More on Any Sport Any Time
Friday, June 14th, 2013
Phil Mickelson (Steven Newton, Wikimedia Commons)
There is doubt after two days of the 2013 United States Open, the course at Merion is winning. As of Friday, only two players were under par for the second major of the year– big game Phil Mickelson and little name Billy Horschel at one under par.
Prior to the tournament there was speculation that the course was goin to play easy because it was a short course of under 7,000 yards. But the course has bee anything but easy, as it has given players headaches on a regular basis. Round two ends Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. on TSN and continues throughout the day. Sunday’s coverage will start at 10:00 a.m.
Here are the other events I’ll be watching:
Saturday–IndyCar Racing–Milwaukee Mile–Sportsnet One–2:00 p.m.– James Hinchcliffe of Oakville, Ontario will start second for the ninth race of the year behind American Marco Andretti. Hinchcliffe has had an up and down season as he won two races earlier in the year but has struggled since his win in Sao Paulo on May 5. He is also in a difficult position on Saturdy as he is also starting behind his Andretti Autosport teammate.
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Tags: billy horschel, boston bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, david krejci, frederic winters, gavin schmitt, james hinchcliffe, john perrin, marco andretti, medicine hat mavericks, Miami Heat, milwaukee mile, okotoks dawgs, phil mickelson, san antonio spurs, sean kettering, u.s. open, Volleyball, world league
Posted in Indy Racing League, More, NBA, NHL, PGA, Western Major Baseball League |
Monday, June 10th, 2013
Inbee Park (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
There’s no question at the moment that South Korea’s Inbee Park is the best female golfer in the world.
On Sunday in Rochester, New York, Park defeated Catriona Matthew of Scotland in a three hole playoff to win the LPGA Championship.
Park and Matthew both finished 72 holes tied at -5. Park had back-to-back rounds of 68 in the second and third round of action, before faltering with a three-over par 75 in the fourth and final round on Sunday afternoon.
Matthew showed a little bit more consistency in her rounds and caught Park by shooting a final round of four-under par 68.
In the playoff however, Park birdied the 18th, while Matthew missed her long par opportunity.
Park has now won three Majors in her career once. She previously won the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open in Edina, Minnesota and the 2013 Kraft Nabisco Championship in Rancho Mirage, California near San Diego in April.
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Tags: catriona matthew, inbee park, kraft nabisco championship, lpga championship, u.s. women's open
Posted in Ladies Professional Golfers Association, More |
Sunday, June 9th, 2013
Sebastian Vettel (Wikimedia Commons)
It was basically a simple drive Sunday for Sebastian Vettel of Germany at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. He was simply never challenged by any of his 21 competitors and the three-time World Champion who drives for Red Bull came away victorious. Vettel defeated Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain by nine full seconds.
However, like the French Open earlier in the day the biggest story was not the fact that someone was victorious.
According to the Canadian Press, a race track worker tragically died after he slipped under the wheel of a crane after the race. The man was helping get a car off the track. The car belonged to Esteban Gutierrez of Mexico.
The worker’s name has not been released. He had worked at the track for ten years and was 38 years old.
Hopefully the Formula One community will do something this year to honour the individual. The next F1 race is June 30 in England.
Tags: canadian grand prix, esteban gutierrez, formula one, sebastian vettel
Posted in More |
Sunday, June 9th, 2013
Rafael Nadal (Chris Johnson, Wikimedia Commons)
Rafael Nadal defeated David Ferrer in an all Spanish final 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 on Sunday. However the real story will be about the complete lack of security.
In the second set with Nadal leading 5-1, a man ran on to the court with a white mask, without a shirt, and carrying a fiery flare.
The man seemed to be a protester, but he came dangerously close to Nadal. Five topless protesters were also arrested for calling for the resignation of the French president and another four were seen yelling about children’s rights.
It was simply a peculiar final and one where the protesters seemed to overshadow Nadal’s excellence on the court. It was too bad because Nadal will go down in history as one of the greatest tennis players ever and the greatest clay court tennis player ever.
