. Dude has found his kryptonite. Apparently he's human after all.

I can't believe Bird fired his boy. Carlisle is a decent coach, but his teams historically underachieve in the playoffs. And for the past couple of years, they've been mediocre. I'm sure everyone wants to blame it on Artest, but he's been gone for a year and a half and they still suck. I wonder how many college coaches will get a look.

Baldwin CANNOT leave 30 Rock!

Da Realist:

i still wouldn't be surprised if federer wins the french. stranger things have happened. this might have reduced some of the pressure because NOBODY thinks he has a chance.

i was surprised carlisle got axed too.

Gangsta D:

I'm surprised Bird fired him, but I'm not surprised he got fired. It's funny how much criticsm he'd escaped in the past couple of years. Even after getting rid of their malcontents, they still tanked. So do you think Larry Brown will come back, or is he headed to memphis?

Waldini:

I think he should stay away...If I'm the grizz, i dont want him b/c you know he's gonna bail in 3 yrs max if the team does well and 2 yrs if they do worse. And if they're doing bad, then the Ripper will revert to form and criticize everyone for lack of work ethic and coachability. Yo LB stick to producin! Read more!