Brief Sports Review for June 3

Tennis

This isn't going to be a full out review, just a brief one, with a particular emphasis on the greatest that one sport in particular has ever produced (at least, that's my belief).

His name is, of course, Roger Federer. Today, he won his 900th match.

Not easily, though.

Federer won, but he had to survive a very tough challenge from Gilles Simon, who actually held a 2-1 set lead, before Federer returned to his usual, prolific form and pulled off the comeback win to advance, 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Yet, as remarkable as that achievement is, it may have actually been overshadowed by that of Tommy Rodredo, who managed to pull off an achievement that no one had managed in eighty six years - since 1927.

What did he do? He won three consecutive matches after dropping the first two sets in each. Think about that. How hard must that be?

Robredo found himself in what must now feel like a very familiar position against Niclas Alamagro, who had taken the first two sets yesterday, 6-7, 3-6.

Surely, Robredo was running on an empty tank by now, right? If not, then he must have little gas left.

Apparently not, though. He came all the way back to win, 6-7, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

What an amazing, historical, and almost unimaginable achievement in men's tennis, and form someone not named Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, or Murray!

Imagine that!

Here's the link to the story:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/tennis-busted-racquet/french-open-day-8-federer-survives-serena-continues-220400216.html

NHL

As for hockey, it looks more and more like the Chicago Blackhawks are returning back to the dominant form that they pretty much had all season. They took care of the LA Kings in Game 2, 4-2, and now have a 2-0 series lead as the series shifts to Los Angeles.

While it would certainly be unwise to underestimate the champions and count them out, particularly since they have been undefeated (I believe) in home games this postseason, it should be noted that their strength last year was on the road in the playoffs, where they were probably the winningest, most dominant road team  in NHL playoff history. They were undefeated on the road until Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Devils, which wound up being the only road loss that they would suffer last postseason, en route to their first ever Stanley Cup championship.

This season? So far, they are 1-7 on the road.

Big difference. Huge.

Still, they're alive, right? They must be doing something right. A part of it is being a much higher seed this season then last season, and then following that up with solid home wins.

They've been pretty good, but I will go ahead and predict that they have met their match with these Chicago Blackhawks, who look completely revived. It's going to be a tough series, though, and Chicago has to stay on top of the Kings. In fact, they have Los Angeles by the throat right now, and they need to show the killer instinct. The Kings are good - damn good.  But they are also unproved in this, because this is new territory for them, being down 0-2 against a team of Chicago's caliber. True, they were down similarly against the St. Louis Blues but....well, that was the St. Louis Blues. These Chicago Blackhawks have won the Cup themselves, and have looked hungry and ready to hoist it again all season. Los Angeles suddenly finds itself facing more pressure than they have in either of the last two seasons, and it is not at all guaranteed that they are going to come out of it.

As for the East?

Well, Boston really put the hurting on a flustered Pittsburgh squad on Saturday, and it is now up to the Penguins to come up with some answers. I was admittedly surprised - but hardly shocked. All of these teams remains in the playoffs have won the Cup in recent years, and you can never underestimate the heart of a champion. This series could go either way, but the Penguins felt like the team of destiny. I still think the Penguins can come back, but this definitely makes the series far more interesting!

NBA

Wow! The super team with the "big three" is in trouble!

They failed to close out the series against Indiana in Game 6, and seem to have all that they can handle in this series that, surely, most assumed would have ended much earlier.

But Miami should be at full strength in the decisive Game 7, and due to their dominant regular season record, they enjoy the benefit  home court. Still, Indiana has been scrappy and feisty and, dare I say (dare I hope?), may just be on their way to pulling off the biggest shocked in a long, long time?

Let's see what happens! What an awesome series this has been! A lot of fun!