Fed Express roles on to 22nd straight slam semifinal

Odds. All the odds were stacked against Soderling when he took the court on Wednesday night against Roger Federer. Federer is the 5 time defending champion with a 38 match winning streak in Flushing Meadows. He had lost all previous 11 meetings. Hell, he had only won 1 out of 26 sets against Federer. And he was getting absolutely demolished in the first two sets.

But, somehow, the Swede showed a resolve he had not showed in his previous encounters with Federer, and a match that took only 59 minutes to complete the first two sets, he battled back in what turned out to be one of the most compelling matches of the tournament.

Federer got off to an absolutely blazing start, gliding around the court, ripping forehands and attacking the net to blitz Soderling 6-0 in the first set. Playing in extremely gusty conditions, Soderling was clearly the more affected player, leaving several balls in the middle of the court; playing tentative tennis, which is never a recipe of success against the world’s number one.

“I was quite worried going into the match, seeing how much wind was on the court, that I was actually going to hit the ball good,” said Federer. “Then all of a sudden I'm 6-Love, 1-Love up. I don't know what happened, but it's one of those days where everything kind of goes right for you.”

Federer continued to attack early in the second set, forcing 4 break points in Soderling’s first 3 service games. The Swede was able to hold off Federer, but only momentarily, as Federer clinched a break of serve at 3-2 on back to back forehand misses by Soderling. Federer held serve in the following game to consolidate the break, winning the game on a shoestring half-volley winner.

Soderling held for 3-5, but Federer showed no intention of letting Soderling back into the set, clinching the set on his 10th ace.

The third set was a tight affair throughout, with both players failing to capitalize on their chances to take control of the set. Federer had a couple chances to put away Soderling in the first game, but he wiped those away with two monster serves. Federer escaped a similar hole in the 6th game at 2-3, fighting off a pair of break points.

The set went on serve all the way to a tiebreak, and Federer appeared to have the match won, capturing the first 4 points in building up a 5-1 lead. Seemingly down and out, that’s when Soderling showed the guts and high quality tennis that helped him dethrone Nadal at Roland Garros in May. Soderling evened the score at 5-all, following three service winners and a forehand winner. Another forehand winner gave Soderling a set point. Federer saved the set point on a wicked crosscourt forehand pass, but Soderling earned another on a forehand winner. Soderling converted this time, painting the lines as Federer’s desperation attempt sailed long.

“There's not much more I could do,” said Federer. “I guess I could have taken maybe the first break point opportunity I had in the beginning of the third, and I should bring it home being up 4-Love in the breaker.
“Those are the missed chances I had. You see how quickly tennis can change around if you don't take those. I think he did well to hang in there, because it wasn't easy after what he had to go through in the first two sets.”

Soderling continued to punish the ball on both wings in the fourth set, often putting Federer on the defensive. His aggressive play earned him opportunities at Love-30 on Federer’s serve at 1-1, and a 15-30 lead at 2-2. Federer wiped away that chance, with a sevice winner, an ace and crisp angled backhand winner.

Both men continued to trade body blows from the back and each played held serve for the remainder of the 4th set to send it into another tiebreak. Both players served huge in the breaker, each totaling two aces and three other service winners. Soderling served one of those two aces to bring him to set point at 6-5 and send the crowd into a frenzy – they were just a point away from playing a 5th set… and no one would have thought that was possible after watching the first two sets. Soderling took a huge cut at set point on a 104 mph second serve from Federer, but his forehand was just wide.

Federer earned his first match point at 7-6 on a backhand error by Soderling and he finally won the match on a Soderling forehand that sailed over the baseline. The Fed Express roles on to a setting he is so familiar with – another slam semifinal.

Linescore

Federer (1)	6	6	6 (6)	7 (8)
Soderling (12)	0	3	7 (8)	6 (6)

Federer survives Hewitt scare, wins 37th consecutive match at Open

Playing against a long-time rival that he’s been battling since his youth, Federer overcame a sluggish first set to defeat former US Open champion Lleyton Hewitt, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

The five time defending champion made 59 unforced errors (compared to 51 winners) and only converted 54% of his first serves, well below his season average of 62%. But when push came to shove, Federer shoved back to advance to the 4^th round of the Open for the 7^th consecutive year.

