Today's men's Wimbledon final was something I have never seen before. After being delayed by rain, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer squared off in the finals, a rematch from the French Open finals (Nadal won) and a rematch of the last two Wimbledon finals (Federer won both, and 5 in a row.)

Federer is a machine and has won 40 matches in a row at the All England Club as well as an unbelievable 65 in a row on grass. Going into the finals Federer had not dropped a set this tournment, so he was expected to cruse to his 6th Wimbledon in a row.

But Nadal took an early lead winning the first two sets 6-4 and 6-4. Up by a few games in the 3rd set, the sky opened and there was an hour and a half rain delay. (This is when the Tank called me about the need for retractable roofs, next year Centre Court will have one.)

After the rain delay, facing 1 game from elimination, Federer fought back. He forced a tie-breaker in the 3rd and won that, then fought back again, facing two championship points in the fourth and forced yet another tie-breaker, which he also won. Now it was down to a fifth and decisive final set and Federer was on a roll.

But Nadal would never say die and fought back. Neither side broke each other in hours. Night was coming and there are no lights on Centre Court. When the match looked all tied up, rain fell again.

After the delay, the match continued and was tied up. No tie-breakers in the last match. At the 4:16 mark, the match surpassed Conners-McEnroe in 1982 in longest final every played (not counting the rain). Nadal finally broke Federer after about 4:30 of play and went up 7-6 in the last set to serve for the victory. It was only the 4th break of the match for Nadal (Federer only broke Nadal once). It was almost completely dark, about 9:15pm in London, a Wimbledon match never went this late. With the match about to be called for darkness and with two more match points served up, Nadal finally won the match, becoming the first person to win both Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year since Bjorn Borg did it in 1980 (who was there to congratulate Nadal.)

Forget Conners-McEnroe, this is the most exciting match I have ever watched.

Congratulations to Rafael Nadal!

Posted by Steve, in awe.

I watched the Williams Sisters play the Wimbledon Ladies Final on this morning.

Venus won the first set 7-5.  Venus led 5-4 in the second set.  Serena made several un forced errors.

Down to championship point, Serena served past Venus to make it 30-40.  Big Sister Venus won the second set 6-4 and her fifth Wimbledon Championship.  It was her first in three tries against her Kid Sister Serena at Wimbledon.

Their father Richard was so conflicted that he went home.  He couldn't handle seeing the final result.  Their mother and siblings watched from the stands.

Even though she won, Venus stays at #7 in the world but Serena moves up to #5 in the world.  It's good to see the Williams Sisters healthy and fit.  It should be a wide open US Open starting next month in Flushing.  The Williams Sisters, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, or other players could win the next grand slam.

Congratulations to Zimonjic and Nestor for winning the Gentlemen's Doubles Final.  Nestor deserves extra recogntion because he completed the grand slam in his final year as a professional.

Prediction: I think Federer will barely beat Nadal in a classic tomorrow.  If he does, the top three players in the world (Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal) will have one grand slam each going into the U.S. Open.  Buckle up! 

Posted by The Tank in Tennis Land.

I don't think the Founding Fathers had a celebration of mindless gluttony in mind when they declared their independence from England.  But 232 years later, it wouldn't be Independence Day if it weren't Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest from Coney Island, Brooklyn. 

The introduction of the participants and their nicknames is more entertaining than the contest itself.  The participants are from across America and world and from different walks of life.  Opie & Anthony's producer, a fashion model in love with himself, a masked Cubs fan (take off the mask bro, the Cubs are in first place), the first Faith Based Eater, the Black Widow, former champion Kobayashi, and the defending champion Joey Chestnut.

I like to eat but these people are ridiculous.   I had no idea that there was a matzoh ball eating champion. Who know?

Onto the contest itself.  This year's contest is 10 minutes long instead of last year's 10 minutes.  Chestnut led from the get go but Kobayashi was in second.  Kobayashi closed to within one with five minutes left.  He ties with 40 hot dogs with about four minutes left. 

Kobayashi took the lead with about 2:29 left.  Chestnut tied.  They are neck and neck.  Kobayashi goes ahead by two with 1:30 remaining.  Under a minute and down the stretch they go.  Can Chestnut come back?  They are tied at 59.  They shoved the final hotdogs down their throats. 

Who won? A photo finish.  They tie. 

A dog off.  Whoa!  Who can eat five hot dogs first?  Joey Chestnut wins!  Joey Chestnut defends his title.  The world's most extreme eating chamionship remains in America.  Something to be proud of I guess. 

Posted by a bewildered Tank in NY.

