Are you Ready for some Football?

-Frist off, if you didn't see the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga this Saturday, Rachel Alexandra made history in incredibly exciting fashion. She became the first filly (female horse) to ever win the Grade I Woodward. It is very rare for a filly to run against older males at all, she did so and actually beat them, securing her spot as the horse of the year...and also is going to now be widely considered one of, if not the greatest fillies of all-time. Why I really post this however is to listen to Tom Durkin give what is one of the best calls in recent sports history. Just an enthusiastic, brilliant racing call that rivals anything I have heard from a sports announcer in recent history, enjoy:

-Just got back from Buffalo, sorry that the NFL Divsional Previews have been dis-jointed if we still have any readers out there. I will be churning out all but the AFC East and NFC East throughout the rest of the day, so if you're still following, be sure to keep coming back and let's talk some football. NFC East I will be giving an extended breakdown of tomorrow morning and I'm not sure when, but the Millman will be handling the AFC East at some point.

-Tonight we have an excellent kickoff to the NFL season as the Titans head to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers. These are two teams I am a bit down on this year, but if one of these teams has a chance to be truly bad this year it is obviously the Titans. Kerry Collins, I think, should have a tougher time this year. The running game with Chris Johnson and a motivated Lendale White could be very good. Meanwhile, the biggest loss comes in the form of DT Albert Haynesworth..and I think we are going to see the Titans really struggle due to this loss (and the Redskins really improve). Hard not to side with Pittsburgh tonight.

-During Wimbledon, I made a post about an American teenager named "Melanie Oudin". Sound familiar? Unfortunately, Oudin lost last night in the US Open Quarterfinals, but she certainly made a lot of noise, upsetting three ranked opponents and becoming the youngest American woman to make the US Open Quarters since Serena won the whole thing at the same age (by the way, Cris Everett also lost in the quarters at 17, not bad company). In my post (which you can find by simply searching Oudin in our search feature) I mentioned that I was impressed and that I thought she could possibly become a top-20 player. I think she secured a top-50 or top-40 rankings with her effort here and after watching some more I still agree with that analysis. She needs to become more consistent, but the gutsy teenager has enough talent to finally get excited about an American tennis player and she should be at least somewhat of a contender over the next few years.

-Speaking of tennis, this just in: Roger Federer won a challenge. Shocking to everyone I know. Seriously, how is it that the best player of all-time really can't tell if a tennis ball is in or out? Could you imagine playing Roger in a pick-up game? The guy is the best of all-time and he's calling balls you hit 6-inches inside the line out and complaining everytime you call one of his out.

Toga Party

Went up to Saratoga yesterday. Didn't cash a single ticket. I did however, get really sloshed, and witnessed a local prominent politician entering the Trailways Bus bathroom with his girlfriend on the way back, twice.

I was going to write a piece about how people should stop killing the Pirates for their trades...but after this weekend I think most people have stopped doing so. I still think it's hilarious that people such as Michael Kay were making outlandish embellishments about what a travesty the moves were. Newsflash, the people of Pittsburgh are not crushed because they lost Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson. Both are marginal middle infielders with slick gloves that are easily replaced. Not trading them would have made no sense. Personally, I would've taken just about anything for them. They acquired a talented outfielder in Lastings Milledge and obviously have some real talent out there. Adam LaRoche is a nice player, but he's not exactly Albert Pujols and he isn't getting any younger. Honestly, I don't know enough about most of the players they acquired to say whether they did well or not, but it is so typical of the prominent sportswriters to build a storyline about a city being crushed by moving a few average major leaguers.

I'm sure everyone saw Rachel Alexandra run away with the Haskell at Monmouth yesterday. If she comes out of that well she should be pointed toward the Travers Stakes at Saratoga in late August. Could be an incredible field of horses there if everything goes as planned for a few horses...and it will surely be a zoo. I dare say as great as Rachel is, she got a perfect trip at a perfect distance in conditions which worked well for her. She will certainly be a big favorite at the Travers, but betting against her could be of value. Of course, I didn't cash a single ticket yesterday so what do I know.

Some Weekend Notes

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.