Hewitt came into the match with nothing to lose, having lost his previous 13 matches to Federer, and he played with that kind of spirit in the first set, taking it 6-4. Federer was extremely rusty in the first set, making 23 unforced errors and doing a poor job at the net (4 for 11). Hewitt served extremely well on his serve in the first couple of sets, but it really let him down in the last two, serving well under 50%.

The second set was routine for Federer, breaking Hewitt in the 4^th game and saving the only break point against his serve in the final game of the set.

Hewitt did not go away, immediately pressuring Federer with 4 break point chances in Federer’s first two service games of the third set. But when Hewitt did not capitalize on any of those break point opportunities, he began to show visual frustration for the first time in the match. He was able to fight off two break points at 4-4, but he could not fend off Federer in the 11^th game, as Hewitt was broken on forehand that sailed well over the baseline. Federer finally won the set one on of the best exchanges of the match, retrieving a Hewitt topspin lob to get back in the point, which he eventually won on a forehand pass.

The fourth set was more of the vintage Federer we are accustomed to at Flushing Meadows. Hitting his ground strokes with more depth, pace and precision, Federer broke Hewitt immediately to open the set and got the insurance break to go op 4-1. Federer would lose his serve at 5-2, but it didn’t matter. Federer held to 15 in his next service game, finally winning the match on a Hewitt mishit.

And on goes Federer, as his march for history continues.

Notes and Match Stats

· The win was Federer’s 14^th straight against Hewitt. Hewitt has not beaten Federer since 2003.

· Federer improved to 16-7 all time vs. Hewitt

· The match took 2 hrs, 33 min.

· Break Point Chances: Fed – 5/11 Hewitt – 3/14

· Winners/Unforced errors: Fed – 59/51 Hewitt – 26/37

· Net Points Won: Federer – 28 of 42 (67%) Hewitt – 22 of 32 (69%)

· Aces: Fed – 15 Hewitt – 5

Federer passes the Greul challenge, advances to 3rd round

Playing in his first match of the tournament under the bright lights, Roger Federer did not disappoint the New York crowd, serving up an array of shot-making en route to a hard fought 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 win over unseeded Simon Greul.

Federer, decked out in his slick black and red Nike attire, started the match in crisp fashion, dominating the points with his forehand to get the early break to go up 3-1. Federer would hold serve the rest of the way to easily close out the set, 6-3.

After playing a very tentative and nervous looking first set, Greul really started to relax and the results were much better. Greul was getting much more depth and pace on his shots and, believe it or not, Federer was the run doing most of the running in the second set. A particularly effective strategy was pounding Federer in the backhand to backhand exchanges, creating nice angles that pulled Federer wide, which allowed him to run around and hit his big forehand up the line.

Greul’s tactic of stepping inside the court and taking the return early nearly paid off, at 5-4 in the second set, getting him two set points. But as he’s done so often throughout his illustrious career, Federer came up with the goods when it mattered most. A service winner, followed by a lunging backhand stab volley wiped away the two set points. And, as expected, Federer regained the momentum of the match, breaking the German in the next game and closing out the set on his serve.

To his credit, Greul did not let that meltdown at the end of the second set bring down his high level of play. He broke Federer immediately in the third set to grab a 4-1 lead, and giving himself a decent chance of extending the match another set. But Federer was having none of it, breaking back on a slew of Greul unforced errors. Like he did in the second set, Federer avoided the tiebreaker by breaking his opponent in the 11th game. And although he struggled to close it out in his next service game (saving a break point), Federer emphatically finished the match with an ace.


Notes and Match Stats

• Federer extended his Open Era US Open winning streak to 36 matches
• This was only Gruel’s 9th Grand Slam match… he fell to 2-7 in those matches
• Winners/Unforced Errors: Federer – 35/27 Greul – 21/31
• Federer won 26 out of 35 Net Points

Big Papi – He’s Baaaaaaaaaack!

On a warm beautiful night in Fenway Park, Big Papi blasted a 1-0 hanging breaking ball well into the right field seats, giving the Red Sox a 3-2 win and evoking memories of years’ past. And like most of his now 10 career walkoff home runs, this one was extremely important, giving the Sox a 2.5 game lead over Texas in the Wild Card standings.

David Ortiz got off to a slow start this year – okay a historically bad slow start. Ortiz was hitting just .185 with 1 HR and 18 RBI’s. He didn’t hit his first home run till May 20th in Fenway Park – a span of 149 at bats . But those days in April and May when Ortiz couldn’t catch up to the high fastball or adjust to the breaking stuff, are long behind him. Big Papi has been playing at a near MVP caliber pace since June 1st.


