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      French Open: Men’s Finals Preview

      June 6, 2009 /

      fed

      Tomorrow morning, Roger Federer will attempt to not only win his first French Open title, but also tie Pete Sampras’ record of 14 career Grand Slams. Federer will face No. 23-seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden. Soderling, who has never before made it to even a Grand Slam semifinal, has had a fantastic run this year at Roland Garros, defeating both No. 1-seeded Rafael Nadal and No. 12-seeded Fernando Gonzalez. This will also be Soderling’s first clay-court final. Unfortunately, he’ll be facing crowd favorite Roger Federer who is playing in the fourth French Open final of his career.

      Federer has handled Soderling easily in the past. Not only that, but Federer has the Grand Slam experience and knows the courts at Roland Garros better than any player not named Nadal. Though it’s safe to say Federer will win tomorrow, props are in order for Robin Soderling who has handled some of tennis’ best stars with skill and poise.

      Nevertheless, I did want to point out that I’m not surprised with Federer’s success at this year’s French Open. In March, I wrote an article questioning whether Roger Federer would ever win another Grand Slam. My conclusion was that, yes, Federer, would win but given a completely healthy Nadal, Federer’s best chance is at the U.S. Open where he has been dominant for years. I took a lot of unreasonable heat for that piece, but the fact is that we all should have expected Federer to win upon learning of Nadal’s weakening condition. With news that Nadal is pulling out of next week’s grass-court tournament at Queen’s Club it’s obvious that his knees are catching up with him. He’s played in nearly every tournament on the ATP Tour (and winning most of them) leading up to the French Open while Federer has taken loads of time off to save his strength. If Nadal competed at 100% I think this tournament would have gone a different way. Still, it’s his own fault for pushing himself too far. Federer has played exceptionally well and I hope he’s caught up to Pete when the clay settles.

      You can watch the men’s final tomorrow at 9 AM ET on NBC.

      Tennis

      Carlos Zambrano: ‘I’m done in five years.’

      June 6, 2009 /

      After earning his 100th career victory on Friday in a win over the Reds, Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano was asked by reporters if he has visions of winning 300 games a la Randy Johnson. Instead of giving a clichéd response of, “We’ll see” or “I don’t think about that stuff,” Big Z dropped a bombshell that he’s walking away from baseball once his contract expires in five years.

      “For 300, me? No, I’ll be out of here in five years,” said Zambrano, who is three years younger than Johnson was when the Big Unit won his 100th.

      After his response drew laughter, Zambrano added, ”No, believe me. After this contract I’m done. … I’m serious. Because I don’t want to play anymore.”

      Zambrano will be 32 when his five-year, $91.5 million contract expires after the 2012 season — 33, assuming a sixth-year, vesting option is reached.

      After accepting a $100 bet from a beat writer that he was serious, Zambrano elaborated:

      ”I want to help this team and do everything possible to win with this team. After five years, or four years, or whatever it is, that’s it. I just don’t want to play. I want to stay at home and see my daughter grow up and be with my family more.

      ”You know how many Mother’s Days I haven’t spent with my mother? Twelve. You know how many things I lose in my life [because of the baseball schedule]?

      ”It’s good to be here, also it’s good to be in baseball. But in five years I will retire, and I won’t have to see you again.”

      While his comments might come off as a little shocking to some, what Zambrano said shouldn’t be taken out of context. Sure the, “I don’t want to play anymore” might be a little unnerving for Cubs fans, you take everything he said into account and look at the big picture.

      Zambrano is essentially saying that there is more to life than just baseball and once he fulfills his comment to the Cubs, then he’s walking away. He wants to enjoy other aspects of his life that he’s had to push to the side in the past because of the demands of baseball. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that and I think his comments are kind of endearing in a way.

      Zambrano is a competitor – he’s not going to just take a paycheck over the next five years until his contract expires and then walk away. He wants to win and while he’s still playing, he’s going to do everything possible to help the Cubs succeed. But like he said, once his contract is up, it’s up and he’s done. And while he comments were a little out of the norm, I don’t find anything controversial with what Big Z said.

      MLB

      Five Reasons to Watch the 2009 Belmont

      June 6, 2009 /

      The 141st running of the Belmont Stakes takes place today (post time is at 6:30 ET) and although 2009 Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra won’t run, there are still plenty of intriguing storylines surrounding this year’s annual race from Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Here are five of them.

