Their epic Wimbledon final from last summer seems like a long time ago but Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will renew their rivalry once again this evening as they vie for the men’s title at the Australian Open. This will be their seventh showdown in a Grand Slam final and it’s quickly becoming a must-see rivalry not unlike the Red Sox-Yankees or Lakers-Celtics for all sports fans.

Losing his #1 ranking in the world after Nadal’s thrilling victory in England has been a major catalyst in the revitalization of Federer’s career. He has added intensity and motivation to his smooth, effortless return volley game and hasn’t lost a match at a Grand Slam tournament (including a U.S. Open title last September) since Wimbledon.

Federer will be making his 18th appearance in a Grand Slam final and a victory Sunday evening in Melbourne will put him even with Pete Sampras at 14 Grand Slam tournament victories. His hard-court surface record is also very impressive, as Federer has won seven of the last eight Grand Slam tournaments played on that surface, including winning five straight U.S. Open titles.

The tennis world anointed Nadal as the new king of the sport last summer. The young Spaniard emerged at a time when tennis needed someone to challenge Federer’s dominance. Nadal will never emulate Roger’s play on the court, his sweating and grunting and his fist-pumping, emotional style are all big parts of his game. His top spin forehand shot will be taught to future generations for years to come.

The key to Nadal’s long-term success will be his play on hard-court surfaces. On clay, he has no equal, but Nadal’s improved play on the hard court and grass last year helped him take over tennis’ #1 ranking. Winning Wimbledon was a memorable moment in Nadal’s career, but winning on the hard-court in Melbourne tonight would be just as impressive.

The tennis world was bracing for an unknown to knock off Nadal or Federer, but for the past two weeks they reminded everyone just how good they are. The match is on in the wee hours of Sunday morning (3:30 AM ET) on ESPN2 here in the U.S., but the network is replaying the match later in the morning.

Serena Williams (2) vs. Dinara Safina (3)

At 27 years of age, Serena Williams has seen more success than all the players on the WTA Tour combined. She has won nine singles Grand Slams and, after yesterday’s championship victory, eight doubles Grand Slams with her sister Venus. She’s been on the Tour so long that a distinctive pattern has emerged particular to the Australian Open: if it’s an odd-numbered year, Serena will win the tournament. She’s previously claimed the title in Melbourne in 2003, 2005, and 2007. Despite playing doubles and having to endure the sweltering heat, Serena has played well in every match and shown no signs of fatigue.

Her opponent is Dinara Safina, an aggressive Russian with a powerful forehand, an endless supply of energy, and an outspoken dedication to winning. It’s fun to watch her at press conferences as it almost pains her to play the sweetheart. Safina has never won a Grand Slam, though this is supposed to be her breakout year. But that’s a bunch of bunk — just about every player on the WTA Tour is supposedly having their breakout year. There’s such parity that nearly every player ranked in the top 10 will surpass world #1 Jelena Jankovic after this tournament. (Jankovic failed to make it past the fourth round.) Safina is the obvious underdog. She’s lost her last two matches to Serena in straight sets. If she were playing anybody other than Serena, I’d say she had this one in the bag.

Live coverage of the women’s finals will air early tomorrow morning (Saturday) on ESPN2 at 3:30 AM ET. It will then be replayed on Saturday at 9 AM ET and 8 PM ET on the same network.

It’s finally here.

After months of preparation and endless promotion, Super Bowl XLIII will be played this Sunday. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 6:28 PM, but the pregame show festivities will begin at 10 AM with NFL Countdown on ESPN. If that is too early to begin your tailgating day, then tune into the NFL Network at 11:30 AM for their six and half hour NFL GameDay show. For those who are late arrivals to the party, NBC will begin their coverage of Super Sunday at 1 PM with Bob Costas hosting The Super Bowl Pregame Show that features a cast of thousands breaking down the premier matchup of the season.