Sine June 1st:

HR	Slugging %	RBI
David Ortiz 21	Kendry Morales .612	Bobby Abreu 63
Russell Branyan 20	Miguel Cabrera .578	David Ortiz 59
Carlos Pena 20	Adam Lind .575	Kendry Morales 55
Kendry Morales 19	David Ortiz .566	Russell Branyan 53
Aaron Hill 18	Hideki Matsui .563	Juan Rivera 53

Ortiz’s batting line since June 1st is .257 avg, .344 OBP, .566 slug %, with 21 home runs, 35 extra base hits in 70 games. It’s not quite the production of Big Papi circa 2003-2007, but it still ranks him as one of the best sluggers in the American League. Ortiz has been absolutely scintillating lately, with 7 home runs in his last 11 games, batting .333 and slugging .927 in those games.

The walkoff home run gives Papi his 9th with the Red Sox (breaking a tie he shared with Jimmie Foxx) and 10th overall, just two behind Babe Ruth (and 5 others) for the all time record.

The Red Sox are seeking their 3rd World Series title in the last 6 years. If they want to get to October and be a force in the playoffs, they’ll need the resurgent David Ortiz. And now that they have him back, no one looks forward to facing this team in the postseason.

Is Allen Iverson’s Career Over?

As we approach the end of August, with the NBA season looming ahead, the man that people once called the “Answer” is still searching for an NBA home.

Some may ask, how can a guy who is third all time on the NBA scoring list still be searching for a job? I’ll tell you why. He’s a cancer, he’s a coach killer, he is an immature adolescent. Allen Iverson is perhaps the epitome of the newer generation of “Me first second and third” players that have populated all of the major sports today. Iverson could get away with such antics, such as not showing up to practice and not working on his defense when he was younger and leading the league in scoring.

But now, with a fast eroding skill set and much of the same attitude and ego problems, Iverson is no longer an attractive option for a team the aspires to be a contender. Not only that, but Iverson is receiving little attention from the fringe playoff teams. For a brief moment, there was a rumor circulating around that Iverson could return to Philly.

When asked about Iverson potentially returning to Philly, 76ers General Manager Ed Stefanski all but shot the rumor down.

"Allen Iverson is a very good basketball player, but we don't see him in our plans with the age of our kids. We are going to go with youth at the point guard position, and I am sure Allen will hook on with someone."

He might as well have said, we don’t want that god damn cancer anywhere near our young talent. It says a whole lot that even teams that need help in their backcourt, don’t want any part of Iverson. Of course, Iverson dug his own grave with the complete and utter fiasco last season in Detroit.

The Iverson stint in Detroit went awry almost instantaneously. After starting the year 4-0 before Iverson played his first game in the Piston red and blue, the Pistons blew a big lead in a loss at New Jersey and were blown out at home against the defending champion Boston Celtics.

After the Iverson-Hamilton backcourt failed to show any good chemistry, the Pistons opted to move Rodney Stuckey into the starting lineup – without removing either Hamilton or Iverson (who should have been moved to the bench). The small ball tactics had some initial success, with a 7 game winning streak from December 23rd to January 4th. But, that was probably the weakest 7 game winning streak in history, with several of those victories being nail biters and against bad teams (Nets, Kings, Clippers, Bucks).

That winning streak did not mask the growing feud brewing between Iverson and Hamilton. Neither may have said anything about it publicly, but it was obvious to anyone who can read between the lines.

The conflict got worse when it was widely speculated that one of either Hamilton or Iverson would be sent to the bench, so that the struggling Pistons could play the more conventional starting lineup of two guards, two forwards and a center. Simply put, there were not enough shots to go around between two ball hogging divas and enough left over to keep everyone else happy.

Hamilton flatly denied the notion of him being the one to come off the bench. “That ain’t happening”, he said.

Well it did happen on January 20th. Hamilton was benched, Iverson was not and the team continued to play poorly, going 4-12 in that stretch. But here’s where it gets interesting. On February 27th, following a season high 8 consecutive losses, the Pistons announced that Iverson would be moved to the bench. Now in that 8th loss, Iverson strained his back and was forced out of the game in the first quarter. That is certainly an injury that can keep a player out for a few games… but 32 days? You have to be kidding me. Iverson’s fragile ego was in more pain than his back – and that is what kept him out so long.

