Today’s been a fun day in the sports world…
On the grass of Wimbledon, Ms. Sharapova got beat today by a woman ranked #154 in the world. On her heels, Andy Roddick gets bumped from the men’s draw. Everyone loves an upset, but there had to be a special pleasure for some viewers as (yesterday) Novak Djokovic was defeated by Marat Safin. I highlight this result because it was less than a week ago when Djokovic was publicly commenting that Roger Federer was losing a step to the rest of the pack, and that people like himself were nipping at his heels as he looks to win his 6th straight Wimbledon title. I like your spirit, Novak, but I believe there’s some pervading principle of nature that says, “When you open your yapper, that’s about the time things come falling down.” But now you know, I suppose.
The NBA draft went today. Honestly, I don’t know anyone’s name after the top five picks, so I don’t really care. BUT, on the eve of the draft, Raptors’ GM Bryan Colangelo pieced together a deal that turns unwanted PG T.J. Ford, Nesterovic, a guy I don’t know, and a draft pick into Jermaine O’Neal. Critics will say that O’Neal’s got injury issues. And they’d be right. But if he can rehab with a top expert into anything like he used to be, this will be one THE deals of the coming year. Get that knee back to 100%, Jermaine, or you’ll have the eyes of the whole North, strong and free, glaring at you. I mean, at least the eyes of the dozen of us that watch basketball.
On the futbol pitches of Europe, the last couple days have made for excitement. This tournament has actually made for very exciting story lines. Lots of upsets and surprises. But when all is said and done, it’ll come down to Spain and Germany. And if you’d picked that as the final before games began, no one would have laughed. I joined the Turkey bandwagon upon their shocker over the Czechs, but Germany was just a bit much. Honestly, I won’t even watch the final. But soccer fans have a good match awaiting.
The CFL season started tonight. TSN even had a lovely double-header to get things rolling. My boys don’t get going until Saturday, but my day off today allowed me to catch a bit of their practice. Pre-season served its purposes, but now it’s go-time. It says here that we’ll be 1-0 on Saturday night. If you’re a casual fan (or simply haven’t a chance to follow much of training camp and pre-season), then learn these names: Adarius Bowman, Weston Dressler, Leron Mitchell, Anton McKenzie, Renaud Williams, Stu Foord, and Denetay Heard, Steven Jyles, and Rob Bagg to name a few. Hopefully, all those guys make names for themselves in all the right ways!
The guys are under-achieving (again), and Cito’s back to see if there’s any magic left. If they can get a hot July streak going (which they often do), then maybe some will start jumping back on the wagon. Lead the charge, Mr. Gaston.