However organizers of major sporting events must learn from this. Protesters cannot be taken lightly and the athletes’ safety needs to be maintained at all cost.
Tags: david ferrer, french open, RAFAEL NADAL
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Saturday, June 8th, 2013
Serena Williams (Fergal Carr, Wikimedia Commons)
For the second time in her tennis career, Serena Williams of the United States has won the French Open. On Saturday, she defeated defending champion Maria Sharapova of Russia 6-4, 6-4.
Williams has now won 16 major titles in her career. But, it was also only her first French Open title since 2002, when she beat her sister Venus Williams, 7-5, 6-3.
John McEnroe and Mary Carillo of NBC both stated that this was Serena Williams’ best French Open performance. I disagree. Serena was just as dominant in 2002 and had more difficult opponents in winning the championship. She defeated Jennifer Capriati, Vera Zvonareva, Mary Pierce and not to mention her sister.
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Tags: french open, jennifer capriati, maria sharapova, mary pierce, serena williams, venus williams, vera zvonareva, wta
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Friday, June 7th, 2013
Serena Williams (Katherine Shann, Wikimedia Commons)
Back in 2004, Russian newcomer Maria Sharapova shocked the tennis scene when she beat the great Serena Williams 6-1, 6-4 in the final of Wimbledon. Sharpova, who was only 17 at the time, proved her victory was no fluke when she beat Williams at a tournament in Los Angeles later that summer.
However over the last nine years, it has all been Williams in their head-to-head battles. Serena, who is currently ranked number one in the world, has defeated Sharapova, currently ranked second, twelve straight times. At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Williams gave Sharapova a 6-0, 6-1 beatdown in which it was quite possibly Williams’s best tennis match ever.
Now Williams has not won the French Open since 2002 when she beat her sister Venus, but should go into the final as the clear favourite (Saturday, NBC, 7:00 a.m.).
Here are the other events I’ll be watching:
Saturday & Sunday–LPGA Championship–Golf Channel–1:00 p.m.–Women’s golf second major is this weekend from Rochester, New York. Once again, a South Korean is in the lead. Currently in first round action, Chella Choi at -6 leads American Morgan Pressel by two strokes. Choi is trying to become the fourth consecutive South Korean to win a major, following Na Yeon Choi, Jiyai Shin and Inbee Park. Round one was on Friday because action was rained out on Thursday. Organizers are expected to have round two on Saturday and then 36 holes on Sunday.
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Tags: 2012 olympic games, boston red sox, canadian grand prix, chella choi, Chicago Blackhawks, cn reliability grand prix, david ferrer, david ortiz, equestrian, eric lamaze, fernando alonso, french open, inbee park, jeff carter, jiyai shin, kent farrington, los angeles angels of anaheim, los angeles kings, lpga championship, maria sharapova, max decugis, Miami Heat, mike napoli, morgan pressel, na yeon choi, nico rosberg, okotoks dawgs, patrick sharp, peter loubardias, RAFAEL NADAL, san antonio spurs, saskatoon yellow jackets, sebastian vettel, serena williams, slava voynov
Posted in Amateur Sports, ATP World Tour, Ladies Professional Golfers Association, MLB, More, NBA, NHL, Western Major Baseball League |
Friday, June 7th, 2013
Rafael Nadal (Chris Johnson, Wikimedia Commons)
John McEnroe simply said it was the greatest tennis match ever played on clay. NBC’s Ted Robinson stated he was honoured to be alive.
Friday in the men’s semi-finals of the 2013 French Open, seven-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal defeated top seed and reigning Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7, 9-7 in a marathon classic that took almost five hours to play.
It seemed like Nadal was going to beat Djokovic in the fourth set. Nadal was in the process of serving for the match, but got broken by Djokovic in the twelfth game. After Djokovic tied the set at 6, Djokovic dominated the fourth set tiebreak and early stages of the fifth set. Djokovic broke Nadal early in the fifth set and seemed in control himself, but saw Nadal tie the set at four games apiece with his own break of service.
