Super Suits

A couple of days ago, Paul Beidermann of Germany defeated Michael Phelps in the 200 free at the FINA World Championships. The German swimmer was wearing a new bodysuit that proved to be an improvement over the Speedo LZR Racer that was in the news during the Bejing 2008 Olympics. When Beidermann was interviewed at the end, he also credited the suit and said that one day he hopes to beat Phelps without it. So basically, he admitted that he would've lost if not for the suit. In my opinion, I think these suits should be banned. It's taking something away from the skills competition. It's no different than using cork bats in baseball... an upgrade to the equipment and not an improvement in physical ability. It goes against everything an athlete should be. For the serious games like world championships and Olympics, the swimmers should just wear normal swimming trunks. No super power allowed!

On a side note, Phelps redeemed himself the next day by breaking the world record at the 200 fly. That was his 34th world record... just one more thing to add to his impressive resume.

Related Links: FINA, Speedo LZR Racer

Beers at the White House (Part 2)

People's President


It's pretty obvious that this whole incident received way too much attention for its importance in the grand scheme of things, but Obama's gesture to have a beer with 2 regular guys showed signs that he's in touch with the people he leads. It also shows that every little thing is important to him. A short afternoon beer is good enough for two strangers to get to know each other a little better and possibly become friends in the future. What a great move by the President! He's exactly the right guy we need in the White House... a peacemaker who's in touch with reality and cares about making things right. Peace between 2 people at any level is an accomplishment and is priceless. One has to start small in order to be successful in the bigger picture.

If you missed my opposite opinion post, click here. Let me know which one you agree with.

The Rays

Taking 2 of 3 from the Rays is just as a good as a sweep in my book. This is a team that tends to beat the leagues top teams and have always given the Yankees a hard time. Game 1 on Monday was a rout... 11-4 behind an impressive AJ Burnett. He's been on fire since his embarrassing outing against the Sox. Hopefully he keeps this up for the next Boston series because those are the games that stay in Yankee fans' memories. Game 2 was a 6-2 loss with an off day for CC. But the Rays are a great team, so I'll give them credit there. They've been on the winning end lately as well, also staging several walk-offs and comebacks. last night's game was a 6-2 win with another dominant win by Joba. It would've been a shutout if Bruney didn't blow it again. Naturally, Ghirardi brought in Mariano to save the day.

Papi
On a side note, news about David Ortiz's steroid use just made it into the news today. I've been saying he was a steroid user for years now! Nice to know my "big-head" test works. Schilling is next... you'll see!

Beers at White House (Part 1)

Intro.
As everyone knows, Pres. Obama hosted an afternoon beer with Prof. Henry Gates and Sgt. James Crowley to make up for a comment he made a couple of weeks ago about how Crowley "acted stupidly" when he arrested Gates for trying to break into his own house. I'm not sure what to think of all this, so I'm going to post 2 opposite opinions about it, starting with the negative first.

Sword of Azrael: 3 Stooges
The whole arrest was just a comedy of errors by a bunch of morons. I'll start with the brilliant Prof. Gates, who probably made the most mistakes of the 3. First, he got locked out of his house. OK... that can happen to anyone. Keys can get lost. But is breaking in really the best option? What about making a phone call? Got friendly neighbors? Strike 1! Then when he actually got arrested, he immediately played the race card. Strike 2! Then over something like this, he involved the President of the US rather than local gov't. Was it really worth wasting the President's time? He's trying to achieve world peace. Leave him alone. Strike 3!

Then there's Sgt. Crowley. The arrest was a little extreme (unless of course Gates resisted or refused to show ID). All he needed to do was check for ID and match the face with the address to verify it was Gates' home.

Obama kind of got dragged into it because it made the news. His first mistake was paying attention to it. Then only hearing one side of the story said Crowley "acted stupidly." This incident ended up receiving more publicity than his recent visit to China! Obama needs to get his priorities straight. He holds arguable the most powerful position in the world and he's wasting time with this did-not-did-so fight!

