Dylan Armstrong (Wilson Wong, Wikimedia Commons)
This weekend is a big tuneup for Canadian Olympic medal hopeful Dylan Armstrong of Kamloops, British Columbia. The reigning Diamond League Champion is set to compete in the 2012 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon (Saturday, NBC, 1pm) , a major track and field event in Armstrong’s preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Armstrong will also be competing this weekend against a very deep field–reigning Olympic Gold medallist Tomasz Majewski of Poland, and Americans Ryan Whiting (World Indoor Champion), Christian Cantwell (2009 World Champion) and Reese Hoffa (2007 World Champion). Hoffa has the seasonal best throw of 21.73m.
Here are the other events I’ll be watching this weekend:
Saturday–ATP–French Open Tennis– Men’s Third Round–(13) Juan Monaco–ARG vs. (19) Milos Raonic–CAN–9am–TSN–For the first time in his career, Canadian Milos Raonic has advanced past the first round of the French Open. In his win Thursday, Raonic defeated American Jesse Levine 6-4, 7-5, 6-2. Levine, a native of Ottawa, has publicly stated he considers himself 100% American, making him a present day Greg Rusedski (represented Great Britain despite being born in Montreal), as a player that turned away completely from his Canadian roots. Monaco will be the slight favourite due to his experience on the clay. He has been on the ATP Tour now since 2004 and the clay is his best surface.
Saturday– Game 2 NHL Stanley Cup Finals–Los Angeles Kings @ New Jersey Devils–6pm–NBC–Martin Brodeur may be 40 years old, but he is not playing like it. The Devils goaltender and four-time Vezina Trophy winner has a dazzling 2.02 goals against average in the playoffs so far. But wait. He has a problem. Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings has been even better with a goals against average of 1.49. Game 1 had a 2-1 score for the Kings. Expect much the same defensive focus play over the next week.
Sunday–French Open Tennis–Fourth Round–6am–TSN2–Among the players in action on Sunday will be Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. But the match I’m most interested in will be seventh seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, a former Wimbledon finalist, against ninth seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, a former U.S. Open Champion.
Sunday–IndyCar–Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix–1:30pm–ABC–One week after Dario Franchitti won his third Indianapolis 500, the best open wheel racers are back driving. Australian Will Power continues to lead the standings with 200 points, while James Hinchcliffe of Oakville, Ontario is second with 164 points.
Sunday–NBA–Game 4 Eastern Conference Finals–Miami Heat @ Boston Celtics–TSN–The Heat lead the series 2-1, but the Celtics got back into the series with a 101-91 win on Friday night. Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo each had double doubles. Garnett had 24 points and 11 rebounds and Rondo had 21 points and 10 assists. The Celtics could easily be leading the series, but lost a close game in overtime to the Heat by a score of 115-111 on Wednesday, despite 44 points from Rondo.
Tags: boston celtics, christian cantwell, dario franchitti, dylan armstrong, french open, james hinchcliffe, jonathan quick, juan martin del potro, juan monaco, kevin garnett, los angeles kings, martin brodeur, Miami Heat, milos raonic, new jersey devils, novak djokovic, prefontaine classic, rajon rondo, resse hoffa, ROGER FEDERER, ryan whiting, tomas berdych, tomasz majewski, will power
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