What made this match stand apart from other five set marathons in the majors were the long rallies, and how difficult it was for Nadal and Djokovic to even record a single point.
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Tags: david ferrer, french open, jo-wilfried tsonga, john mcenroe, novak djokovic, RAFAEL NADAL, ted robinson
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Friday, June 7th, 2013
The Oklahoma City Barons, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers, got knocked out of the Calder Cup Playoffs Wednesday evening in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The Grand Rapids Griffins, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings, defeated the Barons 5-4 to win the Western Conference Finals 4-3,
The Barons forced a seventh and deciding game with a 4-3 victory in Grand Rapids on Tuesday night in game six of the series, but were unable to put together the necessary three consecutive road wins to win the series.
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Tags: american hockey league, calder cup, detroit red wings, Edmonton Oilers, grand rapids griffins, jan mursak, oklahoma city barons, syracuse crunch, tampa bay lightning
Posted in More |
Tuesday, June 4th, 2013
Jo-Wilfred Tsonga (Charlie Cowins, Wikimedia Commons)
On paper one might have been surprised that Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France upset the great Roger Federer of Switzerland on Tuesday 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 in the men’s quarterfinals of the French Open.
Federer has won 17 grand slam career titles including the 2009 French Open, and 256 grand slam victories to only 38 defeats.
However the loss on Tuesday, should not be of great surprise. Tsonga actually went further than Federer at the ATP Masters Series in Madrid. Tsonga advanced to the quarterfinals, while Federer was knocked out in the third round to Japan’s Kei Nishikori.
Ranked eighth in the world, and sixth at the French Open because of injuries to Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro, Tsonga will now play David Ferrer of Spain in the semi-finals in a very interesting semi-final on Friday.
Ferrer, who beat fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-2, 6-1, 6-1, is obviously pleased he will see Tsonga over Federer. All-time, Federer is 14-0 against Ferrer.
Tags: david ferrer, french open, jo-wilfried tsonga, kei nishikori, ROGER FEDERER, tommy robredo
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Sunday, June 2nd, 2013
All of a sudden the Oklahoma City Barons, the Edmonton Oilers’ American Hockey League affliate, have had problems scoring and have run into a very hot goaltender.
The Barons headed into the weekend leading the Grand Rapids Griffins, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in the Western Conference Final of the Calder Cup Playoffs, but the Barons failed to score a goal in two complete games this weekend.
Griffins goaltender Petr Mrazek made 40 saves in a 4-0 Grand Rapids win on Saturday and then made 37 saves on Sunday in a 3-0 Griffins win, who took a 3-2 lead in the series.
Game six now shifts back to Michigan on Tuesday evening.
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Tags: chad billins, detroit red wings, Edmonton Oilers, grand rapids griffins, joakim andersson, oklahoma city barons, petr mrazek, syracuse crunch, tampa bay lightning, wilkes-barre scranton penguins
Posted in More |
Sunday, June 2nd, 2013
Tommy Robredo (Nacho Martinez Castejon, Wikimedia Commons)
Tommy Robredo of Spain is creating quite the story at the second grand slam event of 2013.
On Sunday, Robredo, the 32nd seed, came back from two sets to love to beat Spain’s Nicolas Almagro, the 11th seed, 6-7, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the fourth round.
Ok. Many players come back from two love down in major tournaments to win matches. However, Robredo has now accomplished the feat in three consecutive wins at the French Open. Robredo defeated Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 in the second round and then French star Gael Monfils, 2-6, 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-2 in the third round.
Robredo becomes only the second player in grand slam tennis history to win three consecutive matches after dropping the first two sets. In 1927, Henri Cochet did the same thing as Robredo at Wimbledon. Robredo will now play David Ferrer in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the great Roger Federer, seeded second, defeated Gilles Simon of France after losing the first two sets. He will next face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals.