Subway Tales: Staff Cuts

The MTA will be facing more budget cuts. The next to go will be the cleaning people. So trains that are already filthy will get even worse... unless the staff members they keep aboard can step up their game. Here's the thing... many MTA staff members are just bumming around or not 100% busy. It's another flaw in American work ethics. If someone is hired to do one task, he/she will stick to that task and never volunteer to do (and learn) something else. Here's an example. Let's say there's a station with a staffed booth (1 person), 4 MetroCard machines and 1 cleaning person. What if they just fire both staff members and hire a person that can do both. During rush hour, he/she would man the booth and help customers. When things slow down, he/she could go off to do cleaning while the 4 machines handle the sales. The MTA would save an entire salaried employee and not suffer a major service change. I often see booth employees standing around, doing nothing... even during rush hour because more people use the machines. I pass by one of them every day. The guy isn't even sitting in the booth most of the time!

Obviously, there's more of a need to keep the system clean than to man the booths. Here's another thought. They should cut more booth people and replace with machines. And maybe upgrade the cleaning people. Equip them with cellphones so they can call the cops if they need to and hire more knowledgeable people so they could help customers with questions.

As long as the one-track mentality sticks around, the system will keep getting worse. Since we're in a recession, it shouldn't be hard to do a complete rebuilding of staff. Seriously screen everyone and fire the one-track people. Then hire more multi-talented people. Since many NYers are out of a job, they won't be looking for a riduculous salary and will work extra hard because of the competition.

Children of the Gods (Final Cut)

It's been a while since I posted a Stargate entry. It's been kind of a dry subject since it's not currently playing, but they manage to keep the product alive by releasing movies. Th latest is a recut of the original pilot, Children of the Gods. I already thought the original was really good, but there's always room for improvement for a film shot back in 1997!

Unlike most director's cuts, Children of the Gods is more subtle... and I think it's also shorter. Director Brad Wright went back to correct a lot of continuity errors... just little things many people wouldn't notice. For example, in the original cut, Apophis enters the Stargate on Earth and then goes back the same way without the gate shutting down and redialing. According to rules established in a later episode, wormholes were supposed to be one way. Apophis should've been disintegrated! He also removed extraneous lines that either setup later episodes or didn't make sense, giving it a more of a movie-like feel.

Some of the more extreme refinements included special fx scenes... new 3-D models and a much better death glider sequence at the end. While I don't think this was extravagant enough to warrant a DVD release, I think any diehard Stargate fan would still want their hands on it. I wish they integrated the scenes from a later season where they went back and remade the prison scene, but from Teal'c & Brata'c's point of view... on the other side of the cell door. I think that scene would've strengthened Teal'c's cause for switching sides.

Hughes is the New Joba

Yesterday's game was another example of the repurposed Phil Hughes. He was groomed to be one of the top men in the rotation, but has been inconsistent over the past year. He's had a handful of strong starts, many bad ones, some good relief appearances and a trip to the minors. But the organization refused to deal him away for anyone. They even turned down Santana, the league's best pitcher. I still think that was bone-headed, but some of the Yankees' decision is beginning to show. Hughes has found a nice comfortable spot being the setup man for Rivera. He's been lights-out of late... basically how Joba was before he became a starter. With a solid 8th inning guy, I have a lot more confidence in the bullpen. Aceves has also been pretty good. If these 2 guys can stay consistent, the Yankees could go back to when they had Quantrill, Gordon & Rivera. Back then, they only had to play 6 innings!

3 of 4... Not Bad

Another series, but not another sweep. The Yankees won 3 out of 4 against the A's. I'll certainly take that, especially considering the team hasn't really rested much over the past couple of weeks. On Thursday, they won 6-3 in an unusually timed rain delay game. They had to get the game in because it was a makeup game from earlier in the season. So they actually played a West Coast timed game starting at 9:49pm. CC had another good outing assisted by Posada & Tex's bats. Friday's 8-3 win featured a strong 2-hit performance by Joba. On Saturday, Pettitte was looking great, holding a shutout 'til the 7th inning. He was hit bad, gave up 5 runs and the lead. The Yankees nearly came back though and given the past month, I thought they would. But I guess they can't win EVERY game! Today's game was a coach's win. After a shaky start from newbie, Mitre and ineffective relief from Coke, the Yankees played a close game that required a lot of chess moves by Ghirardi. He put Hughes in there for a solid inning and a third. Then Bruney came in for one batter and Rivera finished it off.

The most important thing about this stretch after the All-Star break is that many of these games were close ones... often decided by one or two runs. They had playoff-like circumstances, which is important for the team, especially the younger players.