Last year after the All-Star break, the Mets stunk. Starting pitching broke down and did not go deep and the bullpen got tired, and blew countless games. If only one of those games were not blown, well, the Mets would have been in the playoffs. A dark time indeed.

One bright spot in the second half of last year was Orlando "el Duque" Hernandez. He pitched very well after the All-Star break and was the one consistent starting pitcher. He had the best ERA during the September collapse, so you can't  blame him.

The problem with el Duque is that he breaks down. He is 100 years old and only good for about 125-150 innings or so (though he did have 150 last year.) Steve and the Tank suggested swapping Heliman and him in starting/bullpen roles. el Duque would be middle and long relief. This would reduce him to about 75 innings a year and most likely reduce his tendency to break down and go on the DL. Also while in the bullpen, el Duque is a huge competitor and will thrive in the high pressure environment.

A perfect plan, except that this spring el Dueque balked at it this spring. That was the bad news. The worse news is that he began a rehab assignment on April 3rd and the Mets shut him down on April 8th, pretty much indefinitely due to his right foot surgery on October. Apparently as of a few weeks ago he is throwing off a mound again in Florida, but there is no timetable for his return. My guess is that at his age, he will miss the entire season.

When will he be back? It would be nice to know.

 

Posted by Steve in New York

A-Rod, always full of drama said that he will skip the home run derby at Yankee Stadium before the all star game in two weeks. (Which both Steve and the Tank will attend, along with guests Jack and Kathleen.)

He said that it was because of his swing, he did not want the derby to affect his swing after the break, however, maybe it is due to his rumored romance with Madonna? Just speculating, but sometimes speculation can be fun.

Posted by Steve in New York

On field temper tantrums is something that happens in little league, not the major leagues. Just over a year ago, Jose Reyes was the most exciting player in the Major Leagues. Now he is an A-Rod style basket case, lazy, makes a lot of errors, and throws temper tantrums. At this rate he will be lucky if he even makes the all-star team.

Jerry should bench him. If he does not improve, the Mets should trade him. Yes trade him. Reyes' fortunes seem to be linked to the Mets. When he stopped producing and started producing drama, the Mets were filled with drama.

Posted by Steve in New York

I met up again with the Professor yesterday to watch the Euro 2008 Final pitting Germany versus Spain.

Though Germany was the favorite, I liked Spain because I knew Ballack wasn't 100 percent.  I thought that Casillas is a better goalie than Lehmann.  The Professor disagreed but that's what makes sports and the world go around.

Torres' header went off the post in the 23rd minute.  Whoa!  So close!

Torres silenced the crowd in the 33rd minute.  What a goal past Lahm and Lehmann!  Spain 1 - Germany 0.

Ballack was bloodied in the 36th minute.  It takes a few minutes to patch him.  Ballack and Casillas were yellow carded in the 43rd minute.

Spain led 1-0 at half.

The Spainards tried to get too fancy on a back kick in the 54th minute.

Ballack missed in the 60th minute.

Casillas made a nice save on a cross in the 62nd minute.

Spain had nice chances in the 67th to 69th minutes.

Senna just missed in the 81st minute on a header cross.

Spain continued to attack as the Professor counseled.  They kicked the ball over the goal in the 86th minute.

A yellow on Kuranyi in the 88th minute.  He should have gotten it a few minutes sooner.

Spain wins 1-0.  Congratulations to Spain for winning their first major title in 44 years!  Quite coincidential for a country of 44 million people.

Football condolences to Germany fans such as Ronjon and Kai.

------------

On a light note, the Euro 2008 Program had the "Top 10 excuses for leaving work early" to watch Euro 2008 were awesome. 

(10) The gas company has to read my meter once a year and this was the only time they would come.

(9) I have to pick up my car from the garage, if I don't get there in half an hour it'll be locked up all weekend.

(8) I have to get my contact lenses fitted.

(7) I have a dentist/doctor/hospital appointment.

(6) My kids are locked outside.

(5) I have to take my dog to the vet and they close early today.

(4) My son/daughter is competing in the school sports day.

(3) I have to go to the airport to pick up my mother.

(2) The couch I ordered umpteen weeks ago has arrived and this was the only time they could deliver it.

(1) I need to give blood.


    My personal favorite was Nick's from Aussie Rod's party.  He put "International Roundball Appreciation Meeting" in his office calendar.  Some co-workers were invited to nearby pubs, others were not. 

Posted by The Tank in Football Heaven.  Only two more years to the World Cup.  Woooo!

After a frustrating 3-2 loss yesterday where Johan Santana pitched well and gave up three runs over six innings, Johan called out his team saying that “All I can say is that I am doing my job. Other than that, there’s nothing else I can do. I can’t go out there and do the things that my teammates have to do.”