All times ET…

NFL
Sunday, 6:28 PM: Super Bowl XLIII — Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Arizona Cardinals at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL. (NBC)

NBA
Friday, 7 PM: Boston Celtics @ Detroit Pistons (ESPN)
Friday, 9:30 PM: Golden State Warriors @ New Orleans Hornets (ESPN)
Saturday, 7:30 PM: Dallas Mavericks @ Miami Heat (NBA TV)
Sunday, 2:30 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Detroit Pistons (ABC)

NHL
Friday, 7 PM: Pittsburgh Penguins @ New Jersey Devils
Saturday, 1 PM: New York Rangers @ Boston Bruins
Saturday, 10:30 PM: Chicago Black Hawks @ San Jose Sharks

College Basketball
Saturday, 12 PM: #22 Notre Dame @ #3 Pittsburgh (ESPN)
Saturday, 1 PM: Michigan @ #17 Purdue (CBS)
Saturday, 2 PM: #23 Georgetown @ #8 Marquette (ESPN Full Court)
Saturday, 6 PM: San Diego @ #25 Gonzaga (ESPN2)

Tennis: Australian Open
Friday, 3:30 AM: Men’s Semi-Final (ESPN2)
Saturday, 3:30 AM: Women’s Final (ESPN2)
Sunday, 3:30 AM: Men’s Final (ESPN2)

We’re down to the final four days of the Australian Open. In a few short hours ESPN2 will air its live coverage of both the men’s and women’s semifinals. So far, the tournament has been both intense and heartwarming. Jelena Dokic, after being out of the game for almost a year because of struggles with her domineering father, has made it all the way to the quarterfinals in front of a home crowd. Andy Roddick, whom many had written off last year, knocked out third-seeded Novak Djokovic and advanced to his first Grand Slam semifinal in almost two years. I’ve previewed the four semifinal matches below:

Women’s Semifinals

Vera Zvonareva (7) vs. Dinara Safina (3)
Zvonareva and Safina are just two of the eight million Russians who entered this tournament. However, along with countrywomen Elena Dementieva and injured Maria Sharapova, they happen to be the best. Whereas the talented (and pretty, pretty, pretty) Zvonareva has never advanced past a Grand Slam quarterfinal, Safina has been close to winning one a number of times. She’s coming off a semifinals loss to Serena Williams at the U.S. Open and would like nothing more than to win down under. Safina should take this one in straight sets.

Elena Dementieva (4) vs. Serna Williams (2)
Due to Jelena Jankovic’s poor showing at the Open, either Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva, or Serena Williams will become the #1 ranked women’s player if they win this tournament. Dementieva is another one of those gifted players who has never won a Grand Slam despite getting extremely close over the years. Still, she won the gold medal in Beijing and made it to the semifinals at last year’s U.S. Open. Serena happened to win that tournament and has been playing beastly tennis in Australia. Expect this one to go three sets.

Men’s Semifinals

Andy Roddick (7) vs. Roger Federer (2)
Thank you, Andy Roddick. The fact that there is an American male in a Grand Slam semifinal is reason enough to celebrate. Why, you ask? Well, in the last two years an American has only once advanced to a men’s Grand Slam semifinal. That was Andy Roddick at the Australian Open in 2007. The same Andy Roddick who won the U.S. Open in 2003 and faced Roger Federer on consecutive occasions at Wimbledon, only to lose. Critics predicted Roddick would retire early and settle down with his supermodel fiancé. Thankfully, Roddick dropped 15 lbs. and got into tremendous shape. In the quarterfinals, Roddick bounced around in the 120-degree heat as if he enjoyed it. His opponent, Novak Djokovic, was forced to retire after four sets. Roddick is on his game, ladies and gentlemen. Though Federer is still struggling to find his own, he’s still Roger Federer. This match will be long, extremely competitive, and intense.

Rafael Nadal (1) vs. Fernando Verdasco (14)
Just who in the hell is Fernando Verdasco? Honestly, I’m not sure, but in his last two matches he’s beaten fourth-seeded Andy Murray and fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The 24 year-old Spaniard has a good serve and nice placement, but it is his speed that has gotten his this far. The kid doesn’t seem to tire and manages to chase down every ball. Unfortunately for Verdasco, Rafael Nadal is the quickest player on the Tour. He’s also the best in the sport and is at the height of his career. It’ll be tough for Verdasco to take him down but I wouldn’t doubt that he takes a set or two.

Live coverage of the semifinals will begin tonight (Wednesday) at 9:30 PM ET on ESPN2.