New York Burger Co.

* All Natural * Just Pure Simple Beef *

Location: 678 6th Avenue (btw 21st & 22nd St.)
Cuisine: Burgers, Organic
Phone: 212-229-1404
Website: www.newyorkburgerco.com
Prices: About $13 per person
Credit Cards: All major

Food: 9
Service: 5
Value: 8
Environment: 6

Visits: 10+ (eat-in & takeout)

I thought I'd post an update to New York Burger Co. because I've gone there countless times since my last post about it. All stats remained the same since my original review from almost 2 years ago. So they've been consistently good. I've had every burger on the menu except the turkey. What puts this restaurant above all other burger joints is the meat. It's the best I've ever had and has more of a steak-like taste than ground beef.

It's worth getting the full combo if you're eating in. It's an additional $3.50 for an order of sweet potato fries & a drink. Sweet potato fries are already pretty rare. Only a handful of diners in the city carry it. The order is about the same size as a McDonald's medium and there are 10-12 original dipping sauces you could try out. I've had honey mustard, chipotle, NY Burger Co., curry mango & chili pepper ketchup. So even the side dishes are great.

Shaq Vs.???

Supposedly, there's going to be a reality TV series called Shaq Vs. where the overweight center takes on other star athletes at their won sport. One of the episodes includes a swimming competition against Olympic superstar, Michael Phelps. That sounds ridiculous to me. How can he possibly beat Michael Phelps in any type of swimming competition? There would have to be some serious handicapping implemented on the half man/half dolphin. Maybe Phelps will race with one leg and no arms... and has to move in reverse! In other episodes, Shaq will try to outbox Oscar de la Hoya, outslug Albert Pujols and cover more ground than Serena Williams. It should be interesting though. I want to see how creative they get with it because if NBA teams blow by this guy with speed, how will he beat these athletes out of his element?

Bruney Blows, Mo Saves

OK... I just finished with the replay. Basically, AJ Burnett pitched a great game, giving up just 2 runs. One of the runs was on a wild pitch strike out. He was backed by solid Yankees offense that got off to a quick start with a leadoff double by Jeter in the first. They would go on to score 4 in that inning. Posada homered in the 3rd for the 5th run and then doubled in the 8th to get A-Rod home. It wasn't over yet as Bruney nearly blew it. He came in for the 9th inning and gave up back-to-back homers.

Here's what I don't get... the announcers, both on YES and WCBS speak so highly of him, yet he hasn't proven anything yet. When the Yankees were losing, they would say "wait 'til Bruney gets back" as if he's Mariano Rivera. He hasn't done anything spectacular this year or last. What's the big deal? I think some of this got to his head to. Just before that last series with the Mets, Bruney was talking crap about K-Rod... about how he didn't like his fist pumping and celebrating after a strikeout or save. Who is he to challenge one of the best closers in the league?

I just had to get that off my chest. Bruney needs to lower his ego if he wants to help the bullpen. So anyway, the game ended with Rivera coming in to save the day and secure the win.

Another Sweep

Today, the Yankees completed another series sweep by taking the 3rd game against the Orioles, a team that has has success against us. The 1st game on Monday was yet another pitcher's duel and dramatic thriller. Pettitte, who has been shaky pitched the best game of his season, only allowing a run in the first. Hernandez of the O's did an even better job, holding a shutout game. None of the Yankees seemed like they were having any luck. Then Matsui came up in the 9th and earned his cream pie with a walk-off home run. That was the 9th walk-off win of the season for the team... enough to for me to confidently say that the Yankees are back! I'm talking about the Yankees from 2000-2003 that were good at come-from-behind victories. Back then, I felt they would win games when they were down by a few runs in the 9th. I haven't felt that in years. Matsui wasn't the only hero though. To get out of the eight, Tex mad an amazing throw followed by an amazing Molina tag to save a run at the plate. Immediately after that, there was a wild pitch, but Molina made another amazing play to Coke at the plate to end the inning. A sequence like that must've charged the offense... you just don't lose a game where you make plays like that!

