The Sports Rumors

Today’s Rundown 9/10

*Roger Federer has closed the gap in Grand Slam Final victories to two behind Pete Sampras, who has 14. Federer won the U.S. Open for the fourth straight time, becoming the first to do so. Details on the match as well as perspective can be read on the new page titled “Colin’s Corner“. He was at the U.S. Open Sunday.

*More fallout from the Florida Pharmacy-Rick Ankiel mess. Baltimore Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons has been linked to the pharmacy and allegedly purchased steroids and HGH, both of which are banned by the MLB. According to SI.com,

“Between October 2003 and July 2005, Gibbons got six shipments of Genotropin (a brand name for synthetic human growth hormone), two shipments of testosterone and two shipments of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), SI.com said, citing a source in Florida with knowledge of a Signature Pharmacy client list.”

*Chien-Ming Wang got his 18^th win of the season as the Yankees completed their sweep of the Kansas City Royals, extending their wild card lead to 4 games over Detroit and 5 games over Seattle. Oh, some guy named Alex Rodriguez belted his 51^st and 52^nd homers of the season also.

*Michigan senior runningback Mike Hart has guaranteed a victory against rival Notre Dame next week. Both teams will square off for what has to be the most hyped 0-2 vs. 0-2 matchup in college football history. When Michigan Head Coach Lloyd Carr was told about the comments and the guarantee Hart made, he had this to say:

“I’m not surprised by anything Mike Hart says,” Carr said, according to the Free Press. “Do I like it? He said it, and he’s got to back it up. We’ve got to back him up right now, I guess. What do you want him to say? We’re not gonna win?

Way to sound confident coach.

*Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terry Glenn will get a second opinion on his leg injury before deciding to opt for season ending surgery. Losing Glenn for the season would be a major blow to the Cowboys, as Glenn was the most productive receiver they had last season.

*I will have a full recap of week one of the NFL season at the conclusion of tonight’s two games. Look for the power rankings and the recap tomorrow. I will have my preview of the Ravens-Bengals game up shortly, with my pick vs. the spread. I’m 3/4 so far this week vs. the spread; trying to make it 4/5. Check back soon for that.

*On a serious and sad note, Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett will spend another day or two in sedation as doctors try to learn the severity and the extent of his spinal cord injury. Everett was injured and fell limp at the start of the second half during a collision with a Denver player. It is not known whether Everett will be able to walk again, so keep him and his family in your prayers.

Quick Thoughts on Federer v Nadal

Originally, I was going to write a whole column about this rivalry and break it down from all different aspects. Then I realized that I don’t know enough about tennis or it’s history to accurately paint a picture for my readers and let them know where I’m coming from. Since I base my writings off of accuracy, true knowledge and interest, I don’t want to sell people short by writing about something I don’t know enough about. So instead of a whole column, here is my opinion on the rivalry:

I think it is one of the best rivalries in sports today. I don’t think it’s on the level of Red Sox-Yankees and others because to be quite honest, not that many people tune in to tennis. However, watching that match was amazing. It was a few successful returns by Nadal away from being an upset of Federer. I do know enough about tennis to say that I think Federer, when it’s all said and done, will go down as the best to ever play the game. I do believe he will surpass Sampras’s mark of 14 Grand Slams (Federer currently has 11).

Nadal is 21, not at his prime yet and Federer is 25, at the peak of his prime. This is why I usually stay away from the debate about who is better because both players are phenomenal, but are also at different stages of their careers. It’s clear to see though that Nadal is catching up to Federer on grass while Federer still struggles on clay. “Doesn’t that make Nadal the better player then? I mean he’s catching up to Roger and he’s not even at his prime yet, like you said.” This is the argument I get from friends on this topic. My response is no, he’s not better because he hasn’t won the way, or dominated the way that Roger has. I don’t have the stat infront of me (if someone can find it and send it to me, I’d appreciate it), but I want to know what their head to head record is, and how many of the games were on clay and how many were on grass.

I heard an interesting viewpoint the other day about the rivalry and the debate about who is better. The person said that this is similar to an NBA Playoff Series in the sense that, it hasn’t really begun until someone beats someone on their homecourt. If i win my two games at home, and you win your two games at home, we’re still even and the series hasn’t started yet. But if you come into my house and beat me, then you have the upperhand and it’s on at that point. I feel its the same concept with Federer v Nadal. Until one of the two beats the other on their tourney (Wimbledon for Federer and French Open for Nadal), we don’t have a clear cut, 100% leader because they are so neck and neck.

Now that being said, my prediction is against what most people foresee. I think Roger will beat Nadal in the French Open before Nadal beats Roger in Wimbledon. When that happens, game on.

(Yeah, I’m sure they really love each other.)