While Johan has a point (and it is frustrating to see him drop to 7-7 and have one of the best ERAs in the league, he continually loses games 2-1, 3-2), Johan can also be part of the solution and rally his teammates in the clubhouse, on the bench, and in the media.

The Mets have fallen apart and are airing their dirty laundry in the media. Time for the Wilpons to clean house and fire Omar, trade some players and start with a clean slate.

The Yankees and Mets played a two stadium doubleheader yesterday.  The Mets won the first game 15-6 at the Stadium during the day.  The Yankees returned the nine run favor and won 9-0 at Shea in the night cap.  Linda's text claimed that she jinxed the Mets.  I asked her if Sidney Ponson really pitching on the mound  Wow!  Best wishes for a speedy recovery from his personal and baseball issues.

I had tickets to both games but, of course, could not make it because of my high school reunion in beautiful Upstate New York (AKA "Appalachia" according to former Governor Spitzer).  It was great catching up with Ronjon, Oak, Bilbo, and the rest of the class.  Two thirds of our class started kindergarten together in 1975 and graduated high school in 1988.  Wow!  You don't see that too often.

Posted by The Tank on the road "Back to the Future" from beautiful Upstate New York returning to the greatest city in the world, New York.

The annual subway series will be played out today with a Yankee Stadium-Shea Stadium double header tonight and two games at Shea Stadium this weekend. The Mets enter the double header with a 2-0 series lead this year.

Both teams need to start playing better and this series, even if it ends 2-2 could be a spark for both clubs since each game is a "big game" of playoff style capacity and most star players A-Rod, Reyes, etc, and even some mediocre ones (Oliver Perez) bring their A games to the subway series.You always get good baseball at these games. Hopefully the energy can propel both teams to winning streaks that build momentum to the all-star break.

Posted by Steve in New York

The boys gathers at Aussie Rod's place for the first Euro 2008 semifinal between Germany and Turkey. 

I asked Steve and Ronjon NOT to tell me the score during the day.  I purposely avoided checking the score.  If I saw a red shirt (Turkey's color), I covered my eyes and walked the other way.

Turkey had nine men out to injuries and suspensions.  What an opportunity for a second unit player to play for a contract with a major league club in the Premiership, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, etc. 

Turkey scored in the last minute in their previous three matches against Croatia, Czech Republic, and Switzerland.  Thanks for JH for the final two Turkish victims.

Ugur Boral of Turkey strikes first blood in the 22nd minute through Lehmann's leg.  Whoa!

Schweinsteiger equalized with an awesome finish off the outside of his right foot in the 26th minute.

Podolski had a nice run in 34th minute.  But his upper body was leaning back like Italy's Roberto Baggio's on a penalty kick over the goal into outer space in the 1994 World Cup Final against Brasil.

After a 39th minute collision, both sides try to stop the their bleeding players like boxing cutmen.  Check that, the Turkish player is getting stapled on the top of his head.  OMG!  You leave it all out on the pitch.  Pain is temporary, pride is forever.

It was 1-1 at half.

JH and his brother Brandon make a good points about Turkey's freshness and looseness.

Nick's wife has negative interest in soccer but she told Nick the score during halftime.  Our future karaoke duets for her and me are in jeopardy.

Turkey continued to attack in the second half.  But Germany should have had a penalty kick after Lahm was tackled just inside the box.

We're watching the Fan Zone outside the Stadium as ESPN has technical difficulties.  James asks for the radio feed.  The Swiss had a power issue for a few minutes. 

Klose scored for Germany in the 79th minute during another Swiss power outage.  The Turks equal with Senturk in the 86th minute.  You've got to be kidding me.

James demands the BBC line-by-line Internet feed.  The power finally comes back on Lahm scored the go-ahead goal in the 90th minute.

A nice cutout to the crowd with ladies with Mrs. Lahm, Klose, etc.  Mrs. Jeter, Wright, and their American counterparts have nice competition.  Das fraulein!  

Three strikes and another power outage.  We find out Germany won 3-2. 

ESPN gets burned.  I thought they learned from World Cup 2006.  Their commentators watched and commented from the ESPN Studios in Bristol, Connecticut.  Talk about cost cutting but this is ridiculous.  So much for the world wide leader in sports.  I nominate the six of us to cover the next soccer match for ESPN.  James and Nick with the radio commentary, Brandon and JH with insightful analysis, Aussie Rod keeps the referees honest, and yours truly blogs it from the Stadium.  I'm serious about this.

Congratulations to Germany!  They meet the winner of Russia-Spain on Sunday.

Posted by The Tank reporting live from Aussie Rod's awesome apartment in Manhattan.