Game 2 debuted Sergio Mitre, the new starter that's taking the place of the injured Chien Ming Wang. He did pretty good, giving up 3 runs in 6 innings. That's pretty solid for the #5 spot in the rotation and for someone who was just brought up from the minors. The Yankees Offense pumped out 6 runs, more than enough for their 5th straight victory. The Red Sox lost again... their 4th after the break, which allowed the Yankees to take over 1st place!

Game 3 today, was a daytime game, so I didn't actually see it. They won 6-4 just like last night. I'm going to watch a replay on MLB.com and will post comments if anything of note comes up. 6 in a row and counting!

Sueños

Location: 311 W. 17th St. (near 8th Ave.)
Cuisine: Mexican, Organic
Hours: Sun 5pm-10pm; Mon CLOSED; Tue-Thu 5pm-11pm; Fri-Sat 5pm-12am
Phone: (212) 243-1333
Website: www.suenosnyc.com
Prices: About $30 per person
Credit Cards: All major

Food: 8
Service: 8
Value: 4
Environment: 8

Visits: 1

As I waited for my friends to arrive at Sueños, I noticed that a lot of people were walking in. It's located in a quiet neighborhood with a park across the street, Energy Kitchen to the left and all apartment buildings to the right. I figured it must be a good restaurant if all these people were coming from other places and finding it. I then looked at the menu and found a couple of options. They don't have a huge menu, but all of the items look tempting. They even have a few organic choices, which is much appreciated by me! I also read an article on the window about the head chef/owner, Sue Torres. She has an impressive resume and has competed on Iron Chef.

The food was very good overall. I ordered the organic chicken enchiladas with salsa verde. The shredded chicken was lean and tender and it had just the right amount of sauce. The salsa verde was spicy, but not overwhelming. Sharon ordered the same thing, but with salsa ranchera. Jean had the grilled salmon, which was dressed with avocado, mango, tomatillo, lime and serrano. I normally think of salmon as generic everyday food, but that combination of fruits added a lot of personality to it. We all enjoyed the meal very much.

Service was good and the restaurant was well maintained. The space was small, but the furniture and layout gave each table a good sense of privacy. It was very comfortable to be there. I gave the value a 4 because I thought the prices were a little too high... especially for Mexican food and for the the portion size. Still, I wouldn't mind eating there once in a while on special occasions. It's just not an everyday dinner place.

A Good Start

Coming out of the All-Star Break, the Yankees got off on the right foot by sweeping the Detroit Tigers over the weekend. I didn't actually see this game visually since I was at FNF, but I was following it on my cellphone during the boxing matches. It was an exciting come-from-behind victory as they batted around in the 7th. I nearly made it home in time for the end of the game because there was a 1 hr rain delay.

CC was solid on Saturday, pitching shutout ball for 7 innings. Aceves gave up a run, but was pretty good overall as he completed the 8th. Mo naturally got the save.

Sunday featured another pitcher's duel. This time, it was Joba with a solid start to bounce back from the terrible first half of the season. He looked like the bullpen Joba from last year, striking and popping out his opponents. He got into a jam in the 5th, but was composed enough to get out of it. He gave up one homer, but A-Rod tied it with one of his own. Tex slammed the game winner. The Sox lost their game, putting the Yankees behind by 1 game.

While this sweep looks great, the Yankees need to keep focused and continue to win series. They need to do this so they could be prepared to play the Red Sox. That's the only team that matters. Playing everyone else is just practice to work up to the Sox.

Office Lingo: Sandbag

We had a request come up that required a major configuration change to one of the servers. I was just talking about it casually with Frank and it looked like it was going to involve Harry, who was in charge of the firewall. Harry works by the book, so we can't just walk up to him and explain the project. So Frank says, "let me send him a nice business email... I don't want to sandbag him!" I love that term! That's exactly what it's like when a colleague throws something at you unexpectedly. I'll be working on something and concentrating, then someone will come into my office in a panic and start requesting things... just like walking in a tossing a sandbag to me!