Round 4 of the Australian Open begins today. The first Grand Slam of the tour calendar has already seen its fair share of surprises, disappointments, scuffles, and nudity. I’ve recapped the highlights below.

The top-ranked men advance

Of the top ten-seeded men in the tournament, only David Nalbandian failed to advance, losing to unknown Yen-Hsun Lu in the second round. The others, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Jo-Wilfried Tsongo, Gilles Simon, Andy Roddick, Juan Martin del Potro, and James Blake have all made easy work of their competition. Really, things won’t get interesting until the Quarter Finals.

Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic are eliminated

It must be said that both matches in which they lost have been the most exciting matches of the tournament. Unseeded 20 year-old Carla Suarez Navarro, in only her fourth Grand Slam main draw appearance, defeated Venus Williams in the second round. It was an amazing match and both women gave it their all. Navarro, however, was able to consistently return Venus’ 192 mph serve and never seemed to tire. Williams was on the defensive during the final set and Navarro’s fine shot placement carried her to victory. The crowd congratulated the awestruck youngster with a standing ovation. Suarez has since advanced to the Fourth Round where she will face twenty-first-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues.

It was less than a surprise and more of a disappointment to watch Ana Ivanovic fall to twenty-ninth-seeded Alisa Kleybanova. For those who follow tennis, it’s perplexing that Ivanovic is ranked fifth in the world judging by the way she played yesterday. Strictly speaking, the Serbian lost because she couldn’t find her serve. It was painful to watch Ivanovic toss the ball five feet away from herself. She double faulted more than a few times and rarely was able to hold serve. All in all, the three-setter was intense, but undeniably sloppy. While Ivanovic made 50 unforced errors, Kleybanova committed 44, 24 of which came in the opening set alone. It’s time for Ana to take a break and try to get herself into the mindset that helped her win the French Open in 2008.

Serbian and Bosnian fans clash after Novak Djokovic/Amer Delic match

Last year at the Australian Open, Serbian and Croatian fans attacked each other with flagpoles, bottles, and boots. This year, the Balkan rivalry consisted of Serbians and Bosnians. After Serbian Novak Djokovic’s victory over Bosnian-American Amer Delic, fans from both nations pelted each other with chairs.

A streaker stalls a Williams sisters doubles match

Although this article claims the gentleman was out there for only 14 seconds, broadcaster Patrick McEnroe has him at nearly a minute. While Serena and Venus laughed bashfully during the incident, tournament officials aren’t taking this lightly. In 1993, a man stabbed Monica Seles on court during a match in Hamburg, Germany. Still, it looks like this guy was just having a good time.

Coverage of Day 7 will air at 7 PM ET and 12:30 AM ET on ESPN2.

Many football fans will be going through withdrawal this weekend; there are no scheduled games for the first time since the end of July. But there is enough sports on to help you make it through the weekend scot-free. Network coverage of the NBA will kick into full gear on ABC, as an attractive doubleheader (Mavericks/Celtics followed by Spurs/Lakers) will be broadcast starting at 1 PM this Sunday. Second week coverage of the Australian Open will continue on ESPN2 and the Tennis Channel, and do not forget the Golf Channel’s exclusive coverage of the Bob Hope Classic all weekend long.

All times ET…

NBA
Friday, 7 PM: Dallas Mavericks @ Detroit Pistons (ESPN)
Saturday, 7:30 PM: Orlando Magic @ Miami Heat (NBA TV)
Sunday, 1 PM: Dallas Mavericks @ Boston Celtics (ABC)
Sunday, 3:30 PM: San Antonio Spurs @ Los Angeles Lakers (ABC)
Sunday, 6:30 PM: Houston Rockets @ Detroit Pistons (ESPN)

NHL
Sunday, 6 PM: The NHL All Star Game in Montreal (Versus)

College Basketball
Saturday, 12 PM: Maryland @ #2 Duke (ESPN)
Saturday, 3:30 PM: #24 Memphis @ Tennessee (CBS)
Saturday, 4 PM: #23 Baylor @ Oklahoma (ESPNU)
Saturday, 7 PM: #3 Connecticut @ #19 Notre Dame (ESPN)
Sunday, 12 PM: #12 Louisville @ #8 Syracuse (ESPN Full Court)
Sunday, 3:45 PM: #7 Michigan State @ Ohio State (CBS)

John “Happy Gilmore” Daly decided that a fan had their camera to close to his face at the Australian Open…so he smashed the camera into a tree.