Tags: david ferrer, french open, gael monfils, gilles simon, henri cochet, igor sjisling, jo-wilfried tsonga, nicolas almagro, ROGER FEDERER, tommy robredo
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Friday, May 31st, 2013
For the sixth time since World Volleyball League action in 1991, Canada is in the world group. On Saturday, Team Canada faces the Netherlands (2:00 p.m. Mountain Time, Sportsnet) from Quebec City.
The team Canada captain is Frederic Winters of Gatineau, Quebec, while their top libero is Blair Bann of Edmonton. This will be Canada’s second game of the world tournament as they will play ther first game in Quebec City this evening.
Here are the other events I’ll be watching:
NHL–Western Conference Final–Los Angeles Kings @ Chicago Blackhawks–Game One Saturday–TSN–3:00 p.m. & Game Two Sunday–TSN–6:00 p.m.— The Kings, the seed are playing the Blackhawks in a battle of the Stanley Cup champions in two of the last three years. Offensively, the Blackhawks have been led by snipers Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp who each have 11 points. While the Kings are led by Mike Richards who has 10 points. But let’s not kid ourselves. The major reason why the Kings have advance to their second straight Western Final has been the play of goaltender Jonathan Quick who has a .948 save percentage.
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Tags: agnieszka radwanska, ana ivanovic, angelique kerber, arizona diamondbacks, blair bann, boston bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, chicago cubs, frederic winters, french open, indiana pacers, jarome iginla, jonathan quick, LeBron James, los angeles kings, Marian Hossa, matt bartkowski, Miami Heat, mike richards, patrick corbin, patrick sharp, paul goldschmidt, Pittsburgh Penguins, svetlana kuznetsova, Volleyball, world volleyball league
Posted in ATP World Tour, MLB, More, NBA, NHL |
Thursday, May 30th, 2013
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (Albin Denooz, Wikimedia Commons)
One of the most interesting players on the WTA Tour quite possibly has come away with one of her most significant career victories.
On Thursday on a day filled with rain in the second round of the French Open, the eccentric Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the United States defeated 2011 French Open champion and sixth seed Li Na of China 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.
The victory for Mattek, who is known for her different clothing styles, could be considered the greatest upset at the French Open so far.
On the men’s side, Canadian Milos Raonic has advanced to the third round after victories over Xavier Malisse of Belgium and Michael Llodra of France. Raonic beat each of his opponents in four sets, but was clearly the most dominant player in each of his first two matches. He will next play Kevin Anderson of South Africa, the 23rd seed in the third round.
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Tags: bethanie mattek-sands, ernests gulbis, french open, gael monfils, kevin anderson, li na, michael llodra, milos raonic, toma berdych, xavier malisse
Posted in ATP World Tour, More |
Thursday, May 30th, 2013
Jonathan Cheechoo (Ivan Makarov, Wikimedia Commons)
Hands up if you knew that former San Jose Sharks’ sniper Jonathan Cheechoo was now playing for the Oklahoma City Barons in the Calder Cup Playoffs?
I don’t blame you if you didn’t realize. Wild thing is that the way the Moose Factory, Ontario native is playing, he should have been playing for the Edmonton Oilers all season instead of with their farm team.
On Wednesday evening, Cheechoo led the Barons attack with a goal and an assist as Oklahoma City defeated Grand Rapids Griffins 4-1 to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference Final of the American Hockey League playoffs.
Cheechoo, who has the Sharks’ franchise record for most goals in one regular season with 56 set in 2006, was also a +2.
The Barons are also getting great goaltening from Yann Danis, who once again was solid as he made 20 saves and only gave up one goal.
Game four of the series will be in Oklahoma City on Friday.
Tags: ahl, calder cup, Edmonton Oilers, grand rapids griffins, Jonathan Cheechoo, oklahoma city barons, San Jose Sharks, yann danis
Posted in More |
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