Tech Deals of the Week (7/19-7/25)

Flash Sales
Over the past few weeks, flash drive prices have either remained the same or gone up by a little. I'm now seeing a lot of 8 GB models for over $24. It's best to go for the 16's at this point as they tend to be steady at $40.
- 8 GB SanDisk @ ST for $19.99
- 16 GB SanDisk @ ST for $39.99
- 16 GB Ativa @ OD for $39.99
- 32 GB SanDisk @ OD for $79.99

LCD Sales
Not all prices are bad news during the recession. While flash drives are up a little, monitors keep getting cheaper. 19" LCDs are $99 or lower and 22" LCDs are $150 or lower on sale. I see these prices all the time.
- 25" I-Inc 16:9 model @ CU for $199.99 [click here]
- 20" Asus 16:9 model @ DI for $124.99 [click here]

Friday Night Fights

Friday Night Fights Results

Here are the full results from last night's boxing event:

- Carl Garcia def Gary Giamo (unanimous dec. - 3rd rd.)
- Greg Lachaga def Matt Bonaventure (split dec. - 3rd rd.)
- Lasheem Richardson def Rolondao Chinea (unanimous dec. - 3rd rd.)
- Tim Amorim def Shawn Steen (unanimous dec. - 3rd rd.)
- Kevin McCormack def Jesse Jagna (unanimous dec. - 3rd rd.)
- Gary Berriguette def Steven Mandolfo (stopped by ref. - 2nd rd.)
- Simon Marcus def Dwight Grant (TKO - 2nd rd.)
- Ognjen Topic def Tony Manohoran (unanimous dec. - 5th rd.)
- Florina Petcu def Genesis Bravo (unanimous dec. - 3rd rd.)
- Chris Kwiatkowski def Jeff Ciervo (unanimous dec. - 3rd rd.)
- Sacha Hijazi def Anthony Ford (TKO - 1st Rd.)
- Justin Greskiewicz def Ben Yelle (unanimous dec. - 5th rd.)

Pictures & full analysis coming soon!

Subway Tales: Report Card

The subway ratings were released today and the 7 train is a winner again, securing one of the most scheduled services and best overall line in the system. It's not a surprise that it scored high since the 7 line has the most employees doing the maintenance and has a dedicate manager. The L, which also did well is the only other line that has a dedicated manager. The good news is the MTA is planning to expand this program out to the other lines.

Most Scheduled: 6, 7, 1
I ride all three of these lines pretty frequently and totally agree. The 6 comes all the time... about every 2 minutes. It almost makes the 4 & 5 express look slow. The 7 is very consistent. When there are delays, it's bad because there's no other line to switch to, but that happens less often than other lines. The 1 is also pretty frequent although they still come 2 at a time with a long wait after the 2nd one.

Least Scheduled: M, C, W
I never ride the M, so I can't comment on that. The C is pathetic... you can wait more than 20 min for during the evening rush! The W is the worst of the yellow line. A friend of mine told me an easy way to remember the yellow line by... Q = quick, N = normal, R = retarded, W = worst.

Least Crowded: V, Q, B
I never really ride the Q, so I can't comment on that. I ride the V & B all the time, but only for a few stops. I never sit down, but there are always several empty seats per car. If you want to trade speed for comfort, take the V instead of E.

Most Crowded: L, 4, N
I never really ride the L, so I can't comment on that. The 4 truly is one of the most crowded. I often take the 6 just because of frequency and comfort. I haven't noticed the crowds on the N though.

Something I don't get is... if the 7 consistently scores high with its riders, why doesn't the MTA reward it with something? The 7 uses the oldest cars in the line. It was the last to scrap the Redbird models and just took the older silver cars from the IRT lines, while those lines got the shiny new R142's

Related Links: MTA, Wikipedia

N270 Lives On... and On!

I keep reading about computers being released and it seems like manufacturers are still milking the Atom N270 processor. There are new netbooks, desktops, all-in-ones and media centers using it! Meanwhile Asus is moving on with the N280. The Eee PC 1000 HE continues to be one of the best as every other manufacturer is releasing newer and more underpowered systems. Asus also released the Eee PC 1008 HA, which takes advantage of their new, thin "seashell" case. It has all the same specs as the 1000 HE, but a lighter case. If you're buying a netbook now, this is the one to go for.

Baseball Update

I'm still watching baseball and haven't missed a Yankees game yet. I've just been lazy about the posts. So I'm going to try to get back into it and the All-Star break is a good time. The Yankees are looking OK at the halfway mark even though they entered the break after an Angels' sweep. They're just 3 games back from the 1st place Red Sox. AJ & CC are looking good. The offense is OK and the bullpen is not bad. A-Rod hasn't lost power, but needs to get his average up. Wang is looking better but needs to work back up to being unhittable again.