Daly was clearly frustrated at his lack of success in three tournaments in Australia this season.
After snatching the camera he stalked up to the nearest tree and hurled it with all his force into the trunk, saying “you want it back, I’ll buy you a new one”.

As Daly completed the hole Clegg, a 15-handicapper at Sydney club Ashlar, was left to pick up the pieces – literally.

Clegg, who had taken a leave day especially to see Daly play, said it was a disappointing way to finish the day.

“It hasn’t ended well,” he said.

Asked if he would be seeking compensation, Clegg said: “I don’t think I’ll be chasing him for the money. He’s a big bloke.”

Clegg said he had come out specifically to watch Daly because it might be the last chance he has.
“It was very unexpected.”

Apparently the guy wasn’t supposed to have a camera at the event anyway, so Daly won’t face any repercussions for his actions.

Yep, just another day in the life of John Daly – the coolest guy in the universe.

A recent Deuce Magazine article takes a close look at the career of James Blake. He’s been America’s second-ranked male tennis player for the past seven years. However, he’s yet to win a Grand Slam. In the piece, Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal critique Blake’s game, as well as offer insight as to why he hasn’t taken it to the next level.

What’s always been tricky in that department is Blake’s playing style. Blake’s A-game is a sizzling set of big forehands, aggressive returns, extraordinary movement and enough shotmaking for tons of highlight reels. Few players in the past 20 years have better personified the notion of a dangerous player. Watch Blake versus the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and you’ll see a man extremely capable of going toe-to-toe with giants. As Nadal said earlier this year after earning his first win over Blake in four tries at the ATP Masters Series event in Indian Wells, “He’s a very difficult player for me to play against… very aggressive player all the time.”

Though Blake is pleased with the consistency of his play in 2008 – he’s maintained a Top 10 ranking all year – there have also been some beguiling losses, including a five-setter in the second round of Wimbledon versus Rainer Schuettler and defeats in finals to first-time winners Kei Nishikori and Marcel Granollers. “This year’s been a little strange,” says Blake. “I’ve had some ups and downs.”

It’s astonishing that Blake used to dominate Nadal a few years back. He also beat Federer in Beijing before a heart-breaking loss to Fernando Gonzalez, which would have at least guaranteed him a bronze medal. At 29 years-old, Blake’s years are numbered on the ATP Tour. Hopefully both he and Andy Roddick will be prepared for the Australian Open in January. As another year goes by without a dominant male American player, one begins to wonder if legends such as Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, and Pete Sampras were just Europeans with really good Yankee accents.

The record book will show that Roger Federer won the 2008 U.S. Open Men’s Championship over Andy Murray. But something is missing. His dominance in the sport hasn’t been noticeable this year. Let’s just face it; Roger Federer is not Roger Federer anymore.

Wait a minute, a terrible year? How many players on the men’s tour would take a semifinal appearance at the Australian Open, two finals appearances at the French Open and Wimbledon, and a Grand Slam victory at the U.S. Open, all in the same year?

Is Federer dominating? No. We are not used to seeing him struggle in the early rounds. What use to be a brisk workout for him has now become nervy five-set encounter. Federer’s brilliance ultimately prevails, but never once does he look like he’s in control of the match.

So what has changed in his game? Well, Federer is not setting up balls for the kill shot that usually keeps his opponents’ off-balance. Balls that have rocketed off his racket in the past are now just dribbling over the net as a return or an unimpressive point. Instead of ripping through sets, he is now winning a series of mini-marathons.

The last set of his semi-final match against Novak Djokovic on Saturday was reminiscent of the old Federer. He regained his cross-court backhand that, in years past, would go by his opponent like a shortstop reaching for a line drive off a hitter’s bat.

Maybe Federer won’t return to the #1 ranking, and maybe he’s not a sure thing anymore on the tour. His dominance is slipping. But Federer did remind everyone this weekend at Flushing that he still has a few bullets left in his racket. Was this a return to greatness or just a brief glimpse of the past?

Only time will tell.