After a week away that saw little sunburn...hearbreak...heartburn or sunbreak...:
He'll always have Paris...Roger Federer had already punched his ticket to tennis immortality--now he simply sits up in first class with a better view. Federer's French Open finals triumph over Robin Soderling gives him 14 major championships--tying him with Pete Sampras--but the magnitude of the win is it gives Federer a career grandslam that only five others have accomplished (although Rafael Nadal needs just the US to join the group).
Tennis in the open era is dominated by specialists: hardcourt (US Open), grass (Wimbledon), clay (French) and being in shape after Christmas (Australian). It's very tough to succeed on one surface--let alone three--especially against specialists whose games are tailored to those respective surfaces (Gustavo Kuerten and Pat Cash, anyone?). There have been plenty of great players over the years who have won 5+ majors while dominating the game--but each has had an Achilles heel: Bjorn Borg somehow could never win on the hard stuff while Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander saw their unbridled dominance come under control on grass. Clay has been the biggest humbler of great players: John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker and Pete Sampras could never maximize their abilities at the French Open...and for Federer to break through puts him on a higher plane (Andre Agassi's Achilles heel? Barbra Streisand--but that's for another day).
"Calvin Crown" gets the (Summer) Bird...while on milestone was met--another bid came up short as Summer Bird raced past Mine that Bird at the Belmont Stakes...Calvin Borel's bid to become the first jockey to capture a triple crown while on two horses (I guess akin to winning baseball's triple crown while spending part of the season with a different team) had legs...but not enough to last the full length at Belmont. It's a shame Rachel Alexandra didn't run in either the Derby or the Belmont--and once again I'll push for the Preakness in June and the Belmont in July to allow the elite horses to heal and regroup for another run.
Skins offseason hits OTA gear--again. Sometimes it seems the preparing for preparation takes longer than the actual season they're preparing for. Notable developments include defensive back LaRon Landry absent...Jason Campbell regrouping and both lines works in progress. I'll be out at Redskins Park in Ashburn later this week--stay tuned for my impressions (or at least my impressions of what they tell me).
No Salvation for Saint... Nationals Manager Manny Acta is officially on the clock with last week's firing of pitching coach Randy St. Claire. The team owns the worst record and ERA in the bigs while the bullpen has been butchered on a regular basis...despite revamping the relief corps and re-writing roles all season. Acta has been a solid manager in DC with the material (or lack thereof) he's been given...and he'll likely have no trouble finding employment elsewhere...but conventional wisdom is that there needs to be somewhat of a turnaround--or he'll be turned out.
Break up the Mystics! A 2-0 start has women's basketball fans wondering what exactly is going on here? My interest in following this team is a player I covered for four years while she shined at Maryland--rookie Marissa Coleman. The guard/forward possesses all the tools to succeed as a pro--and has a game that translates better than any of her former Terp teammates to the WNBA. As she's been brought off the bench the first weekend, it looks as though the Mystics are bringing her along surely if slowly. With an increasingly crowded sports marketplace (Washington Freedom, anyone?), women's hoops needs whatever edge it can get--and a winning team led by a dynamic local standout might just be what's needed...by the way has anyone seen Byron Leftwich?
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