Do I think there's hope of a Subway Series this year... probably not. The Yankees need to improve a lot despite being a few games back. They can go on streaks, sweeps and blow teams out, but they're not going to get past the ALCS unless they can find a way to beat the Red Sox. The Mets have a chance because they're in a bad division. Despite the poor first half, they're just 6 games back from the erratic Phillies. The Mets just need to get over a September collapse. The Phillies are serious about defending their championship. They just signed Pedro Martinez to add to their bullpen.

MX Revolution @ BB for $39.99

There weren't many good deals this week... or for the past couple of weeks actually! But this one item is worth mentioning because it never gets this low in price. The last time I saw the best desktop mouse ever created was on Black Friday. It's a laser mouse with a lot of buttons and functions. It's also one of the rare rechargeable models. Most wireless mice use AA or AAA batteries, which are a hassle to constantly replace. The MX Revolution is comfortable and efficient. The retail price is $99 and it's been listed at that price for years. It occasionally goes on sale for $79, so this is a real steal!

Operator

I sit next to this very loud salesperson, so there's no way to avoid overhearing every phone conversation he's involved in. He's been working here a few years, so one would think he's used to dialing internal extensions... maybe even have a few frequent numbers memorized. Nope! Every time he picks up the phone to call our CA office, he asks for the operator. So he's dialing the full main number instead of a 4-digit extension. And he's sitting around listening to hold music instead of being connected directly. He does this all the time, asking for the same handful of colleagues! I don't get it. Has he ever heard of extensions? Every office in NYC has a system! When it's after hours, he still calls the operator and has to use voice commands to navigate through the menus. So much efficiency lost!

Evolution 17 (Australia)

Super 8 Tournament
August 29, 2009 @ 19:00


The upcoming Evolution event could be one of the best ever. It's an 8-man tournament and it has an all-star lineup with...

1) John Wayne Parr
2) Dzhabar Askerov
3) Soren Monkongtong
4) Cosmo Alexandre (I guess his leg isn't broken)
5) Eli Madagan
6) Bruce Macfie
7) Boom Boom?
8) Wildcard

Since it's an elimination tournament, the winner and runner-up will have fought 3 matches.

Champion of Champions (BPP/JWP)

The main event of the night was John Wayne Parr vs. Buakaw III. JWP came in looking good. He was still in the same great shape as the Zambidis fight. Buakaw looked like his invincible self as usual. Although this was their 3rd meeting, it was only their first real Muay Thai match as the previous 2 were K-1. It turned out to be an amazing show as it went the distance with lots of good exchanges. Buakaw won the unanimous decision. I thought JWP's advantages would be his experience with Muay Thai rules as Buakaw has been in K-1 for several years straight. Also, I thought Buakaw would run out of energy because I've seen him pretty winded in the shorter K-1 fights at the end. But he was great at adjusting and going back to his roots.

I read a lot of message board posts and many are biased, saying JWP should've won or it was a draw. I'm a huge JWP fan, but this one went to BPP. Though both fighters looked good after the match, BPP was more active, got more hits and clinches. JWP won a couple of the rounds in my book, so overall, it was still a close match. Because he's the greatest sportsman in Muay Thai, JWP naturally showered Buakaw with compliments after. He was also the first to admit he lost.

Click here for the breakdown, straight from JWP himself.

Champion of Champions (Yod)

Some of the fights from Champion of Champions 2 in Jamaica were posted on the boards already, so I got a chance to watch a few. I'll start with Yodsaenklai Fairtex def. Cosmo Alexandre in this post.

I knew Yodsaenklai would win this fight. Originally, he was supposed to fight Artem Levin, which he would've won anyway. There's just no competition out there for him. John Wayne Parr comes close and Buakaw could possible beat him, but I can't think of anyone else in his weight class. This match against Cosmo Alexandre looked like his fight against Preacher in Contender Asia, only worse. Alexandre didn't do much of anything. He just stodd there and tried to go on defense, but his blocks were too stiff. Yod easily found the holes each time and also threw his killer left roundhouse. It wasn't hard to foresee a KO by leg injury and it happened in Round 4.

