Meet the Mets, Meet the Mets, Step right up and beat the Mets.
-The Yankees are about to sweep the Mets tonight...while they have been able to hang in the race despite all of the injuries suffered (mainly thanks to the Phils terrible run of late)...they have actually fallen behind the Giants and Rockies in the Wild Card Race...and are just a half game up on the Marlins...The lineup they put out there is embarrassing...
-Off the upset of Spain, the US has finally reached a FIFA finals in the Confederations Cup, at 2 o'clock today they'll probably be beaten by the Brazilians, will be quite the story if they do manage the upset however. Spain, by the way, is about to suffer another defeat to South Africa, so I wonder if the soccer buffs think that tarnishes what a huge deal it was for the U.S. to beat them. Either way, if they somehow beat Brazil it won't matter.
-Filly sensation Rachel Alexandra, winner of The Preakness ran at Belmont in the Mother Goose Stakes, beating the other two horses by 19 1/4 lengths, setting a stakes record time in the process. This horse is unreal, she turned for the backstretch and was hand ridden just leaving the other horses to appear running in place. Many are calling for her to square off with Zanyatta..in what would be a showdown of arguably the two greatest female horses of the 21st century. Not too likely to happen, but would be a great thing for horse racing. Either way, I hope Rachel Alexandra finds her way up from Blemont to Saratoga so I can have an excuse to make a trip up there.
-Pretty stale Wimbledon without Rafa. An intriguing run being made by Lleyton Hewitt, who finds himself in the Round of 16. The most exciting thing about this tournament is that it is setting up to be Andy Roddick's best chance to win this whole thing. Making it difficult for him will be the likelihood of having to get through Andy Murray and then Federer. Quietly though Djokabitch is playing the best tennis he has in recent memory...hopefully they get a final 4 of Roddick v. Murray and Djokavic v. Federer...that is probably the only way to really get some juice back in this tournament.
-The Women's Tournament is actually shaping up with a lot of intriguing matchups. The U.S. has actually gotten a teenager into the round of 16 as Melanie Oudin defeated former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic and will now face the 11 seed Radwanska. Would be a huge upset that would set up a matchup with the winner of a very good Venus Williams / Ana Ivanovic match.
***Edit***
As Millman eluded to in his comment, the Spain / S Africa match had a wild finish in which there was goal after goal, with Spain finally winning 3-2 in the extra frame. And of course, US dropped the 0-2 halftime lead.
Melanie Oudin just dropped the first set to Radwanska after going up an early break, she got broken right back..after some gutsy holds she had a double fault and missed a couple gimmies to fall 4-6. 2-2 in the second set at this point. I got up to watch her match and I must say, her game is more impressive than I anticipated. While I'd be curious to see how she looks against some of the bigger hitters (Radwanska is not a big hitter) she actually has a pretty good serve and a big backhand..both of which are not very consistent it appears..she also has flashed some good range. Also found out she has a twin sister. Looks like they just switched over to Fed-Soderling, which I obviously won't argue with but I was enjoying watching the young American compete. Oh and here's Mel in action:
*Oudin just lost...dropped the second set 5-7, dropping her last set at love. So the question becomes, is Oudin just a flash in the pan or is she a good young prospect? Personally, I walked away from this match a lot more impressed than I expected. Even when she lost her last serve at love, it wasn't from packing it in, losing some long volleys to Radwanska. Ultimately, she proved just like most American tennis players - not nearly as consistent as the Europeans..which I think comes down to training. Bottom line is the Europeans receive superior training..it's like olympic gymnastics..I dare say however that we have not heard the last of Melanie Oudin and that she is going to become a very good female tennis player. Her upside is probably top-20 or so, she doesn't possess the potential to be a top player, but if she improves her consistency I can see her winning some tournaments and maybe even a major.
Now please Andy Roddick, get it done one-time.