      1. Calvin Borel’s quest for his own Triple Crown.
      Not many people outside of the horse racing world had ever heard the name Calvin Borel before the 2009 Kentucky Derby, but the jockey started gaining a name for himself after riding 50/1 long shot Mine That Bird to victory at Churchill Downs. Then, when the opportunity presented itself a couple weeks after the Derby, Borel once again was the winning jockey, this time riding 3-year old filly Rachel Alexandra to victory at the Preakness Stakes. With Rachel Alexandra skipping the Belmont, Borel has again hitched a ride on Mine That Bird and if he wins today at the Belmont, he would become the first jockey since Steve Cauthen in 1978 to win the Triple Crown. A win would also make him only the second individual to win the Triple Crown by sweeping the three legs in one year while riding different horses. (The other being D. Wayne Lukas, a trainer, in 1995.)

      2. Mine That Bird continues his amazing season.
      Entering the 2009 Kentucky Derby, Mine That Bird was a 50/1 long shot to win. But thanks to a sloppy track, this powerful horse was able to claim victory at Churchill Downs and turned the horse racing world on its head. (At least for this season, that is.) Even though he won the Derby, many people were convinced that the poor track conditions at Churchill Downs played a major factor in Mine That Bird’s victory. Therefore, Rachel Alexandra was made the odds favorite to win the 2009 Preakness and even though the 3-year old filly won, Mine That Bird gained respect by finishing second at Pimlico. Now that Rachel Alexandra is out for the Belmont, Mine That Bird is once again a favorite and with a victory, he should at least gain some notoriety as one of the best thoroughbred racehorses of 2009.

      3. Watch out for the dark horse (no pun intended).
      One horse to keep an eye on today to play spoiler at the Belmont is Charitable Man (5/1). He has the next best odds to win today behind Mine That Bird and for good reason – he’s undefeated so far at Belmont Park and also undefeated on dirt tracks. Charitable Man was bred to race on one and a half mile tracks like the one he’ll run on today at Belmont Park and he’s also fresh, which is one thing Mine That Bird cannot say after racing in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. Nobody is going to consider him a long shot today at 3/1 odds, but if you’re looking for a horse to upset Mine That Bird at the Belmont, Charitable Man could be your thoroughbred.

      4. Flying Private: The Ultimate Long Shot?
      One long shot that is creating a buzz is Flying Private, who has already faced stiff competition at the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and could be a potential sleeper to give Mine That Bird a run for his money. At 18/1 odds, Flying Private certainly isn’t the type of long shot that Mine That Bird (50/1) was when he won the Kentucky Derby, but then again odds makers aren’t handing out those kinds of odds today anyway. (The horse with the longest odds to win today is Luv Gov at 25/1.) After a lackluster 19th place finish at the Kentucky Derby, Flying Private seemingly came out of nowhere to finish fourth at the Preakness Stakes and that could mean he’s prime to make another leap at the Belmont today. He certainly has the experience and while he might not be as fresh as some of the other horses, Flying Private has already squared off against Mine That Bird twice and therefore he could be your best shot at cashing in on a long shot.

      5. This is the finale, so eat it up while you can.
      The Belmont is the third and final leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, so soak up the action while you can. While this year’s Belmont certainly lacks the excitement of last year when Big Brown was going for the Triple Crown, there are still plenty of reasons to watch today. Enjoy the race and if you’ve decided to throw a few coins down today, good luck.

      General Sports

      Kuznetsova wins French Open title

      June 6, 2009 /

      Svetlana Kuznetsova beat fellow Russian Dinara Safina, 6-4, 6-2, to win her second Grand Slam title five years after she won her first.

      Kuznetsova dominated the match, winning on Centre Court in just 74 minutes.

      In 2004, she also beat a fellow Russian, Elena Dementieva, for the U.S. Open title. She was the runner-up in the 2006 French Open and the 2007 U.S. Open, losing to Belgian Justine Henin both times.

      Full story…

      Tennis

      Weekly MMA Review 6/6

      June 6, 2009 /

      Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

      Kimbo Slice– YouTube star/MMA punchline Kimbo Slice has agreed to redeem himself on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter. Between his outsized presence and the rivalry between coaches Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans, TUF 10 should be utterly insane.

      – The New York State Assembly voted in favor of a bill that would allow MMA to be regulated in New York. Could we be seeing UFC shows at Madison Square Garden in 2010?

      – Despite being KTFO’d at UFC 98, Rashad Evans still claims that Lyoto Machida hits like a bitch.

      – We put together a highlight reel of Kazushi Sakuraba’s most brutal beatings and took a look back at MMA’s most influential fighters.

      – Contrary to popular belief, Andrei Arlovski never said “how’s taste my pee pee pee?”

      – Joe Riggs accused Phil Baroni of steroids, while Phil Baroni claimed that it’s only lack of sex that makes him such a monster.

      – “Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields” and “WEC: Brown vs. Faber II” go down this weekend. Swing by CagePotato.com Saturday night starting at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT for our liveblog of the Strikeforce show, and Sunday morning for full results from the WEC event. Get familiar with the fights by reading this heated debate and our gambling advice here and here.

      Mixed Martial Arts

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