Another Wimbledon Classic

Andy Roddick looked great today, especially starting out. His serve was on target and I though he was going to win it, but he had to do it in straight sets. Federer is the champ and with find a way to win if it lasts too long. That's exactly what happened as he won his 15th championship 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14. Roddick took the first set. The 2nd set was the difference. Roddick had a comfortable lead in the tiebreak, but Federer came back from 4 down. The 3rd was close again, with another tiebreak going to the champ. Roddick came back strong in the 4th. The 5th was the longest and most amazing set in Wimbledon history. Both players were so evenly matched that I thought it would go on forever. Federer had a slight edge, but I was hoping Andy would pull it off. Federer was winning his games easily while Roddick had to labor through his. Even so, he was able to drag it out because Federer had a hard time figuring out his serve.

Federer now stands alone as the greatest of all-time with his 15 championships, surpassing Pete Sampras' 14. Roddick will probably look back at that 2nd set for this loss, but he has nothing to be ashamed of. It was the greatest match of his career and one of the best ever... right up there with last year's final. If he keeps up that level of play, he should be able to get that #3 spot he once had. His serve is second to none, the rocket forehand is back and I felt a lot more confidence in his backhand. He just needs to be able to adjust his power a bit more.

Note: Just a quick corection... the Williams sisters actually played their doubles final on the same day they faced each other and won. Just like last year, they ended up cleaning house... singles championship, singles runner-up and doubles final. Amazing endurance!

Handing Over

It's the 4th of July and an American was guaranteed to win the Wimbledon Finals. This time, it was Serena who looked better. Her marathon semi didn't affect her at all as she was able to defeat her older sister and defending Wimbledon champ, Venus 7-6 (3), 6-2. I was surprised at this match because Venus was having an easy time on the grass court through all of her matches. She hadn't dropped a set. The first set was close, but Serena clearly looked better in the 2nd set with her strong serve. Not only did Serena win the tournament, but she's also ahead by 1 in the sibling rivalry! But they have to be family again as they're up for the doubles final tomorrow.

Wimbledon Semis

Ladies
Serena had a nice marathon match with Dementieva... almost 3 hours. That's super long for a best-of-3 match! She won a close one 6-7 (4), 7-5, 8-6. Venus has the opposite experience in her semi against Safina... less than an hour for a dominating 6-1, 6-0 win. I was surprised by that one because of the way Safina has been playing over the past year. So the 2 American sisters will fittingly face each other on July 4!

Gentlemen
No surprise in the Federer semi... he beat Tommy Haas 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-3. He looked a bit casual in the first set as it was close and went back and forth a lot, Haas was slightly one step ahead with each game, but Federer forced the tiebreak and turned it on then. Roddick won the battle of the Andys, beating the hometown favorite 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (5). As with the rest of the tournament, he blew a lot of aces by his opponent... 21 this time. So this sets up a Federer/Roddick final on Sunday. Federer pretty much has Roddick's number, but there have been a number of close ones between the 2. I think if Roddick's serve is on target, he has a good chance.

Pistons Win

The worst possible thing happened to the Bulls today. They let their best player, Ben Gordon sign with the Pistons... 5 years, $55 million. He gets reunited with his UConn teammate Charlie Villanueva who also signed with the Bull's division rival. So in one move, the Pistons got a lot better and the Bulls got a lot worse. This is more than just Gordon contributing his scoring to the Pistons. It means he's going to torch the Bulls 4 times a year!

It's not really official yet... as in nothing was signed, but just knowing that the Bulls front office is cheap means Gordon was as good as gone weeks ago. After Jordan and Pippen left, the Bulls have been struggling to rebuild. They did so in erratic fashion, going through great draft picks. These young stars weren't given the chance to grow with the organization and were traded after a few years. Imagine the team they'd be if they built around Elton Brand. They just made another mistake not building around Gordon.

Sword of Azrael: The Media

The media has been painting a bad picture of Michael Jackson for the past several years. All of a sudden, when he dies, every piece of news coming out is just so overly good... no controversy at all. I can't believe these leeches could fill up so much air time and newspaper space with such insincerity. The media is a leech that's capitalizing on Jackson's life. While he was alive, they looked at every little thing he did and tried to turn it into something negative. And now they're flip flopping after his death? I'm not a huge MJ fan, but just wanted to point out the parasitic nature of the media.