Iverson did return to the Pistons on March 31st in Cleveland. After playing only 17 minutes and being pulled for the stretch run of the 4th quarter, Iverson complained.

"I can play 18 minutes with my eyes closed and a 100-pound truck on my back," Iverson said said. "I'm wondering what the rush was to get me back. It's a bad time for me mentally. I'm just trying to get through it without starting a whole bunch of nonsense. I'm looking at the big picture, if I vent my frustrations, then it's on.”

He came off the bench for a whopping two games before it was deemed that he was unable to play and he would be shut down for the rest of the season, per Dumars.

"After talking with Allen and our medical staff, we feel that resting Allen for the remainder of the season is the best course of action at this time," Dumars said in a statement. "While he has played in our last three games, he is still feeling some discomfort and getting him physically ready to compete at the level he is accustomed to playing this late in the season does not seem possible at this point."

Dumars is the master of spin and coverups. It was clear that the team had enough of the Iverson experiment. But it was far too late. The Pistons were already 3 games under .500 (36-39) and battling just to make the playoffs. They would make the playoffs, but would be abruptly swept aside by the Cavaliers.

Some Iverson apologists may point to his line in Denver two years ago (26 & 7) for “proof” that he hasn’t slowed down. But those stats don’t tell the whole story. George Karl had this to say on Denver’s improved team play shortly after the Billups-Iverson swap.
“There are less bad plays, more solid plays,” Karl said. “I think the wasteful, cheap possessions that we used to have 10 to 15 a game, they don’t exist very much anymore. Sometimes I saw something, but I couldn’t get it done on the court because I didn’t have a playmaker out there.”
Say what you will, but he took a shot at Iverson. But hey, you can’t blame him. As the leader of the team, Iverson “lead” the Nuggets to a 1-8 playoff record in his two years there, putting George Karl on the proverbial hot seat. As has been the trend in recent years, Denver improved by leaps and bounds after getting rid of Iverson. With Billups replacing Iverson, the Nuggets won 54 games and went to their first conference finals in well over 20 years.

But it gets even worse for Iverson. Eliminating several possible suitors for him this upcoming season, Iverson recently said he would rather retire than come off the bench again.

"I will retire before I do this again. I will leave the game before I do this," Iverson said. "Because I can't be effective like I know I can playing this way. It's just something I've not ever been able or had to do."

This guy is just slamming door shut behind him. Is Iverson really delusional enough to think that he could start for most teams in this league? I do believe he could be a good player off the bench (about 20 min a game) for a playoff contender. And had he not scoffed at the notion of coming off the bench, I think his agent would be listening to a lot more offers than he is. But NBA teams are not willing to cater to a 33 year old man with the mindset of a petulant child anymore… not even the bad teams. Even the basement bound Clippers aren’t interested in Iverson.

Iverson has seen his last NBA game unless he changes his outlook… and at his age, that doesn’t seem all that likely.

Tigers - Red Sox Recap

Following a 6 game losing streak, the Red Sox are suddenly white hot against the Detroit Tigers. Lead by the suddenly scorching bats of Mike Lowell and Jason Bay, the Red Sox pounded out 8 runs and 11 hits on the way to an comfortable 8-2 victory. Josh Beckett was dominant in picking up his major league leading 14th win.

The Red Sox jumped out to an early lead, thanks to a first pitch home run by Mike Lowell in the second inning. It was Lowell’s third home run in the last two games.

Dustin Pedroia started a two out rally in the third, carving a double down the right field line, just short of Pesky’s pole. Jason Bay followed with a line drive blast over the Green Monster to give the Red Sox a 3-0 lead. Red Sox skipper Terry Francona was all smiles when asked about Bay’s recent hitting prowess.


"When Jason gets hot, as you can see, it's not just singles," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "He starts driving the ball all over the park and, boy, what a different team we look like."

Josh Beckett was razor sharp early, setting down the first 11 Tigers hitters, before a two out walk in the top of the 4th inning. Beckett displayed outstanding command of his fastball, throwing 80% of his fastballs for strikes. The fastball command allowed him to use his curve ball to finish off the Detroit hitters.

On the days Josh is pitching, we really feel like we have a chance to win," Bay said. "You feel like on some days it might take only one run, or two."

Carlos Guillen broke up Beckett’s no hit bid in the top of the 5th inning, as he led off the inning with blast into the right field bleachers. The solo shot came on an inside cut fastball that caught a bit too much of the plate. Marcus Thames hit a solo shot off of Beckett in the 7th inning for the Tigers’ only other run.

The Red Sox put the game away for good in the bottom of the 5th inning, scoring 5 runs on a series of singles, walks and an error to extend their lead to 8-1.


Notes

• Jason Bay has 4 home runs in his last 5 games, after hitting just 1 home run in his previous 21 games
• Tigers star Miguel Cabrera was not in the lineup after being hit by a pitch in Tuesday’s game. He isn’t expected to miss much time.
• Mike Lowell has gone 5 for 7, with 3 HR’s and 5 RBI’s so far in the series.
• Zach Miner made his 4th start of the year, replacing Armando Galarraga who was unable to start due to a sore throat. Miner gave up 5 runs on 7 hits in 4.2 innings.
• Boston improved to 6-0 against Detroit. They've won 7 straight meetings overall dating back to last season.

Is There A Steroid Problem In The NBA?

This week Rashard Lewis, the star forward of the Orlando Magic, was busted for testing positive for an elevated testosterone level, per the Orlando Sentinel on Thursday afternoon. What this has done is raise a white flag – do we have a steroid problem in the NBA?

Lewis issued an apology, and in that statement, said that he took an over the counter supplement that he did not realize was banned from the NBA. I’m not sure if I buy that or not, but it never ceases to amaze me how naïve these highly paid million dollar athletes can be. How can you not know what exactly you are putting into your body? Lewis went on to say that the over-the-counter supplement was taking contained DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone), a multifunctional steroid that is banned by the NBA. Lewis becomes the 6th player to test positive for PED’s since testing was implemented in 1999. He will miss the Magic’s first 10 games of the 2009-10 season.

But perhaps we need to look at the bigger picture here. Steroids have long been associated with Major League Baseball (and the NFL to a lesser extent) but their use has never been really been thought of in the NBA. In 2005, Stern had this to say on potential steroid use in the NBA:

"Watching what's swirling around [in other sports], it just seems to be prudent to say, 'Let's just get that issue out of any possibility,'" Stern said. "It's not a problem at the present time that we think we have. But it's a potent issue as it relates to baseball and the media around it, and we think it would be smart of us to deal with it."

Grant Hill added, “ I can’t even remember hearing anybody talk about it,” he said. “You don’t want to be naïve, but we have our own issues and steroids isn’t one of them”.

Those quotes are more than 4 years old. Certainly if the amount of positive tests is an indicator (only 6 since 1999) than steroids isn’t a rampant problem in the National Basketball Association. But if a skinny guy like Rashard Lewis is taking steroids, who isn’t? Who is to say that the game’s best players (Kobe, LeBron, Wade) didn’t also go down the route to gain an edge? LeBron (below) is a prime example. Just compare how he has grown in size and the muscle mass he has added on from his rookie year to now.

LeBron as a Rookie:




LeBron in 2009:







Maybe it’s just me, but that doesn’t look like he got there just by natural hard work and weight lifting.

People may point to the fact that the NBA does test for steroids and so few positive tests have turned up, so why should we be concerned? But there’s one other fact you should be aware of: The NBA only tests players from Oct. 1 to June 30th. That leaves a couple months (during the offseason) for players to pump steroids and other PED’s into their system and still show up clean because most steroid cycles out of the body within a few weeks. And, alas, by the time the season rolls around, they’re clean.

Another thing that is worth mentioning is the marijuana issue in the NBA. Yes, it’s well documented that marijuana is used by a lot of NBA players, though we don’t have an exact figure in front of us. But we do know that it’s part of the culture of the NBA, even Josh Howard admitted so last summer. How often does an NBA player get suspended for marijuana use? Not often. And if those tests prove to be weak, who says the steroid testing is any tougher in the NBA? There’s also the distinct possibility of HGH (Human Growth Hormone) use in the league. Why wouldn’t there be? HGH is banned by all 4 major American pro sports leagues, yet one of them have a test for it yet.

NBA players have gotten a lot bigger and a lot stronger over the past decade. And in an era where baseball players, track stars, cyclists and football players use steroids, can you honestly say with a straight face that the NBA has only had 6 players to have used steroids in the last 10 years? I know that I don’t buy that.